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 27th, 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
27th, 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 3rd 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 4th 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 7th, 14th, and 21st. The
final rehearsal will be Wednesday, December 21st at 5:30 p.m. The
choir is open to 2nd 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 19th. Distribution to families will be Thursday,
December 22nd. 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 21st
(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 22nd (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 17th 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!!!
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