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Good Shepherd Update Thursday March 22nd, 2012

Dear Good Shepherd,

Hello everyone! I hope you all are having a fantastic week. Hasn’t the weather been absolutely incredible? Let’s hope it continues! See you on Sunday.

-Matt T

In this Update:

1. A Message from the Outreach Team
1. The Ministry of Hospitality and Integration
3. Easter Flower Fund
3. Food Pantry Note from CJ
4. Prayer Days in Lent
5. This Week in Christian Education
7. Last Sunday’s Sermon
8. Bible Studies and Mission Groups
9. Discussion Questions

The outreach team would like to make Easter baskets for the children at Saragtoga Terrace that have been participating in the Sonshine Hour Bible studies we’ve been doing on Saturdays. We would like to ask that as you buy candy and ‘grass’ for your own children and grandchildren’s baskets, that you pick up an extra bag for the kids at Saratoga. Jelly beans, candy and chocolate are all welcome, as well as small toys. Please continue to support our efforts with prayer! ~The Outreach Team

Reminders from the Ministry of Hospitality and Integration:
The mission of the Ministry of Hospitality and Integration is to create a welcoming and caring community within the Anglican Church of the Good Shepherd and to help to integrate those attending Good Shepherd into the life and mission of the church. If you would like to help with this ministry in any way, please contact any of it’s committee members: Virginia Wetherbee, Kay Seaman, Barbara Dorunda, Hilgrove Delancy, CJ Johnson, Charles Mabua and Dolly Shaller. We will be having a planning meeting this Saturday, March 17 at 8:45 to 9 AM in Fr. Matt’s office. Feel free to join us. And remember, it is the ongoing responsibility of each of you to be constantly reaching out to and caring for others within Good Shepherd Church.

Coffee Hour: Finally, we are now ready to roll out the new plan for coffee hour with 12 teams of people each with a team leader who will coordinate what to bring and who does set up, serving and clean up. Thanks to all of you for being willing to share this important weekly ministry to your brothers and sisters at Good Shepherd. We will be handing out team lists and schedules over the next couple of weeks. If we missed assigning you to a team and you want to be included, please let us know and we will add your name. Also we are happy to have any feedback or suggestions as we implement this new plan.

Sunday, April 1, Palm Sunday, will be our next all church dinner after the 10:30 service. We would like the main entrees and desserts to be Chicken and Chocolate, in honor of the Easter holiday. So check out your favorite recipes and bring a dish to pass. Salads and any other items will also be much appreciated and enjoyed.

Financial Peace University: Being a good steward of the resources God gives to us is not something that comes naturally. We’re fallen after all and our eyes are always bigger than our pocketbooks. Financial Peace University is a 14 week course, grounded in biblical principles, designed by Dave Ramsey to help people learn to use their resources wisely, to climb out of debt and learn habits that will help you stay out. Beginning Monday April 16th and running for 14 weeks Financial Peace University is coming to Good Shepherd Neil and Samantha Kubic, who have taken the course and applied the principles themselves, have stepped forward to lead it. More information will be coming soon. But for now, if you are interested, there will be a sign up sheet in the parish hall this Sunday. This course normally costs over 100 dollars per person…but thanks to the generosity of Union Center Christian Church we are able to offer it for free to all.

Easter Flower Fund: If you wish to donate flowers for the Easter Service this year be sure to pick up a form on the Usher’s table. You can give in memory of someone or just in thanksgiving for God’s Blessings in your life, but please be sure to write in the memo “flower fund” and to fill out the donation card, so we can be sure to not leave anyone out of the bulletin. Thank you!

Food Pantry note from CJ: To everyone who has donated to our Member Food Pantry recently, I give a big cheer and a hearty thank you, but we are still in crisis. Food seems to disappear faster than we can stock it on the shelves so I had an idea: If everyone bought a few extra items when they went shopping (on sale, of course) and donated those items to the pantry, writing these notes in the Update would be a thing of the past! So the next time you’re at a grocery store or a dollar store, remember our pantry and those who use it—your generosity will be greatly appreciated. Here are some ideas for things we need: pasta, pasta sauce, rice, cooking oil, coffee/tea/fruit juice, cocoa and powdered milk packets, soups, stews, canned meats, tuna, low calorie snacks, no sugar products, cookies, crackers, puddings, canned fruit and anything else you can think off. Thank you, and God bless! -CJ Johnson

Prayer Days in Lent: There will be many opportunities to pray through Lent. Here are the days and there will be sign ups down stairs after church on Sunday. We hope you’ll sign up for an hour one Saturday and then an hour during the longer Vigil in Holy Week.

Saturdays 11am to 3pm: 3/24, 3/31

Prayer Vigil: April 5 Maundy Thursday 8pm through to April 7 Saturday 8pm the Great Vigil of Easter

Update: News About Lenten Prayer Days Thank you to all of you who have already signed up! There are many many more spaces if you haven’t had a chance yet, and I hope you will keep in mind and make plans for the longer time of prayer in Holy Week. I promised a long time ago some more details and here they are!

Where to Pray: We have transformed the chapel into a dedicated prayer room. There are detailed instructions and helps for prayer there. The space is amenable to individuals and groups and you are welcome to arrange the chairs however you like, lie on the floor, walk around the church, pray in the sanctuary or, in other words, pray however and wherever you like.

If I don’t pray every Saturday in the church, what will I miss?: LOTS. But don’t worry! Come by the church and pray any time its open. If you can’t pray Saturday come another time. Try to check into the room every week during Lent because the space, theme and scripture will change for each Saturday. You can pick up the scripture and take it with you, or just spend a few minutes praying in the church.

What is the Goal of these Days of Prayer?: Along with Bible Study, Sunday Morning Worship and Fellowship, Prayer is a key ingredient to a healthy and balanced Christian life. But it’s usually the thing we feel most futile in, the hardest to remember to do when there’s no crisis, and often the hardest to perceive any benefit from. If we, as a whole church, can make prayer a priority for a concerted period of time, not only will we as a whole body grow in our ability and desire to pray, but each of us individually who participate will be helped. An hour seems like a long time, but I heard from many in the fall who had never done it before that the hour FLEW by and some unwittingly stayed longer. My desire for these days in Lent is that you will take as much time as you can—a few minutes if that’s all you have, several hours if you have the ability and the time—to pray and grow in trust and love for Jesus.
Come find me and sign up!!! -Anne+

This Week in Christian Education We’ve just started a new series entitled “The First Four Centuries,” studying the life, leaders, and challenged of the early church all the way up to 400AD. If you’re looking to read up on this subject, the class will follow Justo L. Gonzalez’ “The Story of Christianity” Volume 1, which can be found on amazon.com.

Last Sunday’s Sermon “The Good Son (Mark pt. 4)” (audio) has been posted and you can listen to it here. The video and text are coming soon.

Mission Groups: (all mission groups meet in homes and in keeping with our Sunday morning sermon series. You are invited to join the one nearest you.
* Mondays at 6:30pm Lee and Jane Bronson’s Mission Group meets at Darrell and Carolyn Dean’s house at 19 Newton Street in Port Dickinson.
* Tuesdays at 6:00pm Ife’s Mission Group meets at Carrie Moorhead’s house at 5 Hancock Street in Binghamton.
* Wednesdays at 7:00pm Joe Kovac’s Mission Group meets at 108 Allen Street in Johnson City.
* Wednesdays 7pm Bill Woollet’s group meets at Mary Lindsey’s House, 41 Hayes Street in Southeast Binghamton (near the present church.)

Bible Studies (all bible studies meet at the church in the parish hall and each study takes one book at a time and studies verse by verse)
1. Tuesday Morning Bible Study: Tuesdays at 9:00am—presently studying Hosea
2. Thursday Evening Bible Study (for beginners): Thursdays at 6:30pm—presently studying the Book of Acts
3. Men’s Breakfast and Bible Study: Fridays at 6:30am—presently studying the book of Acts. Tom and Brian are scheduled to cook.
4. Women’s Bible Study: Saturdays at 10:00am—presently studying Revelations

Discussion Questions:
Genesis 22:1-8, Mark 1:9-11
1. What is the purpose of God’s testing? [Hint: It’s not to see if we know something.
2. (v.2) How would you react to God’s calling if you were Abraham? Keep in mind that Isaac is the child of promise.
3. Compared to the Isaac/Abraham account, what role is Jesus filling?
4. How is this account foreshadowing what Jesus is going to do?
5. (v.9) Why does Jesus need to be baptized? Does Jesus need to be baptized?
6. Why is it important that heaven is “torn”? What does this mean?
7. What does it mean when God says he is “well pleased”?
8. Why does Jesus’ ministry last three years when the sacrifice could really take much less time as in the Abraham/Isaac account?

Have a Great Week!

Have an item for the Update? Email Matt at matthew.j.tuttle@gmail.com by Monday night.

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Good Shepherd Update Thursday March 22nd, 2012

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