Grace Episcopal Church
Sheboygan, Wisconsin
Grace Notes
11 December 2014
This past Sunday we enjoyed our
annual festival of Advent Lessons& Carols, a service which began as an
Anglican observance and has now become more common in a number of western liturgical
traditions. Lessons & Carols is
always experienced by me as a gift, perhaps because of the dramatic unfolding
of the prophecies of the coming of the Christ, and the story of His coming, a
story experienced both in Scripture and in song. The song—both anthems and carols—recounts
salvation history in ways that parallel and compliment the story set for in the
Bible, and this should remind us that when we lift up our voices in church we
are making statements of faith. I think
it is more because of these statements of what we believe, and of how these
statements—when they are heartfelt—move us, that we sometimes experience
something akin to strong emotion in singing.
True, the music may itself evoke a reaction (and we all have our
favorite tunes), but any reaction to the music is an add-on in which the
composer has first responded from the heart to what is being said.
What greater drama can there be
than God coming among us? He came down
from heaven! He abides with us now, and
He will come again in power and great glory.
The final hymn sung at Lessons & Carols was (and most often is) Lo! He comes with clouds descending, by that
prince of hymn writers, Charles Wesley.
The words to this hymn have been expertly parsed by Dr. Benjamin Dobey
in our December newsletter, but I want to emphasize again the drama in Wesley’s
hymn. It is in the face of the truly
cosmic drama of God coming among us that we are moved, in ways that combine awe
and joy, and which result in tears. Be
moved. Be moved by all that God does in
your life, and in our life together. Pay
attention to what you say in prayer, to what you sing, and let the so very
strong drama in these words take hold of you.
Grace abounds: Please thank:
§
Jessica Ambelang and Steve
and Katy Larson for the Sunday coffee hours.
§
Bernie Markevitch, Jessica
Ambelang and Nicci and Chase Beeck for preparing the Lessons & Carols
festival reception, with cleanup assistance from Julie Davidson and Hannah
Sanders.
§ Dr. Benjamin Dobey and the choir for all of their extra work in
preparing and performing the festival of lessons and carols.
§ Bobbi Kraft and Jon Whitford for help at the festival.
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.
Youth Ministry: The
birth of Jesus was dirty, messy, scary, dangerous, and real. We know about the birth of Jesus, right?
Good. God went the full nine yards for His only begotten son: angels, porcelain
faces, statuesque poses, quiet smiles, sitting-still long enough for one
of those enlightenment painters to give the moment majesty and awe. But
what if Jesus was born in a barn with real live animals, dung, straw,
dirt, and all the mess that goes into delivering a child. What if God going the
whole nine yards means being born in the same mysterious and dangerous way as
everyone else? What if it really was as scary as the idea of your car breaking
down in the middle-of-no-where, with no cell-phone service, just as you (or
your loved one) goes into labor? Let our conversations with my Sunday School
class expand on that for a bit.
In Film School
(6-12th grade Sunday School) we have been watching The Nativity Story (2006),
which tells the story of Mary and Joseph leading up to the birth of Jesus.
Throughout our time with this movie there have been several scenes that have
raised a lot of questions, a few moments of "eww", and at least one
"what in the world is that about?"
As it happens there
was an appalling lack of doctors, scrubs, monitoring equipment, and
bleached-clean rooms for the birth of Jesus' cousin John. This scene brought
about a lot of squirming from the students, and since the movie is rated PG,
the scene was shot basically from an adjoining room. I was a little surprised
how uncomfortable they were with the messiness and strife that the mother was
going through. This allowed us to have a great conversation about the fact that
Jesus' birth is clean on paper, but realistically it was definitely not.
As the story goes
along in the text (Luke 2) there seems to be an awkward repetition about naming
the baby 'Jesus'. Mary is told by the angel, and then Joseph later has a dream
where it is revealed to him as well that the boy would be named 'Jesus'. but
then this movie pointed out, that what can happen now is that Joseph can
independently corroborate Mary's story. In the movie he goes to her and quotes
the angel, and she knows that he knows. From that point onward they can trust
each other and be a couple together.
Later, there is a
scene in the movie where King Herod takes part in the rituals of the Day of
Atonement. We see Herod passing his sins into a bull cow (read Leviticus 16 for
the details). This caused a disruption during the movie because one of the
students wanted to know "what in the world was is that about?". From
this we had a great talk about the Day of Atonement, what it was, what it was
for, and then I drew the parallel from this ritual to Jesus and the way Jesus'
sacrifice takes its place once and for all. The short version is this is as
follows: Without the Nativity there is no Cross, without the Cross the Nativity
doesn't mean much. This is one of the ways that this film shows parallels or
fore-shadowing to Jesus' future life, ministry, and death.
This week I was
relating these stories with a friend, and I had a thought that had never
occurred to me: If this story is real, and it is dirty, messy, dangerous, and
scary; and if Mary just had the baby Jesus, isn't the last thing you want, at
that moment, a group of scruffy-looking sheep herders wandering up to you to
ogle you and your baby?
That was until my
mind wrapped itself around the idea that shepherds take care of their flock,
and almost certainly have experience helping their ewes to birth lambs. So
here's Mary, young girl with nothing, new in town, and doesn't know anyone. Who
else could a young frightened woman who is having a baby in a barn count on to
help if things went poorly? The shepherds. The Shepherds who were told by an
angel that a baby was being born and they should go and see. The gospels don't
go into the dirty details, but what if the shepherds were on the scene to help
Mary; and to see the baby Jesus, the Lamb of God into the world?
This coming Sunday
we will finish our film, and have another chance to talk about this amazingly
brave and faithful woman and man, Mary and Joseph, as they anticipate the birth
of their son. See you then!
―Nick Whitford
Ministry
Opportunities: At a recent parish forum questions were
raised about how people are asked to serve in specific ministries. The long and short answer is that people are
not asked; rather, they ask to serve. A
complete list of parish ministries is found on the parish website, www.gracesheboygan.com.
Ministry opportunities are listed under the following headings (found in
the pull-down menu in the top banner):
- Worship: Ministry
Opportunities Descriptions include those of lector,
acolyte, altar guild, greeter, lay eucharistic minister, usher, verger.
- Outreach: Separate headings are found for Our
Community, Our Nation, and Our World. Under each heading ministries are
described, such as work with The Salvation Army. Contact information is provided, or, if
it is left undefined you can always contact the parish office.
- Grace Ministries and Spiritual Gifts:
A lengthy menu allows you to explore an inventory and description
of spiritual gifts and how these gifts relate to ministries of the parish.
Don’t forget the choir! Singers are needed. You can contact Dr. Benjamin Dobey for more
details about the music ministries of the parish.
What’s not
on the list? What is not on the list
is what Our Lord is calling you to offer as a ministry. If you believe you are called to a ministry
not listed, please come forward so that we can recruit others to serve with
you.
Who are the
unchurched? These are people in the community around us
who profess some degree of faith; they speak some langauge of faith, but are
not affiliated with any church. These
are the “low hanging fruit” in outreach.
Chracteristics of this group can be reviewed here:
Music this week: The Third Sunday of Advent
Prelude Savior of the nations, come Buxtehude & Pachelbel
Entrance Hymn 59 “Hark!
a thrilling voice is sounding” Merton
Trisagion S-102
Archangelsky
Canticle S-242 Magnificat Plainsong
The night is far spent, the day is at hand.
Therefore let us cast
off the works of darkness,
and let us
put on the armor of light.
Behold, the Lord shall
come, and all his saints with him;
And in
that day the light shall be great.
Rejoice, O Jerusalem,
behold, thy King cometh. Alleluia!
Offertory Hymn 444 “Blessed
be the God of Israel” Thornbury
Communion Motet Rejoice, O Jerusalem Willan
Comm. Hymn 615 “Thy
kingdom come” St.
Flavian
Closing Hymn 65 “Prepare
the way, O Zion” Berenden
vag
Postlude Prepare the way, O Zion Wood
Parish Notices
§ Memorial Service: There
will be a memorial service for Betty Jackaman, Ellen Aparicio’s mother. The
service will be held this Saturday, December 13th at 11:30am. There
will be light refreshments served following the service in St. Nicholas Hall.
All are welcome.
§
Youth and Children’s
Choir: Youth and Children’s choir rehearsals for the Christmas Eve service
are at 5:30-6:00pm Wednesday, December 17th, downstairs in the choir
room and will be just before the Pageant rehearsal. The final rehearsal
will be Sunday, December 21st at 9:00am. The choir is open to 2nd
graders through high school, and will sing for the 4pm service on Christmas
Eve.
§
Christmas Pageant
Rehearsals: is on Wednesday, December 17th starting at 6:00p.m.
The rehearsals will begin in the church and then go downstairs for costumes.
Participation is open to youth of all ages. The Pageant will take place during
the 4:00 p.m. Christmas Eve Mass. Please sign up on the sheet in the Narthex.
If your child would like to participate but cannot make rehearsals please note
that on the sheet or call the office.
§ Meals On Wheels Christmas Cookies: “Every Christmas season Meals On Wheels delivers a box of homemade
cookies to those receiving meals. (For some this is the only gift they
will receive.) We have the boxes and the tissue paper, now all we need are the
cookies! If you would like to donate some of your home baked goodies the
Sheboygan donation drop off site is at Meals on Wheels, 1004 S. Taylor Dr.
(across from Aldi’s), December 15th from 9:00am-3:00pm and December
16th 9:00am-Noon. If you have questions please call or email Maureen
at Meals On Wheels at 451-7011 (ext. 102) or client1@shebmow.org. Your response in the past has been
overwhelming and we cannot thank you enough for your continued support.
§
Christmas Joy: is
scheduled to meet on Monday, December 22 at 11:00am in the church kitchen. At
that time we will assemble winter greens and flowers and bag cookies, and then
make deliveries (there is a sign-up sheet in the narthex.) We need helping
hands and money (to buy for packaging supplies and flowers.) Can you bake, make
a delivery or help arrange? Please join us for this fulfilling and fun ministry
to our shut-ins. They will appreciate it. If you have questions please call
Barb MacEwen at 467-6909.
§
End of Year Pledge Reminder: Please make every effort to pay the
remainder of your pledge before the end of the year. If you need to know your
balance, please call the office at 452-9659. If you want tax credit for your
pledge paid in 2014, you must have the payment in the office by Tuesday,
December 30th. A check dated the 30th, but arriving later
cannot be counted as paid in 2014. All payments received after the 30th
will be credited in 2015. Thank you so much.
§
Directory Update: We will be printing a new directory to be
finished in time for the Annual Meeting on January 25th. Please
check your entry to make sure your address, phone and email are all correct.
The draft can be found on the narthex table. Thank you.
§
Special thanks to all of you for being the special people that you
are. You again made our Salvation Army --Adopt a Family a huge success. A special
thanks to Jessica Ambelang for her help with the tags, and Bev Evans for all
her help with the delivery of the gifts. Blessings, Nancy
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