SUNDAY, APRIL 17…

Healing Democracy, One Heart at a Time, begins this Sunday, 9am: We will explore techniques for creating safe spaces in which to talk honestly, strive to transcend partisanship and reconnect as human beings across the political gulfs that divide us. We’ll experiment with five habits that author Parker Palmer believes will help heal our hearts and the collective heart of our nation. In a year of contentious politics, let’s claim this opportunity to engage in deep conversation and strengthen the ties connecting our faith, our hearts, our convictions and our communities. Watch this space for more details, but please consider participating in the weeks ahead!

Sunday School, 10am: Our 3-5 year old class will explore the story of the Good Shepherd, while our 6 – 10 year old class will learn about Peter’s healing of Tabitha. Our Sunday school classes usually meet on the second and third Sundays of every month. All kids are welcome!

Christian Formation Meeting, 12noon: Gather with us to help us plan our Formation programs for all ages for the months ahead, especially the summer. All interested folks are welcome!

Evening Eucharist, 6pm: Join us for a simple service before the week begins.

Younger Adults Meetup at the Vintage, 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.

Rector’s Discretionary Fund: Half the cash in our collection plate, and any designated checks, will go towards the Rector’s Discretionary Fund this day and on every third Sunday. This fund is a way to quietly help people with direct financial needs, in the parish and the wider community. Please give generously.

Coffee Hosts Needed! Please consider being a coffee host. We have an opening on April 24 and several in the months ahead. Sign-up sheets for upcoming Sundays can be found in the Gathering Area. Thanks for lending a hand!

St. Dunstan’s Diaper Drive, April 17 – May 8: Imagine having to choose whether to pay rent, pay utilities, buy food, or buy diapers for your baby or toddler. Nearly 1 in 3 American families struggle to afford enough diapers, which cannot be purchased with food stamps. Learn more by reading today’s bulletin insert. We are having a diaper drive for sizes 4, 5, and 6 from April 17 until Mother’s Day, May 8. We will donate the diapers to pantries around the area, including Allied Drive Food Pantry, Kennedy Heights, and MOM (if needed). You can shop around for a great deal ($.20 or less per diaper) or make a check or online donation to St. Dunstan’s designated for the Diaper Drive and let our skilled diaper shoppers do the shopping! We’ll dedicate all our gifts on Mother’s Day. Thanks for your support!

THE WEEKS AHEAD…

Vestry Meeting, Wednesday, April 20, 6:45pm: The Vestry is the elected leadership body of our parish. Any members are welcome to attend our meetings, to observe or to raise questions or ideas.

Music and Liturgy meeting, Thursday, April 21, 7pm: We’ll meet to check in on our core liturgical ministries and share ideas for the seasons ahead. All interested folks are welcome!

Ladies’ Night Out, Friday, April 22, 6:30pm – Please note new location: 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 the Freska Mediterranean Grill at 8310 Greenway Boulevard in Middleton.

St. Francis House 100th Anniversary Dinner, Saturday, April 23, 4-8pm at St. Dunstan’s: On April 23, St. Francis House celebrates the ministry’s 100th anniversary, a celebration that belongs to all of the Episcopal churches in our diocese and to everyone who has been a part of SFH. The celebration begins at SFH with Evening Prayer at 5:15 pm, led by Bishop Miller, and the blessing of a large icon, gifted to SFH by the alumni family. Drazen Dupor, the iconographer, will be on hand to speak about the icon. There will be displays from different eras at SFH, a short program, and lots of new and old friends. The celebration continues at St. Dunstan’s, with dinner at 6:30pm. Ample parking will be available at St. Dunstan’s with a shuttle to and from campus for evening prayer. Tickets are $35. Seating will be limited to 100 people. You can reserve your tickets for the evening at www.stfancisuw.org.

Last Sunday Worship, Sunday, April 24, 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 Jesus’ teaching about the Great Commandment – love God, and love your neighbor as yourself. NOTE: Our 8am service always follows our regular order of worship.

Middle School Lunch & Learn, Sunday, April 24, 12-1pm: Rev. Miranda invites the 10-and-up youth of the parish to meet with her for lunch after church. We’ll dig into faith, Scripture, life, and our questions about all three. We’ll wrap up by 1pm, and we can arrange rides home for the kids if that help parents’ schedules.

Sing Out Loud! Sunday, April 24, 3pm at St. Dunstan’s: Choirs from congregations that support Middleton Outreach Ministries are joining together to present favorite anthems in an afternoon concert on Sunday, April 24th at 3 pm. The concert will benefit Middleton Outreach Ministries. Admission is free, but everyone is encouraged to bring personal care items (soap, deodorant, feminine products, toothpaste, etc.) for MOM to distribute. Cash/checks are accepted, too. Come join us for an enjoyable and participatory afternoon of Song!

MOM Canstruction,”sCANing the Galaxy!” April 18-24 at West Towne Mall: Teams will be building giant structures made of canned goods and packaged food that will be donated to MOM’s Food Pantry. You may vote for your favorite structure through Facebook and Instagram or at the mall. Canstruction Madison competitions have raised over 160 tons of food over the past five years, and the event helps bring additional awareness of the needs of our community. Check it out—it’s a fun event!

Volunteers Needed for DeCanstruction, Sunday, April 24, 7:00pm: Help take apart the giant sculptures built from cans and boxes of food, as part of this year’s CanStruction competition, a food- and fund-raiser for Middleton Outreach Ministry. This year’s CanStruction will take place at West Towne Mall, and structures can be viewed there all week, starting Monday, April 18. To help with the “de-Canstruction” work, you must be reasonably able-bodied (but not everybody has to do heavy lifting). Sign up if you’d like to join this year’s team; we are looking for a team of 5 people. Volunteers are invited and encouraged to attend the Awards Ceremony in the mall food court at 6:30pm before beginning our work.

Confirmation Service, Saturday, April 30, 10:00am, at Grace Episcopal Church on the Square: A service of confirmation or reception into the Episcopal Church for those who participated in the Madison-area Episcopal parishes’ shared Confirmation class during Lent. One new member of St. Dunstan’s will be confirmed at this service. All are invited to attend and celebrate those committing themselves to our way of faith, and our unity as the Episcopal Church in Dane County!

Men’s Book Group, Saturday, April 30, 10am: The book is English Creek by Ivan Doig.  A long-kept family secret leads to conflicts over the course of a summer that ends in a forest fire and a stunning climax.

An Introduction to Charitable Giving, Sunday, May 1, 11:30am: Come for lunch with several of the folk of St. Dunstan’s who have expertise in the areas of financial management, charitable giving, and taxes. They’ll outline the logistics of different ways of giving to your favorite organizations or causes, different kinds of gifts, and tax implications of giving. Questions welcome! Folks of all ages and incomes are encouraged to come; child care will be provided.

Proclaiming Love in a Polarized World: An Open Meeting with the Bishop, Wednesday, May 4, St. Dunstan’s Church, 6:30 – 8:00pm: Our bishop Steven Miller will be making his annual visit to St. Dunstan’s next month. All members of St. Dunstan’s are invited to an open conversation, over tea and cookies, about how to be witnesses for a loving God in a time of so much polarization and division in our public life.

Spring Clean-up Day, Sunday, May 15: Join us after the 10 am service to put some “sweat equity” into tending our beautiful buildings and grounds. Wear or bring your scruffy clothes and work gloves. Lunch will be provided!

St. Dunstan’s Day All-Ages Worship & Hat and Tie Sunday, May 22:  We will celebrate the feast day of our saint, Dunstan, on Sunday, May 22. You’re invited to mark the occasion by dress up with a fancy hat and/or tie – wear your own or borrow one from the collection at church. We will also take up a special collection for scholarships for the Diocese of Milwaukee’s camp program, Camp Webb. It’s our custom to take photos of the whole congregation after the 10am service that Sunday; we hope you’ll stay a few moments to participate.

Vacation Bible School Dates Set! Our summer Vacation Bible School will take place from Sunday, July 31, through Thursday, August 4, 5:30-7:30pm. Kids ages 3-10 are welcome to participate; kids 11 and up may participate as actors and helpers. We hope these dates are helpful to St. Dunstan’s families making summer plans.

40th Annual Women’s Mini Week – Surprised by Joy! – August 11 – 14, 2016, Camp Lakotah, Wautoma, Wisconsin: This is your time to retreat from your everyday routines, to allow discoveries and friendships to refresh you, to find comfortable activity or blissful quiet. Registration forms are in the Gathering Area. For more information, see the website at www.womensminisweek.org.