A Lively Faith

Grace Episcopal Church

Sheboygan, Wisconsin

Grace Notes

26 September 2013

Where to start?  The manifestations of real growth in the Spirit demonstrated during the Faith Alive weekend were many and profound, so the question of “where to start” can be seen to be two-fold:  First, how can we hope to describe the blessings of the weekend?, and Where are we called now?

The blessings of the weekend were seen first in the level of participation, which exceeded fondest hopes.  For example, at the follow-up meeting on Sunday, over fifty people showed up.  They came back to church at the end of a long weekend to discern and discuss the second aspect of “Where to start?”  Where do we go form here?

The most common theme in the follow-up meeting was that the small group meetings during the Faith Alive weekends allowed for the most profound spiritual sharing and growth, and our first follow-up step will be, therefore, to identify how to foster small group development in the parish.  Your help is needed.  What do you want?  A book study group?  A support group?  A social group?  There are many models and opportunities, and the Follow-up Committee is working now to identify these and to foster the roll-out of renewed and new ministries.  If you are looking for how you can participate, if you have an idea for a ministry or a group, contact Bob Hanlon, Ed Clabots, John Davis, Nancy Yurk or John Ambelang to discuss your idea or question.

A second common theme related to how participants were able to get to know other members of the parish in ways that were new, by sharing.  How can we foster this kind of outreach and growth?  What part do you have to play?  The more we engage in sharing, the more we build trust, to allow for even greater sharing and mutual growth.  When you have an idea, stop by the parish and share it.  We’ll put it in the mix, and guided by the Holy Spirit we will see a renewed and new spiritual groundedness at Grace that allows His grace to be shared with all.

Grace Abounds:  There are too many people to thank for how successful the Faith Alive weekend was, and publishing a long list runs the risk of oversight—so thank God!

Please thank John Ambelang, Pat Ford Smith, Jane Hanson, Mary Massey, and Martha Shad for manning the office during the past two weeks.

Please thank Bryan Stenz for wonderful coffee hours this past Sunday.

We have sent formal thanksgivings to the clergy and people of St. Paul’s in Plymouth and St. Peter’s in Sheboygan Falls, who helped prepare and serve food for the weekend.  Our own team was led by Bernie Markevitch, with help from Barb MacEwen, Nicci Beeck and Bryan Stenz.

Call for Contributions:  Jane Hanson’s reflection on the Faith Alive weekend (below) highlights that this is a parish blog.  If you have a spiritual reflection to share, or want to point your fellow worshippers toward a resource, submit your contributions to Fr. Karl (by email) by Wednesday (noon) each week.

Faith Alive reflection:  It was with some expectation, a little curiosity and just a touch of doubt that I began the "Faith Alive" experience.  It was not long before it became apparent that it was a 

journey worth taking, with insights worth discovering.  The greatest of those being a part of sharing the hopes, the hurts, the needs of my Grace Church family in a small group setting.  The capable leaders of the Faith Alive team gently led us into allowing the Holy Spirit to touch our hearts.  That touch was reflected in the trust that filled each of us with a freedom to be honest and open about our fears, our losses, our disappointments and our faith walks. It has been my experience that it is rare for a small group of people gathered together for the first time to feel safe enough to expose those inner thoughts so readily.  A testimony to the presence of our Lord when two or more gather in His Name.

It was a privilege to be a  part of those Spirit filled moments.  What blessings our Grace family has been given.  Reflection, renewal and now, a readiness to grow toward a deeper commitment to one another, to our ministries and to our God.

To Him Be The Glory!                                                                                                        ―Jane

Episcopal Youth Community:  This past weekend the youth of Grace gathered together to participate in Faith Alive. We welcomed Larry Boothby and two teens to Grace as team leaders, and they shared their stories of faith and life with us. We spent time in community, and in prayer. We discussed options regarding Youth Group, and Sunday School. We talked about what we like about church and what we might change if we were in charge. We went bowling and ate pizza, and performed a song for the whole group. All in all, I feel like we accomplished a lot in the way of building community, and learning more about what we feel about church and our small group we call Youth Group. I look forward to the future where we can speak openly and honestly about ourselves personally and corporately, and the interconnectedness of our relationships throughout the parish and the diocese.                                                                                                        ―Nick

Being the Body:  Our discipleship program meets again this Saturday, 28 September, from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m.  (Lunch is included.)  The focus is on Living Together:  Authentic Christian Community in the 21^st Century.  Even if you have never come to one of our programs, come to this one, for a primary focus will be on how to form small groups for mutual growth and ministry, and this is an area of focused identified in the Faith Alive weekend as top-of-mind in the parish.

Music this week: 

Prelude             Prelude on a Psalm-tune by Orlando Gibbons                       C. Stanford

Entrance Hymn 477      “All praise to thee, for thou, O King divine”                               Engelberg

Offertory Hymn 583     “O holy city, seen of John”                                                        Morning Song

Communion Motet        My eyes for beauty pine                                                          H. Howells

Comm. Hymn 609        “Where cross the crowded ways of life”                                    Gardiner

Closing Hymn 625        “Ye holy angels bright”                                                  Darwall’s

                                                                                                                                    148^th

Postlude                       Chorale Fantasia on ‘Ye holy angels bright’                          H. Darke

Parish Notices

§  Citizenship Celebration - Recently, Ellen Aparicio passed her citizenship test and will have her oath ceremony later this month to become a U.S. Citizen.  To celebrate her accomplishment, Paul and Andrea Aparicio will be offering an American themed lunch with a hot dog bar and apple pie after the 10:15 service on September 29th.  Please join us in celebrating with Ellen on her accomplishment.

§  Bishop Election Candidates: For all information concerning the search for the eighth Bishop of Fond du Lac please go to bishopsearch.info.  Full biographies of the candidates are now available.  Printed copies are available at the parish office.  The closest “walkabout” opportunity to meet the candidates will be on Friday, 4 October, at St. Paul’s Cathedral, Fond du Lac, beginning at 5:30 p.m.

§  Raking Leaves Fundraiser:  If raking your yard this year seems like too much of a task, then our Boy Scout Troop is here to help.  They will be raking leaves on the following dates: November 2nd, 9th, and 16th.  If you are interested please contact Paul Aparicio (paac92399@yahoo.com).  A sign-up sheet will be available in the narthex.

§  Opera lovers small group outing:  The first broadcast of the season for The Metropolitan Opera is a new production of Tchaikovsky’s Yevgeny Onegin on Saturday, 5 October, at 11:55 a.m.  The showing will be at the Marcus theatre in Sheboygan.  A group of parishioners who love opera will be gathering to enjoy the production, and then join afterword in light refreshment.  Come join us! 

If you want details, go to:  http://www.metoperafamily.org/metopera/liveinhd/LiveinHD.aspx

You can follow the links for ticket purchase, but tickets can also be purchased at the theatre.  This production is getting positive reviews.  One appears in the 24 September edition of The New York Times.  http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/25/arts/music/love-and-conflict-in-the-19th-century-and-the-21st.html?hpw

§  Catechumenate! Do you wish you knew more about the Creed, church history, the Book of Common Prayer and why we do the things we do during worship? Would you like to confirm your Baptismal Vows in the sacrament of Confirmation? Would you like to be received into the Episcopal Church from the Roman Catholic Church? Would you like to practice Discipleship? If you answered yes to any of these questions, I am inviting you to be a part of the Catechumenate this year. The Catechumenate will meet on Monday evenings each week starting at 6:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. and will continue until May when the Bishop makes his annual visitation. The first class will begin Monday, September 30, 2013 and will meet from 6:00-7:00pm. The study is led by Deacon Michele Whitford, the Parish Catechist.

§  If you would like to be a part of this exciting study and fellowship or would like more information, please e-mail Deacon Michele at mwhitford@gracesheboygan.com or call the office 452-9659. Please prayerfully consider this invitation.

§  Nourish Annual Harvest Celebration & Fundraiser: Nourish a program of SCIO will be holding its Harvest Celebration & Fundraiser Friday, October 4th from 5pm - 9pm. Nourish is a two prong educational program through demonstration & execution that serves the community's fundamental need for healthy food by linking local farmers with individuals/children/families via experiences that change behaviors. This year's event will again feature locally inspired appetizers & desserts prepared by LTC Lakeshore Culinary Institutes student chefs and staff.  Live music by Annie B, wine, beer and non-alcoholic Haymakers will also be served. Live and silent auctions will take place. Nourish Harvest Celebration will be held at the Lakeshore Culinary Institute, 712 Riverfront Drive Sheboygan, formally Riverside City Streets. Tickets for the event will be available at the door or prior for $25 or reserved tables of 8 for $300. Contact Linda at 920-918-0251 or lindaq@nourishfarms.org or  www.nourishfarms.org.  

§  The Blessing of the Animals: On Saturday, 5 October, we will observe the “translated” feast of St. Francis of Assisi. Following the 9 a.m. service of Holy Eucharist, at 9:30 a.m. we will bless animals outside the church entrance on Ontario Avenue (rain or shine). If you have an animal companion for blessing, please secure your friend on a lead or in a suitable cage. If your companion would suffer undue stress from being brought to the parish, you can request a “house call” for a blessing, and a schedule can be agreed for blessings that will take place after 5 October.

§  Simple Potluck Supper and Compline: Sunday, October 6^th we will have our first Sunday of the month Simple Potluck Supper at 6:30pm. Come and enjoy the fellowship then stay for Compline at 8:00pm. The Schola Cantorum will be singing Compline which is the night time prayers said or sung just before retiring. It is a wonderful and peaceful way to end the day, and an ideal opportunity for your invited friends to experience simple prayer.

§  Game Night at Grace: Game Nights are times when people of all ages can come together to play different games that are enjoyed by everyone. There will be board games, card games, and almost any type of game that you’d want to play. Invite your parents or your friends or anyone who you’d want to come. Game Night is open to all: young and old, singles, couples or families. The next Game night will be Sat, Oct 19^th 6:30-9:00 PM. Feel free to bring snacks and drinks. We hope to see you there!

A Matter of Experience

Grace Episcopal Church

Sheboygan, Wisconsin

Grace Notes

19 September 2013

How do we experience faith?  We will explore this during the Faith Alive weekend, starting tomorrow.  Faithful Christians who have the same struggles are traveling to be with us to share their own experience of God.

Experience matters.  This is pretty obvious if you spend a few minutes to watch the “debate” between two comics—one a professed atheist and one a professed Christian—found here:  (There are one or two crude words used.)  http://www.upworthy.com/a-debate-between-an-atheist-and-a-christian-has-quite-a-surprising-result?g=2 This isn’t really a debate.  People aren’t exchanging and critiquing ideas and arguments.  They are exchanging feelings.  The atheist (who in effect says that he will choose damnation if God exists and doesn’t meet his expectations) describes a conversion experience (to atheism) based on a confusion between the question “how” and the question “why”.  The Christian—who knows the Bible pretty well—tries to meet these objections by testifying to who Jesus is, but in doing so he describes God in terms of cultural phenomena.  They both ignore that God is not a cultural phenomenon, that faith is not a cultural phenomenon, and that we don’t judge God according to our expectations.  He reveals His.

But—and here’s the catch—most people aren’t really going to engage in debate, and aren’t well-equipped to do so (notwithstanding the admonition of 1 Peter 3.15 that we are to be ready to offer a testimony to the hope that is within us).  What people are more likely to respond to is us sharing our experience of faith.  If they are open to such sharing it will plant seeds to allow them to examine their own experience.  Maybe then they’ll ask real questions about God, about who He is, rather than about who He is not.  Come this weekend and witness how this is done.  Experience this sharing yourself.

Urgent call for prayer warriors!  The prayer vigil for the Faith Alive weekend begins at 5 p.m. on Thursday (today), and lasts until 4 p.m. tomorrow (Friday).  We need people to sign up for the following hours on Friday:  1 a.m., 1 p.m., and 2 p.m.  Keep the vigil going to cover our guests and all of us with prayer, to lift the parish up to God, that we may be protected and may receive new life in and by the Holy Spirit.

Grace Abounds:  Please thank Jim Gardner and Mary Snyder for the coffee hours this past Sunday.  Please thank Bobbie May for her work weeding around the grounds.

There are many people to be thanked for all of the work that has gone into making our Faith Alive weekend a reality.  A complete listing will be forthcoming, but for now please thank to two co-chairmen of the effort:  Fr. John Ambelang and Tom Wright.

Faith Alive:  A schedule for the retreat:

TIME	Grace Parishioners	ADULTS & TEENAGERS		NURSERY
THURSDAY	24 HOUR  - Please Sign-up	PRAYER	VIGIL BEGINS at 5:00pm
FRIDAY
5:45 PM	Supper for Everyone – Meet the Faith Alive Visitors / Guests	x		4:30 PM
6:40 PM	Program in Parish Hall	x		TO
7:35 PM	Small Groups	Note 1	Children’s Activity	9:00 PM
8:45 PM	Program in Parish Hall	x
9:00 PM	ADJOURN
SATURDAY
10:00 AM	Neighborhood Coffees	Note 2		8:15 PM To
12:00 N 2:00 PM	Men’s Luncheon /Women’s Luncheon	Note 2		2:00 PM
6:00 PM	Pot Luck Dessert in Parish Hall (for all)	x
6:30 PM	Program in Parish Hall	x	Including  children's skit	4:30 PM To
7:35 PM	Small Groups	Note 1	Children’s Activity	9:00 PM
8:45 PM	Prayer Teams in Church	x
9:00 PM	ADJOURN
SUNDAY
8:00 AM	Church Service			Sunday School and Christian Education & Nursery
10:15 PM	Church Service
12:00 N	FA Team Leaves After Extended Coffee Hour	Coffee Hour and Follow-Up		As Usual
4:00 – 5:00PM	All Parish Follow-up Meeting

Note 1:  Adults will go to adult small groups, and the teens will go to their own small group

Note2:  Only adults at coffees, and luncheon.  Teens will have their own activity.  Teens should meet at the church at 10:00 AM

Raking Leaves Fundraiser:  If raking your yard this year seems like too much of a task, then our Boy Scout Troop is here to help.  They will be raking leaves on the following dates: November 2nd, 9th, and 16th.  If you are interested please contact Paul Aparicio (paac92399@yahoo.com).  A sign-up sheet will be available in the narthex.

Episcopal Youth Community: 

Music this week:  We are joined this Sunday both by Sheboygan’s own Winds of Worship flute choir (which includes Grace’s Sutton Cecil), and by the music team from our Faith Alive visitors, led by Ann Kirkpatrick of Denver, Colorado.

Prelude                        Winds of Worship Flute Choir

Entrance Hymn 450    “All hail the power of Jesus’ Name”              Coronation

Offertory Hymn          “Amazing Grace”                                            New Britain

Communion Music      Winds of Worship Flute Choir

                                    Faith Alive Music Team

Comm. Hymn 335      “I am the Bread of life”                                  I am the Bread of Life

Closing Hymn 493      “O for a thousand tongues to sing”                Azmon

Postlude                      Winds of Worship Flute Choir          

Parish Notices

§  Citizenship Celebration - Recently, Ellen Aparicio passed her citizenship test and will have her oath ceremony later this month to become a U.S. Citizen.  To celebrate her accomplishment, Paul and Andrea Aparicio will be offering an American themed lunch with a hot dog bar and apple pie after the 10:15 service on September 29th.  Please join us in celebrating with Ellen on her accomplishment.

§  Bishop Election Candidates: For all information concerning the search for the eighth Bishop of Fond du Lac please go to bishopsearch.info.  Full biographies of the candidates are now available.  Printed copies are available at the parish office.  The closest “walkabout” opportunity to meet the candidates will be on Friday, 4 October, at St. Paul’s Cathedral, Fond du Lac, beginning at 5:30 p.m.

Old and New as One Covenant

Grace Episcopal Church

Sheboygan, Wisconsin

Grace Notes

12 September 2013

Sometimes one hears a contrast drawn between the “new covenant” in Jesus Christ and the “old covenant” between the Lord and His people, the Jews.  This year 14 September is both Holy Cross Day and Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement), and so it’s a good time to note that the contrast is both misleading and unhelpful in the life of the Church.

A major factor is the history of Christian antisemitism is so-called supersessionism, the idea that the Church has superseded Israel as the elect of God.  The argument employed is that Israel were not faithful to the Lord, and rejected His Messiah, and that He has therefore rejected them.  There are a number of problems with this argument (not least from the scriptural perspective, for the argument essentially ignores Romans 9-11), but let’s focus on one—on the harm this argument does to the Church, let alone the Jews.

The supersessionist argument presupposes that God rejected Israel because of their lack of faith.  What does this say about us?  If election is contingent on faithfulness, then we are lost.  Election/salvation is a free gift of God.  We don’t earn it, and if we ever believe that when we are unfaithful we have lost the love of God, then we:  (a) diminish who God is and what His grace is; (b) fall into the trap of seeking to identify ourselves as the pure, ignoring that we are called to both weep and rejoice together with all of God’s people (including those with whom we disagree).

In the calendrical overlap which has Yom Kippur and Holy Cross Day fall on the same day this year, we see the so-called “promise-plan” of God.  God promises election, and effects His plan to bring this about.  The atonement which is offered through temple sacrifice is completed once and for all in the atonement of Jesus upon the cross, and the gift of God cannot be superseded, for, as Paul says:

For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.  (Rom. 8.38-39).

God is faithful even when we are not.  God keeps His promises.  Nothing can separate us from God—once we have been literally incorporated into Christ through Baptism—except the deliberate and knowing act of our own will.  As we remember  the supreme gift of the atonement offered for all of the people of God, let us with grateful hearts offer prayers of thanksgiving.

SCHEDULE CHANGES:  There will be no 12:10 p.m. Mass on Monday, 16 September, due to a scheduling conflict.  There aill be no Morning Prayer on Tuesday, 17 September, due to an out-of-town clergy conference.

Grace Abounds:  Please thank Jane Hanson her work this past week to prepare the mailings for the Faith Alive program.  Please thank Nicci Beeck for a wonderful coffee hour.  Please thank Pat Ford Smith for her work to prepare the children’s program for Faith Alive, and to prepare the Sunday School kick-off.

Faith Alive:  A schedule for the retreat:

TIME	Grace Parishioners	ADULTS & TEENAGERS		NURSERY
THURSDAY	24 HOUR  - Please Sign-up	PRAYER	VIGIL BEGINS at 5:00pm
FRIDAY
5:45 PM	Supper for Everyone – Meet the Faith Alive Visitors / Guests	x		4:30 PM
6:40 PM	Program in Parish Hall	x		TO
7:35 PM	Small Groups	Note 1	Children’s Activity	9:00 PM
8:45 PM	Program in Parish Hall	x
9:00 PM	ADJOURN
SATURDAY
10:00 AM	Neighborhood Coffees	Note 2		8:15 PM To
12:00 N 2:00 PM	Men’s Luncheon /Women’s Luncheon	Note 2		2:00 PM
6:00 PM	Pot Luck Dessert in Parish Hall (for all)	x
6:30 PM	Program in Parish Hall	x	Including  children's skit	4:30 PM To
7:35 PM	Small Groups	Note 1	Children’s Activity	9:00 PM
8:45 PM	Prayer Teams in Church	x
9:00 PM	ADJOURN
SUNDAY
8:00 AM	Church Service			Sunday School and Christian Education & Nursery
10:15 PM	Church Service
12:00 N	FA Team Leaves After Extended Coffee Hour	Coffee Hour and Follow-Up		As Usual
4:00 – 5:00PM	All Parish Follow-up Meeting

Note 1:  Adults will go to adult small groups, and the teens will go to their own small group

Note2:  Only adults at coffees, and luncheon.  Teens will have their own activity.  Teens should meet at the church at 10:00 AM

Episcopal Youth Community:  Film School

Starting this week and running for three weeks we will be watching the film Bruce Almighty. It features Bruce Nolan a TV news reporter who is desperate to climb the career ladder, but feels that God is letting him down. After a particularly bad day, which includes Bruce getting fired, he tells God that God is not doing his job. The next day he God grants him his power, and Bruce starts working to right the wrongs in his life, but soon realizes there's more to it than that. What would you do with God's power?

There are a couple of very short scenes, not important to the story, that will be edited out for content. If there are questions please contact me. Film school is the Sunday School program for 6-12th graders. Class begins at 9:00am.

Grace and peace,                                                                                                               ―Nick

Music this week: 

Prelude                                    Adagio in E                                                     F. Bridge

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

Offertory Hymn 448               “O love, how deep, how broad, how high”    Deus tuorum militum

Communion Motet                  My spirit longs for thee                                    Trad. Irish

Communion Hymn 708          “Savior, like a shepherd lead us”                    Sicilian Mariners

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

Postlude                                  Voluntary on Forth in thy Name                     Dyson 

Parish Notices

§  Citizenship Celebration - Recently, Ellen Aparicio passed her citizenship test and will have her oath ceremony later this month to become a U.S. Citizen.  To celebrate her accomplishment, Paul and Andrea Aparicio will be offering an American themed lunch with a hot dog bar and apple pie after the 10:15 service on September 29th.  Please join us in celebrating with Ellen on her accomplishment.

§  It’s the start of a new program year! Sunday, September 8^th we started a new academic year here at Grace Church. The Sunday School includes 4K-5^th grade will meet at 9:00am. They will be Weaving God’s Promises throughout the year with lessons in Old Testament, New Testament and the Church Year. 6^th -12^th grade will be experiencing Film School, where they will engage in film with a focus on living into Gods will in everyday life. The Youth Group will be meeting Sunday evenings from 5-7pm and will be practicing all aspects of Discipleship. The Sunday morning adult class will be looking studying the book of Romans led by Fr. Schaffenburg. Catechumenate will begin Monday, September 30 at 6:00pm. If you are interested in Catechumenate there is a sign-up sheet in the Narthex.

§  Faith Alive is coming to Grace!  September 20-22, 2013

I prayed that the Lord would use the Weekend to begin a time of spiritual renewal in the parish. The result was far beyond what I had hoped. Nearly every person who attended the Weekend recommitted his or her life to Christ at the Sunday worship. Most have spoken of experiencing a needed spiritual renewal in their lives. I believe that this Weekend marks a turning point in the spiritual growth of this congregation. 

·         Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd, LaBelle, Florida

§  "Conversations in the Kitchen" Have you ever heard the phrase, "Please don't make a decision about me, without me." Well, no worries about that...we WANT your input! After the 10:15 Mass on September 15th, we invite you to grab a cup of coffee and settle in for "Conversations in the Kitchen"; A brief, yet lively informational sharing about all things Grace's kitchen. Together, we'll brainstorm how to keep our kitchen user-friendly for all, learn how things work/where things go and share in an entertaining demonstration of cross-contamination and proper handwashing.  (Hint: Get ready to sing your ABC's) Everyone is welcome-your expertise, ideas, requests, concerns and inquiries are valued!   

§  A Day of Healing: On September 14, 2013, A Day of Healing is a spiritual and instructional journey that consists of teaching and worship for people of all denominations, especially for those who seek to carry on the healing ministry of Jesus in their local communities. The sessions are led by Rev. Paul Feider who is nationally known for his work in spiritual direction, healing prayer and scripture study.  Topics for the day include: Healing in the Gospels and through history; Dealing with Bitter Roots and Inner Vows, Healing our Image of God; Healing Self-esteem; Healing Intimacy in Relationships. Arrival and registration is at 8:45am and the teachings beginning at 9:00 am and finishing at 4:00 pm.  This is held in St John’s Church and Center for Inner Peace at 1513 Pinewood Lane in New London, WI.  Lunch is provides along with coffee and snacks.

§  The second Day on November 2 will address:  Healing Miscarriage; Dealing with Evil; Healing Depression; Healing the Dying; Healing Marriage and Wounds of Divorce.

§  Bishop Search: For all information concerning the search for the eighth Bishop of Fond du Lac please go to bishopsearch.info.  Full biographies of the candidates are now available.  Printed copies are available at the parish office.