THIS WEEK…
Grace Shelter: St.Dunstan’s will be serving dinner on December 22nd. The number of men served has increased to around 140 during this time of year. We have 5 cooks for this date, but we could use some dessert. So if you would like to help out, please leave cookies, brownies and etc. on the bench at church the morning of the 22nd. Thank you for your support! For more information, contact Evy Gildrie-Voyles.
The Longest Night: A Liturgy of Light in Darkness, Sunday, December 22, 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.
Indoor Labyrinth, Sunday, Dec. 22: A Labyrinth will be available in the Meeting Room before and after church on Sunday the 22nd. In the evening, the Labyrinth will be lit & available to walk from 5pm till 9pm on Sunday the 22nd, before and after the Longest Night service. All are welcome to use this tool for the practice of meditative/prayerful walking.
A big thank you from the Outreach Committee for the response to “Winter
Wishes” – the holiday program of Middleton Outreach Ministry. We provided gifts for an elderly couple, 2 single moms (one with a blind 4 year old), and an extended blended family. Many of the wishes were necessities. Your generosity has made the holiday season a brighter, less stressful time for these people. Best wishes to you all.
Ladies Night Out, or in reality, Ladies Dinner Out, is held on the fourth Friday of the month. We meet at a restaurant for dinner and conversation. The next gathering is December 27, 6:00 pm, at Nani Restaurant at 518 Grand Canyon Drive. NaniRestaurant.com. Any questions about joining us at the table, please contact Marian Barnes.
THE WEEKS AHEAD…
Epiphany Service of Light, Friday, January10, 7:00pm: Join us as we share the story of the Wise Men who came to honor the infant Jesus, and of how the light of Christ has spread through time and space all the way to here & now! All are welcome.
Call for Annual Reports: Every year in December/January, we invite our ministry leaders to submit a paragraph or two about what their ministry is and what they’ve done in the past year. We then compile those reports into an Annual Report, and share it with the congregation in advance of our parish Annual Meeting (9am on Sunday, January 20). If you have something you’d like to share, as a special moment, thanksgiving, or success to share, whether from a particular ministry of just something from the life of this household of faith, you’re welcome to submit it to . The deadline for all Annual Report materials is Monday, January 14.
Inviting Prayers for Diocesan Search Committee: Back in August, Bishop Miller announced his planned retirement in November 2020. Our Diocesan Standing Committee has now appointed a Search Committee, to begin discerning the needs and gifts of our diocese in preparation for seeking our next bishop. Debra Martinez, of our parish, will serve as one of the members. Please keep the Search Committee in your prayers as they begin their important and demanding work in the months ahead. If you don’t receive email news from the Diocese of Milwaukee, you can join the mailing list by emailing your request to .
Folks with Sewing & Prototyping Skills Needed! In the new year, we hope to make some kneelers/hassocks, and new cushions for the benches at the front of the church, in the same green wool fabric as our pew cushions. We need one or two folks skilled enough to use an old pillow cover as a template to make a new one (OK to destroy the old one). Rev. Miranda could use a couple of people to help develop kneeler prototypes, so we can move that project forward as well. Talk to Rev. Miranda if you’d like to help out!
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.
Reading Genesis In Babylon, Thursday evenings, starting Jan. 16: Genesis 1-11 is the prelude for the Bible’s story, and in regular dialogue with the stories of Babylon. Abraham is said to have come from that region; Jews spent a generation in exile there. So, after Epiphany youth & adults are invited to a six-week study, reading three Babylonian stories (Atrahasis, Enuma Elish, Gilgamesh) and wondering about how Genesis 1-11 interacts with them. Thursday evenings 7-8:30 at St Dunstan’s, Jan 16 – Feb 20, Fr. Tom facilitating. Texts: Gen 1-11, Myths from Mesopotamia translated by Stephanie Dalley, revised edition (Oxford University Press, 2000) – available cheaply online; we’ll also have several copies available to borrow.
Book Club, Saturday, January 18, 2020 at 10 am: Out selections for January will be: Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know about the People We Don’t Know by Malcolm Gladwell and Confident Pluralism by John D. Inazu. We chose both books as two takes on a common issue. Since it’ll be 2 months before the next meeting due to the holidays, at least some of the group were confident they’d have enough time to read both. The public library does not have these books available, but two copies of each will soon be available in our church library. Talking to Strangers is all about what happens when we encounter people we don’t know, why it often goes awry, and what it says about us. Confident Pluralism addresses the question: With such seemingly irresolvable differences in beliefs, values, and identities across the country, how can the people of this nation ever live in peace together?