Ash Wednesday with St. Dunstan's- February 17, 2021

The News from

St. Dunstan's

February 17, 2021

Ash Wednesday

Ash Wednesday Service Tonight

Please use this link

(Meeting ID: 819 6112 9294)

to join our online

Ash Wednesday Liturgy

this evening at 7:00 p.m.

(The service also will be broadcast on the St. Dunstan's Facebook page.)

The worship bulletin may be accessed here.

National Random Acts of Kindness Day

Jump start your Lent with a random act of kindness! This year, Random Acts of Kindness Day and Ash Wednesday coincide today. Think—not too hard(!)—about something quick and kind you can do for a neighbor, your community, the world, or the Earth. Then, do it!

Share your “act” at Coffee Hour on Sunday, February 21. Or email what you did to Deacon Mary. What did you do? What emotions or hopes for your own or the Church’s ministry did your random act stir in you?

Lenten Food Drive for

Nourishing Bethesda

This Lent, please help feed our neighbors in need by collecting nonperishable food for distribution by the Nourishing Bethesda Family Food Program.

Nourishing Bethesda has distributed food every Friday afternoon since August at the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue Squad on Battery Lane in Bethesda, feeding over 300 families each week. St. John's Episcopal Church, who is taking the lead on this initiative, is seeking partners to augment supplies of shelf-stable food.

A list of needed shelf-stable items, organized by week, may be found at this link. The list represents the key items needed to provide balanced, nourishing food for families. We would be grateful if you could provide these goods in reusable bags and that you not include any glass items.

On Holy Saturday, April 3, from 10 a.m. to noon, please drop off your donations at the West Avenue entrance of St. John’s, where volunteers will be on hand to receive your offerings. You will not need to leave your vehicle. Please be sure to wear a mask.

If you would prefer to offer financial support, click here; there is a drop-down for Nourishing Bethesda - Food Distribution. You also may mail a check payable to St. John’s Norwood (annotated for Nourishing Bethesda) to St. John’s Norwood, 6701 Wisconsin Avenue, Chevy Chase, MD 20815.

For more information, please contact Deacon Mary.

Annual Meeting 2021

Please mark your calendar for the Annual Meeting of the Parish, which will take place via Zoom on Sunday, March 14, immediately following worship.

For those who have never attended an Annual Meeting before, it is an important moment in our congregational life in which we hear brief reports from the Rector and various parish ministries and ratify the parish budget. In addition, we celebrate and give thanks for the many contributions of those members of the Vestry who are completing their terms, and we elect new Vestry members for the upcoming cycle. (This year's Vestry candidates will be announced shortly.)

Please also take a moment to read this one-page "Proposed Modification and Amendment of Bylaws for Consideration at the March 14,2021 Annual Meeting." These changes have been proposed unanimously by the current Vestry and, according to our by-laws, must be made available to the congregation 30 days before the Annual Meeting. If you have questions or concerns about these two proposals, please be in touch with me directly.

I look forward to seeing you on March 14 as we prepare for another year of mission and ministry together! ~ Patty+

COVID Vaccine Updates

Please see this document for a comprehensive, step-by-step guide to the most recent information about registering for - and receiving - the COVID vaccine.

Feel free to reach out to Louise Smoak with any questions or for help navigating the complex vaccine process in Maryland.

For Your Prayers

For healing, strength, and protection:

Joseph Alfonso, Alice and Bill Avery, Nancy Bancroft, Sydney Betz, Anne Bryant, Phil Carroll, Suzie Coughlan, Bill Darnell, Mike Donnelly, Kenny Farnsworth, Maddie Fennell,

Chip Gallagher, Warren Green, Isabel Krum, Victoria Lodewick, Alex McMillan, Susanna Metz, Joyce Nugent, Pam Plaisance, Allison Roberts, Curt Shively, Allison Spaulding, Lina Verville, Don Wasseman, Charlie Wooters, the Rev. Eugene Wright, and Katherine

All those impacted in body, mind, or spirit by COVID-19, as well as for those working to develop, approve, and distribute vaccines

The Vivanco Family (missionaries in Quito, Ecuador)

May he rest in peace and rise in glory:

Arne Sorenson

The Week Ahead

Mornings, M-F: Intercessory Prayer (by phone)

Each morning at 10 a.m. the Rectors of St. Dunstan's and our sister parish, the Church of the Redeemer, offer Prayers for the Morning by telephone. All you need to do is call our dedicated "prayer hotline" (508.924.1769) and either Patty Alexander or Cricket Park will be on to pray with and for you.

Evenings, M-F: Nightly Compline (by Zoom)

Join your sisters and brothers from St. Dunstan's and Redeemer at 8 p.m. every evening, M-F, for Compline, the "good night prayer" of the Church. To participate in the Zoom, please use this link; Meeting ID: 754 5686 5769

+++

Beginning Soon: Bible Study

Our weekly Bible Study continues at 10:30 a.m. today. Click on this link to join the class (Meeting ID: 326 468 549). We continue our discussion of St. Paul's Letter to the Romans; today we will begin at Chapter 1, verse 18.

This Evening: Ash Wednesday Service of Spiritual Communion (via Zoom)

Please use this link (Meeting ID: 819 6112 9294) to join the service at 7:00 p.m.

Friday Afternoon: Friday Fellowship

Join your St. Dunstan's friends for an hour or so of connection and conversation! Use this Zoom link on Friday, February 19, at 5 p.m. (Meeting ID: 842 3801 8662)

Sunday Afternoon: Youth Confirmation Class Begins (via Zoom)

If you have a youth in your life who is interested in making a mature public affirmation of his or her faith -- or who has questions and would like to explore some answers -- please be in touch with Elise Flick this week to sign up.

St. Dunstan's Episcopal Church | Website

The Trailblazer

Ash Wednesday with St. Dunstan's- February 17, 2021