Musical Movement?

Grace Episcopal Church

Sheboygan, Wisconsin

Grace Notes

1 September 2016

The Music Committee have received applications for the position of Music Director, with applicants contacting us from six different states.  In evaluating the applicants the committee will, of course, consider their musical gifts and qualifications, but the focus will be—as it must be in all that we do—what gifts in ministry are offered, and how does God intend to use these gifts?

I have written in the past about the beauty of holiness, and about how our identity as a parish gathered in the beauty of holiness includes how we will continue to seek to offer music in worship that offers God glory.  But we cannot assume that just because we might experience beauty here that others will know about this and come to us.  Beauty can only be experienced by others in how we take this beauty to them.  To this end we are into our second year of outreach through our web ministries, Grace Abounds, but it is also our intention to work in 2017 to establish an outreach program based on the “Voice for Life” curriculum of The Royal School of Church Music, to establish a children’s’ and youth chorus which will participate in worship here.

We are not just trying to build a youth chorale!  This is not about identifying children from families with musical resources, and recruiting them. This initiative will be focused on at-risk children, at-risk youth; those lacking in resources at home; those who will not, otherwise, be exposed to music and beauty and worship.  In recruiting a Music Director we will, therefore, focus on his or her spiritual gifts in outreach and development.  But, even if we succeed in finding a person with the necessary gifts in outreach and the necessary musical gifts, the program will need others to help.  Please pray about how you may be called to be an adult who helps in supervising a children’s after-school program.  This might involve just being present to “herd cats”.  It might involve getting to know a child and family, to help with homework.  It might involve preparing snacks.

Jesus tells us that what we need in ministry is … needs, those to whom the Good News of God in Christ Jesus must be proclaimed; with whom it must be shared.  “Church” and the life of faith must be as much about what is outside of our doors as inside.  Pray about how you can help in this outreach.

Grace abounds:  Please thank: 

§  Dale and Mary Massey, and the Boland/McIntosh family for the Sunday coffee hours.

§  Scott Gedemer and Karl Schaffenburg for lawn care.

§  Elizabeth Schaffenburg for janitorial help during Bill’s vacation.

§  Ben Dobey for a thorough cleanup of the columbarium court yard.

Call for Contributions:  If you have a spiritual reflection to share, or want to point your fellow worshipers toward a resource, submit your contributions to Fr. Karl (by email) by Wednesday in the week of publication.

Don’t forget “Something Extra for Grace”:  Supplemental giving envelopes can be found in pews.  If you want to give something extra, please use an envelope to ensure that you are credited.

Special appeal:  Later this Fall we will have a grounds cleanup day that will include ground cover and shrubbery trimming.  We are, however, overdue for major reshaping of shrubbery, and the arbor vitae which flank the church entrance are out-of-control.  Quotations for shrub reshaping and removal/replacement of the arbor vitae run into the thousands of dollars.  Major work will not be a 2016 initiative, but we are appealing for your donations now, to build a fund for work in the Spring of 2017.  Keep Grace beautiful!  Give “Something Extra”.

Music this Week:          The Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 18C)

                                      Organist:  Thomas Pibal

                                      Cantor:  Bernie Markevitch

Entrance Hymn  377      “All people that on earth do dwell,”                    Old 100^th

Offertory Hymn 423      “Immortal, invisible, God only wise,”                 St. Denio

Communion Hymn 707 “Take my life and let it be,”                            Hollingside

Closing Hymn 473         “Lift high the cross,”                                            Crucifer

Parish Notices

§  Choir: Choir rehearsals begin Wednesday, September 7^th at 6:00 pm. All voices are welcome, but we especially need tenors and basses. You don’t need to be a trained singer, an opera star, or a Broadway sensation – you just need a desire to share the love of Christ through music!  “Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord.” Ephesians 5:19

§  Mass in the Grass: Please join us on Sunday, September 11^th for an outdoor Mass and All Church Picnic together with the parish of St. Peter, Sheboygan Falls and the parish of St. Paul, Plymouth. This event will take place at Deland Community Center, 901 Broughton Dr., Sheboygan, beginning with Mass at 10:00 a.m. with lunch following. There will be games and activities for our children’s enjoyment. Inviting guests is encouraged. There will be ONE MASS only that day. We are asking for donations of cookies/bars, potato chips, and monetary donations to defray the costs which will be shared amongst all three parishes. We are asking for volunteers for set-up and clean-up and two individuals to help in roasting the pigs the day before. Please sign up on the sheet on the Narthex table.

§  Sunday School registration: Yea, it’s almost time for Sunday School to begin – September 18th! The teachers have missed those familiar faces and are looking forward to some new ones, too. Look for the Sunday School table at Mass in the Grass, Sunday, September 11^th.  Registration paperwork, classroom lesson schedules, Christmas pageant practice schedules, Operation Christmas Child information and snack ideas will be on hand. See you for sign up! Grace offers classes for children of all ages at 9 am on Sundays:

§  3-k through 1^st Grade with Mrs. Andrea (Aparicio), Ms. MaryAnn (Portz) and Mrs. Danielle (Whitford)

§  2^nd through 5^th Grade with Mrs. Nicci (Beeck)

§  6^th-12^th with Mr. Nick (Whitford)

§  If you don’t have children to register, how about your grandkids? How about your neighbors’ kids or grandkids? Help us teach the little children how much Jesus loves them, by bringing them to Grace’s Sunday School beginning September 18^th!

§  Catechumenate will begin: Catechumenate is a nine-month course in the basics of the Faith and its practice. It is a period of training and instruction in Christian understandings about God, human relationships, and the meaning of life. It includes the Sacrament of Baptism, if you are not already baptized, and culminates in Confirmation, Reception, or Renewal of Baptismal Vows. The Catechumenate will meet on an evening each week starting at 6:30 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. The class will begin in late September and will continue until May when Bishop Matthew Gunter makes his annual visitation. The study is led by Deacon Michele Whitford, the Parish Catechist. If you would like to be a part of this exciting study and fellowship or would like more information, please call the office at 452-9659 or e-mail Deacon Michele at mwhitford@gracesheboygan.com. There is a sign-up sheet on the table in the Narthex.

§  Deacon Michele Whitford: Will be traveling Sunday, September 4^th through Wednesday, September 21^st.

§  Like Grace Church on Facebook

§  Follow Grace Church on Twitter: @GEC_Sheboygan

§  Follow Grace Church on Instagram: @GEC_Sheboygan

§  We Are on Itunes! Check out the new podcast!!!

§  https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/grace-church-sheboygan/id982836791

Offer of Self

Grace Episcopal Church

Sheboygan, Wisconsin

Grace Notes

25 August 2016

This Saturday is the diocesan Eucharistic Festival, in Fond du Lac.  At this annual festival we gather to celebrate the great gift of God’s offering of Himself, of the reality that in communion “… we are very members incorporate in the mystical body of [God’s] Son …” (BCP 339).  We give thanks that we may abide in Christ, as He abides in us.

The quotation just given is from the prayer after communion found in Rite I of Holy Eucharist.  Rite I language is less familiar than it used to be, and unfamiliar to many.  Leaving aside the preferences that any one of us might have in language, Rite I expresses a different form of offering than that found in any of the prayers of Rite II.  The offering in Rite II is very much focused on the bread and wine which will become Jesus’ Body and Blood.  In Prayer B of Rite II we do recite that we offer “our sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving”, but this a different focus from the language found in Rite I:  “And here we offer and present unto thee, O Lord, our selves, our souls and bodies, to be a reasonable, holy, and living sacrifice unto thee …” (BCP 336).  This is a different offering!  Rite I is more focused on us standing before God, and in making this offering we recognize that the Eucharist involves more than Jesus being broken.

In the Holy Eucharist we are broken.  We are broken that we may be used by God, mended for His work, sent forth from His table.  We must focus on what we take away from God’s table, not just upon the blessing we receive at His table.  We take away His presence to do His work.  We are sent, and all ministry must be ministry which embodies God’s presence or it will be at best a work of our own vanity.

Offer your self.  Let God mold and use you.  Be sent.

Grace abounds:  Please thank: 

§  Kevan and Traci Revis for the Sunday coffee hours.

§  Bobbi Kraft for her presentation on the first year of seminary.

§  Ellen Aparicio for help in pastoral care.

Call for Contributions:  If you have a spiritual reflection to share, or want to point your fellow worshipers toward a resource, submit your contributions to Fr. Karl (by email) by Wednesday in the week of publication.

“[W]hen we understand that ministry involves God using us, that the work is His and that He will determine the outcome, then our frustration can be channeled into the need to remain faithful, remain focused, and to experience the blessing God gives to those who do His will.”  Those words appeared in last week’s blog posting.  This week we received the anonymous contribution which follows:

By any objective measure my life has been blessed.  Sure, it’s had ups and downs, like all lives do, but I have been blessed in ways that have given me options that most do not have.  I have thought about this for a long time.  Recently, however, I’ve gone through a series of troubles that have ranged from something like a heart attack to a serious auto accident to pneumonia, and my thinking has been more focused on asking why I have survived.  Believe me, when you’re sick you have time to think about these things!  And what have I learned?  I have learned that despite all of the options I have had and have in life, God’s in charge.  He has seen me through times of both happiness and trouble.  He’s not through with me yet.  He has a plan, and my plan is to try to pay my most serious attention in all of the ways that I can to what God intends.

When life is good, thank God for the blessings.  When life is challenging, thank him!  God is in charge, and in his plan he will see you through all challenges.  Part of his plan in keeping you is to allow you to be part of his blessing to others.  Trust in God, and let him use you in his blessings.

                                                                                                                                                                                                      —Anonymous

Don’t forget “Something Extra for Grace”:  Supplemental giving envelopes can be found in pews.  If you want to give something extra, please use an envelope to ensure that you are credited. 

Music this Week:          The Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 17C)

                                      Organists:  Caleb Klinzing and Sandie Palmer

                                      Cantor:  Bernie Markevitch

Prelude                          Preludes on “Largo” Anton Dvorak & “Theme from

                                      Finlandia”                                                    Jean Sibelius

Entrance Hymn  376      “Joyful, Joyful, we adore thee,”                    Hymn to Joy

Offertory Hymn 477      “All praise to thee,”                                          Engelberg

Communion Hymn 321 “My God, thy table now is spread,”                 Rockingham

Closing Hymn 438         “Tell out, my soul,”                                          Woodlands

Parish Notices

§  Blessing of the Backpacks! On Sunday, August 28^th, we will be blessing all the backpacks and school children as well as all the teachers, at both 8:00 and 10:15 services and at All Saints Chapel, Elkhart Lake. We will invite everyone, young and old, who are starting school to come forward with their backpacks for a blessing. We will also ask all the teachers to come forward to be blessed in their important work as well.

§  Bishop’s Visitation at Elkhart Lake: The Rt. Rev. Matthew A. Gunter and his wife Leslie will be at Elkhart Lake for their visitation to All Saints Chapel on Sunday, August 28th. There will be a time of fellowship and conversation with Bishop Matt and Leslie in St. Hubertus Hall following the service. The undesignated offering will go to the Bishop’s Discretionary Fund which provides for the pastoral emergencies and other unplanned pastoral expenses. Please be generous as you are able.

§  ESTHER: IT’S TOUGH BEING A WOMAN: Grace Church Women’s Bible Study will begin on Monday August 29^that 10:00am.  Join us for a faith journey through the Book of Esther.  Beth Moore will take us through a very personal examination of this Old Testament story of Esther as she peels back the layers of history and shows us how very contemporary and applicable the story is to our lives today. If you’ve ever felt inadequate, fearful or find yourself in situations that seem overpowering, this is the study for you. Just as it was tough being a woman in Esther’s time, it is tough being a woman today. During this nine-week study we will watch a lecture on DVD’s, use a workbook ($15.99), and talk about Beth’s teachings. The Book of Esther contains treasures to aid us in our sometimes hurried, harried and pressured lives. For those of you who are interested, there is a sign-up sheet in the Narthex.

§  Choir: Rehearsals resume September 7^th at 6:00 p.m.  Everybody is welcome, new and old members.  We especially need tenors and basses.

§  Mass in the Grass: Please join us Sunday, September 11, 2016 for an outdoor Mass and All Church Picnic together with the parish of St. Peter, Sheboygan Falls and the parish of St. Paul, Plymouth. This event will take place at Deland Community Center, 901 Broughton Dr., Sheboygan, beginning with Mass at 10:00 a.m. with lunch following. There will be games and activities for our children’s enjoyment. Inviting guests is encouraged. There will be ONE MASS only that day. We are asking for donations of cookies/bars, potato chips, and monetary donations to defray the costs which will be shared amongst all three parishes. We are also asking for volunteers for set-up and clean-up and two individuals to help in roasting the pigs the day before. Please sign up on the sheet on the Narthex table.

§  Sunday School Begins: We are getting excited about Sunday School! The teachers are making plans for another wonderful year of learning about the love of Jesus Christ! Sunday School will begin on September 18^th at 9:00am. Registration forms are available in the Narthex or at Mass in the Grass on September 11^th.

§  Like Grace Church on Facebook

§  Follow Grace Church on Twitter: @GEC_Sheboygan

§  Follow Grace Church on Instagram: @GEC_Sheboygan

§  We Are on Itunes! Check out the new podcast!!!

§  https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/grace-church-sheboygan/id982836791

Trusting in His Plan

Grace Episcopal Church

Sheboygan, Wisconsin

Grace Notes

18 August 2016

When we make our lives fully available to God He will use us to bring His blessing to others.  Perhaps we should consider how the words of Psalm 34.1, “I will bless the Lord at all times …”, can be lived out in ways in which our own praise of and thanksgiving to God become a form of His blessing offered to all who He chooses to put into our lives.

When we think of life we can all think of people of whom we might politely say “Happier elsewhere” (i.e., as not a part of my life).  But the reality is that once we recognize that God is in charge, anybody being a part of our lives means that their presence is one in which God has appointed us to some ministry.  Ministries must have, of course, healthy boundaries, but once we start to look upon others as those to whom we have been appointed to minister, they start to look different in our own eyes, because our own eyes start to see them a little bit more in the way that God does.

Which brings us to the question whose ministry is involved.  Perhaps the question of tone of voice is instructive.  Imagine, for example, if we could know the tone of Jesus’ voice when He says at John 14.9, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you do not know me, Philip?”  One can certainly sense frustration in Jesus, and in sensing frustration better understand all of the ways that God interacts with us and shows us His will.  But, for those who do not know God, His “tone of voice” that will allow them to better sense His presence will be experienced through the voices of His followers.  We become those who, trusting in God’s plan, become the words of blessing to those who do not know God, that they too may know Him and “bless the Lord at all times”. 

Just as we might imagine a tone of frustration in Jesus’ voice, we find much frustration in any ministry we engage in.  But when we understand that ministry involves God using us, that the work is His and that He will determine the outcome, then our frustration can be channeled into the need to remain faithful, remain focused, and to experience the blessing God gives to those who do His will.

Grace abounds:  Please thank: 

§  Bobbie May for the Sunday coffee hour, and for her ongoing work organizing the parish library.

§  Randie Barrows for work to ameliorate a gathering of bats!

Call for Contributions:  If you have a spiritual reflection to share, or want to point your fellow worshipers toward a resource, submit your contributions to Fr. Karl (by email) by Wednesday in the week of publication.

Don’t forget “Something Extra for Grace”:  Supplemental giving envelopes can be found in pews.  If you want to give something extra, please use an envelope to ensure that you are credited. 

Music this Week:          The Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 16C)

                                      Organist:  Wayne Wildman

                                      Cantor:  Sandie Palmer   

Entrance Hymn 368        “Holy Father, great Creator”                     Regent Square

Offertory Hymn 493      “O for a thousand tongues to sing”                        Azmon

Communion Hymn 339  “Deck thyself, my soul, with gladness”      Schmücke dich

Closing Hymn 524         “I love they kingdom, Lord”            St. Thomas (Williams)

Parish Notices

§  Fr. Karl Schaffenburg will be traveling: August 18^th – 23^rd.  Fr. Marcus Cunningham will be presiding at Mass on Sunday, August 21, 2016

§  My First Year In Seminary: Bobbi Kraft will be here this Sunday, August 21, 2016 to give the aforementioned presentation at 9:00 a.m.

§  Blessing of the Backpacks! We will be blessing all the backpacks and school children as well as all the teachers, on August 28^th at both 8:00 and 10:15 services. We will invite everyone, young and old, who are starting school to come forward with their backpacks for a blessing. We will also ask all the teachers to come forward to be blessed in their important work as well.

§  Eucharistic Festival: August 27, 10:30 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. at Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Fond du Lac, WI. A traditional celebration of the Sacrament, with an outdoor procession & adoration. Homilist is the Rev. Matthew Olver, Teaching Fellow in Liturgics, Nashotah House Theological Seminary. Picnic meal follows. All are welcome to this diocesan family celebration. Sign up online to help or sing in the choir. For more details, see the insert in Sunday’s mass booklet, the notice board in the Narthex or visit diofdl.org/ef. 
Commemoration of Blessed Charles Chapman Grafton: Included in the Eucharistic Festival is The Grafton Lecture, 1:00–2:00 p.m in St. Augustine’s Chapel. Matthew P. Payne presents “A Brief History of An Episcopal Orthodox Affair: a Russian and a Bostonian” with response from festival homilist, Fr. Matthew Olver.

§  ESTHER: IT’S TOUGH BEING A WOMAN: Grace Church Women’s Bible Study will begin on Monday August 29^that 10:00am.  Join us for a faith journey through the Book of Esther.  Beth Moore will take us through a very personal examination of this Old Testament story of Esther as she peels back the layers of history and shows us how very contemporary and applicable the story is to our lives today. If you’ve ever felt inadequate, fearful or find yourself in situations that seem overpowering, this is the study for you. Just as it was tough being a woman in Esther’s time, it is tough being a woman today. During this nine-week study we will watch a lecture on DVD’s, use a workbook ($15.99), and talk about Beth’s teachings. The Book of Esther contains treasures to aid us in our sometimes hurried, harried and pressured lives.

For those of you who are interested, there is a sign-up sheet in the Narthex.

§  Mass in the Grass: Please join us Sunday, September 11, 2016 for an outdoor Mass and All Church Picnic together with the parish of St. Peter, Sheboygan Falls and the parish of St. Paul, Plymouth. This event will take place at Deland Community Center, 901 Broughton Dr., Sheboygan, beginning with Mass at 10:00 a.m. with lunch following. There will be games and activities for our children’s enjoyment. Inviting guests is encouraged. There will be ONE MASS only that day. We will be asking for donations of cookies/bars, potato chips, and monetary donations to defray the costs which will be shared amongst all three parishes. We will also be asking for volunteers for set-up and clean-up and two individuals to help in roasting the pigs the day before. Please sign up on the sheet on the Narthex table.

§  Sunday School Begins: We are getting excited about Sunday School! The teachers are making plans for another wonderful year of learning about the love of Jesus Christ! Sunday School will begin on September 18^th at 9:00am. Please watch for more information.

§  Like Grace Church on Facebook

§  Follow Grace Church on Twitter: @GEC_Sheboygan

§  Follow Grace Church on Instagram: @GEC_Sheboygan

§  We Are on Itunes! Check out the new podcast!!!

§  https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/grace-church-sheboygan/id982836791

Holy Coincidence!

Grace Episcopal Church

Sheboygan, Wisconsin

Grace Notes

11 August 2016

“Holy ‘coincidence’”!  Note the quotation marks.  William Temple (Archbishop of Canterbury 1942—44) once said words to the effect, “When I pray to God, coincidences happen.  When I don’t, they don’t.”  We might add to this the similar observation that a coincidence reflects “God’s decision to remain anonymous”.  These observations came to mind yesterday when, on the feast of St. Laurence the Deacon (d. 258), patron saint of the diaconate, the New Testament lesson for Morning Prayer was Acts 6.1-7, the story of the appointment of the original seven deacons in the Church.

Bear in mind that the lectionary of readings for Morning Prayer is independent of the calendar of saints, so for Acts 6.1-7 to appear of Laurence’s day looks like a happy coincidence.  But is it?  Indeed, is any such “coincidence” merely the result of random events?

Randomness presupposes a lack of purpose.  Belief in God presupposes purpose.  That’s the fundamental difference between secularism and faith.  It is certainly part of Christian faith to discern how God reveals His purpose for us, to ask questions, but the Christian worldview is fundamentally different from the secular worldview.  In secularism life has no purpose; it is a phenomenon that we can argue over (e.g., what knowledge is, and how this relates to sensation; whether the “self” can be “aware”; whether human life differs in any way from the life found in other animals and in plants; how life began and how it will end, etc.), and these arguments are common because our experience of being human includes the experience of searching for answers.  But searching for any “answer” presupposes purpose, that existence is not merely random and determined by the random interaction of purely material forces, things and events!  In other words, to be intellectually honest, to be truly secular a person has to accept that any search for any answer is absurd.

Once we accept the revelation that life is not random, that purpose exists, then we start to attempt to make connections between events and purpose.  This line of speculation can follow many pathways, with conflicts between a strong determinism (the view that everything is foreordained) and the concept of free will (that our choices influence events and outcomes), and all such speculation is informed in how God chooses to reveal Himself and His will for us (e.g., in Scripture, in the answers to prayers).

The next time you encounter a “coincidence” stop and consider that it might just be God “tapping your shoulder” to make sure you are paying attention.  You need to not read too much into any coincidence, but asking whether there is something to be read into the event can allow you to focus on the reality that in all times and places God reaches out to us, and when He gets our attention our response must be one which recognizes His rule, His greatness, His love.

Grace abounds:  Please thank: 

§  Gary and Elaine Dinstuhl, and Bryan Stenz for the Sunday coffee hours, assisted in cleanup by Julie Davidson.

Call for Contributions:  If you have a spiritual reflection to share, or want to point your fellow worshipers toward a resource, submit your contributions to Fr. Karl (by email) by Wednesday in the week of publication.

Don’t forget “Something Extra for Grace”:  Supplemental giving envelopes can be found in pews.  If you want to give something extra, please use an envelope to ensure that you are credited. 

Music this Week:          The Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 15C)

                                      Organist:  Delpha McAloon

                                      Cantor:  Sandie Palmer   

Entrance Hymn 544       “Jesus shall reign wher-e’re the sun”             Duke Street

Offertory Hymn 366      “Holy God, we praise thy Name,”                  Grosser Gott

Communion Hymn 419  “Lord of all being,”                                       Mendon

Closing Hymn 655         “O Jesus, I have promised”                           Nyland

Parish Notices

§  St. Mary the Virgin: Monday, August 15^th is 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.

§  Fr. Karl Schaffenburg will be traveling: August 18^th – 22^nd.  Fr. Marcus Cunningham will be presiding at mass on Sunday, August 21^st.

§  Coffee Hour: We need volunteers for the following Sundays: August 21^st and 28^th.

§  ESTHER: IT’S TOUGH BEING A WOMAN: Grace Church Women’s Bible Study will begin on Monday August 29^that 10:00am.  Join us for a faith journey through the Book of Esther.  Beth Moore will take us through a very personal examination of this Old Testament story of Esther as she peels back the layers of history and shows us how very contemporary and applicable the story is to our lives today. If you’ve ever felt inadequate, fearful or find yourself in situations that seem overpowering, this is the study for you. Just as it was tough being a woman in Esther’s time, it is tough being a woman today. During this nine-week study we will watch a lecture on DVD’s, use a workbook ($15.99), and talk about Beth’s teachings. The Book of Esther contains treasures to aid us in our sometimes hurried, harried and pressured lives.

§  For those of you who are interested, there is a sign-up sheet in the Narthex.

§  Love INC - Love In The Name of Christ:

§  The Guild of Martha & Mary: will hold their second cooking session here at Grace Church on August 16^th, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. Please pray for this cooking ministry! If you want to get involved please call Jenna, Love Inc. Coordinator, at 920-783-6701, ext. 103 or call Paul Aparicio at 920-912-6009.

§  Freedom Cry Anti-Sex Trafficking Coalition Lantern Walk: Unknown to many, the extent of this horrific scourge on our Sheboygan community is second (Milwaukee being first) in the State of Wisconsin. On August 19^th at 7:00 p.m at the Sheboygan County Christian High School there will be a free showing of the documentary “Nefarious” (see poster on notice board in the Narthex). Due to the images and content in the documentary, this event is for a mature audience. The Lantern Walk will take place following the documentary. Funds raised will go to Redeem and Restore in Waukesha and The Anti-Trafficking Coalition of Sheboygan County. 

§  For more information regarding Love INC, items needed and volunteer opportunities please see their July bulletin in the Narthex.

§  My First Year In Seminary: Bobby Kraft will be here on August 21^st to give the aforementioned presentation at 9:00 a.m.

§  Eucharistic Festival: August 27, 10:30 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. at Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Fond du Lac, WI. A traditional celebration of the Sacrament, with an outdoor procession & adoration. Homilist is the Rev. Matthew Olver, Teaching Fellow in Liturgics, Nashotah House Theological Seminary. Picnic meal follows. All are welcome to this diocesan family celebration. Sign up online to help or sing in the choir. For more details see the notice board in the Narthex or visit diofdl.org/ef. Commemoration of Blessed Charles Chapman Grafton: Included in the Eucharistic Festival is The Grafton Lecture, 1:00–2:00 p.m in St. Augustine’s Chapel. Matthew P. Payne presents “A Brief History of An Episcopal Orthodox Affair: a Russian and a Bostonian” with response from festival homilist, Fr. Matthew Olver.

§  Blessing of the Backpacks! We will be blessing all the backpacks and school children as well as all the teachers, on August 28^th at both 8:00 and 10:15 services. We will invite everyone, young and old, who are starting school to come forward with their backpacks for a blessing. We will also ask all the teachers to come forward to be blessed in their important work as well.

§  Mass in the Grass: Please join us Sunday, September 11, 2016 for an outdoor Mass and All Church Picnic together with the parish of St. Peter, Sheboygan Falls and the parish of St. Paul, Plymouth. This event will take place at Deland Community Center, 901 Broughton Dr., Sheboygan, beginning with Mass at 10:00 a.m. with lunch following. There will be games and activities for our children’s enjoyment. Inviting guests is encouraged. There will be ONE MASS only that day. We will be asking for donations of cookies/bars, potato chips, and monetary donations to defray the costs which will be shared amongst all three parishes. We will also be asking for volunteers for set-up and clean-up and two individuals to help in roasting the pigs the day before. Please sign up on the sheet on the Narthex table.

§  Sunday School Begins: We are getting excited about Sunday School! The teachers are making plans for another wonderful year of learning about the love of Jesus Christ! Sunday School will begin on September 18^th at 9:00am. Please watch for more information.

§  Like Grace Church on Facebook

§  Follow Grace Church on Twitter: @GEC_Sheboygan

§  Follow Grace Church on Instagram: @GEC_Sheboygan

§  We Are on Itunes! Check out the new podcast!!!

§  https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/grace-church-sheboygan/id982836791

Counsel and Confession

Grace Episcopal Church

Sheboygan, Wisconsin

Grace Notes

4 August 2016

Today is the feast of St. Jean Baptiste Marie-Vianney, the Curé d’Ars (d. 1859).  St. Jean (a window of whom is found in our own Chapel of Christ the King) is considered by many to be the patron saint of confessors, although in modern parlance it is more accurate to describe him as having been extraordinarily gifted in (and popular for) spiritual and psychological counselling.  Biographical details may be found here:  http://www.missionstclare.com/english/people/aug4.html  His feast is an occasion for us to reflect, briefly, on the distinctions to be made between confession, spiritual counsel, and psychological counsel.

We may dispose with psychological counsel quickly, because it is not something we do in the Church.  This is not a comment on psychological counselling, but on the qualifications of those who act in ministry, who—despite the reality that they may have very good insights—are not trained or professionally qualified in this counselling.  Spiritual counsel is another matter.  This involves prayerful insight in which the counsellor is focused on listening—to his or her charge and very much to God—and on how to help the charge listen better to God, that God may bring about insight, illumination and new direction.  Insights are gained through all of the forms of prayer, and on how God communicates with us His will.

Confession, referred to in the prayer book as “Reconciliation of a Penitent” (BCP 447—452) involves a one-on-one meeting with a priest.  This is a rite which is additional to the general confession made at most celebrations of Holy Eucharist, but let’s first note that in the general confession (e.g., “Most merciful God …,” BCP 360) just saying the prayer is not a full confession; we must first call to mind those sins we are offering to God.  In the rite of reconciliation of a penitent (of which we say that “All may; none must; some should”), the key language describes a spiritual and mental process that can be classified as:

§  Ownership:  The sin offered is owned.  To make a confession I must identify that what is offered was an offense against God, and that this was owned by me.  There are no passive verbs in this equation!

§  Remorse:  In offering a sin I must not only recognize that it was sinful, I must also be genuinely sorry.  I must regret the sin.  I am asking that the pain/stain of this sin be lifted from me by God.  I must promise and intend real restitution to those who I have injured.

§  Petition:  I must ask God to forgive me, trusting in His mercy.

§  Resolution:  I must resolve, by God’s grace, to amend my life.

As stated, “All may; none must; some should”, but when a sin is carried the burden always grows, and making a confession involves the joy of having this burden lifted.  When God forgives a sin it is gone as described in the words of Ps. 103.12:  “As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our sins from us.”

If you wish to make an individual confession, please contact the parish office to make an appointment.

Grace abounds:  Please thank: 

§  Bobbie May and Ben Dobey for work in the garden.

§  Those responsible for the splendid retirement luncheon for Ben:

·         Cooking and setup:  Barb MacEwen, Bernie Markevitch, Bobbie May, Polly Schmeiser, and Mary Snyder.

·         Cleanup:  Julie Davidson, Becky Elders, Bob and Anne Hanlon, Bobbie May.

·         Linens:  Jessica Ambelang.

Call for Contributions:  If you have a spiritual reflection to share, or want to point your fellow worshipers toward a resource, submit your contributions to Fr. Karl (by email) by Wednesday in the week of publication.

Don’t forget “Something Extra for Grace”:  Supplemental giving envelopes can be found in pews.  If you want to give something extra, please use an envelope to ensure that you are credited. 

Music this Week:          The Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 14C)

                                      Organist:  Delpha McAloon

Prelude                         Two Liturgical Meditations                                   O. Royd

Entrance Hymn 7          “Christ, whose glory fills the skies”      Christ Whose Glory

Offertory Hymn 680      “O God, our help in ages past”                           St. Anne

Communion Hymn 328  “Draw nigh and take”                                        Song 46

Closing Hymn 436         “Lift up your heads, ye mighty gates”                      Truro

Postlude                        Toccata in E Minor                                        J. Pachelbel

Parish Notices

§  Call for Nominations:  Diocesan Convention will take place on Saturday, 22 October, and nominations are needed to Executive Council, Trustees, Standing Committee, etc.  If you are interested in serving, or in nominating another, details are available at www.diofdl.org.

§  ESTHER: IT’S TOUGH BEING A WOMAN: Grace Church Women’s Bible Study will begin on Monday August 29^that 10:00am.  Join us for a faith journey through the Book of Esther.  Beth Moore will take us through a very personal examination of this Old Testament story of Esther as she peels back the layers of history and shows us how very contemporary and applicable the story is to our lives today. If you’ve ever felt inadequate, fearful or find yourself in situations that seem overpowering, this is the study for you. Just as it was tough being a woman in Esther’s time, it is tough being a woman today. During this nine-week study we will watch a lecture on DVD’s, use a workbook ($15.99), and talk about Beth’s teachings. The Book of Esther contains treasures to aid us in our sometimes hurried, harried and pressured lives.

              For those of you who are interested, there is a sign-up sheet in the Narthex.

§  Love INC - Love In The Name of Christ:

• The Guild of Martha & Mary: launched their “Feed Your Soul” cooking ministry, here at Grace Church, with 3 Neighbors-In-Need referred through Love Inc. Please pray for the new cooking ministry! If you want to get involved please call Jenna, Love Inc. Coordinator, at 920-783-6701, ext. 103 or call Paul Aparicio at 920-912-6009.
• Freedom Cry Anti-Sex Trafficking Coalition Lantern Walk: Unknown to many, Sheboygan is second (Milwaukee being first) in the State of Wisconsin regarding this horrific scourge on our community. On August 19^th at 7:00 p.m at the Sheboygan County Christian High School there will be a free showing of the documentary “Nefarious” (see poster on notice board in the Narthex). Due to the images and content in the documentary, this event is for a mature audience. The Lantern Walk will take place following the documentary. Funds raised will go to Redeem and Restore in Waukesha and The Anti-Trafficking Coalition of Sheboygan County. 
• For more information regarding Love INC, items needed and volunteer opportunities please see their July bulletin in the Narthex.
• Women’s Mini-Week August 11-14: Held at Camp Lakotah, near Wautoma (where we hold Summer Camp), Women's Mini-Week is an annual retreat event for adult women, offering refuge, friendship, relaxation, and fun. And NO dishes! Mini-Week combines opportunities to learn with fellowship, spiritual exploration and delicious food. Women may participate as much or as little as they would like and need. Learn more and register at womensminiweek.org.

§  My First Year In Seminary: Bobby Kraft will be here on August 21^st to give the aforementioned presentation at 9:00 a.m.

§  St. Mary the Virgin: Monday, August 15^th we will celebrate 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.

§  Eucharistic Festival: August 27, 10:30 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. at Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Fond du Lac, WI. A traditional celebration of the Sacrament, with an outdoor procession & adoration. Homilist is the Rev. Matthew Olver, Teaching Fellow in Liturgics, Nashotah House Theological Seminary. Picnic meal follows. All are welcome to this diocesan family celebration. Sign up online to help or sing in the choir. For more details see the notice board in the Narthex or visit diofdl.org/ef. Commemoration of Blessed Charles Chapman Grafton: Included in the Eucharistic Festival is The Grafton Lecture, 1:00–2:00 p.m in St. Augustine’s Chapel. Matthew P. Payne presents “A Brief History of An Episcopal Orthodox Affair: a Russian and a Bostonian” with response from festival homilist, Fr. Matthew Olver.

§  Blessing of the Backpacks! We will be blessing all the backpacks and school children as well as all the teachers, on August 28^th at both 8:00 and 10:15 services. We will invite everyone, young and old, who are starting school to come forward with their backpacks for a blessing. We will also ask all the teachers to come forward to be blessed in their important work as well.

§  Mass in the Grass: Please join us Sunday, September 11, 2016 for an outdoor Mass and All Church Picnic together with the parish of St. Peter, Sheboygan Falls and the parish of St. Paul, Plymouth. This event will take place at Deland Community Center, 901 Broughton Dr., Sheboygan, beginning with Mass at 10:00 a.m. with lunch following. There will be games and activities for our children’s enjoyment. Inviting guests is encouraged. There will be ONE MASS only that day. We will be asking for donations of cookies/bars, potato chips, and monetary donations to defray the costs which will be shared amongst all three parishes. We will also be asking for volunteers for set-up and clean-up and two individuals to help in roasting the pigs the day before. Please sign up on the sheet on the Narthex table.

§  Sunday School Begins: We are getting excited about Sunday School! The teachers are making plans for another wonderful year of learning about the love of Jesus Christ! Sunday School will begin on September 18^th at 9:00am. Please watch for more information.

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§  https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/grace-church-sheboygan/id982836791