Grace Episcopal Church
Sheboygan, Wisconsin
Grace Notes
8 August 2013
It can be dangerous and depressing to troll through the blogosphere as it relates to the Anglican expression of the Christian faith. Examples abound of statements of belief or of practice that cause one to pause and ask, “And how is this an expression of the faith-once-delivered? How does this proclaim the Good News of God in Christ Jesus?” Rarely, however, are those things we might question motivated by evil intention; the issue is misplaced focus.
Misplaced focus is evident in the recent “Seusscharist” held at St. George’s Anglican Church in Guelph, Ontario, in which the Sunday worship was observed using a liturgy in which characters from Dr. Seuss’s The Cat in the Hat acted out worship. (This is not a joke!) See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7rIbNCJGpI . As observed by St. George’s rector: “The intention of this service is to create an experience for children and give them the language to make sense of that experience. So that's why we're doing the Dr. Seuss Eucharist.” Compare this experience to what we have practiced at Grace, in which the youngest children have gathered around the altar during a solemn celebration of the holy mysteries. They appear to have “made sense” of the experience, in that they were focused. They knew something important was happening.
When we seek “relevance” only, our focus is only on the immanence of God—that God is very much with us. And yet we cannot forget the transcendence of God—that He is above us. This past Tuesday we celebrated the feast of the Transfiguration, the revelation of Jesus’ glory (Mtt. 17.1-8; Mark 9.2-8; Luke 9.28-36). The same Jesus who has been with His disciples, who has traveled and lived and eaten with them, is the same Jesus who appears on the mountain top, His face shining like the sun, accompanied by Moses and Elijah, and the voice of His Father which says, “This is my Son, my Beloved; listen to him!” The man who has been accessible and “relevant” to His disciples is revealed as the God who is far beyond them.
And yet this “beyond,” transcendent God comes to the disciples, and to us! A focus like that in the “Seusscharist” is one in which we try to make God more like ourselves, and forget that He calls us to be more like Him—that He calls us and equips us; that He pays the price of our redemption. Let our focus ever remain on all that is holy.
Grace Abounds: Please thank Zack and Dee Whitford for the coffee hour this past Sunday.
Faith Alive: Faith Alive: “Follow Up” Friday – Sunday (Sept. 20-22)
What happens after Faith Alive? We’ll have a meeting for those who participated in the weekend….those who want to reflect on what happened, & where they want to go or what they want to do next. Faith Alive doesn’t have any program they are pushing. But typically some people may want to meet in small groups to pray & study the Bible. Some may feel that God is leading them to some new outreach project or to join something that is already going. Bob Hanlon has a committee that is working on facilitating this meeting, & the Prayer Committee will be praying that we will hear the Holy Spirit & carry through.
Being the Body: On Saturday, 17 August, we reconvene from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. We are in the middle of our discipleship program, now focused on how we act to be the Body of our Lord. We will welcome The Rev. Dr. Marie T. Gray, Priest-in-Charge of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Plymouth. She will be leading a session on how a rule of life, and on how we may follow the pattern of study in prayer, immersing ourselves in Scripture and in the Benedictine understandings of silence, study, meditation, prayer, and contemplation to live into our vocation as members of Christ’ Body.
Episcopal Youth Community: Inspiration Hello everyone, grace and peace. This week I struggled greatly finding something to write. Lately my submissions have been revelations I've encountered either recently, or recently became revealed to me in a new way; or simple informational posts regarding some activity or other. This week I didn't have anything. I looked and waited, and found interesting things online, but nothing seemed to stand out as the thing I should share with you.
And then last night (tonight as I write this) I had an epiphany: my uninspired brain was in fact the inspiration I was waiting for. After I let my brain melt out of my ears for a little while from the surprise and suddenness of this thought (and after I quoted the movie 'Hook' to myself), I began to think about it. I spent my whole week waiting for something to happen, and finally in the absence of what I was looking for I found my answer.
There is a story in the bible that I want to share with you. It's from 1Kings 19:11-13:
"11 [The Lord] said, ‘Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.’ Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; 12 and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence. 13 When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave."
"11 [The Lord] said, ‘Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.’ Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; 12 and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence. 13 When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave."
Elijah is the man experiencing all of this chaos. But it is not in the chaos that God reveals himself. Instead, it is in the sheer silence that he speaks to Elijah. Wind, fire, and earthquakes are frightening forces that ought not be reckoned with, and we don't know how long Elijah was up there waiting for God to show up. It seems to me that it would have taken a bit longer than the line at the DMV. We expect God to stand out when being revealed. Something like a choir of angels, bright lights, glitz and glamor and trumpets blaring. Instead when the chaos around us (or of our minds) settles down, and we can hear the silence, we have a better chance to hear God in that moment of our day than when we are facing the winds, fires, and earthquakes of our day to day lives.
I feel now that I have been shown this in as mundane a way as only God can manage, that I feel a little bit like Daniel learning from Mr. Miyagi (from 'The Karate Kid') that by doing all of the chores for a week, I have laid the groundwork to begin my training without even knowing it.
May you find God's voice in the absences. May you find God's will in prayers that seem to go unanswered. May you find that God is present even in the sheer silence, whether because we have found a quiet place or because we have nothing left to say.
Here are youtube links to the two movie clips I referenced:
"Hook" (only the first 20 seconds) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsB2KGaX6bg
"The Karate Kid" (mild language) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1K24jL-06H0
―Nick
Music this week:
Prelude Prelude on ‘Song 46’ Leo Sowerby
Entrance Hymn 637 “How firm a foundation” Lyons
Offertory Hymn 680 “O God our help in ages past” St. Anne
Communion Hymn 328 “Draw nigh and take” Song 46
Closing Hymn 436 “Lift up your heads” Truro
Postlude Chorale Prelude on St. Anne C. Hubert H. Parry
Parish Notices
Free upright piano. A piano in playable condition is available. If you are interested contact Gene Wilhelm.
St. Mary the Virgin: Thursday, August 15, 2013 is the Feast of St. Mary the Virgin also known as the Feast of the Assumption of Mary. We will celebrate with a Solemn Mass at 6:00 pm. We will continue the celebration with an All Parish Potluck Dinner. Please bring a dish to pass and join in the fun. There is a sign-up sheet on the table in the Narthex.
Being the Body: The second block of the Being the Body program will continue on Saturday, August 17th. We will welcome Mother Marie Gray 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).
Faith Alive is a church retreat! On September 20-22 Grace will be hosting a Faith Alive event. Faith Alive is a church retreat held in the comfort of our own church and city. Witnesses, who are fellow Episcopalians, will be travelling here from around the country at their own expense to lead impactful activities and discussions to bring us to a greater understanding and appreciation of our relationship to God and the power of his love. We hope to have everyone at Grace participate and come closer as a church family and will be supporting this through activities for all age groups from nursery to adulthood consistently throughout the weekend.
The Commemoration of Blessed Charles Chapman Grafton is observed as a Feast Day of the Diocese of Fond du Lac at the Cathedral of St. Paul, Fond du Lac. It is included in "Holy Men, Holy Women" by the Standing Committee on Liturgy and Music of the Episcopal Church. The Feast Day is August 30th, although the Commemoration liturgy may be translated to another day. The 2012 Commemoration will take place Saturday, August 24th at the Cathedral of St. Paul the Apostle, Fond du Lac. For more information and to register go to diofdl.org/grafton.
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 10th so materials can be received before the first class. Contact Barb Drewry-Zimmerman at bzimmy@excel.net or 920-893-5189 for registration materials.
If you have a desire to help: The Salvation Army Red Shield Free Clinic needs you!! Of urgent need are on site medical professionals- Doctors, Nurse Practitioners, Nurses. If that's not you, but you have great people skills, we are also looking for volunteers to help patients with paperwork and in the evangelism area. Clinics are open every Thursday evening, two Monday evenings and two Thursday mornings each month. Volunteer commitment is typically three hours each at each session. Please consider this opportunity to help your community. Contact Pam Sandee, Clinic Coordinator at 694-1262 if this is for you!!
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 24th through August 15th. 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 Search: For all information concerning the search for the eighth Bishop of Fond du Lac please go to bishopsearch.info.
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