THIS WEEK…
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.
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!
Birthday and Anniversary blessings and Healing Prayers will be given this Sunday, March 1, as is our custom on the first Sunday of the month.
MOM Special Offering, Sunday, March 1: On Sunday, half the cash in our offering plate and any designated checks will be given to Middleton Outreach Ministry’s food pantry. Thank you for your generous support!
The funeral for Karen Woods will be on Sunday, March 1, at 1:30pm. All those who care for Karen, Katie Ping and Danielle are invited to attend. Members of the parish who would like to contribute to a light reception following the service, or help with set-up or cleanup, should contact Connie Ott.
Buildings & Grounds Shared Work Session, Monday, March 2, 7pm: Come work along on small and medium maintenance, repair and improvement tasks around the church. Right now we are especially seeking people with design and carpentry skills to help plan & install some upgrades for our music loft stairs and railings. All are welcome! Note: there will not be a sit-down meeting at this gathering.
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.
THE WEEKS AHEAD…
The funeral for Sharon Bloodgood will be on Saturday, March 7, at 2pm. All those who care for Sharon and her husband John are invited to attend. Members of the parish who would like to contribute to a light reception following the service, or help with set-up or cleanup, should contact Barbara Karst or Connie Ott.
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.
Madison-Area Julian Gathering, Wednesday, March 11, 1pm: A Julian Gathering is open to everyone and you are welcome at all times. We support each other in the practice of contemplative prayer and contemplative spirituality, and have the quintessentially Anglican writings of St. Julian of Norwich at their core. They are for all who want to deepen their life of faith through the practice of contemplative prayer, for beginners as well as those already practicing. For additional information, contact Susan Fiore, ObJN.
Dinner at Grace Shelter, March 22: Thank you to all of you who donated extra goodies for the Christmas time dinner. We have this dinner in March and again in June to finish out this calendar year. Presently we are serving about 120 men but during the summer it drops to about 80.
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.