What’s Happening at Good Shepherd
Lenten Open Worship Every Wednesday evening from 7:30- 8:30 pm during Lent the church will be open for a time of worship and prayer. All are welcome to come and listen, pray, journal, or just meditate on Christ’s mercy and finished work. Call or text Ronnie M. with any questions.
Potluck This Sunday is the first Sunday of the month and that means it’s time for another potluck! This month’s theme will be International Foods. If you have a particular dish related to another culture that you enjoy, please bring a dish of it to share, but stay to enjoy lunch and fellowship even if you can’t!
Please remember to clean up after yourself and your family and to take your dishes home with you.
Special Request Joan D. is hoping that you have a sum of refillable plastic eggs that are in need of a good home. They will be used to increase the numbers for this year’s Easter Egg Hunt. If so, please see Joan to make arrangements.
Holy Week and Easter Schedule
Service Times:
Tennebrae (Wednesday, April 17th): 7:30PM Tenebrae means “shadows” in Latin. It is a service of word, light and sound. When you arrive for worship you will see two groups of candles lit on the altar table. As readings are read the candles on the altar will be gradually extinguished until the very end of the service when the last candle left lit is removed from the worship space and the whole sanctuary is left in darkness. At that point a loud crash will (should) shatter the silence of the sanctuary. Then, after a moment, the last candle is returned to the sanctuary and the worshippers depart in silence. The gradual darkening of the sanctuary and the crashing noise symbolizes the apparent victory of death, darkness, and chaos over Jesus Christ on the cross. The final candle being removed and returned, symbolizes the truth that through Jesus’ death, God gained victory over all the powers of evil. The Light was not overcome.
Maundy Thursday (Thursday, April 18th): 6:30PM Maundy Thursday communion celebrates the humility of Jesus with a ceremonial foot washing. Jesus is the King of Kings and Lord of Lord’s and yet on the night before he died, during the Last Supper, he knelt down and one by one washed his disciples’ feet. He did this to show his disciples and to show you and me how to serve one another with humility and love, being willing even to stoop to the most menial tasks. Maundy Thursday is the last chance for communion until the Great Vigil.
Good Friday (Friday, April 19th): noon At about 3pm on Friday of Holy Week he lifted his eyes up to heaven from the cross and breathed out his last. “It is finished” he said. He was not only referring to his life, but he was also referring to his mission to deal with and defeat once and for all sin, death, and Satan.
Stations of The Cross (Friday, April 19th): 7:30PM This is a solemn service. The participants walk through the stations of the cross by candlelight, hearing a brief reading at each, and exit the sanctuary in silence.
The Great Vigil of Easter (Saturday, April 20th): 8:00PM Along with Tenebrae, the Easter Vigil is one of the most ancient services of the Church. It is the most important service of the entire year and it is the first service of Easter. The service begins in total darkness—the lights of the sanctuary are out and not a candle is burning. Then a fire is lit in a firepot the center of the nave and from that flame all the candles in the sanctuary are lit and the hand-candles in the congregation. Then come readings and psalms, said and sung, by singers and by the whole congregation. The sermon follows and then the first Communion of Easter. The Great Vigil begins at 8:00pm in the sanctuary.
Easter Day (Sunday, April 1st): This is the day Christians celebrate and proclaim the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ. There will be music, preaching, smells and bells. Service times are at 8:00am and 10:30am.
Easter Egg Hunt Kids of all ages are invited to an Easter egg hunt after Easter Sunday’s service. Everyone will get a number and an allotment of eggs. Come help your Good Shepherd family have some fun finding treasure. In the event of inclement weather the hunt will be downstairs. See you all there!
Annual CHE Rummage Sale Spring has semi-sprung, and this means we are collecting for our Epic Rummage Sale to support the work of Community Health Evangelism, Nicaragua. Particularly their new project to help families start keeping chickens to improve nutrition in these difficult times. If, while spring-cleaning, you find items that no longer spark joy – but might for someone else – please call Anne T. to check that we will be at church to take the items on a Sunday. No clothes, no exercise equipment, please. If you know anyone who has to clear out a house, please give them my number. The sale is May 24th and 25th. Thank you for all your past support, it has been invaluable.
Ongoing Ministries
Good Shepherd Youth Group Youth Group meets on Sunday night from 6:00 – 7:30pm at Good Shepherd. All youth between the ages of 12-18 are welcome to join as the youth group continues to study the book of Romans. Please contact Tyler Van Fossen if you’d like to know how to help or be involved in the Good Shepherd Youth Group in any way. Email: tvf.arrowhead@gmail.com
Easter Sunday 4/21/19 – No Youth Group on Easter Sunday.
Mother’s Day 5/12/19 – No Youth Group on Mother’s Day.
Bread and Wine If you are interested in joining a group of ladies for a monthly supper and discussion, please contact Liz Hull. The group is currently studying a book called Money, Possessions and Eternity, by Randy Alcorn. The next meeting will be in April, at the Hull home.
Good Shepherd Food Pantry What do you think of when you think of spring? Why, spring cleaning, of course! Please consider taking some time to go through your own pantry and pick out a few things to give to the member food pantry. Every food item donated helps those who can’t afford to feed themselves and their family. Instead of going to the store and buying things, take from what you have on hand and be thankful in the knowledge that you have the ability to do so.
Items needed: pasta sauce, one box meals, powdered milk, canned fruit, juice, coffee, tea, and cocoa, canned veggies other than beans, canned ham, chicken, beef and Tina, cereal and cereal bars, and anything else you’d like to bring.
Last Week
Last Week in Christian Ed unfortunately, the livestream only recorded the first 20 minutes of class last Sunday. You can watch that here. We began a discussion of the Trinity, the second part of our Systematic Theology course, by discussing evidence for the Trinity in the Old Testament.
Last Week’s Sermon was called ‘Neither Do I Condemn You’ and was based on John 7:53-8:11. It can be listened to or downloaded here.
Preventing Grace Podcast There is no podcast this week, as Matt had a sore throat, but there will be a new posting on Monday.
You can catch up on all of the older podcast episodes here.
Tuesday Morning Bible Study This morning we continue in Leviticus 23 discussing the Old Covenant feasts and their significance. God designed the whole Israelite year so that his people would be continually reminded that God is their savior, that he redeemed them from bondage in Egypt and that he would redeem them in and even more wonderful way in their future. In that way, every feast both looks backward to God’s work in the past and forward to the consummation of his saving work in the incarnation, death, resurrection, and ascension of his Son. You can watch the recording here, or in the window below.
Posted by Matt Kennedy on Tuesday, April 2, 2019
This Week
This Sunday’s Sermon will be based on John 8:12-20.
Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” So the Pharisees said to him, “You are bearing witness about yourself; your testimony is not true.” Jesus answered, “Even if I do bear witness about myself, my testimony is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going, but you do not know where I come from or where I am going. You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. Yet even if I do judge, my judgment is true, for it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me. In your Law it is written that the testimony of two people is true. I am the one who bears witness about myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness about me.” They said to him therefore, “Where is your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” These words he spoke in the treasury, as he taught in the temple; but no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come.
Team Galations is working on the altar this Sunday.
The readings for this week are Isaiah 43:16-21 and Philippians 3:7-16. The Gospel reading is John 8:12-20.
Karen C. will be serving on the altar guild this Sunday.
Anne T. (Evan D.) will be working in the nursery this Sunday.
Shepherd’s Bowl Team 4 with Mark D. (4/11)
Bill and Anne F. (Potluck) will be serving on coffee hour this Sunday.
To download a PDF of the 10:30 service bulletin, click on this link.
Have an item for the Update or an Announcement?
Email the secretary at:
gs.binghamton@gmail.com
by Monday night.