Community Matters

Grace Episcopal Church

Sheboygan, Wisconsin

Grace Notes

29 December 2011

On the Feast of St. John the Apostle we were blessed to participate in a baptism at the service of Holy Eucharist.  The epistle lesson from 1 John 1.1-9 speaks of the proclamation to the reader of what the apostle has seen with his own eyes, that which he has looked upon and touched, concerning the word made manifest.  These words are followed by those which refer the proclamation that we cannot claim fellowship with God unless we walk in His light.  Once we walk in this light, “we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ ... cleanses us from all sin” (1 Jn. 1.7).  In writing to a very young Church–and one encountering, already, division–the apostle makes clear that central to faith in God is the fact that faith is practiced together.

Community matters.  All of our decisions in life must be made with reference to others, to the community into which we are called as members of the same Body.  In this community we encounter the Cross, we encounter forgiveness and reconciliation.  Through this Cross we experience new Creation.  When we keep these three “C’s” in mind–Community, Cross and new Creation–the decisions we make as individuals are decisions taken as members of the Body of our Lord.  These decisions embody lives lived in following our Lord by each taking up our own cross, and, in the apostle’s words, walking in the light.  By this light we bring the love of God into all the world.  By this light we illumine the paths of others who may grope in darkness, and look for our own darkness to be made light.

In this Christmastide, during which we observe practices which include much manufactured light, let us never forget that each bulb we place on a tree, each candle we enkindle, is to be a manifestation of the light which comes into the world in Jesus Christ.  Do all in the Name of God, that by His power the darkness may be banished.

Bible Study:  Bible study resumes of Tuesday, 10 January, following the 5:30 p.m. Mass.  A pot-luck soup-and-salad supper is planned.  Thursday study sessions follow the 9 a.m. Mass.  Study summaries of the lessons for the coming Sunday are posted on the parish website on Tuesday of each week.

Thanksgivings:  Thanksgivings are offered this week to Dr. Ben Dobey and all of the choir and instrumentalists who offered such wonderful music at the celebration of Christmas.  Thanksgivings are also offered to the members of the Altar Guild, who provide much extra service during Christmastide.  Thanksgivings are also offered to all who helped to organize the children’s Christmas Pageant, and to all of the children who participated.

Champagne fund-raiser:  At the reception following the vigil for the Feast of the Epiphany (5 January, see below) we plan to offer champagne with other refreshments.  But, we don’t plan to pay for this out of parish funds.  We want to keep parish funds focused on mission.  The parish youth group has a target of $3,400 to fund the construction of a drinking water well in a village in Rwanda, and has raised $1,959 so far.  For each bottle of champagne that any parishioner wishes to donate for the reception, the parish will donate $20 to the water well project, and a member of clergy will provide a $10/bottle match.  Donations will be capped at ten bottles, to a total of $300.

Music this week:  Familiar Christmas carols continue to be part of our worship during these twelve days of Christmastide. 

           

Friday, December 30, 2011

8:45 a.m. Morning Prayer

12:10 p.m. Mass

5:00 p.m. Evening Prayer & Shrine Prayers

Saturday, December 31, 2011

8:45 a.m. Morning Prayer

9:00 a.m. Mass

The Most Holy Name of Our Lord Jesus Christ

Sunday, January 1, 2012

9:00 a.m. Mass with Hymns

Parish Notices

·         2011 Pledge Statements: To have any donations (pledge or otherwise) recorded in 2011 and appear on your tax statement, please have them in the office by 10:00am December 30, 2011. Thank you for your generosity.

·         The Feast of the Epiphany: We will celebrate the Feast of Epiphany Thursday, January 5^th. Parishioners and their guests are invited to the Vigil Solemn Mass beginning at 6:00 p.m. followed by a Twelfth Night Gala Reception. Please sign up in the narthex or by calling the church office at 452-9659.

·         Flower Schedule for 2012: 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.

·         The Annual Financial Meeting: This year’s Financial meeting will take place on Sunday January 29, 2012.  We will have one Mass at 9:00am followed by the Financial meeting held in the Nave 10:30am. The agenda of the meeting will include, 2011 financial review and 2012 budget, Recent Vestry actions, and an overall review of the 2012 calendar. Please make every effort to attend and participate.

Worship as Encounter

Grace Episcopal Church

Sheboygan, Wisconsin

Grace Notes

22 December 2011

In a recent sermon I used the phrase “the lights are on, but nobody’s home” to refer to the problem of whether someone is going-through-the-motions of religion but lacking in faith.  Happily, when we look at Grace we can point to many examples of people of real faith, and thank our Lord that we are called together into one Body.  But, this reminds us that if we are to rely on the promise of our Lord’s presence when we gather in His Name (Mtt. 18.20)–His promise that God will be with us and will answer our prayers–our gathering must involve the act of will by which we each invite God into our lives.  We cannot claim to gather in Jesus’ Name unless we submit our wills to His, and unless in invoking His Name we expect an encounter with the risen Lord.

Periodically in the life of the Church, people get interested in the “historical Jesus”; they focus on what Jesus did and said, and who He was.  In its current iteration this focus is “The Jesus Project,” in which scholars opine and vote on whether a given teaching of Jesus is or is not “authentic”.  For a church body to focus on this historical quest is a prime example of lights-on- with-nobody-home.  It is, in fact, a little closer to what would be referred to in a prison context as “dead man, walking”.  If all we are interested in is what a particular Palestinian Jew did and said in the first century, we have no relationship with the living, risen Lord who now reigns, and who is present to us now.  When we have a relationship with the living Lord; when we gather in His Name and know that this is more than any formula of words, then the lights are one because the source of all life is home; the Body “walks” because the Spirit animates it.

In this season, when we commemorate that our Lord became one of us in order that we might be restored to the holiness to which we are called, let us gather expecting that worship is encounter.  God is here with us when we open our hearts and minds and souls to His indwelling.  We may truly sing, “Joy to the world!”

Greetings Everyone,

As a recovering stroke patient, I would like to thank you all dearly for all your prayers, visits, gifts and Cookies! In this time of joy and togetherness as you make out your Christmas lists, remember to add the name of a special person that may be sick, confused, or facing hardship.

Have a warm and fuzzy Holiday!

Thanks again,

Shirley Kade

Bible Study:  Bible study is now offered twice a week, on Tuesdays in the evening and on Thursdays in the mornings.  The material covered each week will be the same for each session, and will focus on the lessons for the coming Sunday.  Tuesday evening sessions will begin with a light pot-luck supper at 6 p.m., with instruction and discussion scheduled to last from 6:30 until 7:30 p.m.  Thursday morning sessions will continue to be offered at 9:30, following the morning Mass.

Thanksgivings:  Thanksgivings are offered this week to the crew which has decorated the parish for Christmas, including Bernie Markevitch, Hans Graf, Fred and Gail Tyszka and Jon Whitford.  We are also thankful for the extra work and help offered in this by our Sexton, Bill May.

Champagne fund-raiser:  At the reception following the vigil for the Feast of the Epiphany (5 January, see below) we plan to offer champagne with other refreshments.  But, we don’t plan to pay for this out of parish funds.  We want to keep parish funds focused on mission.  The parish youth group has a target of $3,400 to fund the construction of a drinking water well in a village in Rwanda, and has raised $1,959 so far.  For each bottle of champagne that any parishioner wishes to donate for the reception, the parish will donate $20 to the water well project, and a member of clergy will provide a $10/bottle match.  Donations will be capped at ten bottles, to a total of $300.

Music this week:  Along with the usual seasonal favorites, including familiar Christmas carols and Harold Darke’s beloved setting of Christina Rossetti’s “In the bleak midwinter,” we will have a soprano and bass duet from Bach’s Christmas Oratorio during the 10:30pm prelude Christmas Eve, with Sandie Palmer and Ben Dobey as soloists, with Delpha McAloon at the organ.  Lindsay Fischer, cellist, will play the prelude at the 4 p.m. Christmas Eve Mass.

           

Announcements:

Eve of the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ

Saturday, December 24, 2011

8:45 a.m. Morning Prayer

4:00 p.m. Children’s Christ’s Mass

10:30 p.m. Prelude of Christmas Music

11:00 p.m. Solemn Christ’s Mass

The Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ

 December 25, 2011

9:00 a.m. Mass with Carols

St. Steven Deacon and Martyr

December 26, 2011

Office Closed

6:00 p.m. Mass

St. John Apostle and Evangelist

December 27, 2011

Office Closed

9:00 a.m. Mass with the Sacrament of Baptism

Holy Innocents

December 28, 2011

8:45 a.m. Morning Prayer

5:30 p.m. Evening Prayer and Shrine Prayers

6:00 p.m. Mass

Parish Notices

·         Change in Tuesday Worship Schedule:  Tuesday December 27^th is the feast of St. John Apostle and Evangelist. The schedule has changes from a 6:00pm Mass to a 9:00am Mass because we are going to celebrate the Sacrament of Baptism that morning with Danie and Kent Wilson’s grandson Emerson Sitzman. Please come and celebrate this wonderful occasion with the parish family.

·         Children’s Choir: Youth and Children’s choir rehearsals for the Christmas Eve service are at 5:30-6:00pm downstairs in the choir room. Practices will continue on December 22^nd this will be just before the Pageant rehearsal. The choir is open to 2^nd graders and up, and will sing for the 4pm service on Christmas Eve. Please sign up on the sheet in the Narthex.

·         Christmas Pageant Rehearsals: will continue on Thursday, December 22^nd of December starting at 6:00p.m. The rehearsals will begin in the church and then go downstairs for costumes. Participation is open to youth of all ages. The Pageant will take place during the 4:00 p.m. Christmas Mass. Please sign up on the sheet in the Narthex. If your child would like to participate but cannot make rehearsals please note that on the sheet or call Annette Fabiano at 451-7098.

·         Christmas Joy: is scheduled to meet today Thursday, December 22 at 11:00am in the church kitchen.  At that time we will assemble floral arrangements and bag cookies. We need helping hands and donations (to buy flowers.) Can you bake, make a delivery or help arrange?  Please join us for this fulfilling ministry to our shut-ins. They will appreciate it. There is a sign-up sheet in the Narthex to indicate who you would like to deliver to that day.  If you have questions please call Barb MacEwen at 467-6909.

·         2011 Pledge Statements: To have any donations (pledge or otherwise) recorded in 2011 and appear on your tax statement, please have them in the office by December 29, 2011. Thank you for your generosity.

·         The Feast of the Epiphany: We will celebrate the Feast of Epiphany Thursday, January 5^th. Parishioners and their guests are invited to Solemn Mass beginning at 6:00 p.m. followed by a gala reception. Please sign up in the narthex or by calling the church office at 452-9659.

·         Flower Schedule for 2012: 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.

Of "How's" Instead of "Why's"

Grace Episcopal Church

Sheboygan, Wisconsin

Grace Notes

15 December 2011

In most discussions of faith the issues of doubt arise.  We wonder whether it is alright to have doubts about specific matters of faith.  Briefly, it is not necessary to feel guilty about doubt.  Doubt is natural; it is part of the process of exploring our relationship with God, and when we have doubts, the practice of “religion” (from the Latin religio, “that which binds [again]”) allows the faith of those who surround us to keep us directed toward God, who always reaches out to us.

Doubts can perhaps best be examined with reference to that supreme example of faith, the Virgin Mary; with reference to her own response to the angelic salutation which is a part of our Gospel lesson for Advent 4.  The angel tells Mary that she will bear a child, the Son of the Most High.  Mary does not ask why.  She asks how.  This is an important distinction, because it speaks to the first element of faith, which is trust.  In order to believe anything at all about God’s will for us, we must first have a relationship with God.  We trust in the Person of Jesus Christ before we ever attain mental assent to the idea that Jesus Christ is the only-begotten Son of the Father (or any other proposition of faith).  In order to trust in a person, and to seek to follow Him, we need to have a relationship with Him.

Mary has a relationship with the Lord.  She thus trusts that God always does what He says He will do.  She does not question God’s purpose.  When we have doubts, we can look to Mary as an example of trust in God and in His purpose.  We can still wonder how God’s purpose for us will be revealed and effected, but when we have a relationship with God we can trust that He does have a purpose for each one of us.  Just as we last promised in our Baptismal Covenant at the baptisms held on 11 December, we are to seek and serve Jesus Christ in all persons, and it is in this way–in seeking to both come to know God better and to serve Him better in how we encounter Him outside of ourselves–that the how of God’s will is revealed.

Mary is available to God.  When we each are open to God, His purpose will be revealed, and the Holy Spirit will equip us to do God’s will in our own lives, in the life of the Church, and in the life of the world.  The how will be revealed when we trust that the why is answered in God’s love.

Bible Study:  Bible study is now offered twice a week, on Tuesdays in the evening and on Thursdays in the mornings.  The material covered each week will be the same for each session, and will focus on the lessons for the coming Sunday.  Tuesday evening sessions will begin with a light pot-luck supper at 6 p.m., with instruction and discussion scheduled to last from 6:30 until 7:30 p.m.  Thursday morning sessions will continue to be offered at 9:30, following the morning Mass.

Thanksgivings:  Thanksgivings are offered to Deacon Michele for her work with the catechumens.  As we have welcomed new members into the Body of Christ in baptism, let us remember and offer thanks for all who serve in instruction of the faith.  Thanksgivings are also offered to Ed Clabots, Bob Erickson, Jim Gardner, and Bill Roenitz for their work to rationalize storage in the garage.  Some “elbow grease” has saved the parish the need to install a storage shed for equipment.

Champagne fund-raiser:  At the reception following the vigil for the Feast of the Epiphany (5 January, see below) we plan to offer champagne with other refreshments.  But, we don’t plan to pay for this out of parish funds.  We want to keep parish funds focused on mission.  The parish youth group has a target of $3,400 to fund the construction of a drinking water well in a village in Rwanda, and has raised $1,959 so far.  For each bottle of champagne that any parishioner wishes to donate for the reception, the parish will donate $20 to the water well project, and a member of clergy will provide a $10/bottle match.  Donations will be capped at ten bottles, to a total of $300.

Sheboygan Christmas Lights has a new opportunity to experience the community's displays! We will be offering a one to two hour tour of Sheboygan’s finest displays of Christmas Lights aboard Discovery Coach’s new trolley! The tour will kick off from the Discovery Coach parking lot at 6:00 p.m. on December 17th 2011 and follow a guided route based off the displays we scouted for this year. The tour includes at least three houses that have animated lights to music. 

During the tour, commentary will be provided about the route and an interactive experience by a local DJ.  This might include popular Christmas songs, contests, etc. Tickets are available to anyone! One person per ticket, including children. Our ticket prices are $10 and there are 25 tickets available. Our sponsored tickets are paid for by a donor to give folks a chance to see our community’s holiday spirit that normally wouldn’t have the resources or physically cannot get out to view the lights. Tickets can be purchased here or directly through Adam Harden:

http://www.sheboyganchristmaslights.com/index.php/trolley-tour

Music this week:

Organ prelude:  Three Verses on Creator of the Stars of Night  -  Titelouze

Processional: 72 “Hark! The glad sound! The Savior comes”      Richmond

            Offertory Hymn 56 “O come, O come, Emmanuel”            Veni Emmanuel  

Communion Motet:     Ave Maria                                                          Elgar

Communion Hymn: 60  “Creator of the Stars of Night”         Conditor alme

            Recessional: 436         “Lift up your heads, ye might gates”                 Truro

            Organ postlude           Fantasia on ‘Veni Emmanuel’                       Statham

           

Announcements:

Eve of the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ

Saturday, December 24, 2011

8:45 a.m. Morning Prayer

4:00 p.m. Children’s Christ’s Mass

10:30 p.m. Prelude of Christmas Music

11:00 p.m. Solemn Christ’s Mass

The Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ

 December 25, 2011

9:00 a.m. Mass with Carols

Parish Notices

§    Christmas Castle is a ministry in which gifts are provided to those in need.  The castle will be in operation on 21 December.  Three people are needed to help in distribution from 11am to 1pm.  If you are able to help, go to the old Walgreen store in the Sheboygan Mall. You will need to access from the parking lot on the west side of the Mall not through the Mall. Tell them that you are from Grace Church.

§    We are also in need of 1 additional bell ringer for the Salvation Army, Wednesday, December 21^st  from 12-1pm at the North side Piggly Wiggly please call Nancy Yurk at 453-9948 if you are able to help.

·    Christmas Flowers: If you would like to donate for Christmas flowers please fill out the slip of paper in the mass booklet, include a designation for memorials and/or thanksgivings. Deadline to be included in the list of donors in the Christmas mass booklets is this Tuesday, December 20, at noon. Please make checks out to Grace Church with Christmas flowers in the memo.

·    Change in Tuesday Worship Schedule:  The worship schedule for Tuesdays will change to facilitate worship for those who will join the Bible Study group.  Morning Prayer will remain at 8:45 a.m., but Holy Eucharist will move from 12:10 p.m. to the evening. The evening schedule will be:

5:00 p.m. Evening Prayer and shrine prayers

5:30 p.m. Holy Eucharist

6:00 p.m. Bible Study supper with study lasting from 6 to 7 p.m.

·    Children’s Choir: Youth and Children’s choir rehearsals for the Christmas Eve service are at 5:30-6:00pm downstairs in the choir room. Practices will continue on December 22^nd this will be just before the Pageant rehearsal. The choir is open to 2^nd graders and up, and will sing for the 4pm service on Christmas Eve. Please sign up on the sheet in the Narthex.

·    Christmas Pageant Rehearsals: will continue on Thursday, December 22^nd of December starting at 6:00p.m. The rehearsals will begin in the church and then go downstairs for costumes. Participation is open to youth of all ages. The Pageant will take place during the 4:00 p.m. Christmas Mass. Please sign up on the sheet in the Narthex. If your child would like to participate but cannot make rehearsals please note that on the sheet or call Annette Fabiano at 451-7098.

·    Salvation Army Gift tags: Thank you to everyone who participated in the Salvation Army gifts. This is such an important ministry. Thank you also to Nancy Yurk and Bev Evans for all their hard work in coordinating and distributing the gifts.

·    Christmas Joy: is scheduled to meet on Thursday, December 22 at 11:00am in the church kitchen.  At that time we will assemble floral arrangements and bag cookies. We need helping hands and donations (to buy flowers.) Can you bake, make a delivery or help arrange?  Please join us for this fulfilling ministry to our shut-ins. They will appreciate it. There is a sign-up sheet in the Narthex to indicate who you would like to deliver to that day.  If you have questions please call Barb MacEwen at 467-6909.

·    2011 Pledge Statements: To have any donations (pledge or otherwise) recorded in 2011 and appear on your tax statement, please have them in the office by December 29, 2011. Thank you for your generosity.

·    The Feast of the Epiphany: We will celebrate the Feast of Epiphany Thursday, January 5^th. Parishioners and their guests are invited to Solemn Mass beginning at 6:00 p.m. followed by a gala reception. Please sign up in the narthex or by calling the church office at 452-9659.

·    Flower Schedule for 2012: 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.

Joy in Expectation

Grace Episcopal Church

Sheboygan, Wisconsin

Grace Notes

8 December 2011

This is the first issue of what will be a weekly newsletter of the parish, to be issued every Thursday by email broadcast.  Our monthly newsletter, The Angelus, includes news of parish events, updates about parish ministries and finances, theological reflection, and information on the liturgical calendar and music in worship.  This weekly newsletter will include some redundancy in information, but is intended to make updates more timely.  Most importantly, the weekly newsletter is intended to allow every parishioner to remain connected with the life of the Church, even when you have not been able to attend worship in a given week.

If we ever need to remind ourselves just what a countercultural phenomenon the life of the Church is, all we need do is compare our Advent focus on how we can better make ourselves ready for the coming of our Lord with the “Happy Holidays!” festivities of the secular world.  The world seeks to celebrate where we are, with an all-too-ready willingness to confuse consumption with happiness, and happiness with joy.  Evergreens and bright lights, songs about reindeer and good cheer—these begin not later than Thanksgiving, but in the Church our season begins with lessons which speak of the end of the world and judgment.  Are we just given over to a depressive outlook?  Far from it!, for our focus in the Church is not on a celebration of the here and now, but on the fact as Christians we strive to live in a way that shows that Jesus reigns in our hearts already; that we are filled with the joy of salvation, and so live not in fear of His judgment but with expectation that His kingdom will break into this world to complete God’s plan of salvation.

There’s a certain “not yetness” of Advent, in which we long for the joy of Christmas.  Advent reminds us that as we serve God we prepare always to know and love and serve Him more completely, that at His final coming we may be among those referred to in Charles Wesley’s great hymn, Lo!  He comes with clouds descending (no. 57 or 58 in The Hymnal 1982), who at the day of judgment great their Lord with rapture:  “[T]housand thousand saints attending swell the triumph of His train:  Alleluia!  ...  Christ the Lord returns to reign.”

Bible Study:  Bible study is now offered twice a week, on Tuesdays in the evening and on Thursdays in the mornings.  The material covered each week will be the same for each session, and will focus on the lessons for the coming Sunday.  Tuesday evening sessions will begin with a light pot-luck supper at 6 p.m., with instruction and discussion scheduled to last from 6:30 until 7:30 p.m.  Thrusday morning sessions will continue to be offered at 9:30, following the morning Mass.

Change in service schedule on Tuesdays:  To accommodate those interested in attending Bible study, the Tuesday celebration of Holy Eucharist will move from 12:10 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.  Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer will continue to be offered at 8:45 a.m. and 5 p.m.

Thanksgivings:  Thanksgivings are offered this week to Dr. Ben Dobey and all of the choir for their wonderful musical offering in the service of Advent lessons and carols held on 4 December, to Bernie Markevitch, Wes and Barbara Jung, for their offering in preparing the high tea enjoyed after the Lessons and Carols service, and to Jessica Ambelang for organizing our visit from St. Nicholas.

Music this week:

            Organ prelude:  Chorale prelude on Savior of the Nations Come  (Buxtehude/Pachelbel)

Processional: 59 “Hark! A thrilling voice is sounding”     Merton          

            Offertory Anthem:   Springs in the Desert  Arthur B. Jennings

Communion Motet:       Rejoice, O Jerusalem  Healey Willan

Communion: 615 “Thy kingdom come! on bended knee” St. Flavian

            Recessional: 65 “Prepare the way, O Zion”       Bereden vag

            Organ postlude:  Choral prelude on Savior of the Nations Come (Buxtehude/Pachelbel)

           

The third Sunday in Advent is called Gaudete Sunday, from the beginning of the traditional Introit for that day–‘Rejoice in the Lord always.’  The readings and music for this day have always emphasized the joyful rather than judgment and penitence, providing the faithful some refreshment and relief from the rigors of their Advent fasting and discipline.  This is an especially appropriate day for the choir to sing the words from Isaiah 35 in our Offertory anthem –‘The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.’  The setting by Arthur B. Jennings is from 1920, and evokes the romantic choral style of Mendelssohn.  One of the choir’s favorite anthems, it can also be heard on our CD, How shall I sing that majesty.

Annoucements:

§  Religious Identity and Anglicanism: The new adult class continues through  Advent at 9:00am. It is entitled Religious Identity and Anglicanism. In this course we will examine what markers exist for a specifically Episcopalian identity, and how this Christian identity differs from that experienced by members of other Christian denominations. Over the four weeks of this course it is intended that we better define a framework for future and more in-depth exploration of our own faith. There are more details about this course on the Narthex table. All are welcome and encouraged to participate.

§  Children’s Choir: Youth and Children’s choir rehearsals for the Christmas Eve service are at 5:30-6:00pm beginning this Thursday December 1^nd downstairs in the choir room. Additional practices will be on December 15^th and 22^nd these will be just before the Pageant rehearsals.  The choir is open to 2^nd graders and up, and will sing for the 4pm service on Christmas Eve. Please sign up on the sheet in the Narthex. Note: the children will not practice on December 8^th.

§  Christmas Pageant Rehearsals: will be on Thursday, December 15^th and 22^nd of December starting at 6:00p.m. The rehearsals will begin in the church and then go downstairs for costumes. Participation is open to youth of all ages. The Pageant will take place during the 4:00 p.m. Christmas Mass. Please sign up on the sheet in the Narthex. If your child would like to participate but cannot make rehearsals please note that on the sheet or call Annette Fabiano at 451-7098.

§  Advent Retreat: You are invited to an Advent Retreat on Saturday, December 10, from 9am to 4.00pm. The Retreat will be led by Canon Katherine (Kitty) Clark. Kitty is currently the Program Director at the DeKoven Center in Racine. This will be an opportunity for reflection, sharing, prayer and Communion. For information and registration, please contact St. Peter’s, Sheboygan Falls at nsengasa@yahoo.com or 467-6639 or 226-0050.

§  Sunday School Cookie Bake: Sunday December 11th the Sunday School children will be baking cookies for Meals on Wheels, baking will begin after the 10:15 Mass.  Pizza lunch will be provided.  Please bring family and friends to help, many hands make light work.  Thank you both for your time and energy, Annette Fabiano.

§  Meals On Wheels: Every Christmas season Meals On Wheels delivers a box of homemade cookies to those receiving meals. (for some, this is the only gift they will receive.) We have the boxes and the tissue paper, now all we need are the cookies! If you would like to donate some of our home-baked specialties to our project please call Maureen or Lisa at Meals ON Wheels at 451-7011. We have set up cookie drop off sites in both Sheboygan and Plymouth. We will be packaging cookies on the 13^th of December.

§  Salvation Army Gift tags: If you took names from the tree, please have the gifts returned to church no later than December 13^th.  If you have any questions please call Nancy Yurk at 453-9948.

§  Christmas Tree Stands: We are giving away four old, unused Christmas tree stands. Also there are strands of Christmas lights that have all been tested and work. Find them in the Narthex. A donation isn't needed but will be accepted.

§  Christmas Joy: is scheduled to meet on Thursday, December 22 at 11:00am in the church kitchen.  At that time we will assemble floral arrangements and bag cookies. We need helping hands and donations (to buy flowers.) Can you bake, make a delivery or help arrange?  Please join us for this fulfilling ministry to our shut-ins. They will appreciate it. There is a sign up sheet in the Narthex to indicate who you would like to deliver to that day.  If you have questions please call Barb MacEwen at 467-6909.