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

Next Sunday’s Readings

Jesus often used agrarian metaphors, like the vineyard or the shepherd. This coming Sunday we will hear Jesus speak of himself as both the shepherd and as the gate. I once read that shepherds would sleep across the entrance to the sheepfold so that no one or nothing would get past them. If you want into the safety of the fold, Jesus is there to show you the way.

Read Next Sunday’s Lessons here.

Last Sunday’s Sermon:Pilgrims on the Road to Emmaus

This week’s sermon shares a dramatic story of redemption. The family in this story came face to face with the risen Christ, but first they lost all hope. Their story mirrors the story of Cleopas and his companion so perfectly! They suffered great loss, and then, when they had given up, God gave them new hope and new purpose. The Road to Emmaus story, and this modern day version, show us the true and wonderful power of Jesus to save our lives. Jesus gives hope and purpose where there was only death.

You can listen to this sermon or read other sermons at my sermon page:

http://revmarshall.com/sermons/

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

Ah! Such Sweet Success

Dear Friends,

Last Saturday your vestry took part in our annual Mutual Ministry Review. We were led by Deacon Stephen Crippen and we had an awesome day. Part of a MMR is to celebrate our successes in the past year and we at St. Dunstan’s Church, have had many.

Our Evensong, Care Teams, Prayer Shawls, Volunteering at the Food Bank, the Eucharistic Visitors ministry, the Stained Glass window project, our strong new music program, the Easter Vigil service, our balanced budget, the upcoming Vacation Bible Camp, new members that have recently joined us, and the growing congregation at the chapel are just a few of those successes. Add to that the new enthusiasm of our congregation and more people becoming involved with activities, help to round out our many programs. I want to give a special thank you to all of you for your many contributions to these efforts.

As we looked into our future, the vestry thought about our new goals and decided that one of the most important things we have to do is grow the congregation. We will strive to grow it in numbers by offering a welcoming environment where individuals can come together. We will grow in faith by walking in Christ’s love and forgiveness, and through worship and prayer. We will grow our presence in the community by being a service to the community. If this sounds familiar to you, it’s because it reflects our mission statement. We will strive to live into our mission statement this year and we will be blessed with the Holy Spirit and with God’s grace leading us.

What wonderful opportunities await us as we move forward into the future. There will be challenges and there will be rejoicing on our journey. The fellowship that we develop with others will be a blessing to all of us. Let us take each other’s hands, and begin our journey. Let us all be a testimony to God’s love.

Blessings,
Mary E. Pacher

Vestry Corner

Getting the Word Out! 

There are a couple of upcoming events at St. Dunstan's that we need to advertise: The Vestry's Family Game Night & Auction on Saturday, May 21, and Vacation Bible Camp July 11-15. These events are important because we need new families with children if we are to grow and keep St. Dunstan's a viable part of the Shoreline Community. We have ordered printed door hangers to advertise these events and our worship schedule. Would you consider donating an hour of your time one day to distribute some of these door hangers? We have prepared map sections of the area surrounding St. Dunstan's, so you can choose when, where and how long you'd like to work. We want to complete distribution by Wednesday, May 18. The maps and door hangers are available in the office.

This activity embodies our mission statement:
• Sharing the gospel--YES, distributing invitations to our church events using door hangers IS sharing the gospel!

• Witnessing God's grace to others--We're saying to the world that St. Dunstan's is a refuge of grace in a tired, broken world.

• Stepping out in faith and prayer--YES this is the work God wants us to do and the work is a prayer we can offer up to God!

• Sharing what we have at St. Dunstan's is community service!

 If you can help with distributing the door hangers, please contact Diana Rall @206-660-9156 or dtoshiba@comcast.net.

PLEASE KEEP PLEDGE PAYMENTS UP TO DATE!

Thank you very much for supporting St. Dunstan's!  We have so much to offer this tired, broken world, and your contributions to our ministries bless your fellow parishioners and our neighbors here in Shoreline. Pledge payments tend to go down over the summer and this can have a big impact on paying our bills and keeping our ministries going. Please keep your pledge payments current! Thank you!
 

Join our new Gardens and Grounds team! Our Jr. Warden, Lyn Donivan, invites you to join the gardens team he is forming. A couple of times a month this team will meet to work on our various gardens and to do some of the other maintenance, like mowing our lawns. This is a great way to make a difference, have fun and make new or deepen old friendships. If you are interested in participating, please call the church office @206-363-4319.

Christian Pilgrimage Begins With Baptism

You may have noticed something new as you came into church. At the Easter Vigil we placed a font in the entry to our church. This font was used at the vigil for the renewal of baptismal vows. We will use the font again on Pentecost to baptize a new member of God’s family.

Our walk with Christ begins with baptism. As we reach out to welcome new pilgrims to join us in our walk with Christ, the font is an appropriate symbol to have in our entryway. Traditionally, the entryway is the place for a font because we enter into our faith through baptism and we enter into our worship space by walking past the baptismal font. When you visit St. Mark’s Cathedral, the Font is right inside the main doors to the sanctuary.

On Pentecost we will use this font for the first time to baptize baby Iris. The baptism will begin with a procession of the entire congregation to surround the font. Everyone will have a great view of the font and the baptism. The newly baptized child will be surrounded by her new brothers and sisters in Christ, and we will all be able to see the baptism take place.

We will keep the font out, visible, accessible and filled with water from here on out. As you go by, you may want to touch the water or dip your finger in the water and touch it to your forehead as a reminder of your own baptism. Remember your baptism. You have been born anew into Christ’s family. You are an adopted child of God.
 

Your brother in Christ,

The Rev. David Marshall

Click here to respond to this posting in my blog.
 

Community Engagement

A HUGE THANKS to the parish for your support of the "30 Hour Famine".   The Youth Group very much appreciated your support through donations and water contributions!  Sandy and Ann-Patrice

Greenwood Food Bank Volunteer Night is Friday, May 13 from 6-8 pm.  
Please join members of our congregation sorting and stocking food for our neighbors in need. 

From Bishop Rickel

During the 50 days of Easter this year, support our diocesan campaign to support life at St. Vincent’s by helping to raise funds to feed the poor, deaf, physically disabled and blind children in Haiti. All plate collection during the Easter Season will go to St. Vincent’s Center for Handicapped Children School and Medical Facility, which is a part of the Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Haiti, which is the largest diocese in the Episcopal Church.  Presently, an unconscionable moral decision must be made on many days whether to supply food or water. If given food it becomes a question as to how many meals they can afford to provide. Sometimes that is only one meal, sometimes water instead of food.

Sunday, June 12—Pentecost—will be a diocesan-wide in-gathering for this program. On that day, 25 percent of the money collected at the diocesan-wide ingathering will go toward immediate relief for food and water. The remaining 75 percent will go toward an endowment to build future continuous funds for the purpose of feeding and providing water to these children so they can continue to live, grow, be educated and learn to become contributing members of their society at whichever level is appropriate for them individually. The funds we collect will go directly to St. Vincent’s.

The campaign to Support Life at St. Vincent’s is simple. Just 20 cents a day saved by each member of our diocese and each member of their family will result in a $10 donation by each person at the end of the 50 days of Easter. If each person in this diocese participates in this effort, the children of St. Vincent’s will be guaranteed at least two meals a day and be given as much water as they need.

Please join in this diocesan campaign of $10 per person during the 50 days of Easter to ensure the ongoing lives of these beautiful children of God at St. Vincent’s in our sister Diocese of Haiti.