Grace Episcopal Church
Sheboygan, Wisconsin
Grace Notes
7 August 2014
Today is the feast of Bl. John Mason Neale (d.
1866). Neale was a pioneer in the
Ritualist movement of which this parish is an heir. A polymath (he spoke 20 languages), he was responsible
for translating and reintroducing to the Church a large number of ancient
hymns, and wrote many hymns himself. Our
own hymnal has more hymns that can be traced to Neale than to any other author
or translator.
Neale (who was persecuted for his piety)
reminds us that we are to “worship the lord
in the beauty of holiness” (Ps. 96.9).
When we experience beauty we experience a small glimpse of the summation
of all that is beauty. We experience a
glimpse of God’s Being. This is true, as
well, for experiences of that which is good, what is true, and what is
love. But rather than focus on what
beauty is, and how we experience it, notice that the psalm enjoins that we
worship God in the beauty of His holiness. So,
what is it that is holy, and how do we experience this holiness?
Holiness has a beauty all of its own. When we
think of human beings, there is something marvelous about a character who is
pure in heart, without guile, devoted to the Lord's service, lovely, and
loveable. The beauty of holiness is "the ornament of a meek and quiet
spirit" (1 Pet. 3:4). It is this
holiness and this beauty that we experience in the witness and work of
Neale. The beauty which we experience in
our own worship is not just experienced in sight and smell, touch and
taste, in hearing. As beautiful as we
seek to make our worship in this parish, and as close to this ideal as we may
come, what we do is an empty work if it is not the offering of that quiet and
gentle spirit of a people who trust in God and seek to “set aside” (the literal
meaning holy is “that which is set aside [for God]”) themselves for God.
Neale understood that to be in God’s presence
we must set ourselves aside to experience Him.
Neale was the first priest (post-Reformation) in the Church of England
to reserve the Blessed Sacrament in a tabernacle. He was instrumental in reëstablishing the daily celebration of Holy
Eucharist. At Grace we live within his
witness. In this common witness may we
experience God’s presence. In Neale’s
words (translating a hymn from the Bangor Antiphoner of 690),
“Alpha-Omega, unto whom shall bow all nations at the doom, is with us
now.” (See our own hymns nos. 327 and 328.) God is with us. Let us not only experience His beauty, but
live into His presence, His holiness.
Grace Abounds: Please thank:
§
Jim Gardner and Dcn.
Michele Whitford for the Sunday coffee hours.
§
Jane Hanson for help in the
office.
§
Paul Aparicio for trimming
the ground cover around the church.
§
Erik and Meghan Neaves for
providing muffins for the coffee hour.
§ Julie Davidson for help in the floor refinishing project.
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.
Last week the main column for this blog was written by Jane
Hanson. If you want to contribute to the
blog your contribution need not be in addition to the main article. It can be the main article.
Music this week: Proper 14A
Prelude Prelude
& Fugue in E flat (WTC Bk. II) J.
S. Bach
Entrance Hymn 7 “Christ,
whose glory fills the skies” Ratisbon
Offertory Hymn441 “In
the Cross of Christ I glory” Rathbun
Comm. Hymn 691 “My
faith looks up to thee” Olivet
Closing Hymn 542 “Christ
is the world’s true light” St.
Joan
Postlude Prelude
& Fugue in D (WTC Bk II) J.
S. Bach
Parish Notices
§ Youth/Family meeting rescheduled: The
meeting planned for this Sunday, to discuss youth and family ministries, will
be rescheduled. We will not meet this
Sunday.
§ Summer adult formation at Grace Church: will continue on Sunday, August 3rd –August 10th, at 9 a.m. Our
discussions will focus on eight realities of the Church, that she is:
1. visible; 2. universal; 3. enduring; 4. possessed of
authority; 5. embodies beauty; 6. hierarchical; 7. in communion
with the saints; and 8. a moral witness. We will examine particularly how
these are embodied in Anglicanism. In other words, we are going to talk about
how and why the Church matters, and how we participate in how
she matters!
§ St. Mary the Virgin – The Assumption of Mary: Thursday, August 14th we will
celebrate the eve of the Feast of St. Mary the Virgin also known as the Feast
of the Assumption of Mary. We will celebrate with a Solemn Mass at 6:00 pm. We
continue the celebration with an All Parish Potluck Dinner. There is a sign up
sheet on the table in the Narthex. Please join in the fun. If you can stay and
help clean up that would be wonderful.
§ Grafton Commemoration: An observed Feast of the diocese to honor the anniversary of Bishop
Grafton's earthly death and heavenly birth. The 2014 Commemoration is August 23rd
from 2-6pm at the Cathedral of St. Paul, Fond du Lac. Bishop Gunter will
speak on "Evangelical at heart, while in belief, a liberal Catholic."
Visit diofdl.org/grafton for more information.
§ Mass in the Grass:
Please join us Sunday, September 7, 2014 for an outdoor Mass and All Church
Picnic at Deland Community Center, 901 Broughton Dr., Sheboygan, Mass will
begin at 10:15 a.m. with lunch following. There will be games and an appearance
by Hiccup the Clown for our children’s enjoyment. Inviting guests is
encouraged. There will be ONE MASS only that day. Please sign up
on the sheet on the Narthex table.
§ Intercessory Prayer Team: The prayer team has changed their time of prayer in the church to
Saturdays at 11:00am. All are welcome to come and pray for Grace Church and the
world. If you have questions please call the office.
§ “Before and After”:
The floor cleaning project to well underway! The Chapel of Christ the King is
complete and the floors surrounding the high altar are finished with the help
from many people. If you are interested in participating, see Fr.
Karl. This is tough, physical labor, so if you are challenged in working
on hands and knees, consider whether you want to help with material costs, with
a gift outside of your regular giving to the parish. Thank you to all who are
helping.
§ Hebrew: We
will offer a course in biblical Hebrew. Classes will meet from 7 to 9 p.m.
on Thursdays, beginning on 11 September. There is a cost of $100 for
materials, but this can be supported through a generous scholarship fund.
The class is open to people who are not members of the parish, so feel free to
invite friends from the community or other churches. This class does not assume
that you have any particular ability in learning a language. The goal is
not to learn to speak and write Hebrew, but to be able to work in the biblical
text using written and online aids. We want to be able to work in the
text to gain insights into the message of the Bible, insights that may not be
apparent in English. What can we learn about God and His will for us by
exploring these differences? Our discussions will be more theological than
linguistic, as they were in our Greek class. If you are interested, or know
someone who is, contact Fr. Karl.
§ EfM or Education for Ministry: was created to help you find your vocation and ministry with a trusted
group of friends. By studying scripture, history and reading other people’s
writings, we discover more about God’s wonderful plan for our lives. Two groups are starting September 8, 2014.
The Monday group meets at 6 pm and the Tuesday group meets at 9 am. Sign up by
August 1st in order to get your books before the first class. Cost is $350 and
this includes college credits and all your materials. Scholarships are
available, so don’t let the cost keep you from participating. You can go to the
EfM website at: www.sewanee.edu/EFM and print your registration materials or if
you have questions, don’t hesitate to contact Barb Drewry-Zimmerman at: bzimmy@excel.net or call her at 920-893-5189.
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