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Pride goeth before a fall.
That's good solid biblical wisdom. The complete quotation is:
Pride goes before destruction,
and a haughty spirit before a fall.
It is better to be of a lowly spirit among the poor
than to divide the spoil with the proud.
Proverbs 16:18-19
This was written long before Jesus, but Jesus exemplifies this spirit of humility better than anybody.
We don't see much humility in the world today. As we endure the end of the election campaigns, humility is sorely lacking on all sides. We hear lots of promises, brags, and boasts, with easy solutions to complex problems in the world. How refreshing it would be to hear a national leader or candidate say,
"This is a hard problem, not easily solved. It will take time. It will require sacrifice from all of us."
How good it would be if someone were talking about the misery of the poorest people in our rich country, not to mention the world.
As we consider Jesus' parable about the proud Pharisee and the humble tax collector, we can all (I assume) think of times when we ourselves gloated like the Pharisee. We can also remember times when we've been brought low by life, and cried out for mercy from God to save us and lift us up. Usually we live our lives somewhere between these two extremes.
Jesus was critical of this bragging Pharisee because he was so proud. Yet many of the Pharisee's practices were actually very good. He gave away a tenth of his income...surely that is admirable! Think what the church and other charities could do if everybody tithed! This man fasted twice a week, which can be a meaningful spiritual practice. No, it was not his outer behaviors that were wrong; it was his prideful attitude about them...and his need to compare himself with others. What can we learn from the Pharisee as we make our own journey of faith? JBM
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Garden Dedication for Lee Surut ...
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All creation began with a garden - the Garden of Eden - and the image of "garden" runs throughout scripture as a place of nurture, growth, abundant fruitfulness, beauty, and rest. A walk in a lovely garden can restore our souls.
Sunday, October 23
, we dedicate a new garden at St. Dunstan's: The Lee Surut Memorial Garden, in the triangular space by our front walks. Planted and nurtured and watered with care by a number of generous parishioners, this will be a place of beauty and delight for all who pass by - and they are many! An awkward hillside has become a place of beauty.
Join us at the end of the 10:45 a.m. service to remember a wonderful man who gave much to St. Dunstan's over many years, Lee Surut.
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The Soul Sisters will be meeting this
Friday, October 21
, at
7:30-9:00.
Since the theme at St. Dunstan's this fall has been "Practicing Love," I thought it might be interesting to talk about the issues facing women as we try to practice love. Just for starters, we'll look at the story of Mary and Martha (Luke 10:38-42) to see what questions that episode brings up for us.
Sue Carroll
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Why do I love St. Dunstan's? ...
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St. Dunstan's 2017 Annual Giving Campaign began on
October 9 and continues until Consecration Sunday on
November 13. Our theme is Simple Gifts...For the Church & For the World and this is a time to cherish the gifts we have been given and to share our abundance.
Each week during our annual giving campaign we will include brief articles from parishioners telling why they love St. Dunstan's. Do you want to share your story? If so, please contact
Rosi Sweeney.
Please enjoy these thoughts from Lynne Adduci.
 We attended our first service at St. Dunstan's because of our two young children. Attracted by the shorter service and Jeff's friendliness, we joined immediately. Fast forward to two teenagers and seemingly a whole new life, and St. D's is still the church I call home. Father Jeff has helped me personally when I've gone to him with a problem, and Sue Von has been terrific at getting my two teenagers involved in the service and youth activities (as much as possible for two teenagers). The people are as friendly and down-to-earth as they come. I find St. D's messages of acceptance, understanding, peacefulness, hospitality, and social justice attract a certain kind of person...one I'm happy to call a part of my St. Dunstan's church family.
Lynne Adduci
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Focusing on our Neighbors
Sunday October 23 - Growing in Understanding of our Muslim Neighbors
We welcome back Salih
Sayilgan, who is joined by his spouse,
Zeynab Sayilgan, so that we might grow more in our understanding of our Muslim neighbors. Both Salih and Zeyneb are distinguished scholars as well as faithful Muslims, who currently teach at Catholic University and Virginia Theological Seminary respectively. This morning will be devoted to learning about the various cultural differences and traditions among our Muslim neighbors.
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Reflections Christianity and Politics
Sunday, October 30 at 4:00 p.m.
Lecture followed by a reception
What is the nature of faithful Christian Citizenship? How should Christians understand their relationship to the common goods and common ends of civil society?
St. Dunstan's will host a lecture by Dr. Luke Bretherton on relations between religious and political spheres continue to stir passionate debates on both sides of the Atlantic. Dr. Bretherton is the associate professor of theological ethics and senior fellow of Kenan Institute for Ethics at Duke Divinity School. His primary teaching interests are theological ethics, Christian political thought, missiology and practices of social, political, and economic witness. Through a combination of theological reflection and empirical case studies, our lecturer will offer timely and invaluable insights into these crucial issues facing 21st Century societies.
Calling All Cooks! Following the lecture by Luke Bretherton on the 30th, St. Dunstan's will be hosting a reception with cider, wine and finger foods. Since we expect the event to draw folks from the entire Diocese, this is an excellent opportunity to show off the outstanding cooking skills of our community! Would you be able to bring a pot of your signature "dip" or a couple dozen yummy cookies? If so, please sign up on the sheet posted in Founder's Hall, or contact Sue Carroll.
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Dunstan's Youth Group - Tonight
- October 20!
All 5th through 12th graders!
Dinner at 6:30 p.m.
Program from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m.
The Story of God and Us
We are continuing our learning about the Bible and the importance of story. Tonight we will talk about the idea of truth and finding the truth in stories that seem to have little factual content. What is your favorite story in the Bible? Could you tell it to someone else?Come give it a try!
Sunday, October 23
9:50 to 10:35 a.m.
Open for conversation, beverages and snacks. All 5th through 12th graders are welcome to come. This week we will be discovering more about the Bible - the place where our faith story begins and where we learn about Jesus and those who followed him. Come hang out!
P.R.A.Y. (Potomac River
Anglican
[
Area
-Amazing-Awesome] Youth) 
African American Museum of History and Culture
Sunday, November 20
Time - 1:00 p.m.
Cost: Metro Card and $ for snacks
We have a limited number of tickets for entry into the museum, so please mark this day on your calendar and sign-up as soon as possible. Details by next week's newsletter. These will also be sent to parents via email.
Please put the following dates on your calendar for these joint youth events:
December 18
- Caroling at Sibley Hospital
January 16 ( Monday) - MLK Day of Service
Register youth
here for this year's programs!
Friends are always welcome at any youth program!
L. Sue von Rautenkranz
Christian Formation Coordinator
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All the World at Prayer
This week is the last week of our formal learning about Prayer in Children's Formation. We have studied The Lord's Prayer and learned about our own Book of Common Prayer. Resources on praying with our hands have been shared with parents to assist children in creating the time and space for prayer in the daily life of our children.A lifelong practice that begins early in life. Please contact Sue if you have questions or if your children were unable to attend these sessions and you would like to have these resources at home.
This Sunday, October 23, the children will be learning about prayer traditions of different cultures and specifically making "prayer flags" in the style of the Tibetan Buddhist culture. Traditional colors will be used but in a very un-traditional way. Usually these are made with wood block cuts, by monks. Ours of course will be colored by children. We will also place our flags inside our church, where most prayer flags are flown from the mountain tops and carry the blessings on the breezes of the wind to all.
Any "best practices" for doing prayer with your children at home? Please send me an
email
or call to chat.
Register your children
here
.
L. Sue von Rautenkranz
Christian Formation Coordinator
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Thanksgiving Baskets 
Join in making Thanksgiving meal possible for the families supported by the National Center for Children and Families. Pick up a basket beginning this week and go shopping. Include your children. Return your basket no later than Sunday, November 13.
Experience Ecuador
Education=Hope will be sponsoring a short vision trip to Quito, Ecuador departing the U.S. on February 14 and returning on February 20th (President's Day), 2017.
This is not a short-term mission but a journey to see and understand all the amazing ministry taking place in Quito and to experience the lives that E=H is helping to change through education. The trip will be led by Cameron Graham Vivanco, a missionary whom we sponsor, and will include visits to schools and meeting the children involved with E=H. It is a wonderful immersion into a different culture, but with a shared vision of Christ's work in the world.
Hurricane Matthew Relief
There are many organizations that are responding and helping the survivors of Hurricane Matthew. We encourage you to support the programs and organizations that you have worked with in the past. We also offer two different organizations for your consideration.
Episcopal Relief and Development is the outreach and emergency relief arm of The Episcopal Church. One of the great things about this organization is that during emergency relief times 100 % of your donations will be sent to the area of designation. You can read more about the work of this organization here or donate directly here.
The other organization that has "boots on the ground" is Education Equals Hope. This the the group we work with in Ecuador, providing scholarships for children to attend school and get an education. lifting their families out of poverty. E=H also has ministry sites in countryside around Le Cayes, Haiti, one of the hardest hit areas of that country. This is where the eye of the storm made landfall. There are at least three schools and hundreds of children who are served in these schools. Some information and pictures have been received, but some areas are still not being reached. Again, all monies donated to this organization will be directly sent to those responding to direct need in these communities. Click
here for more information about E=H ministries in Haiti or
here for direct donations.
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Practicing Love Sermon Series Fall 2016 ...
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Join us for the 10:45 Sunday service to hear sermons on many situations in which we need to practice love - even when it's difficult! If you can't make the service, look on our website for these sermons.
Sept 4 - Practicing Love in your Family (Luke 14:25-33)
Sept 11 - Practicing Love when we are Lost (Luke 15:1-10)
Sept 18 - Practicing Love with our
Money
(Luke 16:1-13)
Sept 25 - Practicing Love with our
Wealth!
(Luke 16:19-31)
Oct 2 - Practicing Love by remaining
Faithful
(Luke 17:5-10)
Oct 9 - Practicing Love with
Thanksgiving (Luke 17:11-19)
Oct 16 - Practicing Love by doing
Justice (Luke 18:1-18)
Oct 23 - Practicing Love in Humility (Luke 18:9-14)
Oct 30 - Practicing Love through Repentance (Luke 19:1-10)
The New York Times (Nicholas Kristoff, Sunday, September 4 edition) ran an article on the kind of religion Jesus would practice. The author Brian McLaren asked, "Could Christians migrate from defining their faith as a system of beliefs to expressing it as a loving way of life?"
St. Dunstan's is well on our way to doing just that: Love Practiced Here.
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Hopes and Prayers on our Journey ...
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 I
n Need of Healing:
Don Larrabee,
infirm in nursing care
Curt Shively,
husband of Susan Burkhalter,
in nursing care
Penelope McCormick
, mother of Ryan McCormick
John Riordan,
father of Meghan Jarvis, ill
Ken Farnsworth
, ill at home in Wheaton
The flowers
are given to the glory of God by Cathie Morton in loving memory of her late husband Peter and mother-in-law Peggy.
We pray for St. Dunstan's Missionaries,
Cameron and Roberto Vivanco, who serve in Quito, Ecuador, and the parish of Buen Pastor.
If you or someone you know is in need of prayer, please complete our prayer request form by clicking
here.
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The Fourth Sunday in Creation
October 23, 2016
9:00 a.m. Family Eucharist
9:50 a.m. Life Long Christian Formation
10:45 a.m. Traditional Eucharist
12:00 noon Fellowship
The readings for this Sunday are:
Ecclesiasticus 35:12-17, Psalm 84:1-6, Creation Reading- Arrogance and Humility, by Arsalan Rizvi, and Luke 18:9-14
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Sunday Schedule of Ministries ...
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Serving this Sunday
Trail Guide:
Tony Bottrill
Liturgical Coordinator:
Sue Newman
Eucharistic Minister/s: Carl Adams and Rosi Sweeney
Lector:
Jackie Karlin
Prayer Minister: Sue Newman
Altar Guild
:
Meghan Jarvis
Flower Guild: Rosemarie Barrett
Tellers:
Donna Alvarez
and Bob Boyd
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