Announcements, February 6

THIS WEEK…

Reading Genesis In Babylon, Thursday evening, February 6: 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.

This Thursday, February 6, we are finishing with The Creation Epic (pp 228ff). Next week, the first of two weeks on the Epic of Gilgamesh (pp 39ff).

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.

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 Henes.

Deep Listening Training, 5 – 7PM, Sunday, Feb. 9: This training is for people who wish to learn how to deepen their presence with friends, family, clients, students, etc. The training is experiential, interactive, and practical. It draws on evidence-based approaches (especially Motivational Interviewing) to invite people into new ways of relating to one another. This training is especially good for folx in helping professions (ministry, health care, teaching, social work, advising), folx who offer emotional support to people in their lives, and folx who are drawn to ministry of presence generally. We’ll meet in the Meeting Room at St. Dunstan’s. Free & open to all members & friends of St. Dunstan’s.

Outreach Hearts:  At St. Dunstan’s we use hearts to represent offerings made by our Outreach Committee to organizations helping those in need locally, nationally, and internationally.   Each heart represents 100 dollars.  These hearts are presented at the offering to remind us that our gifts to others are gifts to God.  In January the Outreach Committee made the following Allocations:

$1,500 (15 Hearts) to Middleton Outreach Ministry

$500 (5 Hearts) to Bread For the World, an advocacy network that strives To reduce hunger through grassroots lobbying of Congress.

$500 (5 Hearts) to GSAFE,  an organization that works to create safer schools and communities for LGBTQ youth across Wisconsin

Madison-Area Julian Gathering Wednesday, February 12, 1:00 – 2:45 PM: We welcome everyone who is interested in learning more about contemplative spirituality in the Christian tradition.  We meet the second Wednesday of the month for a period of contemplative prayer, after which we discuss a reading from Julian of Norwich, a 14th Century English mystic who has been called “a theologian for our time.”  We would love to have you join us.  If you have questions, contact Susan Fiore, ObJN.

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.

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.

Altar Flowers: February dates available – sign up at church or by email! Honor a loved one or a special event with altar flowers on a special date! At church, sign up on the clipboard under the big calendar in the Gathering Area, and place a check or cash in an envelope labeled “Flowers” in the offering plate. From home, email with your preferred date and dedication, and make your gift online at donate.stdunstans.com. Thank you for beautifying our worship space!

Ash Wednesday services will be at noon, 4pm, and 7pm on Wednesday, February 26. The 4pm service is especially intended for kids and families.

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.

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 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.

IN THE COMMUNITY…

Bridging Faiths for a Stronger Democracy, Thursday, Feb. 13, 6 – 8:30pm, First United Methodist Church (203 Wisconsin Ave).: Come learn about the intersection of faith and social justice, and the do’s and don’ts for tax-exempt faith communities. This event will be held live in Milwaukee and live-streamed to the Madison location, where a local conversation will be faiclitated. Register at: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfqKVeXHI9CFJ8OvGsXnsL1LZRJD-Dn9rw5lwmRdD_BZ7VrRA/viewform