Warming of the Heart

Grace Episcopal Church

Sheboygan, Wisconsin

Grace Notes

27 February 2014

Lent begins next Wednesday, but before we get there we remember two Anglican greats on Monday the third, in the feast of John and Charles Wesley.  These two brothers were principals in the founding of Methodism, so how is it that we remember them as Anglicans?  It is because they were both priests in the Church of England, and died considering themselves to be so.  The split of Methodism from Anglicanism was not a separation intended by the any of the founders of Methodism, and happened after the death of the Wesleys.  It came about for reasons as much political as doctrinal.

Consider how the Church might be different if this split had not occurred.  In our own experiences of the differences between Methodist and Episcopalian congregations and practice in the United States, we may observe that a united Church would likely retain the liturgical grounding of Anglicanism but be enlivened by the increased emphasis on life in the Holy Spirit found in Methodism.  But note that there is no reason why the benefits of each movement and tradition cannot be enjoyed in each.  John Wesley described his own experience of conversion of heart in the following words:

About a quarter before nine, while he [Luther] was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone, for salvation; and an assurance was given me that he had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me, from the law of sin and death.

—Journal, 24 May, 1738

This “warming of heart,” this awareness of the presence of the Holy Spirit in an individual life, is an experience every one of us can have when we are open to God.  In Lent we focus on those spiritual practices by which we can remove those barriers that we have erected between our own hearts and God’s presence.  Let us experience, with John Wesley, that God is very intensely personal, that we may share with Charles Wesley his words from the hymn Jesus, Lover of my Soul, “Plenteous grace with thee is found, grace to cleanse from every sin ... “

Grace Abounds:  Please thank Bob & Anne Hanlon, Mary Massey and Jane Hanson for providing coffee hour last Sunday.

Call for Contributions:  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 in the week of publication.

Changes in Worship Schedule this Week:  Fr. Karl is traveling on Fri—Sun.  We will welcome Fr. Ed Smith as celebrant on Sunday, 2 March.  In the event of a pastoral emergency please contact Dcn. Mike Burg or Dcn. Michele Whitford.

Music this week:  

Epiphany – Last Sun. after, year A

Feb. 23^rd, 2014

Prelude              Prelude on the Plainsong Hymn ‘Coelestis Gloriae’   Geoffrey Vintner

Entrance Hymn 7   “Christ, whose glory fills the skies”      Ratisbon

Offertory Anthem   Christ, whose glory fills the skies   T. Frederick H. Candlyn

 Communion Motet   Christ upon the mountain peak           Sidney H. Nicholson

            Christ upon the mountain peak

                stands alone in glory blazing;

            Let us if we dare to speak,

                with the saints and angels praise him:  Alleluia!

            This is God’s beloved Son:

                Law and prophets fade before him;

            First and Last, and only One,

                let creation now adore him.  Alleluia!

Communion Hymn 137        “O wondrous type!  O vision fair”   Wareham

Closing Hymn 122    “Alleluia, song of gladness”      alt. tune: Dulce Carmen

Postlude   Paean on ‘Divinum Mysterium’    John Cook

Parish Notices

Metropolitan Opera:  Borodin’s Prince Igor will be broadcast at the Marcus Cinema on Saturday, 1 March.  The broadcast begins at 11 a.m., and those attending from the parish plan to gather for refreshment afterward.  This opera has not been produced in the U.S. since 1917, and is now offered in a new production which has received glowing revues.  See http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/08/arts/music/a-new-vision-for-prince-igor-at-the-met.html?_r=0

We welcome The Ven. Dr. Edwin Smith: Our Celebrant and preacher on Sunday is Father Ed Smith, who is the Archdeacon of the Diocese of Fond du Lac. Father Ed is retired and attends St. Thomas, Menasha. Please welcome him to Grace.

Scout Appreciation "Pancake Breakfast": Sunday, March 2^nd after each service, please stay to savor a down home Pancake Breakfast. The Boy Scouts will supply all the know how for the event. As an added bonus, Maple Syrup will be supplied by the Drewry Farms of Plymouth. This award winning Maple Syrup is served at all the major restaurants in the area and beyond.

Simple Potluck Supper and Compline: Sunday, March 2^nd we will have our 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.

Shrove Tuesday Feast before the Fast: Shrove Tuesday is March 4^th we will be having a dinner following a 5:30pm Mass. Please mark your calendars and plan to attend this festive occasion. Please sign up on the sheet in the Narthex or call the office in order to have enough food.

Ash Wednesday: March 5^th is Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, it is a day of fasting and penitence. We will observe this day with Mass and Imposition of Ashes at 12:10 p.m., and Solemn Mass with Imposition of Ashes at 6:00 p.m. This is a holy day and a wonderful way to begin your Lenten observance.

Cooking on Friday Evenings in lent: If you are interested in cooking and hosting a dinner on the Fridays during Lent, please sign-up on sheets in the Narthex. Most of the Fridays are open. Thank you for your willingness to serve in this manner.

Stations of the Cross, Simple Suppers and Teaching:  Beginning on the first Friday in Lent (March 7) we will meet each Friday at 5:30 p.m. for Stations of the Cross, followed by a simple supper and Christian formation.  Our formation program this year will focus on the Stations of the Cross.  We will examine two stations every week with a short reflection and small group discussion on how we participate with Jesus on the journey to Calvary. Please sign up to attend on the sheets in the Narthex.

Second Sunday Small Groups: Next Sunday, March 9^th Small groups will meet between services at 9:00am and after the 10:15 service today. Questions will be provided to reflect on the lessons for the Day. Please meet in St. Nicholas Hall and the groups will be divided up and rooms will be assigned.

All Saints' Chapel Ownership - Sunday services at All Saints' Chapel will continue to be a shared ministry this year which means volunteers will be needed to have ownership of opening and closing the chapel. A sign-up sheet is located in the Narthex.  If you have questions regarding responsibilities, please ask any member of the Vestry.

The First Hour

Grace Episcopal Church

Sheboygan, Wisconsin

Grace Notes

20 February 2014

“Children, it is the last hour ...”  These words, from 1 John 2.18, are a part of the translation exercise that our New Testament Greek class is working on this week.  They were written by the apostle more than nineteen centuries ago, and throughout the history of the Church there have been recurrent erruptions of those who claim that end of the world is nigh.  Such doomsday predictions have been uniformly destructive, so what do we do when scripture seems to say the same thing?

The first thing we do is distinguish between what we are told (by doomsday predictors) is going to happen and what is revealed as happening already.  John does not say that the last hour is coming; he says that it is here.  Jesus tells us to “watch”—for we do not know when judgment will come—but He tells us this not in the context of how we are to prepare for a future event.  He tells us this in terms of a present reality into which we are to live fully.

When we recognize that with the crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ the last hour came, and that we are always living in “end times,” then we realize that we are living in a new reality.  We are “in Christ”.  We are those who are led into all truth by the Holy Spirit.  Our lives are lived not in fear that it is the last hour, but in joy that Creation itself has entered into a new age in which we live in redemption, in which God has given us His Son and His Spirit that we might be one with Him.

“It is the last hour” means that we are to live as those who are identified fully with the Father’s will.  It means that in this last hour eternal life has begun already; that what is not godly is passing away already; that we participate in new creation.  What, then, have we to fear?  What, then, can ever prevent us from realizing this new creation except the degree to which we substitute our own will for that of God?  And when God’s will is ours, then the last hour is the eternal first hour; it is the hour of new life.

Grace Abounds:  Please thank:

§  Bill and Deb Gagin, and the Boland family the coffee hours this past Sunday.

Call for Contributions:  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 in the week of publication.

Changes in Worship Schedule this Week:  Diocesan clergy meet in conference Monday through Thursday. There will be no celebrations of Holy Eucharist Mon—Thu.  The office will be closed from noon on Monday.  The normal Friday, Saturday and Sunday schedules will be in place.

Fr. Karl is traveling on Fri—Sun.  We will welcome Fr. Ed Smith as celebrant on Sunday, 2 March.  In the event of a pastoral emergency Mon—Thu, please contact Dcn. Mike Burg, or contact Fr. Karl or Dcn. Michele at the Norbertine Center for Spirituality, St. Norbert’s College, DePere, 920-337-4315.

A Lenten Discipline:  Lent is fast approaching now and one can only hope spring is not far off! Do you have a Lenten discipline in place?  I do and I would like to share it with you.  Remember all those beautiful Christmas cards and letters you received?  And what do you do with them?  I gather them up into a basket and starting on Ash Wednesday I randomly pick one out, read it and the accompanying letter at leisure as well as enjoy thoughts of that person and family and then I take a moment to pray for them.  Sometimes I even write them a note or email them to let them know they are in my thoughts and prayers.  This is my card ministry and it doesn't have to stop at Easter! All year long I collect correspondence ( birthday cards, thank you , get well, announcement cards etc. and put in another basket and then during Ordinary Time (after Pentecost) I begin the process again. After all, we all can use prayers from others to lift us up.

       ―Barb MacEwen

Music this week:  

Prelude                       Chorale preludes on O Christ, thou art the light and day       Böhm & Bach

Entrance Hymn 537    “Christ for the world we sing”

Offertory Hymn 518   “Christ is made the sure foundation”

Communion Motet      O everlasting Light                                                                  John E. West

Closing Hymn 516      “Come down, O Love divine”                                               

Postlude                      Toccata in D                                                                            Krieger

Parish Notices

§  Metropolitan Opera:  Borodin’s Prince Igor will be broadcast at the Marcus Cinema on Saturday, 1 March.  The broadcast begins at 11 a.m., and those attending from the parish plan to gather for refreshment afterward.  This opera has not been produced in the U.S. since 1917, and is now offered in a new production which has received glowing revues.  See http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/08/arts/music/a-new-vision-for-prince-igor-at-the-met.html?_r=0

§  Adult Formation-Liturgical Workshop: Adult formation will continue February 23 at 9 a.m. with the fourth part of the series of liturgical workshops intended to allow participants to become much more familiar with a life of prayer, and the resources in the Book of Common Prayer. The workshops will be led by parish clergy and seminarian. Those who do not already have their own prayer book at home can also get one to use at home!

§  Lenten Booklet: Grace Church will prepare our own parish book of Lenten meditations, written by parishioners. For each of the forty days of Lent season, a Gospel lesson taken from the Eucharistic lectionary for the weekdays in Lent, plus the Sunday Eucharistic lectionary, are provided on a clip board on the Narthex table. Following each Gospel lesson will be the Collect prayer for the celebration of Eucharist on each day. The Collect “collects” our prayers as founded in the Scripture appointed for each day. The method envisaged for use of this booklet is that parishioners will read the Gospel lesson– perhaps more than once, perhaps underlining the words or phrases that resonate with them on that day–then reflect on the Collect, and then write down their own reflections on the page appointed for the day. These reflections will be gathered by February 21^st to allow for production lead-time. The publication of a parish devotional will be published to the whole parish, in print and on our website. Please submit your meditations anonymously or for attribution to Tasha Crouse at gpvehicle@yahoo.com.

§  Shrove Tuesday Feast before the Fast: Shrove Tuesday is March 4^th we will be having a dinner following a 5:30pm Mass. Please mark your calendars and plan to attend this festive occasion. There will be more information forth coming.

§  Ash Wednesday: March 5^th is Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, it is a day of fasting and penitence. We will observe this day with Mass and Imposition of Ashes at 12:10 p.m., and Solemn Mass with Imposition of Ashes at 6:00 p.m. This is a holy day and a wonderful way to begin your Lenten observance.

§  Cooking on Friday Evenings in lent: If you are interested in cooking and hosting a dinner on the Fridays during Lent, please sign-up on sheets in the Narthex. All of the Fridays are open. Thank you for your willingness to serve in this manner.

§  Stations of the Cross, Simple Suppers and Teaching:  Beginning on the first Friday in Lent (March 7) we will meet each Friday at 5:30 p.m. for Stations of the Cross, followed by a simple supper and Christian formation.  Our formation program this year will focus on the Stations of the Cross.  We will examine two stations every week with a short reflection and small group discussion on how we participate with Jesus on the journey to Calvary. Please sign up to attend on the sheets in the Narthex.

§  All Saints' Chapel Ownership - Sunday services at All Saints' Chapel will continue to be a shared ministry this year which means volunteers will be needed to have ownership of opening and closing the chapel. A sign-up sheet is located in the Narthex.  If you have questions regarding responsibilities, please ask any member of the Vestry.

LCD's and LCD

Grace Episcopal Church

Sheboygan, Wisconsin

Grace Notes

13 February 2014

“[L]et your light shine before others” (Mtt. 5.16).  So says Jesus in the gospel lesson from this past Sunday, and we have reflected on how the light which must be seen in each of us is to be something far more than the reflected glow of and LCD screen—recalling that LCD means both “liquid crystal display” and “lowest common denominator”.  The light which we are to shine is to be God’s light, and when we focus on passive consumption only, the LCD glow of lowest common denominator is human and not godly.

A story in the 10 February edition of The New York Times provides an additional twist on the problem of passivity.  See http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/10/technology/wikipedia-vs-the-small-screen.html?hpw&rref=technology .  As reported in the story, consumers’ switch to smart phones is leading to a marked decrease in how Wikipedia articles are generated and edited.  The online encyclopaedia relies on users adding and editing content, and with more and more people using their smart phones and tablets as their portal to information, they are switching more to consumption and away from contribution.  Why?  It’s because it is just too hard to compose and edit detailed documents on a small screen, without a keyboard.  As stated in the article:

The concern in the Wikipedia movement and among people who study it is that smartphones and tablets are designed for “consumer behavior” rather than “creative behavior.” In other words, mobile users are much more likely to read a Wikipedia article than improve it.

If the trend described in the Times article is real, it is another indicator that our culture is continuing in a shift to passivity, to consumption.  Who will be the creators of new content, the doers?  This same issue is present in the Church.  How many people expect “church” to be about what they receive, rather than being an organic whole in which they contribute in ongoing life together?  Jesus teaches us to be salt and light—to live for the other rather than to focus on consumption alone.  Our culture continues to make this harder; it continues to condition us (principally through technological “progress”) away from the active life.

Salt which has lost its saltness is worthless.  Light which is hidden is not light.  By God’s grace, may we so be filled with His Spirit that we always reach out to the other, that we do God’s work, that we embody His life in this Body. 

Grace Abounds:  Please thank:

§  John and Jennifer Keller for the coffee hour this past Sunday.

§  All those parishioners who provided pot luck supper for the sung Compline this past Sunday.

§  Bev Evans, Jeremy Williams (and his niece, Mimi), and Nancy Yurk, for serving at the Emmaus Meal at The Salvation Army.

§  Bobbi Kraft and Julie Davidson for providing food for the Soup and Cinema gathering.

Rosaries needed:  The rosaries in the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham have disappeared.  We can only pray that whoever has taken them has a real need for them, and will use them in prayer.  If you have an extra rosary necklace to donate, please bring it to the church, knowing that it is possible that it too may “acquire legs”.

The Salvation Army:  Vouchers for use at Burger King and Perkins Restaurant in Sheboygan can be found in the parish narthex.  When you use one of these coupons on the dates specified, the restaurant will donate the discount amount (10—20%) to The Salvation Army.  In 2013 The Salvation Army provided the following relief in Sheboygan:

§  10,782 bags of food

§  13,898 nights of shelter

§  953 individual clinic visits

§  1,182 medical services (medical tests and prescription medications)

§  4,396 cases of relief for housing, utility, clothing, furniture, diapers, etc. assistance

Call for Contributions:  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 in the week of publication.

Music this week:  

Prelude                        Chorale Preludes on Blessed Jesus, at thy word                     J. S. Bach

Entrance Hymn 440    “Blessed Jesus, at thy word”

Offertory Hymn 665   “All my hope on God is founded”

Communion Motet      Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace                                        S. S. Wesley

Comm. Hymn 312      “Strengthen for service, Lord”

Closing Hymn 371      “Thou whose almighty Word”

Postlude                      Sortie                                                                                       Whitlock        

Parish Notices

§  Adult Formation-Liturgical Workshop: Adult formation will continue February 16 at 9 a.m. with the third part of the series of liturgical workshops intended to allow participants to become much more familiar with a life of prayer, and the resources in the Book of Common Prayer. The workshops will be led by parish clergy and seminarian. Those who do not already have their own prayer book at home can also get one to use at home!

§  Galatians Study: Grab a cup of coffee and join us in the small conference room Sunday morning to study Galatians following the 10:15 service.

§  Lenten Booklet: Grace Church will prepare our own parish book of Lenten meditations, written by parishioners. For each of the forty days of Lent season, a Gospel lesson taken from the Eucharistic lectionary for the weekdays in Lent, plus the Sunday Eucharistic lectionary, are provided on a clip board on the Narthex table. Following each Gospel lesson will be the Collect prayer for the celebration of Eucharist on each day. The Collect “collects” our prayers as founded in the Scripture appointed for each day. The method envisaged for use of this booklet is that parishioners will read the Gospel lesson– perhaps more than once, perhaps underlining the words or phrases that resonate with them on that day–then reflect on the Collect, and then write down their own reflections on the page appointed for the day. These reflections will be gathered by February 21^st to allow for production lead-time. The publication of a parish devotional will be published to the whole parish, in print and on our website. Please submit your meditations anonymously or for attribution to Tasha Crouse at gpvehicle@yahoo.com.

§  Shrove Tuesday Feast before the Fast: Shrove Tuesday is March 4^th we will be having a dinner following a 5:30pm Mass. Please mark your calendars and plan to attend this festive occasion. There will be more information forth coming.

§  Ash Wednesday: March 5^th is Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, it is a day of fasting and penitence. We will observe this day with Mass and Imposition of Ashes at 12:10 p.m., and Solemn Mass with Imposition of Ashes at 6:00 p.m. This is a holy day and a wonderful way to begin your Lenten observance.

§  Cooking on Friday Evenings in lent: If you are interested in cooking and hosting a dinner on the Fridays during Lent, please sign-up on sheets in the Narthex. All of the Fridays are open. Thank you for your willingness to serve in this manner.

§  Stations of the Cross, Simple Suppers and Teaching:  Beginning on the first Friday in Lent (March 7) we will meet each Friday at 5:30 p.m. for Stations of the Cross, followed by a simple supper and Christian formation.  Our formation program this year will focus on the Stations of the Cross.  We will examine two stations every week with a short reflection and small group discussion on how we participate with Jesus on the journey to Calvary. Please sign up to attend on the sheets in the Narthex.

§  English as a Second Language teaching group: This ESL group helps immigrants learn the English language to better their lives and job prospects. The group will meet Wednesday evenings at 6:00pm on the lower level in the youth room. Contact Scott Lubbers at 698-2002.

§  All Saints' Chapel Ownership - Sunday services at All Saints' Chapel will continue to be a shared ministry this year which means volunteers will be needed to have ownership of opening and closing the chapel. A sign-up sheet is located in the Narthex.  If you have questions regarding responsibilities, please ask any member of the Vestry.

§  Flower Schedule for 2014: Giving the gift of flowers is a wonderful way to remember a loved one or to offer thanksgiving for your blessings. If you wish to sign up for a specific Sunday, the Flower Schedule is available on the table in the narthex. More than one person can sign up for each Sunday.

§  Coffee Hour Schedule: There is a new sign-up sheet for hosting coffee hour in 2014. If you would like to host please sign up for either 8:00am or 10:15am. We are in need of someone to oversee the schedule and be the point person for questions. If you would be able to spend a few minutes a week double checking the sign-up sheet and giving reminders or if you have questions please see Deacon Michele or Bobbi Kraft. Thank you so much.

"Seven Whole Days"

Grace Episcopal Church

Sheboygan, Wisconsin

Grace Notes

6 February 2014

“Seven whole days, not one in seven, I will praise thee ...”  These words, taken from George Herbert’s 1633 poem “Praise” (The Temple) form part of our hymn no. 382, and they remind us that our spiritual life is defined, in part, by the regularity with which we turn to God—the same God who always reaches out to us that we may turn to Him. 

We are blessed in having a prayer book which is structured to allow us to pray to God in ways that also take us through all of His holy Word.  In the adult education classes which are underway, participants are learning the ins-and-outs of using The Book of Common Prayer—which prayers, when, and which lessons, etc.  If you do not follow the Daily Office in the prayer book, you can still meditate on God’s Word and offer your own prayers using tools like the Forward:  Day-by-Day devotional series, in how you prayer through the psalter, or use another devotional.  Most importantly, however, you can engage in daily prayer with others.  This parish is one of very few in which you can participate in public prayer every day of the week.

There are fellow parishioners of yours who are very faithful in being at Morning Prayer, or Evening Prayer, or daily Mass, on an ongoing basis.  The number has never been large, but it has recently become smaller.  This is due, in part, to the severity of the winter, but the trend remains real, and it reflects the reality that when we don’t pray every day we lose the habit, and it becomes easier to just skip prayer for another “priority”.

Don’t skip prayer.  Pray on your own.  Pray with others.  Cultivate the spiritual discipline of coming to the church and praying one of the daily services, even just one a week.  When we lift our praises to God every day, the God who is faithful hears our prayers and answers them.

Grace Abounds:  Please thank:

§  Danie Wilson, Bobbi Kraft, and Renée Stauffacher for the coffee hours this past Sunday.

§  All those parishioners who provided pot luck luncheon for the Being the Body program this past Saturday.

Rosaries needed:  Within the past week all of the rosaries in the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham have disappeared.  We can only pray that whoever has taken them has a real need for them, and will use them in prayer.  If you have an extra rosary necklace to donate, please bring it to the church, knowing that it is possible that it too may “aquire legs”.

Episcopal Youth Community:  Random Act of Kindness

This past Sunday for youth group we made chocolate chip cookies. Not just because they are delicious, and we like desserts (especially if there's chocolate involved), but because we thought that we could do a little something to show kindness to someone who might not have anyone to be kind to them.

We mixed, baked, and bagged the cookies with love and care, and we delivered them to the Sheboygan Senior Center (across the street from church). We hope that we made someone's day.

Who needs someone to be kind to them today? Who can you be kind to? What kinds of things can we do as a parish to show God's love in the community through acts of kindness, generosity, and love?

I would love to hear your stories.                                                                                     ―Nick

Call for Contributions:  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 in the week of publication.

Music this week:  

Prelude           Chorale Prelude on Deck thyself, my soul, with gladness       J. S. Bach

Entrance        “O Zion, tune thy voice”                                                        alt.: Darwall’s 148^th

Offertory        419, “Lord of all being, throned afar”                                                Mendon

Communion   Motet, Lord God, you now have set your servant free            Orlando Gibbons

Communion  339, “Deck thyself, my soul, with gladness”                          Schmuecke dich

Closing           7, “Christ, whose glory fills the skies”                                    Ratisbon

Postlude          Prelude & Fugue in D Major                                                  Dietrich Buxtehude

Parish Notices

§  Metropolitan Opera:  Parish opera lovers can gather at the Marcus Cinema this Saturday, for an 11:55 a.m. live broadcast of Dvoŗak’s Rusalka, with Renée Fleming in the title role.  This is a broadcast of almost 4 hours, and the group will repair for light refreshment afterward.

§  Second Sunday Small Groups: Next Sunday, February 9^th Small groups will meet between services at 9:00am and after the 10:15 service today. Questions will be provided to reflect on the lessons for the Day. Please meet in St. Nicholas Hall and the groups will be divided up and rooms will be assigned.

§  Simple Potluck Supper and Compline: Sunday, February 9^th we will have our 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.

§  Lenten Booklet: Grace Church will prepare our own parish book of Lenten meditations, written by parishioners. For each of the forty days of Lent season, a Gospel lesson taken from the Eucharistic lectionary for the weekdays in Lent, plus the Sunday Eucharistic lectionary, are provided on a clip board on the Narthex table. Following each Gospel lesson will be the Collect prayer for the celebration of Eucharist on each day. The Collect “collects” our prayers as founded in the Scripture appointed for each day. The method envisaged for use of this booklet is that parishioners will read the Gospel lesson– perhaps more than once, perhaps underlining the words or phrases that resonate with them on that day–then reflect on the Collect, and then write down their own reflections on the page appointed for the day. These reflections will be gathered by February 21^st to allow for production lead-time. The publication of a parish devotional will be published to the whole parish, in print and on our website. Please submit your meditations anonymously or for attribution to Tasha Crouse at gpvehicle@yahoo.com.

§  English as a Second Language teaching group: This ESL group helps immigrants learn the English language to better their lives and job prospects. The group will meet Wednesday evenings at 6:00pm on the lower level in the youth room. Contact Scott Lubbers at 698-2002.

§  Flower Schedule for 2014: Giving the gift of flowers is a wonderful way to remember a loved one or to offer thanksgiving for your blessings. If you wish to sign up for a specific Sunday, the Flower Schedule is available on the table in the narthex. More than one person can sign up for each Sunday.

§  Coffee Hour Schedule: There is a new sign-up sheet for hosting coffee hour in 2014. If you would like to host please sign up for either 8:00am or 10:15am. We are in need of someone to oversee the schedule and be the point person for questions. If you would be able to spend a few minutes a week double checking the sign-up sheet and giving reminders or if you have questions please see Deacon Michele or Bobbi Kraft. Thank you so much.

§  All Saints' Chapel Ownership - Sunday services at All Saints' Chapel will continue to be a shared ministry this year which means volunteers will be needed to have ownership of opening and closing the chapel. A sign-up sheet is located in the Narthex.  If you have questions regarding responsibilities, please ask any member of the Vestry.

§  Love Bowls: an annual fundraiser to benefit Meals On Wheels will be held on Sunday, February 9th from 10:00 am - 3:00 pm at Sheboygan South High School. Purchase a beautiful Talavera pottery bowl or plate for $20 and enjoy unlimited soup from nearly 70 local restaurants. Live entertainment provides a great environment for family and friends. Pewter, glassware and other Talavera pieces are available at our silent auction!

§  Lakeshore Chorale's Valentine Visions: This Valentine's Day, February 14^th, we invite you to Lakeshore Chorale's very special Valentine Gala, "Valentine Visions." The first half of the evening will feature the Lakeshore Chorale Adult Choir performing a variety of love songs in the excellent acoustic environment of Grace Episcopal Church. The second portion of the concert will be held in Grace Church's St. Nicholas Hall, beautifully decorated for the holiday by Bernie Markevitch. While you are enjoying scrumptious desserts made by The Cookie Jar Girls, you will be treated to a cabaret performance by members of the Lakeshore Chorale - vocal solos, duets, small ensembles, and instrumental interludes. Please be our Valentine and join us for this very special evening! Tickets are $20 and are selling quickly. Please reserve or purchase your tickets today by calling 920-451-1863, or purchase on line at: http://www.lakeshorechorale.org/Tickets.html