WHAT'S HAPPENING AT GOOD SHEPHERD CHURCH

Good Afternoon!

Sorry this late getting out to you today.  We have been busy with a lot of meetings over the past week, as well as preparing for our new council members to begin "taking care of business" for the new church year.  We're excited about their having stepped up!  We also want to thank Sue Hattimer and Cami Garcia for their council service years.  We have truly been blessed with dedicated servants, both past and present!

Here is What's Happening at Good Shepherd over the next few weeks. . . .

1. TONIGHT-Thur. Feb. 21-Growth Team Meeting at church at 7pm for an advertising presentation.  All are welcome to attend!

2. Thur. Feb 21-Deadline for submitting March Rod and Staff newsletter information

3. Thur. Feb 21-G2R (Genesis to Revelation) Study meets at the Stoughton's at 7pm

4. Fri. Feb 22-Crafter's Night at church begins at 6pm. All are welcome!

5. Fri. Feb 22-Friday Study meets at 7pm at the home of Laura Voruz

6. Sat. Feb 23-Shepherd's Food Pantry is open from 9:30-11:30am at 2 Belmont Dr. (at Rt. 53).  Help is always welcomed.

7. Sat. Feb 23-A Marriage Equality Phone Bank will be held at church beginning at noon.  Contact Chris Daniels if you would like to help out with this.

8. Sun. Feb 24-Worship at 8 or 10am (announcements will begin at 9:50am) with the Connection Café between services

9. Sun. Feb 24-Sunday Book Study will meet at 4pm at the Texley's (for real this week—sorry for the mis-information last week!)

10. Sun. Feb 24-Last day to submit Preschool butter braid fundraiser orders 

11. Mon. Feb 25-Deadline for submitting reports for the Council meeting to the office

12. Mon. Feb 25-Monday Study meets at 7pm at the Suchomel's

13. Tue. Feb 26-Teacher Institute Day – No student attendance.  The Preschool will be having Parent Teacher Conferences

14. Wed. Feb 27-A light dinner will be served at 6pm with the Lenten "Mosaic" book study at 6:30pm followed by Worship at 8pm

15. Thur. Feb 28-Church Council meeting at 7pm

16. Fri. March 1-Friday Study meets at 7pm at the home of Laura Voruz

17. Sat. March 2-Music Arts Event Planning meeting at 12pm at church

18. Sun. March 3- Worship at 8 or 10am (announcements will begin at 9:50am) with the Connection Café between services

19. Sun. March 3-Sunday School for youth age 4 through 5th grade will take place at 9:15am in the church office

20. Sun. March 3-Green Manna order forms are due today

Manna order forms for March are on green paper and available now.  Orders need to be placed by March 3rd and will be delivered on (or before) March 10th.  Look over the forms to see what percentage each business gives back to Good Shepherd when you buy their Manna cards.  And, there are no extra charges added to card orders.  Note that Visa $50 gift cards have been added to the list this month!  Call the office if you would like further information about the Manna program.  Orders can be turned in to Carrie Worthington at church or dropped off at the church office.

The annual Preschool Butter Braid fundraiser is happening now!  Buy a Butter Braid Pastry for $12 to serve Easter morning, or bring it to the Connection Café to share!  Orders need to be turned in by Sunday, Feb. 24.   Delivery will be March 18 from 1-3pm.  For other arrangements, please talk to Pat Hurdle.  Thanks for your support.

Lenten Supper, Study, and Worship for each of the Wednesdays in Lent.   We'll begin at 6pm with a light supper, followed by the book study at 6:30pm and worship at 8:00pm.  The book we're studying/ discussing is, "Mosaic: When God Uses All the Pieces."  All are welcome!

Summer Arts and Music Event fundraising meeting for this group will be on Saturday, March 2 at noon.  Anyone interested in helping with the event should plan on attending the meeting.  Lots of help will be needed for this event, as well as pre-event planning.  Join us!

Growth Team Meeting - Tonight at 6:30pm in the church office.  We'll be meeting with someone to discuss radio advertising and we'll also update new team members about upcoming events and activities based on ideas that were generated at our last meeting

REMINDER-John Ploense plans Good Shepherd Journeys documentary to showcase some of our recent "Journeys" and is asking for your help.  He would like pictures and/or video footage of recent Good Shepherd events.  If you have any interesting or exciting photos that you feel will help tell our Good Shepherd story, please contact John at 630-759-3603 or email him at tkdjohn1@yahoo.com and he will contact you.

Mark your calendars!  The Learning Team, along with Pastor Suzanne, will be holding two meetings to discuss their upcoming program, "Making Disciples."  The meetings will be held Monday, March 4 at 7:00pm or Thursday, March 7 at 7pm.  Those interested in the program need only attend one meeting.  This program is one that we've used for our Confirmation youth and it has been discussed for many years that we bring it to the adults in the church too.  So, we're finally doing it.  The program will kick off in May.  We think this is a great way for us to "dig deeper" into the gifts and talents of our congregation.  Please come to one of these informational meetings.  Have questions?  Please join us.

Recap from last Sunday:  On the first Sunday of Lent, we had a discussion of the temptation of Jesus from the Gospel of Luke, as well as hearing from Paul's letter to the Romans.  We talked about how we are tempted, how we can fight temptations through reading God's Word, being in fellowship with other believers for support, prayer, etc.  We also talked about how we are saved and why both "believing in your heart and confessing with your mouth" are important for our faith journeys.  Pastor challenged us, as we began the season of Lent, to begin a time of inner reflection, thinking about the things that have become a barrier between us and God.  Unlike the two prior weeks, this week, she challenged us to look at our own hearts and determine what it is that we believe and how our beliefs can help us in our fight against the temptations of our lives.

Preview of this Sunday:  We'll be looking at Jesus' words about grieving over Jerusalem, along with his accomplishing his purpose.  We'll also look at more words from the apostle, Paul, this time from the book of Philippians.  We'll think about what it means to be "citizens of heaven" and how we can look toward heaven while still making a difference here on earth.  Join us!  All are welcome!

Please feel free to call the office if you need any further information.  We're here to help and will be glad to answer your questions or hear your concerns.  I'm wishing you peace, faith, hope, love, joy, and health always.  I'm also praying we don't get hit by a big snowstorm overnight!

Renea Horn Johnson

Pastoral Assistant

Good Shepherd Church