Grace Episcopal Church
Sheboygan, Wisconsin
Grace Notes
1 March 2012
In Lent we focus on turning to God, reminding ourselves that at all times God reaches out to us. It is sometimes argued by debunkers of faith that God is just an anthropomorphic (in the form of man) projection. The reality is that God is anthropotropic (reaching toward humanity), as our Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier. This is illustrated throughout Scripture, but perhaps best when we link the encounters between the Lord and Abram/Abraham in Genesis with Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross.
God first calls Abram in Genesis 12. The intiative is with God, and the promises made are those made by God. Abram’s faith response is that he believes God’s promises and acts on them. Then, in Genesis 15, God enters into a covenant with Abram, again at God’s initiative. Abram still believes, and a ceremony solemnizing the covenant takes place.
In the ancient world of the Near East, a covenant was a solemn promise entered into between two parties, a promise having mutual obligations and penalties for non-performance. The most common form of covenant was a “suzerainity covenant,” in which a local ruler agreed to serve a superior overlord (the “suzerain,” such as a king) in return for protection. This agreement was solemnized by having sacrificial animals cut in two, with the inferior party walking between the severed halves. The message from the overlord was clear: “Break your promise and this is what will happen to you!”
In Genesis 15 we find just such a ceremony. A heifer, a she-goat, a ram, a turtledove and a pigeon are cut in two. But then something unheard-of happens. “When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram” (Gen. 15.17-18). God walks between the pieces, not Abram. God is the one who takes the burden of the inferior party. God is the party who not only makes the promise but says that if the other party violates the covenant, He, God, will pay the penalty! From the first calling of Abram we see a trajectory which leads directly to the Cross, on which God gives His only-begotten Son, that the penalty of sin falls not on those who believe.
Just as Abram/Abraham’s faith “was reckoned to him as righteousness” so let our own faith in Jesus Christ allow us to participate in His righteousness. The One who judges is the One who offers the satisfaction, for those who believe.
Thanksgivings: Thanksgivings are offered to Bill and Deb gagin for coordinating the Lenten supper this past Friday, and to all who helped in clean-up.
Please take the opportunity to notify the office of any member or friend of the parish to whom we owe thanks, in order that we can publicize this in the weekly newsletter.
Lenten study: Lenten study suppers continue of Fridays. Stations of the Cross will be offered at 5:30 p.m. in the nave, followed by a pot luck supper and discussion in St. Nicholas Hall. Study will follow Richard Foster’s book Celebration of Discipline. This is an easily-readable and yet profound to the practice of spiritual discipline, of putting God first. The disciplines of Fasting and Study will be discussed this week.
Website update photo shoot: This coming Sunday Jim Gardner will be taking photographs during worship services, for the purpose of providing photos for a planned update of our parish website. (The target date for publication is 1 April.) He will also be visitng Sunday School classrooms and adult education. While he focuses on us, let’s keep focused on God! (Please take the opportunity to thank Jim for this service, and to thank Jon Whitford and Joann Otte for their work in the construction and maintenance of the website.)
Name tags: It is often said that children are the future of the Church. This is, actually, incorrect. Children are full members of the Church now. To better live into this reality, all children have now had name tags made for them, so they can join the rest of this parish in identifying who they are within this Body. Please pick up your children’s name tags on the table set up in the narthex. Adults, please wear your tags as well. We are going to invite the children to show theirs’ off at Sunday worship and fellowship.
Music this week:
Prelude Chaconne in F Minor Pachelbel
Introit Call to remembrance Plainsong
Offertory Hymn 448 “O love, how deep, how broad, how high”
Communion Motet Dear Lord and Father of Mankind Parry
Closing Hymn 142 “Lord, who throughout these forty days”
Postlude Fantasia in C Minor J. S. Bach
Parish Notices
§ Please Pray: Please keep Kaleigh Kraft and the entire team for Faith Alive in your prayers. They will be leaving for Kearney, Nebraska on Friday, March 2 and will be gone for the whole weekend witnessing to St. Luke’s Episcopal Church about how to live out one’s faith in community and to speak about their own personal walk with Jesus. Please pray for safe travel and an openness to the Holy Spirit.
§ Friday Evenings in Lent: will continue this Friday, March 2nd with Stations of the Cross at 5:30pm followed by supper and study. We will be study Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster. We still have a couple copies available for purchase at a cost of $15.00 each. Please speak with Deacon Michele if you would need a book.
§ 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 the sheets in the Narthex. All of the Fridays are filled except the last two. Thank you for your willingness to serve in this manner.
§ Potluck Dinner and Compline: Bring a dish to pass and join us next Sunday, March 4th at 6:30pm, for a potluck dinner and fellowship. At 8:00 p.m. the men will sing Compline, a beautiful restful service full of candles and music. Invite your friends!
§ Adult Formation: Classes take place in St. Nicholas Hall, at 9 a.m. During Lent our focus will be on The Bible Challenge. As of the beginning of the challenge 38 parishioners (30% of average Sunday attendance) have signed up to participate. A schedule of readings is provided on the parish website, along with weekly study summaries. During Lent we want to focus on parish participation, and so our Sunday morning adult education hour will involve review and discussion of the Bible readings for the week. (This week the focus is on the first third of Genesis, the beginning of the Psalter, and the beginning of Matthew’s gospel.) After Lent we will revert to our education hour covering a variety of topics, with the first focus being on how to defend our faith against worldly attacks. If you need a good study bible for the challenge, contact the parish office.
If you have not undertaken the challenge, join us still, for a group exploration of Scripture. If you want to take the challenge, but did not start on 27 February, don’t worry. The schedule allows you to start at any time, designating your start day as Day One.
§ Scout Appreciation "Pancake Breakfast": Sunday March 4th Please mark your calendars to stay a few minutes, after each service, to savor a down home Pancake Breakfast. Scouts will supply all the know how for the event. As an added bonus, Maple Syrup will be supplied by the Drewry Farms of Plymouth. This award winning Maple Syrup is served at all the major restaurants in the area and beyond. The Scouts will also have available Maple Syrup gift assortments.
§ Needed: Bernie and Jessica are looking for some BADLY NEEDED shelving or storage units to better organize two rooms in the basement. Does anybody have some unused ones sitting around anywhere? Please contact them or Ed Clabots if you do.
§ Tripartite Ministry: The Tripartite Ministry we share with St. Dominic Catholic Church and St. Peter Lutheran Church will meet here at Grace, today (Thursday), at 5 p.m. to plan the details of Vacation Bible School and our joint service on Good Friday. We will also explore how to work together in youth ministry. If you are interested in VBS and/or youth ministry, please plan to attend.
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