Grace
Episcopal Church
Sheboygan, Wisconsin
Grace
Notes
20 July 2017
Today’s observance
on the calendar of saints is for Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Amelia Bloomer,
Sojourner Truth and Harriet Tubman Ross.
These 19th C. figures are considered to be “Liberators and
Prophets”. The first two were important
activists for women’s rights, and the latter two for the abolition of
slavery. In the parish on this date
we’ll actually observe the feast of St. Mary Magdalene, the first witness to
Jesus’ resurrection and, therefore, “Apostle to the Apostles”. (Her feast is 22 July, and we will allow her
to take precedence over those listed for 20 July because her feast is observed
universally in the Church, whereas the feast of the liberators and prophets is
restricted to this country only.)
The week is filled,
in fact, with important women. 19 July is the feast of St. Macrina, (d. 379),
instrumental in the development of the orthodox understanding of Jesus’
divinity, but the conjunction of the 20 July feasts with that of St. Mary
Magdalene allows us to “fast forward” to our Sunday lessons and St. Paul’s
message in Roman 8.12-25, in which he warns us to live into the freedom and
heirship given to us in Christ. We are
slaves no longer to the fallenness of the world. The connection between this message and the
message of Stanton, Bloomer, Truth and Ross is fairly obvious. Oppression is not godly, and the godly must
witness against oppression. But what
about Mary Magdalene? She is described
at Lk. 8.2 as she “from whom seven demons had gone out,” i.e., as one who had suffered oppression, and who found real
freedom and new life in Jesus Christ.
To answer this
question we need to consider what slavery and oppression look like in our own
world. Slavery can be all too real, as
found in the victims of human trafficking, either as sex slaves or as
laborers. We cannot point to any example
of trafficking where an argument will lie that slavery is not involved, but when we get to defining what oppression looks
like, we can quickly be sidetracked in endless arguments about power and
inequalities, whether these are founded on race, wealth, gender, age, class—any
of the “ism’s” that so animate and divide public discourse. And these definitional arguments precisely
miss the point. We are not informed in
the Bible about what the oppression suffered by Mary Magdalene looked like—how
it was experienced—because these details don’t
matter. The reality is that St. Mary
experienced oppression and found freedom in Jesus. Our witness is to be the same to real slaves
and to those we might not agree meet our own definitions of the oppressed. The message is the same message we must
experience. It is the Good News that
real freedom is offered by God in real love.
There are no “ism’s” that attach to the message that “God so loved the
world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish
but have eternal life” (Jn. 3.16).
Grace
abounds: Please thank:
§ Jessica and Meaghan
Ambelang for the Sunday coffee hour.
§ Bobbie May for
gardening and janitorial help. Julie
Davidson for janitorial help.
§ Ben Crouse for lawn
care.
§ Randie Barrows for
replacing an exhaust fan.
§ All who helped clean
the church from dust associated with the roofing project: Nicci, Carver and Chase Beeck, Julie
Davidson, Dale Massey, Pat Ford Smith, Mary Snyder, Tom Wright.
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.
When you think about
giving: When you think about giving, consider that we
are one of the only churches in the downtown area that’s generally open for any
walk-in. Consider this in light of the
information and reflection included in the attached blog post:
Music this Week: The Seventh Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 11)
Guest Organist: Sandie Palmer
Postlude: Caleb Klinzing
Prelude: “Meditation in the Chapel” E.J. Lorenz
Entrance 376 – “Joyful, Joyful” Beethoven
Offertory 686 – “Come Thou Fount” Nettleton
Communion 620 – “Jerusalem, My Happy Home” Land of Rest
Closing 544 – “Jesus Shall Reign” Duke Street
Postlude: Finale (organo pleno) Janet Correl
Parish Notices
§ Volunteers still needed at All Saints’
Chapel: We
are in need of help for the following Sunday: August 13th.
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 on the clipboard on the
Narthex table or by calling the office at 452-9659 with dates you are
available. Thank you.
§ Women’s Mini Week: Held
at Camp Lakotah in Wautoma, August 10th – 13th.
§ Women’s
Mini-Week is to provide 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 as we invite all women to participate as much or as little as they would
like and need. For more information see the notice board in the Narthex or go
to womensminiweek.org
o
Cost: Thursday Dinner
through Sunday Brunch: Cabin $245 Lodge $265
§ Friday
Dinner through Sunday Brunch: Cabin
$220 Lodge $240
o
(Cabin = platform
bed, w/electric, bath house nearby)
o
(Lodge = dorm-style,
platform bed, w/electric and full shared
bathroom)
o
Requests for scholarships are due July 16th. Advanced
reservations are requested with $50 deposit. Balance due by August 1st.
§ Please keep Bill in prayer: Bill May has
been diagnosed with a compression fracture in a vertebra. This means that
he will be on restricted duties. We have established a volunteer rota for
items such as: fellowship hall set-up and take down; restroom cleaning;
trash removal; floor cleaning; lawn care. Sign-up sheets are on the Narthex
table. Thank you.
§ Starter Kitchen Kits: A
Love INC Ministry sponsored by Bethel OPC in Oostburg is in need of 1-quart and
2-quart sized pots, and bubble wrap to secure the breakables within the
kits. Please place your collected items
in the Love INC Collection Bin located in the Narthex. This product drive will
run through August 16th.
§ Freedom Cry
would like to ask for your help and support in promoting participation and
fundraising for our new Hope's Hearts Project going on now and through the end
of the summer. They would love everyone to participate in this exciting
art project and consider donating to cover our cost of materials.
§ Many
youth are especially vulnerable to being lured by human traffickers in the
summer. That is where the idea for Hope's Hearts wind chimes was born. It
offers a positive activity for the community, especially youth, to engage in
that will also accomplish the goal of reducing youth vulnerability.
§ The
wind chimes include five words of encouragement on ceramic hearts, information
on trafficking, and a call to encourage others. In the art studio time,
participants will create ceramic hearts, stamp them with the selected words of
encouragement, and put them together into wind chimes. These wind chimes
will be spread throughout our community with special focus on the places known
to be hiding spots or hangouts for runaways or youth who may be vulnerable to
traffickers.
§ When
someone finds one of the Hope's Hearts, they will be encouraged to find someone
else who needs a word of encouragement and pass it on. Together we can make a
difference and change the atmosphere of our entire community! For more
information go to www.freedomcryinc.org/donate
§ Biblical Greek to be offered:
Join us on Thursday evenings, beginning on Thursday, 7 September. (Classes
will meet 7—9 p.m.) This is not a course about learning to speak Greek,
and it is unlikely that you will become fully literate in the biblical language
but, what you will learn is how to really dive deeply into the Bible by using a
myriad of resources (online and in print) that will allow you to study the
words in the original and what the grammar in the original may point to in
meaning. There is a cost: $100—hence, the early notice. There
will be limited scholarships available. We are opening this course to other
churches, and will limit overall class size, so if you are curious explore your
interest with Fr. Karl or Mthr. Michele.
§ Education for Ministry:
How do I learn to make the Bible stories become my stories? How do I learn how
God wants to bless me with more than I can imagine? Join the EfM (Education for Ministry) group
that is starting on Monday, September 11th. Two groups will meet at St. Peter’s
Church House in Sheboygan Falls. The morning group is from 9:30-11:30 and the
evening group runs from 5:00-7:00pm.
Scholarships are available, so don’t let the cost of $375 for this
college credited class, stop you from joining. Registrations are due by August
1st so materials can be received before the first class. Contact Barb
Drewry-Zimmerman at bzimmy@excel.net or
920-893-5189 for registration materials. The choice is yours—do you want to
learn how to bring God’s mercy & delight into your neighborhood?
§ Grace Notes is
here: http://gracechurchgracenotes.blogspot.com/.
You can sign up to receive the blog every Thursday
§ Like
Grace Church on Facebook:
@gracesheboygan
§ Follow
Grace Church on Twitter:
@gracesheboygan
§ Follow
Grace Church on Instagram:
@gracesheboygan
§ We
Are on Itunes! Check out the
new podcast!!!
