What’s Happening at Good Shepherd This Week
Good Shepherd Advent Schedule
December 6, 4pm – Advent Lessons and Carols (online at goodshepherdbinghamton.org)
December 12, noon – The Greening of the Church
December 24, 5pm – The Annual Good Shepherd Christmas Pageant
December 25, 11am – Christmas Day Service
Upcoming Youth Group Meeting Schedule
Dec 6 & 13 Regular Sunday Meeting @ 6PM
Dec 20, 4PM-530PM – YG Christmas Party (Food Provided)
Dec 27 & Jan 3 – No Youth Group (Christmas Break)
Jan 10 – Youth Group Resumes Regular Sunday Meetings @ 6PM
Feb 5-7 – Arrowhead Winter Retreat & Service Project
Feb 7 – No Youth Group (Arrowhead Weekend)
Advent Reset Have you found that you have let slip some of the good habits that you had firmly in place before COVID? You aren’t alone! Many people at Good Shepherd have intimated that bible reading, prayer time, and other healthy habits have fallen by the wayside and they are having trouble getting back to them. The mind, the body, and the spirit are all loved by Jesus. As a church waiting for the second coming of Jesus, we want to spur one another on to love and good works.
Morning Prayer (Spirit) Good Shepherd will be having a Zoom meeting for morning prayer during Advent. The service will be held online at 7am Monday through Friday. The liturgy and readings are available each day at www.dailyoffice2019.com. This is a great way to get back to reading the bible and praying each morning. This service is by invite only, so please look for an email invitation in your inbox in the coming week.
The Screwtape Letters (Mind) This new Christian Ed series will focus on the famous fictional CS Lewis book about two demons conversing through letters on the best ways to dissuade a new Christian from following a Christ centered life.
How About a Constitutional? (Body) (a walk or other mild exercise taken for the benefit of one’s health) It’s cold outside, and we’ve all started holiday baking. Consider taking a few moments to get some fresh air with a walk. If you’d like company, either in person or virtually, please reach out to either the office or Anne Kennedy (by text).
Memorial Service for Kay Seaman Good Shepherd will be having a memorial service to remember Kay Seaman on Saturday, December 12 at 11am. There will be a luncheon served in the parish hall to be followed by the greening of the church.
Zoom Mission Group There has been some interest expressed in putting together a mission group that meets by zoom for those that cannot attend an in-person mission group. If you would be interested in joining, please contact Jonathan Groves for more information.
ORDO Church Calendars The 2021 Good Shepherd ORDO church calendars are available at the front of the sanctuary at the usher’s table. Please feel free to pick one up on your way into or out of the sanctuary.
Catching Up…
Last Sunday’s Sermon Did you miss last week’s sermon? You can catch up at the links below. Last week, Matt preached on Mark 13:14-31.
You can catch the sermon here.
Christian Education If you missed Christian Ed last Sunday, you can watch it here.
This morning Matt gave an introduction to our Advent study of The Screwtape Letters, “The thing to do is to get a man at first to value social justice as a thing which the Enemy demands, and then work him on to the stage at which he values Christianity because it may produce social justice. For the Enemy will not be used as a convenience. Men or nations who think they can revive the Faith in order to make a good society might just as well think they can use the stairs of Heaven as a short cut to the nearest chemist’s shop. Fortunately it is quite easy to coax humans round this little corner.”
~C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters
Preventing Grace Podcast Did you know that Matt and Anne have a podcast? They talk about everything from church polity to rustic breads. This week the Kennedys decided to take a break, but will be back with a new episode next week.
You can listen to past podcast episodes here.
Tuesday Morning Bible Study This Tuesday morning we continued our study of the minor prophets in the book of Hosea in chapter 5 and 6. Throughout these chapters, God reveals his people’s sinfulness and the depth of their enslavement which also reveals the depth of his mercy and love and his commitment to save.
You can watch the class here.
Thursday Evening Bible Study This Thursday evening, we continue our study of the book of Ecclesiastes. We picked up in the middle of chapter 3. You can catch the recording here.
Men’s Breakfast and Bible Study The Men’s bible study was cancelled this week. It will resume on December 4. They are currently studying the book of Matthew.
Sunday Morning Worship and Christian Education
Both the 8am Service and the 10:30 service are currently being held in person at Good Shepherd each Sunday.
The 8am service is a mandatory masking service where all of the maximum guidelines are being observed. If you are high risk, or at all nervous to be in social gatherings, this is the service that is the ‘safest’. The 8am service is not currently being live-streamed.
The 10:30 service is available to experience online as well as in person at Good Shepherd. The livestream can be accessed at this link. The stream will begin on Sunday starting at 10:20am but the service will not start until 10:30am. If you don’t have a Facebook account, you will still be able to view all of the services, classes and studies.
This service is currently observing ‘restaurant style’ masking guidelines. We ask that if you come into the building for the service that you wear a mask (unless you are unable due to health reasons) until you get to your seat, and practice social distancing of at least six feet between your family and the next grouping. Once you are seated, you are free to remove your mask. Masks must be worn anytime you are standing or moving around in the sanctuary. Moving forward, communion will only be distributed in the sanctuary.
You can download the bulletin, including the scripture readings here. One of the joys of having a fully digital bulletin is that we are free to use color! You’ll find that the artwork and many of the directions are in full color. You’ll also notice that there are links in the offertory section to take you out to two different means of giving electronically. If you would like to send your tithe digitally, these are the best ways to do so. You can still send your tithe in by traditional mail as well.
Christian Education begins at 9:15am and will continue to be live-streamed, however the class is open to the public with the same guidelines as the 10:30 service. It will be will be available at this link. This Sunday we will discuss the first 16 chapters of CS Lewis’ Screwtape Letters.
Serving at Good Shepherd
| December 6, 2020 | December 13, 2020 |
|---|---|
| Altar Guild: Helen Cetton Shepherd’s Bowl: Mark Dreher with Team 2 Usher (8:00): Terry Ray Reader (8:00): Terry Ray Reader (10:30): Brett Dewing Usher (10:30): Scott Pineau Tellers: Chris Jones, Scott Pineau |
Altar Guild: Karen Carlton Shepherd’s Bowl: Jeannie Garruto with Team 3 Usher (8:00): Terry Ray Reader (8:00): Christine Johnson Reader (10:30): Amber Lovell Crucifer: Patrick Carlton Acolytes: Jonah and Seth Carlton Usher (10:30): Micah Lovell |
Weekly Bible Readings
Have an item for the Update or an Announcement?
Email the secretary at: gs.binghamton@gmail.com
by Monday night.