St. Dunstan’s Day Celebration and Bishop’s Visitation
Today we celebrate the feast day of our patron saint, the tenth-century English bishop and reformer, Dunstan. Our diocesan bishop, Bishop Steven Miller, will lead us in worship on this special day. At the 9am hour between services, there will be time to meet with the Bishop to share any questions, hopes, or concerns about the diocese and larger church. At the 10am service, we will also celebrate the confirmation of Colin Marquart. Colin and his family, and Colin’s priest Father Scott Seefeldt, are visiting us from our sister parish Trinity Episcopal Church in Baraboo. Colin is an active member at Trinity, where he participates in youth group, the Brotherhood of Saint Andrew, and as a worship assistant. He is an athlete, volunteer, and mentor in his community, with an interest in computers and engineering. Welcome, Colin and family, and thank you for sharing this blessed occasion with us! Loose plate offerings this Sunday will go to Bishop’s Purse, a fund like the Rector’s Discretionary Fund which the Bishop can use to help various causes in the life of the diocese, to assist people to attend conferences and workshops, and to assist our seminarians and people in preparation for ordained ministry.
Sunday School, 10am: Our Sunday school classes will meet this Sunday during the 10am service. Our “Godly Play” class (ages 3 – 6) will learn about the Mystery of Pentecost, while our “Seasons of the Spirit” class (ages 7 – 11) will hear about the calling of Matthias. All welcome!
Saint Dunstan T-Shirts, $5.00 – BYOS: Bring in a plain T-shirt (at least 60% cotton) that fits you, and the logo “Saint Dunstan: Annoying the Devil since 943” will be applied (in fuzzy blue iron-on vinyl) for $5. Funds raised will go towards purchasing new tubs for our Backpack Snack Pack ministry at Falk Elementary School. Talk to Rev. Miranda with questions. Checks can be placed in the offering plate with “T-shirt” on the memo line.
Christian Formation meeting, Sunday, May 17, 11:45am: Our Christian Formation Committee will meet to review and plan programs, with a special focus on Vacation Bible School. All interested folks are welcome to attend and participate.
Church, Faith, & Life Window Questions: Thanks to all who participated in our online survey! As a next step, some questions are posted on the windows in the Gathering Area. Share your thoughts on a Post-It or by writing directly on the question pages. Everyone is encouraged to respond! Questions will be up through the rest of May.
Evening Eucharist, Sunday, May 17, 6pm: A simple service before the week begins.
Younger Adults Meet-up at the Vintage, Sunday, May 17, 7pm: The younger adults of St. Dunstan’s are invited to join us for conversation and the beverage of your choice, at the Vintage Brewpub on South Whitney Way. Friends and partners welcome too.
Opportunities to Serve…
Join our Vacation Bible School Team! This year’s Vacation Bible School will run from Sunday, August 2, through Thursday, August 6, from 5:30 – 7:30pm. Whether you’d like to cook, act, read a story, plan a project, lead a game, or just be an extra big person to help manage little people, we need you. Talk with Rev. Miranda to learn more.
Grace Shelter Dinner, Sunday, May 24, 7pm: Every fourth Sunday, a loyal group of St. Dunstan’s folk provides dinner for residents at the Grace Church shelter, and breakfast the next morning. See the signup sheet in the gathering area to help out.
Hoops for Housing, Saturday, August 8: St. Dunstan’s is sponsoring a friendly community basketball tournament to raise funds for Briarpatch, which serves homeless youth in the Madison area. We’re looking for help with referees, concessions, and more! We’re also asking people to think about forming or joining a team. All ages and levels of skill are invited to participate. Each team is invited to raise $100 for Briarpatch through donations and pledges. If you’d like to help out with planning, publicity, or on the day itself, talk with Rev. Miranda.
Backpacks for Teens Without Families: St. Dunstan’s Outreach Committee invites the people of St. Dunstan’s to fill five backpacks, to be distributed to teens in the Madison school district who are homeless and living on their own, to help them through the summer months. Take a card from the display in the Gathering Area and bring the item(s) back by May 24th. Thanks for your generosity!
The Weeks Ahead…
“Fitting Words and Music: The Craft of Songwriting,” Poetry & Spirituality, Sunday, May 24, 9am, Meeting Room: One of our resident poets, Paul Thompson, will lead an exploration of the art of matching meter to song and setting poetry to music. All are welcome!
Pentecost Sunday All-Ages Worship, Sunday, May 24, 10am: We will share the story of the gift of the Holy Spirit to the Church, and celebrate the Spirit’s continued action among us. Red is the church’s color for this holy day; consider wearing something red for church!
Parish Office Closed, Monday, May 25th for Memorial Day. If you need to reach the office, Pamela will be in the office on Tuesday this week instead of Monday.
Sunday, May 31, 9am: Discussing End-Of-Life Choices The Rev. Pat Size will talk about advance care planning and the importance of conversations about end-of-life care, and introduce Honoring Choices Wisconsin, an initiative to encourage and support advance care planning. Pat will also preach that morning.
Racial Disparities in Dane County – Guest Speaker: Principal Grace Okoli, Wednesday, June 3, 7pm: Principal Okoli is the principal of Falk School, the school we serve with our Backpack Snack Pack ministry and one of the highest-poverty schools in Madison. She will share about the challenges and hopes as she sees them, and take our questions. All are welcome.