THIS WEEK…
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.
Last Sunday All-Ages Worship, Sunday, February 23, 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.
Lent Resources: We have two take-home Lent resources available starting this Sunday, for observing this season in your daily life. One resource is the “Breaking the Chains” resource, which invites you to make a paper chain & then break the chains day by day, doing the activities suggested on each paper link as you go. This is a good resource for all ages. The second resource is a booklet called “Practicing Courage with All your Heart, Soul, Strength, and Mind,” a booklet with reflections and invitations to reflect on the themes of fear, trust, and courage in our own lives. This is a good resource for grownups.
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. 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.
“Ashes To Go”: If you are unable to attend one of our Ash Wednesday liturgies but it’s important for you to receive the imposition of ashes on this day, Rev. Miranda will offer Ashes to Go by the main driveway from 8 – 9am and 5 – 6pm.
Ladies Night Out, February 28, 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.
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…
Welcome Adam McCluskey as our Preacher on Sunday, March 1: This year Rev. Miranda is inviting some members of the parish to share the blessing and responsibility of preaching on Sunday mornings, so that we can hear a wider range of voices making sense of Scripture and bringing it into our lives and hearts. Next Sunday, our preacher will be Adam McCluskey. Adam is a 2012 MDiv graduate of the General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church in New York, NY. He joined St. Dunstan’s as a parishioner in 2018 after six years as Christian Education Director at Calvary Episcopal Church in Batavia, IL. Adam is currently a stay-at-home dad and lives on the West Side of Madison with his wife, Philosophy Walker, and their three-year-old son, Wren.
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!
Examen Talk, 9am, Sundays in Lent, starting March 8: The Examen is a simple and profound method of prayerful reflection on our own lives. At 9am on Sundays, March 8 through 29th, we’ll simply do the Examen together, prayerfully and conversationally. What were some good moments and hard moments of the past week, & what might they tell us about ourselves and about what God is doing in our lives?
Spirituality of Parenting Lunch, Sunday, March 8, 11:30am: All who seek meaning in the journey of parenthood (at any age or stage) are welcome to come for food and conversation. Child care and a simple meal provided.
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.
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.
Would you like to pray with and for other St. Dunstan’s folk? Our Prayer Chain is an email list that receives updates about people and situations in need of prayer, in our parish and beyond. To join the list of people who receive these requests and holds them in prayer, email . You can also send prayer requests to the same address.
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.