Grace Episcopal Church
Sheboygan, Wisconsin
Grace Notes
10 October 2013
The parish just received a statue
of the blessed Virgin Mary. The statue
(of Mary crowned as queen of heaven) has been placed in the columbarium. Formerly, this statue was at the bishop’s
residence, but it is diocesan and not personal property, and at Bp. Jacobus’
suggestion the diocesan trustees have agreed that she will remain on permanent
loan to Grace. This legacy of Bp.
Jacobus will serve to remind us of his own devotion. How fitting that this development has come
about during the week of our annual pilgrimage festival honoring Our Lady of
Walsingham.
Marian devotion is extremely
important to some believers. For many
Christians, however, devotion to Our Lady is peripheral to their faith. This may be because of unfamiliarity, but there
is also an undercurrent of mistrust over how Marian devotion relates to faith
in God. It’s useful, then, to take a
closer look at the Ave Maria—the Hail Mary—prayer used in the rosary and
the Angelus prayers. A closer look reveals that Marian devotion is
just a part of the practice of the faith which is truly universal.
The first line, “Hail Mary,
full of grace, the Lord is with thee” is right out of Luke, spoken by the angel
Gabriel (Lk. 1.28).
We’ll hear this line in the gospel lesson at Christmas. The second line, “blessed art thou among
women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb,” is also from Luke (1.42),
spoken by Elizabeth. “Holy Mary, Mother
of God” labels Mary the Theotokos, the title given her at the Council of
Ephesus in 431, with Ephesus being one of the first four ecumenical councils,
recognized universally as authoritative by all branches of Anglicanism.
What about “Pray for us sinners
now and at the hour of our death”? This
concluding line of the prayer recognizes the communion of saints, as set forth
both in the prayer book Catechism (BCP 862), in the Prayers of
the People at Holy Eucharist, and in the canon of the Eucharist itself.
Whether or not you practice
Marian devotion daily, or it is something peripheral to your practice of the
faith, join us this Friday and Saturday for our annual pilgrimage festival, to
offer praise and worship to our Lord, together with the prayers of Mary. In gathering, please remember, as well, that
if you or anyone you know is challenged by the cost of the Saturday luncheon,
that you should feel free to attend as a guest.
[If you plan on coming as a guest,
alert the parish office, because we need a headcount!]
Grace Abounds: Please thank Steve and Claudia Fischer and Ed
and Mary Clabots for the wonderful coffee hours this past Sunday. Please thank Ellen Aparicio and Elizabeth
Schaffenburg for cleaning up after the Compline meal.
Call for
Contributions: Brian Heck’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: My
intentions to take part in the Faith Alive Weekend at Grace Church actually
didn’t occur until a week before the event took place. A letter to consider being part of the
weekend seemed to arrive in my mailbox just at the right time. There was just something about this whole
event that seemed very intriguing.
The task of
clearing my plans for that weekend were immediately enacted upon and much to my
amazement seemed to be well received by those affected by it. Participation in all aspects of the Faith
Alive Weekend were encouraging to the spiritual aspects of my life but done is
such a graceful way. From the large
gatherings in the parish hall and the small group discussions it seemed like a
Grace Church Family Reunion that should have occurred years ago.
The weekend
offered a vast amount of environments in a short amount of time to find the
opportunity to identify where each individual stands in their faith. All activities respected an individual’s
privacy yet addressed the need to share with others personal needs and
issues. Basically, we all have our own
personal ideas about the best way to allow our Beloved Lord to work in our
lives but the Faith Alive Weekend renewed the importance of remembering that
gathering together as a family only enhances that opportunity. Hopefully the opportunities abounding as a
result of the weekend will
encourage others to take part in future activities.
“FAITH ALIVE”: What a blessing it is to know other
individuals are praying for you as we all come together as a Christian Family
and be forever thankful!
Respectfully and spiritually
submitted,
―Brian S. Heck
Following Up on the Weekend (Correction: The October edition of The Angelus is incomplete in its listing of the Follow-up
Committee. Nancy Yurk is also a member
of the committee.)
Two different meetings have been
scheduled. The First called, “Talk &
Share,” will be held monthly in the Education Hour between services the second
week of the month (in October, it’d be the 13th) running between
9:10ish & 10:00 am. It will consist
of a process much like the FA weekend; counting off & going off in small
groups to discuss several open-ended questions that would encourage people to share
on a Spiritual Level. The same
expectations will be in effect: begin
with introductions; there should be no attempts to 'fix'; listening with
non-judgmental attitudes; permission given not to share; maintaining
confidentiality, & possible closing prayer(s) of some nature. It’s a new beginning, open to anyone. There will be facilitators & a few
questions to guide the small group discussions.
The Second meeting will be held the last
weekend of October the 27th, at the same time between the services,
but will be of a different nature. At
the follow-up meeting concluding the weekend there were a number of very
focused suggestions for small groups aloud & in the evaluations: among them
were book studies, mutual support groups, service (outreach) groups,
entertainment (social groups) as well as others. This meeting will help facilitate the
establishing of these groups & be a one-time event. People interested in
these groups would get a chance to meet & plan how to proceed with organizing
themselves.
Episcopal Youth
Community: Coming up this month we
have the Fall Lock in Oct 25-27 at St Annes in DePere. All 6-12th graders are
invited and encouraged to attend. If you or your child has never been to a
diocesan youth event this is an excellent opportunity to have for a first time.
There is more information at this website: http://diofdl.org/lockin/index.htm
including what to bring what not to bring, and online registration. the cost is
$45 before Oct 21 and $60 afterwards. Cost should never be a reason to not
attend a diocesan or parish event, please see Nick, Fr. Karl, or Deacon Michele
if you have any needs, or with to contribute financially to scholarships for
events such as this.
In Film School, we will be
starting a new film. For two weeks we will be watching and discussing The
Emperor's New Groove. The themes we will look at in this G rated Disney
animated feature are: Getting along, friendship, selfishness, selflessness, and
family at the least.
Miss Pat's class is spearheading the effort to put together
shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child, and would like to invite the whole
parish to participate by donating small items for the shoe boxes, or if you
desire a monetary donation that will be spent to get shoe box gifts. The goal
is to have this be a parish outreach lead by the youth and children of the
parish. Please participate as you can, including prayers. The drop off date is
mid November (before Thanksgiving), and there will be more information in the
next couple of weeks. Stay tuned.
―Grace and peace, Nick
Music this week:
Evensong Friday, Oct.
11th at 6 p.m. with
choral scholars from Nashotah House
Joseph Kucharski,
conductor
Prelude Psalm-Prelude (Ps. 34, v. 6) Howells
Psalm 45 Anglican chant:
Stewart
Canticles: Nashotah Service (plainsong
with fauxbourdons) Kucharski
Anthem Hail! Blessed Virgin Mary Italian carol, harm.
Wood
Postlude
Fugue on the Magnificat Bach
Pontifical Mass with
Procession, Oct. 12th at 10:30 a.m.
Prelude The
Gaudete Brass Quintet
Processional The
Pilgrim’s Hymn
Mass setting Deutsche Messe Schubert
Offertory Hymn “Hail, holy Queen, enthroned above”
Communion Motet Mary
the Dawn Dobey
Comm. Hymn “Sing
of Mary, pure and lowly”
Closing Hymn “ “Ye
who claim the faith of Jesus”
Postlude Grand Triumphal Chorus Guilmant
Sprinkling,
Intercessions, Musical Offering & Benediction at 2 p.m.
Prelude Three Church Sonatas Mozart
Opening Hymn “Hail Mary, ever blessed”
During the Sprinkling Air
from the Orchestral Suite in D Bach
Musical Offering Salve
Regina Scarlatti
(with
Barbara Hollinshead, mezzo-soprano, and string quartet)
Hymn “Sing we of the
Blessed Mother”
Benediction O Salutaris Gounod
Tantum ergo Dobey
Closing Hymn “Alleluia, sing to Jesus”
Postlude Sortie on Adoremus in
aeternum Gigout
Sunday, Oct. 13th
Solemn Mass at 10:15 a.m.
Prelude Two Ave Maria settings Bruckner & Potiron
Opening Hymn 390 “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty”
Offertory Hymn 493 “O, for a thousand tongues to sing”
Communion Motet Tantum
ergo Dobey
Communion Hymn “O Saving Victim” (Hymn 209, t.2, 1940
Hymnal)
Closing Hymn 438 “Tell out, my soul, the greatness of the
Lord”
Postlude Toccata in D Krieger
Parish Notices
§ New
Parish Directory updates: Please
find a draft copy of a new parish directory on the table in the Narthex
at Grace Church. If you would please look at your entry and make any changes
necessary and then initial it so we know it is correct. We are trying to have
as many email addresses as possible, it saves postage and much of the
communication of the church is done electronically. We never give them out but.
Thank you.
§ Operation
Christmas Child: Miss Pat's Sunday
School class is spearheading the effort to put together shoe boxes for
Operation Christmas Child, and would like to invite the whole parish to
participate by donating small items for the shoe boxes, or if you desire a
monetary donation that will be spent to get shoe box gift items. The goal is to
have this be a parish outreach lead by the youth and children of the parish.
Please participate as you can, including prayers for this to be a successful
project. The drop off date is in mid November (before Thanksgiving), and there
will be more information in the next couple of weeks
§ 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 19th
6:30-9:00 PM. Feel free to bring snacks and drinks. We hope to see you there!
§ Autumn
Aire: A concert given by Lakeshore
Choral & Youth Chorale Saturday, October 19, 2013 at 7:30pm at Trinity
Lutheran Church, 824 Wisconsin Avenue, Sheboygan. Together they present a
concert filled with the freshness and diversity of a crisp autumn evening. The
concert includes Mozart's "Regina Coeli," two great American
Spirituals, poetry of Ogden Nash set to music by contemporary composer Eric
Whitacre (including an ode to a Wisconsin favorite - the cow!), the poignant
"Famine Song" by Vida, along with several other pieces which
illuminate themes of the human experience. Join us for the first concert of our
31st season! $15.00 adults; $8.00 students OR included in Season Ticket www.lakeshorechorale.org.
§ 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.
§ 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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