Grace
Episcopal Church
Sheboygan, Wisconsin
Grace
Notes
24 August 2017
It has become familiar
to hear about (and witness!) “distracted driving”. The most common problem involves texting
while driving, but a related problem involves the complexity of the controls on
newer cars and trucks. (For example,
where there used to be a knob to change a fan setting or temperature, many cars
with computer interfaced controls require the driver to make a menu selection
on a computer screen.) Distracted
driving is a leading cause in the increase in vehicular accident rates within
the past five years, and has been identified as the cause of more than one
fatal rail accident. A related
phenomenon is what might be called “distracted navigation”, whether this
relates to the crash of Asiana Airlines Flight 214 on 6 July 2013, in San
Francisco, in which the cabin crew focused on the computer interfaces to the
point that the aircraft crashed short of the runway (what the National
Transportation Safety Board calls a “controlled flight into terrain”), or the
two collisions, within three months, of U.S. Navy destroyers with tanker
vessels in open waters.
Allowing your warship
to collide with anything is absolutely a “cardinal sin” in the Navy. Careers end.
The Navy has yet to determine what caused the collisions involving the USS Fitzgerald and the USS John S. McCain, but one possibility
is that distracted navigation and distracted driving are both symptoms of
changes in how we relate to reality.
In the September
2017 edition of The Atlantic, the
Psychology professor Jean M. Twenge explores her question “Has the Smartphone
Destroyed a Generation?” She notes that post-Millennials
(which would not include Navy bridge officers!) are more comfortable online
than in many social gatherings, and catalogues the data of a generational shift
in the boundaries between individual life and social life. What professor Twenge writes about, and what
may be happening in distracted driving and distracted navigation, is that we
are becoming creatures who more and more relate to reality not through our
primary senses of perception and proprioception, but as mediated through a
device, like a smart phone or computer.
We can come to rely on what the device shows, even when our own senses
may be sending conflicting data. If this
is true, then we can speculate that the effects on the life of faith can
include:
§ An inability to truly relax, to “be still, and know I am the Lord”.
§ An interaction with reality in which my will is paramount. If I can’t control something, or if the
information I need is not something presented to me, the thing or information
gets excluded.
§ An interaction with reality in which unless something is useful to me (in
the ways I define usefulness), it gets excluded.
These are
speculations, only, but ones that must be placed in the context of increasing
self-focus and how this is facilitated by technology, combined with Jesus’
promise that God will be present when we gather
in His Name (Mtt. 18.20). When we are
still before God, when we focus our beings upon His presence and His will, the
“sixth sense” of faith becomes a guide that will not fail us.
Grace
abounds: Please thank:
§ Leslie Kohler, Sutton
Cecil and Julie Davidson for the Sunday coffee hour.
§ All who helped in the
birthday reception: Ellen and Paul
Aparicio, Mary Snyder.
§ Bobbie May for gardening,
and for janitorial help.
§ Julie Davidson for
janitorial help.
§ Mary Snyder for
hospitality for R. Kraft’s mission presentation.
§ Randie Barrows and
John Davis for extensive maintenance work in the parish.
§ Ben Crouse for lawn
care.
§ Pat Ford Smith and
Cindy Weiss for cleaning the Sunday School classrooms.
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.
Music this Week: The
Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 16A)
Organist: R. Benjamin Dobey
Prelude: Matines Communion Louis
Vierne
Entrance 436 “Lift up your heads, ye mighty gates” Truro
Offertory 525 “The Church’s one
foundation” Aurelia
Communion 475 “God himself is with us” Tysk
Closing 460
“Alleluia! Sing to Jesus!” (vv.1-3) Hyfrydol
Postlude Thou art the Rock, and the gates of hell
shall not
prevail against
thee Henri
Mulet
Parish Notices
§ Blessing
of the Backpacks! Today we
will be blessing all the backpacks and school children as well as all the
teachers, at both 8:00 and 10:15 services. We will invite everyone, young and
old, who are starting school to come forward with their backpacks for a
blessing. We will also ask all the teachers to come forward to be blessed in
their important work as well.
§ Choir: Choir rehearsals
begin Wednesday, September 6th at 6:00 pm. All voices are welcome,
but we especially need tenors and basses. You don’t need to be a trained
singer, an opera star, or a Broadway sensation – you just need a desire to
share the love of Christ through music! “Sing and make music from your
heart to the Lord.” Ephesians 5:19
§ Biblical Greek to be offered:
Join us on Thursday evenings, beginning on Thursday, September 7th. (Classes
will meet 7—9 p.m.) This is not a course about learning to speak Greek,
and it is unlikely that you will become fully literate in the biblical language
but, what you will learn is how to really dive deeply into the Bible by using a
myriad of resources (online and in print) that will allow you to study the
words in the original and what the grammar in the original may point to in
meaning. There is a cost: $100—hence, the early notice. There
will be limited scholarships available. We are opening this course to
other churches, and will limit overall class size, so if you are curious
explore your interest with Fr. Karl or Mthr. Michele.
§ Believing God: A
Women’s Bible Study by Beth Moore will be held every Monday in Nicholas Hall
10:00-11:00 a.m., September 11th through November 13th.
Do you believe that God has a plan for your life? Come and find out the power
and promises that are yours. A sign-up
sheet can be found on the table in the Narthex.
§ Sunday
School Begins: We are getting excited about Sunday School! The teachers are
making plans for another wonderful year of learning about the love of Jesus
Christ! Sunday School will begin on September 17th at 9:00am.
§ How
to be Holy! Will be the subject of Adult
Formation beginning September 17th. Come and discover how you can become holy as
we read Peter Kreeft’s How to be Holy: First Steps in Becoming a Saint. Jerry
Molitor will facilitate this course. The book is easy to read, and we will
limit the weekly reading to 20—25 pages. We will gather for seven weeks from
9—10 a.m. in the fellowship hall, beginning Sunday, September 17th, to discuss
this spiritual guide. Do you wish to be holy? Do you want to see yourself as a
saint? If so, let’s explore this together. We hope to see you here! Bring friends! Please let us know if you wish
to attend by signing up on the sheet in the Narthex so that we can order enough
copies of the book. Copies can be purchased at the discounted price of $10,
from the parish office. (Mark checks “Adult Ed”.) If you need a scholarship for
this, just ask.
§ Catechumenate: will
begin Tuesday, September 19th 6:00 – 8:30 p.m. and will continue
until May when Bishop Matthew Gunter makes his annual visitation. Catechumenate
is a nine-month course in the basics of the Faith and its practice. It is a
period of training and instruction in Christian understandings about God, human
relationships, and the meaning of life. It includes the Sacrament of Baptism,
if you are not already baptized, and culminates in Confirmation, Reception, or
Renewal of Baptismal Vows. The study is led by Mother Michele Whitford, the
Parish Catechist. If you would like more information, please call the office
452-9659 or email Mthr. Michele at mwhitford@gracesheboygan.com.
There is a sign-up sheet in the Narthex.
§ Hope Bags for Safe Harbor: Love
INC is running a product drive August 27th through September 27th.
This year, their goal is to collect enough items to provide 36 Hope Bags, of various
sizes, to Safe Harbor. When a victim of domestic violence is being treated at a
local hospital, the treating facility is legally obligated to contact an
advocate at a local Domestic Violence Shelter. The advocate from the local DV
Shelter (Safe Harbor) arrives to the hospital, equipped with not only care and
compassion, but a Love INC Hope Bag for the victim. The victim is often
required to leave their clothing behind as evidence, and the Hope Bag provides
not only a fresh change of clothing, but some important items that will be
critical to their recovery. Love INC has asked for each Church to sign up
to supply one or more of the items provided in the Hope Bags. Grace Church has
signed up to provide women’s boy-cut underwear. A list of sizes and quantities
requested can be found in the Love INC bin 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.
§ Love INC Monthly Bulletin is
now available online at:
§ Grace Notes is
here: http://gracechurchgracenotes.blogspot.com/.
You can sign up to receive the blog every Thursday
§ Like
Grace Church on Facebook:
@gracesheboygan
§ We
Are on Itunes! Check out the
new podcast!!!
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