Grace Episcopal Church
Sheboygan, Wisconsin
Grace Notes
7 February 2013
During the week of diocesan clergy
retreat, with the parish office closed Mon—Thu, and no Masses celebrated on
those days, it is a good time to ask ourselves how we do things as a parish. Do we participate actively, and “own” the
ministries, or do we assume that someone else is going to take care of whatever
is required?
There are many ministries and
people in the parish which and whom we can celebrate. Our Grace
Abounds notes in this newsletter identifies some who serve, but this is not
to ignore all of the many ongoing ministries and servants, including ministries
like Altar Guild, Choir, Sunday School, Nursery, and those who serve in the
community. But we each need to ask
ourselves, how am I participating?
Don’t assume that someone else
will “take care” or provide. Here is an
example: We have had a fair amount of
snow and ice recently. Every time it
snows, the sidewalks are cleared and salted.
By whom? Our parish budget is not
paying anyone to come and do this. It is
being done as an offering by one parishioner, who sends employees from his
business. If he were not doing this, we
would either have to have a well-run committee of parish volunteers to get it
done, or add how much to a parish budget already in deficit?
Just as it is both tempting and
comfortable when we are young to allow someone else (usually a parent) take
care of the details of life, it is tempting and comfortable in a parish to
assume that someone else is taking care of what is required. Don’t make this assumption, but ask yourself
what you are called to do. This may be
an offering in service. It may be a
monetary offering. Is it acceptable that
out of 145 potential giving units in the parish that we have 95 pledges? Even assuming that there are those in the 50
units who do not pledge who are giving regularly in the offering plate, the
number is still shocking. If the current
deficit were divided among 50 units, the giving required to eliminate the
deficit would be less than $1 a day!
This is not an easy message to
give. But we each need to ask ourself
about how we participate, and about what our participation reflects in
faith. God does not do anything partially,
so what is keeping us from participating fully?
If you need more information, ask for it. We are striving for transparency and
“overcommunication”. If you have
concerns, express them. If there is a
ministry or program offering that you desire, let us hear the idea. As we each participate fully in the life of
this Body, the Body will grow.
Grace Abounds: Please thank Ed Clabots for
grounds 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.
If you are sick we
need to hear from you! HIPAA (The
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996) rules apply to
hospitals and medical caregivers, but not
to churches. If you are hospitalized or sick, the hospital
will not inform us that you are a patient unless you request them to. Unless we are informed by you, the hospital (per your request) or a family member of
friend, we will not know of your illness and cannot provide pastoral
visitation. If we are contacted, we
will, of course, come to see you. We
will also need to know whether or not you will allow us to share the
information that you are sick with others in the parish, so that they may pray
for you.
Prayer Warrior
recruiting: When we offer the
Prayers of the People at a celebration of Mass, people are prayed for under
general categories, such as those who are sick.
Many people are uncomfortable sharing the particulars of their prayers
needs at a public worship service (although we should feel free so to share,
for we are members of the same Body).
Therefore, we wish to recruit people willing to serve in a dedicated
prayer chain. These prayers will be
offered in addition to those which are included in the shrine of Our Lady.
If you are a member of the prayer
chain, you will be contacted with details of a prayer request(s): Who to pray for an for what, and for how long
the prayers are to continue.
If you are called to this
ministry, please contact Dcn. Michele Whitford.
The Bible Challenge: The reading schedule is
now independent of the Sunday lectionary, so as of 1 January you can
start any Monday of the year. If you began in 2012 (I Lent),
2013 will begin at week 50. Study summaries for all 52 weeks are posted
on the parish website (Christian Formation: The Bible Challenge).
A Swell Project: A swell engine (a device which
controls the volume of sound) in the organ needs to be replaced. The
approximate cost if $3,500, and this amount is not included in the 2013
budget. Our goal is to raise the necessary funds, to allow for
installation of the device prior to Holy Week, and the clergy and Vestry are
leading the way in donations. If you wish to contribute to this project,
please contact the parish office.
Bible study will not meet this week due to
diocesan clergy retreat.
Adult Christian Education: Adult Education
meets on Sundays at 9 a.m., in St. Nicholas Hall. On 20 January a
multi-week course began, facilitated by Dcn. Michele Whitford and Mary Clabots,
focused on spiritual gifts—their identification and expression.
Music this week:
Prelude Chorale Prelude on O Lamb of God, pure, sinless J. S. Bach
Entrance Hymn 7 “Christ, whose glory fills the skies” Ratisbon
Alleluia (choir) Plainsong
Alleluia,
This is my Son, my Beloved,
with whom I am well pleased.
Alleluia.
Offertory Anthem Christ,
whose glory fills the skies T.
Frederick Communion Motet Nunc dimittis in B Flat C. V. Stanford
Comm. Hymn 137 “O
wondrous type! O vision fair” Wareham
Closing Hymn 122 “Alleluia, song of gladness” (alternate
tune) Dulce Carmen
Postlude Paean on ‘Divinum Mysterium’ John
Cook
Parish Notices
§
Boy Scout
Sunday: Please welcome Troop 801 (formerly Post 1, Troop 1) the first Boy
Scout Troop in Wisconsin. They will be worshiping with us at the 10:15
mass on Sunday.
§
Potluck Dinner and Compline: Bring a dish
to pass and join us this evening Sunday, February 3rd at 6:30pm, for
a potluck dinner and fellowship. At 8:00pm the Schola Cantorum will sing
Compline, a beautiful restful service full of candles and music.
§
Office
Closed: Next week Monday through Thursday, February 4-7th is the
Diocesan Clergy Retreat. On those days the office will be closed and there will
be no Daily Office or Masses.
§
Rector’s
Discretionary Fund: On the first Sunday of the month, any undesignated offering goes to the Rector’s
Discretionary Fund which provides for the pastoral emergencies and other
unplanned pastoral expenses. During the cold weather months, there is special
demand on these funds. Please be generous as you are able.
§ Spiritual
Gifts Class: We will continue this
week and next with the Spiritual Gifts class. This course will discuss what
Spiritual Gifts are, (and what they are not). You will get an assessment tool
to do at home. The group will learn a little about each gift and how they can be
used. We will discuss how our gifts fit into various ministries at Grace
Church. This course is for those who have never considered their Spiritual
Gifts as well as those who want to look at how their gifts match the ministries
they are in. Please join us in St. Nicholas Hall at 9:00am.
§ Shrove
Tuesday Feast before the Fast: Shrove Tuesday is February 12th
we will be having a Potluck dinner following a 5:30pm Mass. Please mark your
calendars and plan to attend this festive occasion. There is a sign-up sheet in
the Narthex, please indicate a dish to pass and please volunteer to help clean
up.
§ Ash
Wednesday: February 13th is Ash Wednesday, the first day of
Lent, it is a day of fasting and penitence. We will observe this day with Mass
and Imposition of Ashes at 12:10 p.m., and Solemn Mass with Imposition of Ashes
at 6:00 p.m. This is a holy day and a wonderful way to begin your Lenten
observance.
§
Women’s
Bible Study: Believing God: Experiencing a Fresh Explosion of Faith - We
are starting a women's bible study in February. We will be using
"Believing God" a study by Beth Moore The study includes a workbook
for individual study five days a week plus meeting together 1 day a week for
in-depth discussion based on Isaiah 43:10 that explores what it means not only
"to believe in God" but "to believe Him." "Believing
God" challenges' women to take God at his word, believe his promises and
as a result, live fuller lives. Join us and experience the great blessings this
study offers as well as meeting each week with other women who want a deeper
walk with God. The class will begin Monday, February 18. We will meet at Grace
Church from 1-3 PM. This is a 10 week study. However, the women's Bible class
will be a continuing class, as long as there is an interest. Pray and ask God
for direction for you as a women of God and if this class might be a fit for
you.
§ Lakeshore
Chorale Valentine’s Day Gala! “Isn’t It Romantic” will be held on Thursday,
February 14th, 7:00 pm, at Grace Church. Featured will be love songs of “The Great
American Song Book” including pieces from “My Fair Lady, “Camelot,” The King
and I”, and (of course) “Isn’t It Romantic” by Rogers and Hart! The Chorale
will present the first portion of the concert in the church’s nave, then move
to the fellowship hall, where the evening continues with a cabaret of solos and
ensembles, champagne punch, and an assortment of Valentine sweets and savories.
Seating is limited Reserve/ purchase your tickets today! Tickets are
$20.00 and are available from Chorale members, at www.lakeshorechorale.org, or by
calling the chorale office 920-451-1863.
§
Songs of
the Seasons Choral Concert: You are cordially invited to attend this year’s
choral concert of music through the church year. The first concert will be held
on Feb. 10 at 1st Congregational Church (310 Bluff Ave.) beginning at 2:00 P.M.
accompanied by piano and organ. The second concert will be held at Bethlehem
Lutheran Church (12th and Georgia Avenue.) on Feb. 17, also beginning at 2:00
P.M. This concert will be accompanied by orchestral instruments and a hand-bell
choir. Directed by Sandra Kasten and accompanied by Bill Born, this concert
specializes in unique, east-to-listen-to sacred music sung by a 48-voice choir.
A free-will offering will be taken to help defray costs.
§
Love
Bowls: will be held on Sunday, February 17th from
10:00 am to 3:00 pm in The Commons at Sheboygan South High School -3128 South
12th Street. Love Bowls is a fun, family-oriented event where
patrons buy a beautiful bowl for $20 and sample as many soups as they wish.
Over 70 local restaurants donate their signature soups. Local talent will
entertain throughout the day. All proceeds from Love Bowls stay in
Sheboygan County and help defray the cost of meals for our elderly, homebound
and disabled neighbors.
§
Adult Christian Education in Lent:
In Lent our Sunday morning Adult Education program will focus on Christian
Testimony. We will hear each week from members of the parish
leadership team (ordained and lay) about how a person came to be a Christian,
and Episcopalian, a member of Grace. We will then have opportunity in
small groups to reflect on our own faith journeys and testimonies. We
will share by doing it, as we grow in our appreciation of how we are formed by
each other.
§
Stations of the Cross, Simple Suppers and
Teaching: Beginning on the first Friday in Lent (15 February) we will
meet each Friday at 5:30 p.m. for Stations of the Cross, followed by a simple
supper and Christian formation. Our formation program this year will
focus on testimony in faith. How do we share our faith with each other?
Lent allows us to focus on how we have separated ourselves from God, but in
this context we need to look at how we are separated from each other, when Jesus
wills that we be one. (What He says at John 10.16 is not merely a
suggestion.) We will combine an examination of separation with the
experience of testimony, and are blessed that we will be joined each Friday by
the pastor of another church in Sheboygan. Each pastor will testify to
his own or her own experience of the Christian faith, and what it is about his
or her identity in a particular faith tradition (e.g., Roman Catholic,
Lutheran, Methodist, Reformed) that informs their faith and the practice of
their faith. We will then have the opportunity to share with each other
our own reactions to such testimonies, and to learn how to testify to faith by
experiencing the testimony of others.
§ 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 sheets in the Narthex. All
of the Fridays are still open except the first one. Thank you for your
willingness to serve in this manner.
§
Offering
Envelopes: Please pick up your offering envelopes. If you do not see one
with your name on it, it could be an oversight or you checked the box
indicating that you did not desire to have envelopes or that you have not
pledged yet. If it is the latter please feel free to take a pledge card and
fill it out, it is not too late. You may return it to any of the clergy or send
it to the church office.
§
Bishop
Search: For all information concerning the search for the eighth Bishop of
Fond du Lac please go to bishopsearch.info
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