THIS WEEK…
Reading Genesis In Babylon, Thursday evening, February 13: 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. The Reading Genesis 1-11 in Babylon series concluded with Gilgamesh on February 13—so no meeting on February 20.
Youth Group this Friday in the Parish Center: Middle High 5:30-7:30, Senior High 7:00-9:30. Pizza and snacks provided! Contact Sharon.
Saturday Book Club, February 15, 2020 at 10 am: Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. Getting a copy of the book – I regret you are on your own. The Public Library has 300 holds on it, and it is not on the Book Club list. Perhaps not surprising, since it has topped the New York Times best-seller list for at least 20 weeks.
Sunday School at St. Dunstan’s: Our Sunday school classes for kids meet during 10am worship on the second and third Sundays of most months (February 9 & 16). We have three Sunday school classes: for kids age 3 through kindergarten, for grades 1 – 3, and grades 4 – 6. Kids are welcome to try it out at any time, and parents may come along too! If you’d like to get involved, contact Sharon.
Tree of Wishes: Back in May of 2012, a group of students whose families were experiencing homelessness wrote some of their wishes on ribbons – revealing that even among their family’s struggles, they have hopes and dreams. The Tree of Wishes is a traveling piece of art to raise awareness of homelessness and its impact on kids and youth. The Tree will be with us in February and March. Take a look and say a prayer for those experiencing homelessness in our community today.
THE WEEKS AHEAD…
Making Music Together at St. Dunstan’s: A Visit with Paul Vasile: Paul is a church musician, composer, and consultant. His expertise includes helping faith communities express their core values and theological commitments through music; expanding ideas and practices of shared music-making; and helping bring people with different backgrounds and expectations together around a common vision for making sacred music together.
Paul will meet with choir members on the evening of Thursday, February 20th; lead an open-to-the-public song and music jam on Friday evening, the 21st; lead a congregational workshop on shared music-making on Saturday the 22nd from 10am to 3pm; and worship with us on Sunday. More information is available on a handout at church.
We look forward from benefiting from Paul’s skills at helping us build musical capacity, confidence, and participation for all!
Safeguarding God’s Children, February 22, 9am-Noon, St. Dunstan’s Parish Center: Safeguarding training is required for anyone on vestry or who works regularly with kids and youth, and recommended for all regular church volunteers. It’s an opportunity to learn about how to help our church be a safe environment for kids and youth. To register for one of the classes visit this website (make sure you register for the Madison location): http://www.diomil.org/safeguarding-gods-children-class-with-trainer/
For more information on Safeguarding classes and the Safe Church Program, please visit the Safe Church page on the diocesan website.
Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper, Tuesday, February 25, 5:00 – 6:30pm: Tasty food and intergenerational fellowship! We’ll gather at 5:00pm 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.
Chris Barnes is organizing helpers for the meal this year. Sign up in the Gathering Area to help with setup, food prep, or cleanup; talk with Chris at church; or email and we’ll put you in touch!
Ash Wednesday services will be at noon, 4pm, and 7pm on Wednesday, February 26. The 4pm service is especially intended for kids and families.
Ladies Night Out, February 28 at 6pm: All ladies from the church are welcome to gather at the Olive Garden, 7017 Mineral Point Rd. Consider joining us for food and conversation.
Stewarding Land for Justice, Creation Care, and Evangelism, Sunday, March 1, 9am: Rev. Miranda and Carrie Tolejano recently participated in the kickoff retreat for the ChurchLands learning cohort, a pilot program to help Episcopal churches reflect on how to use their land. Interested? Come hear some highlights of what we talked about, and how you might be part of the conversation at St. Dunstan’s in the months ahead!
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.
DIOCESAN LIFE…
Camp Webb 2020 (June 21-27) 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 () or our treasure Val McAuliffe () for financial assistance. Camp Webb usually fills up, so register soon! Use this link:
http://www.diomil.org/mission-and-ministry/children-and-youth-ministries/camp-webb/?fbclid=IwAR1ddRDpmAdFIEOhLgkNTLaKuf_RqvllYA86OJk-hLrcAoIXrLgQPQxiFJ8
Diocesan Prayer as we search for the 12th Bishop of the Diocese of Milwaukee: Gracious and loving God in whom we live and move and have our being: we pray for your guidance and wisdom that we may faithfully follow your calling in our lives and as we as the Diocese of Milwaukee discern the calling of our twelfth bishop. We give you thanks for the ministry of Bishop Miller and his family, especially for the health that has been brought to our diocese through his leadership. We pray for those whom you have called to serve on our Standing, Search, and Transition Committees, and for those who will respond to your call to enter into discernment with us to be our next bishop. Give us all listening and prayerful hearts for this most important task. This we ask in the name of the One who said, “Come, follow me.” Amen.