Manifestation

Grace Episcopal Church

Sheboygan, Wisconsin

Grace Notes

8 January 2015

Today falls within the octave of the Feast of the Epiphany, the feast on which we commemorate that God has shown Himself to us.  It is, of course, a common sentiment—and one which even expresses a healthy humility—to say “Who has ever seen God?”  Indeed, Scripture teaches that no one has ever seen God in the totality of His Being (Jn. 1.18), and yet in Jesus we have seen God.  God has shown forth Himself.  When Philip complains to Jesus, “... show us the Father, and we shall be satisfied” (Jn. 14.8), the Lord replies “He who has seen me has seen the Father ...” (Jn. 14.9).  This should make us pause and focus.  What Jesus is telling us is that to the extent we experience His presence, His love, we experience God.

In responding to Philip Jesus uses a word for sight which refers not to how we look upon something with our eyes, but to how we perceive and experience something.  In other words, when we look for “evidence” before us of God, we are missing the point.  We are missing the point that God manifests Himself (the word epiphany comes from the Greek word for “to manifest”) not so much in things that can be measured but in what is experienced by a heart, a mind, a being open to His presence.  There are many things about God we can sense with our eyes and ears.  We can see that the Lord of all is raised upon a cross, to die the death of a slave.  We can see hear His words, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Lk. 23.34).  But is only with a heart and mind and being open to God that we can experience that this death and this forgiveness are combined; they are one and the same.  It is by His sacrifice that Jesus forgives the sins of the world, that He takes our sins upon Himself to redeem them. 

Which means what?  Many things, indeed, but in this season let’s focus on one.  Let’s focus on the truth that as our sins have been atoned for through God’s self-giving sacrifice we are changed.  We are God’s children and heirs, and as members of His household it is up to us to manifest His love in the world.  Let the epiphany of His love be manifested in our lives.

Grace abounds:  Please thank:

§  Anne and Bob Hanlon, Elizabeth Schaffenburg, Bryan Stenz, and Jennifer Whitford for the Sunday coffee hours.

§  Bernie Markevitch and Barb MacEwen for preparing the Epiphany supper.

§  Nicci and Chase Beeck, Jack Britton, Ed Clabots, John Davis, Mary Kohler, Bob MacEwen, Mary Ann Neuses,Jennifer Pawlus, Elizabeth Schaffenburg and Grace Zangara for Ephiphany supper for clean-up.

§  Terry and Mary Kohler for donating wine for the Epiphany supper.

“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 services, 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.

The Christmas Pageant redux:  The Christmas season has flown by and the memories linger on. One of the loveliest memories I hold dear is the 4:00 PM children's pageant of the Nativity presented during mass on Christmas Eve.  There is something special about watching a wondrous variety of angels flitting about the altar, and having shepherds, inn keepers, a drummer boy and a star waiting in the wings as the Annunciation and birth of Jesus our Lord is narrated and portrayed, by the youngest of our church family.  Weeks in advance Dr. Dobey, teachers, parents, grandparents, and others take time out of this very hectic season to attend rehearsals, choir practice, and costume fittings.  There is so much excitement that goes on downstairs as each one is cast in their various roles for this remarkable depiction of the True Reason for the season.  Some of the kids have been in this pageant for a number of years, and for others it is their first time, and still others join our little troupe minutes before we begin. The joy and excitement of these young ones is enough to warm the hearts of everyone present.  It must have been just like this on the night of our Dear Saviour's birth. 

I was struck by the vision of those who are now parents bringing their children to Grace Church to participate in the very event they participated in when they were kids.  (I am getting older!) From generation to generation the traditions live on. God bless those who have faithfully made sure this happens every single year from the extra bulletin's and mass to the many who have passed the baton to all who share in this ministry.  I thank each and everyone of you from the bottom of my heart.

In Christ,

Pat Ford Smith

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.

WORSHIP:  “I’m coming back to the heart of worship” were words to a song I heard after leaving Grace Church Sunday morning.  Listening to more of the words of that song I was again reminded of these words:  Is worship something I have made it.  Who or what I worship are questions I have to continually ask myself.  I attended a number of different worship services over Christmas holidays, starting with attending one where my daughter plays the saxophone and guitar.   I have struggled with these services as being too “performance-orientated” for the musicians are on stage & that day they didn’t share in Eucharist.  Is it because I don’t feel included in the worship that I am not crazy about this type of service?  Are the people in the chairs worshipping God or the musicians or the words on the screen?  Next was a children’s service with a skit, many Christmas songs & ending with Eucharist & of course, “Silent Night” by candlelight.  Was this service reverent enough, or was there too much merriment going on?  A couple days later, I participated in a house service, for my parents’ anniversary.  Homemade bread & reading I Corinthians 13, Paul’s description of love, was, in my mind, perfect for this service.  Did having really good tasting bread really help me to reflect on Jesus & what He wants me to chew on from time to time?  Sunday at Grace Church I felt blessed to just sit in the beauty of the building decked out in its Christmas finery.  I loved listening to Bobbi preach a very special sermon, but Bobbi is a lay person & aren’t clergy the only people who can preach from the pulpit?  Was Morning Prayer reverent enough, especially with no music or Eucharist?  I concluded Sunday at St Paul’s with a “regular” service by being lead by a supply priest who speaks without notes and proclaims a good message & we shared the Eucharist.  Did the sameness of this service make me too comfortable about it all?  My point in sharing all of this with you is that I recognized again, the different ways we can worship Our Lord & Savior.  It should not be about the “smells & bells”, beautiful music, good preaching, decorations, or any of the other things that we sometimes make to be more important than what they are, or as we say in our EfM class—our golden calves.  And speaking of EfM, our discussion Tuesday centered on Ps. 150—the Praise Psalm.  “Let everything that have breath praise The Lord”.  Do we praise God enough, even in the everyday things of our lives?  Worship needs to be about Jesus.  It is not what I like or think is important, but am I worshipping His Holy Name.   Is this where my heart is when I worship?  Do I need to be in a sacred building or can I worship in the woods, along a river or my own home?  Am I more focused on who is in attendance, who is wearing what or are those Packers going to win later today?  My New Year’s resolution is to try and make my worship about Jesus and NOT about what I like or want.  We all like different things and new & old worship experiences can be good, but only if we worship Our Lord & Savior.  What is important to you when you worship & does this distract you from worshipping Jesus & His Holy Name?  (Barb Drewry-Zimmerman)

Creation and Science:  The “debate” between faith and science is a false one that conflates different ways of understanding reality.  But take a look at this piece in The Wall Street Journal, http://www.wsj.com/articles/eric-metaxas-science-increasingly-makes-the-case-for-god-1419544568?mod=trending_now_4  It turns out many scientists are “doing the sums” in favor of the reality of a Creator.

An interesting corollary:  About 8 in 10 cosmologists are theists (they believe in a Creator, even if they may not be Christians).  Less than 2 in 10 psychologists are theists.  Does this reflect a contrast in where we focus?

Youth and Family Ministry:  This semester in film school we are digging into relationships. All types of relationships, romantic, friendly, unfriendly, the relationships we have with our parents, God, ourselves. The list can go on.

Our first film is Enchanted (2007) starring Amy Adams and Patrick Dempsey. This is a story of Giselle a fairytale princess who is waiting for true-love's kiss. Robert, on the other hand, is a divorce lawyer and much more rational; he is planning proposing to his girlfriend after careful scrutiny of each others strengths and weaknesses; he just needs to break the news to his six year old daughter.

As a class we will take a look at these characters and discuss the ideas they propose about romantic love. On the "God side" we will be looking at selections from the Song of Songs and other passages regarding love, as well as looking at the bible in terms of a marriage covenant between God and his church.

In our first installment of Enchanted we discussed what makes a fairytale a fairytale and what is different in the real world (in a word: dating). There was also general hilarity when one of the songs, in the animated portion, suggests that lips (for true-love's kiss) are the only things that touch between a boy and a girl. I am looking forward to the rest of this movie and the discussion that is already coming out of it.

Until next time,

Nick

P.S. - Here is a link to the song I referenced. If you have never seen Enchanted it's a very fun spin on the fairytale genre, and rather joyfully pokes fun at itself. Here's the link: http://youtu.be/1Vr8wU4aUsM

Music this week:  The First Sunday after the Epiphany

Prelude                        How brightly shines the Morning Star                                          Buxtehude

Entrance Hymn 124    “What star is this, with beams so bright”                                      Puer nobis

Offertory Hymn 497   “How bright appears the Morning Star”                        Wie schoen leuchtet

Communion Motet      Christ, when for us you were baptized                                                    Hart

Comm. Hymn 120      “The sinless one to Jordan came”                                           Solemnes haec

Closing Hymn             How brightly shines the Morning Star                                                   Bach

Parish Notices

Adult Formation: resumes on Sunday, 11 January. On 11, and 18 January our adult education hour (9 to 10 a.m.) will focus on the Holy Spirit. We speak of and invoke the Spirit in prayer and in our understanding of faith. We give thanks for the gifts of the Spirit, but what do we really know about this Person of the godhead? What does the Church teach? How is the Spirit experienced in the life of faith, by individuals and by the Church? How do we make ourselves more available to the Spirit? We will discuss these topics during the January classes, as facilitated by Fr. Karl. 

Simple Potluck Supper and Compline: Sunday, January 11^th 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.

Holy Land and Jordan Pilgrimage: October 30– November 14, 2015.

Aims of this Pilgrimage

●      To study the Life and Ministry of Jesus in context

●      To rediscover the roots and traditions of Christian faith

●      To explore the Bible lands as students and pilgrims

●      To integrate academic biblical study with personal Christian faith

●      To relate to the local Church in the Holy Land

●      To begin to relate our experience to our lives and ministries back home

Girl Scout Cookies! Girl Scout Cookies can be preordered Sunday, January 11^th and 18^th after both masses. Money will be due late in February when the cookies will be delivered at church. Any Grace Church youth member who is involved in Daisy/Girl Scouts should come in their troop uniform to help work the booth and we will divide the orders up equally between the participants.

Organ Concert: Sunday, January 18^th at 4pm. Prior to the Official Launch of the Soup-d’-Do Fundraising Event, R. Benjamin Dobey will present “Evocations,” a diverting organ concert which will include “Thou art the Rock,” “The Battle between David and Goliath,” “Fire in a Chinese Laundry,” and “Victoria our Queen,” along with other colorful and evocative pieces not normally associated with the pipe organ. Dr. Dobey will be ably assisted by Bernie Markevitch, narrator, and members of the Parish Choir providing occasional special effects, including, at times, singing. The concert is free, however a free-will offering will be accepted.

Soup-d’-Do: On January 18^th a post organ concert supper will introduce a new fundraiser for Grace Church. Bernie and Barb are offering 3 gluten-free soups to be sampled and orders can be taken. The single and double serving containers will be frozen and orders picked up. The soups offered on the 18^th will be Sicilian Chicken, Pizza Soup and Bean & Ham.

The Annual Meeting: This year’s annual meeting will take place on Sunday January 25, 2015.  We will have one Mass at 9:00am followed by the annual meeting held in the Church.  We plan to have an all parish pot-luck lunch in St. Nicholas Hall at the conclusion of the meeting.  The agenda of the meeting will include committee reports, new Vestry and Warden elections, 2014 financial review and 2015 budget, review Vestry actions, and an overall review of the 2015 calendar. Please make every effort to attend and participate.

All Parish Potluck Lunch: Following the Annual Meeting we will have and All Parish Potluck Lunch. Please bring a dish to pass and share in fellowship. Please sign up on the sheet in the Narthex.

Annual Meeting Reports: If you are in charge of anything, please write a short report to be included in the Annual Report and send it to the office office@gracesheboygan.com by Sunday, January 18th. Thank you so much.

Call for Vestry Nominations: Vestry elections will be held on Sunday, 25 January, at the parish annual meeting. We need at least six nominees, with names provided to the parish office by 20 January. You can nominate another person or yourself. To run for Vestry you must be a qualified elector of the parish, which means that: (1) You are regular in your attendance on worship;(2) You have received Holy Eucharist at least once in the prior year;(3) You are active in your support of the parish through a pledge or some other form of giving; and (4) Your are at least sixteen years of age. Vestry members are called to lead. Be prepared in the election process to provide a brief biographical sketch which allows your fellow parishioners to better understand your relationship with God and His Church, and your call to lead. Vestry members are called to commitment, and are expected to attend twelve meetings throughout the year (once per month).

Call for Diocesan Convention Delegates and Alternates: Diocesan Convention is scheduled for October 23-24, 2015 at St. John’s in Wausau. We are in need of 5 delegates and 3 alternates to attend and vote at Diocesan Convention. This will include a pre-convention information meeting, there are several scheduled including a webinar; Friday evening October 23^rd and all day Saturday, October 24^th. If you are willing to serve please call the office. In the event that we have more than eight responses we will vote on January 25 at the Annual Meeting.

Coffee Hour Schedule: There is a new sign-up sheet for hosting coffee hour in 2015. If you would like to host please sign up for either 8:00am or 10:15am. We are in need of someone to oversee the schedule and be the point person for questions. If you would be able to spend a few minutes a week double checking the sign-up sheet and giving reminders or if you have questions please see Deacon Michele or Bobbi Kraft. Thank you so much.

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.

Directory Update: We will be printing a new directory to be finished in time for the Annual Meeting on January 25^th. 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.