True North

Grace Episcopal Church

Sheboygan, Wisconsin

Grace Notes

25 July 2013

This past Saturday I was asked for directions by a visitor to Sheboygan.  I told her the location she was seeking was six blocks to the north, to which she replied “I don’t know where north is around here.”  This struck me as curious, considering that it was 5 p.m. and we were standing in bright sunlight.  Even after I pointed out north, she checked the location on her Google Maps application on her smartphone before proceeding, as if north changes on the basis of location.  She had no real sense of orientation and direction, and had to rely on technology to find where she wanted to go, even when a person standing beside her indicated the proper direction.

I could not help but make the leap from this encounter to the reality that there are many people who lack a sense of any spiritual direction, and since they cannot find an “authoritative” technological guide continue to wander, even when those around them indicate “spiritual north”.  You can imagine my reaction, then, when I opened the review section of The New York Times on the following day, to encounter an article on a new book by a Harvard professor of Physics, John Edward Huth.  The book, The Lost Art of Finding Our Way, is a secular work focused on how in a technological world humans have lost the ability to read and respond to nature, and to gain direction.  (Reading and responding to nature are what we in faith call Reason.)  It’s a fascinating article, found here:  http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/21/opinion/sunday/losing-our-way-in-the-world.html?pagewanted=all  Consider the following line, “In this framework [of attentiveness], no one sign is infallible, but multiple signs create a navigational tool kit with redundancies built in.”  If we consider “this framework” to be faith, we experience redundancies in Scripture, Reason and Tradition. 

Huth goes on to describe a year spent in intense observation, of learning how to read weather and sea and stars and birds, and then says:

 After a year of this endeavor, something dawned on me:  the way I viewed the world had palpably changed. The sun looked different, as did the stars. While the ocean didn’t accommodate my “human” need for meaning, a different sense emerged from the wave patterns that conveyed the presence of winds, shoals, coastlines and distant storms.

Is this akin to what people describe as spiritual awakenings, or perhaps the experience of improvising music with others, in which individual notes no longer take prominence and a larger meaning emerges in a wordless communication among the performers?

When we are spiritually attentive, we find multiple guides.  We are led by the supreme Guide, the Holy Spirit.  Life looks different because it is.  We know our true North Star and can point Him out to others.

Grace Abounds:  Please thank Bev Evans for unscheduled Altar Guild help, and Nancy Yurk for organizing parishioners as bell ringers for The Salvation Army.

Faith Alive:  Men’s Lunch & Women’s Lunch                       Friday – Sunday (Sept. 20-22)   

Saturday noon there will be actually three lunches:  men, women & teens.  We’ll use Grace & a nearby church for them.  Why separate?  Often people feel freer to talk about some subjects when the opposite gender isn’t present.  Then too if one’s spouse is present, you may not be listening for yourself out of various concerns for him or her.  The format will be familiar by this time:  a bit of singing, prayer, some sharing by the visitors & perhaps time for questions.

Episcopal Youth Community: 

Music this week: 

Prelude                                   Chorale Preludes by J. S. Bach and Max Reger on Our Father,

                                                thou in heaven above

Entrance Hymn 410              “Praise, my soul, the King of heaven”             Lauda anima

Offertory Hymn 688             “A mighty fortress is our God”                      Ein feste Burg

Communion Hymn 685        “Rock of ages, cleft for me”                           Toplady

Closing Hymn 613                 “Thy kingdom come, O God”                                    St. Cecilia

Postlude                                  Chorale Prelude on Ein Feste Burg                Helmut Walcha

Parish Notice

Fr. Karl on Vacation: Fr. Karl and Elizabeth will be taking a little time off beginning today July 28^th and will return Friday evening August 2^nd. In case of a pastoral need please call Deacon Mike Burg 918-9944 or Deacon Michele Whitford 918-1230.

Faith Alive is coming to Grace! On September 20-22 Grace will be hosting a Faith Alive event. For those of you who have not heard, Faith Alive is simply a spiritual retreat held in the comfort of our own church and city. It will include numerous activities developed to bring our church closer together and ourselves closer to God and understanding the unique relationship we share with Him. Is a retreat out of your comfort zone? Not to worry, come as a spectator, no one will pressure you to share. Our goal is to have everyone in the church participate, we believe that fully in this event and the outcomes it will provide our church. 

Education for Ministry: How do I learn to make the Bible stories become my stories?  How do I learn how God wants to bless me with more than I can imagine?  Join an EfM (Education for Ministry) group that is starting on Tuesday, September 9th.  The 9:00-11:45 am group will meet at St. Paul’s in Plymouth.   A 6:00-8:45 pm group is also forming with starting date and place to be determined.  Scholarships are available, so don’t let the cost of $350 for this college credited class, stop you from joining.  This year starts the use of all new materials and textbooks, so anyone who has taken any of the classes before can repeat them.  Registrations are due by August 10^th so materials can be received before the first class.  Contact Barb Drewry-Zimmerman at bzimmy@excel.net or 920-893-5189 for registration materials. 

Summer Lunch Volunteers Needed: By day two, Sheboygan County Interfaith Organization’s summer lunch program had already served over 900 children in four Sheboygan Elementary Schools. They are in desperate need of volunteers to help as there are an additional 300 children who could benefit from the lunch program. They are looking primarily for individuals and families to help distribute lunches at the schools during the lunch hour from 11:15 – 12:30pm. June 24^th through August 15^th.  You can register at the volunteer center website, which is:  www.volunteersheboygan.com or please call Kristin Blanchard at 920-457-7272 x 12 or email www.sheboygancountyinterfaith.org if you are interested in helping. 

Bishop’s Retirement Celebration: Everyone is invited to attend the Celebration for Bishop Russ and Jerrie Jacobus Sunday, August 18, 2013 from 3:30 – 9:00pm at Homestead Meadows, W7560 Spencer Rd. Appleton, WI 54914. This will be a casual event including Hayrides & games, dinner, a program, concluding with a dance with a DJ. Please register at diofdl.org/celebration . The cost to attend is $10 for adults, $5 for youth ages 12-18 and children under 12 free. Please do not let cost be a factor in attending, assistance is available for all.

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

Frame of Reference

Grace Episcopal Church

Sheboygan, Wisconsin

Grace Notes

18 July 2013

Liberté, Egalité,  Fraternité.  The motto (Liberty, Equality, Brotherhood) of the French Revolution may be remembered this week (last Sunday was Bastille Day) as an ironic remark on the fact that frame-of-reference matters.  We can look at life and the world, at society and our part in it–indeed, at the order of creation–from the perspective of how God reveals His will to us, or from a self-centered reference point, a wholly human perspective.  The latter approach is what happened in the French Revolution, and in similar movements of mass actions, such as Soviet Communism and National Socialism.  And look at the results:  mass terror; the wreck of society; the persecution of faith.

A wholly human perspective is one from which faith is abhorred, because to have faith we have to believe in something outside of ourselves.  The world tells us to look inward and find truth, or that there is no such thing as truth.  (Pontius Pilate!)  Jesus reveals that He is the Truth (John 14.6).  When we have faith in ourselves only we construct a form of self-worship–like the Cult of Reason of the French Revolution–and then the “checks and balances” of the order of creation disappear.  “Reason” becomes murderous because it is not balanced by a non-rational reality like love.

July has never been a good month for monarchs.  Besides Bastille Day the month includes the anniversaries of the murder of the Russian imperial family in 1918 and of our own declaration of independence.  Bastille Day and the Soviet Revolution recall reason gone mad, so what prevented a similar madness in the American Revolution?  There were some aspects of persecution, resulting in the flight of many Tories (including a large proportion of Anglican clergy) to Halifax, but in America there was no systematic persecution of those identified with the old regime.  The reason relates to frame-of-reference.  In the Declaration of Independence the Founders made explicit appeal to an external standard, to the “Laws of Nature and ... Nature’s God”.  This is not really the same thing as invoking God, but it’s a very good start to say that truth must be sought outside of self. 

As Christians we must always test our own actions and our own consciences against the truth that God has revealed to us.  God reveals His will in Scripture, in how we discern God’s will in the order of creation (“Reason”), and in Tradition, the discernment of doctrine by the universal Church.  When we look to this revelation, then we can live in true liberty; we are equal before God; our brotherhood is complete and perfect as members of the same Body.  The truth will make you free (John 8.32).

Grace Abounds:  Please thank the Pranges for a wonderful coffee hour.  Please thank Bobbie May and Elizabeth Schaffenburg for weeding in the garden and around the parish.  Please than Bernie Markevitch and Barb MacEwen for providing the lunch for the meeting of clergy of the deanery.

Calling all students of New Testament Greek!  If you are interested, we need to order materials by 19 July.  The cost is $100, but liberal scholarships are available, based on need.  The new class will form on Thursday, 5 August, and will meet every Thursday from 7 to 9 p.m.

Faith Alive:  On Saturday morning during the weekend, there are going to be 7 or so coffees at various parishioners’ home.  You will be getting an invitation to join a 90 minute coffee with 5-10 other Grace members in the area.  A visitor or two will be there leading the session.  While it would be wonderful for you to contribute, you are free to just listen.  Past experience indicates for some it's high point of the weekend.   

Episcopal Youth Community:  Grace and peace to you, brothers and sisters.  Yesterday, I came across a comment on the internet that was very thought provoking for me. The quote was "Why is Original Grace such a difficult concept?"

Yes, why? We seem to be able to accept the idea, even if we don't adhere to the dogma, of Original Sin. It's easy to see that we are bad. It's easy to see the dirt and grime, and it's hard to see the  cleanness, goodness, pureness of the world we inhabit. Beyond that, it's hard to see those things in each other. And even beyond that it's hard to see those things in ourselves.

If we are to love God with all our heart, and with all our strength, and with all our mind, and we are to love our neighbor as ourselves. How do we do that if we see ourselves as dirty and unworthy. Is that how we want to be treated by others? Is that how we treat others?

Let's get back to Grace, with the capital 'G'. We are made in the image of God (capital 'G'), filled with the Holy Spirit, and saved by the sacrifice of Jesus. But why? The answer, though it might take a while to accept, is simple: Because God loves you, and you are worthy. Just like we might reward a child or a pet for no good reason other than love, so God gives us Grace, freely, and abundantly, because God IS love.

This entire tangent came from the comic found in this link:

http://i.eatliver.com/2010/6503.jpg  This simple cartoon, shows a view of God that you might not recognize or trust. Or maybe it's the view of God you've been looking for.

You were made for Grace. You are meant to receive it. You can choose to accept it or not.

All are invited. Not everyone chooses to say 'yes'.

May you find that it is easy to accept Grace, and it is sometimes hard work to understand it, but neither are necessary for it to be offered to you.

―Nick           

Music this week: 

Prelude                                    Preludes ‘Let us ever walk with Jesus’                       Manz

Entrance Hymn 637                “How firm a foundation”                                           Lyons

Offertory Hymn 525               “The church’s one foundation”                                   Aurelia

Communion Hymn 488          “Be thou my vision”                                                   Slane

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

Postlude                                  Prelude & Fugue in D (WTC II)                                 Bach

Parish Notices:

Salvation Army Bell Ringing! There is another opportunity to ring bells for the Salvation Army. July 27^th from 10:00am to 6:00pm Grace Church will be ringing bells at the North side Piggly Wiggly. In order to assist families in our area this summer, we are pulling out the familiar symbols of The Salvation Army - our red kettles. Need truly doesn't have a season and this summer is no exception.  We hope you will help us make a difference for these families in need. We need you!  Bring the kids, invite the neighbors and enjoy the sun.  Help us provide assistance to area families in need this summer.  There is another sign-up sheet on the table in the Narthex. Thank you to all who have signed up, if you would like to help it is always more fun with more people, please consider adding your name to an hour or two for a good cause. If you have any questions, feel free to contact Nancy Yurk at 453-9948.

Summer Lunch Volunteers Needed: By day two, Sheboygan County Interfaith Organization’s summer lunch program had already served over 900 children in four Sheboygan Elementary Schools. They are in desperate need of volunteers to help as there are an additional 300 children who could benefit from the lunch program. They are looking primarily for individuals and families to help distribute lunches at the schools during the lunch hour from 11:15 – 12:30pm. June 24^th through August 15^th.  You can register at the volunteer center website, which is:  www.volunteersheboygan.com or please call Kristin Blanchard at 920-457-7272 x 12 or email www.sheboygancountyinterfaith.org if you are interested in helping. 

In the Grip of Grace: On Thursday, 8 August, we will begin a three week course which will be taught by Dcn. Michele Whitford. The class will meet from 9:30 to 11:00, following the morning celebration of Holy Eucharist. We will read In the Grip of Grace by Max Lucado. If you are interested in participating please sign up on the sheet in the Narthex. If you need a copy of the book please indicate that on the sheet. If you have questions contact the parish office no later than 23 July.

Faith Alive is coming to Grace! On September 20-22 Grace will be hosting a Faith Alive event. For those of you who have not heard, Faith Alive is simply a spiritual retreat held in the comfort of our own church and city. It will include numerous activities developed to bring our church closer together and ourselves closer to God and understanding the unique relationship we share with Him. Is a retreat out of your comfort zone? Not to worry, come as a spectator, no one will pressure you to share. Our goal is to have everyone in the church participate, we believe that fully in this event and the outcomes it will provide our church. 

Bishop’s Retirement Celebration: Everyone is invited to attend the Celebration for Bishop Russ and Jerrie Jacobus Sunday, August 18, 2013 from 3:30 – 9:00pm at Homestead Meadows, W7560 Spencer Rd. Appleton, WI 54914. This will be a casual event including Hayrides & games, dinner, a program, concluding with a dance with a DJ. Please register at diofdl.org/celebration . The cost to attend is $10 for adults, $5 for youth ages 12-18 and children under 12 free. Please do not let cost be a factor in attending, assistance is available for all.

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

A Royal Lineage

Grace Episcopal Church

Sheboygan, Wisconsin

Grace Notes

11 July 2013

In all human cultures there exists some kind of collective memory or mythology of a prior “golden age”.  In other words, the idea of a fall from grace is consistent with the evidence.  At Genesis 1.26 we are told that we have each been created in the image and likeness of God, and yet we understand all too well that there are many, many things in human life that are not godlike—that the image and likeness are obscured.

The fact that we experience fallenness is a sort of spiritual fossil record.  One can only experience a fall from some height, and to the extent that we know that the world is not in a state of blessedness and joy, then we know that we have fallen from the state in which and for which we were created.  If I am a peasant, and have known no other life, the I can accommodate to the life of a peasant.  But if I have been a king, then my experience as a peasant will produce longing for what I have lost.  To the extent that we experience wrongness in life this demonstrates that we are each created for blessedness—otherwise we could never understand the difference.

Fallenness can be experienced as unhappiness, provided we are careful to understand what happiness is.  To us moderns happiness refers to a subjective feeling, not an objective state.  But in biblical terms happiness (or, more properly, joy) is to the soul what health is to the body.  Joy can include suffering, because it is not a feeling.  Joy is a permanent, objective state of being in right relationship with God, and this state of being cannot be removed by a change in circumstance.

When we live into our identity as those created in God’s image and likeness; when we participate in His redemption of creation by and through the sacrifice of His Son; when we are animated by the Holy Spirit, then we live into the reality of joy and blessedness despite the reality of unhappiness (when it comes).  We regain the kingship for which we were created.

Grace Abounds:  Please thank Jessica Ameblang for the wonderful coffee hour. 

Calling all students of New Testament Greek!  If you are interested, we need to order materials by 19 July.  The cost is $100, but liberal scholarships are available, based on need.  The new class will form on Thursday, 5 August, and will meet every Thursday from 7 to 9 p.m.

Faith Alive:   We are organizing a transportation committee under the leadership of Bill Gagin.  We don’t want a lack of transportation to be an issue. As well, some of our guests may be flying in necessitating multiple rides.  If you might need a ride or be able to help and need more information, give Bill a call at 452-2703. 

Episcopal Youth Community:  Grace and peace to you.  Joy.  Abounding joy.  Finding joy every day.  This is what I'm learning from my 14 month old.  It puts me in mind of a quote I have grown to love: "Joy is the core of existence, the motive power of every living being ... it is the need of one's body as it is the goal of one's spirit.”  I wonder what my world would be like if I would find joy as effortlessly as this child of mine. Hopefully I can learn from her, and find out.  May you find joy today and everyday.                                                                               ―Nick

Music this week: 

Prelude                                    Andantino                                                                    Harold Darke 

Entrance Hymn #376              “Joyful, joyful we adore thee”                                    Hymn to Joy

Gloria, Sanctus, Agnus Dei    New English Folk Mass

Offertory Hymn #660             “O Master, let me walk with thee”                            Maryton

Communion Hymn #609        “Where cross the crowded ways of life”                    Gardiner

Closing Hymn #529                “In Christ there is no east or west”                             McKee

Postlude                                   Toccata in C                                                               Joh. Krieger

Parish Notices:

Salvation Army Bell Ringing! There is another opportunity to ring bells for the Salvation Army. July 27^th from 10:00am to 6:00pm Grace Church will be ringing bells at the North side Piggly Wiggly. In order to assist families in our area this summer, we are pulling out the familiar symbols of The Salvation Army - our red kettles. Need truly doesn't have a season and this summer is no exception.  We hope you will help us make a difference for these families in need. We need you!  Bring the kids, invite the neighbors and enjoy the sun.  Help us provide assistance to area families in need this summer.  There is another sign-up sheet on the table in the Narthex. Thank you to all who have signed up, if you would like to help it is always more fun with more people, please consider adding your name to an hour or two for a good cause. If you have any questions, feel free to contact Nancy Yurk at 453-9948.

Summer Lunch Volunteers Needed: By day two, Sheboygan County Interfaith Organization’s summer lunch program had already served over 900 children in four Sheboygan Elementary Schools. They are in desperate need of volunteers to help as there are an additional 300 children who could benefit from the lunch program. They are looking primarily for individuals and families to help distribute lunches at the schools during the lunch hour from 11:15 – 12:30pm. June 24^th through August 15^th.  You can register at the volunteer center website, which is:  www.volunteersheboygan.com or please call Kristin Blanchard at 920-457-7272 x 12 or email www.sheboygancountyinterfaith.org if you are interested in helping. 

In the Grip of Grace: On Thursday, 8 August, we will begin a three week course which will be taught by Dcn. Michele Whitford. The class will meet from 9:30 to 11:00, following the morning celebration of Holy Eucharist. We will read In the Grip of Grace by Max Lucado. If you are interested in participating please sign up on the sheet in the Narthex. If you need a copy of the book please indicate that on the sheet. If you have questions contact the parish office no later than 23 July.

Bishop’s Retirement Celebration: Everyone is invited to attend the Celebration for Bishop Russ and Jerrie Jacobus Sunday, August 18, 2013 from 3:30 – 9:00pm at Homestead Meadows, W7560 Spencer Rd. Appleton, WI 54914. This will be a casual event including Hayrides & games, dinner, a program, concluding with a dance with a DJ. Please register at diofdl.org/celebration . The cost to attend is $10 for adults, $5 for youth ages 12-18 and children under 12 free. Please do not let cost be a factor in attending, assistance is available for all.

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

Freedom

Grace Episcopal Church

Sheboygan, Wisconsin

Grace Notes

4 July 2013

On this two hundred and thirty seventh anniversary of the birth of this nation, we celebrate the ideal of a free society.  A free society is one in which the dictates of conscience and virtue are not ignored, let alone vilified.  Make no mistake, as we gather to celebrate freedom.  Freedom is under attack always.  This point is made most eloquently by the Chief Rabbi of England in a recent opinion piece in The Spectator.  His words are better than those that I might write, and so I’ll simply supply this link: 

http://www.spectator.co.uk/features/8932301/atheism-has-failed-only-religion-can-fight-the-barbarians/?utm_source=StandFirm&utm_medium=post&utm_campaign=link

May God bless the United States of America and all of her people.

Grace Abounds:  Please thank Dale and Mary Massey for the wonderful coffee hour.  Please thank Pat Ford Smith and Jane Hanson for providing office coverage during Dcn. Michele’s attendance at continuing education.

Faith Alive:  So what do we do about our kids during the weekend?  Great Question; the teenagers will have their own program with teenagers coming in as guests to share with our teens.  The children will also have their own program again with a guest prepared to share with them age appropriate materials.  Then of course we will have a nursery.  All the bases will be covered.

Episcopal Youth Community: 

Grace and Peace to you.

This post doesn't have a lot to do with youth ministry, but it is a message I once spoke about while doing youth ministry.

Here in Sheboygan, we have so many things that can be done on the 4th of July. There's an endless stream of boats on the water; cardboard and otherwise. There are games to play, food to eat, music to listen to, and people to watch. And of course there is the parade, and fireworks.
In my house, we, and I imagine many of you, were taught to stand for the flag as it passed us by in the parade. There are lots of flags, and they deserve our respect, and so we stand, and sometimes applaud. This got me thinking about our posture toward different things, and what our posture says about our response to those same things.

At the parade, we stand for the flag to show our respect for it. Not for the flag in and of itself, but for the symbol that the flag represents. For The USA, and everything we associate with it. We also, respect flags with our treatment of them. We hang them high for all to see, we don't let them fall, or get dirty, we bring them in from the rain. And we also use them to cover the coffins of our fallen soldiers.
In our churches, we stand, sit, kneel, bow, genuflect, light candles, make incense, say prayers together, commune together, sing together, confess together (or is it to each other?), and bring peace to each other.

But for all of that, what is our posture? Do we feel the need to bow, or genuflect, or to kneel out of respect for the cross that passes us in the aisle? Do we shake hands with those we refuse to accept, or forgive, or continue to hold a grudge against? Do we recite words learned by rote, rather than proclaim our faith in the Creed? Do we take bread, and wine, or the Body and Blood?

I submit to you, my firm belief that the posture of our body, in worship, is a reflection of the posture of our hearts toward God. Maybe the easiest change in the way you understand God, and see God working in your life, is simply a change of posture. From "begrudging", to "accepting". From "prove it", to "faith". From "my turn", to "what can I do for you". From "anger" to "forgiveness".

This day, I pray for all of us, to find our posture turned toward God. Also for all who serve in the military at home or abroad, and for those in dangers way, safety and health.

In Him,

Nick

 

Music this week: 

Proper 9C

July 8, 2007

Prelude   Adagio        Alan Gray

Entrance Hymn 390  “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty”     Lobe den Herren

Gloria, Sanctus, Agnus Dei – New English Folk Mass

Offertory Hymn 541   “Come, labor on”      Ora labora

Communion Hymn 321  “My God, thy table now is spread”   Rockingham

Closing Hymn 539   “O Zion, haste”    Tidings

Postlude  Prelude & Fugue in B Flat   Johann Pachelbel      

Parish Notices:

Being the Body: The second block of the Being the Body program will continue on Saturday, July 13^th. We will welcome our own Deacon Charleston Wilson as the presenter. Being the Body involves an examination and experience of knowing (who God is and what His will is for us), being (experiencing and living who we are called to be as Jesus’ Body), and doing (doing God’s will as His people, and each as His son or daughter).

Christmas is coming! Christmas is coming! No, really, our Christmas in July Red Kettle Campaign is coming to a kettle stand near you. In order to assist families in our area this summer, we are pulling out the familiar symbols of The Salvation Army - our red kettles.  For several weeks, our homeless shelter has housed several families and their children. As the summer goes on, we expect to see even more.  Need truly doesn't have a season and this summer is no exception.  We hope you will help us make a difference for these families in need. On Tuesday, July 23^rd, Grace Church will be ringing bells at Pick & Save - South – Sheboygan from 10:00am to 6:00pm - and we need you!  Bring the kids, invite the neighbors and enjoy the sun.  Help us provide assistance to area families in need this summer.  There is a sign-up sheet on the table in the Narthex. Thank you to all who have signed up, if you would like to help it is always more fun with more people, please consider adding your name to an hour or two for a good cause. If you have any questions, feel free to contact Nancy Yurk at 453-9948.

In the Grip of Grace: On Thursday, 8 August, we will begin a three week course which will be taught by Dcn. Michele Whitford. The class will meet from 9:30 to 11:00, following the morning celebration of Holy Eucharist. We will read In the Grip of Grace by Max Lucado. If you are interested in participating please sign up on the sheet in the Narthex. If you need a copy of the book please indicate that on the sheet. If you have questions contact the parish office no later than 23 July.

Bishop’s Retirement Celebration: Everyone is invited to attend the Celebration for Bishop Russ and Jerrie Jacobus Sunday, August 18, 2013 from 3:30 – 9:00pm at Homestead Meadows, W7560 Spencer Rd. Appleton, WI 54914. This will be a casual event including Hayrides & games, dinner, a program, concluding with a dance with a DJ. Please register at diofdl.org/celebration . The cost to attend is $10 for adults, $5 for youth ages 12-18 and children under 12 free. Please do not let cost be a factor in attending, assistance is available for all.

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