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Christmas Readings and Next Sunday’s Readings

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light…For a child has been born for us, a son given to us. At the darkest time, God sent a Son to show us the light. The story of this light is told in the readings for Christmas. If you are experiencing darkness in your life, God offers you hope. If you are blessed with light, God offers a purpose.

Read Christmas Lessons here.

The 1st Sunday after Christmas Gospel lesson is John’s version of the origins of Christ. “In the beginning there was the Word,…” God’s intention for creation has existed since before creation began. In Christ, that intention is realized for the first time in a human being. Through Christ, God continues to give us the gift of the Spirit. God’s Spirit is becoming flesh, incarnate, through Christ in us.

Read Next Sunday’s Lessons here.

Last Sunday’s Sermon: A New Genesis

God’s ongoing work of creation is revealed in the birth of Jesus. In a helpless human child, God works the greatest revelation of all. Jesus reveals to us the divine spirit of God, and yet he started life as a helpless infant, just like you and I did. That is a source of great hope and a great calling. We are called to grow into the maturity of Christ, even with all our flaws and weakness.

Listen to Last Sunday's Sermon Here.

Our Youth Celebrate Christmas

A special invitation is extended to each and every member of the congregation, along with their families and visitors, to attend the Christmas Pageant at the 4 pm Christmas Eve Service. We invite you to join in our interpretation of "The Jesse Tree", which is the story of the "family tree" of Jesus told through symbolic ornaments and readings. 

There will not be regular Sunday School or Youth Group instructional programs downstairs on December 26th or January 2, 2011. The children and youth of the parish are invited to attend the full service at 9:30 upstairs in the church.

Ann-Patrice Riccardo and Sandy Lamb

Wishing You a Merry Christmas

Dear Friends,

Christmas is this weekend and most of us have been busy preparing for it in many ways. We have been shopping for gifts, decorating our homes, baking wonderful cookies, and sharing good times with friends.

This is also a time of year that is full of anticipation for celebrating the birth of Christ. How blessed we all are. Please take time from your busy schedule and join us for our services here at St. Dunstan’s Church. The children have been rehearsing for the pageant on the 24th, and I know you will enjoy it. This year we are grateful for the choir’s addition to our program. There are additional services as well. We have something for everyone.

For many years, I have been fortunate to celebrate Christmas here at St. Dunstan’s with many of you. Our friendships go way back and I treasure my relationship with each one of you. We have raised our children together in this wonderful church and now watch as our grandchildren are an active part of it. Thank you for your friendship. It means a great deal to me.

To those of you who are new, we welcome you and look forward to getting to know you better, and growing in Christ together with you. We are glad you are here.

Take time this week to relax and reflect on the birth of Christ and what it means to all of us. We thank you God, for your priceless gift and for your love. As the Father loves us, may be love and care for each other.

I wish each and every one of you a blessed and Merry Christmas.

Blessings,

Mary E. Pacher

2011 Stewardship and Budget Update

Thank you to everyone who has submitted a pledge card.  As of December 23, we have:

Target pledge goal for 2011 Budget: $228,902

Total amount pledged: 96 pledges totaling $216,275

Number of New pledges: 8

Number of Pledging Households that have not yet pledged: 10

We expect 2011 to be challenging in terms of finances so it is vitally important that we receive everyone's pledge as soon as possible. In order to cover projected costs, we need to increase our income target by 12% to avoid cutting projected expenses. If you can increase your pledge, even by a small amount, it would be most appreciated. If you find you cannot pledge at all in 2011, please let us know because this information is crucial for our budget forecasting.

Remember, when we work together as a group, we are more powerful spirtually and materially. On behalf of the Vestry, thanks for your support!

Diana Rall, Stewardship Co-Chairperson

Small-Scale Miracles

During the summer of 2002 I worked as a hospital chaplain. My assigned area dealt mostly with people recovering from major surgery, so we didn’t see very many children. In another wing of the hospital was the birthing center. Each day, at some point, we would hear a few lines of a lullaby over the public address system. That was the sign that another baby had been born in our hospital. 

There were times when that lullaby brought a ray of light to a dark day. The birth of a child is such a hopeful event, even when we do not know the child. In the middle of a tough situation, nurses and chaplains and technicians would turn to one another and smile as the notes played out again. Another small-scale miracle had just occurred. 

The wonder of the Christmas story is that one of those small-scale miracles, the humble birth of a baby boy to a young unwed mother, sheltered in a stable and witnessed by shepherds, has the power to change history. That seemingly small-scale miracle turned out to be a huge, large-scale miracle because of what God does through Jesus.

All of us need a small-scale miracle from time to time and some of us need large-scale miracles. The good news of Christmas is that God works in this world through small-scale events, like the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, that ultimately change lives and change history. In the moment of hush before we start singing Silent Night, we are reminded that God is working among us and through us. God is present in our world and in our lives. Christmas reminds us, like the strands of that lullaby playing over the PA system at the hospital, that God’s love and grace break into our world and our lives every day.

I hope we see you at one of our Christmas services this year so we can share in that moment when we know, once again, that God is present. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light! May God’s light shine in your life.

Your brother in Christ,

The Rev. David Marshall

Click here to respond to this posting in my blog.

Christmas Worship Schedule

*All services at St. Dunstan's and the Highlands Chapel are handicap accessible.

Community Engagement

Hold Onto Matthew House Clothing Donations!

Matthew House is currently remodeling and does not have space to accept clothing donations until February 2011. Please do not bring any clothing donations to our collection box until February. Thank you for your continued support of this ministry.

Special Christmas Donations for the Greenwood Food Bank!

Thank you for your continued donations! Let's overflow our wooden box to help those in need have a wonderful holiday season. Bring an item or bag of food with you to any of our Christmas services. For cash donations, please make checks out to "St. Dunstan's Church" with a memo note "Food Bank".

Gal's Needlework Night Out, Tuesday, December 28 7:00 pm in the Narthex

Women of all ages invited. We will be discussing a "Prayer Shawl" project. Let's share our knowledge, show off our talent and encourage and support needlework arts here at St. Dunstan's. Contact Diana Rall @ 206-660-9156 or dtoshiba@comcast.net

Handel's Messiah Sing Along

Look for the next Weekly Message on January 6, 2011.