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.