Grace Episcopal Church
Sheboygan, Wisconsin
Grace Notes
20 February 2014
“Children, it is the last hour
...” These words, from 1 John 2.18, are
a part of the translation exercise that our New Testament Greek class is
working on this week. They were written
by the apostle more than nineteen centuries ago, and throughout the history of
the Church there have been recurrent erruptions of those who claim that end of
the world is nigh. Such doomsday
predictions have been uniformly destructive, so what do we do when scripture
seems to say the same thing?
The first thing we do is
distinguish between what we are told (by doomsday predictors) is going to happen and what is revealed as happening already. John does not say that the last hour is coming;
he says that it is here. Jesus tells us
to “watch”—for we do not know when judgment will come—but He tells us this not
in the context of how we are to prepare for a future event. He tells us this in terms of a present
reality into which we are to live fully.
When we recognize that with the
crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ the last hour came, and that we are always living in
“end times,” then we realize that we are living in a new reality. We are “in Christ”. We are those who are led into all truth by
the Holy Spirit. Our lives are lived not
in fear that it is the last hour, but in joy that Creation itself has entered
into a new age in which we live in redemption, in which God has given us His
Son and His Spirit that we might be one with Him.
“It is the last hour” means that
we are to live as those who are identified fully with the Father’s will. It means that in this last hour eternal life
has begun already; that what is not godly is passing away already; that we
participate in new creation. What, then,
have we to fear? What, then, can ever
prevent us from realizing this new creation except the degree to which we
substitute our own will for that of God?
And when God’s will is ours, then the last hour is the eternal first hour;
it is the hour of new life.
Grace Abounds: Please thank:
§ Bill
and Deb Gagin, and the Boland family the coffee hours this past Sunday.
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.
Changes in Worship
Schedule this Week: Diocesan clergy
meet in conference Monday through Thursday. There will be no celebrations of Holy Eucharist Mon—Thu. The office will be closed from noon on
Monday. The normal Friday, Saturday and
Sunday schedules will be in place.
Fr. Karl is traveling on
Fri—Sun. We will welcome Fr. Ed Smith as
celebrant on Sunday, 2 March. In the
event of a pastoral emergency Mon—Thu, please contact Dcn. Mike Burg, or
contact Fr. Karl or Dcn. Michele at the Norbertine Center for Spirituality, St.
Norbert’s College, DePere, 920-337-4315.
A Lenten Discipline: Lent is fast approaching now and one can only
hope spring is not far off! Do you have a Lenten discipline in place? I do and I would like to share it with
you. Remember all those beautiful
Christmas cards and letters you received?
And what do you do with them? I
gather them up into a basket and starting on Ash Wednesday I randomly pick one
out, read it and the accompanying letter at leisure as well as enjoy thoughts
of that person and family and then I take a moment to pray for them. Sometimes I even write them a note or email
them to let them know they are in my thoughts and prayers. This is my card ministry and it doesn't have
to stop at Easter! All year long I collect correspondence ( birthday cards,
thank you , get well, announcement cards etc. and put in another basket and
then during Ordinary Time (after Pentecost) I begin the process again. After
all, we all can use prayers from others to lift us up.
―Barb
MacEwen
Music this week:
Prelude Chorale preludes on O Christ, thou art the light and day Böhm & Bach
Entrance Hymn 537 “Christ
for the world we sing”
Offertory Hymn 518 “Christ
is made the sure foundation”
Communion Motet O everlasting Light John E. West
Closing Hymn 516 “Come
down, O Love divine”
Postlude Toccata
in D Krieger
Parish Notices
§ Metropolitan
Opera: Borodin’s Prince
Igor will be broadcast at the Marcus Cinema on Saturday, 1 March. The broadcast begins at 11 a.m., and those
attending from the parish plan to gather for refreshment afterward. This opera has not been produced in the U.S.
since 1917, and is now offered in a new production which has received glowing
revues. See http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/08/arts/music/a-new-vision-for-prince-igor-at-the-met.html?_r=0
§ Adult
Formation-Liturgical Workshop: Adult
formation will continue February 23 at 9 a.m. with the fourth 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!
§ 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.
§ 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.
No comments:
Post a Comment