THIS WEEKEND…
Camp-Out Night at St. Dunstan’s, Friday, September 1, 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, singing, 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. Friends welcome!
Cupcake Decorating Contest! Friday, September 1: Decorate a cupcake with an image or theme from a Bible story! Deborah Sproule invites us into creative and delicious work. All ages are invited to participate and teamwork is encouraged. Bring edible decorations. Frosting, interesting sprinkles or candy shapes, pretzel sticks – there are many possibilities! (Please avoid peanuts – thanks!).Cupcake decorating will take place at the Camp-Out, Friday night. You can bring decorative elements already prepared if you like, but you don’t have to. Cupcakes will be provided and decorating elements will be on hand.
“Good Books” Book Group Meeting for Good Omens, Sunday, September 3, 9am: We’ll have donuts, coffee, juice, and conversation about our final summer read, Good Omens. Bring your book, with favorite or perplexing pages dog-eared!
Anniversary and Birthday blessings and Healing prayers will be given this Sunday, September 3 as is our usual first Sunday custom.
MOM Special Offering, Sunday, September 3: 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: canned chicken, pork (meat other than fish); shelf-stable dairy/non-dairy beverages; baking supplies/boxed mixes; ketchup, mayonnaise, pancake syrup; meals in a can/soup; heart-healthy cooking oil; whole grains: rice, quinoa, barley; toilet paper/paper towels; nut butters, other than peanut butter (allergies); size 5 or 6 diapers. Thank you for your generous support!
Blessing of the Backpacks, Sunday, September 3: Students (and teachers!) of all ages are invited to bring backpacks, laptops, etc., to be blessed in this service, as we pray for our schools and universities. Come between 9 and 10am to help decorate this year’s backpack tags. Blessed backpack tags will be available on Sunday, Sept. 10, as well.
Evening Eucharist, Sunday, September 3, 6pm: Join us for a simple service as the week begins. All are welcome.
Choir Kick-Off Party, Monday, Sept. 4: Interested in being part of the Music Ministry at St. Dunstan’s? Maybe can’t be in the choir this year but would like to connect with us anyway? Join us for the Choir Kickoff Party! September 4, Labor Day, 6:00 to 8:00 pm at the Sauk Creek Condominium’s Club House, several doors down from 7535 Widgeon Way. Bring a dish to pass if you are able. Grilled meat and other protein products and beverages provided. Bring your swim suit if you like. Hosted by Chris and Marian Barnes.
St. Dunstan’s Care Network Needs List: Sharon Bloodgood is recovering from a traffic accident and is in need of meals, and rides to church and therapy. To see where you can sign up to help, go our Care Network web page. The easiest way to access it is to go to stdunstans.com and click on the “Fellowship and Learning” tab, and select “Sharing Meals” which will lead you directly to the site. Please contact Shirley Laedlein with any questions.
Helpers Needed – Edgewood in the Community, Wednesday, September 20, 9:30am-2pm: Edgewood High School will be sending 20 students to St. Dunstan’s to do yard work as part of their community service. If you would like to work with a small group of students and help direct them, please email George Ott at . Wheelbarrows and pitchforks are needed too. Thanks!
Sponsor a Bible for our Sunday School Students! This year we’d like to offer our 3rd through 5th grade Sunday school students their own study Bibles to keep in the classroom and use this year and beyond. As the class explores our focus texts from the lectionary, they can look them up in their own Bible, underline or write notes in the margins, and start to feel like the Bible is theirs to study, grapple with, and love. We ask a $25 donation to be a Bible Sponsor. You may write a dedication in the Bible you sponsor, if you wish! We hope to buy 10 Bibles, to be ready for current and future students. You can make your gift online at donate.stdunstans.com or by cash or check with “Student Bible” on the memo line or envelope. Thanks for supporting our young disciples!
Altar Flowers: fall dates 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, or donate online at donate.stdunstans.com.
Parking Lot Reconstruction at Middleton Outreach Facilities: The MOM regular facilities will be closed September 2-22 for parking lot reconstruction. Case managers will see clients at a temporary off-site location, the Middleton-Cross Plains Area School District Service Center at 7106 South Ave., Middleton, and Mobile Food Pantries will also be available at this location on specific days. All current MOM clients are welcome to shop for food with no appointments necessary.
THE WEEK AHEAD & BEYOND…
Game Night at St. Dunstan’s, Friday, September 8, 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!
Wild & Scenic Film Event, September 9, 7-9pm at Mineral Point Opera House, 139 High Street, Mineral Point, Wisconsin: Come and see an evening of films on the environment. Films, ranging from 5-28 minutes, will present a variety of issues facing our world as well as the challenges in responding to them. Advance tickets are $10 online at brownpapertickets.com. For more info go to http://www.trinitympt.org/events.html.
Lammastide Festival of Bread, Sunday, September 10: 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.
Sunday School starts again, Sunday, September 10, 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 and 2nd graders, and for 3rd through 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!
Madison-Area Julian Gathering, Wednesday, September 13, 1:00 – 2:45 PM: A Julian Gathering is open to everyone and you are welcome at all times. We support each other in the practice of contemplative prayer and contemplative spirituality, 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. Each meeting includes time for contemplative prayer and reading/discussion of Bl. Julian’s revelations. Don’t worry if you’ve never practiced silent prayer before, we can set your mind at ease. We meet the second Wednesday of each month. For additional information, contact Susan Fiore.
Episcopal Diocese of Milwaukee Haiti Project Fundraiser, Verona, Sunday, September 17, 1-4pm: Come to the Wisconsin Brewing Company at 1079 American Way in Verona to enjoy live music by award-winning Haitian musician Mona Augustin, enjoy microbrews, shop for Haitian art and jewelry, and to help support our diocesan partnership with St. Mark’s School in Haiti. Suggested donation of $20 includes one free beverage ticket. We would love a critical mass of supporters to attend and hope you will invite your friends out to enjoy this event! If you are unable to attend but would like to contribute, go to https://haitiproject.org/donate/