Giving Campaign

St. Dunstan’s Draft Budget for 2024

HIGHLIGHTS:

  • Our draft 2024 Proposed Budget is about $337,000.
  • This is a $8000 increase over our 2023 budget, largely due to increases in staff costs and our diocesan assessment (funds sent on to the Episcopal Diocese of Milwaukee). 
  • Our main source of income is the pledged giving of members and friends of the parish like you, who’ve given 85% of our budgeted income this year.  THANK YOU!
  • To balance our 2024 budget, we will need $286,000 in pledged giving. 
  • You can invest in the ministry and community of St. Dunstan’s by returning your pledge envelope by November 19.  We’re so grateful for you!

Our Draft Budget for 2024… 

On the other side of this page you can see a table summarizing our draft budget for 2024. Our budgeted expenses at this point in the budgeting process are about $337,000. Last year, our budgeted expenses were about $329,000. Here is a brief overview of the changes relative to 2023. 

Increased staff costs

  • Our diocese recommends a cost of living salary increase for continuing staff. 
  • The Music staff compensation increased slightly as part of our search and hiring process in 2023. 
  • We would like to increase the Youth Ministry position from 8 to 10 hours a week (quarter time), to better reflect the work and responsibility involved. 

Diocesan assessment

  • These are funds we send to our regional jurisdiction, the Episcopal Diocese of Milwaukee, to help fund its work and mission. This number comes from the Diocese, and it goes up with our income. 

Cost savings and special gifts 

These increases total around $11,000 – but they are offset by some anticipated savings, as well as special funds for particular ministries. Here are a couple of highlights. 

  • We anticipate savings on energy costs due to our new solar panels. 
  • The Diocese of Milwaukee is giving us $8000 to support our youth minister salary.  With another designated gift, we have over $10,000 committed to help fund this growth area for our parish. 

What about the income side? 

We anticipate about $50,000 from sources outside of members’ pledged giving. In addition to the special gifts mentioned above, here are our major sources of non-pledged income. 

  • We anticipate about $14,000 in financial gifts that aren’t part of someone’s pledge – either in the offering plate, through the website, or for a special occasion like Christmas and Easter offerings.  
  • We hope to bring in about $17,000 from groups using our buildings and rent from the Rectory.
  • We will use about $4000 in proceeds from special funds intended to support our annual expenses. 
  • We expect another $6000 or so in income from assorted sources.  

Our primary source of income, every year – 85% of our budgeted income in 2023 – is the pledged giving of members and friends of the parish. 

What do we need for 2024? … 

To balance our budget, based on the current version, we would need about $286,000 in pledged income. That’s a big step up from this year’s pledged income of $270,000.

We know that the many of the same forces stretching the church’s budget are affecting you, too, like higher utility and grocery prices. Many folks may not be in a position to significantly increase their pledge this year. But smaller increases can add up, and new pledges – in any amount – help us move towards our church’s financial goals. 

We have reason for confidence in this community’s generosity. In recent years, many long-term members who were very generous with their financial support have gone on ahead into God’s presence, with our love and prayers. In just the past three years, such losses have meant almost a 20% decrease in yearly pledged giving to the parish.* 

But new and increased pledges have made up the difference and kept our pledged giving strong.  Your faithfulness each year in making a pledge at the level that is right for your household has made it possible for St. Dunstan’s to sustain our common life and expand our ministries, rather than cutting back. 

When we pledge, we choose to be part of something bigger than ourselves. We choose to play our part, building on the generosity and commitment of those who have gone before, to keep St. Dunstan’s alive and thriving for those who are here today and will be here tomorrow. 

We have done amazing things together, already. Let’s think, and talk, and listen, and pray, and make our pledges – and see what we can do together, for 2024 and beyond. Every pledge, in any amount, is important and appreciated. 

 

* Many of those beloved saints left final gifts to the church, which are very important for our common life as well. Those gifts are a different kind of giving from ongoing pledged giving, and tend to be used in different ways. If you’d like to know more about this, ask Rev. Miranda or our Treasurer, Val McAuliffe. 

Giving Campaign

Giving Campaign witness statement: Carrie

Vestry member Carrie T.  spoke on Sunday about why St. Dunstan’s matters to her. Carrie based her remarks on the first two questions of the Wondering Together  questions we are exploring this season: Why did you come to St. Dunstan’s, and why do you stay?  

I started coming to St. Dunstan’s in late 2018. The first time I came was much earlier than that. It must have been about ten years ago, shortly after the Reverend Miranda Hassett started here. Like many of us here today, I grew up in a different church tradition, a different church culture. To me church has always meant community, and mine was a strong one. And I’d come to believe that my experience was an anomaly, one that could not be duplicated. Going to church anywhere else, when I bothered to go, felt hollow. 

But it was important to me that I give my child an opportunity to develop his faith. So when I moved to the Madison area, it was important to me that I find a church that was universally accepting, one that truly welcomes all comers and recognizes that each and every one of us, regardless of sexual orientation and gender expression, is made in God’s image and is to be celebrated. I knew that such a church, if I was to ever find one again, was where I needed to be and where my child needed to be.

It was easy to see on the website that St. Dunstan’s was indeed such a church. So I came to St. Dunstan’s, with my husband and my then-four year old, and tried to hide in the back row, like I always had when going into any church other than the one in which I was raised.

Let me tell you: that did not work. You can’t hide in the back in st. Dunstan’s. I mean, some of us still try sometimes, but it’s really really hard.

I have come to understand that St Dunstan’s was in the incipient stages of a transformation back in that time. A renaissance, if you will. Like many churches that I had been in, almost everyone in the pews was two decades older than I was, and often older. The only kid my child’s age was Reverend Miranda and Phil’s youngest child.

But the good people of St. Dunstan’s understood that without new members and kids around, it’s difficult to keep a church alive. And so they were making young families a priority, and were excited to see mine there. After church I tried to sneak out like I usually do, but failed miserably. The kind people of St. Dunstan’s wanted to make sure we knew that we were wanted and welcome. I didn’t know what to make of that! I wasn’t ready to belong again, not like that. So to reward their eagerness, I stayed away. For years, actually.

Until it became apparent that there was no way I could be happy, no way I could raise my child with the values that are so important to me in a community of faith, other than the one at St. Dunstan’s. So we returned years later to discover that the Reverend Miranda and the good people of St. Dunstan’s had breathed more life into the church. It was growing. St. Dunstan’s was making it a priority to make children an active part of the community. Miranda had completed a sabbatical to learn more about how to include kids as active participants rather than disruptive afterthoughts, and it was working. 

Keeping this community going during the pandemic, when so many kids were isolated and only connected with others through online video games, was no small feat and worth more than I can possibly say. Without St. Dunstan’s, I sincerely doubt that my kid would be the happy, more or less well-grounded kid that he is today, and I know that to be true for a lot of us.

The St. Dunstan’s youth program is amazing. When my kid is here he knows he is wanted. When I can’t get him here for church services, he is still super connected to the church through the youth program – the incredible educational and fun sleep-away camps, games, campfires, and more, thanks to Sharon Henes, JonMichael Rasmus, and now, Isa, and Anna too. And so, so many others. And he knows that church and his relationship with God and community is not dependent on putting on a show or going through the motions, because it’s what you’re supposed to do, but rather about meaningful participation and belonging. 

So why do I stay? I stay because of Reverend Miranda. I stay because she is so accepting and loving and wise, and because I am so grateful for her educated insights in the stories ofd the Bible, and because of her amazing capacity to work with us, make us all feel loved and accepted, and inspire us to do more. 

I stay because of the volunteerism at St. Dunstan’s, and the youth group, which until this last year was entirely run by volunteers.

The people of St. Dunstan’s, all of you, are amazing. I learn so much from all of you. We step up for each other to the extent that we are able, because we know that if we don’t, things don’t happen. 

Our community does not succeed without our most important resource, and that is ourselves. We are not a church where we can just hide in the back. Not just because we don’t let each other hide but because we know that if we do, we do not succeed. We create climate initiatives and tap trees and install solar panels and create Scripture dramas for our kids and provide music for services when we were without a music minister,  even if that meant dusting off our super rusty piano playing skills or singing a cappella, because that’s what it takes sometimes, and supporting one another in heartache and joy, and everything in between. 

We step up for our community. Through our new partnership with Jewish Social Services, we have collectively spent thousands of dollars and many many hours in grocery stores, with groceries spilling out of the cart, and learning where to buy culturally appropriate food for refugees and asylum seekers, so that they have a stocked pantry when they arrive in Madison. Because if we don’t step up for each other and our community, who will? 

We each go through times when we can’t contribute as much of our time and talent, for all kinds of reasons. I’m going through one of those times right now myself. So sometimes our contributions ebb and flow. But I know that you all have my back because you have told me so.

So why do I stay? I stay because I am needed by all of you and because I need all of you. I stay because my kid needs you; I stay because you need my kid, and other kids who have infused life into our church.

I stay because I cannot just sit in the back and let everyone else step up.

To that end we give our time, our talent, and yes, our financial contributions to the church, indeed, to each other; because if we don’t, we know we don’t work. We can’t sit in the back and expect church to keep happening.

We can’t always give what we want to – what kinds of contributions we give often fluctuate – but we give what we can. 

And so I come to you all today to ask that you continue to do so. To continue to give what you can, with the understanding that what we can do varies for all of us over times as we progress through different parts of our lives; and to ask if it is possible, for you to increase your giving if you are able. Because if we don’t, who will? 

Finances, Giving Campaign, Sermons, Uncategorized

Sermon, October 22

Today is the day we kick off our fall Giving Campaign – the four weeks when we invite members and friends of St. Dunstan’s to make a pledge, a statement of your planned financial support for the church in the coming calendar year. That allows us to form a budget and plan our mission and ministries. 

And the lectionary gives us this passage from the Gospel of Matthew. In the language of the King James Bible, Jesus says famously, “Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s, and unto God that which is God’s.” 

Let’s make sure we understand the story. The Roman Empire is the occupying power in Judea and Jerusalem. They demand high taxes from the populace – after all, the main reason to have an empire is to take wealth from the territories you occupy! 

People have to pay the taxes with Roman coins, bearing the image of the Emperor – just like the dead presidents on our coins. This is a problem for pious Jews because it breaks the Ten Commandments. We heard them couple of weeks ago: You shall not make for yourself any idol. Meaning: Don’t make images of living things – animals or people – and then treat them as gods. Which is exactly what Rome does with the Emperor. 

This question about taxes is intended as a trap for Jesus. If he says yes, pay your taxes, he loses credibility as a prophetic teacher. If he says no, he makes himself even more of a target for the Romans.

But he sidesteps the trap so cleverly here! He says, Hey, looks like there’s a picture of the Emperor on this coin, so it must belong to him. So give the Emperor what is his; and give God what belongs to God. 

And what belongs to God? For the faithful Jews of Jesus’ time, for us today, the answer is: well, everything. 

I do love this story, and the trickster Jesus we see here. 

And I can’t help thinking that the people who designed our lectionary were really pleased with themselves for giving us this story in late October. 

Lots of churches do giving campaigns or pledge drives at this time of year. And the lectionary tees us up for a sermon about how since everything is God’s, you owe back whatever portion of your income or wealth your church leaders may ask of you. 

But obvious as it is, I find I can’t quite preach that sermon. 

For one thing: I just don’t think one persuasive or demanding sermon is going to dramatically change how or how much people give. Either this church has earned your loyalty, your support, your investment, by who we are and what we’re doing together or what we have the capacity to become, or it hasn’t. I can’t say anything in the next five minutes to shift that. 

I think being honest about how we use our shared resources, and what we need to do what we do, can be helpful and impactful. But those kinds of nuts and bolts don’t fit well in a sermon. 

The second reason I have a hard time preaching the give everything to your church sermon that the lectionary seems to be suggesting is that I don’t believe that church is the only way you can give back to God.

I do, actually, believe that we owe God pretty much everything. But there are many ways we can use our resources, time, and skill to honor God and respond to God’s call in our lives. 

There’s lots of good work in the world that doesn’t happen through churches. 

And caring for yourself and your loved ones is also holy work. 

Now, there are ways to use our money that are not offering it back to God. Every Instagram ad or glossy catalogue in your mailbox would like to show you a few. It’s easy to use our resources in ways that are selfish or just pointless. Wrestling with that, finding our enough, can be tough this culture and economy. 

Discerning how to use our time, talent, and treasure in ways that please God, and serve God’s purposes of justice, mercy, peace and flourishing, is ongoing work for all of us. 

Giving to the church isn’t better or holier or more important than anything else. There are certainly many churches where we might have big questions about how they use their resources. 

And yet I am inviting us into generosity, in supporting this church and our shared life here. I do believe we’re doing good work together here that we couldn’t do on our own. And that some of that good work is not unique, but at least distinctive; that God has particular work for St. Dunstan’s, and that we’re striving to do it. 

I believe that St. Dunstan’s is worth our support and our investment, in the many forms that can take. 

I am encouraged and inspired on a daily basis by so many aspects of our life together here, as a church community. 

When I read today’s Epistle, I immediately resonated with Paul’s words of gratitude about this church’s “work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in Christ Jesus.” 

I thought, that sounds like the loving, lively, curious, engaged group of folks that I have the privilege of pastoring!

And then of course I got into the weeds of interpreting the text. “Work of faith and labor of love” – I got curious about work and labor. In English those words can be used the same way in some contexts, but they have some different meanings too. I wondered: What’s the difference in Greek, the language in which this letter was first written?

So I looked it up! Work is ergon, like in the word “ergonomic.” It just means, a thing you do. A deed; a project.

Some of our works of faith this year included our Kindness Fair and Creation Care Fairs; grocery shopping for refugees; putting up signs for Pride Month; helping care for the Native American mounds at Governor Nelson Park; having solar panels installed. 

We’ve done a lot of big stuff this year, in response to the areas where we have felt God’s call together. 

So if that’s work, what is labor? The Greek word is kopos. It seems to imply something more ongoing – and frankly, more demanding – than the word for work.  It suggests struggle and weariness and some amount of inconvenience. 

Paul’s phrase “labor of love” here, then, points to the bigger and deeper work of being people of love. 

The part of it all that’s not just doing but becoming. 

I can see that work of becoming people of love, underlying a lot of the projects I just named, and lots of other things too. 

I can see it in our care for the kids and youth among us – and those not among us. In a recent conversation about why youth group matters, one of the kids said, “Youth group is a space where you can be safe and be yourself, and be as wild as you need to be at the end of the week, or as tired as you need to be at the end of the week, and it doesn’t matter, because you will feel safe and accepted no matter what.” 

What a holy thing to be able to offer. 

I can see our labor of love in our efforts to build connection, listen to one another’s needs and struggles, and hold each other in faithful prayer. 

I see it in the ongoing work of seeking ways to respond together to climate change and climate grief; to loneliness; to those marginalized and targeted by hateful language or laws. 

I can see it in our efforts to care for our elders, and to lay our beloved dead to rest with love and dignity – something we’ve had too much practice with this past year, frankly. 

So I want to join Paul in naming with gratitude what I see in this church: your works of faith and your labor of love.

What about steadfastness of hope in Jesus Christ? 

I know hope can be hard work at times – though it can be easier to hold hope in community than on our own. 

What Paul names here isn’t just abstract or generalized hope. It’s hope in Jesus Christ. Which means: Hope that God is with us, in the struggle, the mess, the pain; and that Love will ultimately win, even if hatred and death seem triumphant for a season. 

Let’s turn here briefly towards poor Moses, still struggling with the burden of leading God’s recalcitrant people through the wilderness. The somewhat formal language of our Bible translation can hide the fact that Moses is complaining bitterly, here. The Message Bible paraphrase has Moses saying, “Look, you tell me, ‘Lead this people,’ but you don’t let me know whom you’re going to send with me. You tell me, ‘I know you well and you are special to me.’ If I am so special to you, let me in on your plans. And remember: this is your people, your responsibility.”

This text follows closely on last week’s story: While Moses was on the holy mountain meeting with God and receiving the Ten Commandments, the people got restless and demanded that Aaron – Moses’ brother and second in command – make them some gods. So Aaron takes all their gold jewelry, makes it into a golden calf, and tells the people, “This is the god who brought you out of Egypt!” And the people have a big party, eating and drinking and who knows what else. 

God is NOT HAPPY with any of this; and neither is Moses. But Moses pleads with God to have mercy on the people – not to abandon them. 

What Moses is really asking in today’s passage is, Are you still with us, God?  In spite of everything?  In spite of the people choosing a cow statue over your power and glory – and otherwise complaining, misbehaving, and acting out in every possible way? 

Moses pleads – and God relents, and commits to traveling on with the people. And then Moses asks for something big: a glimpse of God’s glory. I love the Hebrew word for glory: kavod. It means, most literally, weight. I have felt that holy weight, now and then.

God gives Moses a limited glimpse – of God’s goodness, not God’s glory; and only a look at God’s back, as God passes by, not the full glory of God’s face, the Divine countenance. Old Testament scholar Robert Alter says that while it may seem odd to us, it was natural for these “ancient monotheists” to “imagine [God] in… physical terms”, as having a face, a hand, a back. 

But, Alter says, the text is saying something bigger here:  “The Hebrew writer suggests… that God’s intrinsic nature is inaccessible, and perhaps also intolerable, to the finite mind of [humanity], but that something of [God’s] attributes— [God’s] ‘goodness,’ the directional pitch of [God’s] ethical intentions, the afterglow of the effulgence of [God’s] presence – can be glimpsed by humankind.” [Read that again.]

THIS is what we are about, as people of faith. Seeking glimpses of God’s goodness, God’s intentions for the world, God’s glory. Striving to mirror back that goodness, and share it with others. 

And maybe what Paul calls “steadfastness of hope in Jesus Christ” just means sticking with a community that’s doing that seeking and striving together. 

I have to remind myself every year that the Giving Campaign season is, ultimately, a time of turning towards the Holy to guide us. It’s not about us; and we can’t sustain any of this on our own. 

There’s a quote from Christian ethicist and writer Stanley Hauerwas up next to my desk: “The church is a prophetic community necessary for the world to know that God refuses to abandon us. We are God’s hope for the world; you are a servant of that hope.”

May our work together in these weeks be a sign and an instrument of God’s hope for the world, manifest among and through us. Amen. 

Finances

Financial report, October 2023

Budget Summary, Third Quarter 2023

Income 

On the income side, we are running a little behind on pledge income, but we find we usually catch up towards the end of the year; in addition, some new members and others are giving very regularly and generously. Plate, special occasion and pledged giving, taken together, are almost exactly on budget. 

The biggest challenge on the income side is that rental income from the Rectory has been lower than anticipated, due to a pause between tenants for some needed repairs. New tenants are moving in and we will start to receive rental income again soon. 

We are not yet generating much building use income from the Parish Center. If you know of a group or event that might like to use one of our spaces, please put them in touch! 

Overall, thanks to a special gift, as well as people’s generosity with plate and pledge giving, we are only about $3000 behind budget on the income side. 

Expense

Lay Staff expenses are below budget due to the vacancy in the music staff role over the summer. Outreach will give away their full budget before the end of the year, as usual. 

Our Buildings and Grounds expenses are high due to high utility bills, and snow plowing expenses from last winter/spring. However, our electric bill for September was $53! While we expect bills to go up again as we turn on the heat (which is largely gas-powered), we are still excited to see the impact of our new solar panels in this way. 

Other areas of the budget are pretty close to budget, overall – some a little low, some a little high. Overall, we’re about $7000 over budget on the Expense side at this point in the year, due mostly to utility and snow removal expenses.

Overview

Our budget for 2023 was a deficit budget to begin with. Given our current income and expenses, income is about $17,500 behind expenses right now. We hope we can improve on that in the remaining months of the year, through managing our expenses wherever possible and through the the continued generosity of members and friends. 

What does this mean for St. Dunstan’s? We are not in immediate financial danger. We don’t have any debt, and we do have some funds and assets that help cushion us in a year like this. However, as we explain in our fall Giving Campaign materials, we’re not in a position to cover deficit budgets indefinitely. 

There are lots of signs of vitality and hope in our congregation. Your parish leaders are trying to discern wisely about how we feel called to grow and serve, without making too many decisions on the basis of money. On the other hand, we know there is some big-picture work to do on moving towards greater financial sustainability for our parish. Please pray with us for wisdom, hope, and possibility. 

If you’re interested in joining the Finance Committee, to be part of financial planning and decision-making at St. Dunstan’s, talk with Rev. Miranda or our Treasurer Val McAuliffe.

Worship

Bulletin for October 22

9AM ZOOM ONLINE GATHERING: WE USE SLIDES THAT INCLUDE MOST OF THIS INFORMATION, BUT SOME PREFER TO PRINT IT OUT AND FOLLOW ALONG ON PAPER!

The link for the Zoom gatherings is available in our weekly E-news, in our Facebook group St. Dunstan’s MadCity, or by emailing Rev. Miranda:  .

THREE WAYS TO USE AN ONLINE BULLETIN…1
1. Print it out!

2. Open the bulletin on one device (smartphone or tablet) while joining Zoom worship on another device (tablet or computer).

3. On a computer, open the bulletin in a separate browser window or download and open separately, and view it next to your Zoom window

scripture, Sermons

Homily, Oct. 15

Banquet Parable Parallels

Please click the link above to get the document referenced in the sermon!

  1. Matthew’s parable 
    1. Why read this today? Revised Common Lectionary. 
      1. We get Matthew’s version of this parable, which is also in Luke, and I believe Matthew’s version is pretty distorted – – why it sounds like such a terrible party!  
        1. A wonderful paper I found exploring this parable, by Ernest van Eck at the University of Pretoria: “Almost all scholars agree that the Matthean version of the parable is secondary.” 
  1. Look at page – comparisons. 
    1. Matthew and Luke are two of the four Gospels (explain). 
      1. Mark is the earliest written Gospel. 
      2. Most Biblical scholars agree that Matthew and Luke both draw on Mark, AND seem to have had access to another source that seems to have been a collection of Jesus’ sayings and parables. (Q source)
        1. There are debates about that hypothesis but it’s held up pretty well over time. 
        2. So when we see something in both Mt and Lk, that isn’t in Mark, we might guess that they got it from Q; & then they both maybe put their own spin on it & worked it into the narrative in their own way. 
    2. And then there’s Thomas. 
      1. Gospel of Thomas – discovered in 1945 as part of a cache of ancient documents found in Egypt. 
      2. Dating uncertain; probably sometime in the 2nd century, later than the canonical gospels, but built on/contains some earlier material. 
      3. It is a sayings gospel – no narrative, just teachings. Overlaps by about 2/3 with the things Jesus says in the canonical Gospels. 
        1. Some of the other stuff is … real weird. 
          1. “Blessed is the lion which becomes man when consumed by man; and cursed is the man whom the lion consumes, and the lion becomes man.”
          2. “Whoever has come to understand the world has found (only) a corpse, and whoever has found a corpse is superior to the world.”
          3. Or my favorite – simply: “Become passers-by.”
        2. Thomas likely the work of early Christian sect – a group that had split off from the mainstream church – had this set of their own teachings (“secret” teachings of Jesus), reflecting a more gnostic perspective. 
          1. Gnostic – spell it. Gnostic movements or wings within many religious traditions. 
            1. Characteristics: Emphasis on secret knowledge; intentionally cryptic; usually a strong sense of dualism between body and spirit, this world and another divine world. 
        3. The point here is: Thomas is weird. I think early church leaders were correct in deciding that this gospel did not belong in the Christian scriptures that would be carried forward as our holy text. 
          1. But, when it also has a parallel text to something that’s in our Gospels, it can be interesting and informative to look at it alongside!
  1. So, let’s look. 
    1. We’ve already heard Matthew. Will someone read Luke’s version? Skip the part in italics; it shows us how Luke puts this parable in the context of a dinner party. 
      1. [Have somebody read it]
      2. Now let’s hear Thomas.  [Have somebody read it]
    2. Comparing these texts… 
      1. All the really scary stuff in Matthew – the king sending troops to murder the invited guests and burn their city! The guests who weren’t dressed correctly being thrown into outermost darkness! – that is JUST in Matthew. And there’s strong reason to believe that’s Matthew’s editorial voice. 
      2. As I’ve said before: Matthew lived through the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in the year 70, after the Jewish revolt that started in 66. He makes sense of that trauma by blaming it on the Jews who rejected Jesus as Messiah. 
      3. Sending troops to kill the guests and burn their city is describing what happened to Jerusalem. 
      4. The wedding garment part is just weird. But it’s very clear that this is also Matthew’s addition. 
        1. “Where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” appears SIX TIMES in Matthew; ONCE in Luke; nowhere else in the Bible. 
      5. So: Matthew has stamped this story, as he received it presumably from Q, with his own trauma and rage. Why I’m mad that the RCL gives us his version!
    3. Comparing Luke and Thomas… 
      1. A lot more similar – quite recognizably the same story. 
      2. Luke’s framing of this parable: Jesus is at dinner at the home of a person of status. He criticizes the way people invite “friends and relatives and rich neighbors” who will invite you back in return – so your hospitality only seems like generosity when it’s actually part of a system of honor and reciprocity where you gain status by hosting an event, and will be given favor in return. 
        1. Jesus suggests pointedly that people try having a dinner party for people who can’t invite them to an equally nice party in return. 
      3. Van Eck notes that some scholars say the inviting of the poor, crippled, blind and lame is something Luke has added to the parable, because it’s the kind of thing Luke likes to emphasize. However, says van Eck, you can also flip that: “Because eating with the poor, crippled, blind and lame was so important for Jesus, Luke included it [here].” There are other passages that support that conclusion! 
        1. Luke – third invitation – “roads and lanes” – the host wants to fill their home. 
          1. Social geography of first century Palestine. People in your neighborhood, likely invitees, would share your social status. The farther you go out, the bigger the social drop in who you’re bringing into your home. A big deal, in a very status- and honor-conscious society. 
          2. This third invitation feels very Lukan. Even though I think Luke is right to understand the inclusion of the marginalized as central to Jesus’ message and mission, it also seems very possible to me that Luke added on that final invitation to really drive the point home. 
      4. Thomas – More elaborate and specific excuses, and an explicit anti-business slant. Those making excuses are too busy making money off the backs of their neighbors to come to this party. “Buyers and traders will not enter the places of my father!” 
        1. Thomas is not interested in who *does* end up at the party. That part is totally absent here. 
          1. Lots of stuff in Thomas that does have parallels in the Gospels is shorter, abbreviated. 
          2. But also: In gnostic thinking, defining who’s out  can be as important as defining who’s in. So it tracks that Thomas frames this story as a story about how terrible business people are. 
        2. What Thomas’s text does, though, is possibly add weight to Luke’s version as being more likely closer to the original. A lot more like Luke than Matthew. 
  1. Jesus’ “original” parable? 
    1. Everybody takes whatever Jesus actually said, and tries to make sense of it and re-tell it reflecting their concerns. 
    2. Is it possible to peel away the layers and get to Jesus’ original teaching – and what Jesus meant by it? 
      1. Somebody hosts a party – a banquet. They start by inviting the usual suspects – people with existing connections and relationships, people of comparable social standing. 
      2. But those people don’t want to come. 
        1. Van Eck’s paper: A new idea for me – The excuses are snubs. I always kind of saw that, but had never thought about it. But the universal refusal of the first round of invitees means something. 
          1. The invited guests in the story feel like this party is not the place to be. Van Eck says: “Attendance was socially inappropriate.” Maybe they don’t want to be beholden to that host – to feel like they owe them a favor. Or maybe that host is not generally socially esteemed. 
          2. A surprising and provocative idea for me because this is one of the parables where it seems like the central figure is a stand-in for God.
            1. I can understand feeling cautious about owing God a favor, or getting drawn into God’s social circle! God is weird and unpredictable, keeps strange company, and often makes big demands! And in our time and place, being known to be a friend of God does not generally boost your social status!
      1. The rejection of the first round of invitees ties in with a lot of the passages in the Gospels about people who feel like they don’t need what Jesus is offering. It’s easy for me to see this as part of Jesus’ story. 
      2. But the host really wants to have this party. Everything is ready! The food, the drinks, the music! They need some people to join their celebration. So they send out their slave to invite literally anyone they can find. 
        1. People who are usually not invited to the party, get invited to the party. It becomes a wild chaotic gathering of misfits, outsiders and weirdos. Presumably they eat and drink and dance and have a grand old time. (And let’s be clear, nobody accuses them of wearing the wrong clothes and throws them into outermost darkness.) 
      2. It makes me happy to think about what this means for the guests. Lots of us know what it feels like to not be on the A-list of invitees for something or another. Joyful to think that God’s party isn’t like that. 
    1. Van Eck: Not just what this means for the guests but what it means about the host. 
      1. This host rejects the expectations of their time and their social class, and instead gives to those who cannot give back; breaks down social norms about who does and doesn’t belong, status and class, purity and pollution; and treats everybody as family. (Van Eck, paraphrased) 
      2. The glimpse of God’s way of doing things that we get through this parable, as Jesus likely told it, is a glimpse of a world in which those with social standing and power do not “ostracize or marginalise the so-called unclean or expendable.” 
      3. And, Van Eck points out: “Like the host in the parable, Jesus regularly associated with the so-called ‘impure’ and ate with the so-called ‘sinners’ of his day.” And seemed profoundly unconcerned about how this might affect his own social status – choosing instead to care about those with whom he spent his time, their needs, their hopes, their hearts and souls. 
    2. That’s the core of this parable, which it’s almost impossible to pry out of Matthew’s terrifying anti-party. That’s the message of a Savior I want to follow – and the vision of a holy banquet I’d like to attend. Amen. 

Source:

VAN ECK, Ernest. When patrons are patrons: A social-scientific and realistic reading of the parable of the Feast (Lk 14:16b-23). Herv. teol. stud.,  Pretoria ,  v. 69, n. 1, p. 1-14,  Jan.  2013 .   Available here. Accessed on  10  Oct.  2023.

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Walter Karst funeral liturgy

A Celebration of the Life of Walter Edward Karst

August 24,1934 – September 5, 2023

Saturday, October 14, 2023, St. Dunstan’s Episcopal Church, Madison, Wisconsin

Words of Welcome

Hymn: “Love Divine, all loves excelling”        Hymnal #657

 

Anthems

Spoken by the Celebrant        

I am Resurrection and I am Life, says the Lord.

Whoever has faith in me shall have life,

even though he die.

And everyone who has life,

and has committed himself to me in faith,

shall not die for ever.

As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives

and that at the last he will stand upon the earth.

After my awaking, he will raise me up;

and in my body I shall see God.

I myself shall see, and my eyes behold him

who is my friend and not a stranger.

For none of us has life in himself,

and none becomes his own master when he dies.

For if we have life, we are alive in the Lord,

and if we die, we die in the Lord.

So, then, whether we live or die,

we are the Lord’s possession.

Happy from now on

are those who die in the Lord!

So it is, says the Spirit,

for they rest from their labors.

Prayers for the Departed and Those who Mourn

Celebrant  The Lord be with you.

People  And also with you.  

Celebrant Let us pray. 

O God, whose mercies cannot be numbered: Accept our prayers on behalf of your servant Walter, and grant him an entrance into the land of light and joy, in the fellowship of your saints; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.  Amen.

Most merciful God, whose wisdom is beyond our understanding: Deal graciously with Walter’s family in their grief. Surround them with your love, that they may not be overwhelmed by their loss, but have confidence in your goodness, and strength to meet the days to come; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Please be seated for the reading of Scripture. 

The First Reading: Ecclesiastes 3:1-8      

Reader       A reading from the Book of Ecclesiastes. 

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek, and a time to lose;  a time to keep, and a time to throw away; a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace. Reader The Word of the Lord. 

People Thanks be to God. 

Psalm 121        

Spoken by all 

I lift up my eyes to the hills; *
from where is my help to come?

My help comes from God, *
the maker of heaven and earth.

God will not let your foot be moved; *
the One who watches over you will not fall asleep.

Behold, the One who keeps watch over Israel *
shall neither slumber nor sleep;

The Holy One watches over you *
and is your shade at your right hand,

So that the sun shall not strike you by day, *
nor the moon by night.

The Lord shall preserve you from all evil *
and is the One who shall keep you safe.

The Lord shall watch over your going out and your coming in, *
from this time forth for evermore.

 

The Second Reading: Revelation 21:2-7

Reader  A reading from the Revelation to John the Divine

I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,  See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them as their God; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away. And the one who was seated on the throne said, See, I am making all things new. Also he said, Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true. Then he said to me, It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega,  the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water  as a gift from the spring of the water of life. Those who conquer will inherit these things, and I will be their God and they will be my children.

Reader The Word of the Lord. 

People Thanks be to God. 

 

The Gospel: John 14:1-6

Reader The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, according 

to St. John.

People Glory to you, Lord Christ. 

Jesus said:  “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way to the place where I am going.”  Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.”

Reader The Gospel of the Lord, 

People Praise to you, Lord Christ.  

Sharing of Memories                         

Homily         

The Rev. Miranda Hassett

Song: “Time to say goodbye”

Andrea Bocelli

The Apostles’ Creed

Celebrant In the assurance of eternal life given at Baptism, let  us proclaim our faith and say,

Celebrant and People

I believe in God, the Father almighty,

    creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.

    He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit

        and born of the Virgin Mary.

    He suffered under Pontius Pilate,

        was crucified, died, and was buried.

    He descended to the dead.

    On the third day he rose again.

    He ascended into heaven,

        and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

    He will come again to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,

    the holy catholic Church,

    the communion of saints,

    the forgiveness of sins,

    the resurrection of the body,

    and the life everlasting.  Amen.

 

Prayers for the Departed 

led by the Celebrant

For our brother Walter, let us pray to our Lord Jesus Christ who said, 

“I am Resurrection and I am Life.”

Almighty God, give courage and faith to those who are bereaved, that they may have strength to meet the days ahead in the comfort of a reasonable and holy hope, in the joyful expectation of eternal life with those they love.  Amen.

Help us, we pray, in the midst of things we cannot understand, to believe and trust in the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, and the resurrection to life everlasting.  Amen.

Grant us grace to entrust Walter to your never-failing love; receive him into the arms of your mercy, and remember him according to the favor which you bear for your people.  Amen.

Grant that, increasing in knowledge and love of you, he may go from strength to strength in the life of perfect service in your heavenly kingdom.  Amen.

Grant to us who are still in our pilgrimage, and who walk as yet by faith, that thy Holy Spirit may lead us in holiness and righteousness all our days. Amen.

A silence is kept. 

Father of all, we pray to you for Walter, and for all those whom we love but see no longer. Grant to them eternal rest.  Let light perpetual shine upon them. May his soul and the souls of all the departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

The Peace

Celebrant The peace of the Lord be always with you.

People And also with you. 

Offertory Hymn: “Here I am, Lord”   

 

The Holy Eucharist  

Celebrant    The Lord be with you.

People And also with you.

Celebrant Lift up your hearts.

People We lift them to the Lord.

Celebrant Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

People It is right to give God thanks and praise.

Celebrant

It is right, and a good and joyful thing, always and everywhere to give thanks to you, Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth. Through Jesus Christ our Lord; who rose victorious from the dead, and comforts us with the blessed hope of everlasting life. For to your faithful people, O Lord, life is changed, not ended; and when our mortal body lies in death, there is prepared for us a dwelling place eternal in the heavens. 

Therefore we praise you, joining our voices with Angels and Archangels and with all the company of heaven, who for ever sing this hymn to proclaim the glory of your Name:

Celebrant and People

Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might,

heaven and earth are full of your glory.

   Hosanna in the highest.

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

    Hosanna in the highest.

The people stand or kneel.

Celebrant

Holy and gracious Father: In your infinite love you made us for yourself; and, when we had fallen into sin and become subject to evil and death, you, in your mercy, sent Jesus Christ, your only and eternal Son, to share our human nature, to live and die as one of us, to reconcile us to you, the God and Father of all.

He stretched out his arms upon the cross, and offered himself, in obedience to your will, a perfect sacrifice for the whole world.

On the night he was handed over to suffering and death, our Lord Jesus Christ took bread; and when he had given thanks to you, he broke it, and gave it to his disciples, and said, “Take, eat: This is my Body, which is given for you. Do this for the remembrance of me.”

After supper he took the cup of wine; and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and said, “Drink this, all of you: This is my Blood of the new Covenant, which is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Whenever you drink it, do this for the remembrance of me.”

Therefore we proclaim the mystery of faith:

Celebrant and People

Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.

The Celebrant continues

We celebrate the memorial of our redemption, O Father, in this sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving. Recalling his death, resurrection, and ascension, we offer you these gifts. Sanctify them by your Holy Spirit to be for your people the Body and Blood of your Son, the holy food and drink of new and unending life in him. Sanctify us also that we may faithfully receive this holy Sacrament, and serve you in unity, constancy, and peace; and at the last day bring us with all your saints into the joy of your eternal kingdom. All this we ask through your Son Jesus Christ. By him, and with him, and in him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit all honor and glory is yours, Almighty Father, now and for ever.  AMEN. 

The Lord’s Prayer 

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name, 

thy kingdom come, thy will be done, 

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread

And forgive us our trespasses, 

as we forgive those who trespass against us. 

And lead us not into temptation, 

but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, 

for ever and ever. Amen.

 

The Breaking of the Bread

Celebrant  Alleluia. Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us;

People Therefore let us keep the feast.  Alleluia.

Celebrant   The Gifts of God for the People of God. Take them in remembrance that Christ died for you, and feed on him in your hearts by faith, with thanksgiving. 

All are welcome to receive the bread and wine of this holy meal. 

Communion Music

The Prayer After Communion

Celebrant and People 

Almighty God, we thank you that in your great love you have fed us with the spiritual food and drink of the Body and Blood of your Son Jesus Christ, and have given us a foretaste of your heavenly banquet. Grant that this Sacrament may be to us a comfort in affliction, and a pledge of our inheritance in that kingdom where there is no death, neither sorrow nor crying, but the fullness of joy with all your saints; through Jesus Christ our Savior.  Amen.

The Commendation 

Celebrant Give rest, O Christ, to your servant with your saints,

People        where sorrow and pain are no more, neither sighing, but life everlasting.

Celebrant

You only are immortal, the creator and maker of mankind; and we are mortal, formed of the earth, and to earth shall we return.  For so did you ordain when you created me, saying, “You are dust, and to dust you shall return.” All of us go down to the dust; yet even at the grave we make our song: Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

People Give rest, O Christ, to your servant with your saints, where sorrow and pain are no more, neither sighing, but life everlasting.

The Celebrant says

Into your hands, O merciful Savior, we commend your servant Walter. Acknowledge, we humbly beseech you, a sheep of your own fold, a lamb of your own flock, a sinner of your own redeeming.  Receive him into the arms of your mercy, into the blessed rest of everlasting peace, and into the glorious company of the saints in light.  Amen.

The Dismissal

Celebrant  Let us go forth in the name of Christ.

People Thanks be to God.

Celebrant   Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and giving life to those in the tomb. Alleluia. 

Hymn: “I sing a song of the saints of God”         Hymnal #293

 

The Rev. Miranda Hassett, Celebrant

Steve Johnson, Piano

Worship

Bulletin for October 15

9AM ZOOM ONLINE GATHERING: WE USE SLIDES THAT INCLUDE MOST OF THIS INFORMATION, BUT SOME PREFER TO PRINT IT OUT AND FOLLOW ALONG ON PAPER!

The link for the Zoom gatherings is available in our weekly E-news, in our Facebook group St. Dunstan’s MadCity, or by emailing Rev. Miranda:  .

THREE WAYS TO USE AN ONLINE BULLETIN…1
1. Print it out!

2. Open the bulletin on one device (smartphone or tablet) while joining Zoom worship on another device (tablet or computer).

3. On a computer, open the bulletin in a separate browser window or download and open separately, and view it next to your Zoom window

Worship

Bulletin for October 8

9AM ZOOM ONLINE GATHERING: WE USE SLIDES THAT INCLUDE MOST OF THIS INFORMATION, BUT SOME PREFER TO PRINT IT OUT AND FOLLOW ALONG ON PAPER!

The link for the Zoom gatherings is available in our weekly E-news, in our Facebook group St. Dunstan’s MadCity, or by emailing Rev. Miranda:  .

THREE WAYS TO USE AN ONLINE BULLETIN…1
1. Print it out!

2. Open the bulletin on one device (smartphone or tablet) while joining Zoom worship on another device (tablet or computer).

3. On a computer, open the bulletin in a separate browser window or download and open separately, and view it next to your Zoom window

6205 University Ave., Madison WI

St. Dunstan's Episcopal Church