THIS WEEKEND…
Camp-Out Night at St. Dunstan’s, Friday, September 2, 5:30pm: For those who have been meaning to camp out all summer – or want to give it a try in an easy setting (with flush toilets available!) – or who camp all the time and can share tips with the rest of us! We’ll share a simple potluck supper (hot dogs and marshmallows, etc., provided), fellowship around the fire pit, perhaps some outdoor games for the active, and Compline prayers at dusk. You can spend the night, or just come for the evening and then go home to your nice warm bed. Questions or ideas? Talk to Rev. Miranda or Kate Larson.
Summer Choir, Sunday, September 4, 9am: Come and learn some simple music to share as part of our 10am worship. Young singers and adult singers with no previous choir experience are especially invited! You should be able to read text, and be ready to begin to learn to read music. Talk with our Organist & Choir Director, Martin Ganschow, to learn more.
Healing Prayers: This Sunday, one of our ministers will offer healing prayers for those who wish to receive prayers for themselves or on behalf of others.
Birthdays and Anniversaries will be honored this Sunday, September 4, as is our custom on the first Sunday of every month. Come forward after the Announcements to receive a blessing and the community’s prayers.
MOM Special Offering, Sunday, September 4: This Sunday, half the cash in our offering plate and any designated checks will be given to Middleton Outreach Ministry’s food pantry. Here are the current top-ten, most needed items: dried beans, whole grains, herbs and spices, low-sugar beverages, ethnic foods, spaghetti & pizza sauce, cooking oil, single-serve peanut butter, whole grain cereal, and laundry detergent. Thank you for all your support!
Evening Eucharist, Sunday, September 4, 6pm: Join us for a simple service before the week begins. All are welcome.
Parish Office Closed, Monday, September 5 for Labor Day. The office will instead be open on Tuesday, September 6.
Foundry414 Labor Day 3K, Monday, September 5, 9:45am: Our neighbors at Foundry414 invite us to participate in the Backpack Snack Pack 3K fund raiser. Donations from St. Dunstan’s folks can go to our Backpack Snack Pack program. Come at 9:45am to sign-in. The 3K starts at 10am and will follow a route that can accommodate strollers and wagons. There’s no registration fee to participate but donations are encouraged. Come enjoy good neighbors, exercise and fun for a good cause!
THE WEEKS AHEAD…
Game Night at St. Dunstan’s, Friday, September 9, 6pm: Join us for an evening of games for all ages. Friends, partners, kids – all welcome. Bring a snack to share, or come as you are!
Sunday School starts again, Sunday, September 11, 10am: Our Sunday school classes meet on the second and third Sunday of every month, during the first part of the 10am service. We have three classes this year. Our class for 3 year olds through kindergarteners uses the ‘Godly Play’ approach, sharing and reflecting on the central stories of our faith. Our classes for 1st through 3rd graders, and for 4th and 5th graders, use a curriculum based on the Sunday lectionary, the same Bible lessons we hear in the liturgy that day. They explore those lessons through discussion, art, drama, Lego, and other projects. All kids are welcome to participate!
Lammastide Festival of Bread, Sunday, September 11: Lammastide is an ancient harvest festival that became a church festival in our mother church, the Church of England. It’s an opportunity to offer the fruits of the growing season thankfully to God. The word means “loaf mass” – it was originally held at the time of year when the first grain ripened enough to be made into fresh loaves of bread. We will celebrate the end of summer together with a Lammastide procession and blessing, and a festive bread-themed Coffee Hour after the 10am service. Bring a loaf of bread – any kind! – or something beautiful from your garden or the farmer’s market: vegetables, fruit, flowers. We will offer our harvest gifts during worship; you can reclaim your produce afterwards.
United Thank Offering Kickoff, Sunday, Sept. 11: This year we are beginning our United Thank Offering practice with the start of the school year in September. This practice is an opportunity to foster a sense of gratitude and nurture a sense of being blessed in yourself and others in your household. You can create your own gratitude ritual – perhaps once a week, at dinner or before bed? – as you reflect on the special things that you are grateful for and place a penny, nickel, quarter in the box as you name them. A small amount is suggested so as to encourage more responses. Remember to include beautiful fall days, pets that cuddle and new friends! For those of you short on change, we will have some rolls of pennies, nickels and dimes available; just put the equivalent amount in cash or check in the offering plate when you have a chance.
Madison-Area Julian Gathering, Wednesday, September 14, 7:15 – 9:00 PM: Julian of Norwich was a 15th Century English mystic. Little is known about Julian’s life, but she wrote a book, as far as we know the first in English written by a woman, about a series of revelations which opened her to the depths of God’s unconditional love for us in Jesus Christ. Julian prayed often in silence, and at a Julian Gathering we support each other in the practice of contemplative prayer and contemplative spirituality. Each meeting includes time for contemplative prayer, fellowship, and reading/discussion of Julian’s book. At the beginning of each meeting, brief instruction on the practice of contemplative prayer is offered. We meet the second Wednesday of each month from 7:15 to 9 PM. All welcome.
Caregivers’ Support Group, Saturday, September 17, 9am: A caregivers’ support group will be starting in September. The sessions are planned for the 1st and 3rd Saturdays of the month. This will be a safe space to share concerns with others who have similar situations and to offer support in return. For more information, talk with John Rasmus, Bonnie Magnuson or Joseph Wermeling.
Men’s Book Club, Saturday, September 17, 10am: Pulitzer Prize-winning author, Ron Chernow, presents a landmark biography of Alexander Hamilton, the Founding Father who galvanized, inspired, scandalized, and shaped the newborn nation. He was a revolutionary war hero whose talents and advice Washington relied on heavily during the war and a man who literally shaped this country’s financial and trading system. It is particularly amazing to see how dirty and bruising politics were in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. A good read.
Helpers Needed – Edgewood in the Community, Wednesday, September 28, 9:30am-2:30pm: Edgewood High School will be sending 20 students to St. Dunstan’s this day to do yard work as part of their community service. If you would like to work with small group of students and help direct them, please contact George Ott. We could use some extra pitchforks and wheelbarrows for the day’s work as well.
Mark your calendar! Crop Walk 2016, Sunday, October 16, 12:45pm: St. Dunstan’s will send a team of walkers; watch for a signup soon! Last year over $36,000 was raised to support the work of many local food pantries and international relief agencies. The goal for this year is $40,000. Come and make a difference.