THIS WEEK…
Birthday and Anniversary blessings and Healing Prayers will be given Sunday, March 3, as is our custom on the first Sunday of the month.
MOM Special Offering, Sunday, March 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, shelf-stable milk, whole grains; salt, pepper, spices; laundry detergent; vanilla or other extracts; low sugar dried/canned fruits; cooking oil; honey; nuts. Thank you for your generous support!
Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper, Tuesday, March 5, 5:30 – 6:30pm: Tasty food and intergenerational fellowship! We’ll gather at 5:30 with prayer and song, share a meal, and mark the turning season by burying Alleluias. Friends welcome! Suggested donation of $5 per adult, $10 per household. Kids eat free. All proceeds go to support the St. Dunstan’s Campership Fund, which helps cover costs for St. Dunstan’s kids to attend Camp Webb, our diocesan summer camp. We’ve got more kids going every year, so please give generously! If you’d like to help out or contribute to the meal, see the signup sheets in the Gathering Area.
Ash Wednesday services will be at noon, 4pm, and 7pm on Wednesday, March 6. The 4pm service is especially intended for kids and families. Rev. Miranda will also offer Ashes-to-Go by the main driveway from 7:30 – 8:30am and 5 – 6pm.
Open Door Project Plans: Look for posters around the church building to tell you about our upcoming renovation! Construction is expected to begin after Easter. Talk to Rev. Miranda or any member of the Vestry if you have questions or ideas.
What Gifts Do We Bring? Gift is one theme of Epiphany, and in this season, the people of St. Dunstan’s are invited to speak up about the gifts you bring and the gifts you notice in others in the church community. What are we good at, and what do we love to do? Fill out a yellow or purple slip and put it in the big green present box near the church doors. Our answers will help point us towards new ideas and opportunities in our common life as a church household. (P.S. We will not assign anyone to a ministry based on these slips – PROMISE!) Please fill out slips by Sunday, February 24!
Are you new to St. Dunstan’s? Would you like to share a little about yourself? Just talk with Rev. Miranda. We’d love to include you on our new members board!
Looking for Coffee Hosts for March 2019! Consider being a coffee host and talk with Janet Bybee for more information.
Altar Flowers: March dates available – sign up at church or by email! Honor a loved one or a special event with altar flowers on a special date! At church, sign up on the clipboard under the big calendar in the Gathering Area, and place a check or cash in an envelope labeled “Flowers” in the offering plate. From home, email with your preferred date and dedication, and make your gift online at donate.stdunstans.com. Thank you for beautifying our worship space!
THE WEEKS AHEAD…
4th & 5th Grade Group: Kids in 4th & 5th grade are invited to gather on occasional Friday evenings for pizza, conversation, small service projects, and fun. This group (nicknamed the Owls) will meet on Friday, March 8, and Friday, March 22, from 5:30 to 7:30pm. Talk to Rev. Miranda, Krissy Mayer or Marian Barnes to learn more!
Greeting Card Recycling! Do you have old, used greeting cards around that you don’t have the heart to just recycle? Our 4th & 5th Grade group is planning a project using pictures from old cards, and we’ll put them to good use! Bring them in and give them to Miranda or Krissy, or leave them in Miranda’s mailbox. We prefer general or nature- and spring-type images – nothing Christmassy, please!
Cookie Church, 6-7pm, Sundays in Lent (Starting March 10): Cookie Church is simple bedtime church. It is child-centered but not just for kids. We will share singing, story, Eucharist, and a snack. (Yes, there will be cookies.) We end with bedtime prayers and it’s OK to come in your pajamas! We’re trying this out for a season to see what we learn; come try it out with us! Sign up in the Gathering Area if you’d like to make a batch of cookies for us one week. We ask for at least 20 cookies, and it’s OK to drop them off Sunday morning (clearly labeled so they don’t get eaten at Coffee Hour).
Bite Size Climate, Sunday, March 10, 11:50 – 12:10: Many of us are fearful and sad about climate change and its many impacts. An important first step towards change is to be informed citizens who understand the issue and can talk about it with others – since we’ll all need to work together for change. Adults, kids, and youth are all invited to a series of twenty-minute (we promise!) gatherings to watch a short video, talk, and pray together. Over time, we’ll expand our understanding and commitment in bite-sized chunks. We’ll meet in the Meeting Room after 10am worship on Sundays when children’s choir doesn’t meet; our first few dates are March 10, March 31, and April 7. See you there!
Have you been baptized? The Prayer Book tells us, “Holy Baptism is full initiation by water and the Holy Spirit into Christ’s Body the Church.” From the earliest years of Christianity, the season of Lent (which begins February 10) was when new Christians studied the faith and prepared for baptism at Easter. If you have never been baptized, or aren’t sure, and would like to learn more about this rite, please contact Rev. Miranda.
The Rite of Reconciliation is a simple practice of offering up our sins to God for cleansing and healing. Sin often has to do with habits of mind and action that tend to separate us from God, from one another, and from our truest selves. Most of us can easily name two or three ongoing struggles in our lives – areas where we strive, and sometimes fail, to be healthier and kinder and more ethical people. You may seek the Rite of Reconciliation at any time, but Lent is an appropriate season for self-reflection and penitence. If you would like to experience the ministry of Reconciliation, contact Rev. Miranda to make an appointment.
Madison-Area Julian Gathering Wednesday, March 13, 1:00 – 2:45 PM: We welcome everyone who is interested in learning more about contemplative spirituality in the Christian tradition. We meet the second Wednesday of the month for a period of contemplative prayer, after which we discuss a reading from Julian of Norwich, a 14th Century English mystic who has been called “a theologian for our time.” We would love to have you join us. If you have questions, contact Susan Fiore, ObJN.
Camp Webb 2019 (June 16 – 22) is accepting applications now! Camp Webb is an outdoor ministry of the Episcopal Diocese of Milwaukee, for children and youth grades 3 through senior high. It is held at a camp outside Elkhorn, WI. Camp tuition is $400, with a deposit of $100 due at the time of registration. St. Dunstan’s offers $150 in aid to all our campers, with additional assistance possible; contact Rev. Miranda for financial assistance. http://www.diomil.org/forming-disciples/children-youth-and-family-ministries/camp-webb/ for registration forms. Camp Webb IS EXPECTED TO FILL this year, so apply soon!