Grace
Episcopal Church
Sheboygan, Wisconsin
Grace
Notes
2 March 2017
St. Chad of Lichfield (d. 672) is remembered this day. Far be it from me to in any way question
Chad’s holiness, but let’s consider how Chad may set a negative example
in ministry.
As bishop, Chad made all of his rounds by foot, until at some point the
Archbishop of Canterbury provided him with a horse and ordered him to use
it. The record of the reasoning behind
Chad’s choice and the archbishop’s order is unclear. Perhaps (in concert with a deep vein in
Celtic spirituality) Chad preferred to walk in order to be in better tune with
his surroundings, to be “grounded” in the places to which ministry called. Perhaps the archbishop was thinking like a
good manager, and wanted Chad to be more efficient in his rounds. In the absence of real details, we can only
speculate, and so must exclude Chad being in reality a negative example.
But consider how he might have been. If his decision to walk was an exercise in
humility, or an reflection of his own spirituality, it is possible that the
archbishop (if, in fact, he was seeking to promote wider ministry), then this
history illustrates how any spirituality—no matter how genuine and no matter
how holy—must be lived out in the context not only of my relationship with God,
but my relationship with others around me.
Very few are called to the life of a hermit, and for the rest of us who
are not, we must always be conscious of the boundaries of our spiritual space. Being conscious of such boundaries is, in
fact, humility. Humility involves my
first recognizing my utter dependence upon God, but the how this dependence is
manifested on my dependence of my fellow believers. With the rare exception of the rue hermit,
there are no Lone Rangers in faith.
Our culture certainly promotes individualism in faith. In the history of the church, however, God
has revealed that we are part of each other.
My personal, individual response to God—my acceptance of Jesus Christ as
my personal Lord and Savior—is bedrock, but my faith remains incomplete if it
remains personal. Faith is to be lived
in the “context” of the Body of Christ, of the community of believers. Chad certainly understood this. That’s why he declined being consecrated
Archbishop of York, in the face of some factionalism (not related directly to
Chad) within the English church. He was
not willing to allow himself to be an instrument of further factionalism. His spiritual boundaries involved looking
first to the health of the whole. (See,
he was not a negative example!)
Grace
abounds: Please thank:
§ Kevan and Traci
Revis, and Steve and Katy Larson for the Sunday coffee hours.
§ Bernie Markevitch and
Mary Snyder for organizing the Shrove Tuesday supper.
§ Suppliers of
food/drink to the Shrove Tuesday supper:
Cory Bouck, Bobbie May, Elizabeth Schaffenburg, Steve and Polly
Schmeiser.
§ Set up/cleanup for
the Shrove Tuesday supper: Paul
Aparicio, Steve and Katy Larson, Jennifer Pawlus, Pat Ford Smith, Nick and
Jennifer Whitford.
§ Paul Aparicio and
Randie Barrows for Shrove Tuesday set-up.
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.
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 in lent
Guest Organist: David Bahrke
The
Great Litany (chant) Plainsong
Mass
setting Plainsong, adapt.
Wayne Wildman
Offertory
Hymn 143 “The Glory of these forty
days” Errhalt
uns, Herr
Communion
Motet Lord, for thy tender mercy’s sake Richard Farrant
Communion
Hymn
343 “Shepherd of souls, refresh and bless”
St. Agnes
Closing
Hymn 150 “Forty days and forty nights”
Aus der Tiefe rufe ich
Postlude O Traurgkeit (O Darkest Woe) James Biery
Parish
Notices
§ Adult
Education: On Sunday,
at 9:00 a.m., we begin a new course on Sacramental Identity.
This course follows the scheme set forth in the 2008 book of David A. de Silva, Sacramental
Life: Spiritual Formation Through The Book of Common Prayer, exploring how
liturgies of The Book of Common Prayer give us a
language and a context for encountering God. This second unit will focus
on Holy Eucharist, and will be facilitated by Leslie Kohler.
§ Lenten
Booklet: Copies are on
the table in the Narthex and on our parish website www.gracesheboygan.com. For
each of the forty days of the Lenten season, this booklet contains a Gospel
lesson taken from the Eucharistic lectionary for the weekdays in Lent, plus the
Sunday Eucharistic lectionary. Following each Gospel lesson is the Collect
prayer for the celebration of Eucharist on each day. Then follows the
meditations written by parishioners. Then space is allowed for you to note your
own reflections.
§ Stations
of the Cross, Simple Suppers and Teaching: Beginning on the second Friday in Lent (March 10th) we will meet
each Friday at 5:30 p.m. for Stations of the Cross, followed by a simple supper
and Christian formation. Our formation program this year will be Bishop
Matt’s Lenten series for parishes focusing on the Diocesan Vision for us to be
communities of God’s mercy and light. This is not a study but rather a time of
listening to God and one another; a time for storytelling and reflecting on our
stories; a time of beginning or continuing discernment, both for ourselves and
for our community of faith. Please sign up on the sheets in the Narthex so we
will know how much food needs to be prepared.
§ Cooking
on Friday Evenings in Lent: If you
are interested in cooking and hosting a dinner on the Fridays during Lent,
please sign-up on sheets in the Narthex. All of the Fridays are open. Thank you
for your willingness to serve in this manner.
§ Volunteer
needed to organize the Annual Bake/Plant/Rummage Sale: This annual event takes place, in conjunction with
St. Luke United Methodist Church Rummage Sale, on Friday, April 28th (noon
– 3:00 p.m.) and Saturday, April 29th (9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.) –
the first weekend after Easter. As well as an organizer we will need volunteers
to bake brownies (Jessica Ambelang will provide pans, ingredients and
instructions), help gather and sort rummage, and set-up and take down. Anyone
interested in organizing or helping in this event, please call the office at
920-452-9659 or speak with Jessica Ambelang after the 10:15 a.m. mass today.
§ 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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