"Dodecalism"

Grace Episcopal Church

Sheboygan, Wisconsin

Grace Notes

1 December 2016

The twelfth month begins.  Most of us know, vaguely, that the number twelve has some kind of biblical significance.  Most calendars that are based on the solar as opposed to lunar cycle are divisible into twelve units.  In mathematics the number 12, being divisible by 2, 3 4, 6 and itself is a “superior highly composite number,” a natural number which has more divisors than any other number scaled relative to some power of the number itself.

Twelve sons of Jacob yielding twelve tribes of Israel—twelve apostles of Jesus—12 x 12,000 identified in Revelation as “sealed” with the mark of the lamb—The Twelve Days of Christmas—and the twelve great feasts of the undivided Church pre-1054:  the list goes on, and speaks of 12 having a unique identification with completeness.  (Indeed, remember the hubbub about 12-12-2012 and the Mayan calendar?)

When we think of completeness we recognize that we are at all times “a work in progress,” but as we enter the ultimate month of the year it is a good time to be intentional about taking stock in our own lives and the life of the Church.  This is not about going back and grading myself against any “New Year’s Resolution”.  Rather, a year-end review can most profitably focus on how I participate in how we grow into the full stature of Christ.  Romans 12 (that number again!), verse 2, St. Paul writes that we are to “… not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God …”  He then elaborate the gifts of the Spirit in the Body, the Church, a theme further explicated at Ephesians 4, before continuing to exhort us to “Put off [our] old nature … [to] be renewed in the spirit of [our] minds ...” (Eph. 4.22).  To this trajectory in thought we must add Philippians, chapter 2:  “Have this mind among yourselves, which was in Christ Jesus, who …”  And what follows?  The example of Jesus emptying Himself, giving all of Himself.

When we think of completeness let us not consider what we have accomplished so much as focus on how we have given of ourselves.  In this “season of giving” which the world so celebrates, may our hearts and minds focus on the example of giving of self—to each other, to those who challenge us, to all.

Grace abounds:  Please thank: 

§  Wayne and Pat Sather, and Bobbie May for the Sunday coffee hours, with cleanup by Julie Davidson.

Call for Contributions:  If you have a spiritual reflection to share, or want to point your fellow worshipers toward a resource, submit your contributions to Fr. Karl (by email) by Wednesday in the week of publication.

Energy Conservation!  Please treat Grace as your home.  If you turn something on, turn it off!  Don’t assume anyone else will lock or turn off.

Don’t forget “Something Extra for Grace”:  Supplemental giving envelopes can be found in pews.  If you want to give something extra, please use an envelope to ensure that you are credited.

Music this Week:          The Second Sunday of Advent

                                      Organist:  Ben Dobey

                                      Choir Direction:  Sandie Palmer

Prelude                      Partita on ‘Comfort, comfort ye my people’ 

                                                                                                   Johann Pachelbel

Entrance Hymn  76       “On Jordan’s bank the Baptist’s cry”        Winchester New

Offertory Hymn 75        “There’s a voice in the wilderness crying”         Ascension

Communion Motet        Isaiah the Prophet  Early American, arr. Alice Parker

Communion Hymn  67  “Comfort, comfort ye my people”                       Psalm 42

Closing Hymn 73          “The King shall come when morning dawns”  St. Stephen

Postlude                        Toccata on ‘Winchester New’                      Bruce Neswick

Parish Notices

§  The Art of Neighboring: On Sunday, December 4^th at 9:00 a.m., we will continue with the second session of a short three-part course on how we can better reach out into our immediate community by using simple skills and methods of how to meet and engage our actual neighbors. This course uses discussion materials from http://www.artofneighboring.com/ a ministry of Dave Runyon and Jay Pathak, pastors in Colorado. Dave Runyon was the recent headliner at the Fall event sponsored by LoveINC, and those who attended came away impressed enough to want to focus on practical follow-through.

§  Advent Lessons and Carols: Please join us on Sunday, December 4th at 4:00 p.m., for a festival of Advent Lessons and Carols. This festival prepares us for the coming of the Messiah by following the scriptural record through nine lessons, each followed by a seasonal carol offered by choir and congregation. The choir will also offer seasonal anthems, and music will include Dr. R. Benjamin Dobey on organ. The festival will be followed immediately by a High Tea reception.

§  Area Ultreya: There will be an Ultreya, for people who would like to go on Cursillo or who have been, on Saturday morning Dec 10^th from 10 to 11:45 am at St. Peter’s Church in Sheboygan Falls at the Parish House behind the church on the corner of Buffalo and Elm Streets. Bring a snack to pass if you can, but don’t let that keep you home. There’ll be singing, prayer, teaching, and fellowship. 

§  Youth and Children’s Choir: Youth and Children’s choir rehearsals for the Christmas Eve service continue on Wednesday, December 7th, downstairs in the choir room at 3:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. Additional rehearsals will be on December 14^th, and 21^st. The final rehearsal will be Wednesday, December 21^st at 5:30 p.m. The choir is open to 2^nd graders through high school, and will sing for the 4pm service on Christmas Eve. Please see the sign-up sheet in the Narthex.

§  Christmas Pageant Rehearsals: will now be held during Sunday School classes,  starting on Sunday, December 4th at 9:00 a.m. and continuing on December 11th and 18th.  Participation is open to youth of all ages.  The Pageant will take place during the 4:00pm Christmas Eve Mass.  

§  Meals On Wheels Christmas Cookies: Volunteers will be delivering a box of homemade cookies to their clients again this Christmas season. (As many of you know, for some, this is the only gift they will receive). The boxes have already been donated, so now all they need are the cookies!  If you would like to donate cookies, please call Maureen at Meals On Wheels at 451-7011. Drop off sites are in both Sheboygan and Plymouth and they will be packaging cookies on December 20^th.  Your response in the past has been overwhelming and they cannot thank you enough for your continued support.

§  Salvation Army Adopt a Family Gift Drop-Off: Please return all gifts unwrapped, with value attached, to Grace Church by Monday, December 19^th. Distribution to families is Thursday, December 22^nd. Any questions, please call Nancy Yurk at 453-9948.

§  Christmas (Castle) Sort and Shop: On Monday, December 19^th, 10:00 - 1:00 p.m., volunteers are needed to sort and organize all toy donations. This will be at 710 Pennsylvania Ave, Sheboygan. And on Wednesday, December 21^st, 10:00 – 1:00 p.m., volunteers are needed to shop for each member of the families using the lists provided by the parents. Sign-up sheets can be found on the table in the Narthex. If you have any questions, please contact Nancy Yurk at 453-9948.

§  Christmas Gifts Distribution Volunteers! On Thursday, December 22^nd, 8:30 – 11:30 a.m., at 710 Pennsylvania Ave, Sheboygan you can assist local families pick gifts from the Toy Shop. This gives those in need an opportunity to “shop” for Christmas gifts for their families. A Sign-up sheet can be found on the table in the Narthex. If you have any questions, please contact Nancy Yurk at 453-9948.

§  Christmas Joy: is scheduled to meet on Thursday, December 22 at 11:00 am in the church kitchen. At that time, we will assemble winter greens and flowers and bag cookies, and then make deliveries. (There is a sign-up sheet in the narthex.) We need helping hands. Can you bake, make a delivery and/or help arrange? Please join us for this fulfilling and fun ministry to our home-bound and elderly. They will appreciate it. Questions, please call Barb MacEwen at 920-912-4505.

§  God Willing and the People Consenting: Bishop Matthew Gunter shall ordain Archdeacon Michele Whitford to the Sacred Order of Priests in Christ’s One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church on Saturday, December 17^th at 10:00 a.m., St. Paul’s Cathedral in Fond du Lac. Your prayers and presence are requested. A reception will follow.

§  Like Grace Church on Facebook

§  Follow Grace Church on Twitter: @GEC_Sheboygan

§  Follow Grace Church on Instagram: @GEC_Sheboygan

§  We Are on Itunes! Check out the new podcast!!!

§  https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/grace-church-sheboygan/id982836791

Watching, Armored

Grace Episcopal Church

Sheboygan, Wisconsin

Grace Notes

24 November 2016

Happy Thanksgiving!  Today is very much about gathering and offering thanks for blessings, but we begin the new season and Church year this coming Sunday, and in Advent we watch.  We enter into the “not yetness” of the season as we live in the “not yetness” of this life, looking for our Lord, awaiting His coming, trying to live each day prepared for that hour the time of which we do not know. 

In the collect for Advent 1 we pray that by God’s grace “... we may cast away the works of darkness, and put upon us the armor of light ...”, that when that last day does come we may rise to life immortal.  All that we do now is preparation for that last day.  So the question of how we are to live thus becomes:  How do we cast away the works of darkness, and put upon us the armor of light?

We got pretty clear signals in all those lessons about judgment with which the last year came to an end, lessons which tell us that faith is to be active, that we are to take risks and bear fruit.  Put these teachings together with our prayer to put on the armor of light, and it becomes clear that the armor of light is put on in how we allow God’s light to shine forth in our lives by doing His will, His work.  Active ministry and watchfulness involve the self-giving that seeks to lift up the sorrows of this world that they may be redeemed in our Lord’s Passion, and the penitent offering before God of the prayers and sacrifice of His people. 

When Jesus tells us to watch, to keep awake, He challenges each us:  What will you do?  How will you put on the armor of light?  We can start by recognizing that the works of darkness require darkness.  And what is darkness but the absence of light?  The works of darkness are, therefore, interior; they thrive when we turn inward.  But when we reach out we open up, and in the open shadows cannot abide.  Putting on the armor of light means taking the light which we have been given by God and sharing it to let it shine.

There are many ways that you can do this in this season and life of “not yetness,” this season and life of watching for our Lord—many ways, but each will involve doing something.  The many ministries of this parish are diverse, but they all involve activity, even if that activity is something you do alone when you pray for those on our parish prayer list.  Whether we are in ministry in private or together, each time we act in our Lord’s Name, His light shines forth through us.

In this season of Advent consider one ministry that we all can do.  Take the prayer list in your bulletin (and this blog) and combine this with the names found in the parish directory.  This will give you a list of people who you may not know and those who you know very well.  Take this list, and every day lift up several names before God in prayer.  Lift them up, whether you are praying for a known need or not.  In doing this you will be rendering service and you will be brought closer together with your fellow disciples.  In doing this you will be lifting up any hurt or ill to be redeemed in our Lord’s Passion, sharing in a ministry of “com-passion” (literally, “passion with”) both with those in need and with Jesus.  In doing this you will be offering the prayer and sacrifice of a penitent heart.  The armor of light will combine the red of martyrdom, the purple of penitence, the green of everyday life, and the black of mourning, to shine with the white of the coming of our Lord at Christmas.  May the works of darkness will be cast out by this active light of expectation, service, and worship.  Strong armor, indeed.

Grace abounds:  Please thank: 

§  Wayne and Pat Sather, and Bobbie May for the Sunday coffee hours, with cleanup by Julie Davidson.

§  Pat Ford Smith for office help.

§  All who contributed toward the travel costs of a victim recently rescued from slavery!  [Update:  She has now been transported from a safe house to a long term treatment program in another state.  New life begins!]

Call for Contributions:  If you have a spiritual reflection to share, or want to point your fellow worshipers toward a resource, submit your contributions to Fr. Karl (by email) by Wednesday in the week of publication.

Energy Conservation!  Please treat Grace as your home.  If you turn something on, turn it off!  Don’t assume anyone else will lock or turn off.

Don’t forget “Something Extra for Grace”:  Supplemental giving envelopes can be found in pews.  If you want to give something extra, please use an envelope to ensure that you are credited.

Music this Week:          The First Sunday of Advent

                                      Organist:  Ben Dobey.

Prelude                          Chorale Prelude on Sleepers, Wake!                  J. S. Bach

Entrance Hymn  58       “Lo, he comes with clouds descending”            St. Thomas

Offertory Hymn 61        “Sleeper, wake! A voice astounds us”              Wachet auf

Communion Motet        Behold a Star from Jacob Shining         Felix Mendelssohn

Closing Hymn 66           “Come, thou long-expected Jesus”                     Stuttgart

Postlude                        Chorale Prelude on Sleepers, Wake!              J. G. Walther

Parish Notices

§  The Art of Neighboring: On Sunday, November 27^th, at 9:00 a.m. we will begin a short three-part course on how we can better reach out into our immediate community by using simple skills and methods of how to meet and engage our actual neighbors. This course will use discussion materials from http://www.artofneighboring.com/ a ministry of Dave Runyon and Jay Pathak, pastors in Colorado. Dave Runyon was the recent headliner at the Fall event sponsored by LoveINC, and those who attended came away impressed enough to want to focus on practical follow-through.

§  Holiday Parade: On Sunday, November 27^th, Grace Church Youth will be selling cocoa and coffee, brownies, apple crisp and hotdogs, before and during the Holiday Parade. The money raised goes to outreach projects both near and far. Please come by the front of the church and enjoy a warm treat as you enjoy the parade, be sure to bring your friends.

§  Emmaus Meal Volunteers Needed: The Tripartite Emmaus Meal will be December 3^rd at the Salvation Army Center. The Theme of the Day will be Christmas, please wear holiday attire. We will need three people to set up from 8:30-10:30am and 10 people at 10:30-1:00 to serve the meal and greet the guests and clean up. There is more information on the sign-up sheet on the table in the Narthex.

§  St Nicholas’ Visitation: St. Nicholas will visit Grace Church on December 4^th at the 10:15 service. We invite all children to come and receive a treat.

§  Youth and Children’s Choir: Youth and Children’s choir rehearsals for the Christmas Eve service are beginning at 5:30 p.m., on Wednesday November 30th, downstairs in the choir room. Additional rehearsals will be on December 7^th, 14^th, and 21^st. The final rehearsal will be Wednesday, December 21^st at 5:30 p.m. The choir is open to 2^nd graders through high school, and will sing for the 4pm service on Christmas Eve. Please see the sign-up sheet in the Narthex.

§  Thank you!!! To all who helped with the Samaritan’s Purse Shoeboxes! We sent off 38 shoeboxes to children around the world!!

§  Christmas Pageant Rehearsals: will now be held during Sunday School classes on December 4th, 11th and 18th.  Participation is open to youth of all ages.  The Pageant will take place during the 4:00pm Christmas Eve Mass.  

§  Advent Lessons and Carols: On Sunday, December 4th, a festival of Advent Lessons and Carols will be offered at Grace Episcopal Church, beginning at 4:00 p.m. The festival prepares us for the coming of the Messiah by following the scriptural record through nine lessons, each followed by a seasonal carol offered by choir and congregation. The choir will also offer seasonal anthems, and music will include Dr. R. Benjamin Dobey on organ. The service is followed immediately by a High Tea reception. Volunteers for food and clean-up, please see sign-up sheet in Narthex.

§  Put Christ in Christmas in a special way:  Love for the Least, a Christian ministry working with believers displaced by extremist attacks in the Middle East, is making appeal for funds food, clothes, gifts, and children’s toys, as Christmas presents to those who have nothing.  Please make any check payable to L4L ME Advent Challenge, and bring this to the parish office before 3 December. For more information, please see the flyer on the notice board in the Narthex.

§  Meals On Wheels Christmas Cookies: Meals On Wheels volunteers will be delivering a box of homemade cookies to their clients again this Christmas season. (As many of you know, for some, this is the only gift they will receive). The boxes have already been donated, so now all they need are the cookies!  If you would like to donate cookies to their project, please call Maureen at Meals On Wheels at 451-7011. Drop off sites are in both Sheboygan and Plymouth and they will be packaging cookies on the December 20th. Your response in the past has been overwhelming and they cannot thank you enough for your continued support.

§  Christmas Joy: is scheduled to meet on Thursday, December 22 at 11:00 am in the church kitchen. At that time, we will assemble winter greens and flowers and bag cookies, and then make deliveries. (There is a sign-up sheet in the narthex.) We need helping hands. Can you bake, make a delivery and/or help arrange? Please join us for this fulfilling and fun ministry to our home-bound and elderly. They will appreciate it. Questions, please call Barb MacEwen at 920-912-4505.

§  Salvation Army Adopt a Family Gift tags: Please take a name or two and follow the instructions on the table next to the tree. Please return all gifts unwrapped, with value attached, to Grace Church by Monday, December 19^th.  Distribution to families will be Thursday, December 22^nd. If you have any questions, please call Nancy Yurk at 453-9948.

§  Christmas (Castle) Sort and Shop: On Monday, December 19th (10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.) volunteers are needed to sort and organize all the toy donations.  This will be at 710 Pennsylvania Ave, Sheboygan. And on Wednesday, December 21^st (10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.) volunteers are needed to shop for each member of the families using the lists provided by the parents. Sign-up sheets can be found on the table in the Narthex. If you have any questions, please contact Nancy Yurk at 453-9948.

§  Christmas Gifts Distribution Volunteers! On Thursday, December 22^nd (8:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.), you can assist local families pick presents from the Toy Shop. This gives those in need an opportunity to “shop” for Christmas presents for their families. This will be at 710 Pennsylvania Ave, Sheboygan. A Sign-up sheet can be found on the table in the Narthex. If you have any questions, please contact Nancy Yurk at 453-9948.

§  God Willing and the People Consenting: Bishop Matthew Gunter shall ordain Archdeacon Michele Whitford to the Sacred Order of Priests in Christ’s One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church on Saturday, December 17^th at 10:00 a.m., St. Paul’s Cathedral in Fond du Lac. Your prayers and presence are requested. A reception will follow.

§  Like Grace Church on Facebook

§  Follow Grace Church on Twitter: @GEC_Sheboygan

§  Follow Grace Church on Instagram: @GEC_Sheboygan

§  We Are on Itunes! Check out the new podcast!!!

§  https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/grace-church-sheboygan/id982836791

Who is your King?

Grace Episcopal Church

Sheboygan, Wisconsin

Grace Notes

17 November 2016

In the 1975 movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Arthur, King of the Britons, can’t get any respect.  When a peasant asks him why she should do something he has commanded, and he tells her that he is the king, she turns to another peasant and says, “Didn’t know we ‘ad a king,” to which statement is received the reply “’E’s the one who doesn’t have [dirt] all over ‘im like the rest of us.”  (Actually, if you know the movie you know that I cleaned that up a bit.)

The concept of kingship, of rule, is one that can seem very foreign to us as 21^st century Americans.  Why?  Because we like to think that we are in charge.  But, every part of Scripture makes clear that we are not in charge; that God is.  One way to appreciate this better is to understand how the title “Christ” is used.  I know some people who think that Christ is Jesus’ last name!  We certainly tend to use the title that way.  The title is just the Greek word for the Hebrew word Messiah, God’s anointed One, méshēach.  And in Hebrew, to refer to Messiah is to refer to power and rule.  When we understand this we can better grasp that in English we get a little closer to reality by rendering Jesus Christ as King Jesus, or Jesus the King.  King Jesus, the One who rules.

It is the universal rule of Jesus that we celebrate this coming Sunday, the last of the Church year, the Feast of Christ the King.  We are, in fact, under the rule of a gracious king who really doesn’t have “dirt” all over him, like the rest of us.  We can experience His immeasurable power.  Why we gather and how we “do church” has to do with a reality far above and beyond our routine for a given morning of the week.  It’s not about the format of the worship service—about what we read and sing, how we greet each other, how we gather.  How we do things matters, but why we do them matters so much more.  We gather to offer worship that we may participate in God’s life, in the reign of Jesus Christ.

We are freed in worship, in our relationship with God, in His reign.  We are freed from fear, from death.  We are freed from any need to jockey for power.  When we recognize God’s rule we experience His rule.  Yes, Jesus is our Savior, but He is also our Lord, our King!  When we recognize this power we no longer need to ever worry about how to “win,” for the victory is God’s.  It is God who gathers, God who shepherds, God who rules.  On the Feast of Christ the King, and on all days, may we ever look to Jesus as our Lord, experience His rule in our lives, and offer our very selves into the life of His most gracious kingdom.

Grace abounds:  Please thank: 

·         Dale Massey for providing transportation

·          

Call for Contributions:  If you have a spiritual reflection to share, or want to point your fellow worshipers toward a resource, submit your contributions to Fr. Karl (by email) by Wednesday in the week of publication.

Energy Conservation!  Please treat Grace as your home.  If you turn something on, turn it off!  Don’t assume anyone else will lock or turn off.

Don’t forget “Something Extra for Grace”:  Supplemental giving envelopes can be found in pews.  If you want to give something extra, please use an envelope to ensure that you are credited.

Special appeal:  Later this Fall we will have a grounds cleanup day that will include ground cover and shrubbery trimming.  We are, however, overdue for major reshaping of shrubbery, and the arbor vitae which flank the church entrance are out-of-control.  Quotations for shrub reshaping and removal/replacement of the arbor vitae run into the thousands of dollars.  Major work will not be a 2016 initiative, but we are appealing for your donations now, to build a fund for work in the Spring of 2017.  Keep Grace beautiful!  Give “Something Extra”.

Music this Week:          The Last Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 29C)

                                      Organist:  Ben Dobey. 

Christ the King year C

Prelude   Chorale Prelude on O Lamb of God, pure, spotless   J. S. Bach

Entrance Hymn 544  “Jesus shall reign where’er the sun”   Duke Street

Offertory Anthem   Jesus, joy of man’s desiring      J. S. Bach

Communion Motet    King of glory, King of peace   Charles Walker

Communion Hymn 383  “Fairest Lord Jesus”  St. Elizabeth

Closing Hymn 494  “Crown him with many crowns”  Diademata

Postlude   Fugue in C Major  J. S. Bach

Parish Notices

Fund Raising Forum: On Sunday,  following the 8:00 a.m. Mass, we will conduct an adult forum to discuss ideas for fund raising in 2017. This parish will need to engage in purposeful and focused fund raising in 2017, and we want to share the wealth of ideas and experience of all members. This forum will be about ideas, what might work, what has worked elsewhere, how to …, etc.  Come and enjoy coffee and a lively discussion.

Ultreya: Cursillo Ultreya is a reunion open to anyone to attend and for those who have attended Cursillo. Sunday, November 20th at St. Paul, Suamico from 2-5 p.m. for fellowship, food and sharing stories of faith. Please bring a snack to share.

The Art of Neighboring: Next Sunday, November 27^th, at 9:00 a.m. we will begin a short three-part course on how we can better reach out into our immediate community by using simple skills and methods of how to meet and engage our actual neighbors. This course will use discussion materials from http://www.artofneighboring.com/ a ministry of Dave Runyon and Jay Pathak, pastors in Colorado.  Dave Runyon was the recent headliner at the Fall event sponsored by LoveINC, and those who attended came away impressed enough to want to focus on practical follow-through.

When the lawyer asks Jesus “And who is my neighbor?” (Lk. 10.29), he is asking about an abstraction, the idea of neighbor. When Jesus answers him, giving the parable of the Good Samaritan, He takes the abstraction and teaches that our neighbor is this person in front of you. Our coursework will focus on the practical, on the persons who live around us and our duty to reach out to them.

Thank you! To all who donated both items and money for the Samaritan’s Purse Shoe Boxes. This a tangible way for us to see gifts given to children around the world and to celebrate a Merry Christ’s Mass through mission.

Emmaus Meal Volunteers Needed: The Tripartite Emmaus Meal will be December 3^rd at the Salvation Army Center. The Theme of the Day will be Christmas, please wear holiday attire. We need three people from each church to set up from 8:30-10:30am. We will need 10 people from each church at 10:30-1:00 to serve the meal and greet the guests and clean up. There is more information on the sign-up sheet on the table in the Narthex.

Tripartite Thanksgiving Eve Worship: This year Grace Church will be hosting the joint celebration on Wednesday, November 23rd at 7:00pm. Please come and join in the Tripartite Combined Choir and enjoy fellowship and desert following the worship.

Thanksgiving Love Feast: On November 24^th The Blind Horse, in partnership with Love INC, and Plymouth Alliance Church will be serving a Thanksgiving dinner for those in need from 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. in The Blind Horse Winery. Seating begins at 11:00 a.m. and every hour after. Each group will have 45 minutes of delicious food and fellowship. You must sign up for your time by calling

920-204-5111. If anyone would like to assist with volunteering for the event or providing pumpkin pies, please sign up at: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0a45a4a922abfd0-thanksgiving.

Put Christ in Christmas in a special way:  Love for the Least, a Christian ministry working with believers displaced by extremist attacks in the Middle East, is making appeal for funds food, clothes, gifts, and children’s toys, as Christmas presents to those who have nothing.  Please make any check payable to L4L ME Advent Challenge, and bring this to the parish office before 3 December. For more information, please see the flyer on the notice board in the Narthex.

Holiday Parade: Grace Church will be selling hot coffee and cocoa, hot dogs, apple crisp, brownies, and popcorn, before and during the Holiday Parade – 5:00 p.m. next Sunday, November 27^th. The money raised goes to outreach projects both near and far. Please come by the front of the church and enjoy a warm treat as you enjoy the parade, and be sure to bring your friends!

Youth and Children’s Choir: Youth and Children’s choir rehearsals for the Christmas Eve service are at 3:30 p.m. or 5:30 p.m., depending on your preference, beginning Wednesday November 30th, downstairs in the choir room. Additional rehearsals will be on December 7^th, 14^th, and 21^st. The final rehearsal will be Wednesday, December 21^st at 5:30 p.m. only. The choir is open to 2^nd graders through high school, and will sing for the 4pm service on Christmas Eve. Please see the sign-up sheet in the Narthex.

Christmas Pageant Rehearsals: will now be held during Sunday School classes on December 4th, 11th and 18th.  Participation is open to youth of all ages.  The Pageant will take place during the 4:00pm Christmas Eve Mass. 

St Nicholas’ Visitation: St. Nicholas will visit Grace Church on December 4^th at the 10:15 service. We invite all children to come and receive a treat.

Advent Lessons and Carols: On Sunday, December 4th, a festival of Advent Lessons and Carols will be offered at Grace Episcopal Church, beginning at 4:00 p.m.

The festival prepares us for the coming of the Messiah by following the scriptural record through nine lessons, each followed by a seasonal carol offered by choir and congregation. The choir will also offer seasonal anthems, and music will include Dr. R. Benjamin Dobey on organ. The service is followed immediately by a High Tea reception. Volunteers for food and clean-up, please see sign-up sheet in Narthex.

Meals On Wheels Christmas Cookies: Meals On Wheels volunteers will be delivering a box of homemade cookies to their clients again this Christmas season. (As many of you know, for some, this is the only gift they will receive). The boxes have already been donated, so now all they need are the cookies!  If you would like to donate cookies to their project, please call Maureen at Meals On Wheels at 451-7011. Drop off sites are in both Sheboygan and Plymouth and they will be packaging cookies on the December 20th. Your response in the past has been overwhelming and they cannot thank you enough for your continued support.

Salvation Army Adopt a Family Gift tags: Please take a name or two and follow the instructions on the table next to the tree. Please return all gifts unwrapped, with value attached, to Grace Church by Monday, December 19^th.  Distribution to families will be Thursday, December 22^nd. If you have any questions, please call Nancy Yurk at 453-9948.

Christmas (Castle) Sort and Shop: On Monday, December 19th (10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.) volunteers are needed to sort and organize all the toy donations.  This will be at 710 Pennsylvania Ave, Sheboygan. And on Wednesday, December 21^st (10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.) volunteers are needed to shop for each member of the families using the lists provided by the parents. Sign-up sheets can be found on the table in the Narthex. If you have any questions, please contact Nancy Yurk at 453-9948.

Christmas Gifts Distribution Volunteers! On Thursday, December 22^nd (8:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.), you can assist local families pick presents from the Toy Shop. This gives those in need an opportunity to “shop” for Christmas presents for their families. This will be at 710 Pennsylvania Ave, Sheboygan. A Sign-up sheet can be found on the table in the Narthex. If you have any questions, please contact Nancy Yurk at 453-9948.

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God willing and the people consenting

The Right Reverend Matthew A. Gunter

Eighth Bishop of Fond du Lac
shall ordain

Rodger Lindsay Patience

Amanda Louise Sampey

Michele Elaine Whitford

to the Sacred Order of Priests in Christ’s
One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church

Saturday, the seventeenth of December
 in the year of our Lord two thousand sixteen
 at ten o’clock in the morning

The Cathedral Church of St. Paul

51 West Division Street
Fond du Lac, Wisconsin

Your prayers and presence are requested

Clergy: red stoles                                          Reception to follow

The Free Will of the Magdalen

Grace Episcopal Church

Sheboygan, Wisconsin

Grace Notes

10 November 2016

Was Mary Magdalene ever a prostitute?  In the culture she is often depicted as a former prostitute, and yet the references to her in Scripture nowhere depict her as such.  Where, then, does this image of Mary Magdalene come from?

The timing of this question relates to our liturgical calendar, on which today is the feast of St. Leo the Great, Bishop of Rome (d. 461).  In a famous sermon given by Leo in 451, Mary is referred to as a former prostitute, and this image of her then entered common understanding.  But, before you blame Leo consider the reality that when he preached no bible was subdivided into chapters and verses.  The first such subdivision/organization of bibles did not occur before the 15^th century.  In Leo’s day, bibles were written, not printed, and used continuous text.  Therefore, what is now “chapter 8” in Luke’s gospel (in which Mary is referred to, and described as having been rid of seven demons) flowed directly in the narrative from what is now “Luke 7.36—50,” in which Jesus’ visit to a Pharisee’s house is described, a visit which includes Our Lord’s feet being bathed by “a woman of the city, who was a sinner”.  Leo equated Mary with the woman who bathed Jesus’ feet, and the phrase which described her as “of the city” and a “sinner” was understood by him to refer to a woman of the street, i.e., a prostitute.

The timing of the question may relate to the calendar, but the issue of prostitution raises the question of willfulness in sin.  The careless talk which equates prostitution to a “victimless crime” assumes free will in the prostitute.  This denies reality.  Prostitution involves slavery, the opposite of free will.  This slavery may result from substance abuse, from sexual abuse, from the results of predation, but it is slavery.  The only “free will” which  may be involved is that of the prostitute’s customer/exploiter.

Just as Mary was rid of demons, those who are rescued from sexual slavery can experience new life.  In Christ they can experience real love, and this real love can lead to healing.  Pray for those now trapped, voiceless.  Pray for those who work to free them.  Pray that God may convict and convert the hearts of those who exploit them.  Pray that as the victims find their voice they may find true free will and give this will to Jesus.

Grace abounds:  Please thank: 

§  Gary and Elaine Dinstuhl, and Wayne and Margaret Knocke for the Sunday coffee hours, with cleanup by Julie Davidson.

§  Bobbie May for gardening.

§  Pat Ford Smith and Bryan Stenz for office help.

§  All who contributed toward the travel costs of a victim recently rescued from slavery!

Call for Contributions:  If you have a spiritual reflection to share, or want to point your fellow worshipers toward a resource, submit your contributions to Fr. Karl (by email) by Wednesday in the week of publication.

Energy Conservation!  Please treat Grace as your home.  If you turn something on, turn it off!  Don’t assume anyone else will lock or turn off.

Don’t forget “Something Extra for Grace”:  Supplemental giving envelopes can be found in pews.  If you want to give something extra, please use an envelope to ensure that you are credited.

Music this Week:          The Twenty-sixth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 28C)

                                      Organist:  Ben Dobey. 

Prelude                          Chorale Prelude on Lord Jesus Christ, thou living Bread 

                                                                                                            Max Reger

Entrance Hymn  616      “Hail to the Lord’s Anointed”                                 Es flog

Offertory Anthem         How shall I sing that majesty                       Ken Naylor,

                                                                                         arr. R. Benjamin Dobey

Communion Hymn 615 “Thy kingdom come! On bended knee”             St. Flavian

Closing Hymn 555         “Lead on, O King eternal”                                 Lancashire

Postlude                        Prelude in C Major (“9/8”)                                J. S. Bach

         

Parish Notices

§  Adult Christian Formation: On Sunday, November 13^th, we continue with the final session of the six-week course, The Christian Worldview Through the Artists’ Eyes.

§  Fr. Karl Schaffenburg will be traveling: departing Sunday afternoon, November 13th and returning Saturday evening, November 19^th. In the case of emergency or pastoral care, please call Dn. Michele Whitford on 918-1230.

§  Fund Raising Forum:  Next Sunday, November 20^th, we will conduct an adult forum at 9 a.m. to discuss ideas for fund raising in 2017. This parish will need to engage in purposeful and focused fund raising in 2017, and we want to share the wealth of ideas and experience of all members. This forum will be about ideas, what might work, what has worked elsewhere, how to …, etc.  Come and enjoy coffee and a lively discussion.

§  Advent Meditations:  All meditations need to be completed and submitted to the parish office no later than Monday, November 14^th. 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.

§  Christmas Shoeboxes: On Sunday, November 13^th, we plan to assemble the shoe boxes. Feel free to meet in Ms. Nicci’s Sunday School Classroom at 9:00 a.m. to participate in this unique opportunity for fellowship with our youngest members.  We still need small toys (stuffed animals, dolls, cars), colored pencils, crayons, pens, coloring books, small water bottles, toothpaste, unscented soap bars, combs, brushes, hair bows or clips. Should you still have items you would like to add to the shoeboxes we will continue to pack these boxes throughout the coming week.  Collection dates at Sonlight Books are November 14^th through November 21^st.

§  Tripartite Thanksgiving Eve Worship: This year Grace Church will be hosting the joint celebration on Wednesday, November 23rd at 7:00pm. Please come and join in the Tripartite Combined Choir and enjoy fellowship and desert following the worship.

§  Thanksgiving Love Feast: On November 24^th The Blind Horse, in partnership with Love INC, and Plymouth Alliance Church will be serving a Thanksgiving dinner for those in need from 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. in The Blind Horse Winery. Seating begins at 11:00 a.m. and every hour after. Each group will have 45 minutes of delicious food and fellowship. You must sign up for your time by calling 920-204-5111. If anyone would like to assist with volunteering for the event or providing pumpkin pies, please sign up at: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0a45a4a922abfd0-thanksgiving.

§  Salvation Army Bell Ringing: We still have a 1:00 p.m. slot open on November 26^th at the Piggly Wiggly Northside. The sign-up sheet can be found in the Narthex and remember, more than one person can sign up for each hourly slot. For any questions please call Nancy Yurk at 453-9948.

§  Missionaries in Croatia: Aaron and Winnie Horvat continue to impact lives in Croatia. Please pick up a copy of their latest newsletter, available on the table in the Narthex, and remember to continue to keep them in your prayers, especially the prayer requests listed in their newsletter.

§  Put Christ in Christmas in a special way:  Love for the Least, a Christian ministry working with believers displaced by extremist attacks in the Middle East, is making an appeal for funds food, clothes, gifts, and children’s toys, as Christmas presents to those who have nothing.  Please make any check payable to L4L ME Advent Challenge, and bring this to the parish office before 3 December. For more information, please see the flyer on the notice board in the Narthex.

§  Something Extra for Grace: Envelopes are available in the pews if you are moved to give an extra gift, beyond your pledge or regular plate donation, toward the life of the church.  Gifts are tax deductible if you write your name on the envelope.

§  Holiday Parade: Grace Church will be selling hot coffee and cocoa, hot dogs, apple crisp, brownies, and popcorn, before and during the Holiday Parade, Sunday November 27^th. The money raised goes to outreach projects both near and far. Please come by the front of the church and enjoy a warm treat as you enjoy the parade, and be sure to bring your friends!

§  Salvation Army Adopt a Family Gift tags: Please take a name or two and follow the instructions on the table next to the tree. Please return all gifts unwrapped, with value attached, to Grace Church by Monday, December 19^th.  Distribution to families will be Thursday, December 22^nd. If you have any questions, please call Nancy Yurk at 453-9948.

§  Like Grace Church on Facebook

§  Follow Grace Church on Twitter: @GEC_Sheboygan

§  Follow Grace Church on Instagram: @GEC_Sheboygan

§  We Are on Itunes! Check out the new podcast!!!

§  https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/grace-church-sheboygan/id982836791