Dear
Good Shepherd,
Good Morning. Emma learning to direct Aedan about the house.
I caught her yesterday telling Aedan to say "yes ma'am"
after she tells him what to do. Aedan,
for his part, is down with something again. He has a fever.
Rowan is not yet sleeping though the night. Our home is
a circus. But for some reason I love it.
WEEKLY
ARTICLE:
And
the Lord Taketh Away
by
the Rev. Matt Kennedy
Weekly
Article
October
27th, 2006
TO
BE POSTED THIS AFTERNOON
.
UPDATE
CONTENT
"NEW"
NEWS
FALL BACK
FAMILY
AND FRIENDS SUNDAY
CHRISTMAS
EXTRAVAGANZA
CHRISTMAS
FLOWERS
READERS
USHERS/GREETERS/YOUTH
GREETERS
NEW
BEGINNERS COMING THIS THURSDAY (NOV 2)
BIBLE
STUDY
EVANGELISM
WALKABOUT
SOUTHSIDE
ECUMENICAL COUNCIL THANKSGIVING SERVICE
NEW ADULT EDUCATION SERIES TO BE ANNOUNCED
RECTOR'S FORUM
NOT QUITE “NEW” NEWS
SHARING
BIBLES
NEW
BEGINNERS NEWS
STEWARDSHIP
"NEW"
NEWS:
FALL
BACK:
Remember
to set your clocks back an hour this Saturday night
before you go to bed. Every year people come to worship
at 10:30am only to find out it's really only 9:30am. Just
think, you'll get an extra hour of sleep before church this
Sunday.
FAMILY
AND FRIENDS SUNDAY: The Next family and
friends Sunday is scheduled for Sunday November 12 th .
Last Family and Friends Sunday we only had one guest. I
know we can do a lot better than that. Good Shepherd has
experienced tremendous growth this year…over 20 new members.
That growth has come from God by way of your personal evangelism:
sharing your faith in Jesus Christ and asking your friends
and neighbors to come to church. Evangelism is fundamental
to the Christian walk. God has blessed us with abundance.
Let's not grow complacent or proud. Instead, let's return
to the Harvest field ready to seek more lost people for
Christ and through Christ.
Along
with a guest, please plan to bring a covered dish for lunch.
CHRISTMAS
EXTRAVAGANZA:
If
you haven't noticed we have a lot of kids this year. This
means we can have a huge Christmas Pageant. Every year it
get bigger, this year we are going to try to make it huge.
We'd like to increase the number of parts to include King
Herod, some Roman soldiers, more angels and more sheep.
We'd also like to get more lines for our actors and actresses.
Hopefully we could also beef up the family service liturgy
a bit. Anne and I started talking over a few things this
last week and passed a few through Rob Finch, the acolyte
director. Whatever the final plans are, we will start Christmas
pageant practice earlier this year, sometime in November
in fact. This should be a Christmas family service that
you will want to invite your friends and relatives to see.
More information coming soon.
CHRISTMAS
FLOWERS:
If you wish to have memorial or thanksgiving flowers for
Christmas this year, you will find a form in this newsletter
for the Christmas flowers to be placed on the altar. Please
fill it out and return it to the church by December 17 th
so that your loved ones can be included. Please use full
names and not “Mr. or Mrs.” Sign your name to the form so
that, if there are any questions, we can contact you. This
is a good time to remember those who have passed away and
to let our living friends and family know how much we love
them.
READERS:
IF
you are a reader or have signed up to be a reader, there
will be a training session THIS SATURDAY October 28 th at
11:00am.
USHER'S/GREETERS/YOUTH
GREETERS: There will be a training meeting after
the 10:30am service THIS SUNDAY Sunday October 29th.
NEW
BEGINNERS STARTS THIS COMING THURSDAY: the
Fall class of New Beginners will start on Thursday, November
2nd at 6:30pm *. If you have wanted to join a bible study
but have worried that you are not knowledgeable enough,
this bible study is for you. We start at the ground level
assuming that you have never opened your bible before and
then build you up to the point where you can take almost
any passage and apply it to your life. God speaks to you
directly through the bible. This class will teach you how
to hear his voice. All new members and all those who have
never been in a bible study are encouraged to join.
BIBLE
FELLOWSHIP: If you are a man and having trouble
getting up at 6:30am for the men's bible study and breakfast,
there is another men's bible study that meets every Saturday.
This study is led by Bill Lane and meets between 4 and 6
pm. If you are interested can call Bill on his cell phone:
237-9232
EVANGELISM
WALKABOUT: We
are starting to plan for our next evangelism walkabout.
For those who are new to Good Shepherd, here's how it works.
First a team of volunteers makes bread in the church oven.
Then another team places the bread in small paper bags along
with some information about the church, a bible verse (“I
am the bread of life”) and a brochure with the gospel message.
Then all the volunteers split up into as many delivery teams
as we can (at least two per team) and fan out through the
neighborhood knocking on doors and handing out the bags.
This makes it very easy to be an evangelist. All you have
to do is smile and give away free homemade bread. Last time
we delivered bread to about 400 homes. If you'd like to
volunteer for this project, there will be a sign-up sheet
downstairs. We are tentatively scheduling it for December
9th. Details will be on the sign-up sheet.
SOUTH-SIDE
ECUMENICAL THANKSGIVING SERVICE:
The annual ecumenical
Thanksgiving service will be held at Good Shepherd this
year. It will be on Tuesday evening of Thanksgiving week.
Mark your calendars now! More information will be coming
soon.
ADULT
EDUCATION SERIES: We
have completed our series on the World the Flesh and the
Devil…The Next Adult Education series will be announced
on Sunday.
RECTOR'S
FORUM: This Sunday between services there
will be a Rector's Forum. Your questions about God, Christianity,
the bible, the church, or whatever else is on your mind
are welcome. I plan to provide an update on the situation
in the Anglican Communion.
NOT
QUITE "NEW" NEWS
SHARING
BIBLES : I noticed a couple of weeks ago that some
of our guests were unable to follow along in a bible during
the sermon because all the bibles were taken. Unfortunately,
we only have so many in the pews. It would be a great show
of hospitality if members could bring their own bibles to
church so that guests and new believers can use the ones
in the pews.
STEWARDSHIP
: It's getting to be that time of the year again.
If you are a member of the parish we'll be sending our pledge
cards. At Good Shepherd, those in leadership do their best
to use your pledges and gifts in a godly, faithful and generous
way to support the poor, further the Gospel, and maintain
the gifts God has given us. This is the work of the Body
of Christ all believers are called to pitch in. I encourage
everyone to commit to the ten percent tithe in your pledge
this year. But don't take my word for it. Here's what the
prophet Malachi says:
HAVE YOU…. shared your faith
with a friend? The vestry has challenged all of us to share
our faith in Jesus Christ with at least one non-believer
each month.
Good
News for the Week
Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there
may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the
LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the
floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that
you will not have room enough for it. I will prevent pests
from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields
will not cast their fruit," says the LORD Almighty.
"Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours
will be a delightful land," says the LORD Almighty.
(Malachi 3:10-12)
Don't forget to....BRING A FRIEND TO CHURCH!
Daily Schedule for the week of Sunday October 29th,
2006
Monday:
Pastor's day off
Joint
Vestry Meeting with St. Andrew's Vestry
Tuesday
8:30 a.m. Morning Prayer
9:00 a.m. Tuesday Morning Bible Study
6:30 p.m. First Light Bible Study
8:00 p.m. Choir Practice
Wednesday
8:30 a.m. Morning Prayer
Thursday
8:30 a.m. Morning Prayer
5:30 p.m. Shepherd's Bowl
6:30 p.m. New Beginners Bible
Study FIRST
SESSION
Friday
6:30 a.m. Men's Breakfast/Bible Study
8:30 a.m. Morning Prayer
Pastor's sermon prep day
Saturday:
10:00 a.m. Women's Bible Study
Sunday November
5th, 2006: Praise and Worship the Lord!
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
In
Christ,
