Grace
Episcopal Church
Sheboygan, Wisconsin
Grace
Notes
4 May 2017
In this month’s newsletter is found a liturgy
that will be used at a diocesan gathering, a liturgy in which we will be very
intentional about calling down the Holy Spirit upon us to further call us to,
equip us for, and strengthen us in ministry.
This past Sunday, in preaching at the 10:15 service I referred to Acts
1.8, in which Jesus tells the disciples they will “receive power” when the Holy
Spirit has come upon them, whereupon they shall become witnesses, and
challenged the congregation to experience the power we have received in our
baptism (and which we shall reaffirm this coming Sunday at the confirmations of
a group of parishioners).
But how is this power experienced? Does this mean that the Church will in faith
become more powerful in the world, in terms of prestige, monetary blessings,
membership reach, etc.? Or, does this
challenge us to remember that the power of God is manifested in the cross (1
Cor. 1.18) and that “[Jesus’] power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor.
12.9). We have Jesus’ power, indeed, in
the Church. We have and must exercise
this power, and live into the mission we have, but let us never be tempted to
seek this power as something to be exercised under our own will. Jesus does not say “you will have power” but that we will receive power.
It is in how we incarnate Jesus in the world that the we will
participate in the change of the world. Jesus’
“accomplished” (Jn. 19.30) exercise of His power and of the work given to Him
by the Father came upon the cross.
To incarnate Christ I must participate in His
sacrifice. To do this I must not seek to
change people, but to trust in God that when I am faithful I can witness to His
presence and He will change people.
Jesus’ power is made perfect in my
weakness, in my surrender to His will.
It is God’s will that is sovereign and that changes the world, and I can
embody this sovereign will only when my own will is made subservient to
God’s. May the Church ever resist the
temptation to act in power, but may the Church ever trust in God’s power being
both infinite and available when we make His will our own.
Grace
abounds: Please thank:
§ Wayne and Pat Sather,
and the Yang Family for the Sunday coffee hours.
§ All who helped bring
Spring Cheer! To parish shut-ins and friends:
The bakers were Mary Kohler, Mary Clabots, Joyce Wessel Deb Gagin, Barb
MacEwen. Delivers were Pat Ford Smith Mary Kohler, Pat Sather, Mary Ann
Neuses, Polly Beebe, Bev Evans and Barb MacEwen. Many thanks go to our
master gardener, Ben Dobey for cutting daffodils!
§ Pat Ford Smith for
help in the office.
Special “Thank You’ s” : A supply of Thank You note cards can be found
on the table at the back of church nave.
When someone in the parish does something special, take the time to
write them a personal note. Also, from
time to time, think about who you might want to thank for ongoing service, and
let them know you have noticed!
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.
Taking
God’s Mercy and Delight into the Neighborhood:
The Diocese has a new website (www.diofdl.org). One link you can find is for the 13 May
conference which will take place in Waupaca, at http://www.diofdl.org/sc.html . Please check out the details and register. We will plan to carpool. With enough people we’ll take a van. Limited scholarship funds are available for
registration.
This is a conference
focused on equipping you to reach out.
For details, please ask Fr. Karl.
Registration deadline in Monday, 1 May.
Music this Week: The Fourth Sunday of Easter
Prelude Pastorale
J. S. Bach
Entrance Hymn 205 “Good Christians all, rejoice and
sing!” Gelobt
sei Gott
Mass Setting
W. Matthias
Offertory Hymn 490 “I want to walk as a child of the light”
Houston
Communion Motet Brother James’s Air arr. Gordon Jacob
Communion Hymn 508 “Breathe on me, Breath of God” Nova
Vita
Closing Hymn 473 “Lift high the cross” Crucifer
Postlude Acclamation
sur “Christus Vincit” Jean Langlais
Parish
Notices
§ Bishop
Visitation & Confirmation: Sunday, May 7th
we welcome The Rt. Rev. Matthew A. Gunter and wife Mrs. Leslie Gunter. The
Bishop will preach and celebrate at both 8 and 10:15 services. We will
celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation with Reception, Renewal of Baptismal
Vows and First Communions at the 10:15 am service. Please join us for a gala
reception to welcome the Bishop and Mrs. Gunter.
§ Women’s Bible Study: The women's Bible study scheduled to begin on 22 May will be rescheduled. Look for future announcements of a course to be offered in Fall 2017.
§ LoveINC Bowl-a-thon Fundraiser: On 3 June there will be an all-day bowl-a-thon
fundraiser for LoveINC. Details and
registration information can be found on the LoveINC Sheboygan website. We need
5 people to field a Grace team! Interested? Please contact the office about steps to
organize a team.
§ 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! There are application forms on
the Narthex table. Deadline for
registration is May 22, 2017. If you have
§ questions
about what camp is like please speak with Nick Whitford at the coffee hour
following this mass. Scholarships
are available.
- Senior
Camp (completed grades 9-12) June 11 (Sun 3pm) –
June 17 (Sat 12noon)
- Middler
Camp (completed grades 6-8) June 18 (Sun 3pm) –
June 22 (Thu 12noon)
- Junior
Camp (completed grades 2-5) June 18 (Sun 3pm) –
June 22 (Thu 12noon)
- KinderCamp
(parent & kids ages 4-7) June 22 (Thu
4pm) – June 24 (Sat 12noon)
§ Grace Notes
is here: http://gracechurchgracenotes.blogspot.com/.
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