Seven Mission Goals for 2007

1. An active youth ministry in place by the end of the year 2. Hosting a quarterly Friends and Family Sunday (where we invite non-believing family and friends to church) 3. 100% parish participation in the Franklin Graham festival (i.e. everyone gets trained and brings a non-believing friend to the festival itself) 4. The vestry is seeking100% participation in Bible Study. 5 At least 30 new believers by this time next year. 6. An active discipling program by the end of the year with at least 4 leaders in discipling relationships. 7. gathering at least 100 people for worship every Sunday.

Dear Good Shepherd,

 

As you know Good Shepherd and St. Andrew's Vestal made front page news last week. Here is the link. Please be sure to read the discussion in the comments section below the main article where you will see that Cookie Finch and I engaged in a discussion of . The article seems to suggest that Good Shepherd does not welcome homosexual people and because we do not welcome homosexual people we are shrinking.

Nothing could be further from the truth. We welcome and accept all people. Welcoming and accepting all people, however, does not necessarily mean that we must approve of everything that people do. Anne and I love each other very much but that love does not mean that I must always love what Anne does or vice versa. In fact, love sometimes means intervening to prevent someone from behaving in self-destructive ways.

The bible defines sin as the ultimate act of self-destruction. It harms body and soul. It separates people from God, from others, and from creation itself.

In Christ, God is reconciling the world to himself. That reconciliation necessarily involves bringing human beings to the point where we will repent of our sins. Repentance, of course, does not mean that we never sin. It means being willing to acknowledge our sins and, with God's help, commit to act differently, in the future.

But how can we repent and be reconciled to God through Jesus Christ if we don't know what sin is? This is one reason God has given us the Ten Commandments and the other laws found in the bible, so that we can see what is good and what is evil and repent of the evil.

But what if we refuse to acknowledge the sin that God reveals? Then we continue living apart from the Lord. We continue along a path of self-destruction.

This is why it is so very important for the Church never to compromise or dilute or hide the Word of God. In it God convicts us of sin, which hurts, but he also shows us the way of salvation and life.

God's answer to sin is the cross of Christ. His answer to death is the Resurrection. He has made a way for sinners to find life and reconciliation. It is a glorious and beautiful way that involves a deep and intimate relationship with his Son Jesus Christ. It is the only path or lifestyle that will ever bring peace and joy.

But following Jesus requires repentance, turning away from sin, and turning toward the cross.

The good news of the gospel is that Jesus Christ has died in your place to pay the penalty for your sins. The Gospel is that God loves you so much that he wants you to spend all of eternity him.

But to do that you and I must admit that we are sinners. We be willing to give up our sin (God simply asks for a willing heart even if our flesh is weak), and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ alone for our salvation.

In the words of John:

“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (1 st John 1:9)

Moreover, as you know, we are not shrinking. We have grown incredibly since 2003. In fact, last year, 2006, saw our highest Average Sunday Attendance in more than a decade. I gave this information to Bill Moyers, the reporter for the Press and Sun. He apparently got confused and reversed the numbers. Rather than reporting that we have gone from 50 to 80 on a Sunday since 2003, he reported that we went from 80 to 50. I wrote the following letter to Mr Moyers and his editors at the Press and Sun:

Dear Mr. Moyers,

 

There is at least one inaccuracy in the Press and Sun article this morning.

 

We had a long conversation about numbers. I told you that in 2003 before the crisis we had built the church to the point that we were getting around 80 or so on a Sunday morning.

 

After the crisis our attendance dropped by 30 so that we had an Average Sunday Attendance (ASA) of 50 (still in 2003).

 

But before the end of the year we picked up 20 new people. By the end of 2003 we were back up to around 70 (69).

 

We maintained that level of attendance until last year 2006 when we gained 20 new members and our attendance jumped to 80.
 
I very clearly said that we had an ASA of 80 for 2006.

 

Please issue a correction because as written it appears that we lost attendance through this crisis when in fact the opposite is true.

 

Here are the official attendance Charts for Good Shepherd. They only go to 2005. The 2006 numbers will be released by the Episcopal Church at some point in 2007

http://12.0.101.92/reports/PR_ChartsDemo/exports/ParishRPT_319200782547AM.pdf

The 2006 Average Sunday Attendance will show a jump to 80 per Sunday as we gained about 20 new members last year.

 

Addendum:

 

The real depth of this mischaracterization is seen when you compare the ASA numbers for Good Shepherd above with the numbers for the diocese of Central New York .

 

Good Shepherd has gone from an ASA of 47 when we arrived in 2002 to 80 in 2006.

The diocese, by contrast, has suffered a 14.75% loss from 2000-2005 and a 23.6% loss since 1995:

 

http://www.episcopalchurch.org/documents/Average_Sunday_Attendance_1995-05_by_Domestic_Diocese.pdf

 

Sincerely,

 

Matt Kennedy

Rector of the Church of the Good Shepherd

The Wardens of Good Shepherd and St. Andrew's have sent in a joint response to the theological questions raised in the Press and Sun article. We hope will be published in the Viewpoints section in the near future.

This is a difficult time in the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion. I am so very thankful for the way you have endured this long trial. You are showing strength and courage that can only come from the Lord. Thank you. We will continue to stand firm and stand together as long as it takes. We will trust God and pray that he will continue to protect us and that he will bring peace and healing to the Anglican Communion and the Episcopal Church\

UPDATE CONTENTS :

ACOLYTE PRACTICE

FRANKLIN GRAHAM LIFE AND WITNESS COURSES

OPERATION ANDREW UPDATE

THE SIGN

CLAM CHOWDER AND BAKE SALE

ANGLICAN COMMUNION UPDATE

CHRISTIAN EDUCATION: HEROES OF THE BIBLE

NEWS

ACOLYTE PRACTICE THIS SUNDAY AGAIN: Rob Finch was called away last Sunday so there was no practice. But there will be practice this Sunday directly after the 10:30am service this Sunday. If you are an acolyte or a parent of an acolyte, please be sure to make it.

FRANKLIN GRAHAM "LIFE AND WITNESS" COURSES TO BE HELD AT GOOD SHEPHERD: As you know, beginning in late April, Good Shepherd will be hosting one of the regional “life and witness” courses in preparation for the Franklin Graham festival this summer. These courses will be lead by a representative from Franklin Graham and we are expecting somewhere between 200 to 300 people to attend. It is huge. I wanted to remind you that these courses are for you. You'll want to invite your non-believing friends to the Festival itself. But the Life and Witness Courses are designed for people who have already committed their lives to Christ. They are intended to bring you renewal, encouragement and a fresh start. There will be four classes total beginning Monday April 23 rd and continuing the next four Monday's until Monday May 14 th . All of them begin at 7:00pm.

 

OPERATION ANDREW UPDATE: Operation Andrew was designed by Billy Graham and is named after the first evangelist in the bible, Andrew, Peter's brother, who heard Jesus' message and then found his brother and brought him to hear the Good News as well.

 

I will devote the whole Adult Education class this Sunday the 25th of March (the Sunday before Palm Sunday). If you do not regularly attend the Sunday Morning education time between 9:15 and 10:15am, I urge you to come to these. It is important to do all that we can to prepare for the Festival by beginning to think and pray about people to invite.

 

For those who were here last Sunday I hope you have already begun to work on the first three steps in the Operation Andrew Plan:

 

Step 1 is to Look Around where you live, work, or go to school—this is your mission field. List names of individuals you know who need Jesus Christ, whom you will pray for regularly.

Step 2 is to Look Up because God changes people through prayer. Pray each day for those on your list, that God will give you opportunities to share His love with them.

Step 3 is to Look Out for ways to cultivate friendships with each person on your list. Spend time with them. An invitation to dinner or a sporting event will build friendships, which can open the way to talk about Christ.

I'll discus the remaining two steps Look Forward and Look After at Adult Ed this Sunday and in next week's weekly update. But for now, and leading up to the Festival these first three steps are our priorities. Concentrate on identifying five people and praying for them. If you are having trouble identifying five people, then be sure to be at adult ed this Sunday because I will help you.

We'll talk more about this on Sunday.

THE SIGN: The new sign is scheduled to be finished and mounted on March 30 th . If this schedule holds, then we will celebrate and dedicate this sign the very next Sunday.

CLAM CHOWDER AND BAKE SALE : The Easter Bake sale is March 31 from 10:00--2:00.  Lunch is 11:30--1:30.  Homemade clam Crowder will also be available. Please sign up in the Parish Hall to bake, set up, and/or work!!!  Thank you

 

ANGLICAN COMMUNION UPDATE: It has been a monumental week in the life of the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion. The primates (provincial leaders) of the Anglican Communion gave the Episcopal Church until September 30th to 1. set up an adequate structure for alternative oversight for parishes and dioceses that wish to remain faithful to biblical principles and 2. commit to stop all same sex blessings and consecrations of bishops living in non-celibate homosexual relationships. This week the House of Bishops of the Episcopal Church rejected the primates first recommendation and it looks likely that they will also reject the second. This means, essentially, that the Episcopal Church is ready to leave the Anglican Communion. Here is my analysis of that statement. And here is a recorded online discussion between Bishop Iker of Fort Worth, The Rev. Dr. Kendall Harmon, Canon Thelogian of South Carolina and myself.

ADULT CHRISTIAN ED: HEROES OF THE BIBLE: We will take a three week break from Heroes of the bible starting this Sunday when we will spend our time together discussing Operation Andrew. Next Sunday and the Sunday after we will talk about the Death and Resurrection of Jesus and what it means to us.

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
“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (1 st John 1:9)