Saint Dunstans Episcopal Church & School

This week we celebrate the Feast of All Saints'. And we remember not only the saints marked on the church calendar, what's more we remember the saints that have left a mark on us -- those we love yet no longer see. There may even be saints in your life who have shown you the love of God for you and the world who are still alive today. This might be a good time to call them and tell them how much their example has meant to you.

There are so many concerns in our world these days: COVID, social unrest, worries about our election and what may follow. These can so draw our attention away from God that we forget to simply be what we are created to be: human BEings, loved by the one who made us in God's image. And that being made in God's image, we are meant not only to BE loved, but to BE LOVE in the world. Let us enter into worship together giving thanks to God who created us, created the world, created those we struggle with, and loves each of us just broken as we are. And let us pray for our enemies as a way to enter into that waterfall of love that God has for them, just as broken as they are too. May we all be blessed in our worship.

Welcome to the 20th Sunday after Pentecost! If you are a fan of organ music, you will not want to miss this week's postlude: all 8:12 of J.S. Bach's Fugue in E-flat major (BWV 552), the "St. Anne"! And in two weeks we will be celebrating All Saints' Day. You won’t want to miss it!... May we all be blessed in our worship.

This week we hear about the Israelites in the desert. They are anxious. They want certainty. They have the Ten Commandments, but Moses has gone back to the mountain to talk with God and he has been gone for a long time. The Golden Calf is born. We are living in an anxious time right now. And all we can do is wait for the days to pass until life settles down again. We can learn a lot about ourselves from the Israelites. We can be reminded that whatever 'golden calf' might appeal to us in the moment, it is God, the Good Shepherd, who will see us through the valley of the shadow of death"even when we are a "stiff-necked" like the Israelites. May we all be blessed in our worship.

Blessing of the Animals as part of this week’s worship! This week we celebrate The Feast of St. Francis, and like Francis we bless the animals. So grab Fluffy (gently of course, so Fluffy doesn’t grab you back) and join us for worship and a blessing. Download the prayers and liturgy for today at stdcv.org/bulletins... Link below May we all be blessed in our worship, no matter how many legs we have or don’t, no matter the color of our fur or skin, no matter whether we sleep indoors or out. Each of us is made by a loving Creator who knows us each to be pretty special indeed. Amen.

Next week we will be celebrating the Feast of St. Francis complete with a Blessing of the Animals. If you would like to send a picture of your fluffy, furry, scaly, slimy, or even stuffed friends to be included in our worship video, you can send them here or to [email protected] before Monday, Sept 28.

I was glad when they said to me, Let us go to the house of the Lord! (Psalm 122:1) Well, let’s go!... Bring your joys and sorrows, your thanksgivings and concerns, and join us in the celebration of God's love for us and for all creation with The Holy Eucharist, the Great Thanksgiving.

Clean air, cooler temperatures, food to eat, the love that comes to us through our family, zoom and phone calls with friends, our pets; for what are you thankful? Peace in our country, in our hearts, and end to COVID, food and security for the homeless, comfort for those in pain; for what else do you want to pray to God? Bring all of your prayers and thanksgivings, and join us in the celebration of The Holy Eucharist, the Great Thanksgiving, God's reminder that God is with us always. Always loving us. End of story. . . . or rather, beginning of story.

Did you know that The Holy Eucharist, also called The Mass, is a 2,000+ year old tradition that is basically unchanged from the time of the Apostles? Did you know that the Holy Eucharist is actually the reenactment and retelling of the Last Supper? Did you know that early Christians celebrated The Mass in homes and in secret to avoid persecution?... Although the language and words have changed a bit over two millennium, even hearing readings from the Bible, singing psalms, and telling stories about Jesus are also parts of this ancient tradition, just as we do today. And the clothes worn by the priest yep, they are patterned on the clothes that were worn in Jesus' time. So please join us as we celebrate once again The Holy Eucharist, the Great Thanksgiving; an ancient tradition, essentially unchanged from when it was given to us by Jesus on the night before his arrest, and once again in our homes. May God bless your worship.

Happy Labor Day Weekend! There is so much that we have for which to give thanks this week. And there is still plenty of reason to turn to God. Join us for 45 minutes as we celebrate God’s love for us by loving God back.... Peace be with us all. Stay cool. Stay safe.

We have so much for which to give thanks this week, and still so much need for faith and trust in God. Join us as we do both through readings from scripture, offering our prayers for our community and the world, and in our celebration of the Holy Eucharist, the Great Thanksgiving. God is good. All the time.... All the time. God is good. See more