Grace Episcopal Church
Sheboygan, Wisconsin
Grace Notes
24 May 2012
Commentary on Pentecost often refers to the out-pouring of the Holy Spirit upon the faithful gathered in Jerusalem (Acts 2.1-13) as the “birthday of the Church;” and it is. Prior to Pentecost the Holy Spirit was visible in the lives of prophets, but not the rest of us. This begs the question: “How do we discern the activity of the Holy Spirit in our lives?”
The Catechism is our prayer book answers this question by stating, “We recognize the presence of the Holy Spirit when we confess Jesus Christ as Lord and are brought into love and harmony with God, with ourselves, with our neighbors, and with all creation” (BCP 852). Looking back at what happened at Pentecost, we see that those who then received the Spirit testified “... telling in [their] own tongues the mighty works of God” (Acts 2.11). What mightier work of God can any of us testify to than that God has sent His own Son to reconcile us to Himself, and that He gives us His Spirit to guide us, to comfort us, and to lead us into all truth?
When we are open to the Holy Spirit we not only look to Jesus Christ as Savior but follow Him as Lord. We recognize that to follow Jesus–to acknowledge His lordship over our lives–requires surrender of our lives to Him. This is a very different thing than is found in the casual attitude toward “religion” in which the idea of a savior is a comforting thought on the fringe of our reality; a casualness characterized by the attitude of “Bless me, but don’t mess with me.” Recognizing the lordship of Jesus Christ requires surrender of will, and not one of us can do this unless we are empowered to do so by the Holy Spirit. This begs another question: “If we need the Spirit, how do we grant access to the Spirit?”
God calls all of us, but we can ignore this call. We can build such a wall around ourselves that we deny access to the Holy Spirit, and when the Spirit is absent from our lives we do not confess Jesus Christ as Lord, we do not love God or enjoy harmony with Him, with ourselves, with our neighbors, and with all creation. How many lives does this describe? Lives lived in isolation from God, lives isolated by the wall of sin constructed by self, are out of holy order. When we persist in sin, we deny God’s Spirit access into our lives, and in these unharmonious lives we persist in sin. And it is from this description of symptoms that we discern the prescription for a cure. In order to welcome the Holy Spirit into our lives we must rid our lives of the burden of sin. This requires brutally frank self-examination, followed by confession and absolution. It is only when we have rid ourselves of unconfessed sin that we can recognize the harmony of life in Christ and the disordered nature of life without God.
Confession is offered corporately at every Sunday worship. It is also available in the sacrament of Reconciliation of Penitent (BCP 447), which involves meeting with a priest. Regardless of how we offer confession (and saying the prayer of confession on a Sunday is not an offering unless we each call to mind the specifics of what we are confessing), doing it regularly allows us to prevent the presence of sin from keeping us out of harmony with God. When we are open to God in confession, we are open to His Spirit acting in our lives. And then He changes us, and we celebrate new birth of the Church and of ourselves at all times.
A final note: The word for “church” in Scripture is ekklesia, which means “assembly”. The Church is not an institution (or a building!), but the assembly of God’s people gathered, which means that Scripture has no conception whatsoever of a person being a “member” of a church if he or she is not present in worship. Being a member of the Body means being active in the Body, in the Body gathered in worship, in fellowship, and in service. When you are open to the Holy Spirit you will be led into an active discipleship in which separation from the Body is evident first and foremost to you.
Being the Body: Please thank Barb McEwen and Bernie Markevitch for set-up and organization of the reception for Bp. Jacobus this past Sunday, and Barb, together with Julie Davidson, Linda Griswold, and Elizabeth Schaffenburg for 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.
Bishop Jacobus’ visit: Olivia Gallimore, Alexandrea Hammes, Emily Boland and Susan McIntosh were confirmed. Darlene Bain and Scott Fabiano reaffirmed their Baptismal vows. Barbara Knauf was received into this communion. Bob and Anne Hanlon who were received last year completed the catechumenate but were away on Sunday. Thank you to Dale Massey who has helped all year with his knowledge, humor and presence.
Biblical Literacy: The Bible Challenge review session on Tuesday, 29 May, will review Week 13 readings. Bible study on Thursday (following the 9 a.m. Mass) will focus on the lessons for Sunday, 3 June (The First Sunday after Pentecost, Year B, Trinity Sunday).
All Saints’, Elkhart Lake: The Sunday services at Elkhart Lake recommenced this year on 27 May, the Feast of Pentecost, and will continue through 2 September (the Sunday of Labor Day week). All Saints’ serves as a mission of this parish, and as an active outreach by this parish in an area and at times when many people are present who are away from their permanent church home, or who lack any church home. As such, All Saints’ serves as an important additional ministry of this parish to reach people who may be unchurched. Throughout the Summer, please be intentional about two things (whether or not you attend All Saints’): (1) Pray for this ministry, and for those who serve in it, that they may serve our Lord by bringing more to know, love, and serve Him; (2) Engage in mission yourself. You may know or meet people who you can ask to join you in worship, and All Saints’ can serve as a less formal setting that is more user-friendly in outreach. Invite seekers to worship with you.
Music this week:
Prelude Verses on Veni Creator Titelouze
Opening Hymn 225 “Hail thee, festival day”
Sequence Hymn 504 “Come Holy Ghost, our souls inspire”
Offertory Hymn 516 “Come down, O love divine”
Communion Motet Come, Holy Ghost, Creator, come Gibbons
Comm. Hymn 508 “Breathe on me, breath of God”
Closing Hymn 579 “Almighty Father, strong to save”
Postlude Come, Holy Ghost Bach
Parish Notices
· Office Closed: The office will be closed for Memorial Day. There will be no Daily Office or 12:10pm Mass.
· Valerie Burg’s Requiem Mass: will be Saturday, June 2, at 3:00pm. There will be a time of visitation Friday, June 1 from 4:00 to 8:00pm and from 11:00am until the time of the Mass on Saturday.
· 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! If you have questions about what camp is like please call Michele at the office. Scholarships are available.
Senior Camp (completed grades 9-12) June 10 (Sun 3pm) – June 16 (Sat 12noon)
Middler Camp (completed grades 6-8) June 17 (Sun 3pm) – June 21 (Thu 5pm)
Junior Camp (completed grades 2-5) June 17 (Sun 3pm) – June 21 (Thu 5pm)
KinderCamp (parent & kids ages 4-7) June 21 (Thu 3pm) – June 23 (Sat 12noon) There are application forms on the Narthex table.
· Mission Opportunity: Kairos Inside Prison Ministry is a lay-led ecumenical Christian ministry which conducts a highly structured program designed for use in male and female medium to maximum security correctional institutions. Kairos Inside is based on Cursillo and is a 3 ½ day weekend of talks, discussion, chapel meditations and music led by volunteers. The website is http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001pWlnd4cV05DUBwx4bP-2-V1I2_8rxE6hbsHBaG7r0NhWLrZhpWSDHTdg2tO4k_iH49OaQ7k4o7wXW7lFPxGuxgcumzgdIIY6juIk9n1TURI=. The Kairos of Wisconsin State Chapter is hosting a potential volunteer information day on Saturday, May 19th from 10am to 2pm at Portage United Methodist Church, 1804 New Pinery Rd in Portage. If you are interested in this vital and rewarding ministry, please plan to attend. Please e-mail the Rev. Vicki Natzke at vnatzke@wctc.net if you plan to attend or desire more information.
· Eucharistic Festival: Please mark your calendars and plan to attend the Eucharistic Festival Saturday, June 2, 2012 at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul, Fond du Lac. The day begins at 11:00am with Eucharist followed by Benediction and a picnic lunch will be served. It is always a wonderful day.
· Sign-Up to Host Coffee Hour in 2013: A sign-up sheet for hosting coffee hour in 2013 is on the table in the narthex. Please sign-up for dates you would like to host. A final schedule and reminders will be generated from the sign-up sheet and distributed in November 2012. Please consider signing up for 2-3 Sundays to help us cover the year! Contact Katy Prange at 920-889-1252 or katyprange@hotmail.com with questions.
· The Bible Challenge: The Tuesday evening study will follow the weekly readings from The Bible Challenge. We begin with 5:30 p.m. Mass, followed by a light, pot-luck supper, with study commencing at 6:30 p.m. Lesson summaries for both the Bible Challenge readings and for the weekly lectionary lessons continue to be posted on the parish website.
· Stewardship/Fundraising Committee: The Vestry has approved the creation of an on-going Stewardship/Fundraising committee that will be responsible for our annual pledge campaign as well as developing multiple fundraising events. The goal is to charter this committee at the May Vestry meeting. If you are interested in serving on this committee or have suggestions or comments please contact a Vestry member. We appreciate your consideration.
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