Grace
Episcopal Church
Sheboygan,
Wisconsin
Grace
Notes
29 October 2015
Bl. James
Hannington and Companions (d. 1885), all martyrs, are remembered this day. It is timely, therefore, that in a piece
appearing this week in Relevant (http://www.relevantmagazine.com), we are reminded of the difference between persecution and lack of
privilege. I’ll come back to that point,
but first let’s review a little about Hannington.
Hannington was
appointed missionary Bishop of Eastern Equatorial Africa in 1884. In 1885 he and his companions were
apprehended on the shores of Lake Victoria by forces of King Mwanga. Mwanga feared that the missionaries were
agents of imperial design, and the Hannington and his companions were tortured
at length, and then murdered on this
date in 1885. Hannington’s last word
were: “Go, tell Mwanga I have purchased
the road into Uganda with my blood.”
That’s persecution for the faith; martyrdom. What is not is what happens when people in
society around us ignore faith-based positions on social issues. What is not persecution is when those around
us fail to accomodate to our positions.
Even when those who are at best indifferent to the faith (and who may
even be frankly hostile to the faith) are heavy-handed, and use state power to
order all to comply with a statute or
court decree, that’s not persecution.
Persecution involves being seized bodily, or having one’s church burned
down by hostile forces. Persecution
involves “ethnic cleansing,” as we are now witnessing in Syria, in Nigeria, and
elsewhere.
Being ignored or
ridiculed; being ordered to comply with the secular law, these are not
persecution. They reflect, rather, that
the Church no longer enjoys a position of privilege in our culture and society.
Losing privilege
when we are used to it (even when we have failed to recognize our status as
privileged) certainly doesn’t feel good.
It can certainly be traumatic.
When anyone is used to “how the world works” and now finds himself or
herself redefined into a minority opinion, it is shocking to suddenly find that
one’s image on the “RADAR screen” of society is now ghostly at best. Loss of privilege means that others can ignore
those in a minority; that the views of the minority are not taken into account
because they “don’t matter”.
Persecution will
come. Scripture reveals this. But short of witnessing to Jesus as Lord with
our blood (and note that Hannington’’s final words were accurate), we need to
recognize the loss of privilege to be no more (and no less) than a call to
action, a reminder that we are each called to be witnesses to God’s glory and
mercy, and that by perservering in faith when it may be less popular or
convenient not only will we become stronger in our own faith, we will call
those around us to better consider their own, or their own lack.
Grace
abounds: Please thank:
§ Jane Hanson the Sunday coffee hour.
§ All those who helped in cleanup
following the potluck stewardship luncheon:
Ed and Mary Clabots, Julie Davidson, Leslie Kohler, Ty Massey, Jennifer
Pawlus.
§ Ben Dobey and Elizabeth Schaffenburg
for grounds maintenance.
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.
Advent
meditations: For several years the parish has prepared and
published a booklet of Lenten meditations, in which parishioners have reflected
on the prayer and scripture lessons appointed for each day in Lent. This year we will begin an additional
meditation series, with meditations offered for each day in Advent.
Advent, sometimes called “Little Lent,”
begins on 29 November (First Sunday in Advent) and concludes at sundown of the
Vigil of the Nativity, 24 December. For
each day a prayer and scripture lesson will be provided. Those who participate will offer a brief
meditation (up to 400 words) in response to the prayer, meditation, and
progress of the season as we each prepare to receive Our Lord become
flesh. These meditations will be
published in print and online, and can be submitted for attribution or
anonymously. In addition, meditations
can be read aloud on Grace Abounds, as part of our podcast series.
If you wish to participate, please sign up
for a day, and have all meditations completed and submitted to the parish
office not later than 16 November.
Music
this Week: All Saints’ Day, 1 November
Mass
Setting Eine
Deutsche Messe Franz Schubert
Prelude Prelude on Gaudeamus
Omnes in Domino G.
Vintner
Entrance
Hymn #287 For all the saints Sine
Nomine
Offertory
Anthem “Give us the wings of
faith” Ernest Bullock
Communion
Motet “The souls of the
righteous” Eric Thiman
Communion
Hymn #620 Jerusalem, my happy home Land of Rest
Recessional
Hymn #293 I sing a song of the saints
of God Grand Isle
Postlude Toccata on Christe, Redemptor Omnium Paul Benoit
Parish
Notices
§ Simple Potluck Supper and Compline: Sunday, November
1st we will have our first Sunday of the month Simple Potluck Supper at 6:30
p.m. 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.
§ All Soul’s Day: All Soul’s Day
will be celebrated Monday, November 2nd. We will celebrate the
Commemoration of the Faithful Departed with a 6:00pm mass with hymns. Please
come and remember the Saints who have gone before.
§ Adult Formation: At 9:00 a.m. today
we will continue with a validation phase of live-streaming adult education on
the web. To do this we will start with a
“rerun”. We will offer a course first
offered in early 2012, as updated, to test how existing educational materials
can be adapted and expanded in a webcast context. The course will be Anglican Identity, a four
part series for which the written (from 2012) materials can be found already on
our website. The Anglican Identity course focuses on what it means to follow
Jesus Christ in the unique ways that are Anglican. What is different about being an
Episcopalian, for example, than about being a Christian in another tradition? How is this identity manifested uniquely, and
what strengths and challenges exist in being not just a Christian but an
Anglican Christian? This course can
provide a good refresher or process check for lifelong Episcopalians, and a
more complete grounding for new Episcopalians.
Come prepared to share!
§ Lindsay Fischer is the solo cellist:
at
the next Sheboygan Symphony Concert on November 14th at the Weill
Center, in their performance of the J.S.Bach Brandenburg Concerto No. 6. The
concert also features Ana Sinkovec Burstin playing Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto
No. 1. For more information go to
weillcenter.com or call 920 208-3243. The Symphony Office number is
920-452-1985 and their website also has information sheboygansymphony.org
§ 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.
§ Israel Pilgrimage: On October 28th, a
group of 25 pilgrims from the Diocese of Fond du Lac, including Deacon Michele and Jon Whitford, Ed Clabots,
and Leslie Kohler, as well as friends from other dioceses and other
denominations, will be going to Jordan and Israel. Please hold these pilgrims in your prayers
for safe travel and enrichment. For further information go to https://stthomas2israel.wordpress.com/
§ Refugee Crisis in Croatia: Missionaries Aaron
and Winnie Horvat are trying to help
the Syrian refugee families flooding into Croatia. The stories of hardship,
horror and desperation are hard to imagine. Most have had to leave everything
behind, coming with only the clothes on their backs. Many have makeshift
shoes. Aaron and Winnie’s main focus has
been mothers with small children. Deacon
Mike Burg is collecting clothing and miscellaneous items. For a complete list of items please refer to
the insert in this bulletin as well as notice on the bulletin board. Deacon
Mike will box and ship the items.
Donations towards shipping are also welcome.
§ Tripartite Thanksgiving Eve Worship: Join the
Celebration on Wednesday, November 25th at 7:00pm at St. Peter’s
Lutheran Church. 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.
§ Salvation Army Bell Ringing: Volunteers are need
for hourly slots of bell ringing on November 28th at Piggly Wiggly
Northside 1:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. and Pick & Save Southside 9:00 a.m. – 7:00
p.m. Sign-up sheets can be found in the Narthex. For any questions please call
Nancy Yurk at 453-9948.
§ Advent
Meditations:
For several years the parish has prepared and published a booklet of Lenten
meditations, in which parishioners have reflected on the prayer and scripture
lessons appointed for each day in Lent. This year we will begin an
additional meditation series, with meditations offered for each day in Advent.
Advent, sometimes called “Little Lent,” begins on November 29th
(First Sunday in Advent) and concludes at sundown of the Vigil of the Nativity,
December 24th. For each day a scripture lesson will be
provided. Those who participate will offer a brief meditation (up to 400
words) in response to the scripture reading. These meditations will be
published in print and online, and can be submitted for attribution or anonymously. In
addition, meditations can be read aloud on Grace Abounds, as part of our
podcast series. If you wish to participate, please sign up for a day, and have
all meditations completed and submitted to the parish office no later than
November 16th. Sign-up sheets and scripture readings can be found in
the Narthex.
§ Like
Grace
Church on Facebook
§ Follow
Grace
Church on Twitter: @GEC_Sheboygan
§ We
Are on Itunes! Check
out the new podcast!!!
