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Thursday, August 7, 2014

The Beauty of Holiness

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 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.

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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