St. Luke’s Episcopal Church

The Northern Light

July 2017 The Episcopal Diocese of Fond du Lac:

Being Communi�es of

God’s Mercy and Delight

Diocesan Congregational Vitality Workshop Norma Bramsen

On Sunday, June 11 nineteen members of St. Luke’s gathered to en-

gage in conversa�on about the health and vitality of St. Luke’s. The

conversa�on was ably facilitated by Cathy Cowling, a member of the

Commission on Congrega�onal Vitality for the Diocese of Fond du

Lac. Under Bishop Gunter’s leadership this commission has been

tasked with gathering informa�on from each parish in the diocese.

A+er a delicious lunch we got down to business breaking into three

small groups. One exercise was to list ten strengths that we see at

St. Luke’s. The three tables came up with quite similar lists that in-

cluded answers like welcoming hospitality, giving and great preach-

ing.

Another exercise was to think about what the broader Door County

community would miss if St. Luke’s ceased to exist. Answers includ-

ed our rela�onship with Scandia, the use of the Canterbury Room by

the community for various func�ons, and our financial and educa-

�onal outreach by Mother Barb and other members of the parish.

The final ques�on was how the diocese could help us. It was good to

know that the bishop has resources to help and is open to listening

to our specific needs. Upda�ng diocesan canons regarding church

membership to make it possible to be a vestry member would be

helpful to our par�cular parish. The involvement of the diocese

when it is �me to call a new priest was also discussed.

The �me that we spent together quickly passed and those who

a2ended felt that ques�ons asked prompted though3ul discussions.

Photos: Norma Bramsen, Carol Ann Osinski In this issue

Bishop’s Blog: Karl Barth & Dorothy Sayers p. 2

Ancient Values for a Kinder World: A Presenta-

�on by The Rev. Gwynne Schultz p. 3

Gi) to Secret Santa / Vestry Notes p. 6

Welcoming those newer to St. Luke’s p. 7

CHIP: p. 7

Blessing Lectern Paraments (hangings) back

Enriching Our Worship Space see calendar

Scandia Ministry / Prayer see Lay Ministry

The Vestry

Betsy Rogers, Sr. Warden

Doug Schwartz, Jr. Warden

Norma Bramsen (2018)

David Skidmore (2018)

Ralph Blankenburg (2019)

Steve Ellio2 (2019)

Judy Bush (2020)

George Hughes (2020)

Vestry minutes appear

monthly on our website at

h8p://stlukes-

sisterbay.org/

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Please don’t wait to be asked if you want to get involved. We invite you to pray

about serving and see what you discover. You can let any vestry member or

Mother Barb know you are interested. Training is provided.

• Counters for Sunday Offering.

• Reading the lessons and/or the Prayers of the People during Sunday worship.

• Serve as a chalice bearer -- they offer the cup of wine, the blood of Jesus Christ.

Some also assist at the table during communion.

• Altar Guild — they prepare for worship services including communion bread and

wine as well as flowers. Added bonus, great gatherings with scrump�ous food.

• Lay Eucharis�c Visitor (LEV) – they take commun-

ion to parish members at Scandia.

• Providing transporta�on to church for members

who live at Scandia. Speak with Gwynne Schultz,

Deacon Joy or Mother Barb.

O!!"#$%&'$'() T" S(#+(

Bishop Matt’s Blog: anoddworkofgrace.blogspot.com

Several years ago, I a2ended a fascina�ng lecture by the Rev. Dr. David McNu2 at

the Marion E. Wade Center at Wheaton College on “A Surprising Correspondence: Doro-

thy L. Sayers and Karl Barth on Ar�s�c Crea�vity.”

Some�me in the late 1930’s, one of Karl Barth’s theology students from England gave him

a collec�on of theological essays byDorothy Sayers. It turns out Barth was already familiar

with Sayers having learned English partly through reading her detec�ve novels. But, he

liked the essays enough to write her an apprecia�ve le2er which led to a brief exchange

of le2ers between the two in 1939 just as WW II was breaking out.

Given Barth’s strict Reformed theology and Sayers’ Anglo-Catholicism, it seems an unlikely correspondence. As one

might imagine, while Barth was mostly apprecia�ve of Sayers’ ar�cula�on of the Chris�an vision, he was not wholly un-

cri�cal. For example, he suggests she has a (very Anglican) tendency toward semi-Pelagianism. S�ll, he appreciated her

work enough to translate into German and publish in 1959 – two years a+er her death – two of her essays on Chris�ani-

ty. In the introduc�on to those essays, he wrote:

She vigorously made the message of the gospel her own in breathless astonishment about its central content and in a

way that was open to the world but undaunted and quick-wi2ed without any hint of apology – but above all: joyfully and

in a way bringing joy, she produced s�mula�ng work, and regardless of what one might think of its individual state-

ments, we may be thankful.

I pray that God will raise up Chris�ans in our day, lay and ordained, about whom something similar can be said.

In one of her le2ers to Barth in 1939, Sayers wrote of her own work:

All I try to do is tell people that the creeds are not arbitrary formulae; that they were intended to mean something, and

do s�ll mean something.”

Again, one might pray for a reclaiming of such confidence among preachers and teachers of the Church.

Karl Barth & Dorothy Sayers

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ANCIENT VALUES FOR A KINDER WORLD

A presenta)on by The Rev. Gwynne Schultz to the Sister Bay

Universal Unitarian Community

Last winter, I was approached by Roger Johnson, to co-

teach a Clearing Class on ancient Hebrew values.

I had thought I had finished with teaching Clearing classes,

but this subject intrigued me. My par�cular task was to re-

search and present on the original meaning of some cri�cal

Hebrew words. I have to tell you that I was very quickly

hooked. This morning, I want to share with you three of

these words - all of which are inadequately translated into

English, and all of which express values that were crucial to

the well-being of the ancient Hebrew community and all of

which could be cri�cal to the rescue of our na�on from a

declining cycle of values based, not on the common good,

but on self-interest, self-aggrandizement and greed.

Now, in order to do this, we will have to look briefly at the

culture out of which these ancient values arose.

The Hebrew Scriptures outline a fascina�ng history of a

people who survived despite pre2y dismal odds.

Ancient Israel was a small na�on surrounded by powerful,

greedy empires. Their territory was coveted by na�on a+er

na�on. Their people were enslaved, doomed to wander in

the desert, conquered, carried into exile -you name it - it

probably happened to them. And yet they survived as a

people against all odds.

I would like to argue that this survival happened because of

a value system that is based on the wellbeing of the com-

munity -the common good- rather than that of the interests

of the individual. And if you go back to one of the defining

moments in the history of this na�on, that of the 40 years

wandering in the desert, then this makes some sense. In the

hos�le environment of the desert, values which promote

the interests of the individual over the community surely

doom both the community AND the individual.

But the value system which found its roots in this period

and came to define Hebrew ethics, was designed to pre-

serve community. In doing so, it served to preserve the in-

dividual as well.

So, back to the three words that I have chosen. I was espe-

cially interested in these words partly because there is such

a drama�c difference between the Hebrew concepts that

they represent and the words chosen to translate them into

the English Scriptures. And I also am interested in them be-

cause they hold within themselves incredibly powerful val-

ues that are in very short supply in our country and our

communi�es today.

These words are: emet - commonly translated as truth, tsa-

diq, usually translated as righteousness and mishpat, com-

monly translated as “jus�ce”.

So let’s begin with the Hebrew word “emet”, usually trans-

lated as “truth”. Now it seems to me that, in our culture

today, truth has pre2y much been relegated to what best

serves our individual needs and interests.

We at the Climate Change Coali�on can give you undeniable

facts about the reality of climate change -but all the denier

needs to say, “I don’t believe in it”. Science’s truth is proba-

bly bumping up against the deniers interests - and so truth

becomes diluted and the absolute opposite becomes

“truth“ for the denier.

This process is blatantly evident amongst our poli�cians

whose lies are shameful but supported because they some-

how serve their needs or those of their cons�tuency. It is

also completely ordinary prac�ce among corpora�ons

whose misrepresenta�ons of their products are widely

known but somehow “forgiven” because their purpose is to

further benefit the stockholder. Truth, as we prac�ce it to-

day has almost become whatever is expedient for the “truth

teller” and is deeply grounded in our eleva�on of the indi-

vidual over the community. Truth, as a value, has pre2y

much lost its value today. It is a long way from what Thomas

Jefferson meant when he wrote “we hold these truths to be

self-evident.”

The Hebrew word “emet”” means something much closer

to what Jefferson was referencing. The word emet appears

127 �mes in the Hebrew Scriptures. In the Revised Stand-

ard Version (English) of the Hebrew Bible it has been trans-

lated with the following words: steadiness, unchangeable-

ness, stability, soundness, faithfulness, constancy, truth,

loyalty or jus�ce. It is, however, translated by “truth” more

o+en than any other word. It is immediately clear that the

translators understand that what the Hebrew thinks of in

rela�onship to truth is radically different than what we im-

agine and needs mul�ple words to give a sense of its mean-

ing.

For the ancient Hebrew, truth is ontological. It is built right

into the being of the universe. Ancient scholars have noted

that the three consonants, aleph, mem and tet that form

the word are the first, middle and last consonants in the

Hebrew alphabet. Truth is at the beginning and at the end

and in the midst of everything.

Truth, rather than being correct, is reliable and consistent -

it has to do with steadiness, firmness, unchangeableness. It

is something upon which we can depend. It just is!

Truth is almost always understood communally - - it is cher-

ished as an intrinsic value which we can and should tap in

order to live harmoniously and produc�vely within our

Con�nued page 4

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Book Group

The next Book Club mee�ng will

be on Wednesday, July 19 at

noon in the Canterbury Room.

The book to be discussed

is Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance.

Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis:.

Hillbilly Elegy is a passionate and personal analysis of a

culture in crisis—that of poor, white Americans. The disin-

tegra�on of this group, a process that has been slowly oc-

curring now for over forty years, has been reported with

growing frequency and alarm, but has never before been

wri2en about as searingly from the inside. In Hillbilly Elegy,

J.D. Vance tells the true story of what a social, regional, and

class decline feels like when you were born with it hanging

around your neck.

The read for August (date to be decided) is A Gentleman in

Moscow by Amor Towles. A Gentleman in Mos-

cow immerses us in another elegantly drawn era with the

story of Count Alexander Rostov. When, in 1922, he is

deemed an unrepentant aristocrat by a Bolshevik tribunal,

the count is sentenced to house arrest in the Metropol, a

grand hotel across the street from the Kremlin. Rostov, an

indomitable man of erudi�on and wit, has never worked a

day in his life, and must now live in an aPc room while

some of the most tumultuous decades in Russian history

are unfolding outside the hotel’s doors. Unexpectedly, his

reduced circumstances provide him a doorway into a much

larger world of emo�onal discovery. Brimming with humor,

a gli2ering cast of characters, and one beau�fully rendered

scene a+er another, this singular novel casts a spell as it

relates the count’s endeavor to gain a deeper understand-

ing of what it means to be a man of purpose.

Lectionary Bible Study: The Lec�onary Group has been mee�ng for some years now, to

study the scriptures for the upcoming Sunday. They are taking the month of July off. Watch E-News and The Northern

Light for plans for August.

community. The kind of lies masquerading as truth that I

referenced a minute ago have no place in a culture which

understands truth as did the Hebrews.

The lies are odious precisely because they endanger the

good of the community in favor of that of a few individuals.

Think for a minute about the tobacco execu�ves tes�fying,

under oath, before Congress. Compare that to Mar�n Lu-

ther King, as he endangered his very life speaking truth to

jus�ce.

Okay, so, now let us turn to the second value- that of right-

eousness. The Hebrew word, “tsadik” is also a word which is

deeply grounded in community. It is clearly an important

concept as it appears 246 �mes in the Hebrew Bible. It also

has a very rich meaning and is translated, at least in the Re-

vised Standard Bible, by the following words: righteous-

ness, vindica�on, deliverance, saving deeds, saving help,

righteous help, triumph and prosperity.

Our English concept of righteousness - which carries almost

a “goody-goody” connota�on, falls far short of what the

Hebrew would have us understand. For the ancients, right-

eousness is primarily the fulfillment of the requirements of

a rela�onship, whether that be between humans or be-

tween humans and God.

For the Hebrew, as I have said, community was at the center

of everything - and every community, whether it be family

or clan or tribe, or na�on has requirements that allow the

community to func�on and thrive. The righteous one lived

by those requirements.

There is a li2le read story in Genesis which illustrates dra-

ma�cally how all this works. This story involved a leverite

law which required widows of childbearing age to be given

to a brother-in-law in order for the family to be supported

and increased. Family was the central and most important

center of community for the nomadic lifestyle and its

growth and preserva�on took precedence over many other

desires. In this story, a widow named Tamar, for various

reasons, was not given to the next son of her father-in-law.

as leverite law required.

She was thus unable to have children and augment the fam-

ily, she was essen�ally “not allowed” to fulfill her part of

communal requirements. She languished for several years

and then, through a deligh3ul series of events, managed to

seduce her father-in-law by disguising herself as a Temple

pros�tute! She became pregnant and when he heard of it,

he ordered her to be burned to death because he assumed

she had commi2ed adultery. But, she was able to prove

that he was the father and his words, then, were, “She is

more righteous than I inasmuch as I did not give her to my

next son.” Tamar, by taking the steps that she did, was de-

clared righteous, because she was fulfilling a requirement of

the community, her decep�ve behavior and her pros�tu-

ANCIENT VALUES

Con�nued from page 3

Con�nued page 5

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�on, surprisingly, were not condemned precisely because

the requirements of community, not individual moral ac-

�ons, were what determined righteousness. There is a

clear and startling difference between the modern con-

serva�ve Chris�an view of righteousness (and we all know

what that is) and the understanding that the early He-

brews had. We would live in a far kinder and safer world if

we could truly embrace the Hebrew concept.

The third word I would like to consider this morning is the

word mishpat, most commonly translated as “jus�ce”.

This is a highly regarded value in the Hebrew Scriptures,

occurring 421 �mes - more than the other two combined.

And once again, common usage in English does not begin

to convey the meaning of the Hebrew word, mishpat. In

this country, we tend to think of jus�ce as an individual

right. If someone hits my car while driving drunk, and

causes me injury, then I want “jus�ce”; in other words, I

want him to pay. I view jus�ce as something I am due be-

cause of the wrongful ac�ons of another.

The Israelites had something altogether different in mind

and, once again, for them the value was communal. Jus-

�ce, for them, had the connota�on of the doing the right

thing - and this was mostly related to the rights and needs

of the poor and oppressed. H.M. Kuitert, in a li2le book

called “Signals from the Bible” defines jus�ce as “speeding

to the help of the oppressed”. I like that defini�on.

We all tend to hold a rather skep�cal view of The Law as

given in the Hebrew Bible. So much of it is liturgical and

simply doesn’t apply to us. But what most of us don’t

know is that a significant por�on of the Hebrew Law dealt

with issues of jus�ce, many of them quite radical, requir-

ing, for instance, that debts be forgiven and slaves freed

every 7 years.

The prophets, as well as other Biblical authors had a lot to

say about jus�ce. This was precisely because the original

dream for Israel was one where every person had value

and every person had property and security. This dream

pre2y much disappeared as the country became a monar-

chy, money become centralized in a limited number of

hands, and the people were robbed of their heritage,

o+en to the point of impoverishment and enslavement.

Jus�ce, for the biblical writer, had to do with the righ�ng

of this wrong - with the need to end gross inequality and

to return security to the dispossessed. It had to do with

puPng community above the individual. It had nothing to

do with the so-called rights and privileges of the wealthy

and the ruling classes.

In the 1960’s, my family lived in Arequipa, Peru for several

years. Back then Arequipa was pre2y provincial and had a

huge underclass of unemployed or underemployed peo-

ple. Poverty and injus�ce were everywhere. The city had

a large number of ramshackle buses that provided trans-

porta�on for those who did not have cars. The bus drivers

did not own their buses, but were responsible for their

maintenance, including repair a+er an accident. So, one

day, an American friend of mine, who owned a fairly new

car was hit by a bus. From every standard that you and I

understand, the bus driver, who had run a stop sign, was

clearly at fault. And yet, everyone on the bus insisted that

my friend had to pay for the repairs to the bus, which he

eventually had to do. The argument was that my friend

had insurance, and that he could afford to pay. The bus

driver, on the other hand, lived at the very edge every day

of his life. He could not pay. Was this fair? - probably

not. But just? For the Biblical writer, this is exactly what

jus�ce was!

Truth, righteousness, jus�ce - all three as understood by

the ancient Hebrew are in short supply in our na�on to-

day. We have the chosen the other path - not the commu-

nity but the individual as the origina�ng point for our val-

ues. It has us in serious, maybe irreparable, trouble.

Can we imagine a different way for our country? Where a

poli�cian responds to the needs of the community rather

than those of his or her campaign contributors? Or where

black lives really do ma2er? Or where the contribu�ons of

the LGBT community are celebrated and valued and inte-

grated rather than denied because of some false sense of

righteousness. Or where we can view government as relia-

ble and not simply self-serving. Or where community

comes first - even if it means you and I might have to pay

more taxes in order to rec�fy injus�ce. Or where corpo-

rate decisions are made with the good of the community

in mind and not just the stockholders? Or where we can

trust again, because our value system thinks beyond self-

serving, individual needs?

I am not sure about the viability of any of this. But I need

to hold the vision, and so do you. Each one of us here

needs to hold the vision and ground ourselves in the good

of our communi�es. If there is to be any hope for our chil-

dren and grandchildren, it will be because we, as a na�on

and as individuals, hear the call for jus�ce, embrace the

impera�ve for righteousness and ground it all in truth. It

feels a lot like a David and Goliath kind of thing - but, as

we all know, David did win that one. Maybe we can, too!

ANCIENT VALUES

Continued from page 4

The Northern Light Page 6

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what is happening in our faith community. This is our

primary means of ge4ng news out to people in the most

)mely manner. All we need is your email

address and you will be ‘in the know.’

Send Carol Ann Osinski an email at

rcosinski@gmail.com

Clipboard Alley Clipboard Alley is where a number of things are

posted on clipboards including sign-up sheets

for serving, Sunday flowers and other events.

Clipboard Alley is located along the hallway that leads to the

stairs. When entering St. Luke’s, the hallway is immediately

to your right as you walk towards the worship space.

St. Luke’s is commi2ed to sharing God’s abundance with oth-

ers. Each year, we set aside about five percent of its opera�ng

budget to support ministries and programs beyond the church,

in addi�on to raising money through special projects and

events. We seek a balance between local, regional and global

ministries and programs. This year, one of the programs receiv-

ing a gi+ is Door County Secret Santa, which was given $1,000.

Secret Santa helps people in need to stay warm by paying their

hea�ng bills. A gi+ of $500 was given to Northern Door YMCA

for their summer lunch program for kids. This is an extension of

the school lunch program and provides a nutri�onal meal for

kids.

Outreach Ministries Gift to Secret Santa & YMCA

May Vestry Notes Devo�ons were provided by Judy Bush

Email Vo�ng – The vestry determined they will avoid, if at

all possible, vo�ng or decisions by email. Mo�on passed.

Diemer Bequest – will be coming soon in the amount of

about $80,000.

Disbursements from Budgets – The vestry approved allow-

ing the Junior Warden to spend up to $500 to make repairs

or improvements to the church without requiring prior ves-

try approval.

Opening Prayer – Barb suggested that our opening prayer

be more detailed to prepare the vestry for the work they

have at hand and that our mee�ngs be vested in sacramen-

tal thoughts.

Gu8ers – Doug Schwartz, Junior Warden, reported that the

gu2ers have been installed. Also, he will strip and/or cut

down dead trees and will arrange to get rid of the debris

around the building and the shed.

Geocaching – St. Luke’s has been listed as a place for geo-

caching and the spot is in place. The Door County Kiosk will

show that St. Luke’s is a loca�on for a cache.

Financials –The Balance Sheet of May 17, 2017 indicated

total assets of $293,267.37. The expense to budget perfor-

mance of January – April reflected a total net income of

$55,255.24 and total expenses of $30,838.07 reflec�ng a

surplus of $24,417.17.

Evangelism – discussion centered around gePng the word

out to the community adver�sing our events. Sugges�ons

included using the Pulse, email releases to local churches,

etc.

Hearing Loop and Receivers – George reported that the

Loop has been installed and we have purchased two receiv-

ers.

Pictured above (le+ to right):

Roberta Thelen, member of St.

Luke’s Outreach Ministries; Janet

Lee, President of Secret Santa;

and Trudy Jischke, also from St.

Luke’s Outreach Ministries. Pic-

tured right (left to right): Heidi

Erickson, Execu�ve Director

Northern Door YMCA and Jean

Barre2, member of St. Luke’s.

RECTOR: The Rev. Barbara Sajna,

2100 Ridges Road

Baileys Harbor, WI 54202

Home: 920-839-9392

Cell: 920-421-2028

Church Phone: (920) 854-9600

Deacon:

The Rev. Joy Zakrzewski

joylael@charter.net

Home: 920-854-2026

Cell: 920-421-0722

Parish Staff:

Treasurer: Karen Schwartz

stlukestreasurer77@gmail.com

920-421-1688

Secretary: Jane Weis

jnjweis@charter.net 920-854-1185

Organist:

Sue Raye Hughes

meowyldy@gmail.com

920-839-9247

E-News Editor: Carol Ann Osinski

rcosinski@gmail.com

920-746-9946

Newsle8er Editor:

Joanne Skidmore

joanneskidmore@prodigy.net

920-854-7159

Website Editor: Norma Bramsen

nabramsen@aol.com

312-405-4199

Parish Nurse: Roberta Thelen

robertathelen@live.com

920-495-0890

The Northern Light Page 7

Are we missing your

birthday or anniversary?

Have we given you a

new one by mistake? If

so, please call the

church office and let us

know.

WHAT IS A”COMMUNITY HEALTH INFORMATION PROGRAM? “It is a series of presenta)ons covering a wide variety of

health-related subjects and is available free of charge. These C.H.I.P.s are now being held on Sunday a;ernoons at 4:00

pm at the First Bap)st Church in Sister Bay. For more informa)on, visit their website at

www.NorthernDoorHealthWellness.com. They also provide informa�on on other services such as blood pressure

screening and transporta�on.

NOW THAT’S SOMETHING TO CHEW ON!

WHEN: Sunday, July 30 at 4:00 pm

WHERE: First Bap�st Church, Sister Bay

SPEAKER: TIMOTHY TISHLER, DDS of Ludwigsen & Tishler, DDS, Ltd.

Come and hear Dr. Timothy Tishler, DDS, talk about how your oral health can affect your overall health, and learn about

how good dental care can help keep you healthy. Dr. Tishler will also focus on changes he sees in older pa�ents and what

you can do to minimize these problems.

July 3 Sue Raye Hughes

July 6 Carol Ann Osinski

July 8 Trey ♥ Barb Higgens

July 8 David ♥ Joanne

Skidmore

July 10 John ♥ Alice Belmont

July 12 Carl Zapffe

July 16 Bud ♥ Carole Weaver

July 17 Dutton Morehouse

July 19 Dee Yoder

July 22 Frank ♥ Betsy Rogers

July 23 Nancy Laitner

July 27 Dutton ♥ Joyce

Morehouse

July 29 Dick ♥ Pat Diemer

July 30 Carol Amadio

July 30 Sigurd Sandstrom

July 31 Paul Neuman

On a Sunday in June, Mother Barb welcomed people

who have decided to make St. Luke’s their church home

COMMUNITY HEALTH INFORMATION PROGRAMS

St. Luke’s Episcopal Church 2336 Canterbury Lane

PO Box 559, Sister Bay, WI 54234

Church Phone: (920) 854-9600

E-mail: stlukesdoorcounty@gmail.com

Website: h2p://stlukes-sisterbay.org/

Bishop Ma2hew Gunter,

The Episcopal Diocese of Fond du Lac

Mother Barb Sajna, Rector

Deacon Joy Zakrzewski

Celebra�ng, Deepening and Sharing

our Commitment to Christ

Preparing for Sunday:

Sunday Readings with Commentary

Go to our website at h8p://stlukes-

sisterbay.org/ and click on the icon.

The church has two

Sound Loop receivers

with headsets available.

See George Hughes if

interested (he is usually

by the organ.

Blessing of Lectern

Paraments (Hangings)

Mother Barb blessing the pulpit paraments

with Carol Heil (center) who created the

Pentecost (red) hanging and Diana Wallace

(right) who created the white Easter Cross

hanging. Thank you Carol and Diana for

offering your wonderful gi+s to the St. Luke’s

community of faith.