Good Shepherd Weekly Update, September 30, 2023

Confirmation Classes Matt is hosting a series of confirmation classes by Zoom Sunday evenings at 3pm.  These classes are for people who have been baptized as young children or in other traditions but have not made a profession of faith in the Anglican tradition for themselves.  Confirmation is one of the sacraments, and is a way for the Christian to step forward into a fuller membership within the church body.  If you would like access to this class, please email the office or let Stephanie know.

Good Shepherd Food Pantry Needs The food pantry is completely run on donations, so every box and can counts!  Adding an extra can of vegetables, soup, or meat to your shopping once or twice a month really helps us keep a variety of nutritious food on hand for those who can use a bit of a hand up.

This week we could especially use:

• Canned Chicken
• Soups
• Spaghetti Sauce

A Visit with Bishop Dobbs On October 7 & 8, Bishop Julian and his wife Brenda will be visiting Good Shepherd.  He will preach at both the 8:00 & 10:30 services.  He will also be leading the discussion at Christian Ed. on Sunday, and giving a talk called Calvin and Cranmer Against That Hideous Strength: Appropriating the Reformed Faith in Our Mission to the World, which should prove to be very interesting.

We will also have confirmations and receptions at the 10:30 service.

Potluck There will be a potluck immediately following the 10:30 service.  The theme will be Appetizers.  Please bring a dish of your favorite apps and hang out to have lunch and fellowship, but stay and do so even if you don’t bring anything!

Clergy Retreat Matt, Anne, and Jonathan will be heading to Texas on Sunday afternoon, for our diocese’s annual clergy retreat. This year Foley Beach, our archbishop, will be leading the retreat.  They will be away until Thursday evening.  All regularly scheduled Good Shepherd events will continue as planned.

Next Up in Christian Ed Following the end of our series about The Good Shepherd School project, Matt and Anne will be leading a series on Marriage and Parenting.

St. Nicholas Fair The St. Nicholas Fair was such fun last year that we decided to do it all over again this year!  This year, all proceeds will go directly toward funding the purchase of health insurance for the teachers and staff of the Mchungaji Mwema Preschool in Kuwinda.  Please join us on December 16^th for good food, music, shopping, and more to benefit this worthy cause.

Please see Angel Groves for more information, or to find out how you can be involved.

Sunday Worship and Holy Eucharist

The 8am service This service includes readings from the Bible, a sermon, offering, confession, and communion. There is no music during this service. The 8am service is not currently being live-streamed.

The 10:30am service This is a full traditional Anglican Holy Eucharist service, including readings from the Bible, music, a sermon, confession, and communion.  This service is available for livestream on our Facebook page.  You can download a PDF copy of this week’s service bulletin here.

This Sunday’s lectionary readings are: Ezekiel 18:1-4,25-32, Psalm 25:1-14, Acts 12:1-12, and Matthew 21:28-32.

You’ll also notice that there are links in the offertory section to take you out to two different means of giving electronically. You can give online through Breeze or you can text a donation through Breeze at 607-882-6551. Good Shepherd also has a PayPal account. As always, thank you for your great generosity and kind support.

Catching Up…

Last Sunday’s Sermon Last Sunday, Jonathan preached on Acts 11:19-30.  Check back soon for a link to view or listen to this sermon.

Christian Education Last Micah Lovell continued his presentation on the Good Shepherd School project.  

You can catch that class here.

You can find previous classes here.

Tuesday Morning Bible Study This Tuesday we continued our study on the book of 1 Samuel.  You can watch that class here.

Preventing Grace Did you know that Matt and Anne have a podcast?  This week’s episode will be posted later this week.

You can find their podcast available on most platforms.

You can catch up on older episodes here.

The Cranmer Fellows Podcast (CFP) explores pastoral ministry and theology from an Anglican perspective. CFP is a project that Jon and Matt have undertaken in order to 1) encapsulate the pastoral training Matt has given men over the years into an accessible resource and 2) serve as a door to, we pray, a future program to train more people for ministry. Though geared toward the pastor, ministry leader, and pastor-in-training, what Jon and Matt talk about is applicable to all Christians!

Here is a link where you can listen to previous episodes. https://anchor.fm/thecranmerfellowspodcast.

You can subscribe to CFP on all major platforms.

Ongoing Ministries 

Intercessor Ministry Good Shepherd has resumed offering Prayer on the side altar during Communion. On any given Sunday, you may notice a person standing at the side altar rail as you come forward to receive the bread and wine.  That person is part of the Prayer Ministry, people trained to pray for any anxieties or troubles you may have.  If you would like prayer for any reason, please feel free to stop as you pass.

Audio-Video Team Are you a technologically capable person who would like to serve the church with your gifts?  Good Shepherd is adding a volunteer team to run sound and the livestream for the 10:30 Sunday service. If this is a ministry that interests you, please reach out to Micah.

Morning Prayer This group meets online by Zoom at 7am Monday through Friday.  The liturgy and readings are available each day at www.dailyoffice2019.com. Join the parish email list and look for a weekly email invitation in your inbox.

Tuesday Morning Bible Study meets at 9:05am to walk through different books of the bible, verse by verse.  Taught by a member of the pastoral staff in the main room of the parish hall.  This class can be viewed in person or online each week by livestream.

Home Groups Home Groups exist to glorify God and build up the church through weekly gatherings where members of Good Shepherd and non-members alike may come to grow in fellowship and discipleship around God’s word.

Most Home Groups have resumed meeting.  You can find information on locations in the paper update.  Please check with your home group host or leader for more info.

Shepherd’s Bowl Community Dinner Good Shepherd offers a free nutritious meal to the people of Good Shepherd and the wider community on Thursday evenings from 5:30-6:30. If you are able, this is a great time to get to know others and enjoy a free and delicious meal.

Thursday Evening Bible Study This is a great place to connect with others and learn more about what God has to say to us through his word.  The class is taught by The Rev. Jon Groves, and they are studying the gospel of Mark.

Friday Morning Men’s Bible Study Each week men gather at 6:30am to share bible study and prayer time together.  Men of any age are welcome to attend.  If you are interested in learning more about this study, please email Pastor Matt, Jonathan Groves, or contact the church office. This class is currently studying the book of 2 John.

Women’s Bible Study meets at 4:30pm on Friday afternoons in the Parish Hall.  Anne Kennedy teaches this study. If you’d like to join by zoom, please join the church email list and look for a link in the weekly update email.

Good Shepherd Youth Group The Good Shepherd Youth Group serves young adults by providing an engaging context for them to grow in:
1) Maturity in doctrine
2) Faithfulness to Christ
3) Service to others

Good Shepherd Food Pantry Did you know that Good Shepherd has a member food pantry?  The pantry is a small room off the kitchen and a small basket in the kitchen freezer.  Everyone is welcome to make use of the church pantry regardless of income.  No questions asked.

The food pantry is a great way to directly (and anonymously) help fellow members by donating shelf stable food and frozen items, farm fresh unwashed eggs, and personal hygiene items.

If you are in need, please feel free to make use of the pantry.  If you’d like more information, please see Jenn Fowler.

Have an item for the Update or Announcements?

send an email to gs.binghamton@gmail.com by Monday evening.

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