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Next Sunday’s Readings

In the lessons for this Sunday I get the image of people who are hungry for the presence of God. In Isaiah God is calling the people of Israel with a special purpose, so that all the world may know God. In the reading from John, both John the Baptist and Jesus are talking to their respective disciples or followers. There seems to be a ripeness of the Spirit, ready to break forth and the disciples of these two great men are hungry to know the Spirit’s blessing. Is God really coming? Is God really present? “Come and See,” Jesus says.

Read Next Sunday’s Lessons here.

Last Sunday’s Sermon: You Too Are Beloved

Sometimes we need to tell the people we love that we love them. Saying, “I love you” actually deepens the experience of love. That seems to be part of what is happening when Jesus is baptized. Jesus didn’t need to repent of sins and he was already the Son of God. His baptism doesn’t create that relationship, but seems to reveal the truth of the relationship in a way that allows all of us to experience God’s love. When was the last time you told God, “I love you”?

Listen to Last Sunday's Sermon Here.

Save the Dates

Dear Friends,

St. Dunstan’s Vacation Bible Camp will be held this summer from July 11th - 15th from 9:00 a.m. until 12:00 noon. Please put the date on your calendar and let your friends know. We will offer Bible stories, worship, games, healthy snacks, crafts, and music. This is a wonderful opportunity for our young people, age kindergarten through 5th grade and we look forward to having an exciting and awesome time together. More information will be coming.

I would like to remind everyone that our Annual Meeting will be held on Sunday, January 30th, after the 9:30 service. We have much to celebrate and we have accomplished a great deal this past year. The new year brings many opportunities for us and I look forward to embracing those opportunities with all of you. We will look at the budget for this year, elect four new vestry members, and much more. Please attend the meeting and enjoy the fellowship of our community. We are all a part of St. Dunstan’s and God is truly leading us into our future together.

Once again, I want to thank all of you for your support of St. Dunstan’s Church. Your financial support as well as your gifts of time and talent are very much appreciated. This is an exciting time for all of us as we see new faces in our midst and see new growth both in numbers and in spirit. Thank you to each one of you for all that you do, and all that you are. You are a blessing.

Mary E. Pacher

2011 Altar Flowers

Sponsoring Altar flowers at St. Dunstan’s has changed for 2011. The new flower calendar is posted on the wall next to the entry doors to the sanctuary. The names already on the calendar are for parishioners who have signed up for permanent dates. There are many open dates for anyone interested in providing Sunday flowers.

As many of you know, our florist, Lake City Floral, has gone out of business. Flowers from a florist have gotten very expensive, so the Altar Guild has chosen to buy loose flowers at grocery stores and arrange them in glass vases. The charge for these flowers (at cost) is $40.00-a big saving from formal arrangements at a florist. However, if someone would like flowers from a florist, we can accommodate you. Just contact a florist, make your choice of flowers and we will deliver the liners for the arrangements to your selected vendor.

 You may wish to get flowers from the Pike Place Market (down town), at Costco’s or at the many local Saturday Farmer’s markets. You are most welcome, nay, encouraged to arrange the flowers yourself, if desired.

If you are interested is sponsoring the flowers for an open Sunday, please speak with: Sunny Holt @ 206-417-3062 or Dixie Buol @ 206-533-0288.
 
The Altar Guild also wishes to thank the members of the congregation of our parish for their generous financial support for the Christmas decorations at St. Dunstan’s Church and the Chapel during this year’s holiday season.

Some of you have expressed to Altar Guild members their delight in the festive settings the decorations provided for this important celebration at the beginning of the Christian year. Many exciting events are coming up which will enable us to get together and enjoy the close friendships in this parish. The Altar Guild along with St. Agnes’ Guild anticipates being a part of the exciting new year’s activities.

Thank you again. We value your friendship and support of our work.

St. Mary’s Altar Guild
 

2011 Stewardship and Budget Update

Thanks to everyone who has turned in their pledge card.  Here are updated statistics as of January 13: 

Target pledge goal for 2011 Budget: $228,902 

Total amount pledged to date: 97 pledges totaling $217,135

# New Pledges:  8

# 2010 Pledging Households that have not yet pledged:  7

We're almost there!  In order to cover projected costs, we need to increase our total income (pledged, unpledged, plate, etc.) by 5% or cut our projected expenses. If you can increase your pledge, even by a small amount, it will be most appreciated. If you find you cannot pledge at all in 2011, please let us know--this information is crucial for budget forecasting. On behalf of the Vestry, thanks for your support!

Diana Rall, Stewardship Co-Chairperson

It's Official

I am very happy to be able to report that we finished 2010 with a positive balance in our finances. Your vestry and staff have worked diligently all year to manage the resources of this congregation. Payments on pledges for 2010 have continued to come in and as of Tuesday morning the income for 2010 has officially exceeded our expenses. That is a great accomplishment for all of us as a congregation and a great testament to the work of our vestry and staff.

When we make a budget we are trying to anticipate and plan for the expenses of the year. We make educated predictions based on our priorities and our past experience. The budget then becomes a tool to help us manage our spending to best meet our goals and priorities. We can’t always anticipate all the expenses in a year. Sometimes we are hit with unanticipated problems, like the need to replace a water heater. Other times we find that to meet our goals we need to spend more money than we planned. The budget allows us to make these decisions wisely. 

For the past two years we have been working on three goals. The first is to build a vibrant Sunday School and Youth Program. The second goal is to get to know one another and our neighbors. The third goal is to improve our communications, both internally to members and externally to our neighbors and to people who may be seeking God but are not here yet. 

In the two years we have worked with these goals we have learned that to achieve them we will have to grow as a congregation. Through our signs and banners, our web site and mailings we are attracting and welcoming a growing number of visitors and new members. We have learned that to grow our Sunday School we need to reach out to new families, so our communications become even more important. We have learned that our music is a strength that helps us grow. We greatly value quality music in our worship and many of the new people who have come to worship with us have come because of the quality of our music program. We are continuing to learn new ways to reach out to people who are hungry to know God. 

We are seeing many signs of vitality, yet we have more work to do on all of our goals. God has given us the gifts we need to do the work God has given us to do. Finishing 2010 in the black should give us courage and confidence as we take on the new challenges God will give us in 2011. I give thanks to God for the generosity of the members of this congregation and for the leadership of our vestry and staff. 
 

Your brother in Christ,

The Rev. David Marshall

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Community Engagement