Grace
Episcopal Church
Sheboygan, Wisconsin
Grace
Notes
7 January 2016
Happy
Epiphany! And Happy New Year! When we focus on the new it is often good to
focus again on the old. The old, for
example, can become so familiar that we take it for granted, but when we actively
engage both what has gone before and what abides still we are enriched in
experiencing the newness of life.
At Epiphany a familiar aspect of life in this
parish became, again, a focus for me. It
is our stained glass and statuary. We
are blessed with much beautiful stained glass, including work by John Glasby of
England (in the sanctuary and the chapel of Our Lady of Walsingham), windows
which depict the life of Jesus (in the nave), a carved oak rood beam, and
statuary in linden (bass) wood on the reredos behind the altar. There is much to recommend in each individual
piece, and if you want the history and a description of any piece these can be
found both in the parish archives and (in part) under “Stained Glass” in the Episco-facts section of the parish
website. But, I do not wish to meditate
upon any one piece; I want to consider the whole.
We live in an age when we can access an image
of most works of art online. Even if we
travel to a museum, we can contemplate an individual painting, or even a
collection of a particular artist’s painting, but do so more in an interaction
with an individual image than with an overarching narrative message. In the Church, however, it is not really
possible to separate architecture and decoration from theology. For example, “church in the round”—with the
altar in the center—says something different about what happens in worship than
when the altar is in a sanctuary separated from the nave by a rood screen. (Enough terminology? Again, see
Episco-facts.) If we focus just on
stained glass and statuary, however, we see that the message is mediated as an
overall narrative; the sum total of the presence of all of the images in glass
and wood affects us in ways that any individual image cannot.
Enough about art theory. The point in
referring to such theory is to consider what it might illustrate in our faith
life. If I interact with God through
individual, separated “images” like my individual prayer life, individual bible
study, individual piety, I miss the totality
intended in life in community—in the Body of Christ. Just as the message in Grace is not a series
of individual windows or statues, but the sum total of them, the life of faith
must be experienced in the whole, joined together with others as Jesus intends
(Mtt. 18.20).
Join in the whole. We will explore the concept of Christian
community in further detail at the 9 a.m. Adult Formation hour, each Sunday for
four weeks, beginning on 10 January.
Grace
abounds: Please thank:
§ Kevan and Traci Revis, and Dale and Mary Massey for the
Sunday coffee hours.
§ Bobbie May for help in the parish library.
§ Set-up and clean-up crews for the Twelfth Night supper: Paul and Andrea Aparicio, Julie Davidson,
Scott Gedemer, Leslie Kohler, Katy Larson, Jennifer Pawlus.
Education Alert! Diocesan Deacons’ School begins this
Saturday, 9 January 2016 at Grace,
Sheboygan! We will begin at 8:45
with Holy Eucharist, followed by classes beginning at 9:15. We will meet every second Saturday:
§ Old Testament: 3 contact hours. An in-depth survey of the origins,
composition, canonization, contents and theology of the Old Testament.
§ Church History: 3 contact hours. The history of the Church from the apostolic
age to today, with specific focus on theological development.
If you wish to do all of the reading, contact
the office regarding acquisition of the necessary texts. However, you
are free to attend without reading the text books. You can just come to listen and learn.
Call for
Contributions: If you
have a spiritual reflection to share, or want to point your fellow worshippers
toward a resource, submit your contributions to Fr. Karl (by email) by
Wednesday in the week of publication.
Music
this Week: The First Sunday after the Epiphany
Prelude How
brightly shines the Morning Star Buxtehude
Entrance Hymn 124 “What star is this, with beams so
bright” Puer nobis
Offertory Hymn 497 “How bright appears the Morning
Star” Wie schoen
leuchtet
Communion Motet Christ, when for us you were baptized Hart
Communion Hymn 120 “The sinless one to Jordan came”
Solemnes haec
Closing Hymn 119 “As
with gladness men of old” Dix
Postlude How brightly shines the Morning Star Bach
Parish
Notices
§
Adult Education: Today we will resume Sunday morning
Adult Education with a four-part series on Christian
Community. How do we build Christian community within and outside the
Church? What are the elements of community in Christ? What are the challenges?
The focus will include examining the scriptural models for community, those of
the early Church, those within our own heritage, and how all of these relate to
our sense of community within the wider culture.
§ The Annual Meeting: This year’s Annual
Meeting will take place on Sunday, January 31, 2016. We will have one Mass at 9:00 a.m. followed by the
Annual Meeting at 10:15 a.m. We plan to have an all parish pot-luck lunch in
St. Nicholas Hall at the conclusion of the meeting. The agenda of the meeting will include
committee reports, new Vestry and Warden elections, 2015 financial review and
2016 budget, review Vestry actions, and an overall review of the 2016 calendar.
Please make every effort to attend and participate.
§ All Parish Potluck Lunch: Following the Annual Meeting we will have an All Parish Potluck Lunch.
Please bring a dish to pass and share in fellowship. Please sign up on the
sheet in the Narthex.
§ Call for Vestry Nominations: Vestry elections
will be held on Sunday, January 31st, at the parish annual meeting. We need at
least three nominees, with names provided to the parish office by January 20th.
You can nominate another person or yourself. To run for Vestry you must be a qualified
elector of the parish, which means that: (1) You are regular in your attendance
on worship;(2) You have received Holy Eucharist at least once in the prior
year;(3) You are active in your support of the parish through a pledge or some
other form of giving; and (4) You are at least sixteen years of age. (5)
Provide a brief biographical sketch which allows your fellow parishioners to
better understand your relationship with God and His Church. Vestry members are
called to committed leadership, and are expected to attend twelve meetings
throughout the year (once per month);
and participate in parish activities as you are able.
§
Annual Meeting
Reports:
If you are in charge of anything, please write a short report to be included in
the Annual Report and send it to the office office@gracesheboygan.com by Wednesday,
January 20th. Thank you so
much.
§
Call for Diocesan
Convention Delegates and Alternates: Diocesan Convention is scheduled for October
22nd from 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. at Liberty Hall, Kimberly (eastside
of Appleton). We are in need of 4 delegates and 4 alternates to attend and vote
at Diocesan Convention. This will include a pre-convention information meeting,
there are several scheduled. If you are willing to serve please call the
office. Delegates and alternates are determined by volunteer order. In the
event that we have more than eight responses we will vote on January 31st at
the Annual Meeting.
§
Bible Challenge: Grace Abounds
launched The Bible Challenge on
Monday, January 4, 2016. If you take this challenge, you will find that in one
year you will read all of the Bible! This will require less than an hour of
your time, six days a week. A schedule of readings will be provided on the
parish website, along with weekly study summaries and a weekly video summery of
the readings. If you need a good study bible for the challenge, contact the
parish office. When we immerse ourselves in Scripture, the mantle of the Lord
does fall upon us. We are equipped to discern God’s will and to lead others to
know and love and serve the Lord.
§
Directory Update: We will be printing
a new directory to be finished in time for the Annual Meeting on January 31st.
Please check your entry to make sure your address, phone and email are all
correct. The draft can be found on the narthex table. Thank you.
§
Coffee Hour
Schedule: There is a
new sign-up sheet for hosting coffee hour in 2016. If you would like to host
please sign up for either 8:00 a.m. or 10:15 a.m. If you have any questions
please see Mary Massey. Thank you so much.
§ 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.
§ Flower Schedule for 2016: Giving the gift of flowers is a wonderful
way to remember a loved one or to offer thanksgiving for your blessings. If you
wish to sign up for a specific Sunday, the Flower Schedule is available on the
table in the narthex. More than one person can sign up for each Sunday.
§ Girl Scout Cookies! Girl Scout Cookies can be preordered
for $4.00/box on Sunday, January 17th after both masses. Money will
be due when the cookies are delivered at church. Any Grace Church youth member
who is involved in Daisy/Girl Scouts should come in their troop uniform to help
work the booth and we will divide the orders up equally between the
participants.
§ A community event in support of recovery: A free showing of The Anonymous People will be held Friday, January 22 at 7:00 p.m. –
a documentary about the faces and voices of recovery – followed by discussion
with John Shinholser, McShin Foundation co-founder, featured in the film. On Saturday, January 23rd 9:30
a.m. – 4:30 p.m. there will be a community planning workshop lead by John
Shinholser. Both events will take place
at 2908 N. 21st Street, Sheboygan.
§ Like
Grace Church on Facebook
§ Follow
Grace Church on Twitter: @GEC_Sheboygan
§ We Are on Itunes! Check out the new
podcast!!!
