Monthly Archives: June 2019

Announcements

Announcements, June 27

THIS WEEK….

Clergy Presence during Rev. Miranda’s Travel:  Rev. Miranda will be away from June 22 through 29. Father Tom McAlpine will celebrate and preach on Sunday, June 23. If you need the care or counsel of a priest during Rev. Miranda’s absence, you may reach Father Tom at 608-208-3793 or Father John Rasmus at (608) 345-4110.

Ladies’ Night Out, Friday, June 28, 6pm: Come join us for good food and good conversation among women of all ages from St. Dunstan’s. This month we will meet at Tanner’s bar & Grill, 1611 Deming Wai, Middleton (Greenway Station). For more information please contact Debra Martinez.

Seeking Sponsors for Middle School Mission Trip: St. Dunstan’s Youth Group is headed out on a mission trip from July 29 to August 1! They will visit other churches around the Diocese of Milwaukee and help out with service projects. We’re sending a big, lively group of kids this year! Would you like to help sponsor the trip? Your $25 sponsorship helps cover trip expenses. Each sponsor will receive a postcard from one of our youth, during or after the trip.  You can contribute with a check in the offering plate with “Camp Sponsorship” on the memo line, or online at donate.stdunstans.com . Thank you!

Last Sunday All-Ages Worship, Sunday, June 30, 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. NOTE: Our 8am service always follows our regular order of worship.

Birthday and Anniversary blessings and Healing Prayers will be given [next] Sunday, July 7, as is our custom on the first Sunday of the month.

AA Meeting:  A Beginner’s group of Alcoholics Anonymous meets every Tuesday evening from 7-8 pm at St. Dunstan’s.  For more information, contact Joe W. at 608-338-5359.

THE WEEKS AHEAD…

Cookie Church Returns! 6 – 7pm, Wednesdays in July: Cookie Church is simple bedtime church. It is child-centered but not just for kids; we find that youth and grownups like it too! 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! Cookie Church is planned for Wednesdays in July. If you’re away for a weekend but still want to come to church, come try it out! 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).

Farewell Party for the Rev. Jonathan Melton & Family: Father Jonathan, the Episcopal chaplain at UW-Madison and friend of St. Dunstan’s, and his family are moving to Texas for a new ministry position. There will be a farewell party for the family at St. Francis House (1011 University Ave.) on Tuesday, July 9, from 5 – 8pm. Please RSVP to Sharon Henes if you plan to attend!

Madison-Area Julian Gathering, Wednesday, July 10, 1:00 – 2:45 PM: During a time of great turmoil in England and Europe, Julian came to believe unshakably that “all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.”  Please join us for contemplative prayer and discussion of Julian’s optimistic theology! For more information, contact Susan Fiore, ObJN.

Learning about Solitary Confinement, Sunday, July 14: WHAT IS SOLITARY CELL CONFINEMENT? As the name suggests, solitary cell confinement in the U.S. criminal justice system separates individuals from the general prison/jail/detention center population, housing them alone in a concrete cell the size of a walk-in closet, where their movements and privileges are highly restricted.  In solitary, you get your meals through a slot, you do not see other inmates, and you never touch or get near another human being.  You get a couple showers a week and are allowed less than an hour for exercise in a small caged area a few times a week.  Otherwise you are alone, hidden away in your confinement cell, week after week, and too often month after month or year after year.  If you respond to the extreme sensory deprivation by shouting or screaming, your time in solitary is extended; if you hurt yourself by refusing to eat or mutilating your body, your time in solitary is extended; if you complain to officers or say anything menacing or inappropriate, your time in solitary is extended.  The sensory deprivation frequently produces night terrors, flashbacks, anxiety, depression, and insomnia – psychological trauma that lasts long after release from custody.  Not infrequently the isolation drives inmates to attempt suicide or commit other acts of self-harm.  The United Nations advocates for banning solitary cell confinement that exceeds more than 15 days except in rare exceptional circumstances.

On Sunday, July 14, we will have the opportunity to go inside a Solitary Confinement Cell on our way into or out of the morning services. And during the weeks of August 11 – 31, we will have multiple opportunities to join in reading and discussing the New York Times bestseller “Just Mercy.”  Stay tuned!

Saturday Book Club, August 3rd at 10am: The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman. Getting a hard copy of the book: I recently discovered that the Madison Central Library (next door to the Overture Center) has a Book Club section – located on the western end of the second floor. This section contains multiple copies of selected books. The next meeting’s book – The Ocean at the End of the Lane – is available in this section. If you check it out at the main desk and say it is a Book Club book, they can also give you an extended time to read it. Don’t worry if via your online account you are put on a lengthy hold list; the Book Club copies aren’t included in the online catalog

Creation Care Ideas, Summer 2019: Our open Creation Care meeting in May generated some great ideas. Plans already in the works include a Creation-focused all-ages Vacation Bible School on the evenings of August 4 – 8; and some opportunities to seek God in Nature on summer Sundays. With some ideas, we’re seeking a group of interested folks who can move it forward. Are you interested in contributing to an Idea Fair to share green practices you’ve taken on or things you’ve learned about caring for the world? Do you have a green crafting or “upcycling” project to share? Would you like to help care for the nearby Heim Fox Mound with some seasonal weeding? Is there a “green” product you find really useful that you’d like us to explore bulk buying? If you have thoughts on any of these fronts, sign up at church in the Gathering Area or email our office coordinator Ann at  .

It’s Time to Update our Parish Directory! If you are new to St. Dunstan’s and would like your address and contact information to be in our church directory, or if you have a change of address or contact information, please let our Office Coordinator Ann know at 608-238-2781 or office@stdunstans.com. Our church directory is shared with members; it is not posted publicly.

Update on our Church Neighbors Foundry414: For several years we’ve shared space with Foundry414, a friendly and open-minded non-denominational church. Foundry meets in the Parish Center, which will be renovated this summer for use as youth group space (lower level) and meeting and community space (upper level). Starting on June 2, over the summer, Foundry will be meeting in our nave and Meeting Room on Sundays at 4:30pm. Please help leave the church tidy for them, and if you have a reason to stop by on a Sunday evening, be respectful of their space. Thank you!

SUMMER OPPORTUNITIES… 

VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL 2019: SAVE THE DATES – AUGUST 4 – 8! Plans are just starting to take shape but we expect to spend a lot of time outdoors, and to invite the adults of St. Dunstan’s to join our kids and youth for shared learning and fun, as we did in 2018. Mark your calendars!

Women’s Mini-Week, August 8 – 11: The mission of Women’s Mini-Week is to provide an annual retreat event for adult women, offering refuge, friendship, relaxation, and fun. Mini-Week combines opportunities to learn with fellowship, spiritual exploration and delicious food as we invite all women to participate as much or as little as they would like and need. Mini-Week is held at a beautiful lakeside camp in northern Wisconsin. Many members of St. Dunstan’s have attended, planned, and led, over the years. Visit womensminiweek.org to learn more and make Mini-Week part of your summer plans.

Uncategorized

Announcements, June 23

THIS WEEK….

St. Dunstan’s LGBTQIA+ & Allies Campfire, June 21, 6:30pm: As part of our continuing intergenerational exploration, we will be having a potluck s’mores bonfire on June 21, at 6pm, for anyone who feels they are in the LGBTQIAA (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning, intersex, asexual, and/or allies) community.  This is a safe space and time deliberately created to sit around a bonfire, eat soup and s’mores, and visit about your personal experiences within this community, as LGBT+ people, family of LGBT+ people, and friends of LGBT+ people.  All ages are not only welcome, but encouraged.  Feel no pressure to identify with any label at this event, but feel free to talk openly about your experience if you want to.  Dinner provided (soup and rolls), BYFSS (bring your favorite smores supply!). Questions? Talk to Rev. Miranda or Michelle Der Bedrosian.

Clergy Presence during Rev. Miranda’s Travel:  Rev. Miranda will be away from June 22 through 29. Father Tom McAlpine will celebrate and preach on Sunday, June 23. If you need the care or counsel of a priest during Rev. Miranda’s absence, you may reach Father Tom  or Father John Rasmus.

Seeking Sponsors for Middle School Mission Trip: St. Dunstan’s Youth Group is headed out on a mission trip from July 29 to August 1! They will visit other churches around the Diocese of Milwaukee and help out with service projects. We’re sending a big, lively group of kids this year! Would you like to help sponsor the trip?  Your $25 sponsorship helps cover trip expenses. Each sponsor will receive a postcard from one of our youth, during or after the trip.  You can contribute with a check in the offering plate with “Camp Sponsorship” on the memo line, or online at donate.stdunstans.com . Thank you!

THE WEEKS AHEAD…

Ladies’ Night Out, Friday, June 28, 6pm: Come join us for good food and good conversation among women of all ages from St. Dunstan’s. This month we will meet at Tanner’s bar & Grill, 1611 Deming Wai, Middleton (Greenway Station). For more information please contact Debra Martinez.

Cookie Church Returns! 6 – 7pm, Wednesdays in July: Cookie Church is simple bedtime church. It is child-centered but not just for kids; we find that youth and grownups like it too! 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! Cookie Church is planned for Wednesdays in July. If you’re away for a weekend but still want to come to church, come try it out! 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).

Farewell Party for the Rev. Jonathan Melton & Family: Father Jonathan, the Episcopal chaplain at UW-Madison and friend of St. Dunstan’s, and his family are moving to Texas for a new ministry position. There will be a farewell party for the family at St. Francis House (1011 University Ave.) on Tuesday, July 9, from 5 – 8pm. Please RSVP to Sharon Henes  if you plan to attend!

Madison-Area Julian Gathering, Wednesday, July 10, 1:00 – 2:45 PM: During a time of great turmoil in England and Europe, Julian came to believe unshakably that “all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.”  Please join us for contemplative prayer and discussion of Julian’s optimistic theology! For more information, contact Susan Fiore, ObJN .

Learning about Solitary Confinement, Sunday, July 14: One current area of agreement across the U.S. political landscape is the need for criminal justice reform. This is true in Wisconsin with diverse groups such as MOSES and the Tommy Thompson Center advocating for reform.  This summer at St Dunstan’s we will have two opportunities to learn more about what is driving this consensus, both sponsored by St Dunstan’s own Outreach Committee. On Sunday, July 14, we will have the opportunity to go inside a Solitary Confinement Cell on our way into or out of the morning services. And during the weeks of August 11 – 31, we will have multiple opportunities to join in reading and discussing the New York Times bestseller “Just Mercy.”  Stay tuned!

Saturday Book Club, August 3rd at 10am: The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman. Getting a hard copy of the book: I recently discovered that the Madison Central Library (next door to the Overture Center) has a Book Club section – located on the western end of the second floor. This section contains multiple copies of selected books. The next meeting’s book – The Ocean at the End of the Lane – is available in this section. If you check it out at the main desk and say it is a Book Club book, they can also give you an extended time to read it. Don’t worry if via your online account you are put on a lengthy hold list; the Book Club copies aren’t included in the online catalog

Creation Care Ideas, Summer 2019: Our open Creation Care meeting in May generated some great ideas. Plans already in the works include a Creation-focused all-ages Vacation Bible School on the evenings of August 4 – 8; and some opportunities to seek God in Nature on summer Sundays. With some ideas, we’re seeking a group of interested folks who can move it forward. Are you interested in contributing to an Idea Fair to share green practices you’ve taken on or things you’ve learned about caring for the world? Do you have a green crafting or “upcycling” project to share? Would you like to help care for the nearby Heim Fox Mound with some seasonal weeding? Is there a “green” product you find really useful that you’d like us to explore bulk buying? If you have thoughts on any of these fronts, sign up at church in the Gathering Area or email our office coordinator Ann at  .

Healing Prayer Ministry: Do you like to pray for others? We are seeking a few people who feel drawn to praying for the healing of another’s body, mind, and spirit, as part of our parish’s monthly Sunday morning healing prayer ministry. We can train and support you! If you’re interested, talk with Rev. Miranda , Deacon Laura or Father John.

It’s Time to Update our Parish Directory! If you are new to St. Dunstan’s and would like your address and contact information to be in our church directory, or if you have a change of address or contact information, please let our Office Coordinator Ann know at 608-238-2781 or office@stdunstans.com. Our church directory is shared with members; it is not posted publicly.

Update on our Church Neighbors Foundry414: For several years we’ve shared space with Foundry414, a friendly and open-minded non-denominational church. Foundry meets in the Parish Center, which will be renovated this summer for use as youth group space (lower level) and meeting and community space (upper level). Starting on June 2, over the summer, Foundry will be meeting in our nave and Meeting Room on Sundays at 4:30pm. Please help leave the church tidy for them, and if you have a reason to stop by on a Sunday evening, be respectful of their space. Thank you!

SUMMER OPPORTUNITIES… 

VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL 2019: SAVE THE DATES – AUGUST 4 – 8! Plans are just starting to take shape but we expect to spend a lot of time outdoors, and to invite the adults of St. Dunstan’s to join our kids and youth for shared learning and fun, as we did in 2018. Mark your calendars!

Women’s Mini-Week, August 8 – 11: The mission of Women’s Mini-Week is to provide an annual retreat event for adult women, offering refuge, friendship, relaxation, and fun. Mini-Week combines opportunities to learn with fellowship, spiritual exploration and delicious food as we invite all women to participate as much or as little as they would like and need. Mini-Week is held at a beautiful lakeside camp in northern Wisconsin. Many members of St. Dunstan’s have attended, planned, and led, over the years. Visit womensminiweek.org to learn more and make Mini-Week part of your summer plans.

Big Questions, Sermons

Sermon, June 16

We boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.

The apostle Paul wrote the letter to the Romans in around the year 55, give or take – twenty years or so after the death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God. This letter is unlike Paul’s other letters in that Paul was a stranger to the Christian communities in Rome. He was writing to introduce himself and his understanding of the Gospel to churches that needed some guidance and encouragement. Around 50 or 51, just a few years earlier, the emperor Claudius had expelled all Jews from Rome. Some of those Jews were Christians. We know that, because the book of the Acts of the Apostles talks about some of them – Aquila and Priscilla, whom Paul met in Corinth, where they were making a new home after being forced to leave Rome. 

So Paul is writing to Christian communities confused and in distress, having lost some of their core members – the Jewish Christians who could explain the Scriptures and tradition that framed Jesus’ life and teachings.

Today’s short passage is part of a longer section in which Paul explains how being saved, belonging to God, in a new way that includes Gentiles – non-Jews – on equal terms with Jews. Through human faith and God’s grace, he says, we are all justified before God and can hope boldly. And, he says, our losses and longings aren’t challenges to faith: We boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.

I bet some of you have a love-hate relationship with this passage – whether you’ve heard it many times before or are taking it in right now for the first time. It’s the kind of thing where context REALLY matters. If you’re going through something hard, and somebody outside the situation, says, Hang in there! Your suffering will make you strong and build your character! – well, you might have some uncharitable thoughts towards that person. At the very least, their words would probably not bring comfort.

On the other hand, if somebody who’s really been there and knows what it’s like tells you, Listen, this is terrible, but you can endure it, and there is hope on the other side… that’s easier to hear. And it might even help.

Suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character… 

Character. It’s one of those hard-to-define words, in the way it’s used here. As in, She’s got a lot of character. Or when we tease our kids by telling them that something that annoys them “builds character.” Character, in this sense, means… strength, depth, integrity, uprightness, honor. 

This translation is making a choice. The Greek word here means, Something that’s been tested. That’s really straightforward. If you endure suffering, you become somebody who’s endured suffering. Clear. The King James Bible rendered the Greek word as “experience.” That’s actually a pretty literal translation. 

But somewhere along the line, many different Bible translations started using the word “character.” When a word that basically means “testedness” is brought into English as “character,” we’re changing the text. We are adding the moral weight of our belief that suffering is good for you. 

This is a complicated issue for Christians! The heart of our faith seems to be a story of redemptive suffering. And unpacking that is the work of many sermons, not just one. I’ll say just one thing about it right now: It’s also the heart of our faith that Jesus, who is God, chose to walk with humanity in our fragility. Chose to suffer with us, in order to heal and save us. 

Paul is talking here about the other kind of suffering, the unchosen kind. The kind that comes to you because of who or what you are, or where and when you live. 

And what he’s talking about is the best-case scenario: When suffering is a given, already baked in to your reality, then the best outcome available is that you survive, you endure; and you learn that you can endure; and you find some hope to lead you onward in spite of it all. 

I believe there is truth and grace and encouragement in these words of Paul’s. But it takes a little work to receive it. For one thing, we have to know Paul well enough to know that he’s not giving advice from the sidelines. The apostle Paul has been incarcerated, many times. He has been beaten, many times. He’s writing to communities who are struggling because they have chosen to follow Jesus; and he knows about suffering because you have chosen to follow Jesus. He is walking the talk. Everything he’s telling them, he’s lived.

We also have to know Paul well enough to understand that he is writing to communities. I think about this a lot. American Protestant individualism, our habit of thinking of health, responsibility, success, failure, everything, one human at a time, distorts our understanding of Scripture and faith. Aided and abetted by the English language itself, which doesn’t distinguish between singular and plural second person pronouns. Most of the “you”s in the New Testament are plural: guidance or encouragement or admonishment for a group of people, striving to follow Jesus together. But we are conditioned by our individualistic culture to hear them as singular. As guiding, admonishing, or encouraging me, not us. 

So to find the truth and grace in this passage, I think we have to read it against the grain of 21st century American culture.

Paul’s words here sound a lot like what we might call resilience. If you’re talking about a memory-foam pillow, resilience means that you can press on it and when you take your hand away, it bounces back to its original shape. And we mean something similar when we say it about people: that you can go through something difficult, some pressure or hardship, and bounce back. You may be changed by it, but you’re not broken, crumbled, diminished, destroyed. You’re able to withstand it. What does not kill you makes you stronger, right? Suffering produces endurance, which produces character, which produces hope. There you go. Resilience.

Resilience is a hot topic in a lot of settings these days: psychology and sociology, education research and policy, TED talks and self-help books. And we talk about it mostly as an individual characteristic. As if it’s something a person has – or ought to have. Something inside a person that helps them rise to their challenges, persist, persevere, overcome, succeed. 

Now, I’m not here to knock resilience! Resilience is a powerful and important quality. But it can also be twisted into a weapon against those who are struggling. People who’ve had the deck stacked against them since birth – by things like skin color, neurochemistry, sexual or gender identity, or the zip code in which they were born, which is a powerful predictor of “success” in 21st-century America. Or people who maybe got an OK start but then were hit hard by loss or trauma. 

For someone who’s really in pain or having a hard time, the idea of resilience may feel like yet another burden. “You should just be more resilient. Don’t let it get you down.” Great. Pick me up a pint of resilience next time you’re at the store, would you? It doesn’t work that way. Resilience, conceived of as something individuals have or don’t have, can become a tool for victim-blaming, a way for those on the sidelines to wash their hands of responsibility for the wellbeing of the person in the thick of the struggle. 

I attended an eighth grade promotion ceremony this week. And I noticed that the things the grownups said – the principal’s speech; the declarations that accompanied various awards – were full of talk about individual resilience. Follow your dreams. Don’t let any challenges stand in your way. Demonstrate the American virtues of grit, persistence, success. There was literally an award for showing “character.” 

But a couple of the kids gave speeches, too. And they both said to their class: We needed each other. We needed these relationships, this community. To handle the changes and confusions, the tensions with teachers, the drama with other kids, the core challenge of maturing from child to young adult: We needed each other to get through this. And we need each other for the new challenges ahead. 

The kids are onto something, friends. I read an article a couple of weeks ago that really made me think. It was about how our individualistic concept of resilience can become isolating and toxic. The author, Michael Ungar, a scientist who studies resilience, says that the self-help industry – broadly defined – offers many, many solutions fix your problems. And some of them are helpful to some people, to be clear! But, Ungar writes,  “Make no mistake: [In the self-help approach,] they are always your problems. You alone are responsible for them. It follows that failing to fix your problems will always be your failure, your lack of will, motivation or strength… We take upon ourselves the task of becoming motivated and subject ourselves to the heavy lifting of personal transformation. We mostly fail. We gain back the weight that we lost. Our next relationship is just as bad as the one we left. Our attitudes improve, but the boss is still a jerk…”

Ungar says the issue is that resilience is not a do-it-yourself endeavor. He writes, “The notion that your resilience is your problem alone is ideology, not science…. [We can] say with certainty that resilience depends more on what we receive than what we have within us.”

Another article I spotted recently explains that a massive meta-study of existing data shows that adults with a strong social network have 50% more longevity than those without. Like the kids said in their speeches: We need each other. A fitting theme for Trinity Sunday, when the church calendar invites us to celebrate that we know God as Three in One and One in Three. Relationship is the very nature of God – in whose image we are made.  

I really take all this to heart. Ungar’s article advises people to seek out communities and organizations and systems that will support and care for them. But as a church leader, I came away thinking, How can church become more of a community of resilience for our members? What would it look like to lean into that? To think of resilience as something we give each other? 

That is actually what Paul is talking about, friends. He’s telling the churches of Rome, these groups of believers who meet to sing and pray and share and seek and grieve and hope, he’s telling them that they have the strength to weather hard stuff together. 

I don’t think we’re terrible at that, here – at being that network of care for one another. But I think we could take it on with more intention. We step up with prayers, care, and practical help when a friend within the church or a well-known member gets a new diagnosis or suffers a loss or expands their family. But sometimes it’s hard to sustain that care over time; and sometimes when somebody is new to the community, or at the edges of the community, we don’t show up for them as well. Not from hard-heartedness but just because as humans we are wired to respond to familiarity. But what if we take seriously that church is not a place to make friends to care for each other through life’s ups and downs; but that church is a body that cares for each other through life’s ups and downs, because that’s just what we do for each other here? Friendship is great; I treasure the friendships within this parish. But looking after your friends is what everybody does. Looking after everybody should be what church does. 

A friend told me recently that while her husband was dying, people would often ask her how she was doing. And she would say, “What does not kill me… still beats the crap out of me.” She says people’s faces would fall as they realized she wasn’t going to tell them that she was fine, actually; that she was finding grace in every moment; that this gut-wrenching loss was really quite meaningful. 

We have to ask each other how we’re doing, and really want to know. We have to be ready to hold space for each other. And it’s not just the big losses and longings. My friend Craig has been really working with his church to understand their lives, and he says, Every single member of my congregation is lonely, weary, fearful and distracted. He says, That’s why they’re at church – consciously or not. They’re here because they’re looking for a community to alleviate the loneliness – to come alongside them in weariness – to bring hope and joy into conversation with fearfulness – to find common purpose amid our distractedness. 

What could it look like to be a church fundamentally organized for its members’ collective resilience? I recently heard about a new church plant that was founded in an affluent suburb … in 2008. Just before the market crash. The new congregation was full of people who had fast-paced, lucrative jobs, and were losing them; of people who had bought big, expensive new homes, and were losing those, too. And what that church became, through the insight and compassion of its members and the grace of the Holy Spirit, was a place to grieve together. People who had lost their jobs started meeting weekly to pray the psalms of lament together. When someone lost their home, church members would show up to help them move. A friend visited one Sunday and noticed a woman selling knitted goods at a table during coffee hour. She explained that the proceeds from her sales would go to fulfill her pledge to the parish. 

I want to be honest with you: That church closed. But while it existed, its members helped each other through an incredibly difficult season. Together, they defied the toxicity of shame. They told each other the truth about being broke and being unemployed and having your whole life shatter around you. They sanctified that awful season in their lives by holding it, together, up to God’s light. It takes my breath away. 

What we need, dear ones, for our individual and common wellbeing, are robust networks and infrastructure of support and care, oriented towards human safety and flourishing. I believe the Church – all churches – this church – is called to participate in and advocate for that future. Because collective resilience is at least as important as individual resilience. And so I say to you, friends: 

We boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.

Some links – 

Endurance, hope, and resilience: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-put-down-the-self-help-books-resilience-is-not-a-diy-endeavour/?fbclid=IwAR0S0hJZRnKFE5wt_RwmoTUlR7JXEe-4C0KQ0J1tBCBSo8ri46MPDNlIjwA

Social networks and survival: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/relationships-boost-survival/?redirect=

Article on social networks and longevity: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/relationships-boost-survival/?redirect=1

Announcements

Announcements, June 13

THIS WEEK….

Young Adult Meetup at the Vintage, Sunday, June 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.

Visioning Sunday School, Wednesday, June 19, 2pm: We are considering some changes to our Sunday school curriculum, to engage both kids and teachers more fully in reflecting on Scripture and faith together. If you’d like to help brainstorm, and perhaps get involved on an occasional or regular basis, come to this gathering – or contact Rev. Miranda.

St. Dunstan’s LGBTQIA+ & Allies Campfire, June 21, 6:30pm: As part of our continuing intergenerational exploration, we will be having a potluck s’mores bonfire on June 21, at 6pm, for anyone who feels they are in the LGBTQIAA (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning, intersex, asexual, and/or allies) community.  This is a safe space and time deliberately created to sit around a bonfire, eat soup and s’mores, and visit about your personal experiences within this community, as LGBT+ people, family of LGBT+ people, and friends of LGBT+ people.  All ages are not only welcome, but encouraged.  Feel no pressure to identify with any label at this event, but feel free to talk openly about your experience if you want to.  Dinner provided (soup and rolls), BYFSS (bring your favorite smores supply!). Questions? Talk to Rev. Miranda or Michelle Der Bedrosian.

Clergy Presence during Rev. Miranda’s Travel:  Rev. Miranda will be away from June 22 through 29. Father Tom McAlpine will celebrate and preach on Sunday, June 23. If you need the care or counsel of a priest during Rev. Miranda’s absence, contact Father Tom or Father John Rasmus.

THE WEEKS AHEAD…

Cookie Church Returns! 6 – 7pm, Wednesdays in July: Cookie Church is simple bedtime church. It is child-centered but not just for kids; we find that youth and grownups like it too! 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! Cookie Church is planned for Wednesdays in July. If you’re away for a weekend but still want to come to church, come try it out! 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).

Madison-Area Julian Gathering, Wednesday, July 10, 1:00 – 2:45 PM: During a time of great turmoil in England and Europe, Julian came to believe unshakably that “all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.”  Please join us for contemplative prayer and discussion of Julian’s optimistic theology! For more information, contact Susan Fiore, ObJN.

Creation Care Ideas, Summer 2019: Our open Creation Care meeting in May generated some great ideas. Plans already in the works include a Creation-focused all-ages Vacation Bible School on the evenings of August 4 – 8; and some opportunities to seek God in Nature on summer Sundays. With some ideas, we’re seeking a group of interested folks who can move it forward. Are you interested in contributing to an Idea Fair to share green practices you’ve taken on or things you’ve learned about caring for the world? Do you have a green crafting or “upcycling” project to share? Would you like to help care for the nearby Heim Fox Mound with some seasonal weeding? Is there a “green” product you find really useful that you’d like us to explore bulk buying? If you have thoughts on any of these fronts, sign up at church in the Gathering Area or email our office coordinator Ann at  .

Healing Prayer Ministry: Do you like to pray for others? We are seeking a few people who feel drawn to praying for the healing of another’s body, mind, and spirit, as part of our parish’s monthly Sunday morning healing prayer ministry. We can train and support you! If you’re interested, talk with Rev. Miranda , Deacon Laura or Father John.

It’s Time to Update our Parish Directory! If you are new to St. Dunstan’s and would like your address and contact information to be in our church directory, or if you have a change of address or contact information, please let our Office Coordinator Ann know at 608-238-2781 or office@stdunstans.com. Our church directory is shared with members; it is not posted publicly.

Update on our Church Neighbors Foundry414: For several years we’ve shared space with Foundry414, a friendly and open-minded non-denominational church. Foundry meets in the Parish Center, which will be renovated this summer for use as youth group space (lower level) and meeting and community space (upper level). Starting on June 2, over the summer, Foundry will be meeting in our nave and Meeting Room on Sundays at 4:30pm. Please help leave the church tidy for them, and if you have a reason to stop by on a Sunday evening, be respectful of their space. Thank you!

Practicing Holy Living POSTPONED: Rev. Miranda has discerned that maybe there is enough going on this summer already. We will explore saints who exemplify our practices of holy living in the fall, culminating with the Feast of All Saints on November 3. You are still invited to follow @stdunstansmadcity on Instagram – and to tag us in any church-related photos you may post!

SUMMER OPPORTUNITIES… 

VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL 2019: SAVE THE DATES – AUGUST 4 – 8! Plans are just starting to take shape but we expect to spend a lot of time outdoors, and to invite the adults of St. Dunstan’s to join our kids and youth for shared learning and fun, as we did in 2018. Mark your calendars!

Women’s Mini-Week, August 8 – 11: The mission of Women’s Mini-Week is to provide an annual retreat event for adult women, offering refuge, friendship, relaxation, and fun. Mini-Week combines opportunities to learn with fellowship, spiritual exploration and delicious food as we invite all women to participate as much or as little as they would like and need. Mini-Week is held at a beautiful lakeside camp in northern Wisconsin. Many members of St. Dunstan’s have attended, planned, and led, over the years. Visit womensminiweek.org to learn more and make Mini-Week part of your summer plans.

Church Seasons & Holy Days, Kid-friendly, Sermons, Stories

Homily, June 9

Today is the feast of Pentecost, when we celebrate that the Holy Spirit of God came to the first Christians to comfort and inspire and guide them. 

What is the Holy Spirit? Well, over thousands of years, we have come to know God in different ways. We know God as Creator and Source, Father and Mother of all, the Ancient of Days, Beginning and End, the Silence at the center of things. We know God as Jesus Christ, the Word of God come to earth to dwell among us, Brother, Friend, Teacher, Redeemer and Liberator. And we know God as Holy Spirit, Breath of life, refining Fire, divine Wisdom. We call these the three Persons of the holy and undivided Trinity, the three in one and one in three. 

So the Holy Spirit is one of the ways we know God. We use names for the Spirit like Comforter, Advocate, Dove, Spirit of Truth, Holy Wisdom. We use symbols like wind, water, fire… things that are powerful and important, but that you can’t hold in your hand. 

Did you know you can pray to the different Persons of God? We pray to the Holy Spirit – we call on the Holy Spirit – often in church, when we ask the Spirit to make the water holy for a baptism, or to make the bread and wine into Christ’s Body and Blood for us, at Eucharist. 

But in everyday life, I pray to the Holy Spirit – I call on the Holy Spirit – pretty often too. When I need strength and wisdom for a difficult conversation. When I need my heart to soften towards someone so I can respond to them as Jesus would. When I’m confused or stuck and need insight and direction. When I just need encouragement, in the face of hard stuff. 

We have a big word for asking the Holy Spirit to help us: Invocation. It means to call on something. It’s not like magic in a book; we don’t control the Spirit with our words. But she likes to be invited. We have to make room for her instead of trying to handle it all on our own. We have to open a door inside us, to let her come in and help us. So the Church has always taught God’s people to call on the Spirit… to invoke the Spirit. No magic words, it’s one of the simplest prayers there is: Come, Holy Spirit!

Now we’re going to sing a song that invites the Holy Spirit to come among us as we celebrate today…. 

After the Acts lesson: 

One of my favorite things to do is when I get to spend some time talking about the Bible with kids. I love it; I wish I could do it even more! And I’ve noticed that a question kids often have is: Is this story true? Do you believe this story?

So let’s talk about that for the story of the Tower of Babel. I don’t believe that this happened the way the story says it happened. This is not that kind of story. It’s the kind of story that tells the truth about something big, even though the events of the story might not have happened. 

One thing the story tells the truth about is technology, and the human relationship with technology. Notice that this story is talking about a technological change: People have taken the big step from making bricks out of mud and baking them in the sun, to making bricks out of mud and baking them in a hot oven, which makes them stronger and harder. And it makes new kinds of building possible! (This is a VERY old story, y’all.) 

And the humans in the story think this is their big break.They have it all figured out now; they can be truly great. “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves.” Even though this is a very old story, it sounds familiar. We develop new technologies and we think we can use them to make ourselves great; to come close to God. 

Technology is amazing. Medical and information technology, green technology, and so on, make incredible things possible. But we’re still prone to thinking our technological achievements can make us more than human. And we’re still wrong. That is one truth this story tells. 

Another truth this story tells is about the people who told the story. This is one of the kinds of stories that offers an explanation for why things are the way they are.In this case, the thing it’s explaining is why people speak many different languages (and also have different cultures, ways of dressing, kinds of music and food, and so on). 

The people who first told this story were wondering, Why aren’t we all the same?It must be something God did. God must have given us all these different languages – made it so we can’t understand each other. So in the story, God “confuses” people’s language so they won’t be able to talk to each other: “Therefore the tower was called Babel, because there GOD confused the language of all the earth; and from there GOD scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.”

Do you think the people who first told this story thought it was a good thing, that we have all different languages, or a bad thing? … 

So: This is not a true story about why we speak many languages. It’s more of a wondering story – people trying to explain something that puzzles them. And what it tells us about the people who first told the story is that they didn’t really like having all those different languages. It seemed like a problem, to them. 

We know now that language is one of the things our brains are best at. We are so good at learning language, creating and changing language, using language. It seems to me that the richness of language across humanity, the fact that as a species we are so good at generating and using words, means that this is something God wants for us. That God made us to be a people of many languages.

And the Pentecost story kind of affirms that. In this story, the Holy Spirit acts in a miraculous way to make it so that a whole group of people who speak many different languages, people from FIFTEEN different regions and countries, can all hear the good news of Jesus Christ. 

But pay attention to HOW the miracle happens. The Holy Spirit could have done it any way she wanted. She could have had the apostles preach the Gospel in their own language, and she could have reached into the ears of all those listeners from around the world, and tuned their ears so they miraculously understood the Galilean Aramaic that the apostles were speaking. 

But that’s NOT what she does. Instead, “All of the apostles were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.” The miracle here is that people are suddenly able to talk to someone else in their language – to do in an instant what would otherwise take years to learn. The miracle, the divine gift, here is not that human language is reunited, all that inconvenient diversity brought back to unity. The divine gift is being able to understand each other within that rich diversity.

Our differences can be confusing and difficult and frustrating. We might still sometimes ask the question this story asks:  Why aren’t we all the same? The answer of the Babel story is, Because we’re broken. Because God punished us with human diversity. 

But the answer of the Pentecost story is, Because it’s beautiful.It doesn’t divide us; it gives us scope for a greater, a deeper togetherness, when we learn to listen and understand and share across our differences of language and culture and experience. May the Spirit of God empower us for that work, and help us delight in the wonder of our diversity. Amen. 

Announcements

Announcements, June 6

Summer All-Ages Vacation Bible School Planning Meeting, Thursday, June 6, 6pm: Our evening camp this summer (5:30 – 7:30, August 4 – 8) will focus on finding God in Creation. We have some ideas taking shape, but there’s room for more – ideas and people to help! If you’d like to help plan or help prepare and lead an activity, please join us on Thursday the 6th. Kids & youth welcome too. Pizza will be provided. Talk with Rev. Miranda or Sharon Henes  to learn more, or if you’d like to help out but can’t attend.

Pentecost Sunday Worship, June 9: On this feast day we celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit to the Church, and celebrate the Spirit’s continued action among us. Red is the church’s color for this holy day; consider wearing something red for church. It’s our custom to take photos of the whole congregation after each service that Sunday; we hope you’ll stay a few moments to participate.

Acolyte Refresher Training & Celebration, Sunday, June 9, 11:30AM: All St. Dunstan’s acolytes are invited! We’ll go over what we do in worship, to refresh our memories and give us a chance to ask any questions; then we’ll celebrate a great year with pizza and treats. We’ll wrap up by around 12:30, and rides home can be provided – talk with Rev. Miranda or Sharon Henes if that would be helpful.

Outreach Offering: On Sunday you will see a basket with 23 hearts carried to the altar. Each heart represents $100 sent out into the world to help feed, support, and advocate.  At their May meeting, the Outreach Committee designated $500 from their portion of our parish budget to MOSES to support their criminal justice reform work; $1000 to the CILC immigration law clinic; and $800 to MOM for their fund to help with car repairs for those in need.

More about the organizations funded…

The Community Immigration Law Center, Inc. (CILC) provides a free legal clinic to assist low-income immigrants with their immigration related issues by providing information, support, and referrals to immigration attorneys or accredited representatives.

MOSES stands for Madison Organizing in Strength, Equality, and Solidarity. MOSES is  a non-partisan interfaith organization, affiliated with the larger WISDOM network, that works to promote criminal justice reform with a focus on ending mass incarceration, ending solitary confinement and offering post-release support.

MOM (Middleton Outreach Ministry) maintain an emergency car repair fund because the loss of a functioning car has a devastating effect on a persons ability to continue working and maintain their housing.  MOM’s car repair fund prevents families from facing job loss and eviction due to loss of reliable transportation.

THE WEEKS AHEAD…

Madison-Area Julian Gathering, Wednesday, June 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. Julian’s insights and gentle wisdom are becoming ever more widely known and appreciated. 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.   For additional information, contact Susan Fiore, ObJN.

Young Adult Meetup at the Vintage, Sunday, June 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.

St. Dunstan’s LGBTQIA+ & Allies Campfire, June 21, 6:30pm: As part of our continuing intergenerational exploration, we will be having a potluck s’mores bonfire on June 21, at 6pm, for anyone who feels they are in the LGBTQIAA (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning, intersex, asexual, and/or allies) community.  This is a safe space and time deliberately created to sit around a bonfire, eat soup and s’mores, and visit about your personal experiences within this community, as LGBT+ people, family of LGBT+ people, and friends of LGBT+ people.  All ages are not only welcome, but encouraged.  Feel no pressure to identify with any label at this event, but feel free to talk openly about your experience if you want to.  Dinner provided (soup and rolls), BYFSS (bring your favorite smores supply!). Questions? Talk to Rev. Miranda or Michelle Der Bedrosian.

Summer Flower Sign-Up: From June through August, we invite members to sign up to *bring* flowers, instead of ordering them through our florist as usual. During these months, local flowers are readily available, at the farmer’s market, in your own gardens, or on the church grounds. If you’d like to contribute flowers, simply sign up for your chosen Sunday. You can still make a dedication, and we will include it in the bulletin as usual. You may use your own vase, or one of the vases here at church. Please take your flowers home, or give them to a friend, after the 10am service. Questions? Talk with Gail Jordan-Jones or Rev. Miranda.

Do you like to help bring Scripture to life? We often use various techniques to make our Sunday scriptures more understandable and engaging, ranging from simple costumed drama, to dramatic reading with different voices, to wordless pantomime to accompany spoken text. Would you like to help? Rev. Miranda plans to assemble an email list of people (all ages welcome!) who enjoy helping present Scripture dramatically, to facilitate planning and spread the fun around. Talk with Rev. Miranda to join the list. Thanks!

Practicing Holy Living, Summer 2019: A few years ago, St. Dunstan’s identified seven core practices by which we live out our faith in daily life: Welcoming, Abiding, Wondering, Proclaiming, Turning, Reconciling, and Making. (Read more by picking up a leaflet in the Gathering Area!) This summer we’re meeting some saints – those who loved and fought, lived and died for the Lord they loved and knew – who embodied each of these practices. We’ll begin on July 7 with Harriet Tubman, and the practice of Proclaiming. Follow @stdunstansmadcity on Instagram to participate in a word-a-week exploration of our practices!

It’s Time to Update our Parish Directory! If you are new to St. Dunstan’s and would like your address and contact information to be in our church directory, or if you have a change of address or contact information, please let our Office Coordinator Ann know at 608-238-2781 or office@stdunstans.com. Our church directory is shared with members; it is not posted publicly.

Update on our Church Neighbors Foundry414: For several years we’ve shared space with Foundry414, a friendly and open-minded non-denominational church. Foundry meets in the Parish Center, which will be renovated this summer for use as youth group space (lower level) and meeting and community space (upper level). Starting on June 2, over the summer, Foundry will be meeting in our nave and Meeting Room on Sundays at 4:30pm. Please help leave the church tidy for them, and if you have a reason to stop by on a Sunday evening, be respectful of their space. Thank you!

SUMMER OPPORTUNITIES… 

VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL 2019: SAVE THE DATES – AUGUST 4 – 8! Plans are just starting to take shape but we expect to spend a lot of time outdoors, and to invite the adults of St. Dunstan’s to join our kids and youth for shared learning and fun, as we did in 2018. Mark your calendars!

Seeking Sponsors for our Kids & Youth: Your $25 sponsorship helps one of the children or youth of St. Dunstan’s attend Camp Webb or our summer youth mission trip. Each shareholder will receive a postcard from one of our kids or youth, during their time at camp or on the youth mission trip. We also plan a late summer social event for kids and sponsors, when kids can share about their trips.  You can contribute with a check in the offering plate with “Camp Sponsorship” on the memo line, or online at donate.stdunstans.com .

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!

Women’s Mini-Week, August 8 – 11: The mission of Women’s Mini-Week is to provide an annual retreat event for adult women, offering refuge, friendship, relaxation, and fun. Mini-Week combines opportunities to learn with fellowship, spiritual exploration and delicious food as we invite all women to participate as much or as little as they would like and need. Mini-Week is held at a beautiful lakeside camp in northern Wisconsin. Many members of St. Dunstan’s have attended, planned, and led, over the years. Visit womensminiweek.org to learn more and make Mini-Week part of your summer plans.