September 29, 2011
Service Times: 8 am Highlands Chapel; 10:00 am St. Dunstan's Church
In This Issue
Bring Your Pets This Sunday!Blessing of the Animals is this Sunday, October 2 at both services. Please plan to bring your pets to the chapel service at 8 am or the church service at 10 am to commemorate St. Francis of Assisi.Next Sunday's ReadingsThe readings we will use this coming Sunday are those assigned for the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi. St. Francis was inspired by a vision, a voice calling him to rebuild the church. Popular images of St. Francis emphasize his love of nature and his humility. We will honor and remember him with a blessing of the animals service.Click here to see this coming Sunday’s Readings. Last Sunday's Sermon: The "O" Word
Do you know the “O” word? How about the “L” word? The “O” is obedience. In a gentle and interesting way, Brother John reflects on what it means to be obedient to God. In the Gospel we hear of the two brothers asked to work in the field. One says, “Yes, I’ll go,” but does not actually go. The other says, “N0, I won’t go,” but then does go and work. Which has done the will of the father? Why does this matter? Brother John reflects of the role of love, that’s the “L” word, in our faith and in our obedience. Someone Needs Your Love
Dear Friends, “Heavenly Father, at times this world can become a demanding place, a place where we rush through the day with our eyes focused on our next step. Slow us down Lord, and give us wisdom and peace so that we might look beyond our own needs and see the needs of those around us Today, help us to be generous, compassionate and understanding. Today, let us spread kind words and deeds to all who cross our path. Today, let the love for Christ shine through us, and let us show kindness to all who need the healing touch of our Master’s hand.”
Friends, someone needs your love. Please share it willingly just as God has shared His with you. Youth News
On Sunday, October 2 with the Blessing of the Animals, please bring any canned or dry pet food. The Youth Group will be collecting the items as you come into the service! These items will be donated to the Seattle Humane Society. The Youth Group thanks you for your generosity. Expanding the Tradition
In a few weeks the 10 am service will be starting a new method of singing psalms during worship that allows the whole congregation to easilysing the complete text of the psalm. Many Episcopal churches have been successfully using "Simplified Anglican Chant" for years, and we will begin learning it on Sunday, October 16.
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Where Suffering and Love Meet What stories are most inspiring to us? Which stories give us the greatest hope? We have all had the experience of hearing a story of resurrection, of healing, of an encounter with God, of the dawn of hope when all seemed dark.Stories of resurrection and healing warm our hearts and bring us closer together. And yet, the most inspiring and moving stories of Christian life all have one thing in common: suffering. Each story of a life transformed starts with a description of suffering, loss, injury, illness or disability. Into the darkest, most painful circumstances, God comes with light and love. We don’t like to talk about the darkness. Talk about sin makes us uncomfortable, and we don’t like to share our problems. We would prefer to get past grief, achieve closure, and move on. We learn to hold our grief privately because it makes others so uncomfortable. Similarly, we don’t talk about salvation much. What do we need to be saved from? How can Jesus actually save you or me today? We are much more inclined to put our hope and trust in our investments, our careers, and our retirement savings. That’s just practical. And yet, even with our wealth, our homes, our savings accounts, our health care coverage and jobs, suffering still finds its way into our lives. We still need salvation. Stories of resurrection, redemption and healing all start with suffering, and they end with love. Christian salvation is what happens when suffering meets love. Sitting with a friend in pain. Listening with love to a family member's difficulties. Reaching out a helping hand to those who are hungry. These are moments when meeting suffering with love transforms us all. And we do this here at St. Dunstan's daily. Just look at some of the ministries that have arisen in our congregation:
Salvation is what happens when suffering encounters love. God loves us and uses each of us to love those who need love the most. Our purpose, as people and as a congregation, is to give and receive God’s love. It is in caring for others that we receive care. It is in loving others that we receive love. Yours in Christ, Fr. David Click here to respond to this post at Fr. David’s Blog. Community EngagementGreenwood Food Bank continues to need food donations. The next Work Party to organize the food will be Thursday, October 13 from 6-8 pm. Please plan to attend both of these events as supporters of the Greenwood Food Bank.Tent City Meal Team will meet Tuesday, October 4th at 3 pm in the kitchen. If you are interested in helping out, please come and join us. If you have any remaining produce from your gardens, please bring this by on Tuesday, October 4 and leave it in the kitchen. Upcoming EventsConversation with Scripture: Revelation: Breaking the Codewill continue to meet Wednesday morning October 5 @ 11 am following the service. We will look closely at the text and the context to get past the wild speculations and recover the beautiful, hopeful message of the Revelation to John. "I Will, with God's Help" will continue Wednesday evening, October 5 at 7:30 pm in the Narthex. Everyone is invited to participate, whether you are a long standing member of the Episcopal church, or whether you are new to the faith and mission of St. Dunstan's Church. Let's Keep Our Coffee Perking! The St. Agnes Guild is planning a new way to manage Sunday Coffee Hour beginning October 2, 2011. For over a month, Dixie Buol, Dean Ellis, and Joan Mackie have been making the coffee for Sunday coffee hour and doing the clean up that follows. Additional volunteers are needed to do these tasks each month. In order to run smoothly, 3 volunteers would be needed in each month. We have only one volunteer so far. St. Agnes Guild would like to keep this rotation on a monthly basis throughout the year. Everyone is welcome to bring goodies to share, but the prepping of the coffee and the clean up would be through specific volunteers. Please contact Dixie Buol @206-533-0288 to volunteer with this fellowship ministry. As volunteers are identified, either Dean, Dixie, or Joan will follow up on the specific procedures. Our gratitude and thanks, Lu Gardiner Mark your calendars! St. Agnes Guild presents:
Harvest Dinner- Friday, October 21, 5:30 pm Please see our website sdchp.org under "News and Events" for more information. Vestry CornerOur vestry met after the 10 am service last Sunday, September 25. This was our first meeting since we placed our comment boxes in the Narthex at St. Dunstan's and the chapel. As promised, we unlocked the boxes and read all the notes and letters we have been given. There were a variety of comments, and some were signed and some were not. While we pledge to do our best to respond to every comment made, those who signed their comments will also receive a direct and personal response from a vestry member. Our parish is like a family, and like all families at times there are members who do not always think alike. Thank you to all from whom we have heard. I hope all of you know we do truly want to hear from you, and welcome any suggestions you may have.Liz Hinkofer From the Treasurer A number of parishioners have asked about the final reckoning on the stained glass window project. The total cost of the window (materials, paying the finalists for their designs and paying Joe Hester) came to $8500. We received 25 pledges and memorial donations that raised $8505. The generosity of everyone who donated their time and money means that we will have this beautiful window for years to come at no cost to our overall budget. These memorial donations will be acknowledged in a book that is being put together to commemorate the construction and installation of the window. Thank you to all who were involved in this wonderful project. On a more general budget note, we continue to feel the effects of reduced giving during these difficult economic times. With the exception of pledged giving, nearly all forms of donations continue to be well below budgeted (and historical) levels. As of the end of August, we are down approximately $20,000 from our expected income from plate offerings, unpledged giving, facility use, fundraising and miscellaneous income. While the church has endowments that provide some income and help with some expenses (such as building maintenance and communication/outreach), we don’t have a fund that helps us absorb the impact of such a deep drop in revenue. The Vestry and I are working on solutions to this problem, but I want everyone to be aware that there will likely be difficult decisions made (i.e., cuts) to allow us to remain on budget. I will provide more detailed information before the October 9th post-service Vestry forum so everyone can be well informed for the meeting. While this situation is serious, I also know that we have a strong, vibrant and growing congregation and am confident that we will find the way through these difficult times. Respectfully, Tom Paulson VESTRY RECAP September 25, 2011 JUNIOR WARDEN
SENIOR WARDEN
RECTORS REPORT
NEW BUSINESS
TREASURER’S REPORTTom Paulson presented his synopsis of the financial items.Motion to use the remaining $7,000 from the proceeds of the bond sale was approved for use in General / Operating Fund. |
