| Update
January 13th, 2006
Dear
Good Shepherd,
Good
Morning! As you probably know by now, Anne has been sick all
week with thrush, which is some sort of throat infection that
makes her feel horrible. She hasn't been able to swallow or
speak. Thank you for all of your prayers and to everyone who
offered to lend a hand. She is asleep right now which is a
very good thing because she hasn't had much of it this week.
In
any case, since she is church secretary, assistant rector,
AND, my wife, when she's this sick, not everything gets done.
Among the causalities this week is the weekly article which
I simply have not had time to do. But it will return next
week.
Everything
else should be done by Sunday, which, I hope you remember
is the Annual Meeting. There are some wonderful things to
report about the state of the church and progress we made
last year. And there are some major challenges and goals we
are called to meet in 2006. I am thankful for all the blessings
of last year and very excited about the prospects for growth
in the year to come. We will talk about all of these things
during the Annual Meeting.
We
will also elect new vestry members and a new Junior Warden.
Bob
Finch, the outgoing Junior Warden, deserves the deep respect
and gratitude of us all. He has selflessly served Jesus Christ
through his faithful, devoted, and wise leadership as Junior
Warden the Church of the Good Shepherd. He was Junior Warden
when Anne and I arrived at Good Shepherd and, looking back,
I have no idea how we would have or could have navigated the
earlier years of our ministry here without his wisdom and
support. Throughout the turmoil of recent years, Bob has been
a rock; never wavering in his commitment to the people of
Good Shepherd or his duties as Junior Warden. I am so very
thankful to God for allowing me to serve with Bob and to watch
him serve Christ so selflessly and with such tireless devotion.
He is a true model of Christian service and I hope to learn
from and follow his example. Thank you Bob.
Now,
so that I don't embarrass Bob any more than I already have,
let me go on with the Update.
UPDATE
CONTENTS:
ANNUAL
MEETING
VESTRY
ELECTIONS
STEWARDSHIP
REMINDER
CHRISTIAN EDUCATION: FAMILY LIFE
CHRISTIAN
EDUCATION: THE NEXT SERIES
NEWS
ANNUAL
MEETING: This
Sunday, January 15th, is the Annual Meeting. This is the time
the whole church comes together to hear the various reports
for the year, elect officers to various offices, and get a
sense of the mission and goals for the coming year. Every
member of the church is eligible to vote and I hope that you
will all take an active part in this meeting. This is God's
church, but he uses his people to make it work. Help us make
it work in accordance with the Word and will of God.
We'll
keep our regular service schedule and hold the meeting between
the 8:00am
and 10:30am
services (during the Christian Ed. hour). Canons require the
polls to remain open at least one hour, so we'll open them
at 9:15am
and close them at 10:15am
before the 10:30am
service. This means that
we will not have Sunday School. All the teachers are invited
to take part in the meeting itself.
There
will be some entertainment for the kids, so if you want to
come to the Annual Meeting, but you are worried about what
to do with your children, don't worry, bring them!
VESTRY
ELECTIONS:
There
are three vestry positions being vacated this year and two
up for re-election.
Bob
White
has decided to resign from vestry after two years of service.
He has served Good Shepherd faithfully for the last two years
and deserves our thanks and blessing for a job well done.
Dolly
Shaller's
term of service is up this year and she has decided not to
run for reelection. Many of you are familiar with Dolly's
work as parish nurse and her devotion to the social outreach
missions of Good Shepherd. She has served so very well both
as a member of the vestry and as a caring and loving nurse
to the people of the church. I am very thankful to have served
with her.
Tom
Woolsey
has decided to resign his vestry seat in order to run for
Junior Warden. He has been a member of the church for some
time and he has been preparing for the role of Junior Warden
for the last year with the help of Bob Finch.
As
mentioned above, Bob Finch , our current
Junior Warden, having served out his term and beyond, is retiring
this year to enjoy the fruits of his labor.
There
are two other vestry seats up for election this year.
Chris Jones and Don Dean have served
out their terms but both have decided to run for reelection.
So,
five vestry seats are open for election. Two are currently
filled by members who will run for reelection and three remain
open without incumbents.
So
far three people have stepped forward to fill the non-incumbent
seats:
•
Rebecca Losiewicz
has
been a member of Good Shepherd since 2004. Rebecca is a believing
Christian who regularly attends the Tuesday morning and Saturday
morning bible studies as well as the 10:30am service and Christian
Education every Sunday. She serves regularly at church events
and dinners and is always willing to lend a hand around the
church. She is a student at BU and is currently in England
where she will
be married in February to Cas Theirry. They will return to
Binghamton
after their marriage and live here for the foreseeable future.
•
Fred Moat
has been a member of Good Shepherd since 2004. He is a believing
Christian who attends the New Beginners and Men's Breakfast/Bible
Study. Fred attends the 10:30am service and Christian Education
every Sunday with his fiancée, Joanne Blaisure. Fred
has led numerous landscaping projects around the church. To
name two, Fred redesigned and planted the new garden by the
back door of the church and dug a new dry well near the base
of the church. Fred sings a very good base in the choir adding
to our growing male vocalist contingent.
•
Susan Woolsey
has
been a life-long member of Good Shepherd and has served the
church in a variety of capacities over the course of her life.
She is a believing Christian currently attending the New Beginner's
Bible study weekly when not working. She usually attends the
10:30am service though she has been known to peek into the
8:00am with her husband Tom. Susan is a public school administrative
assistant (I think that's her title?—I may be wrong) and a
very talented organizer and administrator. She is also a great
help at dinners and church events.
All
three candidates are firmly committed to the course the church
has taken with regard to the Anglican Communion and firmly
devoted to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
And,
as mentioned above, one person has stepped forward to run
for Junior Warden.
•
Tom Woolsey
, as you may have noticed, is Susan's husband. Tom
was an off and on member of the church for many years until
2003, when he committed his life to Jesus Christ. Since that
time he has devoted himself to serving Good Shepherd, consistently
and faithfully. He was a regular attendee of the Men's Bible
Study until very recently when his new work hours made attendance
at any of the studies impossible. He has served on the vestry
for one year and has taken part in many projects and jobs
around the church. He was, for example, instrumental in repairing
some of the major damage done after the robbery of Christmas
2004. For the last year Bob Finch has been preparing him to
take on the task of Junior Warden and now he is ready and
willing to serve.
Any
baptized member in good standing is eligible to run for vestry.
Any baptized and confirmed member is eligible to run for the
position of Junior Warden.
STEWARDSHIP
REMINDER: THANK YOU to
all who have turned in your pledges. It's never too late to
give or to turn in your pledge cards :). We will be collecting
pledge cards through January. You are welcome to mail them
or drop them in the offering plate.
CHRISTIAN
EDUCATION: THE NEXT SERIES The
next series is going to begin Sunday January 22 nd , the Sunday
after the Annual meeting.
This
time, we'll be examining the biblical role of the church.
What
is the church? Is it a building? Is it a group of people?
Can it be both? What is it supposed to be and do? The bible
answers all of these questions and in it, God provides the
mission for every local parish, including Good Shepherd.
The
vestry and I
encourage everyone to attend this series as through it you
will learn and see some of the principles that have been at
the core of some of the programs we have established and leadership
decisions we have made over the last three years.
FIRST
LIGHT BIBLE STUDY:
This week we will continue to move through Matthew 5, but
be sure to do your homework for Matthew chapter 6, because
we'll probably make it through chapter five in the first thirty
minutes. The Sermon on the Mount is one of the most important
sections of the entire New Testament. That's why we're spending
so much time on it. The First Light Bible Study is specifically
designed for graduates of the New Beginner's program. It is
open to anyone who has some general knowledge of the bible
or who has completed the New Beginners study. It meets from
6:30pm to 8:00pm every Tuesday in the parish hall.
BRING
A FRIEND TO CHURCH SUNDAY :
At the vestry retreat last month, the vestry decided to set
aside four Sundays a year specifically for the purpose of
hosting our un-churched and/or non-believing friends or family
members. Now, we should be doing this every Sunday, but we
have to start somewhere.
The
first “Bring a Friend to Church Sunday” is February 19 th
, so start thinking about who you will invite and start praying
for them now.
Good
News for the Week
For
the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all
men. It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and
worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and
godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed
hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus
Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness
and to purify for himself a people that are his very own,
eager to do what is good. (Titus 2:11-14)
Don't
forget to....BRING A FRIEND TO CHURCH!
Daily Schedule for the week of Sunday January 15th, 2006
Monday:
8:30 a.m. Morning Prayer
Tuesday
8:30 a.m. Morning Prayer
9:00 a.m. Tuesday Morning Bible Study
6:00 p.m. First Light Bible Study: Q and A
6:30
p.m. First Light Bible Study: Discussion (Matthew 5/6)
Wednesday
8:30 a.m. Morning Prayer
Thursday
8:30 a.m. Morning Prayer
5:30 p.m. Shepherd's Bowl
6:00
p.m. New Beginner Bible Study Q and A
6:30 p.m. New Beginners Bible Study: Discussion
7:30 p.m. Choir Practice
Friday
6:30 a.m. Men's Breakfast/Bible Study
8:30 a.m. Morning Prayer
Saturday:
10:00 a.m. Women's Bible Study
Sunday January 22nd, 2006: Epiphany II
8:00am Holy Communion II and Sermon
9:15-10:15 a.m. Christian Education for all Ages
10:30 am Holy Communion II, Music and Sermon
God bless you all
Matt+
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