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In This Issue
Next Sunday’s Readings
We will continue to explore Paul’s letter to the Romans this week with the first 11 verses of chapter 8. Paul’s writing is very theological, with less story or narrative than the Gospels or Old Testament lessons typically offer, but there are great treasures to be found if we make the effort. If you enjoyed the sermon where I tried to make a paper airplane with a brick, or last week’s sermon with the temptation of the giant cupcake, you won’t want to miss this one.
Click here to see this coming Sunday’s Readings.
Last Sunday’s Sermon: This Brick Is Your Life
Sometimes we struggle to understand the stories or lessons in scripture. What does that mean? What does this have to do with my life? That is not a problem with today’s reading from Paul’s letter to the Romans. “I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.” Who has not struggled like this?
Read or Listen to this Sermon
You can read daily reflections at my blog:
http://revmarshall.com/blog/
or by subscribing to my PodCast through iTunes. Simply search for “The Rev. David Marshall” in the iTunes store or follow this link:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id424733629
The Frosting on the Cake
Dear Friends,
Last Sunday was a day of energy and excitement at St. Dunstan’s Church. It started out with a terrific sermon by Father David about temptation. Temptation is something we can all relate to and he gave us ideas and comfort as we face our challenges in the future. He also added some humor to the sermon with his cupcake demonstration. Not only did he enjoy the frosting, he even ate the cherry! What fun!
Following the worship service we headed down to our beautiful campus for our annual 4th of July picnic. We enjoyed good food, fellowship with each other, welcomed newcomers to the event, and watched the children ( and some adults ) enjoy the games that were played. Thanks to all of you who brought your favorite side dish and to those of you who worked hard and created this day of festivities.
As I watched fellow parishioners laugh and enjoy themselves, I thought about the many gifts that God has given to us. One of the major topics of conversation was our new mission work of preparing meals for Tent City 3. I am pleased that so many of you have volunteered to help on this project. We will be making our first meal delivery next week. To all of you who are helping with this mission work, I say a big “Thank You ! “ You are a blessing to the homeless in our area, and you are a blessing to St. Dunstan’s Church.
God calls on us to follow the teachings of His Son, Jesus Christ. We are glorifying God by our actions as we move forward with the Tent City 3 mission work, and we are living into our new mission statement. We at St. Dunstan’s have much to give and we are actively doing so. We are blessed, and we are blessing others. We are Christians.
May God’s grace rest upon you and His love lift you up.
Blessings,
Mary E. Pacher
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Introducing Brother John Ryan, OCP
 I am very pleased to introduce you to a new member of our congregation, Brother John Ryan, OCP. John is a member of The Community of the Paraclete, an Episcopal monastic order. He has been attending our services for the past month and after a couple of delightful meetings to get to know each other, he has accepted my invitation to join our congregation. John brings 20 years of experience as a hospital chaplain, a lifetime of experience as a monastic, as well as experience preaching, and teaching.
John will be joining our healing prayers team to offer prayers and anointing for healing during the distribution of communion on Sunday mornings at our 10:00 AM service. He has also offered to teach a couple of adult education classes in the fall.
God is at work equipping St. Dunstan's Church to be the heart and hands of Christ for the world.
John’s gifts are a wonderful compliment to our own and I look forward to seeing what new ministries we will discover together.
You will also see a new addition in our narthex. John has given us a wood carved statue of the Angel Gabriel. We placed it on the small cabinet on the south wall of the Narthex for now. It is quite beautiful and should make a great addition to our Christmas decorations!
Be sure to introduce yourself to John and welcome him to St. Dunstan's Church. He is a very friendly person with a great sense of humor. You can read more about him in his own introduction below. He will be attending both the 8:00 AM service and the 10:00 AM service this coming Sunday to introduce himself.
Your brother in Christ,
The Rev. David Marshall
Click here to respond to this posting in my blog.
Who is the New Guy?
Brother John Ryan is a Life Professed Religious in the Order of the Community of the Paraclete, a Christian community of the Episcopal Church. He comes to St. Dunstan's from St. George Parish in Lake City, where he was a member for the past 32 years and served as Pastoral Associate for that congregation. He has been a Religious Brother most of his adult life. From 1961 to 1971, he served as a Roman Franciscan Friar. In 1976, he was received into the Episcopal Church and in 1984 joined the Paracletian Community.
Being Franciscan educated, he holds a degree in Philosophy, including three years of Theological study. His primary expression in ministry is being a Health Care Chaplain of the Episcopal Church. He served 19 years in the Providence and Swedish Healthcare systems. At present, he is the in-house chaplain for Rosehedge AIDS housing in Seattle. He is a certified Body, Mind and Spirit Healing Specialist; a Krieger-Kunz Therapeutic Touch practitioner; and a member of the American Academy of Bereavement.
As a member of St. Dunstan's, his goal is to be a presence of prayer and service to the congregation, supporting the work of the clergy of the parish. He likes to laugh, and enjoys people. He goes by his given name "John" using his title of "Brother" in writing and for formal occasions and introductions. Later in the year he would like to offer an adult education class on "Religious Life in the Episcopal Church" and one in "Prayer Book Spirituality".
He has a home in the Victory Heights area of Lake City.
Please welcome John into our church community!
Community Engagement
Feeding the Hungry at Tent City 3
A group of volunteers at St. Dunstan's is planning to feed the people of Tent City 3, currently located at St. Joseph's on Capitol Hill, a couple of times a month with the support of Josef Hinkofer. Our first meal will be prepared and delivered Tuesday, July 12. Most of the ingredients for these meals will be donated at no cost to us. You can participate in this ministry in several ways:
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Help cook and clean up on Tuesday afternoons
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Help deliver the meal to Tent City 3
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Donate money for perishables, such as fresh meat, vegetables and fruit, to be purchased the day of the meal
Our second organizational meeting will be after the service on Sunday, July 10. If you have already volunteered, or would still like to be involved, please plan to come to this meeting and contact Father David @ 206-363-4319 or Josef Hinkofer @ 206-399-6479 for more information on this exciting new ministry of feeding at St. Dunstan's Church.
Greenwood Food Bank continues to need donations over the summer months, especially for those families with children. Please continue to bring in food, and plan to attend the Volunteer Night to help sort the food at the Food Bank on tomorrow, July 8, from 6-8 pm.
Upcoming Events
Stained Glass Window Memorials
It's not too late to make a memorial contribution to our beautiful stained glass window. Contributions will be accepted through Sunday, July 17th. Please keep in mind that we are blessed to have generous anonymous contributors, who have pledged to fill any gap between memorial contributions and the actual cost of the window.
Checks may be placed in the offering plate or mailed to the office: P. O. Box 33029, Shoreline WA 98133. Please write "window" in the memo line and include your dedication with your check.
Thank you for your support!
The Stained Glass Window Steering Committee
Flower donations are needed for the month of July! Sundays available are July 24 and 31. If you would like to give the flowers either of these Sundays, please sign the Flower Chart outside the sanctuary doors, and you will be contacted by the office or a member of the Altar Guild for your dedication and request.
Vestry Corner
As we enjoy the beautiful summer weather this week and see the sun streaming through our beautiful new stained glass window in the Narthex, it is hard not to appreciate all that goes into maintaining our building. Did you notice that the curtains in teh Narthex were gone and now have been returned? Our curtains have been cleaned and fire-proofed. This was something asked of us by the fire department and the work was funded by St. Agnes Guild. Many thanks for this gift to the congregation!
On Saturday, July 30th, there will be a Work Day for trimming the bushes and growth around the church. Please join the Buildings and Grounds team from the Vestry from 9am-3 pm, with a barbeque lunch break. We will need hedge trimmers, weed wackers, and a chain saw. If you have these tools, please bring them with you.
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