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Thursday, May 1, 2014

An Eternal "Yes"

Grace Episcopal Church
Sheboygan, Wisconsin

Grace Notes
24 April 2014

The first Christians—the men and women who knew Jesus when He walked the earth and proclaimed the kingdom of God, and these same men and women to whom He appeared, risen from the grave—they did not engage in dry debate, spiritual abstractions or speculation about meaning.  They proclaimed the astounding reality experienced by them, that One whom they had seen brutally killed was alive; that death had been defeated.  They told the whole world that something so new and astounding had happened that nothing would ever again be the same.
If we ever forget that at Easter everything in all of Creation changed, if we ever allow the Resurrection to be reduced to the level of myth, metaphor, or symbol, then we will be doubly to be pitied, for having been saved we will have rejected salvation.  Even if we profess a belief in God we will have said that He has given up on His Creation, that the fallenness of the world is “just the way things are” and that there is no such thing as real Love, real Truth, real Good, real Beauty.
The biblical record is filled with examples of humans beings who, left to their own agencies, take what has been created and seen by God to be “good” and have wrecked it, and then have rejected each correction and help sent by Him (in Noah and the ark, in the prophets, in the Law and Temple, in the people of Israel themselves).  But, despite the repeated “no” of human beings, God has spoken an eternal “yes,” culminating in the “yes” of the Word Himself, the incarnate Son.  In Easter we see and experience that we always have reason to hope, for God continues to say “yes”.
Alleluia!  The Lord is risen!  The Lord is risen, indeed!  Alleluia!

Grace Abounds:  Please thank:
§  Wayne and Pat Sather, Ed and Mary Clabots for the Sunday coffee hours.
§  Ben Dobey for providing flower plantings and general clean-up for the columbarium courtyard.
§  Dcn. Michele Whitford for leading the team which planned and implemented to bishop’s consecration, with musical consulting from Ben Dobey.
§  All the members of the parish who journeyed to Appleton for the consecration of our new bishop.
§  All the members of the parish who served in the consecration liturgy:
    Ushers:  Bill and Deb Gagin, Steve and Katy Larson.
    Choir:  Jack Britton, Jennifer Pawlus, Elizabeth Schaffenburg
    Acolytes:  Dee and Tasha Crouse, Bryan Stenz and Paul Aparicio
    Thurifer:  Scott Fabiano
    Chaplain to the retiring bishop:  Dcn. Mike Burg
    Flowers:  Bernie Markevitch
    Registration assistance:  Bobbi Kraft
    Set-up and transport of liturgical materials:  Jon Whitford
    Transportation:  Paul Aparicio, using transport donated by Terry Kohler
    Youth Leadership:  Bobbi and Kaleigh Kraft

Prayer Ministry Beginnings:  A Prayer Ministry is beginning here at Grace and it will look
like this.  Saturday mornings at 10:00 am (beginning this Saturday, 3 May) members of Grace will meet and walk throughout the church praying.  Our prayers will be focused  on asking the Holy Spirit to be released in a deeper, more powerful way into our Grace Church community.  The prayers will begin at the back of the church and continue through each pew, chapels, pulpit, sanctuary and sacristy.  Where the Spirit leads, we will pray, ending at the main altar.  In Acts1:14 we read that the early church prayed together constantly.  Paul reminds us in 1 Thess.5:17 we are to pray without ceasing.  It is with deep devotion and great conviction that we begin this Prayer Ministry by meeting once a week to pray for our Church.  If anyone feels called to join in the praying, please come.  
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.”  Romans 15:13       (Jane Hanson)

The power of prayer:  The prayer ministry described above is literally the answer to a prayer I have said during the Daily Office every day this year—that our Lord would raise up a new presence and gift of the Spirit in this place.  I cannot overemphasize the importance of such a ministry.  Here’s an example.  Church of the Incarnation, Dallas, Texas (http://incarnation.org/) is an Episcopal Church parish that can be described using any number of superlatives, in terms of faith, size, outreach, ministry, wealth—you name it.  One key, bedrock ingredient in this “success” (in living into this blessing) is the fact that for years a group of “prayer warriors” have gathered to pray about and over every decision in the life of the parish, to raise up those in need of prayer, to pray that God’s will for the parish might be revealed and lived, ... etc.  This ongoing prayer warrior ministry has made an abundant difference in the life of Incarnation (and other examples can be cited, as well).  I fully believe it will make a difference here.  Please gather in ministry.  Whether or not you gather on a Saturday morning, be constant in prayer

A Parishioner in the News:  This link will take you to a an article in Episcopal News Service on the 26 April consceration of our new bishop.  The accompanying photo has one of our parishioners (Kaleigh Kraft) with the bishop. 

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 on ‘Haec dies’ (This is the day the Lord hath made)            Widor
Entrance Hymn 199    “Come, ye faithful, raise the strain”
Offertory Hymn 305   “Come, risen Lord, and deign to be our guest”
Communion Motet      Most glorious Lord of life                                                                    Harris
Comm. Hymn 343      “Shepherd of souls, refresh and bless”
Closing Hymn 194      “Jesus lives, thy terrors now”
Postlude                      Trumpet Tune & Ayre                                                                   Telemann

Parish Notices

§  Potluck Dinner and Compline: Bring a dish to pass and join us this evening Sunday, May 4th at 6:30pm, for a potluck dinner and fellowship. At 8:00pm the Schola Cantorum will sing Compline, a beautiful restful service full of candles and music.

§  Game Night at Grace: In conjunction with Compline, we invite everyone to arrive a little early for a few games beginning at 5:30pm.  Games, potluck, some more games (if time allows) and then Compline to send us peacefully home once again.  All ages are welcome.  A glorious evening of fun, fellowship and peace.

§  Christian Formation Schedule for May:
o   4 May Rector’s forum:  An open forum for questions about the Church, the parish, the faith.
o   11 May: Care and Share:  Small group ministries formation and sharing
o   18 May: Biblical Reflections:  Meditations/reflections will be offered on the Sunday lessons for all Sundays in May, as prepared by Mary Massey, Jane Hanson, Mary Snyder and Connie Schneider, for use in small group discussions. The meeting will be facilitated by Dcn. Michele Whitford.
o   25 May: Small groups: Such as Care Givers, Galatians and other existing ministries.

§  Enthronement of the Eighth Bishop of Fond du Lac: Please plan to attend the Enthronement of Matthew Alan Gunter, the Eighth Bishop of Fond du Lac at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 17, 2014 at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul, Fond du Lac. Refreshments to follow.

§  Summer Camp: Diocese of Fond du Lac Summer Camp is for kids age 4 through graduating 12th graders. Camp is an opportunity for campers and staff to learn more about God, about community, about themselves and have fun! If you have questions about what camp is like please call Michele at the office.  Scholarships are available.
o   Senior Camp (completed grades 9-12) June 15 (Sun 3pm) – June 21 (Sat 12noon)
o   Middler Camp (completed grades 6-8) June 22 (Sun 3pm) – June 26 (Thu 4pm)
o   Junior Camp (completed grades 2-5) June 22 (Sun 3pm) – June 26 (Thu 4pm)
o   KinderCamp (parent & kids ages 4-7) June 12 (Thu 5pm) – June 14 (Sat 11:30am) There are application forms on the Narthex table.

§  All About Camp: A special event will be held Sunday, May 4 from 2-5 p.m. at All Saints Episcopal Church in Appleton. It is for youth who have been to camp, those who have never been to camp but want to learn more about it, for parents with questions about camp, and anyone else who wants to find out what Summer Camp is all about. Many of the 2014 counselors will be there. There will be food, games, arts & crafts. For questions, contact Canon Tony Walter at twalter@diofdl.org or at 920-284-7967.

§  Stay Connected! There are many ways to stay connected and find all the latest announcements. Grace Church can be found by “liking” us on Facebook. You can also sign up for the Grace Notes blog at http://gracechurchgracenotes.blogspot.com/ on the right hand side there is a place to sign up and receive the blog by email. You can find the Grace Church website at www.gracesheboygan.com. At the end of each bulletin there is QR code that you can scan with your smart phone and it will take you directly to the website. If you have an email address you can receive the Angelus electronically and save the church some printing and postage costs as well as receive any gentle reminders that may pop up between Angelus publications. If you have questions about any of these things please call the office.

§  Eucharistic Festival: Plan to attend the 55th Annual Diocesan Eucharistic Festival at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, June 28th, at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul, Fond du Lac. The Homilist will be the Rt. Rev. Matthew A. Gunter, Eighth Bishop of Fond du Lac. Picnic to follow.



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