Grace Episcopal Church
Sheboygan, Wisconsin
Grace Notes
25 December 2014
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son
is given. Merry
Christmas! Isaiah’s
words of prophecy echo in our ears this day; may they also echo in our hearts. These words echoed on that Christmas day, that Holy
Nativity two millennia ago, when the angel of the Lord proclaimed to the
shepherds: Fear not:
for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all
people. For unto you is born this day in
the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. Consider those words with care, words
like: good tidings; great joy; a Savior. Consider also the fact that the angel tells the
shepherds that this good news of great joy, of a Savior, is news and joy of
something that happens, of one who comes, this day.
How did the shepherds receive the news of
the angel? These shepherds, who were
likely the same sort of people you can meet today as shepherds in the Middle
East, in other words, untutored boys and young teenagers, how did they receive
this news? The news of the one angel was
accompanied right away with the rejoicing of a multitude of angels: “Glory to God in the highest, and peace to
his people on earth.” This same
rejoicing we make in this celebration of the Holy Eucharist when we sing the Gloria. We sing this Gloria because salvation
is come to us; our Lord is with us. And
so we are called to act like those same shepherds.
What did the shepherds do? They said, “Let us now go even unto
Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made
known unto us.” And then “they went with
haste” and found the “child lying in a manger.”
They went and found their Savior, just as we are called to find our
Savior, who is with us this day. Having
found their Savior, the shepherds returned into the world “... glorifying and
praising God for all that they had heard and seen ...,” just as we, having
found God in this sacrifice of the most Holy Eucharist, are to return into the
world, glorifying and praising God for all that we have heard and seen. Let us thank God for all that we have experienced;
for all that we have experienced in this most Holy Communion, when we do this
to make Jesus present again.
Grace abounds: Please thank:
§
Elizabeth Schaffenburg,
Katy Larson and Bryan Stenz for the Sunday coffee hours.
§
The Christmas decorating
crew: Bernie Markevitch, Rachel Boland, Scot
Fabiano, Kaleigh Kraft, Susan McIntosh, Bryan Stenz, and Jon Whitford.
§
Nick Whitford for
organizing the very successful family movie night.
§
Ben Dobey and the choir for
all of their extra work!
§
Claudia Fischer and the
altar guild for all of their extra work!
§
Bill May for all of his
extra work, and Michele Whitford for myriad extra bulletins and liturgical
details.
§
Scot Fabiano and the
acolytes for all their extra work!
§
Christmas Castle:
§ Christmas Joy: Bernie
Markevitch, Scott Lubbers, Bob and Ann Hanlon, Katy Larson, Mary Massey, Mary
Snyder, Jennifer Keller, Bev Evans, Pat Sather, Traci Revas, Andrea Apparicio, Mary
Kohler, Barb MacEwen, and Joyce Wessel.
“Leave behind” cards: Small bookmark shaped cards are available for
you to give to friends when you talk about the church. These cards list the times of all of our
prayer and worship serives, how to get mor einformation, when Bible study and adult
education meet, etc. The cards are
available in the office or in the Ontario Avenue entrance to the nave. The supply in the office is packaged with
small olive wood crosses. These “leave
behind cards” should always be offered to visitors, but also take a supply with
yoiu to share in outreach.
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.
Youth and Family Ministry: How Family Movie Night impacted me this
Christmas.
At our Family Movie Night we watched The Santa Clause. We had a small but energetic crowd which made the whole event very fun. One of the major themes of the movie is faith. At one point during the movie one of Santa's elves is trying to help the new Santa cope, while at the North Pole for the first time he says, "This is a dream. I see it, but I don't believe it." The elf responds with, "You're missing the point. Seeing isn't believing, believing is seeing".
At our Family Movie Night we watched The Santa Clause. We had a small but energetic crowd which made the whole event very fun. One of the major themes of the movie is faith. At one point during the movie one of Santa's elves is trying to help the new Santa cope, while at the North Pole for the first time he says, "This is a dream. I see it, but I don't believe it." The elf responds with, "You're missing the point. Seeing isn't believing, believing is seeing".
Let's go back to the story we're celebrating. The birth of Jesus, the
son of God, begotten not made, fully God and fully man, Wonderful Counselor,
Jehovah, Emmanuel, Christ, Messiah. This baby had a belly button. Mary and
Joseph had to raise a child (from birth) who was prophesied to be the Messiah
of his people. A daunting task, considering many parent's would be happy if
they raised their child to be "normal". Regardless of the
miracles that brought the two of them to that stable the night he was born. I
wonder how different it was for Joseph to have a baby to hold instead of just a
baby to talk about. Speaking from my personal story, the difference between
having a pregnant wife, and having a child to hold are too numerous to mention.
I wonder if his experience was, "I see it, and I believe it".
In the Gospel of John we read the story of the apostles in the upper
room, and Jesus, recently risen from the grave, appears to them. When Thomas,
one of the twelve comes back, the whole place is buzzing with activity as might
be expected. After his friends witness to him about what had happened, he still
says that he won't believe it until he sees it. Later on, Jesus comes back into
the room and shows Thomas his wounds so that he will believe. "Then Jesus
told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those
who have not seen and yet have believed" (John 20:29).
So, where does that put us? Where do we fit in? Well... we have a
choice. We are called by God to partake in the mystery of his Son. We as
Christians are both being witnessed to, and bearing witness to the life and
grace of Jesus the Messiah. We are like the Shepherds who hear the clarion call
of the angel saying, "Peace, do not be afraid", and who after
witnessing the baby went out and witnessed to all around that something
wonderful has happened. God has come to us, and we can choose to believe in His
Truth, Justice, Freedom, Mercy, Grace, Peace, and Glory. Or we can miss the
point entirely and in spite of seeing it, choose to not believe. When we choose
to believe we can see more clearly that God has come to Earth out of love to
deliver his people, and bring them into closer communion with Him.
In the manger is born this day, the promise of God, Grace and Peace
personified. Hallelujah! Merry Christmas!
―Nick Whitford
Youth and Family Ministries
Ministry
Opportunities: At a recent parish forum questions were
raised about how people are asked to serve in specific ministries. The long and short answer is that people are
not asked; rather, they ask to serve. A
complete list of parish ministries is found on the parish website, www.gracesheboygan.com.
Ministry opportunities are listed under the following headings (found in
the pull-down menu in the top banner):
- Worship: Ministry
Opportunities Descriptions include those of lector,
acolyte, altar guild, greeter, lay eucharistic minister, usher, verger.
- Outreach: Separate headings are found for Our
Community, Our Nation, and Our World. Under each heading ministries are
described, such as work with The Salvation Army. Contact information is provided, or, if
it is left undefined you can always contact the parish office.
- Grace Ministries and Spiritual Gifts:
A lengthy menu allows you to explore an inventory and description
of spiritual gifts and how these gifts relate to ministries of the parish.
Don’t forget the choir! Singers are needed. You can contact Dr. Benjamin Dobey for more
details about the music ministries of the parish.
What’s not on the list? What is not on the list is what Our Lord is
calling you to offer as a ministry. If
you believe you are called to a ministry not listed, please come forward so
that we can recruit others to serve with you.
Music this week:
December 25th at
9 a.m.
Entrance Hymn
83
“O come, all ye faithful”
Gloria in excelsis
New English Folk Mass
Offertory Hymn
87
“Hark! the herald angels sing”
Sanctus & Agnus
Dei
New English Folk Mass
Communion Hymn 115
“What child is this”
Closing Hymn 96
“Angels we have heard on high”
December 28th
at 10:15 a.m., The First Sunday after Christmas (Morning Prayer)
Parish Notices
§
Vacation! Fr. Karl & Elizabeth will be on vacation starting
after the 9:00am Christmas Day Mass and will return Friday, January 2, 2015. If
you have a pastoral emergency please call Deacon Michele 920-918-1230.
§
Christian Formation: On December 28th there will be no
Christian Formation for adults or children. Formation for all ages will resume
January 4, 2015
§
2014 Pledge Statements: Please make every effort to pay the
remainder of your pledge before the end of the year. If you need to know your
balance, please call the office at 452-9659. If you want tax credit for your
pledge paid in 2014, you must have the payment in the office by Tuesday,
December 30th. A check dated the 30th, but arriving later
cannot be counted as paid in 2014. All payments received after the 30th
will be credited in 2015. Thank you so much.
§
Directory Update: We will be printing a new directory to be
finished in time for the Annual Meeting on January 25th. Please
check your entry to make sure your address, phone and email are all correct.
The draft can be found on the narthex table. Thank you.
§
The Feast of the
Epiphany: We will celebrate the Feast of Epiphany Tuesday, January 6th.
Parishioners and their guests are invited to Solemn Mass beginning at 6:00 p.m.
followed by dinner and dessert buffet. Please sign up in the narthex or by
calling the church office at 452-9659.
§
Simple Potluck Supper and Compline: Sunday, January 11th
we will have our first Sunday of the month Simple Potluck Supper at 6:30pm. We
will be joined by Fr. Ralph Osborne from St. Thomas, Menasha who will be
presenting pictures and talking about the upcoming pilgrimage to Israel
November 2015. Come and enjoy the fellowship then stay for Compline at 8:00pm.
The Schola Cantorum will be singing Compline which is the night time prayers
said or sung just before retiring. It is a wonderful and peaceful way to end
the day.
§ Flower Schedule for 2015: 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.
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