THE TONGSTHE TONGSTHE TONGSTHE TONGS St. Dunstan’s Episcopal Church & School Robinson Canyon Road, Carmel Valley, California

EPIPHANY 2010

to worship with them in their home environments where they are most comfortable. While there we inter-view a number of people who know them well and have worked closely with them. We want to know about their leadership skills, their preaching, their pas-toral care skills, their experience with stewardship, how they take care of themselves, and what they do for per-sonal growth. But most importantly, we are looking for clear signs that this person will lead us as a parish into a closer relationship with Our Lord Jesus Christ. Then we bring them to our beautiful Carmel Valley to show them the church and the surrounding community. Those with children are interested in looking at schools; those who have particular musical skills want to know about the Bach festival, the symphony and the local choral groups, and so on. We tailor their visits to their particular interests. While at St. Dunstan’s they preach and celebrate the Eucharist for the Vestry and Search Committee. We are looking at them and they are looking at us. We are all asking for the guidance of the Holy Spirit in discerning whether this is the person God has in mind for St. Dunstan’s next Rector. We can’t quite see the finish line yet, but we’re getting close. Please pray for our candidates and for the search committee and ask for the gift of Holy Spirit and God’s blessings upon our deliberations.

OUR RECTOR SEARCH

Rector Search Committee report: Your RSC continues to work hard, meeting and interviewing candidates. As of Jan. 15 we will have visited five candidates and have had two visit us at St. Dunstan’s. We have a few more visits before our rec-ommendations to the Vestry. Why so many visits, you might be wondering? We visit the candidates on their “home turf”

OUR CHRISTMAS ALTAR

This Christmas began what will un-doubtedly be a tradition here. The crèche beneath the altar. It was beautiful and very inspirational.

ANNUAL PARISH MEETING AND LUNCH

This year’s Annual Parish Meeting represents a change from prior years. First of all, it will be on a Sunday (January 24th) and will take place following the one celebration of Holy Eucharist that day at 9:00 am. The thinking of the Vestry was that, to end this Interim Year, it would be appropriate to have both the 8 and 10 congregations unite and worship together in one service, and then to gather to enjoy an all-parish lunch. This will be followed by the Annual Parish Meeting at which Vestry members will be elected, and Reports about our Finances, Buildings & Grounds, the Parish School, etc. will be received. Most important, we will hear important news from the Rector Search Committee and the Vestry. Please make every effort to attend. CHILDREN’S PROGRAM AND LUNCH WILL BE PRO-VIDED!

“BEING EPIPHANY PEOPLE”

Each New Year begins with the Season of Epiphany with its glorious themes of Light and Joy. It differs from Christmas in so many ways, yet it represents a natural sequence. For Christmas is all about ourselves, urging us to prepare our hearts and our homes for the birth of Christ. Christmas is about receiving. We give presents to others and receive some for ourselves to ac-knowledge God’s greatest Gift to us in Jesus his Son. But Epiphany is about others. It is all about giving, as we take all the bless-

ings we have enjoyed – family gatherings, worship with our friends -- all the expressions of care and love we have experienced – and turn them outwards into our community and the world. The Greek word Epiphania” means ‘the manifestation” or “showing forth” of Christ to the world, and the scrip-tures chosen for the Sundays of the Epiphany Season illustrate that theme, beginning with the Baptism of our Lord on Epiphany I and culminating with Jesus’ Transfiguration on Epiphany VI.

Just as the Lord Christ “manifested” himself, so we Christians are called upon, especially dur-ing this Season, to make Jesus manifest in us – to reflect by our conversation and conduct the Light of Christ given us at our baptism. This year that expectation has a special application, for Saint Dunstan’s is about to embark upon a new chapter in its life under the leadership of a new Rector. During the dis-cernment process one message remained constant: “We want a priest who can help us grow!” Another way to say that is “We want to be Epiphany people!” – a congregation that shines with the light and love of Christ as it engages and serves this community. Growing the Church is not just a task for the

new Rector but an endeavor to be embraced by everyone. And the most effective way to do so is to be radiant with the joy of knowing Jesus as Savior and Lord.

There’s a wonderful story about a group of gold prospectors in Montana in the 1800’s who came upon a rich deposit in a remote river-bed. Heading back into town to purchase the right equipment to work their claim, each of them swore a solemn oath not to say or do anything that would indicate their discovery. However, when they left town after a few days, half the popu-lation followed them! Suspecting that someone had broken the promise, they asked the towns-people how they had learned of their good fortune. “No one said a thing”, they were told, “but whenever you came into town you used to be a bunch of ornery old men, and this time all of you were smiling, so we knew you’d found something!”

Corliss Kelly: Youth & Chil-dren Team, term expires 2010

Art Pasquinelli: Treasurer, member ex-officio

Rodger Langland: Facilities Team, term expires 2011

John Greenway: Parish Life Team, term expires 2011

Elizabeth Buche: Head-mistress of St. Dunstan’s School, member ex-officio

Dick Merrill: Communications Team, term expires 2012

Ollie White: Sr. Warden, term expires 2012

Joe Heston: Worship Team, term expires 2012

Betty Kasson, Outreach, Chair of Rector Search Team, term expires 2012

Bette Nybakken: Clerk, term expires 2011 Tom Masters: Membership

Development Team, term expires 2011

Lea Mackay: Parish Life Team, term expires 2010

HERE’S YOUR VESTRY!

MAKE WAY FOR IMPROVEMENTS!

As you may have noticed, we have been digging up the church grounds to install electrical and wa-ter piping to start using the well for our irrigation needs. Soon the pump, storage and pressure tanks will be installed and hooked up. Dur-ing the summer, irrigation is our main water use and hopefully over the long term cheaper well water

will help recover the drilling and installation costs.

Some sprucing up of the landscaping at the Rectory is also un-derway to make it appealing for our new Rector.

Soon, all the required studies and forms will be completed so that they can be submitted to the County Planning Department and hopefully a building permit will be issued in due course for the first phase of the school upgrade.

We have been having trouble getting all of our garbage cans emptied each week. After numerous calls to Waste Management we think we have resolved the issue. Each week 3 wheeled bins of trash (garbage and yard waste) and one wheeled bin of recy-cle will be picked up. Each bin is appropriately marked so please put the correct refuse in the appropriate bin or it will not be picked up. The recycle bin will be outside the kitchen door next to the can/glass/plastic bottle recycle garbage can. As mentioned previously, only CA redemption cans and bottles are supposed to go in the gray recycle garbage can. Paper, card-board, plastic wrapping, etc are to go in the recycle wheeled bin. See the label on the top for details.

Prepare ye the way …...

It was Palm Sunday and, because of strep throat, four-year-old Stephen had to stay home from church with a babysitter. When the rest of the family returned home carrying palm branches, Stephen asked what they were for.

"People held them over Jesus' head as he walked by," his mother explained.

"Wouldn't you know it," Stephen fumed. "The one Sunday I didn't go, He showed up!"

WOMEN OF ST. DUNSTAN'S

Our Christmas Bazaar raised $2,405.75 in one day! Thanks to Corliss Kelly and her volunteers and con-tributors for all their hard work in making this both a successful and fun event. Now we have the responsibility of deciding where this money can best be used. Suggestions were made at our brief meeting Janu-ary 3rd. Please pray about them; we will make a decision at our Women's Spiritual Day, Saturday, February 20th. INTERNATIONAL: The Haiti Lunch Pro-gram; NATIONAL: The American Red Cross; The Sal-vation Army; LOCAL: CASA of Monterey County; Nancy Costello's Bean Pot; Camel Valley Angel Project; Dorothy's Place (Homeless Shelter for Women & Chil-dren).

EXCITING NEWS: FREE TUTORING

The first day of our St. Dunstan's Thursday After School Tutoring will start Thursday, January 28. We welcome St. Dunstan's children from second grade to eighth grade from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. each Thursday. We have tutors trained and ready to assist in all subject area using Socratic questioning. We will provide study areas for kids who only needed a place to work independently until they are picked up. Snacks will be provided.

Students can be dropped off at the church for any time slot fitting into the family schedule. Carmel Unified students can check into being dropped off at Carmel Valley Ranch. If you make arrangements for your son or daughter to be dropped off at the Ranch, please let us know so we will escort them to the church.

Parents, contact Corliss, 625-6628, to sign-up your kids.

A NOTE FROM THE SENIOR WARDEN

Dear Friends,

As we've watched the big dots progress along the Time Line Chart in Brock Hall, the anticipation and thrill of meeting and welcoming our new rector has become almost palpable knowing our search for the fourth rector of Saint Dunstan’s is drawing to a close. A new spiritual adventure is about to begin in Carmel Valley and I so grateful to be part of it.

But we could not have arrived at this pivotal point without the dedicated (I would say almost sacrificial) commitment of time and energy each member of the Rector Search Committee made when appointed by the Vestry last May. Please take time to thank these faithful souls who have met weekly, sometimes more often, for the past six months participating in probably the most important task in the life of every Episcopal Church – the discernment process for calling a new rector: Betty Kasson, chair, Hugh Barton, Mel Blevens, George Lockwood, Sue Masters, John Mackay, Art Pasquinelli, Alma Sweirs, Sarah Talbot and Jack Webb. Their work may have been in the background but they have always been in the foreground of our prayers. And so have their families who have spent count-less hours without them around the family hearth.

Peace!

Ollie White

Non Profit U.S. Postage PAID

Permit No.3 Carmel Valley,

CA

93924

St. Dunstan’s Episcopal Church and School on Robinson Canyon Road P.O. Box 101 Carmel Valley, CA 93924

TIME VALUE

Happy New Year! We are all looking forward to the new year and the return of two of our teachers who have been on maternity leave, Miss Melyssa and Miss Nilam. They have been missed!

Our school Christmas pageant and all-family luncheon was a wonderful day once again! Thank you to Miss Melyssa for organizing our luncheon and to all our wonderful parents who helped make it such a special time for the children, and to our amazing children who worked so hard practicing their parts and songs for the performance!

We will continue our parent education on February 5th with a workshop on “”Limits and Boundaries”. The class will be held from 5:30-8:30 in Brock Hall and will once again be led by Steve Osterhage from Family Fuel in Santa Bar-bara. The cost of the workshop is $25/person or $35/couple. This workshop is open to the community as well as the families of St. Dunstan's so spread the word! Anyone interested can call the school at 624-9250 for more information.

We started off the new year with a visit from the “Wheelie Mobilie”, a program provided by My Museum. The chil-dren enjoyed playing with moonsand, building with Tinker Toys, exploring moonsand, magnets, gears and much more. Thank you so much to the Marcum family for provid-ing this wonderful morn-ing for everyone!

Elizabeth Buche