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Thursday, November 6, 2014

Witnessing to The Witnesses

Grace Episcopal Church
Sheboygan, Wisconsin

Grace Notes
6 November 2014

Witnessing to The Witnesses:  What happens when Jehovah’s Witnesses (JWs) knock on your door?  Do you freeze and act like no one’s home?  Or do you open the door and say “I’m too busy and not interested, good bye”?  In the past I would do something similar to that.  I would tell them I’m an Episcopalian and confident in my beliefs and I’m not buying what they are selling.  Earlier this year I decided to take a different approach.
So at the beginning of the summer it was my neighborhood’s turn to hear the JW’s so-called evangelism.  I heard the knock and thought to myself let’s see what they have to say.  They asked if I was a Christian and if I read The Bible.  I said I was and that I don’t read as often as I would like but that I was familiar with Scripture.  They then proceeded to dive into picking certain verses that held up their arguments that the end of the world is around the corner, I should be preparing for it, and that Jesus isn’t God.  As I listened to them and what “their” bible says, I thought to myself: I know I don’t believe their arguments but do I really know that?  I mean I have faith in my beliefs but do I truly know them, know how to explain or defend them, and in the true sense be a witness to my beliefs?  After about 20 minutes they concluded their bombardment of cherry-picking verses and asked if they could come back another time to discuss more.  So I said yes. 
The reason I said yes wasn’t that I wanted to prepare my defense and prove I was right and they were wrong.  I said yes because I believe God was telling me, “Paul, I want you to have a deeper understanding of your faith.”  For me I have always interacted with God and feel blessed to have known him early in my time and have grown up relying on him through the roller coaster of life.  So it’s great that my faith is strong but what is greater is when it grows.  One avenue towards that growth is becoming an active student of His Word and listening to it.  Without study, without practice, my faith won’t grow.  Now this doesn’t mean that I should just read The Bible front to back and memorize verses to hold up the arguments of the Church.  That is the failing of the JW approach.  Their arguments lack any real connection with who God is and what He is teaching us.  There’s a big difference between “reading words” and “listening to His Word”.  To read the words is simple but to listen to them is much more complex, and granted, is difficult.  But through practice God reveals who He is and His calling you should follow.
So five months later, I find myself regularly analyzing Scripture, reading commentary on it, and taking part in the Daily Office.  This has poured over into my perspective on being involved with the Vestry and what God is calling me to be at Grace.  I’m not sure I would have stepped up my faithful study if I decided five months ago to shun the JWs away like I always have in the past.  I’ve met with them six times since our first encounter and each time I re-affirm that my faith is strong and that my understanding of it is getting deeper.  And I am finding ways that I can be a witness in front of people that clearly don’t know who God is.  The next time there is knocking on your beliefs don’t assume it’s just those pagans again trying to preach nonsense.  Maybe it’s God telling you to study your faith and be a witness to it.
―Paul Aparicio

Grace abounds:  Please thank Jessica Ambelang for both Sunday coffee hours.

Youth EventsHigh Schoolers  If you have never been to a Happening weekend, you're chance is coming. Happening is a High School only lock-in that is intentional about being together and learning together about our faith, and who we are as Christians. Many people find that Happening is a defining moment for them in their faith journey, and the friends and community you create together lasts long after the weekend. Happening will be held at All Saints in Appleton, on Nov. 14-16, and you can register at www.diofdl.org/happening

Call for ContributionsIf 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.

A Milestone:  After a month off (October was busy!) work has resumed on the project to strip and refinish the church floor.  All of the floor outside of the nave is complete.  All chapels, confessional/cry room, stair alcove, entrance steps, and within the rood screen and altar rail are complete.  Now the big project on the main floor begins!  If you are interested in participating, please contact Fr. Karl.

Music this week

Prelude                       Sarabande                                                                   Seth Bingham
Entrance Hymn  58   “Lo! He comes with clouds descending”                   St. Thomas
Offertory Hymn  61  “Sleepers, wake! A voice astounds us”                      Wachet auf
Communion Motet    O Salutaris (sung in Latin)                                          Charles Gounod

            O saving Victim, who opens the gate of heaven:
            Enemies threaten wars; grant us strength, send us aid.

            To thee, One in Three, be endless glory;
            Grant us life with thee in our true native land.  Amen.
                                                                        … St. Thomas Aquinas
Comm. Hymn 324     “Let all mortal flesh keep silence”                              Picardy
Closing Hymn 436   “Lift up your heads, ye mighty gates”                         Truro
Postlude                      Toccata in C                                                                Johann Pachelbel        

Parish Notices

§  Adult Formation: Second Sundays will feature discussions centered a series of short films in the BASIC series: — Trends come and go in our culture and the Church sometimes seems to follow. BASIC is a seven-part series of short films that challenges us to reclaim the Church as Scripture describes her to be. This series speaks to those who have questions about the Church and to those who may have lost interest in the Church. Each Sunday we will watch one of the seven short films followed by a time of group discussion facilitated by Bobbi Kraft. The seven films are: Fear God, Follow Jesus, Holy Spirit, Fellowship, Teaching, Prayer, and Communion. Please join us.

§  Heresies: Adult Formation on the third and fourth Sundays will begin a five part series on Heresies. Heretical beliefs are both ancient and current, with none really being new. For example, it is common to hear Jesus described as a very holy man adopted or anointed by God, but “not God”. This is one of the ancient heresies (Arianism) about the person and nature of Christ. We’ll examine all of the classical heresies about who God is, what His will is for the Church, etc., to better understand our own faith. The class will be facilitated by Fr. Karl.

§  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-laydirector, 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.

§  Winter is Coming! We will need to prepare All Saints’ Chapel for winter with some light cleaning inside and out. Please join us on November 15th from 9-12.  As a reward to those that help, fruit pies will be enjoyed after the clean-up!  Mmmm.....pie!

§  Christmas Shoe Boxes: We will also be looking for these items to fill the shoeboxes: toothpaste and individually wrapped toothbrushes, and mild soap bars and wash cloths pencils, colored pencils, erasers and pencil sharpeners, paper to write on. These items must be able to fit into a shoe box. Thank you so much. Please bring items to church for the Christmas shoe boxes. For more information please speak with Pat Ford Smith.

§  Operation Christmas Child: The Sunday School classes are spearheading the effort to put together shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child, and would like to invite the whole parish to participate by donating small items for the shoe boxes, or if you desire a monetary donation that will be spent to get shoe box gift items. The goal is to have this be a parish outreach lead by the youth and children of the parish. Please participate as you can, including prayers for this to be a successful project. The drop off date is November 16th.

§  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.

§  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.

§  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. (You don’t need to be at home.) If you are interested please contact Paul Aparicio (paac92399@yahoo.com).



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