The Fisherman’s Net
“Catch the Spirit”
St. Peter’s Episcopal Church
Highway 83
North Lake, WI 53064
Helen Ackley, Sr. Warden
Peter Buerosse, Jr. Warden
Website: StPeteNorthLake.com
Phone: (262) 966-7312
Newsletter Editor: Mary Buerosse (262) 691-3549 E-Mail: [email protected]
MAY 2017
Pastor’s Pen
Fr. David Couper
From the somber days of Lent, we return to shouting “Alleluia!” Some may wonder, “What
the heck does that mean?” What does it mean? “Alleluia” comes from the Hebrew word,
“Hallelujah;” both mean “Praise ye Jehovah.” We often run into “Hallelujah” (rather than its
Greek translation, “Alleluia,” when we are reading a Psalm -- notably 106,111,112, and 113).
You may be comforted to know that our Orthodox sisters and brothers do not cease to say
and chant “Alleluia” during Lent as we do (after all, is not every Sunday a “Little Easter?”)
So that’s what Alleluia (Hallelujah) is all about as we continue the Feast of the Resurrection
of Jesus with unrestrained shouts of “Alleluia, Christ is Risen!” and the response, “He is Risen
indeed, Alleluia!”
But those are just words, aren’t they? The real challenge we have as 21st century Jesus people
is how do we live as people who follow his teachings? This is not a new problem. During the
Babylonian exile, we can hear the cries of a people in much the same situation we may find
ourselves today:
“By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept
when we remembered Zion…
our captors asked us for songs,
our tormentors demanded songs of joy;
they said, ‘Sing us one of the songs of Zion!’
How can we sing the songs of the Lord?
while in a foreign land?” (Psalm 137)
Do we also find ourselves tormented or ignored in a land that has become foreign? How do
we sing the songs of God today?
As we pass through Holy Week and Easter and enter more deeply into the Resurrection
Journey, I invite you to ponder the meaning of being such a people. What are the daily acts of
such a group of Jesus followers? Each day, can we do an act of resurrecting someone, some
person who has fallen and needs help? How do we do the daily work of Jesus so that our
existence and activities proclaim him and how he lived?
We can do this when we give a kind word to another, when we stoop to pick up a fallen or
stumbling person. We do this when the things of our lives become an Alleluia – “All praise to
you, my God!” We do this when we challenge thoughtless (and sometimes evil) words and
statements spoken in our work and market places. We do this when we, ourselves, tame our
tongues – monitor our words and speech.
In both the Letter from James and 1st Peter, the authors write of this necessity for new
Christians, beginning followers of Jesus. In the 3rd chapter of the Letter from James, the tongue
is a “fire” which can “stain the whole body” (v. 6) and “a restless evil, full of deadly poison” (v.
8). In the third chapter of 1st Peter, followers are implored to “keep their tongues from evil and
their lips from speaking deceit” (v. 10). These are wise words for us today.
Contrary to the schoolyard chant, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will
never hurt me!”, words do hurt. And they can hurt another person very deeply.
The author of Psalm 137 concludes the lament about the difficulty of singing the Lord’s
song in a foreign land by telling the reader that the way through this tough time is remembrance:
Remember whose we are and to remember God is our highest joy! That’s how we sing the songs
of the Lord; that’s how Babylon won’t keep us down!
But it is not our thoughts that will make this happen – it’s more than good intentions. It’s us.
It is we who continue to strive to seek and know Jesus that make this happen. It is through our
actions. We are a resurrected people – and that’s something for which we can shout
“Alleluia!” – or “Hallelujah,” if you prefer.
Some Appropriate Quotes Concerning Mothers
**For more than a century, the majestic statue, “Liberty Enlightening the World,” has
towered over Bedloe’s Island in New York Harbor—a symbol of freedom we enjoy in America.
When Bartholdi, the sculptor of the Statue of Liberty, looked for a model whose form and
features he could sculpt, he chose his own mother!
“If we want to change our nation, begin by enlisting the mothers.” —Winston Churchill
“The mother’s heart is the children’s classroom”; “What the mother sings to the cradle, goes all
the way to the grave.” —Henry Ward Beecher
“Men are what their mothers make them.” — Emerson
“I think it must be somewhere written that the virtues of mothers shall be visited on their
children, as well as the sins of their fathers!” —Charles Dickens
Calendar & Times
May 7, Sunday
May 10, Wednesday
May 13, Saturday
May 14, Sunday
May 21, Sunday
May 28, Sunday
June 4, Sunday
*See Article
Scheduled Reader
Altar Flowers
8:00 am Vestry Meeting
9:30 am Holy Eucharist
Peter Buerosse
6:30 pm St. Teresa of Calcutta Reception*
1:30 to 5:30 pm Pewaukee Food Pantry*
9:30 am Holy Eucharist
Kathleen King
9:30 am Holy Eucharist
Katy Luedke
9:30 am Holy Eucharist
Susan Medd
9:30 am Pentecost H.E.
Rick Luedke
Kathleen King
Buerosse
Lessons for May
May 7
May 14
May 21
May 28
June 5
1 Lesson
Acts 2:42-47
Acts 7:55-60
Acts 17:22-31
Acts 1:6-14
Acts 2:1-21
Psalm
23
31:1-5, 15-16
66:7-18
68:1-10, 33-36
104:25-35, 37
2nd Lesson
1 Peter 2:19-25
1 Peter 2:2-10
1 Peter 3:13-22
1 Peter 4:12-14; 5:6-11
1 Corinthians 12:3-13
Gospel
John 10:1-10
John 14:1-14
John 14:15-21
John 17:1-11
John 20:29-23
Remember in Your Prayers
“Evening, morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud, and he shall hear my voice”
—Psalm 55:17
“Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart.
7
And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night?” Luke 18:1, 7
*Pray for seasonal weather for farmers and gardeners. Pray for those in the paths of tornadoes.
*Remember the service men and women who gave their lives for our freedoms on Memorial
Day, Monday, May 29.
*Pray for peace and justice in all the world, remembering especially the refugees
from war-torn countries. Pray for those killed in Syria by chemical warfare.
*Pray for the hungry, the jobless, the homeless and those who see no hope in their lives.
*Pray for our leaders, both national and local, to make good decisions.
*Pray for St. Peter’s and its families, for the present and the future, that we may grow in
Christ and be his light to the world.
Let’s Celebrate!
Happy Birthday
May 27
Susan Medd
Celebrate Holidays
Mother’s Day, Sunday May 14
Memorial Day, Monday, May 29
The Spirit at Work!
*Congratulations to parents David, Maria & (brother) Jack on the birth of Wesley Patrick
Dlobik on April 22! Wesley, strong and healthy, weighed in at 6 lbs. 9 oz.
*The next Vestry Meeting is Sunday, May 7 at 8:00 AM.
*Reminder, Susan Medd is doing the ProHealth Care Walk for Cancer on May 6. If you feel
called to support the fight against cancer, you may donate online at: Waukeshariverwalk.org or
make out a check to PHCF—Walks for Cancer and give it to Susan. Thank you.
*Check your calendars NOW for the anticipated St. Peter’s Annual Picnic, tentatively scheduled
for Sunday, August 20. We need to reserve a location, hopefully the same as last year.
*Thanks to Pete Buerosse for his loving care of St. Peter’s: cleaning and picking up sticks!
*Sign-up to be a Worship Assistant! The sheets are on the large bulletin board in the Narthex.
You can be an Acolyte, read the Prayers of the People (pick up the Prayer List next to the
service bulletins in the Narthex) or help at the altar as a Eucharistic Minister. The Lesson
Readers are listed there as well.
*Take a look at the flower chart in the Narthex and sign-up to place flowers on the altar.
Spring/Summer is coming when fresh flowers abound in our gardens! And lo and behold! The
plants that were put into St. Peter’s garden last year are starting to grow too! What a joy!
*Sign-up with a friend to do an easy Coffee Hour after church. Hard rolls, fruit, a dessert, etc.
Coffee Hour will be moving to the Narthex during the “warm” spring/summer/fall months!
*Remember, this is YOUR newsletter! If you have come across a special saying or article you
would like to share with the parish, please give it to Mary Buerosse. Thank you.
*Thank you for your contributions to the North Lake Food Pantry. As of March, we have given
the Food Pantry $207.
Another Great Volunteer Opportunity
On Saturday, May 13th, the Pewaukee Food Pantry will be accepting food donations from
the United States Postal Service Food Drive. If you would be able to help, please come to
Gethsemane Methodist Church (downstairs) in Pewaukee where the Food Pantry is located to
help date sort the donations. The sorting will take place from 1:30 to 5:30 pm. Come for a little
while or a long time! Thanks for your help in advance!
Expansion Prayer Service and Reception
“It has been just over a year since we began construction to expand our North Lake church.
Thanks to many parishioners, organizations, businesses, and most importantly prayer, the
project is now complete. Please join us, Wednesday, May 10, to celebrate this wonderful addition to our evangelization and stewardship efforts with a special prayer service and reception.
Your presence would be a blessing.”
—Fr. William Stanfield, Pastor, St. Teresa of Calcutta Parish
6:30 p.m. Prayer Service
7 p.m. Donor Acknowledgement, Reception, Inside and Outside Tours
Please RSVP by May 5
262-966-2191
Outreach
In conjunction with our 150th Anniversary Celebration, St. Peter’s Vestry is considering
non-profit and local organizations to which we would like to make an Outreach Contribution. If
you know of any worthy organizations, please speak to a member of the Vestry or Fr. David.
Thought Provoking
The Gospel of John (20:6) tells us that the napkin, which was placed over the face of Jesus in
the tomb was not just thrown aside. “Then Simon Peter came, following him (John), and went
into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the cloth that had been on Jesus’
head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself.” NRSV A theory
about this verse has been circulating on the Internet since 2006: “According to Hebrew tradition,
folding the napkin had to do with the Master and Servant. The Servant set the table the way the
Master wanted it and would wait for the Master to finish his meal before touching the table. If
the Master was done eating, he would rise from the table, wipe his fingers, his mouth, and clean
his beard, and would wad up that napkin and toss it onto the table. The wadded napkin signified
the Master was done. But it the Master got up from the table, and folded his napkin, and laid it
beside his place, the servant would not touch the table, because… the folded napkin meant, ‘I’m
coming back!’”
Nothing can be substantiated about the above theory, but there is a profound truth about the
verse. John was the first to reach the sepulcher. He stooped and looked in, and he saw the linen
clothes. But what made him stop short of going into the sepulcher for a closer look? Perhaps
John was momentarily shaken by what he saw. He probably could not believe his eyes. By then
Peter had arrived and entered into the sepulcher. He saw where the linen clothes (shroud) lay
and also the napkin (Greek—Soudarion/Latin—Sudarium”) for Christ’s head lying by itself and
not with the shroud. And the grave clothes were both still in a wrapped state. A large single
piece of linen cloth would have been wrapped around the body of Jesus and another smaller
piece of linen cloth, a kerchief was placed over His face and wrapped over and around His head.
This is what caught the eyes of the Apostle John. And when he went into the sepulcher right after Peter, once again he saw, and then he believed. John had witnessed the evidence that Jesus
had resurrected, that His body was not stolen by friends or foes. Had Jesus’ body been stolen,
the thieves would not have had the time to unwrap Him. The evidence of the intact and
unwrapped grave clothes, both the shroud and the “sudarium” (napkin) prove that Jesus Christ
rose up, from His sleeping position, right through the wrappings, and then passed through the
wall of the sepulcher in His resurrected glorified body! Amen. He was unlike Lazarus who
needed to be loosed from his wrappings after He raised him from the dead (John 11:44). And
that is the REAL story. Www.propheticrevelation.net/misc/the_folded_napkin.htm
Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more,
so that we may fear less. Attributed to Marie Curie
Reflections
by Andy Marks
The Sequence of our Lives
There is a concept in mathematics known as the limit of a function or sequence. The limit
is the value that a function or sequence “approaches” as the input or index “approaches” some
value. Limits are essential to calculus (and mathematical analysis in general) and are used to
define continuity, derivatives, and integrals.
An illustration for the concept of limit can be found in a hypothetical example. Suppose you
are standing at one end of a long room with your heel touching the wall. Your goal is to travel
to the other end of the room by going in increments separated with short pauses. Each time you
move, you cover 1/2 of the remaining distance. The first time you move, you cover1/2 the
distance to the wall. The second time you move, you cover 1/2 of the remaining distance which
would be 1/2 of the 1/2 remaining which would be 1/4th of the distance. The total distance
covered after your second move would be 1/2 + 1/4th which would equal 3/4ths of the distance
with only 1/4th remaining. Your next move would cover 1/2 of the 1/4th which would be 1/8th.
The question is how many moves would it take for you to touch the other wall? The following chart illustrates the problem:
Distance Covered
Move
1/2
1/2 + 1/4 =
3/4
1/2 +1/4 + 1/8 =
7/8
1/2 + 1/4 + 1/8 + 1/16 =
15/16
.
.
.
Will the sequence 1/2, 3/4, 7/8, 15/16, 31/32, 63/64, . . . ever reach “1”?
After the 25th move, the distance covered is 33,554,431/33,554,432. This number is very
close to “1” and it appears that as the number of moves increases the total distance covered
approaches “1”. In mathematics, the limit of this sequence is I and the sequence is said to be
convergent. While many sequences converge, many do not. And of the many that do converge
it is not always obvious or clear as to where it is heading.
As we move from one year to the next, we see that we are each living out our own personal
finite sequence with an underlying question as to whether we are moving toward something.
Are our lives converging, and if so, what are we moving toward?
This Lenten season was a very special one at St. Peter’s. We started with the viewing of the
movie “The Shack”. Then we explored other places of worship including a Jewish synagogue, a
Hindu temple, and an Islamic mosque. On the final Wednesday prior to Holy Week, we got
together in the undercroft and feasted on our traditional homemade soup and bread while we discussed our Lenten adventure. All of this laid the foundation for a most meaningful Holy Week.
From the intimacy of the washing of the feet on Maundy Thursday, the powerful journey
through the Stations of the Cross on Good Friday, and the glorious celebration of the
Resurrection on Easter Sunday, many of us found ourselves profoundly moved. I believe it is
safe to say that we, at least for a moment, saw our lives converging on something holy and
sacred!
Color-full!
Purple
Purple ridges in the clouds
Proclaim the presence of the sun,
Whether before its rising
Or when the day is done.
Sweet violets in the grasses,
And more purple flowers bring
Their witness to summer’s ending
As well as beginning spring.
Lilacs blooming at the window
And on the prairie wide
Testify to perseverance,
Love of beauty, pioneer pride.
Most regal of all colors
In nature’s vast domain—
No wonder purple is the hue
That kings and bishops claim.
It’s also the color of bruises,
Of depression and of Lent.
Perhaps that’s why rulers choose it,
The message being sent:
That robes so rich and lovely
Are heavy and costly too.
Bear them the best that you can,
The purples life brings to you.
© 2017 Holly Moseley
Waukesha County Department of Health & Human Services
Travel to a foreign country can be both exciting and challenging. As part of our informational
outreach to the community, we offer an International Travel Program and Walk-in Services
provided by the Waukesha County Public health Division that is vital for mission groups
traveling internationally. Questions, contact 262-896-9430. A letter and brochure are posted in
the Narthex further describing this service.
Book Report on the Bible
A sixth grade child was asked to write a book report on the entire Bible. The young man who
wrote this has real talent though a little shaky on dates but good chronology.
The Children’s Bible in a Nutshell:
In the beginning, which occurred near the start, there was nothing but God, darkness, and
some gas. The Bible says, “The Lord thy God is one,” but I think He must be a lot older than
that. Anyway, God said, “Give me a light!” and someone did. Then God made the world. He
split the Adam and made Eve.
Adam and Eve wee naked, but they weren’t embarrassed because mirrors hadn’t been
invented yet. Adam and Eve disobeyed God by eating one bad apple, so they were driven from
the Garden of Eden. Not sure what they were driven in though, because they didn’t have cars.
Adam and Eve had a son, Cain, who hated his brother as long as he was Abel.
Pretty soon all of the early people died off, except for Methuselah, who lived to be like a
million or something.
One of the next important people was Noah, who was a good guy, but one of his kids was kind
of a Ham. Noah built a large boat and put his family and some animals on it. He asked some
other people to join him, but they said they would have to take a rain check.
(To be continued next month)
St. Peter’s Episcopal Church
W314 N7412 Highway 83
P. O. Box 267
North Lake, WI 53064
MAY 2017
Beware Children’s Sermons
During the children’s sermon, The Priest asked the children if they knew what the Resurrection
was. Now, asking questions during children’s sermons is crucial, but at the same time, asking
children questions in front of a congregation can also be very dangerous. In response to the
question ‘what is the resurrection’, a little boy [Charlie Brown] raised his hand. The priest called
on him and the boy said, “I know that if you have a resurrection that lasts more than four hours,
you are supposed to call the doctor.” It took ten minutes for the congregation to settle down
enough to continue the service. — shared by Vicki Bauch
Jewish Humor
Two old Jewish men, Sid and Abe, are sitting in a Mexican restaurant. Sid asks Abe, “Do you
know if any people of our ancestry were ever born and raised in Mexico?” Abe replies, “I don’t
know, let’s ask our waiter.” When the waiter arrives, Abe asks, “Are there any Mexican Jews?”
The waiter says, “I don’t know señor. I ask the cooks.” He returns from the kitchen after a few
minutes and says, “No señor, the cook say no Mexican Jews.” Abe isn’t satisfied and asks, “Are
you absolutely sure?” The waiter, realizing he is dealing with “Gringos” replies, “I check once
again, señor,” and goes back into the kitchen. While the waiter is away, Sid says, “I find it hard
to believe that there are no Jews in Mexico. Our people are scattered everywhere!” The waiter
returns and says, “Señor, the head cook Manuel, he say there is no Mexican Jews.” “Are you
certain?” Abe says again. “I just can’t believe there are no Mexican Jews!” “Señor, I ask
EVERYONE,” replies the exasperated waiter. “All we have is Orange Jews, Grape Jews, Prune
Jews, Tomato Jews and Apple Jews, but no Mexican Jews.”