Grace
Episcopal Church
Sheboygan, Wisconsin
Grace
Notes
23 March 2017
This past Monday we celebrated the feast of
St. Joseph, earthly father of Our Lord.
In the Roman Catholic Church, Joseph is venerated as patron saint of the
Church. In this, I believe the Catholics
to be very wise, for Joseph provides an apt illustration of ministry and of
leadership in ministry.
Joseph is Jesus’ foster father. He knows that God is in charge, and yet he
must provide care, protection, instruction to his child. He packs his family up and flees to
Egypt. He provides an earthly home for
Jesus and Mary, and for Jesus’ siblings.
He participates in his son’s maturation (for how long we don’t really
know). In all of these ways in which
Joseph is a father, he can work to protect, preserve, instruct, but he can
never really effect the outcome. The
plan is God’s, and Joseph can but coöperate with God’s will.
I write as clergy, but the model of
faithfulness and leadership exemplified in Joseph is one that all leaders in
the Church can look to. We cannot
“manage” the result we desire for any ministry.
The outcomes in ministry are determined by God’s will. We can and must however, be faithful, and
trust that when we are faithful God will use us as instruments of His will. We can be faithful in recognizing and
accepting that it is God who has placed us in a particular place, with
particular people, in particular circumstances, for a particular time frame (like in Nazareth, Bethlehem, Egypt, and Nazareth), and our focus must be to
provide care for the precious charge that God has entrusted us with.
It can be a true a joy for a parent to
participate in how a child becomes an adult, in how he or she shows forth the
realization of the God-given potential lying within, and the realization of the
nurturing and education a parent has provided.
The biblical record strongly indicates, however, that Joseph never
participated in this joy. The last
mention we have of him in connection with Jesus is when Jesus is twelve years
old, a time when Joseph was probably almost sick with fear to find his missing
son, only to find Him in the Temple, instructing the doctors of the law (Lk.
2.41—52). He never got to see the boy as
a man, and—while Mary kept “these things” (her especial connection as
God-bearer with the Son) “in her heart” (Lk. 2.50)—Joseph could do no more than
to continue to minister as a father, to protect, preserve and instruct. He didn’t get to really see his ministry bear
its ultimate fruit, and neither can we.
But, like Joseph, we can remain faithful, and we can put in the work of
ministry, day-in and day-out.
As you are called to lead in ministry, do not
expect to manage results. Do expect the
blessing of service. Do expect the
blessing of gathering with God’s Son. Do
expect that—like the child Jesus—what is entrusted to your care will increase
in stature (Lk. 2.52), by God’s will.
Grace
abounds: Please thank:
§ Wayne and Pat Sather,
and Bob and Barb MacEwen for the Sunday coffee hours.
§ Dale Massey for help
in the office.
Special “Thank You’ s” : A supply of Thank You note cards can be found
on the table at the back of church nave.
When someone in the parish does something special, take the time to
write them a personal note. Also, from
time to time, think about who you might want to thank for ongoing service, and
let them know you have noticed!
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.
Taking
God’s Mercy and Delight into the Neighborhood:
The Diocese has a new website (www.diofdl.org). One link you can find is for the 13 May
conference which will take place in Waupaca, at http://www.diofdl.org/sc.html . Please check out the details and register. We will plan to carpool. With enough people we’ll take a van. Limited scholarship funds are available for
registration.
This is a conference
focused on equipping you to reach out.
For details, please ask Fr. Karl.
Music this Week: The
Fourth Sunday in Lent
Organist: Ben Dobey
Prelude Three Elevations (from Heures Mystiques)
Léon Boëllman
Entrance Hymn 427 “When
morning gilds the skies” Laudes Domini
Sequence Hymn
646 “The King of love my shepherd is” Dominis regit me
Offertory Hymn 690 “Guide me, O thou great
Jehovah”
Cwm Rhondda
Communion Motet “My
Spirit long for Thee” Trad. Irish melody,
arr. Leopold Dix
Comm. Hymn: 470 “There’s a wideness in God’s mercy”
Beecher
Closing Hymn 411 “O bless the Lord, my soul!” St. Thomas
Postlude Prelude in G Major Johann Kuhnau
Parish
Notices
§ Adult
Education: On Sunday, March 26th at 9:00 a.m. we
continue the course on Sacramental Identity – Holy Eucharist. This
course follows the scheme set forth in the 2008 book of David A. deSilva, Sacramental
Life: Spiritual Formation Through The Book of Common Prayer, exploring how
liturgies of The Book of Common Prayer give us a language and a
context for encountering God.
§ Sunday School Snacks: We are in need of some healthy snacks for our Sunday School
classes. Each class has a moment of prayer followed by fellowship with snacks
and a drink. The kids have fun serving each other as well. If you are
able, we would appreciate donations of snacks and juice boxes to be placed on
the desk of our craft supply room in the basement. We have some children who
have gluten allergies so including a few options without gluten would also be
appreciated. Thank you!
§ Stations
of the Cross, Simple Suppers and Teaching: We will meet
each Friday at 5:15 pm for a Prelude of Lenten Organ Music and Stations of the
Cross at 5:30 p.m., followed by a simple supper and Christian
formation. Our formation program this year will be Bishop Matt’s Lenten
series for parishes focusing on the Diocesan Vision for us to be communities of
God’s mercy and light. This is not a study but rather a time of listening to
God and one another; a time for storytelling and reflecting on our stories; a
time of beginning or continuing discernment, both for ourselves and for our
community of faith. Please sign up on the sheets in the Narthex so we will know
how much food needs to be prepared.
§ Cooking on Friday Evenings in Lent: If you are interested in cooking and hosting a dinner on the
Fridays during Lent, April 7th
is still open - please sign-up on the sheet in the Narthex. Thank you for
your willingness to serve in this manner.
§ Easter Flowers and Music:
Please donate for Easter Flowers & Music. We enjoy the Beauty of Holiness
in both the flowers that adorn the church and the special music which includes
strings at the Solemn Mass on Easter morning. Please be as generous as you are
able and call the office or fill out the slip found in this mass booklet to
indicate your wish for memorials and/or thanksgivings. Deadline is April 10th at noon.
§ Easter
Vigil Dinner: The first Mass of the Resurrection is on
Saturday, April 15th, at 7:00 p.m. The Easter celebration then
continues at Trattoria Stefano, 522 South 8th Street, at 9:30 p.m.
The actual cost of the meal is a gift to the parish, so you not only get a
delicious meal but you help the church by purchasing a ticket for the dinner.
Tickets can be bought in the parish office or in the narthex after mass for $50
a person. Everyone is invited, but seats are limited. There are scholarships
for anyone wishing to attend but are unable to donate.
§ Easter
Gala Reception: We will continue our Easter celebration
with a Gala Reception after the 10:15 a.m. Mass on Sunday, April 16th.
Please sign up to bring sweets or savories and to help clean up afterwards.
There is a sign-up sheet on the table in the Narthex.
§ Sew Caring: A new product drive from Love
INC. Gibbsville Reformed Church is
collecting new bath towels to be cut and sewn as full length bibs for local
nursing homes and care agencies. Standard sized bibs do not keep residents’
clothes clean as food will often fall into their laps. For more info. please
see the notice board and large grey collection bin in the Narthex. This drive
runs March 14 – April 14, 2017.
§ Volunteer needed to organize Annual
Bake/Plant Sale: This annual event takes place, in
conjunction with St. Luke United Methodist Church Rummage Sale, on Friday,
April 28th (noon–3:00 p.m.) and Saturday, April 29th
(9:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m.) – the first weekend after Easter. As well as an organizer
we need volunteers to bake brownies (Jessica Ambelang will provide pans,
ingredients and instructions), and help set-up and take down. Anyone interested
in organizing/helping in this event, please call the office at 920-452-9659 or
call/text Jessica Ambelang on 920-918-5667.
§ Rummage Sale: In the past, a rummage sale has taken place in
conjunction with the Annual Bake/Plant Sale. Anyone interested in organizing a
rummage sale, please call the office at 920-452-9659
or call/text Jessica Ambelang on 920-918-5667.
§ Grace Church Photo Directory: Life
Touch will be scheduling photographic sessions from May 10, 2017 through May
13, 2017. These photographs will be used in a new Grace Church photo directory.
Volunteers will be needed on the following photo days to assist with smooth
appointment flow:
2:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. Wednesday,
May 10th, Thursday, May 11th, and Friday May 12th, and
10:00 a.m. – 5 p.m. on Saturday, May 13th. Please call the office if
you are available to volunteer at any time on these days.
§ Summer Camp:
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!
Scholarships are
available.
§ Senior
Camp (completed grades 9-12) June 11 (Sun 3pm) – June 17 (Sat 12noon)
§ Middler
Camp (completed grades 6-8) June 18 (Sun 3pm) – June 22 (Thu 12noon)
§ Junior
Camp (completed grades 2-5) June 18 (Sun 3pm) – June 22 (Thu 12noon)
§ KinderCamp
(parent
& kids ages 4-7) June 22 (Thu 4pm) – June 24 (Sat 12noon)
§ There
are application forms on the Narthex table.
§ Something Extra for Grace: Envelopes
are available in the pews if you are moved to give an extra gift, beyond your
pledge or regular plate donation, toward the life of the church. Gifts are tax
deductible if you write your name on the envelope.
§ Like Grace Episcopal Church on Facebook
§ Follow Grace Church on Twitter: @gracesheboygan
§ Follow Grace
Church on Instagram: @gracesheboygan
§ We Are on Itunes! Check
out the new podcast!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment