Grace
Episcopal Church
Sheboygan, Wisconsin
Grace
Notes
1 March 2018
At our most recent Vestry meeting I used the
following prayer, written by Sir Francis Drake in 1577.
Disturb us, Lord,
when
We are too pleased with ourselves,
When our dreams have come true
Because we dreamed too little,
When we arrived safely
Because we sailed too close to the shore.
We are too pleased with ourselves,
When our dreams have come true
Because we dreamed too little,
When we arrived safely
Because we sailed too close to the shore.
Disturb us, Lord,
when with the
abundance of things we possess
We have lost our thirst
For the waters of life;
Having fallen in love with life,
We have ceased to dream of eternity
And in our efforts to build a new earth,
We have allowed our vision
Of the new Heaven to dim.
We have lost our thirst
For the waters of life;
Having fallen in love with life,
We have ceased to dream of eternity
And in our efforts to build a new earth,
We have allowed our vision
Of the new Heaven to dim.
Disturb us, Lord, to
dare more boldly,
To venture on wilder seas
Where storms will show Your mastery;
Where losing sight of land,
We shall find the stars.
To venture on wilder seas
Where storms will show Your mastery;
Where losing sight of land,
We shall find the stars.
We ask you to push
back
The horizons of our hopes;
And to push back the future
In strength, courage, hope, and love.
The horizons of our hopes;
And to push back the future
In strength, courage, hope, and love.
This we ask in the
name of our Captain,
Who is Jesus Christ. Amen.
Who is Jesus Christ. Amen.
Drake was
essentially a pirate (known to the Spanish, upon whom he preyed, as “El
Draque”, with the alliteration to a dragon being intentional), but he was also
the second person to circumnavigate the world, in a three year voyage beginning
in 1577.
Why use this
prayer? It is because we can become too
comfortable in who we are as a church, how we do things, what we consider to be
“normal”. Where God is going to call
us is not a place we will have necessarily thought of. And when God calls our first reaction may be
that the “where” is strange, even threatening, in part because we have not
thought of it. It is at those times that
we must remember that in being “disturbed” we may, in fact, be experiencing
God’s presence and call in ways that will not fit neatly into our
expectations. May we add, therefore, to
Drake’s prayer, our own: that our hearts
and minds may be so open to God, that being filled with the Holy Spirit we may
ever discern God’s will—and do it! Oh, and lest we forget, the motto of our diocese is Duc in Altum, "Put out into the Deep".
Grace
abounds: Please thank:
§ Rachel
Boland and Susan McIntosh for the Sunday coffee hour.
§ Jessica
Ambelang for the Lenten supper, with set-up and cleanup by: John and Tom Ambelang, Ed and Mary Clabots,
Julie Davidson, Susan McIntosh, and Elizabeth Schaffenburg.
§ Bobbie
May and Karl Schaffenburg for janitorial help.
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.
Lenten
Series: In addition to the Lenten Meditations
which will allow you to make your own pilgrimage through Lent with the insights
of Scripture, prayer, and the devotional meditations offered by your fellow
parishioners, please plan to gather on Friday evenings, 23 February—23 March. We’ll begin with Stations of the Cross at
5:30, followed by a simple supper at 6 p.m.
(Please sign up if you can help with a supper.) We’ll continue 6:30—7:30 with a program in
which we’ll explore the ministries the parish shares in in the wider community,
and how you can help. Presentations will
be made by:
§ This
week: Samaritan’s Hand.
Come
to pray! Come enjoy fellowship! Come to learn!
Music this Week: The
Third Sunday in Lent
Music
Director: R. Benjamin Dobey
Prelude Meditation
on ‘Let they Blood in mercy poured
Leo
Sowerby
Entrance Hymn 657 “Love
divine, all loves excelling” Hyfrydol
Offertory
Hymn 598 “Lord Christ, when first
thou cam’st to earth”
Mit Freuden zart
Communion
Motet O for a closer walk with God Charles Villiers Stanford
Communion
Hymn 313 “Let
the Blood in mercy poured” Jesus,
meine Zuversicht
Closing
Hymn 637 “How firm a foundation” Lyons
Postlude Toccata & Fugue in E Minor George Muffat
Parish Notices:
§ Stations
of the Cross, Simple Supper and Presentation: Beginning on the second Friday
in Lent (23 February) we will meet each Friday at 5:30 p.m. for Stations of the
Cross, followed by a simple supper and Christian formation. Our program
this year will feature the following presenters from community organizations
that Grace Church supports:
·
23 February, Good News Jail Ministry
·
2 March, Samaritan’s Hand
·
9 March, Freedom Cry
·
16 March, Sheboygan County Interfaith
Organization (SCIO)
·
23 March, Love INC.
Please sign up on the sheets in the
Narthex so we can share the number of attendees with the presenters and know
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, please sign-up on sheets in the Narthex. Thank you for
your willingness to serve in this ministry!
§ Adult
Formation-Parallel Passions: Have you ever wondered how Jesus must have
felt as he stood in front of Pontius Pilate? What was it like for him as he
carried his cross through the streets of Jerusalem to the place of execution?
Did he know it was going to end like this? How does this speak to us as
we carry our crosses through the trials of life? We will walk with Jesus’
in his final days through his arrest and execution as seen through the eyes of
the evangelists, Mark and John. Please join Facilitator Jerry Molitor on 11 and 18 March at 9:00 a.m. in St.
Nicholas Hall to seek how Mark and John’s accounts of Jesus’ passion can
inspire us to live in the hope of the Resurrection on Easter Sunday. All are
welcome! Bring a friend!
§ Adult
Formation-Sacramental Life (Holy Eucharist): Please join Leslie Kohler on April
22, 29, May 6, 13, 20 as she finishes guiding us through the sacrament of
Holy Eucharist using the book Sacramental Life by David DeSilva. This
book explores spiritual formation through the Book of Common Prayer. “Those
that have participated before know that this is a fairly freeform guided
discussion. I am as interested in learning from you, as I am teaching you.”
-Leslie
§ Scout
Appreciation "Pancake Breakfast": Sunday, 11 March.
Please mark your calendars to stay a few minutes, after each service, to savor
a down home Pancake Breakfast. Scouts will supply all the know-how for the
event. As an added bonus, Maple Syrup will be supplied by the Drewry Farms of
Plymouth. This award-winning Maple Syrup is served at all the major restaurants
in the area and beyond. The Scouts will also have available Maple Syrup gift
assortments.
§ Bible
Challenge:
Videos for all 52 weeks of the year are now available on Grace Abounds. If you
take this challenge, you will find that in one year you will read all of the
Bible! This will require less than an hour of your time, six days a week.
A schedule of
readings is provided on the parish website, along with weekly study summaries
and a weekly video summary of the readings.
If you need a good
study bible for the challenge, contact the parish office. When we immerse
ourselves in Scripture, the mantle of the Lord does fall upon us. We are
equipped to discern God’s will and to lead others to know and love and serve
the Lord.
§ Deacon
School:
The diocesan Deacon School courses in Old Testament (taught by Fr. Glen
Kanestrom of St. Paul’s, Marinette) and Church History (taught by Fr. Karl
Schaffenburg of Grace, Sheboygan) have begun. Classes meet 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on
the second Saturday of each month, January – May, and September – December.
Auditors are welcome. If you wish to
audit deacon school, contact Fr. Karl to receive details.
Note: Those in
formation for the diaconate pay tuition. Auditors are requested to
contribute to the cost of the school, but if the offering of a donation would
restrict your attendance be assured that a donation is voluntary.
§ Ushers Needed: Ushers are often the
first people seen by newcomers, visitors, and even regular parishioners when
coming to Grace Church. People enjoy being greeted by a smile; Ushers
welcome parishioners and visitors, distribute bulletins, and ensure that the
worship service runs smoothly. They provide directions and answer
questions for newcomers as needed, collect the congregation’s offering, and
bear the alms to the altar. They also maintain an attendance record for
parochial reports. Did you realize that Ushers do so many wonderful things?
Become a part of this ministry today! Interested Parishioners can contact Nicci
in the office: nbeeck@gracesheboygan.com.
§ Save the Date-Chrism Mass: Saturday, 24 March,
11:00 a.m. at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul, Fond du Lac. In the early
church bishops baptized catechumens at the Easter Vigil with blessed oils. Over
time this blessing was made earlier so oils could be used at the local level. This
tradition includes blessing the oil of catechumens (adults preparing for
baptism), oil of the sick (for anointing) and chrism (for baptism,
confirmation, ordination of clergy, and consecration of altars).
§ Spring Conference 2018: Faithful Innovation in a Disruptive Age,
Saturday April 28, 9:00 am-3:00 pm, Liberty Hall in Kimberly. https://www.diofdl.org/eventsblog/spring-conference-apr-28
Registration fee of
$30 per person, includes breakfast, lunch speaker and supplies. If you are interested in attending, but are
challenged by the fee, contact the Parish office.
§ Lost and Found: If you have ever lost
anything while at Grace Church, it may be in the office lost and found
box. Please email the office nbeeck@gracesheboygan.com to identify and
claim.
§ 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
