Grace Episcopal Church
Sheboygan, Wisconsin
Grace Notes
6 May 2015
If you
were going to share one verse of scripture each day, how would you do this, and
with whom? These are not an abstract
questions. Beginning on 1 May the
parish’s Twitter feed has posted one verse of scripture each day. It is fairly easy to answer the second
question. The sharing is with all: with those who know the parish and those who
don’t; with those who know God and those who don’t; those who are nearby and
those are far off; those familiar with the Bible, and those who don’t know
God’s Word. In short, the sharing is
intended to comprise the widest possible broadcast of God’s Word.
Which
brings us to the first question, the harder one. Which verse each day, selected how? The original idea was to share a verse and
prayer, and to always tie the verse and prayer into the lessons appointed for
the Daily Office for the day, and/or the feasts on the calendar of saints. But the 140 character limit on Twitter
prevents this, particularly when the characters used in a hash tag (the unique
identifier that people can follow) are included. We started out with a hash tag that is too
long, #GraceEpiscopalSheboygan, have evolved to a shorter one #GraceNotes, but
continue to explore options. And yet the
issue remains: how to pick one verse a
day, a verse directed to all and not targeted to any particular audience or
demographic.
We rely,
of course, on the Holy Spirit to touch those who are open to being touched, and
to use particular words for particular people.
So the process has been as basic as reading the lessons for the Daily
Office/feasts and picking one. And
that’s where things get a little interesting, for someone is picking that
verse; I am.
People
familiar with publishing will describe all that you can learn about a person by
how he or she indexes a book. This is
particularly so if an author prepares an index for his or her own book. (Most publishers rely on professional
indexers.) What one picks, how one
classifies and cross-references, these all reveal a lot about what one
considers important. So, by analogy,
picking one verse of scripture a day reveals a lot about how the picker engages
God’s Word.
You can
consider this entire post to be background to what the point is, a test. The test is for you. Prepare your own “one verse a day” compilation
of God’s Word, as if you were going to share this with all others. Work from a set of readings like the Daily
Office lessons, or use some other system that does not allow you to decide
which books of the Bible to focus upon on any given day. And then pick one verse. Do this for a week, or for a month. And then go back and look at your selections
and ask yourself “Why these?” What in my
spirit/mind/heart allowed these verses to jump out at me?
If you
take the test you will: (a) be exposed
to a lot of the Bible; and (b) engage in a spiritual exercise that will reveal
words to you that God wants you to focus upon.
What will be further revealing is if you compare your list with those of
others, and then sit down to think about what God is revealing to you about
each other, and how you can listen to each other about what God is saying.
Grace abounds:
Please thank:
§
Kevan and Tracie Revis, and Jane Hanson for the
Sunday coffee hours.
§ Bill Gagin and John Davis for help on the floor refinishing project.
§ Mary Snyder for help in cleaning the church during Bill’s
recuperation.
§ Ben Dobey for gardening and cleanup is the columbarium courtyard.
MEMORIAL DAY: This
Memorial Day, we would like to recognize the veterans whose ashes are in the
columbarium with flags, as is done in many cemeteries. The biggest
problem we have is that we don't know who all the veterans are. If
your loved one in the columbarium was a veteran, please either e-mail me
(address in directory) or leave a note in the office. If you know
something about any of the others, especially if they do not have family
members in the parish, please speak up! (Mary Clabots)
Changes in Service Schedule: Effective 1 May the schedule of weekly
services will change. On Thursdays, Evening Prayer will no longer be
offered by clergy. On Saturdays, Morning Prayer and Mass will no longer
be offered. These changes have been decided upon by the Vestry on the
bases of: (1) Attendance patterns at each service have generally included
clergy only; (2) A seven day a week service schedule was adopted at a time when
the parish had three priests. The schedule is not maintainable with one
priest.
The full
schedule of services is as follows:
Sunday Mass Morning Prayer Evening Prayer*
8:00 a.m. (said service)
10:15 a.m. (solemn service)
Monday 12:10
p.m. 8:45 a.m. 5:10
p.m.
Tuesday 5:30 p.m. 8:45 a.m. 5:10
p.m.
Wednesday 5:30 p.m. 8:45
a.m. 5:10 p.m.
Thursday 9:00 a.m.† 8:45 a.m.
Friday 7:15 a.m. 7:00 a.m. podcast
Saturday No services/church closed.‡
*Evening
Prayer is followed each day by intercessory prayers in the chapel of Our Lady
of Walsingham. On Mondays, intercessory prayer is offered in a corporate
Rosary.
†Mass is followed
immediately by bible study.
‡Confessions will no
longer be heard on second Saturdays. Confessions will be heard by
appointment.
Feast days will be
celebrated as announced in the monthly calendar.
Spring Cheer: Thirteen parishioners were delivered flowers,
soup or cookies on Spring Cheer Day, April 30th. The recipients were most
grateful and happy. Please thank the following people for all their
efforts in this endeavor: Andrea and
Leona Aparicio, Dcn. Mike Burg, Mary Clabots, Julie Davidson, Ben Dobey, Bev
Evans, Mary Kohler, Katy Larson, Barb MacEwen, Bernie Markevitch, Mary Ann
Neuses, Elizabeth Schaffenburg, Mary Snyder, Joyce Wessel.
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: The Sixth
Sunday of Easter (Rogation Sunday)
Prelude Andantino; Elevation Eugene Gigout
Entrance Hymn 405 “All things bright and beautiful” Royal Oak
Offertory Hymn 400 “All creatures of our God and King” Lasst uns erfreuen
Communion Motet Christ hath a garden English folk
song, arr. Gerald Near
Communion Hymn 292 “O Jesus, crowned with all renown”
Kingsfold
Closing Hymn 291 “We plow the fields and scatter” Wir pfluegen
Postlude Offertoire pour un Jour de Fête Gigout
Parish Notices
§ Adult
Formation: we will continue to offer a six week course
on the nuts-and bolts of the Old Testament and how God’s Word continues to
speak to us through this living testimony. Classes will meet on Sunday mornings
at 9 a.m. in the fellowship hall, and will be facilitated by Fr. Karl.
§ Eve of
Ascension Day: We will be celebrating the Eve of Ascension
Day May 13th. We will have a Solemn Eucharist at 6:00pm. This is a
principle feast of the year when we celebrate Jesus’ ascension to heaven to sit
at the right hand of God. Please plan to attend.
§ Tripartite
Ascension Day Service: We will
celebrate the Ascension of our Lord with our Covenant Partners May 14th
at 6:00pm. The service will be at St. Peter Lutheran Church, 2104 Geele Ave.
§ Gala Reception! Please sign up to
bring sweets and savories and to clean up on May 17th when Bishop
Gunter makes his annual visitation. There is a sign-up sheet on the Narthex
table. Thank you so much!
§ Bishop’s Visitation: May 17th
we welcome Bishop Matthew Gunter for his first visitation. The Bishop will
preach and celebrate at both 8 and 10:15 services. We will have a First
Communions celebration at 8:00am. We will celebrate the Sacrament of
Confirmation with Reception and Renewal of Baptismal Vows at the 10:15 am
service. Please join us for a gala reception to welcome Bishop Gunter and honor
the Confirmed.
§ Summer
Camp: Diocese of Fond du Lac Summer Camp is for
kids age 4 through graduating 12th graders. Camp is an opportunity
for campers and staff to learn more about God, about community, about
themselves and have fun! If you have questions about what camp is like please
call Michele at the office. Scholarships
are available.
o
Senior
Camp (completed grades 9-12) June 14 (Sun 3pm) –
June 20 (Sat 12noon)
o
Middler
Camp (completed grades 6-8) June 21 (Sun 3pm) – June
25 (Thu 5pm)
o
Junior
Camp (completed grades 2-5) June 21 (Sun 3pm) – June
25 (Thu 5pm)
o
KinderCamp
(parent & kids ages 4-7) June 25 (Thu 2pm)
– June 27 (Sat 12noon) There are application forms on the Narthex table.
§ Follow
Grace Church on Twitter:
@GEC_Sheboygan
§
We Are on Itunes! Check out the new podcast!!!
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