Update January 6th, 2006

Dear Good Shepherd,

Good Morning! I hope everybody is doing well this Friday morning? I'm not sure how I'm doing because I'm not actually writing this on Friday morning, but Thursday morning. In any case, hope you have recovered from the Christmas/New Year's food/gift/shopping/family/food/traffic/in-laws/mall/food/etc glut. Anne and I are not yet fully recovered.

The house is a wreck.

The kids, sensing that we're tired, have pretty much taken over the asylum. I walked into the living room yesterday and found Aedan on top of the coffee table dancing, throwing magazines about, and laughing hysterically.

Hopefully, by the time you are reading this, we will have restored order.

You can find the Weekly Article by following this link or you can access it via the usual link on the homepage. It is longer than usual so I didn't make it part of the Update this week. It concerns the situation in the national church and how the crisis will most likely develop this year.

It is important for every member of Good Shepherd to read it to be informed and prepared for what could happen. So please take the time to study it this week.

Well, that's about all I have to say this morning except, God bless you all!

Here's the news:

UPDATE CONTENTS:
JESUS' BIRTHDAY PARTY and KRIS KINDLE

POTLUCK

UNDECKING THE HALLS

ANNUAL MEETING

VESTRY ELECTIONS

STEWARDSHIP REMINDER
CHRISTIAN EDUCATION: FAMILY LIFE

CHRISTIAN EDUCATION: THE NEXT SERIES

NEWS

JESUS' BIRTHDAY PARTY and KRIS KINDLE: This Sunday after the 10:30am service there will be a party to celebrate Jesus birthday (I know Christmas is over, but Epiphany when the wise men brought baby Jesus gifts, is just beginning). There will be cakes and a gift exchange.

For those of you who drew names this Sunday is the day you reveal who you have been praying for and give them your gift. I am not sure why they call it Kris Kindle even though it has been explained to me many times, but that is what it's called.

POTLUCK: Along with birthday cake and gifts, there will also be a potluck lunch. So PLEASE bring a dish of something to pass around. We did really good for the Greening of the Church and had lots of food. Let's see if we can't match or beat that.

UNDECKING THE HALLS: After lunch we are going to take down the Christmas decorations. This is not nearly as fun as putting them up, but we need as much if not more help to do it. My mom keeps Christmas decorations up almost until Summer, so this will be kind of unnatural for me, but I suppose it must be done. See you there.

ANNUAL MEETING: As you know, the following Sunday, January 15th, will be 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.

We have decided to do it a bit different this year. Rather than going to one service, 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 that Sunday as all the teachers are invited to take part in the meeting itself.

There are other details to work out with regard to the time change, like breakfast/brunch, which is generally served during the meeting, but we'll iron those out and get the information to you by next week..

VESTRY ELECTIONS: There will be some open seats for vestry this year. If you are hoping to run or want to nominate someone please let Anne know this week so that she can prepare ballots if necessary.

Serving as an elder on vestry requires both faithfulness and commitment; faithfulness to the Word of God and commitment to the mission of the church.

Both qualities are essential.

Without faithfulness to the Word, plans are made and decisions taken solely on the basis of worldly and/or practical considerations.

When that happens a church runs the risk of acting faithlessly or disobediently in times of trouble or crisis. It is more important to have a committed believing Christian on vestry than to have an able banker, attorney or CEO, however skilled. Good Shepherd must always put God first and to do that we need leaders who know and love his Word.

Likewise, it is important to have someone committed to the mission of the church; willing to put in the necessary time and equipped with the necessary wisdom to see that mission to fulfillment.

Before you run or vote take some time to read the requirements for leaders in the church found in 1st Timothy 3:1-10 (reprinted once again in the “Good News for the Week“ section below) and ask God to show you whether you or the person for whom you are voting is called to this ministry.

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: This Sunday will be the last session of our family life series. I'll wrap up all that we have covered; from getting your own priorities straight, to marriage and male/female relationships; from raising children to making your home a covenant keeping home. We'll discuss all of it and of course, your questions and thoughts are always welcome.

Don't forget to check out these wonderful resources

Dare to Discipline , by Dr. James Dobson

Standing on the Promises by Douglas Wilson

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.

Good News for the Week

If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task. Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God's church?) He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil's trap. (1 st Timothy 3:1-7)

Don't forget to....BRING A FRIEND TO CHURCH!

Daily Schedule for the week of Sunday January 8th, 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)

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 15th, 2006: Epiphany II
8:00am Holy Communion II and Sermon
9:15-10:15 a.m. ANNUAL MEETING/Brunch
10:30 am Holy Communion II, Music and Sermon

God bless you all

 
Matt+