December 2008 Contents
I was browsing through The New York Times’ website recently when a headline caught my eye. “In Age of Impatience, Cutting PC Start Time” it said. The article described computer users’ frustration at waiting up to three minutes for their computers to boot up each day. The writer called that time “the black hole of the digital age, a time when there is nothing to do but wait, and wait, and wait some more before you can log on and begin multitasking at hyper-speed.” “It’s ridiculous to ask people to wait that long,” one computer executive said. “People want instant on.” It is startling to think of three minutes of waiting as “a black hole” of wasted time, but I think the writer’s description of our culture as “the age of impatience” is an accurate one. Waiting and patience are rapidly becoming lost arts. We are now in the season of Advent, which is all about waiting and patience. If we allow it, the season gives us tools to help us slow down, to be patient, to wait. Each Sunday we light one more candle on the Advent wreath, despite our children’s clamors to go ahead and light them all now. For at least an hour on Sundays, we don’t hear Christmas music, focusing instead on the rich beauty of our Advent hymns. At church we hold off on effusive Christmas decorations, focusing instead on the stark and simple beauty of the season. While the rest of the world is hurdling full speed ahead toward Christmas, we take time in church to focus on what Noelle Oxenhandler calls “the sensuous richness of the not-yet.” One of the lessons of Advent is that waiting does not have to be a “black hole” of frustration. The waiting of Advent is an active time. Active waiting means being fully present to the moment. It means living not only in anticipation of the future, but being aware that something important is happening now. Impatient people are always expecting the real thing to happen some other time and place. The present moment and place are empty. Patient people dare to live fully in the present. They know that God is in the now, even as they anticipate the future. The season of Advent is a time of preparation. It is a time to hurry up and wait. The shopping, the cooking, the hurrying – all are important aspects of the season. But as we hurry about, may we also be present to the moment, open to the sensuous richness of waiting, alert to the possibility that Christ is in our midst here and now.
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December 10th , 6 p.m. — Holy Comforter Dinner. Make helping someone else a part of your Advent season. Holy Comforter is an Episcopal Church near Grant Park with a ministry of serving those with mental handicaps and illness. We need people to prepare side dishes and to serve. Sign up on Sundays or by calling the church office. December 11th, 7:30 p.m. — Winter Solstice celebration, sponsored by Mary and Martha’s Place. Usher in this special season with music, song, poems and silence. The service is held in the church. December 14th, 4 p.m. — Advent Procession with Carols. As the frenetic pace of the season kicks into high gear, take time out for beauty and reflection during this beautiful candlelight service of Advent music and scripture readings. A reception in the Parish Hall follows the service. December 17th, 6 p.m. — Christmas Carol Sing Along and potluck supper. Bring the whole family to gather around the piano in the church and sing all of your favorite Christmas carols, then join your St. Dunstan’s family for supper. Following supper there will be a Christmas pageant rehearsal for all with speaking parts. December 21st — Fourth Sunday of Advent. The whole congregation gathers for our annual Christmas pageant in the church at 9:30. Bring your cameras and enjoy the unfolding Christmas story as told by our children and youth. During the 10:45 service we will decorate the Chrismon tree. December 24th , 5 p.m. and 11 p.m. — Come celebrate the birth of our Savior at one of our Christmas Eve services. The church will be beautifully decorated, the music will be glorious. Come, let us adore him, Christ the Lord. December 28th, 10 a.m. — Come to our one service this Sunday, Christmas lessons and carols. Come sing your favorite Christmas carols one last time, and hear again the stories of God’s saving work in the world, culminating in the Word who was made flesh and dwelt among us.
Table of Contents | Return to top A Prayer for Advent Jesus, Lord of both the light and the darkness, send your We who have so much to do seek quiet spaces to hear your voice We who are anxious over many things look forward to your coming We who are blessed in so many ways long for the complete joy We whose hearts are heavy seek the joy of your We are your people, walking in darkness, yet seeking the light. To you we say, “Come Lord Jesus!”
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Table of Contents | Return to top From the Organist and ChoirmasterMusic and the Season of Advent The Advent service in the old English liturgies made a vivid preparation for the coming of Our Lord to earth. Much of this carol service is drawn from these sources. The liturgical season of Advent is traditionally a time of preparation for Christmas, and its observance dates from the sixth century in Gaul. It stretched from St. Martin’s Day (11 November) to Christmas Eve, and was known as “The Lent of St. Martin.” This title suggests the parallel between Advent and the Lenten fast, and meditations on the themes of judgment and our ultimate destiny were developed for each of the four Sundays. The season suggests reflection on God’s kingdom from two standpoints: that of Jewish hopes for renewal, fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ; and that of the mission of the Church in the world today. We hear of the human condition of sin, but also forgiveness in Christ and his coming again. The use from Scripture, Liturgy, and music of things both old and new expresses our sense of continuity with the past and our feeling for the new demands of the present. This service is constructed upon the themes indicated by the Collects (the “gathering prayers”) for the four Sundays of Advent. The first Sunday urges the people of God to put on “the armor of light,” after warning of God’s judgment. The second Sunday is concerned with the fulfillment of God’s Word in Scripture and the promise of eternal life in Christ. The third shows the prophetic call to service which God’s people are commissioned to give. On the fourth Sunday, we sing of Mary, the pure and lowly Christ-Bearer, and the glory that awaits us all in little Bethlehem. In addition, each of the four Advent Collects is preceded and followed by verses of the seven Great “O” Antiphons, sung by the Choir. These ancient responses, dating from the sixth century, were traditionally said on successive days at Vespers before and after the Magnificat, or “Song of Mary,” from December 17th to 23rd inclusive. Each of the Antiphons salutes the coming Messiah, under one of the many titles ascribed to him in Holy Scripture, and closes with a petition based upon that salutation. The Procession, starting in darkness at the rear of the church and ending in brilliant light at the Altar, symbolizes the movement from a prophetic expectation of Christ to the very brink of Messianic fulfillment, both in the birth of the Son of God and in his final coming in judgment and glory. The service begins with the Advent Matin Responsory, followed by the great hymn, “Come, Thou Redeemer of the Earth.” As the Procession moves forward “from darkness into light,” readings from Scripture alternate with carols and hymns. The Light shines out to the ends of the earth, carrying with it the four-part Advent message of Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love. Finally, as the Procession reaches the Altar, we join with John the Baptist in the triumphant words of the Gospel to boldly welcome the Christ of Christmas, “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” Please take time during this busy season to attend this unique event and experience the beauty and stillness of God through the offerings of his servants. Faithfully, Sundays at Four continues. . . . An Advent Procession with Carols: December 14, 2008 - 4:00 P.M. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
If you ordered Christmas greenery , it will be available in the Beech Grove on 12/7. Thanks for supporting youth ministry with these orders. 
Parents’ Afternoon Out : On Sunday, Dec. 14 th, let Sarah and Emma Hancock feed your children lunch and entertain them while you shop or just take a break! The Hancocks will provide childcare right after church until 3:30. An adult will be on the premises at all times. The cost is $5/hr. for each child and includes lunch. A portion of the proceeds will go toward supporting youth ministry projects and activities at St. Dunstan’s. Please contact the Hancocks to make your reservation. 
Christmas Pageant , December 21, during the Sunday school hour. Rehearsal for the Christmas Pageant will take place during Sunday school on December 14. An additional rehearsal for those with speaking parts will be on Wednesday, December 17, after the Carol Sing and Village Supper. Remember, there are roles for children and adults in this festive, fun event! Let your ‘inner thespian’ come out and play! 
The liturgical season of Advent has for centuries provided profound inspiration to composers of sacred music. The joyous anticipation of the coming of Christ has been translated innumerable times into musical compositions of great beauty. On Sunday, December 14 at 4:00PM, the Choir will offer An Advent Procession with Carols. (The Organ Prelude will begin at 3:30PM.) In this unique annual event, the congregation of St. Dunstan’s and the community of Atlanta will have the opportunity to experience this ancient and beautiful candlelight liturgy. Throughout the Service, lessons from the Prophets and Gospels alternate with carols and hymns in a moving and dramatic portrayal of the world awaiting the Savior. 
| October operating income | $
23,994.61 |
| October operating expenses | $ 23,633.96 |
Income less expenses |
$
360.65) |
It’s important to note that we are also “ahead” for the year-to-date, primarily due to parishioners who have generously paid more than they pledged for the year. You know who you are – thank you!!
Year-end reminders … If you are pre-paying any of your 2009 pledge, please be sure to make a note on your check saying “2009 Pledge.”
- In order to be included as a 2008 contribution on the final 2008 pledge statement, end-of-year contributions must be dated December 31 or before and postmarked or hand-delivered to the church office by December 31. The same is true for gifts made to pre-pay all or part of a 2009 pledge.
- If you have not already turned in a pledge card for 2009, please do so ASAP. The vestry cannot approve a budget for next year until all pledges are in … it is your pledges – that is, promises – that “pay the bills” for St. Dunstan’s.
- If you wish to make a gift of stock, please contact Nancy Elliott for the information required to electronically transfer the stock shares from your brokerage account to the church’s account. If you have done this before, please remember to advise Nancy when it’s done so she knows to sell the stock.
~Nancy Elliott, Treasurer
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Congratulations to the newly baptized: Avery Cecelia Templeton, daughter of Cassie and Paul Templeton; and John Andrew Wardner, son of Brook and Andy Wardner. Both were baptized on All Saints’ Sunday, November 2.
Our sympathy to Claudia Gimson on the death of her father, Charles Elon Weaver, on November 19.
Our sympathy to Gilda and Lee Morris on the death of Gilda’s mother, Peg Walker, on November 30.
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Deadline for articles for the January Bellows is December 15.
Please email your articles or leave them in Susan Teat’s
mailbox in the church office.
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Sundays
Holy Eucharist at 8:30 a.m. and 10:45 a.m.
Christian Education for all ages at 9:30 a.m.
Wednesdays
| 4:30- 5:15 PM | Senior choristers (ages 8 and up) |
| 5:30- 5:55 PM | Junior choristers (ages 4-7) |
| 6:00- 7:00 PM | Village Supper |
| 7:00- 9:15 PM | St. Dunstan Adult Choir (childcare available) |
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Nancy Dillon—Senior Warden |
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Bob Longino—Junior Warden |
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Christie Brown |
Andy Delfino | |
Claudia Gimson |
Wayne Hood | |
Steve Mark |
Jeanne Taylor | |
Craig Withers |
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Our Staff
The Rev. Patricia Templeton, Rector
The Rev. Maggie Harney, Priest Associate
Ellen Gallow, Director of Christian Education
Stephen L. Furches, Organist-Choirmaster
Susan Teat , Parish Administrator
Nancy Elliott, Treasurer