January 19, 2012
Sunday Services:
~8 am Highlands Chapel;10:00 am St. Dunstan's Church~
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In This Issue
Next Sunday's Readings"The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news." These are the first words of Jesus in the Gospel according to Mark. In this reading, in the reading from Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, and in the reading from Jonah there is a strong sense of the immediacy of God. The time is now, not some time in the future or some time after we die. Many scholars prefer to translate this as “reign of God” rather than “kingdom of God” because reign is a verb. Jesus’ statement is not about a place. Rather, Jesus is announcing a new thing that God is doing. That new thing is still new for us, today, as we read about these readings on a computer in a newsletter digitally distributed over the Internet. The time is fulfilled. The time is now. Come on Sunday to hear Brother John preach on these provocative readings.Click here to see this coming Sunday’s Readings. Last Sunday's Sermon: A Post-it Note from GodWe can learn to hear God’s call, and to respond to that call, by following Jesus. Jesus teaches us the ways that God calls by teaching us the ways that God loves and forgives us. Jesus teaches us how to hear and respond to God by showing us, through the example of his life, death, and resurrection, that God is faithful and true. God’s love is constant. God loves us as he loves the Son. Jesus loves us as the Father loves him. Now that I think about it, maybe we really could put God’s message on a post-it note. Maybe the message, at the heart of the Gospel, is simply, “God loves you. Pass it on.” That would be a good thing to be reminded of each morning. That would be a good message to put on a post-it note and place on your bathroom mirror, your refrigerator, and your computer screen. “God loves you. Pass it on.” Click Here to Listen to this sermon.Be Careful, Be SafeDear Friends,As I am writing this week’s article, I am looking out the window of my den at home. The snow is coming down hard, and continuing to add to the four or five inches that is already on the ground. It is beautiful to see, but can also be dangerous. If you have to be out in this weather, please be careful and be safe.  Our Annual Meeting is coming up very soon. I want to encourage everyone to attend and be an active participant in your church. So far we have six candidates for the vestry and I expect we may have more nominated from the floor. Please remember that in order to have your name placed on the ballot, or be nominated from the floor, you must be a current pledging member of St. Dunstan’s Church and an active member as well. If your name is going to be placed on the ballot or you are expecting to be nominated from the floor, please be sure that you fulfill these two requirements. These two requirements also exist for anyone who wishes to vote in the election. Thank you. Our future looks bright in many ways, and I am grateful for that, and for all the hard work that so many of you are involved in through our various ministries. I believe that we will also experience some challenges as we move forward. We are a small congregation and yet we come from many different places and represent many different points of view. We need to remember that we are all here for the same reason: to worship God. Christ teaches us to be loving and forgiving. Sometimes that is hard to do and we have to work at it. God is our unending source of strength, understanding, grace and love. Let’s put our trust in Him, and work together to make St. Dunstan’s the place where all of us want to be to share His love and care for each other. Blessings, Mary E. Pacher
You can now follow my postings on our web site and respond with your thoughts, inspiration and comments. Youth News
Sunday, January 22nd - both the Sunday School and the Youth Group will meet. Sunday School and Youth Group will meet at 10:00, respectively, for a lesson from "Seasons of the Spirit".
From 11:30 until 1:00, the Youth Group will meet for a couple of activities... A snack lunch, making our posters for Children's Hospital, talking about the upcoming HYC date, and participating in a special prayer service utilizing our own St. Dunstan's Labrinth. We will end with our traditional "ritual".
Hope you can all attend and that you are enjoying our "Winter Blast"!
To the Congregation: Be sure and take note of our Epiphany Banner for the Offertory procession that was made by our Sunday School students!
Ann-Patrice and Sandy
SAINTS ARE US Rev. Martin Luther King. Jr. 1929-1968 Civil Rights Leader and Martyr The Church Calendar celebrates the Life and work of Dr. King on April 4th, or January 15th. Our secular calendar celebrates him on the third Monday of January with a national holiday, on either day we remember and celebrate a modern prophet raised up by God to be an instrument of justice and freedom for oppressed people. Martin came from a line of preachers steeped in the Black Church tradition, to his heritage he added an academic preparation earning a Ph.D. in Systematic Theology from Boston University. Beginning in the year 1954-1955 he became a leader of the Montgomery Alabama bus boycott. His leadership of the Black community raised the consciences of Whites, joining in the struggle to end the oppression of Black people in our country. He founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference to spearhead non-violent mass demonstrations against racism. His campaigns were instrumental to the passage of the Civil Rights Acts of 1964, 1965 and 1968. His focus expanded to opposition to the Vietnam War, contending that racism, poverty and militarism were interrelated. Dr. King lived in constant danger, his family and home in constant danger as well. He was jailed 30 times. Late one night in 1957 he received a vicious telephone threat. Alone in his kitchen he wept and prayed. He relates that he heard the Lord speaking to him saying "Martin Luther, stand up for righteousness, stand up for justice, " and promising never to leave him alone - "No, never alone." He refers to his vision as his "Mountain-top Experience". After preaching at Washington Cathedral on March 31, 1968 he went to Memphis in support of the sanitation workers in their struggle for better wages, it was there on April 4th he was martyred by an assassin's bullet. In the Collect for this day the Church prays that we be given the grace to follow the example of the Prophet Martin Luther King, and by his example to work for the liberty of the Gospel of Jesus Christ for all people. Each of us has to ask - "when have I had the courage to speak up for someone else, when have I lived the Gospel principles of love and conviction to protect and care for someone else?" When have you NOT put yourself and your opinions first, but rather realized the importance of Jesus in someone else? The time has come, it is now, review your actions. See you next week -- Br. John, O.C.P. |
What is Being Transformed Here?
Stewardship CampaignThere are no new updates on the stewardship campaign from last week. The vestry is continuing to prepare the 2012 budget based upon the roughly $198,000 in pledges we have received up to this point. Making do with less is a theme that we are all facing during this continued downturn. Let us all be thankful we don't have to budget for snow removal!Respectfully, Tom Paulson Treasurer Community EngagementTent City is in need of warm clothing.Please bring to St. Dunstan’s and mark your donations Attn: St. Agnes Guild/Tent City.Have you seen our Stained Glass Window Project Book? We've made a photo-book documenting the project from beginning to end, and includes memorial dedications. You can see the church copy in the narthex, and you can order your own copy! Please contact Alice Marshall to arrange to order (and even personalize) your own copy. VOLUNTEERS for Sunday School. There will be a note coming out for VOLUNTEERS in the SUNDAY SCHOOL for the months of Jan., Feb and March. It will be sent to our current list of volunteers, but if there is anyone out there that we have not asked, and you are interested in stepping in to volunteer for a couple of Sunday's over these next three months, please let one of us know! THANKS in ADVANCE! Sandy Lamb and Ann-Patrice Riccardo Prayer Shawl Ministry - Knitting & Crocheting Lessons: Calling all knitters and crocheters and those who'd like to learn. Do you desire to help those in need of comfort but don't know how? Here is an opportunity to use your needlework talent to make a prayer shawl for our ministry. Several people have expressed an interest in learning how to knit and crochet to support this ministry. Please contact Diana Rall (206-660-9156, dtoshiba@comcast.net) or Susan Vanek (susanv@aceweb.com)if you'd like to learn or if you'd like to help with lessons. Prayer Shawl Ministry Donations: Thank you to Pam McCoy for donating funds to purchase yarn supplies for this ministry. Pam donated the funds in honor of her husband, Larry. Others interested in donating funds or supplies should contact Diana Rall (206-660-9156, dtoshiba@comcast.net) or Susan Vanek (susanv@aceweb.com). Upcoming EventsThe Annual Meeting will take place on Sunday, January 29th following the worship service. The meeting will be held in the sanctuary. At the annual meeting we will present the financial reports for 2011 and the budget for 2012. We will also vote for four new vestry members. At this time we have six candidates for four positions. These candidates are Bill Frost, Karen Blackwell Tynes, Richard Williams, Antoinette Hill, Mary Sweeney, and Constance Daily . If you are interested in running, please submit your name to the Sr. Warden. Please plan to stay, having a cup of coffee and attend the meeting.Saint Agnes Guild is sponsoring the Shrove Tuesday/Mardi Gras Dinner on Tuesday, February 21, 530pm. There will be a delicious Italian Dinner prepared by the Carosiello family, No-Host Wine Bar, Silent Auction and Musical Entertainment. It will be fun for all ages. Donations are needed for the silent auction. Tickets will go on sale later. If you have any questions contact Lu Gardiner, President of Saint Agnes Guild. Vestry CornerNow that the holidays are over, and the New Year has started, it is time to get back to work, and to be thinking ahead to what we want to accomplish in 2012. We have done a lot of hard work in this past year and have much to be proud of. Now we begin the work of moving forward. The Vestry will meet this week and we will have a budget to present to the congregation at the Annual Meeting on the 29th. It seems our budget next year may force us to make some changes, but our hope, despite tight finances, is to keep all of our programs going and to continue the many outreach programs we have. An even bigger hope is that we will be able to build on the work we have done together in the past year and accomplish even more.There are many opportunities for all of us to participate at St. Dunstans, by participating in our outreach programs, joining the guild, helping out on Sundays, and in caring for our facility. We have our Care Teams and Eucharistic Visitors looking after those of us who are challenged by health problems or other issues. We are still collecting food for the Greenwood Food Bank and cooking for Tent City. Prayer Shawls are still being made and providing comfort. St. Agnes is still putting on their dinners and memorials, as well as maintaining all of their outreach programs. Thank you to all of you for all of these good works. As we move forward into 2012, we know there will be challenges. I hope we can see these challenges as opportunities for us. Change can be difficult, and I know at times does not always seem welcome. I don’t know exactly what is in store for us this year at St. Dunstans. Our 2012 budget process will certainly require us to consider making some changes, and this will not be an easy process. I know that together we can continue the work we are doing, and hope that we can see any changes that we make as opportunities for all of us to grow. Have a wonderful week; I hope you are all staying warm and safe -Liz The Old Cedar Bench In our lovely area by the columbarium, stands the statue of Spokane Garry. Next to that statue is an old cedar bench that is deteriorating. It is quite rotten and no longer safe to sit on. Jon Pacher is working on his Eagle Scout project and will be installing new benches between the columbarium and the labyrinth. These benches will provide a wonderful resting place for all of us. He has also offered to replace the old rotting cedar bench by Spokane Gary, but wants to be very sensitive about the bench. Do any of you know if it is a memorial to someone? If you have information that it is, will you please let Jon or Fr. David know. If it is a memorial, it will be left alone and let nature take its’ course. However, if it is not, a new bench will be installed. |
A while back I attended a presentation about the 
When the Holy Spirit moves a congregation, as we have seen in our own, new ministries and new gifts are found. As exciting as this process is, change is always hard. We have seen our kitchen used in new ways by new people as we feed the people of Tent City 3. To do this we had to find cupboard space for the TC3 supplies and learn to share pots and pans. Sharing a space like the kitchen is hard, but we are finding a way forward. The St. Agnes Guild, which has done more than any other group in the church to maintain and improve our kitchen, is now supporting the TC3 ministry with a monthly cash contribution.
