Announcements, September 24

THIS WEEKEND…

Ladies’ Night Out, Friday, September 25, 6pm: Join our monthly get-together as we dine at area restaurants and enjoy good conversation among women of all ages from St. Dunstan’s. This month we will meet at Dhaba Indian Bistro at 8333 Greenway Blvd. in Madison. 

“What Am I Doing Here?” A Class For Those New to the Episcopal Church, Sunday at 9am, September 27. An exploration of the parts and purpose of our pattern of worship. Questions? Talk with Rev. Miranda.

Last Sunday Worship, Sunday, September 27, 10am: Our Last Sunday worship is intended especially to help kids (and grownups who are new to our pattern of worship) to engage and participate fully. This Sunday we’ll receive the lively story of Queen Esther and how she saved her people. NOTE: Our 8am service always follows our regular order of worship.

Grace Shelter Dinner, Sunday, September 27, 7pm: Every fourth Sunday, a loyal groups 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.

Sign Up to help with our Fall Clean-Up, Sunday, October 4, 11:30 – 2:00pm: A list of tasks is posted in the Gathering Area; please sign up for any you’d like to claim! Note: many of these are small tasks, so you could sign up for several, and it’s fun to share work, so consider signing up with a friend, or a stranger who isn’t a friend yet. We will share our meal and our work with our neighbors at Foundry414 Church (formerly Madison Vineyard Church). Please help us beautify our buildings and Grounds and prepare for winter!

 Walkers & Pledges Wanted for CROP Walk for Hunger, Sunday, October 18: This year’s CROP Walk starts at 12:45 at the First Congregational Church downtown. There are 2 routes – one fairly lengthy that goes over to Lake Mendota and one about a mile that goes around Camp Randall. All money raised is used to fight hunger and a percentage of the money stays right here in Dane County being distributed to the food pantries. Would you like to join our team of walkers and raise money to fight hunger? Sign up in the Gathering Area (remember to give us your T-shirt size!) and take a pledge envelope so you can gather pledges in the weeks ahead.

This year’s Parish Talent Show will be Sunday, October 25! What will you share? A poem, a song, a dramatic monologue, a dance? A sample of art, craft, tinkering, building, study or science? Group acts are encouraged. Sign up in the Gathering Area as your ideas take shape!

Altar Flowers: October dates are available! Honor a loved one or a special event with altar flowers. Reserve your special date by writing your dedication on the sign-up sheet. Suggested donation is $35 (write “flowers” on the memo line of your check or on envelope containing cash).

THE WEEKS AHEAD…

THE HUNGER WEEKS: In the first weeks of October we are invited to respond to the needs of our neighbors, locally and globally: by packing snacks for hungry kids (Backpack Snack Pack kickoff, October 4); writing letters to our legislators to urge budgeting and policies that address hunger and poverty (Bread for the World Sunday, October 11); and walking to raise money for food programs (CROP Walk, October 18). Participate and support these efforts as you feel moved, as we together strive to follow Jesus who promised to be bread for the world and urged us to love our neighbors as ourselves.

Outreach Hour, Sunday, October 4, 9am: Percy Brown of the Middleton-Cross Plains Area School District will talk with us about the face of poverty and hunger in Middleton.

 Backpack Snack Pack Prep, Sunday, October 4, 11:30am: The kids and families of St. Dunstan’s are invited to prepare our “Backpack Snack Packs,” to help local school children from low-income households to have nutritious snacks available over the weekend. The project will be set up in the Gathering Area this Sunday as we kick off the program.

Fall Clean-Up, Sunday, October 4, 11:30 – 2:00pm: Wear your work clothes to church and stay after the 10am service for a simple lunch (with an overview of tasks to complete while we’re eating), followed by time to work on our grounds. We’ll wrap up by 2pm, but you can leave anytime you’ve completed your tasks.

 Blessing of the Animals, Sunday, October 4, 4pm: Bring friends of any species to our Blessing of the Animals service! Please take a purple flyer with you and invite a (human) friend.

MOM Special Offering, Sunday, October 4: Next Sunday, half the cash in our offering plate and any designated checks will be given to Middleton Outreach Ministry’s food pantry. Groceries are also welcome gifts. The top ten most needed items currently are: sugar, cooking oil, fruit cocktail, canned peaches, canned turkey or chicken, cereal, jelly, diapers sizes 4, 5 & 6, laundry detergent and toothbrushes & toothpaste. Quality bedding items such as comforters, sheets, blankets and towels are also always in need. Thank you for all your generous support!

Evening Eucharist, Sunday, October 4, 6pm: Join us for a simple service before the week begins. All are welcome.

Edgewood in the Community, Wednesday, October 7, 10am-1:30pm: Edgewood High School will be sending 20 students to St. Dunstan’s this day to do yard work as part of their community service.

Madison-Area Julian Gathering, Wednesday, October 14, 7:15 – 9:00pm: A Julian Gathering is open to everyone and you are welcome at all times. These gatherings are initiated and supported by the Order of Julian of Norwich, www.orderofjulian.org and have the quintessentially Anglican writings of Bl. Mother Julian of Norwich at their core. They are for all who want to deepen their life of faith through the practice of contemplative prayer, for beginners as well as those already practicing. We meet the second Wednesday of each month from 7:15 to 9 PM.

Words in Season: Dear performance and poetry loving members of St. Dunstan’s, join us for a seasonal celebration of words and the spirit. Daniel Hanson and Evy Gildrie-Voyles are gathering a group of all ages to perform poetry relevant to the seasons four times this year. The first will be in October. We will meet on Saturday October 17th at 10am at the Church for a brief rehearsal and perform Oct. 18th in the Gathering space after the 10 o’clock service (roughly 11:15am.) All ages are welcome. No memorizing is necessary.

 Men’s Book Club, Saturday, October 17, 10am: This month’s book is “The Wright Brothers,” by David McCullough. On a winter day in 1903, in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, two unknown brothers from Ohio changed history. But it would take the world some time to believe what had happened: the age of flight had begun, with the first heavier-than-air, powered machine carrying a pilot. Who were these men and how was it that they achieved what they did? Looks like a good read.

Honoring our Beloved Dead: This year at our All Saints celebration, on Sunday, November 1, we would like to carry flowers out to some of the places on our grounds that are connected with loved ones who have gone before – memorial trees, benches, and so on. Do you have a place that you visit, on our grounds, in connection with a departed loved one? In the weeks ahead, please talk with Rev. Miranda or call the church office and make arrangements to come by and show us the spot, if we don’t already know about it. We hope to have all our significant sites mapped and ready by mid-October.

IN THE WIDER CHURCH…

Celebrate the 100th Anniversary of Saint Francis House! Friday, October 16, 7-8:30pm at SFH: All friends of the House, our Episcopal campus ministry at UW-Madison, are welcome to join the celebration. Tours of the newly renovated house will be available Friday. The formal program starts at 7pm. Those folks with a history of St. Francis House are especially welcome to share their memories and stories of the House. 

Diocesan Convention, Saturday, October 17, 8am – 4:30pm at St. John’s Northwestern Military Academy in Delafield, Wisconsin:  All are welcome to attend all or part of the convention! The morning will be devoted to worship and a presentation focused on taking our Church into the wider community.  The afternoon session will be the ‘business’ session. Visitors are asked to register but there is no charge unless you want to have meals at the convention. To register, fill out and mail in the form located in the Gathering Area or you can register at the convention between 8 and 9am. Also of note, travel-size personal hygiene items will be collected at Convention, to be given out through hospitality ministries around the diocese. For more information on the convention, go to http://www.diomil.org/about-us/diocesan-convention/.

Sung Evensong at St. Andrew’s Church, Thursday, October 22, 7pm: St. Andrew invites their fellow Episcopalians to a liturgy of Choral Evensong. The lessons are those appointed for St. James of Jerusalem (Feast Day – October 23).  The chancel choir of St. Andrew’s augmented with friends of choir members will sing.  A small recorder ensemble will provide the prelude and postlude. Come experience the mystery and glories of this cherished Anglican service. A reception will follow the service giving all an opportunity for conversation and connection.