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Thursday, February 13, 2014

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 ContributionsIf 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 21st 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 4th 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 5th 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.



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