Grace Notes: March 2013

Thursday, March 28, 2013

Living a New Commandment

Grace Episcopal Church

Sheboygan, Wisconsin

Grace Notes

28 March 2013

Today is Maundy Thursday. The name derives from the Middle English word for commandment, derived from the Latin mandatum, and recalling Jesus’ words at John 13.34, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.”

How do we love one another as Jesus has loved us? We begin by recognizing that love is not an emotion—it is a state of being; it is something we do. Jesus gave His disciples His new commandment in the context of gathering with them at the Last Supper, with His example of serving (in washing their feet), in the same setting that He instituted the Holy Eucharist. In other words, love involves identification with God, who is love (1 Jn. 4.8). “By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13.35).

How do we love one another? Another way to ask this is, How do we serve one another? We do this by keeping God first, others second, and ourselves last. We do this in recognizing and living that in a little quirk of grammar (both in English and in the Greek of the New Testament) we get a hint of a reality behind description. This hint is that adjectives such as “good” or “holy,” “faithful” or even “righteous” (let alone “saved”) are used in Scripture in ways that are generally not adjectival. What does this mean? If an adjective is used as such it modifies a noun. Saying that “The prayer book is red” describes the book. But an adjective can also be used in a substantive way, as a predicate which implies the verb “to be,” and this is how the words listed above are generally used in Scripture. For example, when Matthew says that Joseph is a “righteous” man (Mtt. 1.19) he is not describing Joseph but saying who and what Joseph is.

To the extent that we can by the Holy Spirit ever apply the words “faithful” or “loving” to ourselves and to the Church, we must embody these as realities of being. It is only then that the world might use these same words to describe us. The action remains God’s, which is why we can refer to the Church as “holy” (“set aside” for God) even when this fails to describe reality in action. We can make such a reference, for it is God who sets aside those whom He calls (John 15.16). But we need to be—to embody—this reality, so that the world can see and experience this reality.

In the second century St. Tertullian wrote that a hostile world looked upon the Christian faithful and said “See, how they love one another” (Apology 39.7). He could write this because the Christians embodied God’s love. May the words “faithful” and “loving” apply always because we live into the state of being to which these words apply. When this reality is lived, the words will become descriptors as well, and our faithfulness to Jesus’ new commandment will be lived to be seen by all.

Grace Abounds: Please thank Mary Snyder for hosting the Friday night lenten supper. Please thank Katy Prange and Bobbi Kraft for clearing snow prior to our gathering this past Sunday morining. Please thank Bob and Ann Hanlon, and Terry and Mary Kohler, for preparing coffee hours this past Sunday (and supplying hot cross buns!) Helpers at coffe hour included Bill and Deb Gagin, John and Jennifer Keller, Leslie Kohler, and Bob and Barb MacEwen.

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.

Holy Drama: Parents of children: This, of all times, is when children need to participate in worship. Let them welcome the new fire at the Easter vigil. Everybody: Bring a (small) bell you can ring, that when the lights come up and the Gloria in excelsis Deo! is first sung, you may ring your bell to celebrate Jesus’ victory over death, and to chase away the Devil!

Bring your cell phone! Believe it or not, we want you to use your cell phone in church (set on silent!) Bring your cell phone, and at a service like Maundy Thursday, the Great Vigil of Easter, or on Easter morning (not on Good Friday) take out your cell phone and (discretely) take a photograph of some aspect to of the service that particularly catches your attention. Then, if you use social media like Facebook, post the photo on your page, with a link to the Facebook page and website of the parish. Let’s see how much we can broadcast to those with whom we are connected how we connect with God, that we can lay more of a base to invite them to connect with God with us.

Be discrete. Don’t post a picture of someone without their permission.

Newsletter delay: With Easter falling on 31 March, our April edition of The Angelus will not issue until 5 April. For April calendare and event details, please consult the parish website during any delay.

Episcopal Youth Community: Grace and Peace to you! I have spent this past week deep in the Stations of the Cross, while preparing for a group trip to St. Thomas to experience the Stations through various media, and while writing a version of the Stations for our Sunday School class. Both, in my mind, were successful, and I don't think I'll ever be quite the same after experiencing these two renditions.

I have learned a lot about the people I work with in Sunday School, and the kids in our class. An—by the way—brokenness is not something that can only happen to you when you've "grown up a bit". There are some emotional injuries in our kids, from their peers, and others, yet they live lives of wholeness.

I have learned a lot about myself through writing a children's version, and through a series of Stations where the medium of cinema helps us to make a connection to the reality of Jesus, and His sacrifice. Movie clips, which are so normal to our lives, applied to the story and sacrifice of Jesus, stretch our imagination and help us to experience emotionally the story of Christ. Through both exercises I began to understand the Stations in a new way.

There are a lot of assumptions we make, and most of the ones I make are to lessen the pain, lessen the endurance, lessen the torture of the cross. It is really scary to face the reality of how much our Lord needed to endure. But He did, and He did it with a human body.

This, to me, adds greater weight to John 14:12 where Jesus says "Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father." If Jesus can endure the cross, what are we holding ourselves back from because we say "I can't..."? ―Nick

Music this week:

Maundy Thursday at 6 p.m.

Prelude Meditation on ‘Ubi Caritas’ Visser

Prelude on Adoro te devote Willan

Entrance Hymn “Zion, praise thy Savior singing” (Lauda Sion)

Gloria Missa ‘Alme Pater’ Plainsong

At the Maundy Ubi caritas Duruflé

God is love, and where love is Proulx

Offertory Hymn 315 “Thou, who at thy first Eucharist didst pray” Song 1

Communion Anthem Ave verum Corpus Plainsong

Comm. Hymn 314 “Humbly I adore thee” Adoro devote

At the Procession to the Altar of Repose:

Hymn 329 “Now, my tongue the mystery telling” Pange lingua

Good Friday at 1 p.m.

Sung Passion Gospel

At the Veneration of the Cross:

Adoramus te, Christe Mozart

God so loved the world Stainer

Organ: O sacred head, now wounded Bach

Procession from the Altar of Repose:

Hymn 166 “Sing, my tongue, the glorious battle” Pange lingua

Easter Vigil at 7:30 p.m., with the Gaudete Brass Quintet

Gloria in excelsis Deo William Mathias

Offertory Anthem Christus Vincit Noyon

Communion Motet Most glorious Lord of life Harris

Comm. Hymn 305 “Come, risen Lord” Rosedale

Closing Hymn 208 “The strife is o’er” Victory

Postlude Toccata (Symphonie V) Widor

Easter Day at 10:15, with String Quartet

Prelude Three Church Sonatas Mozart

Opening Hymn 207 “Jesus Christ is risen today” Easter Hymn

Mass setting Missa in C (‘Organ-solo’ Mass) Mozart

Offertory Hymn 175 “Hail thee, festival day” Salve festa dies

Communion Motet Jesus, Sun of Life Handel

Comm. Hymn 174 “At the Lamb’s high feast we sing” Salzburg

Closing Hymn 210 “The day of resurrection” Ellacombe

Postlude Prelude & Fugue in D Major Bach

Parish Notices

Maundy Thursday Foot Washing: Everyone will have the opportunity to have their feet washed and to wash someone else’s feet following the example of Jesus washing his disciple’s feet. Please wear socks and shoes that are easily removed.

Jerusalem Offering: Every year since 1922 the church has taken a collection for the Church in the Middle East during Holy Week. Our loose plate offering on Maundy Thursday will go to support the church efforts in Jerusalem and throughout the Middle East. Please be generous as you are able.

Vigil before the Altar of Repose: Please sign up to watch and pray for an hour at the Altar of Repose beginning immediately following the Maundy Thursday Mass March 28 and concluding Friday, March 29 as the Good Friday Liturgy begins. There is a sign-up sheet on the table in the Narthex, more than one person can sign up for any given hour.

Sacrament of Reconciliation: Lent is a time of self-examination preparing for the death and resurrection of our Lord. The Sacrament of Reconciliation will be offered by appointment. Please contact Fr. Schaffenburg to set up an appointment to make your confession.

The Holy Noise: It is an ancient custom that parishioners bring bells from home to make the Holy Noise during the singing of the Gloria in exclesis at the Easter Vigil and to symbolize the waking of the dead in Christ because of His resurrection, as well as the proclamation to the entire world that Christ is risen from the dead.

Easter Gala Reception: We will continue our Easter celebration with a Gala Reception after the 10:15 a.m. Mass on Sunday, March 31. Please sign up to bring sweets or savories and to help clean up afterwards. There is a sign-up sheet on the table in the Narthex.

Christian Formation: there will be no Christian Formation for adults or children on Easter, March 31^st. Christian formation for children will begin on April 7^thfor all ages.

Adult Christian Formation: During Eastertide we will take a break from formal study, and focus more on discussion. On Sunday mornings at 9, join us for coffee and a group discussion of the scriptural lessons for that Sunday. We will use the Bible study format (posted on the parish website during the prior week) which outlines the discussion points for each lesson. Come prepared to share in fellowship. Bring your questions. You can read the lessons in advance by following the Bible Study links on the parish website, which will give you the study outlines and a link to the full text of the lessons.

Bishop Search: For all information concerning the search for the eighth Bishop of Fond du Lac please go to bishopsearch.info.

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

A Feedback Loop

Grace Episcopal Church

Sheboygan, Wisconsin

Grace Notes

20 March 2013

[Published a day early, due to travel.]

Last Sunday was the first time I celebrated at Grace without at least one deacon present. After serving for years, elsewhere, without other ordained ministers at the altar, this should not have been something that I noticed, but I sure did, and not just because of the liturgical details normally seen to by a deacon that I had to remember. What did I notice? An absence. We celebrated a full and joyous Holy Eucharist. God was very present: in Word, in Spirit, in His Body and Blood, and in the hearts of His faithful people. The people were very present (and this was particularly noticeable at the 10:15 service, when the altar was surrounded by children). And yet, there was an absence because we were not celebrating as a complete team. The ministry of Word and table, and of outreach—the heart of diaconal ministry—was absent except to the extent that I could live into my own diaconal vows while seeking to fulfill my priestly vows.

The office and ministry of a deacon is one which involves the modeling of the Christian life to others—the communication of Jesus Christ’s redemptive love by word and example. The deacon assists the celebrant in public worship and in the ministration of God’s Word and Sacraments. The deacon is to demonstrate to all that in serving the helpless we serve Christ Himself. All of this happens here through the ministries of our two deacons. But there is an additional aspect of diaconal ministry present. The deacon also “interprets to the Church the needs, hope, and concerns of the [community],” and it is in this aspect of ministry that I, as celebrant, noticed an absence, because I had to focus on what had to do to the extent that I could not be as sensitive as necessary to the spiritual state of those participating in the celebration. In other words, what I noticed missing was the spiritual “eyes and ears”—the spiritual sensitivity—that is part of the diaconal office, and that is embodied so fully in the deacons who serve here.

I’m glad they’re back (and rejoice in the ministries which called them away)! But what about you, sitting in the pew, coming into the office, into the classroom? Let’s all work together to empower the parish deacons in the ministries to which they are called, and to affirm the “feedback loop” represented in this spiritual Body in their ministries. Let’s work with them to reach out into the world, that those who do not know spiritual health in our Lord’s Body may join with us, that what we notice is no absence, at all, but a surplus in blessing.

Grace Abounds: Please thank John Ambelang for hosting the Friday night lenten supper. Please thank Nicci Beeck and Pat Ford Smith for organizing the children’s liturgy this past Sunday.

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.

Holy Drama: There is the highest drama in our Lord coming to us in Spirit, in Body, and in Blood, but at no time is this drama more evident than in Holy Week. We participate in Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, His last supper, His new commandment to His disciples, His passion and death, His descent into Hell, and His glorious resurrection. This is the time to particularly pay attention not just to what is said, but to what is done, to how liturgy involves all of the senses for it is to involve all of the person. Parents of children: This, of all times, is when children need to participate in worship. Let them welcome the new fire at the Easter vigil. Everybody: Bring a (small) bell you can ring, that when the lights come up and the Gloria in excelsis Deo! is first sung, you may ring your bell to celebrate Jesus’ victory over death, and to chase away the Devil!

Be discrete. Don’t post a picture of someone without their permission.

Vestry Elections: Ellen Aparicio and Susan McIntosh have been elected to unexpried terms on the Vestry, subject to reelection to full terms. Please thank them for their willingness to serve.

A Swell Project: The funding for the organ swell engine has been raised. Thanksgivings are offered to the six donors, who wish to remain anonymous.

Episcopal Youth Community: This Sunday is Palm Sunday, a day of celebration, the triumphant entrance of Jesus in Jerusalem. That was Sunday, but Friday is coming. We know that between Sunday and Friday a lot happens to Jesus and His followers, and for us it is the culmination of a promise intended, and given freely. The gift from God, of God, by Jesus, to redeem us from ourselves and to bestow grace upon all people.

But the journey. The longest journey it might seem if you were walking it, started in a court, and ended with the cross.

This Sunday at St. Thomas, in Menasha, there is a service called Kaleidoscopic Worship. This particular instance of "KW" is called "Stations of the Cross". Many of us have walked the stations before,but this will be a highly interactive way to participate in the stations.

This ALL AGES event will take place from 5-7pm. From Grace, a delegation of people are going to attend. We have a passenger van available for us, and will plan a caravan if needed.We willneed to leave Grace at 3:30pm,and plan on being back at Grace between 8:30 and 9:00pm.

If you are interested, please RSVP with Nick Whitford. All are invted to join.

Faith Alive: During his recent visit, our Faith Alive team leader, Hal Foss, commented very positively on the spiritual life of this parish, noting the sharing of testimonies on Sunday mornings, and in our lenten programs. We will build on this base, leading up to the Faith Alive weekend next September, to continue to live into our baptismal vows.

Lenten Friday program: Our final lenten Friday program will be held on 22 March. We will gather for Stations of the Cross at 5:30 p.m., followed by a simple supper and a program in Christian testimony, in St. Nicholas Hall. The featured speaker will be PastorTodd Smith, First United Lutheran Church. (E.L.C.A.), Sheboygan.

Please come to listen to our guest, and to share in fellowship with members of First United Lutheran.

Music this week:

Processional Hymns: 154 “All glory, laud and honor” Valet will ich dir geben

156 “Ride on! Ride on in majesty” The King’s Majesty

Offertory Hymn 162 “The royal banners forward go” Vexilla regis prodeunt

Communion Motet Daughters of Zion F. Mendelssohn

Communion Hymn 168 “O sacred head, sore wounded” Herzlich tut mich verlangen

Postlude Chor. Pre. on ‘O sacred head, now wounded’ J. Brahms

Parish Notices

Easter Vigil Dinner: The first Mass of the Resurrection is on Saturday, March 30, at 7:30 p.m. The Easter celebration then continues at Trattoria Stefano, 522 South 8^th Street, at 9:30 p.m. The dinner choices are lamb, fish or pasta. The actual cost of the meal is a gift to the parish, so you not only get a delicious meal but you help the coffers of the church by purchasing a ticket for the dinner. Tickets can be bought in the parish office or in the narthex after mass for $50 a person. Everyone is invited, but seats are limited. There are scholarships for anyone wishing to attend but are unable to donate. Deadline is Monday, March 25^th.

A Passover Seder Meal: You are Invited to a Passover Seder Meal Wednesday, March 27, 6:30 pm. at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Plymouth. “The Passover is the oldest and most important of the Jewish festivals, commemorating God’s deliverance of the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt. The Passover meal is known as the Seder, which means ‘order’, because the meal and the service are done in a prescribed sequence. This sequence is presented in the Haggadah (telling) which outlines the steps of the meal as well the readings and the songs for the participants.” --Dennis Bratcher. Please RSVP by Sunday, March 24 by calling the Grace Church office at 452-9659.

Good Friday Offering: Every year since 1922 the church has taken a collection for the Church in the Middle East during Holy Week. This year our loose plate offering on Maundy Thursday will go to support the church efforts in Jerusalem and throughout the Middle East. Please be generous as you are able.

Potluck Dinner and Compline: Bring a dish to pass and join us this evening Sunday, April 7^th 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.

Adult Christian Education in Lent: In Lent our Sunday morning Adult Education program will focus on Christian Testimony. Come and join in the fun and listen to our faith stories. 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.

Bishop Search: For all information concerning the search for the eighth Bishop of Fond du Lac please go to bishopsearch.info.

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Selling an Idea or Sharing a Story?

Grace Episcopal Church

Sheboygan, Wisconsin

Grace Notes

14 March 2013

How do you share your faith? We’ve been exploring this in our lenten Adult Education and Friday supper programs, listening to the stories of both leaders in this parish and pastors in neighboring congregations. Three days after our last Friday program, in which we welcomed Pastor TeWinkel and members of Hope Reformed Church, a member of our church remarked, “Now, when I drive by Hope I smile, because I remember the good of visiting and sharing with members of that church during our lenten supper.” This experience and comment reflects a fundamental reality: We share our faith by sharing ourselves. When we tell a story we are more likely to establish a connection than when we share an idea.

Sharing a story is as simple as telling someone how you came to first visit this parish. It is as simple (and profound) as telling about how you relied on God when you were in a dark time and place. Over and over we find that when someone shares a story there is someone else in the room who can relate to specifics of the story. The experience of the storyteller resonates with the experience of someone listening, and a connection is made, a connection which involves sharing faith even though the intention was not about sharing faith—it was about telling a story.

Ideas are, of course, powerful, and ideas allow us to categorize faith experiences. But sharing an idea necessarily involves argument, reasoning, data. Sharing a story involves sharing self, and when personal connections are made people can grow together in faith. Perhaps this is why when Jesus first called His disciples He never began by telling them what they had to believe. He simply said “Follow me.”

In his Divine Comedy the 13^th century poet Dante Alighieri uses more than 16,000 lines of masterful poetry to express an idea, to describe the “economy” of salvation, how God’s plan is put into action. Divine Comedy is undoubtedly a masterpiece, but it is work to read and work to understand. A typical edition might contain 30,000 words of introductions, and 1,000 footnotes. Compare this masterful outline and explanation of an idea with a novel like William Falkner’s The Sound and the Fury (arguably his best novel). Set in the fictional Yoknapatawpha County, Mississippi, the novel centers on the Compson family, former Southern aristocrats who are struggling to deal with the dissolution of their family and its reputation. Over the course of the thirty years or so related in the novel, the family falls into financial ruin, loses its religious faith and the respect of the local townspeople. The novel offers profound insights into human character, and yet it begins not with any idea but with the experience of a “slow” child sitting in a tree and listening to adults talking below him.

In the case of Dante we might well agree with him, after figuring out the argument behind his idea. In the case of Falkner, we can relate to the human experiences of characters in the novel. Even though their experiences may be foreign to ours in most respects, we don’t have to figure out anything, only respond to it. And in the case of faith? At 1 Pet. 3.15 the apostle writes “Always be prepared to make a defense to any one who calls you to account for the hope that is in you ...” This sounds like we may need to make an argument, explain an idea, but the preparation is far, far simpler. We are prepared to “account for the hope” in each of us when we can tell a simple story of the presence of God in our lives. Share your stories, and let others resonate with the presence of God.

Lenten Discipline: If you have fallen out of the habit of Church-going, this is a great time of the year to refocus on worship and devotion. It is all to easy to slide into complacency, and there are certainly other things that compete for time and energy, but we should always offer to God our first and our best efforts. The last Sunday of the Epiphany Season, standing with Jesus on Mount Tabor in His full glory showed us clearly that we cannot stand still. We cannot rest. We might wish to stay on the mountain, but we are bidden to make the walk to Calvary with our Lord.

Grace Abounds: Please thank LeRoy and Connie Schneider, and Mike Burg, for hosting the Friday night lenten supper. Please thank Paul Aparicio for installing a sump pump in the rectory.

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.

The Bible Challenge awards: If you have completed The Bible Challenge, please alert the parish office, in order that we may recognize this achievement within the parish.

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. Update: More than $2,300 has been raised! If you wish to contribute to this project, please contact the parish office.

Episcopal Youth Community: What is the state of our friendships? How many friends do you have? Are you the type of person who easily makes friends, or are you the type who have only a couple of really close friends? These questions have been on my mind recently, and I hope to have a really good discussion about it one of these days with the youth group.

These questions have only increased after I watched the video in the link below. The video starts by talking about the 'friendzone' that place you find yourself when your crush only sees you as a friend, but Michael (he's the guy in the video) begins to ponder the nature of friends as we see it nowadays. Please follow the link, and ponder with me about your friends, and how much we need each other.

Video (starting at the point regarding friends): http://youtu.be/IGK2KprU-To?t=5m37s

If you wish to discuss this, you may find it helpful to comment on our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/gracesheboygan ―Nick

Faith Alive: We were pleased to receive Hal Foss this past weekend, who will lead the Faith Alive team for the weekend planned at Grace for 13-15 September. Faith Alive is a Church-wide program that provides a special time for each one of us to re-examine the promises we made in Baptism, and to reconfirm our commitment to live into these promises. A Faith Alive weekend provides a time for us to rethink what our promises mean to us, how we live into them, and how we recommit to follow our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Faith Alive weekend team at Grace is being chaired by Tom Wright and John Ambelang. Bob Hanlon will chair follow-up to the weekend, and we are blessed in the ministry of our “prayer warriors”, who are offering continual prayers that in Faith Alive we may realize a new empowerment by the Holy Spirit. These intercessors include: Mike Burg, Mary Clabots, Pat Ford Smith, Jane Hanson, Bobbi Kraft, Mary Massey, and Pat Sather. They will offer the following prayer (which will also be included in worship in the Daily Office and Eucharist):

Almighty and everliving God, look with favor upon your Church in this place. So open our hearts and minds to your presence that we may be filled with your life-giving Spirit; that we may embody your Word; that endued with your grace we may call others to know you, to love you, and to serve you. Send your Holy Spirit upon all who work to renew our ministries through the Faith Alive weekend, and grant your protection to all team members. Endue us with the wisdom and grace to discern your will and to do it. Let your Holy Spirit come upon us in mighty power, that we may experience revival of faith, to preach and live the everlasting Gospel, and to call and gather all faithful into your Kingdom. This we pray by and through your Son our Savior, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God in glory everlasting. Amen.

Lenten Friday program: On Fridays we will gather for Stations of the Cross at 5:30 p.m., followed by a simple supper and a program in Christian testimony, in St. Nicholas Hall. Featured speakers will be:

15 March Pastor Ric Olson, St. Luke United Methodist Church, Sheboygan

2 2 March Pastor Todd Smith, First United Luther C. (E.L.C.A.), Sheboygan

We have guests. Please come to listen to them, and to share in fellowship. We need, as well, hosts/cooks for meals.

Music this week:

Prelude O Lord, turn not thy face from me H. Parry

Introit Give sentence with me, O God Plainsong

Offertory Hymn 441 “In the cross of Christ I glory” Rathbun

Communion Motet Like as the hart H. Willan

Comm. Hymn 474 “When I survey the wondrous Cross” Rockingham

Closing Hymn 598 “Lord Christ, when first thou cam’st to earth” Mit Freuden zart

Postlude Quasi lento from Six Short Pieces H. Howells

Parish Notices

· Adult Christian Education in Lent: In Lent our Sunday morning Adult Education program will focus on Christian Testimony. We have heard from Deacon Mike Burg, Deacon Michele Whitford and the Senior Warden Bobbi Kraft. Come and join in the fun and listen to more faith stories. 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: 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? We 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 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.

· A Passover Seder Meal: You are Invited to a Passover Seder Meal Wednesday, March 27, 6:30 pm. at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Plymouth. “The Passover is the oldest and most important of the Jewish festivals, commemorating God’s deliverance of the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt. The Passover meal is known as the Seder, which means ‘order’, because the meal and the service are done in a prescribed sequence. This sequence is presented in the Haggadah (telling) which outlines the steps of the meal as well the readings and the songs for the participants.” --Dennis Bratcher. Please RSVP by Sunday, March 24 by calling the Grace Church office at 452-9659.

· Sacrament of Reconciliation: Lent is a time of self-examination preparing for the death and resurrection of our Lord. The Sacrament of Reconciliation will be offered by appointment. Please contact Fr. Schaffenburg to set up an appointment to make your confession.

· Maundy Thursday Foot Washing: Everyone will have the opportunity to have their feet washed and to wash someone else’s feet following the example of Jesus washing his disciple’s feet. Please wear socks and shoes that are easily removed.

· Vigil before the Altar of Repose: Please sign up to watch and pray for an hour at the Altar of Repose beginning immediately following the Maundy Thursday Mass March 28 and concluding Friday, March 29 as the Good Friday Liturgy begins. There is a sign-up sheet on the table in the Narthex, more than one person can sign up for any given hour.

· Easter Vigil Dinner: The first Mass of the Resurrection is on Saturday, March 30, at 7:30 p.m. The Easter celebration then continues at Trattoria Stefano, 522 South 8^th Street, at 9:30 p.m. The actual cost of the meal is a gift to the parish, so you not only get a delicious meal but you help the coffers of the church by purchasing a ticket for the dinner. Tickets can be bought in the parish office or in the narthex after mass for $50 a person. Everyone is invited, but seats are limited. There are scholarships for anyone wishing to attend but are unable to donate.

· Easter Gala Reception: We will continue our Easter celebration with a Gala Reception after the 10:15 a.m. Mass on Sunday, March 31. Please sign up to bring sweets or savories and to help clean up afterwards. There is a sign-up sheet on the table in the Narthex.

· Bishop Search: For all information concerning the search for the eighth Bishop of Fond du Lac please go to bishopsearch.info.

Thursday, March 7, 2013

Christian Unity

Grace Episcopal Church

Sheboygan, Wisconsin

Grace Notes

7 March 2013

The abdication Benedict XVI as pope takes effect today. It is now more than four and a half centuries from the time when the Church of England separated from Rome, so in a month in which the cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church gather in conclave to elect a new pope, why would an Anglican have an interest in this? It’s because the separation that exists between churches is ungodly, and all who serve Jesus Christ serve in common cause and calling with us. In this light, it is well to remember that Benedict XVI, in calling for a “New Evangelization,” has called for strong focus on Christian unity, a renewed commitment to religious freedom, and the unshackled proclamation of God’s good news—news that the world is literally dying to hear afresh. Together with Rome and all other Christians, we must proclaim that the almighty Creator of all that is has acted in space and time to reveal Himself in nature and history, and to redeem the world through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

It is for his advocacy of bold truth that all Christians must acknowledge the faithful witness of Benedict XVI. In reflecting on the papacy that is now ending, let us examine the strengths. The witness of Benedict XVI has been:

Truth must be taken seriously. Truth is objective and revealed (by God). Benedict XVI condemned the “dictatorship of relativism”. We must join him in this condemnation.
Theology must be Bible-focused, and all Christian life must be biblically guided. Our best guide for objective truth is found in holy Scripture.
The message of the Church must always be Christocentric. We must be Christ-centered despite any agenda or issue.
The Church must celebrate life amidst a culture of death, a culture in which individual lives are weighed in the balance of a zero-sum game, and in which utilitarian arguments are allowed to trump revealed truths. Regardless of what a good Episcopalian might think about the social issues of the day, we have to listen when God looks upon his creation and pronounces it “very good” (Gen. 1.31).

As a good Episcopalian any one of us is free to disagree with Benedict XVI (or any pope) on a wide range of matters, but let us give thanks that the witness of the greatest theologian to occupy the see of Peter since Leo XIII (who reigned at the turn of the last century) is what it has been. Let us pray that our Roman brothers and sisters will be given a fit successor, and that in common Christian witness we may proclaim yet again to all the world who God is, and what His will is for His creation.

Boy Scouts and Grace Church: There has been some confusion over the word resigned it should have read re-signed. We have indeed renewed our charter with the Boy Scouts and the Cub Scouts. This is something that has been done every year and will continue in years to come. Absolutely nothing has changed with our relationship with the Scouts. If you have any questions please speak with Paul Aparicio our liaison to the Scouts or with Fr. Schaffenburg. Thank you for your concern.

Grace Abounds: Please thank Jessica Ambelang for hosting the Lenten supper last Friday.

Thanks to Jim Gardner. When Paul Aparicio was going to put down salt on the walks before Sunday 8 AM service, Jim offered to lend a hand so that Paul could resume his duties with the Boy Scouts. A clear example of the Body coming together to assist one another.

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.

Go Green: Wisconsin Power and Light Company has sent us five pamphlets filled with ideas about how to save on heating and cooling costs. If you are interested in saving money ask at the office for these. Please return when finished with them.

Adult Christian Education: Adult Education meets on Sundays at 9 a.m., in St. Nicholas Hall. On 17 February we will begin a Lenten series of sharing our faith, on Christian Testimony. The theology of this intersection between witness, evangelism and fellowship will introduced by Fr. John Ambelang, followed by a example of testimony by Fr. Schaffenburg, and the opportunity for small group discussions. Throughout Lent we will hear the witness to faith from the leadership of the parish.

§ 8 March Pastor Bill TeWinkel, Hope Reformed Church, Sheboygan

§ 15 March Pastor Ric Olson, St. Luke United Methodist Church, Sheboygan

§ 22 March Pastor Todd Smith, First United Luther C. (E.L.C.A.), Sheboygan

We have guests. Please come to listen to them, and to share in fellowship. We need, as well, hosts/cooks for meals.

Music this week: Lent 4 C 2013 Laetare Sunday

Prelude Three Elevations (from Heures Mystiques) Léon Boëllman

Introit Laetare, Jerusalem Plainsong

Antiphon: Rejoice, Jerusalem, and be glad for her, all ye that delight in her.

Exult and be replenished with her motherly consolation.

Psalm: I was glad when they said unto me:

we will go into the house of the Lord.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;

as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be,

world without end. Amen.

Antiphon: Rejoice, Jerusalem…

Tract Psalm 122

Offertory Hymn 690 “Guide me, O thou great Jehovah” Cwm Rhondda

Communion Motet Jesus, my Lord, my God, my all Joseph Barnby

Communion Hymn 470 “There’s a wideness in God’s mercy” Beecher

Closing Hymn 411 “O bless the Lord, my soul” St. Thomas (Williams)

Postlude Prelude & Fugue in G minor J. S. Bach

Parish Notices

We welcome Mr. Hal Foss: The Rector and Vestry of Grace have invited Faith Alive to come celebrate a weekend with us in September. Faith Alive is not a teaching weekend, it is a gentle Christ-Centered program enabling each of us to reexamine the implications of our baptismal promises. It will involve a team of Episcopalians, adults and youth, coming from far and near at their own expense as visitors. Some of them will be asked to share what it has meant to them to make Jesus Lord of their lives, but they come mainly to lead small groups. Hal Foss who will be our outside Faith Alive Weekend Coordinator hailing from Vienna, West Virginia, will be speaking at both services on Sunday.

Adult Christian Education in Lent: In Lent our Sunday morning Adult Education program will focus on Christian Testimony. We have heard from Deacon Mike Burg, Deacon Michele Whitford and the Senior Warden Bobbi Kraft. Come and join in the fun and listen to more faith stories. 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: 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? We 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 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.

Easter Vigil Dinner: The first Mass of the Resurrection is on Saturday, March 30, at 7:30 p.m. The Easter celebration then continues at Trattoria Stefano, 522 South 8^th Street, at 9:30 p.m. The actual cost of the meal is a gift to the parish, so you not only get a delicious meal but you help the coffers of the church by purchasing a ticket for the dinner. Tickets can be bought in the parish office or in the narthex after mass for $50 a person. Everyone is invited, but seats are limited. There are scholarships for anyone wishing to attend but are unable to donate.

Organ Concert at Trinity Lutheran Church: You are invited to an organ concert to dedicate their new John-Paul Buzzard pipe organ. The concert will be held at Trinity Church, 824 Wisconsin Avenue, Sheboygan on March 10, 2013 at 4:00pm. Admission is free, though a free will offering will be accepted. Organ works of King, Back, Schumann, Vierne, Alain, and Eben will be performed. The featured organist is Dr. Jeanette Fishell, a recitalist and teacher of international standing. Dr. Fishell is Professor of Organ and Chair of the Organ Department at Jacobs School of Music, Indiana University. Trinity’s organ is now the largest pipe organ in Sheboygan County.

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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