THIS WEEK…
Advent Thursday Suppers: You’re invited to gather for a simple meal at 5:30pm on Thursday, December 6, 13, and 20. We’ll conclude with simple evening prayers. Soup and bread/crackers provided. All are welcome!
Youth Group Babysitting, Saturday, December 8, 9am – 12pm: Drop off your child and go Christmas shopping or just enjoy some quiet time! The St. Dunstan’s Youth Group (with adult supervision) will care for and entertain your kids. Free; any donations will support youth group programming. Thank you!
Reminder: Bring Back your Sharing Christmas Gifts! If you took one of the colorful tags for our Sharing Christmas ministry, please bring the gift, wrapped & with the tag firmly attached, to church no later than this Sunday, December 9. The gifts will be taken to the Middleton Outreach Ministry (MOM) office and the families will pick them up there. Questions? Janet Bybee or Connie Ott can answer them!
Children’s Choir Practice: Our Children’s Choir will rehearse briefly following the 10am liturgy this Sunday. They will introduce a new song to the congregation next Sunday, December 16. The Children’s Choir is open to any interested child who can read words & stay focused to learn and make music together.
Caroling, Saturday, December 22: In recent years, a group of singers from St. Dunstan’s has enjoyed visiting a few of our members and singing Christmas carols. We’d like to do the same this year. All ages are welcome to participate. We are still working on the details, but if you would like to help make music OR would appreciate a visit by our carolers, please call 238-2781 or email Rev. Miranda.
Please wear your name tags! It’s helpful to both newer members who are trying to get to know folks, and to long-time members who might still need a hint. If you don’t have a name tag, or have lost yours, you can sign up to get a name tag on the bulletin board just around the corner from the big calendar.
Our weekly E-news goes out by email every Thursday. The E-news has notes about the coming Sunday and other upcoming events and opportunities, in our parish and sometimes in our sister Episcopal churches and the surrounding community. Subscribe by calling the office at 238-2781 or emailing our Office Coordinator at .
THE WEEKS AHEAD…
Madison-Area Julian Gathering,Wednesday, December 12, 1:00 – 2:45 PM: Julian of Norwich was a 15th Century English mystic and anchoress. 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. At a Julian Gathering we support each other in the practice of contemplative prayer and contemplative spirituality. They are open to beginners as well as those already practicing. Each meeting includes time for contemplative prayer, fellowship, and reading/discussion of Julian’s book. We meet the second Wednesday of each month. For additional information, contact Susan Fiore, ObJN.
Las Posadas Party, Sunday, Dec. 16, 4-6pm: Las Posadas (Spanish for “the inns”) is an Advent celebration practiced in Mexico and elsewhere in Latin America, revolving around the concept of hospitality. We learn from the Posadas that by welcoming the poor and the needy, we are welcoming Jesus in our midst. We’ll celebrate Posadas with an intergenerational gathering for food, fellowship & fireworks! All are welcome!
Young Adult Meetup at the Vintage, Sunday, December 16, 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
The Longest Night: A Liturgy of Light in Darkness, Thursday, December 20, 7:00PM: We will gather together out of the darkness of the season for a quiet, meditative worship service. Feel free to invite friends who might appreciate this time set apart to name the darkness in the world and in our lives, and prepare our hearts for the coming of the light of Christ. Contact Rev. Miranda with any questions. There will be an Advent Dinner at 5:30pm this evening; those who come for dinner are invited to assist with preparing for the liturgy as a practice of prayerful hospitality.
Lighted Labyrinth: A Lighted Labyrinth will be available in the Meeting Room from 4pm till 9pm on Thursday the 20th. Come after work, or before or after the Longest Night service, for a practice of meditative walking.
You are Invited! December 29th from 1-4pm for a celebration of the 50th wedding anniversary of John and Rose Rasmus. Please no gifts – your participation is gift enough!
Men’s Book Club, January 12th at 10am: Bring your favorite short story! A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a “single effect” or mood.
Taking Communion to the Homebound or Ill: If you or a loved one are unable to get to church and would like someone to visit and bring Communion, contact the office at 238-2781 or and we will ask one of our Lay Eucharistic Visitors to plan a visit.
Looking for Coffee Hosts for December 16 and 23! Consider being a coffee host and talk with Janet Bybee at for more information.
Vestry nominations are open! Would you be interested in serving on our vestry, our church’s governing body? Is there someone else you think would be a great candidate? Job descriptions and a box for nominations are in the Gathering Area. Open nominations will run throughout December. We will be electing two new vestry members in January 2019. Wardens and Diocesan Convention deputies must be elected every year, so candidates for Junior and Senior Warden may also be nominated.