Grace Episcopal Church
Sheboygan, Wisconsin
Grace Notes
10 July 2014
7 July is the anniversary of the Roswell
Incident, the 1947 crash of an airborne object on a ranch near Roswell, New
Mexico. Roswell is a sort of “holy
grail” for believers in alien life forms and visitations. This poses the issue to people of faith of
how we differentiate our own beliefs from those which are ridiculed as
involving “magical thinking”.
A common mental stance in our world is one in
which a person treats matters of faith, the supernatural, miracles, etc. a
something akin to alien visitations because he or she has not experienced the
supernatural (or has not realized an experience of the supernatural). This approach is very often described in
terms of a supposed opposition between reason and faith, a description which
itself is based on a profound ignorance of what reason is and what faith
is. But, let’s restrict discussion just
to the matter of experience as the sole measure of truth. Is all human knowledge based on experience? Must experience be direct?
I can have direct experience of something like
saltiness by putting salt on my tongue.
(Whether your experience of saltiness is the same as mine raises an
entirely different issue.) Suppose,
however, that I have high blood pressure—something which in most cases I cannot
sense directly. I can choose to rely on
the accumulated experience of others—on the body of knowledge which has
resulted from scientific measurement and experiment—that an ongoing excess
intake of sodium (from salt) will increase my blood pressure. I can choose to heed my doctor’s advice to
restrict my intake of salt. In other
words, I can choose to rely on indirect experience. This would be a rational decision, and, in
fact, rejecting the indirect experience (the accumulated scientific and medical
evidence) would be irrational. To reject
evidence is to engage in magical thinking, that I am somehow different.
What about experience of the supernatural, of
miracles? Most of us would not claim to
have experienced a miracle. Perhaps more
of us would if we did not reject the idea, but in rejecting the idea are we
rejecting indirect experience, the accumulated experience and testimony of
others? That’s one possibility, but
another is that we can reject their testimony because we can explain their
experience as delusional or mistaken.
But here’s a problem with this second “explanation”. It is that we have to say that something
within nature, within material causes, within the scientific method of cause
and effect and testable hypothesis, can explain something that is outside of
nature, that is supernatural? The very
definition of supernatural is of something that is beyond nature, and so, for
example, we cannot use material measurements to prove or disprove the existence
of the soul.
God is not an object within nature. By any method of rational thinking we cannot
define a first cause to be part of what is caused, even in an otherwise wholly
“material” universe. Confusing the
Roswell Incident with matters of faith betrays very sloppy thinking, bad
philosophy.
Two final points: (1) In faith we claim not only experience as
one foundation of faith (we call this Reason); we also claim revelation—that
God has chosen to reveal Himself and His will for us to us. (We find this revelation, albeit imperfectly,
in Scripture and Tradition.) (2) I
don’t believe in alien visitations!
Grace Abounds: Please thank:
§
Bobbie May for trimming of
shrubs, and gardening.
§
Danie Wilson, and Bob and
Barb MacEwen for the Sunday coffee hours.
§ The Grace Walsingham Foundation for providing a passenger van
for transport for diocesan and parish youth the The Episcopal Youth Event and
mission in Philadelphia.
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.
Episcopal Youth
Event: A team from the diocese is now in
Philadelphia, for a nationwide youth gathering, which will be followed by
mission work in the city. Our own
Kaleigh Kraft is part of this ministry, which will run through 18 July. Please continue to lift up Kaleigh, and all
of EYE in prayer.
Hebrew: After two years of study of New Testament
Greek we will offer a course in biblical Hebrew. Classes will meet from 7 to 9 p.m. on
Thursdays, beginning on 11 September.
There is a cost of $100 for materials, but this can be supported through
a generous scholarship fund. The class
is open to people who are not members of the parish, so feel free to invite
friends from the community or other churches.
This class does not assume that
you have any particular ability in learning a language. The goal is not to learn to speak and write
Hebrew, but to be able to work in the biblical text using written and online
aids. We want to be able to work in the
text to gain insights into the message of the Bible, insights that may not be
apparent in English. For example, how
verbs work is vastly different in Hebrew.
The concept of time is very different.
What can we learn about God and His will for us by exploring these
differences? Our discussions will be
more theological than linguistic, as they were in our Greek class.
If you are interested, or know
someone who is, contact Fr. Karl.
Grace Abounds: Please thank:
§
Bobbie May for trimming of
shrubs, and gardening.
§
Danie Wilson, and Bob and
Barb MacEwen for the Sunday coffee hours.
§ The Grace Walsingham Foundation for providing a passenger van
for transport for diocesan and parish youth the The Episcopal Youth Event and
mission in Philadelphia.
“Before and After”: In the July edition of The Angelus the ministry of the month is described, a floor
cleaning project. If you want to see the
result so far, look at the Lady Chapel.
The floor was last refinished in 1988.
There are colors to be seen that haven’t been seen in years!
Last Sunday I put the project on
hold due to a technical problem with the finish remover, but we have tried
another and “We have liftoff!” If you
are interested in details, and how you can help, contact Fr. Karl.
If you are interested in
participating, see Fr. Karl. This is
tough, physical labor, so if you are challenged in working on hands and knees,
consider whether you want to help with material costs, with a gift outside of
your regular giving to the parish.
Summer adult
formation: In the 17 June web publication of the journal First Things: A Journal of Religion and Public Life is found the
article “Why Do People Become Catholic?”, in which R. R. Reno examines the
phenomenon and reasoning of conversion of Protestants to Roman
Catholicism. See http://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2014/06/why-do-people-become-catholic R. R. Reno (a Roman Catholic) celebrates the
catholicity of the Church, and enumerates the following realities about the
Church Catholic, that she is: 1. visible; 2. universal; 3.
enduring; 4. possessed of
authority; 5. embodies beauty; 6. hierarchical; 7. in communion with the saints; and 8. a moral witness. Our discussions will focus on these eight
realities of the Church, and particularly how these are embodied in
Anglicanism. In other words, we are
going to talk about how and why the Church matters, and how we participate in how she matters! This class will meet beginning on Sunday, 20
July, at 9 a.m.
Music this week: Proper 10A
Prelude Three
Chorale Preludes on Blessed Jesus, we are
here J. S. Bach
Entrance Hymn 408 “Sing
praise to God, who reigns above” Mit Freuden zart
Mass Setting New English Folk Mass Timms & Warrell
Offertory Hymn 379 “God
is love, let heaven adore him”
Abbot’s Leigh
Communion Hymn 660 “O
Master, let me walk with thee” Maryton
Closing Hymn 632 “O
Christ, the Word Incarnate” Munich
Postlude Prelude
& Fugue in G Minor J. K. Fischer
Grace Episcopal Church is pleased to present an antiques
and collectibles appraisal event featuring expert Mark F. Moran on Thursday,
July 24, 2014 from 4:00 to 7:00 PM.
Moran bought and sold antiques for
more than 30 years, specializing in vintage folk art, Americana , and fine art. He has been active
as an appraiser of antiques and fine art for more than 20 years.
Formerly senior editor of Antiques
and Collectibles Books for Krause Publications in Iola , Wis. Atlantique City ,
an antique show held in Atlantic City , N.J. ; and as editorial director of F+W
Media 's Antiques Group.
He is the author or co-author of
more than 25 books on antiques and collectibles, including three editions of
the 800-page annual Warman's Antiques & Collectibles.
Pre-registration and payment is required. Cost is $15 per item. Cash, check or MC/VISA will be accepted. You
may sign up for a maximum of 3 items. Please call 920-912-4505 to schedule your
appointment.
Categories of objects for appraisal may include:
Fine art, including
paintings, drawings, prints and statuary.
Furniture (usually smaller
pieces are best).
Ceramics, including figural
pottery, vases, dishes, kitchenware and stoneware.
Glassware, including
lighting, marbles and souvenir items.
Vintage photographs,
including snapshots, tintypes, Ambrotypes and daguerreotypes.
Advertising, including
posters, lithographed tin, paper and
figural objects.
Folk art, including
carvings, quilts, weathervanes, windmill weights and "outsider" art.
Assorted toys, including
dolls (bisque, composition and plastic), windups and mechanical banks.
Metalware, including iron,
bronze, brass, pot metal, silver, silver plate.
Clocks, including mantel,
hanging and figural.
Costume jewelry, including
brooches, bracelets, earrings.
Musical Instruments,
including string, wind and reed instruments.
Books.
Sports Memorabilia.
Excluded items: all weapons, including swords
and knives (though folding knives with advertising are accepted); Nazi
memorabilia; coins and paper money; fine jewelry, including precious gems;
Beanie Babies.
Interest in this
event is already starting to build and this is exciting. Parishioners have already started to register
to have their valuable evaluated and volunteers are stepping forward to help on
this date. Won’t you consider donating
one to two hours of your time that day?
A sign up in the narthex is available.
Proceeds from this fund-raiser goes towards youth outreach.
Parish Notices
§ Brat Fry in July: Saturday,
July 19 from 11:00am until 5:00pm Grace Church will have a brat fry at Festival
Foods in Sheboygan. All proceeds will go to Grace Church and Missions. Please
come out and enjoy a great brat, fellowship and support the mission of Grace.
§ The Phantom of the Opera: Two tickets are available at first come first serve basis to see The Phantom of the Opera at the Marcus
Center in Milwaukee July 31, 2014 at 7:30pm. The seats are M27 and M28, the
tickets are $98 each and the proceeds go to Sharon Richardson Hospice. Please
call Margaret at 918-8653 for more information.
§ A Prayer Ministry at Grace: Saturday mornings at 10:00am members of Grace meet and walk
throughout the church praying. Our prayers are focused on asking
the Holy Spirit to be released in a deeper, more powerful way into our
Grace Church community. The prayers begin at the back of the church and continue
through each pew, chapels, pulpit, sanctuary and sacristy. Where the Spirit
leads, we will pray, ending at the main altar. In Acts1:14 we read that the
early church prayed together constantly. Paul reminds us in 1 Thess.5:17 we are
to pray without ceasing. It is with deep devotion and great conviction that we
begin this Prayer Ministry by meeting once a week to pray for our Church. If
anyone feels called to join in the praying, please come. If you are unable to
join us in person, you can still join us in spirit by praying for those listed
in our Parish Directory. Saturdays 10AM.
§ Antiques and Collectibles Appraisal Event: featuring expert
Mark F. Moran on Thursday, July 24, 2014 from 4:00 to 7:00 PM. Moran is
best known as a host on PBS Antique Roadshow. Interest in this event is already starting to build and this is
exciting. Parishioners have already
started to register to have their valuable evaluated and volunteers are
stepping forward to help on this date.
Won’t you consider donating one to two hours of your time that day? A sign up in the narthex is available. Pre-registration and payment is
required. Cost is $15 per item. Cash, check or MC/VISA will be accepted. You
may sign up for a maximum of 3 items. Please call to schedule your appointment
or for further information and if you would like to help on this event please
contact Barb MacEwen at 920-912-4505. Proceeds from this fund-raiser goes
towards youth outreach.
§ EfM or Education for Ministry: was created to help you find your vocation and ministry with a trusted
group of friends. By studying scripture, history and reading other people’s
writings, we discover more about God’s wonderful plan for our lives. Two groups are starting September 8, 2014.
The Monday group meets at 6 pm and the Tuesday group meets at 9 am. Sign up by
August 1st in order to get your books before the first class. Cost is $350 and
this includes college credits and all your materials. Scholarships are
available, so don’t let the cost keep you from participating. You can go to the
EfM website at: www.sewanee.edu/EFM and print your registration materials or if
you have questions, don’t hesitate to contact Barb Drewry-Zimmerman at: bzimmy@excel.net or call her at 920-893-5189.
§ 4th Annual Rummage Sale Blessed Trinity Parish: Friday, July 18 & Saturday, July 19,
2014 from 8:00 am – 2:00 pm Blessed Trinity Parish (in Church Basement)
319 Giddings Avenue, Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin will have a rummage sale which
will include household items, toys, children’s clothes and small appliances.
Please plan to attend our 4th Annual Rummage Sale.
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