Grace Episcopal Church
Sheboygan, Wisconsin
Grace Notes
13 February 2014
“[L]et your light shine before
others” (Mtt. 5.16). So says Jesus in
the gospel lesson from this past Sunday, and we have reflected on how the light
which must be seen in each of us is to be something far more than the reflected
glow of and LCD screen—recalling that LCD means both “liquid crystal display” and “lowest common denominator”. The light which we are to shine is to be
God’s light, and when we focus on passive consumption only, the LCD glow of
lowest common denominator is human and not godly.
A story in the 10 February edition
of The New York Times provides an
additional twist on the problem of passivity.
See http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/10/technology/wikipedia-vs-the-small-screen.html?hpw&rref=technology
. As reported in the story, consumers’
switch to smart phones is leading to a marked decrease in how Wikipedia
articles are generated and edited. The
online encyclopaedia relies on users adding and editing content, and with more
and more people using their smart phones and tablets as their portal to
information, they are switching more to consumption and away from contribution. Why?
It’s because it is just too hard to compose and edit detailed documents
on a small screen, without a keyboard.
As stated in the article:
The concern in the Wikipedia movement
and among people who study it is that smartphones and tablets are designed for
“consumer behavior” rather than “creative behavior.” In other words, mobile
users are much more likely to read a Wikipedia article than improve it.
If the trend described in the Times article is real, it is another
indicator that our culture is continuing in a shift to passivity, to
consumption. Who will be the creators of
new content, the doers? This same issue
is present in the Church. How many
people expect “church” to be about what they receive, rather than being an organic
whole in which they contribute in ongoing life together? Jesus teaches us to be salt and light—to live
for the other rather than to focus on consumption alone. Our culture continues to make this harder; it
continues to condition us (principally through technological “progress”) away
from the active life.
Salt which has lost its saltness
is worthless. Light which is hidden is
not light. By God’s grace, may we so be
filled with His Spirit that we always reach out to the other, that we do God’s
work, that we embody His life in this Body.
Grace Abounds: Please thank:
§
John and Jennifer Keller for the coffee hour
this past Sunday.
§
All those parishioners who provided pot luck supper
for the sung Compline this past Sunday.
§
Bev Evans, Jeremy Williams (and his niece, Mimi),
and Nancy Yurk, for serving at the Emmaus Meal at The Salvation Army.
§ Bobbi
Kraft and Julie Davidson for providing food for the Soup and Cinema gathering.
Rosaries needed: The rosaries in the Shrine of Our Lady of
Walsingham have disappeared. We can only
pray that whoever has taken them has a real need for them, and will use them in
prayer. If you have an extra rosary
necklace to donate, please bring it to the church, knowing that it is possible
that it too may “acquire legs”.
The Salvation Army: Vouchers for use at Burger King and Perkins
Restaurant in Sheboygan can be found in the parish narthex. When you use one of these coupons on the
dates specified, the restaurant will donate the discount amount (10—20%) to The
Salvation Army. In 2013 The Salvation
Army provided the following relief in Sheboygan:
§
10,782 bags of food
§
13,898 nights of shelter
§
953 individual clinic visits
§
1,182 medical services (medical tests and
prescription medications)
§
4,396 cases of relief for housing, utility,
clothing, furniture, diapers, etc. assistance
Call for
Contributions: If you have a spiritual reflection to share,
or want to point your fellow worshippers toward a resource, submit your
contributions to Fr. Karl (by email) by Wednesday in the week of publication.
Music this week:
Prelude Chorale
Preludes on Blessed Jesus, at thy word J. S. Bach
Entrance Hymn 440 “Blessed
Jesus, at thy word”
Offertory Hymn 665 “All
my hope on God is founded”
Communion Motet Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace S. S.
Wesley
Comm. Hymn 312 “Strengthen
for service, Lord”
Closing Hymn 371 “Thou
whose almighty Word”
Postlude Sortie Whitlock
Parish Notices
§ Adult
Formation-Liturgical Workshop: Adult
formation will continue February 16 at 9 a.m. with the third part of the series
of liturgical workshops intended to allow participants to become much
more familiar with a life of prayer, and the resources in the Book
of Common Prayer. The workshops will be led by parish clergy
and seminarian. Those who do not already have their own prayer
book at home can also get one to use at home!
§ Galatians
Study: Grab a cup of coffee and
join us in the small conference room Sunday morning to study Galatians
following the 10:15 service.
§ Lenten
Booklet: Grace Church will prepare
our own parish book of Lenten meditations, written by parishioners. For each of
the forty days of Lent season, a Gospel lesson taken from the Eucharistic
lectionary for the weekdays in Lent, plus the Sunday Eucharistic lectionary,
are provided on a clip board on the Narthex table. Following each Gospel lesson
will be the Collect prayer for the celebration of Eucharist on each day. The
Collect “collects” our prayers as founded in the Scripture appointed for each
day. The method envisaged for use of this booklet is that parishioners will
read the Gospel lesson– perhaps more than once, perhaps underlining the words
or phrases that resonate with them on that day–then reflect on the
Collect, and then write down their own reflections on the page appointed for
the day. These reflections will be gathered by February 21st to
allow for production lead-time. The publication of a parish devotional
will be published to the whole parish, in print and on our website. Please
submit your meditations anonymously or for attribution to Tasha Crouse at gpvehicle@yahoo.com.
§ Shrove
Tuesday Feast before the Fast: Shrove
Tuesday is March 4th we will be having a dinner following a 5:30pm
Mass. Please mark your calendars and plan to attend this festive occasion.
There will be more information forth coming.
§ Ash
Wednesday: March 5th is
Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, it is a day of fasting and penitence. We
will observe this day with Mass and Imposition of Ashes at 12:10 p.m., and
Solemn Mass with Imposition of Ashes at 6:00 p.m. This is a holy day and a
wonderful way to begin your Lenten observance.
§ Cooking
on Friday Evenings in lent: If you
are interested in cooking and hosting a dinner on the Fridays during Lent,
please sign-up on sheets in the Narthex. All of the Fridays are open. Thank you
for your willingness to serve in this manner.
§ Stations
of the Cross, Simple Suppers and Teaching: Beginning on the first Friday in Lent (March 7) we will meet each
Friday at 5:30 p.m. for Stations of the Cross, followed by a simple supper and
Christian formation. Our formation program this year will focus on the
Stations of the Cross. We will examine two stations every week with a
short reflection and small group discussion on how we participate with Jesus on
the journey to Calvary. Please sign up to attend on the sheets in the Narthex.
§ English
as a Second Language teaching group: This ESL group helps immigrants learn the English language to better
their lives and job prospects. The group will meet Wednesday evenings at 6:00pm
on the lower level in the youth room. Contact Scott Lubbers at 698-2002.
§ All Saints' Chapel Ownership - Sunday services
at All Saints' Chapel will continue to be a shared ministry this year which
means volunteers will be needed to have ownership of opening and closing the
chapel. A sign-up sheet is located in the Narthex. If you have questions
regarding responsibilities, please ask any member of the Vestry.
§ Flower
Schedule for 2014: Giving the gift
of flowers is a wonderful way to remember a loved one or to offer thanksgiving
for your blessings. If you wish to sign up for a specific Sunday, the Flower
Schedule is available on the table in the narthex. More than one person can
sign up for each Sunday.
§ Coffee
Hour Schedule: There is a new
sign-up sheet for hosting coffee hour in 2014. If you would like to host please
sign up for either 8:00am or 10:15am. We are in need of someone to oversee the
schedule and be the point person for questions. If you would be able to spend a
few minutes a week double checking the sign-up sheet and giving reminders or if
you have questions please see Deacon Michele or Bobbi Kraft. Thank you so much.
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