September 2009
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A Holy Obligation

Of all the comments and debates I have heard on health care reform, the one that has struck me as the most outrageous is the claim that it is immoral and anti-Christian.

I don’t remember the name of the commentator, but I was so dumbfound ed by what he said that I wrote it down: “It is immoral to rob citizens of their hard-earned money in order to give other citizens something that they did not earn. That is government-sanctioned stealing, pure and simple. It is anti-Christian.”

I wonder what Bible this commentator reads. It must not be the same one that we use because that one is quite clear – both Jews and Christians are obligated to care for the poor, or “the least of these,” as Jesus puts it. And nations are judged not by how powerful they are, but by how they treat their most vulnerable residents.

By Biblical standards, health care reform is a moral imperative, a holy obligation.

Sojourners’ magazine, which I highly recommend, recently publish ed a “Christian Creed on Health Care Reform,” which is reprinted here. For more information, or to sign the creed and send it to our legislators, go to www.sojourners.com.

A Christian Creed on Health Care Reform

As one of God’s children, I believe that protecting the health of each human being is a profoundly important personal and communal responsibility for people of faith.

I believe God created each person in the divine image to be spiritually and physically healthy. I feel the pain of sickness and death in our broken world. (Genesis 1:27, Romans 8:22)

I believe life and healing are core tenets of the Christian life. Christ’s ministry included physical healing, and we are called to participate in God’s new creation as instruments of healing and redemption. (Matthew 4:23, Luke 9:1-6, Mark 7:32-35, Acts 10:38) Our nation should strive to ensure all people have access to life-giving treatments and care.

I believe, as taught by the Hebrew prophets and Jesus, that the measure of a society is seen in how it treats the most vulnerable. The current discussion about health-care reform is important for the Unit ed States to move toward a more just system of providing health care to all people. (Isaiah 1:16-17, Jeremiah 7:5-7, Matthew 25:31-45)

I believe that all people have a moral obligation to tell the truth. To serve the common good of our entire nation, all parties debating reform should tell the truth and refrain from distorting facts of using fear-based messages. (Leviticus 19:11, Ephesians 4:15-15, 25, Proverbs 6:16-19)

I believe that Christians should seek to bring health and well-being to the society into which God has placed us, for a healthy society benefits all members. (Jeremiah 29:7)

I believe in a time when all will live long and healthy lives, from infancy to old age (Isaiah 65:20), and “mourning and crying and pain will be no more.” (Revelation 21:4) My heart breaks for my brothers and sisters who watch their loved ones suffer, or who suffer themselves, because they cannot afford a trip to the doctor. I stand with them in their suffering.

I believe health-care reform must rest on a foundation of values that affirm each and every life as a sacred gift from the Creator. (Genesis 2:7)

Amen.

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Announcements

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Prayer for Justice

Look with pity, Lord, upon the people in
this land who live with injustice,
terror, disease, and death as their
constant companions. Have mercy upon us.
Help us to eliminate our cruelty to
these our neighbors. Strengthen those
who spend their lives establishing equal
protection of the law and equal
opportunities for all. And grant that
every one of us may enjoy a fair portion
of the riches of this land; through
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

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Fall at St. Dunstan's

Mark these dates on your calendars now. More information on coming events later.

• September 13 – Return to the fall schedule – Eucharists at 8:30 and 10:45; Sunday School for all ages at 9:30: Ministry
  
• September 15 – Tuesday morning classes begin at 10 a.m. with video series, Saving Jesus.
  
• September 16 – Episcopal Church Women meet at 10:30 am in parish hall. Parish Musician Tom Gibbs is the speaker.
  
• September 16 – Children’s Choir practices begin.
  
• September 23 – Village Suppers resume. Eucharist at 6 p.m. follow ed by potluck supper.
  
• October 4 – Blessing of the Animals at 10:45 a.m. (No Sunday School this day)
  
• October 18 – Evensong at 4 p.m.
  
• October 23 – An evening with Nashville singer/songwriter Keith Miles at 7:30 p.m.
  
• November 1 – All Saints’ Day Jazz Eucharist
  
• November 12 – Mary and Martha’s Place Dessert Party
  
• December 4-5 – St. Dunstan’s Art Show
  
• December 13 – 4 p.m. Advent Lessons and Carols
  
• December 16 – 6 p.m. Christmas Carol Singalong
  
• December 20 – Christmas Pageant
  
• December 24 – 5 p.m., 11 p.m. – Christmas Eucharists
  
• December 27 – 10 a.m. – Christmas Lessons and Carols

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Christian Formation

Faith that Does Justice

“What does the Lord require of us?” the Old Testament prophet Micah asks. The answer is “Do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God.” First comes justice, an imperative in both the Old Testament and the teachings of Jesus. This fall, our adult Sunday School class will focus on what it means to do justice – as individuals, as a church, and as a nation. The series, which begins at 9:30 a.m. on September 13, will be led by Joe Monti, emeritus professor of Christian Ethics and Moral Theology at the School of Theology at Sewanee. Here is the schedule for the series:

Here is the series schedule:

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Children and Youth

First Day of Sunday School is Sept. 13th at 9:30

All ages will meet in the Church for an
all Sunday School sing,
followed by activities and snacks in the classrooms.
Hope to see you there!

Dear Friends,

I am excited to be beginning yet another year of Sunday school with the creative, lively, wonderful children and youth here at St. Dunstan’s! I am excited, too, to have the chance to work with the talented and dedicated adults who will be teaching Sunday school this year.

I think of faith as a foundation for our lives. Potentially, it is the rock on which the rest of our lives, with its inevitable ups and downs, is built. It is not so much a set of beliefs as it is a trusting relationship with our God. In Sunday school our children have the opportunity to hear the stories of our faith tradition, to hear how our forebearers trusted (or, more often, struggled to trust) a God who was faithful to them. Sunday school is a place where our children also have the opportunity to relate the Biblical stories to their own lives and to experience God as part of their story. Bit by bit, in partnership with families and the congregation, the foundation of faith is laid down.

When we go through difficult times, our trust in God can buoy us up, can get us through. Perhaps less obviously, but maybe more importantly, during the good times, our trust in God, our faith, can free us to be creative risk-takers on behalf of our world. And that is the vision I have for our children and youth at St. Dunstan’s…that they grow into people who can live creatively and take risks for the sake of others…that here, at this small church, nestled in suburban Atlanta, our children receive a “strength and courage to love and serve.”

If you have children, I hope they will join us this year for Sunday school. If you don’t have children, please tell your friends or neighbors about our Sunday school; encourage them to call me if they have any questions. And please keep our children and our Sunday school in your prayers as we begin the new year.

~ Faithfully, Ellen

Sunday School Specifics:

(Please visit the Christian Formation page for additional info about our classes.)

Godly Play for ages 3-kindergarten, will be taught by Vicki Ledet and Lynn Hood, assisted by Tami Kimball.

All Things New (1st-4th grades), for 1st-4th graders, will be taught by Monte Kimball, Marilyn Stansbury, and Ellen Gallow. This fall the class will focus on the Exodus story which will culminate with a trip up Mt. Sinai (also known as St. Dunstan’s Nature Trail) and a party in the Beech Grove (also known as the Promised Land). During the winter this class will do a unit on ‘Non-violence,’ More info on this unit to come.

Middle School Class, for older 4th graders-8th graders, will be taught by Lucy Kaltenbach and Michele Smither.

C.B.S.S. (Custom Built Sunday School) for our high schoolers. Service (both at St. Dunstan’s and the broader community), discussions regarding contemporary issues, doing art … these are just some of the activities that this group can choose. Bring your ideas and your calendars on Sunday, Sept. 20th. We’ll meet in the high school room and put together a schedule. Ellen Gallow, with the help of other parishioners, will lead and facilitate this class.

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Music Notes

Treasurers worry. I look at our income's being 20% above budget so far, and I worry that parishioners, harangued about spreading their contributions throughout the year, have graciously front-loaded their giving and we are about to crash and burn.

There's just no way to make me comfortable, but thank you all, and please keep up your timely contributions.

~ Dick Harris

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Mary & Martha's Place