Grace Episcopal Church
Sheboygan, Wisconsin
Grace Notes
4 June 2015
The
Gospel is offensive. I write this with reference to all the red we
see on the Church calendar this week:
The Martyrs of Lyons (177); The Martyrs of Uganda (1886); and St.
Boniface (754). (Corpus Christ, today,
is a white feast—a feast of Our Lord—but we can certainly associate the red of
martyrdom and of blood in Jesus’ real presence!) But, to repeat, the Gospel is offensive, and
Jesus makes this clear when He instructs us, “If the world hates you, know that
it has hated me before you. If you were
of the world the world would love its own, but because you are not of the world
... the world hates you” (Jn. 15.18-19).
St.
Boniface certainly offended his audience when he chopped down the Sacred Oak of
Geismar, an ancient tree consecrated to Thor.
The tree, of immense age and girth, fell to only a few axe blows, and
was found to be rotted within. (A
perhaps fanciful legend has the tree falling in four parts, i.e.,
cruciform shape.) He was offensive to
all those to whom he took the Good News, for the Good News requires that we
change, and to ask anyone to change is bound to cause offense. Boniface was finally killed by Frisian
warriors, as he prepared new believers for confirmation.
The
Gospel is threatening and offensive to all to whom change is threatening and
offensive. The world would rather have
itself celebrated and affirmed. This
does not mean that we need to condemn.
We first need to get to know. We
first need to proclaim the Gospel in who we are, for we cannot impose
transformation in Christ on anyone. They
must desire change; they must seek God, and to do this their individual wills
must be drawn. We cannot motivate anyone
to see any need for change, and to desire to change, by telling them that there
is something wrong with them. In all
that we do we will get close to nowhere by pointing out the wrong found in
others or in other teachings. Rather, we
must do what Jesus did, and what His saints in mission have always
done—proclaim. Proclaim daily the Good
News of salvation. Proclaim each day
“Here’s the truth!” rather than “That’s not true!” (whatever “that” may be, and
even when “that” clearly isn’t true).
Mission involves
proclamation, not debate. The one place
in Paul’s mission journeys where scripture does not record that he succeeded in
establishing a church is Athens. Acts
17.16-34 records Paul’s time in Athens, in which he is described as engaging in
debate, and in debate with those who are polite to him. (“We will hear you again about this” Acts
17.32.) Paul is joined in belief by
some, but the record is silent about the formation of a church, as opposed to
what happens in Corinth, and Ephesus, and Philippi, etc., in which places Paul
does not debate, he proclaims. He let’s
God’s Word do the work, not his own intellectual accomplishment.
No one
of us is ever going to argue anyone into the faith. But we can plant seeds by being true in
proclamation. In this “red” week let’s
remember the call to witness to who God is, to what the Good News is, and if we
do offend anyone in the process, let’s just pray that the offense arose because
a seed was planted.
Grace abounds:
Please thank:
§
Kevan and Traci Revis, and Jennifer Pawlus and
Grace Zangara for the Sunday coffee hours.
§
The members of the Society of Mary for the
reception following the Mass for the Feast of the Visitation, as well and Terry
and Mary Kohler for wine, and Jack Britton, Julie Davidson and Jennifer Pawlus
for cleanup.
§
Ben Dobey and the choir, and the altar crew of
Tom, Tasha, Ben and Dee Crouse, Scot Fabiano, and Nick Whitford for putting a
solemn eucharist together on less than a day’s notice! (Please thank, as well, Archdeacon Michele
for the service bulletins on short notice.)
§
Terry Kohler for providing for lawn care during
the recuperation of our sexton.
Podcasts! Podcasts
are found on the website under “Media”.
You can also subscribe on ITunes or with RSS full feed at:
Study Guides for
Congregational Use: Bishop Gunter has released two study guides for use by congregations and
individuals of the Diocese of Fond du Lac. The King or a Fox: Configuring
the Mosaic of Scripture is a 14-page document as a guide to understanding
and interpreting Scripture. It was used by clergy during deanery clericus
gatherings. In Dialogue With Each Other is a Study Guide created to aid
congregations in studying and discussing the topic of same-sex unions. Clergy
may want to encourage individuals to make use these resources or use them as a
basis for forums or other study series.
Downloads are available both as PDF and Word files. Visit diofdl.org.
Downloads are available both as PDF and Word files. Visit diofdl.org.
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.
Education for Ministry: If you
were at the late service the Sunday the bishop was here, you noted that four of
us were recognized for completing the four years of Education for
Ministry. We learned a lot in those four
years, both from the materials and from each other as we studied and
discussed. There was a lot to read but
fortunately no tests! Topics for the
four years were:
Year 1—Old Testament
Year 2—New Testament
Year 3—History of Christianity
Year 4—Theology
This month’s Clarion (p. D) has more information about EfM.
If you would like to look at the materials to
see if you would like to join the new group that begins in the fall, you can
find them in a blue bin in Michele’s office.
They will be there through the end of July. I would be very happy to talk with you
further about EfM if you have questions.
Pat Sather
920-452-4542 psather42@gmail.com
Music this week: Proper
5B, Octave of Corpus Christi
Prelude Tranquillo C. Hubert H. Parry
Chorale Prelude on ‘Melcombe’
Entrance Hymn 444 “Blessed be the God of Israel” Thornbury
Gloria, Sanctus & Agnus Dei Deutsche
Messe Schubert, arr. Proulx
Offertory Hymn 690 “Guide me, O thou great Jehovah” Cwm Rhondda
Communion Motet Ave Verum W. A. Mozart
Communion Hymn 314 “Humbly I adore thee” Adoro
devote
Recessional Hymn 533 “How wondrous and great thy works” Lyons
Postlude Verse on Pange Lingua Jean
Titelouze
Help needed! If you have
experience in house painting, please see Fr. Karl about a project to restain
and seal the doors around the church.
Parish Notices
§ Graduates!!!
If you or someone you know is graduating from
High School, University, Tech School, or any other kind of completion please
let the office know and come to the 10:15 service in cap and gown or tassels or
any kind of insignia to be recognized for your accomplishments. 452-9659.
§ Elkhart
Lake Chapel: The Chapel will have services every Sunday
through Labor Day weekend. We are in need of help for each Sunday. This would
include: picking up the box of bulletins at Grace Church, arriving a little
early to open the buildings, finding readers for the lessons and the prayers of
the people, lighting candles, greeting the visiting priest, various other
tasks, locking up at the end and returning the box to Grace Church. There are
instructions printed and several people who would be able to help if you have
questions. Please sign up for a Sunday or two by calling the office at 452-9659
with dates you are available. Thank you.
§ Adult
Formation: We continue a series on Prayer at Grace
Church at 9:00am in St. Nicholas Hall. We will discuss how Jesus prayed and how
he healed; what the Bible says about prayer; the history of prayer here at
Grace Church, including the Walsingham Pilgrimage and the healing ministry.
This will be led by Deacons Michele and Mike.
§ Altar
Guild: The Altar Guild is a very important ministry in
the life of the church. This is the team that gets the vestments and the holy
vessels ready for each service and then cleans up after each service. As the
deacon, I will tell you that this team of people enables the clergy and people
to worship in a seemingly effortless fashion. There are several members of the
Altar guild who are moving away. We are in great need of a few more willing
to take on a new ministry. This can be a weekday, or weekend, there will be
training and support in all areas. Please speak with Claudia Fischer or Deacon
Michele if you even think you may want to try it out.
§ Grohmann
Art Museum: There are a couple of parishioners who are
planning a trip to the Grohmann Art Museum at the Milwaukee School of
Engineering on Tuesday June 9, departing Sheboygan at 10 am. The Grohmann
Museum features more than 1,000 paintings and sculptures representing the
evolution of human work. It is 4 floors with a rooftop sculpture garden.
Afterwards they will be going out to lunch. The cost of admission
to the museum is $5, plus whatever one wants to spend on lunch. If you are
interested please sign up on the sheet on the Narthex table or call the office.
§ Save the
Date: Thursday, July 23, 2015, 4:00 PM – 7:00 PM,
St. Nicholas Hall
§ Back by popular demand we will again host What’s it Worth Antiques Appraisal Event
Hosted by Mark F. Moran. (Contact Barb MacEwen to find out how you can help!)
§ 920-912-4505, More news to follow next month.
§ It is
never too late to sign up!!! 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.
- Senior Camp (completed grades 9-12) June 14 (Sun 3pm)
– June 20 (Sat 12noon)
- Middler Camp (completed grades 6-8) June 21 (Sun 3pm)
– June 25 (Thu 5pm)
- Junior Camp (completed grades 2-5) June 21 (Sun 3pm)
– June 25 (Thu 5pm)
- KinderCamp (parent & kids ages 4-7) June 25 (Thu
2pm) – June 27 (Sat 12noon) There are application forms on the Narthex
table.
§ Follow
Grace Church on Twitter:
@GEC_Sheboygan
§
We Are on Itunes! Check out the new podcast!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment