• Fr. David's Message 
• Senior Warden Message
• Vestry Corner
• Music Director Message
• Community Engagement
• Upcoming Events

Next Sunday’s Readings

Jesus heals the man who was born blind and upsets everyone! You might think that a healing as miraculous as this would be a cause for wonder and joy, but not this time. When God’s healing power breaks into our world do we respond with gratitude or suspicion? Like Nicodemus and the Samaritan woman at the well, the blind man goes from recognizing Jesus as a man, to recognizing him as a prophet, to trusting him as savior. There is a lot going on in this story. Check it out and then come Sunday as we engage the story together.

Read Next Sunday’s Lessons here.

Last Sunday’s Sermon:There is Power in the Word

We all hunger and thirst for something spiritual. We want to know, see, and experience, the sacred, holy or spiritual. As followers of Jesus, we have many ways to directly, personally, and powerfully experience the presence, the grace, and the love of God. One of the most powerful portals to God is found in scripture.
In this Sunday’s Gospel reading we hear a Samaritan woman encounters Jesus at the well and recognizes him for who he is. She sees the light of God in him. We can share that experience with her when we approach the scriptures faithfully with a sense of wonder.

I have launched a new web site for my blog, writings and sermons. The link below will take you to this site. You can now subscribe to the St. Dunstan’s weekly Sermon as a Podcast through the iTunes online store. Here is a link to the Podcast:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id424733629

Listen to Last Sunday's Sermon Here.

Can You Hear Me Now?

I recently had a wonderful conversation with one of our newer members in our congregation and I want to share it with you. It went something like this:
Me: “Good morning, how are you doing?”
Parishioner: “I am doing awesome. I finally found my home and it’s at St. Dunstan’s. I am so glad to be here.”
Me: “Well, we are so grateful that you found us and we are glad you decided to stay.”
Parishioner: “This church is the best. I want everyone to hear that. People here care so much about each other and they make me feel so welcome. I’m here to stay.”

This is a wonderful testimony to who we are at St. Dunstan’s. When the Mission Discernment Committee was meeting, that was the one thing that each one of us kept referring back to: our warmth and welcoming community. We know how to take care of each other and how to be there for each other in a time of need. That is such a blessing to so many of us.

Our mission statement is very clear that we seek to be a welcoming community. Each week, a portion of the statement is highlighted and has a question addressed to that section. I ask that you carefully consider what that question is and share your answer with all of us. Please use one of the colored pens that is with the statement on the table in the Narthex, and write down your answer. This is one of the ways that we will all gain an understanding of who we are, and what direction that we want to go in as we face our future together.

Each one of you has many talents and gifts to share and the people who will join us in the future, will also bring their talents and gifts to our community. Let us finds ways that we can glorify God, and work together to build St. Dunstan’s into its full potential. Let us truly live into our mission statement and be a blessing to others. With your help, and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, I have no doubt that we will be doing the work that God is calling us to do.

Thank you, and God bless you,
Mary E. Pacher

Vestry Corner

Vestry Meeting: March 27, 2011
JUNIOR WARDEN
• Fire Department Inspection: Almost everything requested has been completed except for treating the draperies and the red drape behind the altar and on either side. Lyn will look into replacing with draperies that are already fireproofed. If the red drape is taken down it will expose the grass mats behind which will also have to be removed.
• Cherry Trees: The trees have become root bound in the planter boxes. An Arborist suggests we dig up the trees, add 50% more dirt, then replant and reconnect sprinkler system. This is not a urgent issue but should be done within the next 5 years.
• Electrical issues regarding ovens. Vestry voted to have a Licensed Commercial City of Shoreline approved, electrician repair the box for $570.
• Columbarium: Bricks need to be pressure washed, dried and waterproofed.

COMMITTEES:
Communication:
• The teams will on a rotating basis write a paragraph for the weekly highlights.

STEWARDSHIP
• Family Game night May 21
• Legacy Giving: Someone coming from Diocesan House to talk with congregation
• Possible Bronn Journey Concert in the future
• 2012 Stewardship Campaign

PASTORAL CARE:
• Eucharistic Ministry: In process of identifying additional EM
• Eucharistic Visitor Ministry: Continue to send out teams most Sundays. Meet 4th Wednesday of the month at 7:00 p.m. for an hour
• Care Teams under leadership of Karen Tynes and Dennis Beals beginning.

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
• Greenwood Food Bank Friday night dates posted on bulletin board.
• There is a session during the day where the people distribute the food.
• 3 plastic bags of clothing and 1 very nice suit were taken to Matthew House.
• Creating door hangers to pass out with Palm Sunday and Easter services

SENIOR WARDEN
• April meeting moved to April 17th following service.
• St. Dunstan’s has applied for two grants from the Diocese will hear back in November.
• Mutual Ministry review set for May 7th
• Vestry volunteered to take a table at the Canterbury Faire.

RECTORS REPORT
• Appreciates synopsis of how we will communicate with the congregation on what we are doing.
• Have picture taken before leaving meeting today.
• Two of the teams have met. Ask members of the congregation to join the team.
• Enjoyed the Choral Evensong

NEW BUSINESS
• Schedules: Need to have a meeting with all parties involved in fund raising to make sure we don’t over book.
• Policy / procedure for accepting non-financial gifts.

TREASURER’S REPORT
Tom Paulson presented his synopsis of the financial items.
 

Holding Vigil

I invite you to come and hold vigil at St. Dunstan’s Church on Saturday, April 23rd at 7:00 PM. Come and hold vigil with your brothers and sisters in Christ as we await the new life that comes from knowing and loving God. On this night we will gather with Christians all over the world to remember the resurrection that changed the world forever.

In modern life, we don’t talk about holding vigil very often, but I think we really do hold vigils. When someone is undergoing surgery, we pray for the person before hand. We wait with them until the nurses take them to the operating room. We sit and pace and pray in the waiting room as we wait to hear the outcome. That’s a vigil.

When a loved one is dying, we hold vigil. Family gathers to be with that loved one and to support one another. When possible, memories are shared and blessings given. Then we sit, we pray, and we wait. When the end finally comes, we cry, we pray, we hold one another, and again, we sit. Holding vigil together, we experience the change in relationship that death creates. We experience intensified relationships with our friends and family. There is clarity available to us in these moments. We become more keenly aware of the connections of our lives.

At births we also hold a kind of vigil. The father may be in the delivery room with the mother, but the rest of us are waiting, either in a waiting room at the hospital, or at our phones at home, to hear the news. We want to know that the mother and child are well, the gender of the child, how big he or she is and what his or her name will be! While we wait, we tell the stories of other births and other vigils.

A couple of weeks ago we held a candlelight vigil for the victims of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. We each lit a candle and then placed it at the altar. We chanted our despair, our love for God, and our hope. We prayed, speaking our intercessions and then responding to each with the words,
Grant us the strength and hope we need, and in your power renew us.

In each of these vigils we are approaching the holy, the sacred and the divine. We are waiting for something that we know will come, or that we hope will come. We know, or we hope, that God is present and we direct particular prayers to ask for a gracious outcome. We tell stories that help us get through the waiting and that help us prepare for what will come. Most importantly, we are together. We are with family, loved ones, or friends, so that when the change comes, the birth, the completed surgery, or the death, we have people around us to share our experience, whether one of joy, relief, or grief.

As Christians we have rituals for holding different types of vigils. We say particular prayers and read particular passages of scripture. We remind one another that God is present and we are not alone. Our prayer book has special prayers and special services for each of these vigils. Often, at these times of intentional waiting, prayer and communion, we have our most intense and beautiful experiences of God’s presence and love. So it is fitting that the two key worship services of Christian year are vigil services. On Christmas Eve we hold that special service of waiting and rejoicing for the birth of the Christ. On the Eve of Easter we hold the Great Vigil of Easter.

The Great Vigil, or Easter Vigil, returns us to the time immediately after Jesus’ crucifixion as the disciples held vigil for the one they loved so much. The light of the world has been extinguished so this service starts in darkness (we’ll actually have some light this year since Easter is so late) and we kindle the new flame. This is the one service of the year where we actually light a fire! We will kindle the new flame at our outdoor columbarium altar. The Pascal Candle, which represents the presence of Christ, will be lit from the new flame and then we will each light our own candles from that flame and process, singing, to the narthex of the church. There, in the narthex and guild room, by the light of our candles, we will hear the beautiful Exsultet as we call on the light of Christ. After this dramatic beginning we hear the stories of God’s salvation. We hear the creation, Noah’s ark, the parting of the Red Sea, and Ezekiel’s vision of the valley of dry bones.

After dramatic retellings of these great stories we renew our Baptismal Vows, reminding us that we share in both the new life of Christ. The new life of Baptism leads us to the new life of Easter and we free the Alleluias that have been locked away since the beginning of Lent. With alleluias ringing out we will gather at the Lord’s table to share in that most spiritual of meals.

Come and hold vigil at St. Dunstan’s Church on Saturday, April 23rd at 7:00 PM. Come and hold vigil with your brothers and sisters in Christ as we await the new life that comes from knowing and loving God. On this night we will gather with Christians all over the world to remember the resurrection that changed the world forever.

Your brother in Christ,

The Rev. David Marshall

Click here to respond to this posting in my blog.
 

An Easter Message

Does it seem like the Easter displays in stores have been around even longer this year than usual? Yes, they really have been. We usually see bunnies and eggs in stores around Valentine's Day. Easter can't fall any later than April 25, so this year's April 24 Easter is extremely late.

Easter is defined as the Sunday after the first full moon on or following March 21. That's almost, not quite the same as, the first full moon in spring, since the date of the start of spring changes from year to year. To further complicate matters, the Orthodox church uses the Julian calendar, while the western church uses the Gregorian calendar, so Orthodox Easter is usually (not always) a week after our celebration.

The date of Easter was originally related to the date of Passover, since we know Jesus celebrated Passover the day before he was crucified. The rules for determining Passover differed slightly from place to place, so in the fourth century the Christian church defined their own rules for determining the Easter date.

God bless your preparations for the Lord's resurrection this month.

Shalom,
Tim
 

Easter Flower Offerings

Dear Friends,

With Spring being so elusive, it is hard to believe that Easter is just a few weeks away and it is time for the parish to think about decorating St. Dunstan’s Church and the Chapel with flowers for this glorious season.

The Altar Guild is asking for donations to purchase flowers. If you would like to help, please put your contribution in the envelopes provided in the Sunday bulletins. Just note on the envelope or your check “Easter flowers” or “Altar Guild”. If you do not have access to the flower envelopes, just mail a check to St. Dunstan’s Church, PO Box 33029, Shoreline, WA 98133.

Don’t forget to include a dedication with your donation. It can be a memorial or a thanksgiving. We have one man who regularly dedicates his donation as a “thank you” for his family.

The Altar Guild appreciates your support for our projects. We look forward to a blessed Easter in the fellowship of our congregation.

Thank you.
Dixie Buol

Community Engagement
 

Episcopal Relief and Development (ERD) is sending support to the Nippon Sei Ko Kei (NSKK: The Anglican Communion in Japan) to help with its initial emergency relief efforts in response to the 9.0 magnitude earthquake and resulting tsunami that struck Japan on March 11. If you would like to support these efforts, please make a check out to "St. Dunstan's Church" with "Japan" on the memo line, and we will send the contributions on to ERD. Thank you for your support.

Greenwood Food Bank participating in the Feinstein Challenge!  Please plan to join Alan Shawn Feinstein for the 14th consecutive year in giving away $1 million to hunger fighting agencies nationwide. For every dollar or pound of food Volunteers of America can raise through April 30th, the Feinstein Challenge will match it with a dollar. This is an amazing opportunity to double the food and funds coming into the Greenwood Food Bank. Next time you go to the grocery store, please consider picking up some healthy food items for our less fortunate neighbors. Bring your donations and place them in the food box in the narthex. Cash donations are also welcome. Make your checks payable to St. Dunstan's with a notation for the Food Bank- Feinstein Challenge. Thank you for your support!