Grace Episcopal Church
Sheboygan, Wisconsin
Grace Notes
13 November 2014
Here is the text of the caritas
letter sent (on parish letterhead stationery) by the parish to the participants
at The Happening, our gathering of diocesan youth taking place this weekend
(with our own Kaleigh Kraft as Rector, Bobbi Kraft is co-Lay Director, Nick Whitford as Musician, Jon Whitford as Dad and Dcn. Michele Whitford as spiritual
director.)
WE
ARE PRAYING FOR YOU!
When I first became a priest I
served a parish in the Diocese of Mississippi.
In that diocese we had a summer camp called Camp Caritas. It was a camp for young children whose
parents were in prison. These children
came from very deprived, stressful environments where it was difficult to
understand what self-giving love is.
This was made clear to me at the first arrival of a busload of
children. When the children were
greeted, they each received a backpack full of all the things they would need
in camp, like shoes, a swim suit, tee shirts, fun stuff, etc. They wouldn’t take the backpacks, but held
back. Why? Because no one had ever given them anything
without expecting something in return.
The world had taught them that “giving” was all about getting.
In The Happening you get to
experience God’s love, and experience that His love is unconditional—it really
is all about giving. Part of the way God
expresses His love to you is through the prayers of other people. You experience His love in how you pray for
each other, in how God’s Holy Spirit opens your hearts that you may be filled
with love, and in how being filled with love you can share His love with all
others. And, even if you can’t quite put
your finger on it, you experience God’s love by being lifted up in prayer by
people who are not present with you, and who you may not even know.
At Grace we are praying for you,
for every one of you by name, and for all of you gathered together. We are offering prayers of thanksgiving that
the Holy Spirit is already moving within you, to call you together in worship
and praise, and in exploration of your faith.
We are offering thanksgiving that God’s Spirit has opened your hearts to
now fill them. We are offering
thanksgivings for your witness to us, for how you show us what faith looks like
when it is alive.
May Our Lord bless you in your
gathering, and may the sparks of faith glowing in each of you be fanned by the
Holy Spirit, that the faith which burns in you may be a light to us all!
In Christ,
The Rev. Dr. Karl C. Schaffenburg
Rector
Grace abounds: Please thank:
§
Bill and Deb Gagin for the
Sunday coffee hour.
§
Bill and Deb Gagin for All
Saints’ Chapel cleanup on 8 November.
§
Bernie Markevitch, Barb
MacEwen and Martha Shad for preparing and serving the Sunday birthday
luncheon. They also worked in cleanup,
together with Makiah Shad, Paul Aparicio, Nicci Beeck, Julie Davidson, Paige
Heule, and Pat Ford Smith.
§
All of the parishioners
(twenty-one!) who rang bells for The Salvation Army this past Saturday.
§
Ben Dobey for gardening and
cleanup in the columbarium courtyard.
§
The Boy Scouts for
leaf-raking.
Congratulations! The Rt. Rev. Matthew Gunter has named
Dcn. Michele Whitford as Archdeacon of the diocese. In this capacity she will serve as the “go to
person” when diocesan gatherings are planned and executed, and she will work in
the establishment and maintenance of a council of deacons with the bishop. And, here’s an “Episcofact” for
you: The form of address for an
archdeacon is “The Venerable ...”
Episcofacts: Why do we use incense? Why do some people make the sign of the Cross
at specific times in the Mass? Do we
call it Mass or Holy Eucharist? These
are examples of questions many people have, particularly in a church in which
many people did not grow up as Episcopalians.
Questions can relate to the “wy or the origin of a practice, about
doctrinal statements, etc. Staring this
Sunday, at announcements we have focus on one brief discussion of an
“Episcofact,” as a way to better understand our common identity, and the broad
range within this identity. This Sunday,
we will begin with the sign of the Cross.
If you want to suggest topics or questions, please let Fr. Karl know.
Youth Events: What's Happening!?
Happening is a weekend long High
School youth retreat, organized and lead by youth, for youth. It is and has
been a formative and trans-formative weekend for many people in their
relationship with God and others, being a place where you can experience Christ
in your peers and be Christ in return to your peers. Throughout the weekend
there are games, skits, talks, small groups, music, and of course food. The
whole weekend has been tailored and crafted to allow the Holy Spirit to work
within the group to meet them where they are in their faith, and guide them
towards a deeper faith in Christ.
This, like summer camp, is one of
those events where the people you meet there are likely to be the people you
will know for your whole life. If you let yourself participate, you cannot but
help make new friends, and having friends who are on the same faith walk as you
is empowering, and comforting because you can share your successes and lift
each other up when you fall. My longest friendships come from Happening and
Camp.
Happening is open to all High
School aged people, and those adults who work with or want to work with youth.
Happening is a one-time event which means that you can only be a participant
once, but if you are interested in "doing Happening again" you may be
asked to be on the team, to be a leader among your peers. There are of course
adults on the team too, they play an important but relatively minor role in the
weekend.
Happening was grown out of the
success of Cursillo, by youth who wanted something similar for their age group.
On any given weekend there are multiple Happening's being run, and there are
people all around the world who pray for these events all year round. This
Happening is #68 in the Diocese of Fond du Lac, and we have several members
from Grace Church on the team. Dcn. Michele is Spiritual Director, Jon Whitford
is a Dad, Bobbi Kraft is co-Lay Director, Nick Whitford is Musician, and
Kaleigh Kraft is Rector (which literally means, she's in charge of the whole
thing). This has been a labor of love, and a God stress on each of us, please
keep us in your prayers.
One last thing, if you can at all
come to the closing Eucharist to show your support of the youth, and those
present whom you know, you are welcome and encouraged to do so. Closing
Eucharist will take place at All Saints Episcopal Church, Appleton, this
Sunday, Nov. 16th, at 2:00 pm.If you have questions about the weekend, and the
different ways you can participate please contact Nick, Bobbi, or Dcn. Michele.
Thank you for supporting the youth of Grace and the Diocese.
In Christ,
Nick Whitford
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: Proper 28A
Prelude Prelude
on Christe Redemptor Omnium Hubert Parry
Offertory Hymn 680 “O
God, our help in ages past” St. Anne
Communion Motet Give ear, O ye heavens Dale Wood
Communion Hymn 312 “Strengthen
for service, Lord” Malabar
Closing Hymn 5r41 “Come,
labor on” Ora labora
Postlude Chorale
Prelude on O God, our help Hubert Parry
Parish Notices
§
Adult Education: Sunday,
16 November, we will follow up on the discussion held on last Sunday, about the
Holy Spirit. Our class will be about the dogma and doctrine of the Holy
Spirit, and the life of this Person in the life of the Church, every believer,
and the world. Come armed with questions! Our Heresies course will resume
on 23 November.
§
Happening Closing Eucharist: The Happening Closing Eucharist is a
time of joy, and you're invited. We have several people on team this time.
Kaleigh Kraft is the Rector, Bobbi Kraft is Co-Lay Director, Nick Whitford is
musician, Jon Whitford is a dad, and Deacon Michele is Spiritual Director. Come
and celebrate at the Closing at 2:00 pm on Sunday, November 16th at All Saints,
Appleton. We hope to see you there! More details at diofdl.org/happening.
§
Operation Christmas Child Shoe Boxes: This Sunday November 16th
, 9:00 am, we will be packing boxes for Operation Christmas Child downstairs in
the 4K-2nd classroom. These will be delivered to Sonlight Books for
shipment. It's a real delight to see what our Grace kids put into their
"gift" to be shipped to another country. The cost of shipping
is $7.00 per box, and we have received some donations. If you want to help with
this cost please make checks payable to Operation Christmas Child. There
is a little store set up in the classroom. We could use some of the following
"new" items: pencils, pens, crayons, colored pencils, stickers,
markers, individually wrapped hard candy, fun sun glasses, small toys or
stuffed animals, hair accessories, or anything you think would fit into a
shoebox size container that would be fun for a child. Each box wilI have
soap, washcloth, toothbrush and paste. If you have any questions contact
Pat Ford Smith: 458-0355 or 918-1492 or by e-mail: patfordsmith83@gmail.com or Nicci
Beeck: 208-7243. God bless you and thank you for your generosity.
§
No Mass: There will not be 12:10pm mass Monday, November 17th.
Fr. Karl will be at a meeting in Appleton.
§
Life Line Screening: Grace Church is pleased to offer a
preventive health event. Life Line
Screening, a leading provider of community-based preventive health screenings,
will host their affordable, non-invasive and painless health screenings on
11/20/2014. Five screenings will be offered that scan for potential health
problems related to: blocked arteries which is a leading cause of stroke;
abdominal aortic aneurysms which can lead to a ruptured aorta; hardening of the
arteries in the legs which is a strong predictor of heart disease; atrial
fibrillation or irregular heart beat which is closely tied to stroke risk; and
a bone density screening, for men and women, used to assess the risk of
osteoporosis. Register for a Wellness Package which includes 4 vascular tests
and osteoporosis screening from $149 ($139 with our member discount). All five
screenings take 60-90 minutes to complete.
In order to register for this event and to receive a $10 discount off
any package priced above $129, please call 1-888-653-6441 or visit www.lifelinescreening.com/community-partners.
§
Salvation Army Adopt a
Family Gift tags: We have the tree up, and all the name tags on it,
for the Salvation Army Family gifts, please take a name or two and follow the
instructions on the table next to the tree. Please return the gifts to
Grace Church by December 8th. If you have any questions please call
Nancy Yurk at 453-9948.
§
Tripartite Thanksgiving Eve Worship: Join the Celebration on
Wednesday, November 26th at 7:00pm at St. Dominic’s Parish. Pastor
Kristin Berglund will preach. Join in the Tripartite Combined Choir and enjoy
fellowship and deserts following the worship. The Thanksgiving Offering will
benefit the Salvation Army. We will need two people to serve as ushers and a
reader, if you can help please call the office. Thank you.
§
Christmas Castle Volunteers! On Thursday, December 18th
from 1:00-3:00pm Grace Church will participate in the Salvation Army Christmas
Castle. This gives those in need an opportunity to “shop” for Christmas
presents for their families. We are in need of at least 5 people to help.
Please sign-up on the sheet on the table in the Narthex. If you have any
questions please contact Nancy Yurk at 453-9948.
§
Raking Leaves Fundraiser:
If raking your yard this year seems like too much of a task, then our Boy Scout
Troop is here to help. They will be raking leaves by appointment. If you
are interested please contact Paul Aparicio (paac92399@yahoo.com).
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