A Message from Anne Kennedy I want to offer up a huge Thank You to everyone who helped put on the St. Nicholas Fair—the Vendors, Soup Makers, Bakers, Buyers, Setter-Uppers, Everyone. A special thank you to Jon and Micah for taking this on and organizing all the details. I’m so thrilled about what God is doing in the Children’s Department and that we are going to be able to bring Catechesis of the Good Shepherd training to this region. Most of all, I’m so grateful to hear the rustle and bustle of children all over the church on Sunday mornings. Thanks all, and keep a look out for more details about our children’s ministry this coming year!
A Special Announcement Join us for a baby shower celebrating Ronnie Murphy and her baby boy, due to arrive in March. All women and girls from the church are invited!
When: Saturday, January 14, 1:00-3:00pm
Where: Church of the Good Shepherd parish hall
Please see Carrie Nelson or Mary Restino for more info.
Choir Thank You All choir members, other music ministry participants, and their families, are invited to a thank you dinner, hosted by the Berman’s on Sunday, January 22, at 5pm. Choir rehearsal will be moved to 4pm to accommodate the change in schedule.
Annual Meeting The 149th Good Shepherd Annual Meeting will be held in the Parish Hall on January 29, 2023 immediately following the 10:30 service.
The annual meeting is a time when the congregation hears an annual report on the general state of the church, votes to fill any open seats on vestry, discusses upcoming church business, and reviews both the previous and upcoming budgets.
We will have a potluck lunch of Soups and Stews. Please bring a dish to pass but stay and have lunch either way.
Shrove Tuesday (known in some countries as ‘Pancake Day’ or ‘Fat Tuesday’) is the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. This year it falls on February 21. ‘Shrove’ comes from the Latin word ‘shrive’, and means ‘absolution’. It is thought that the tradition started when families would eat all of the fatty, rich foods in the house so as not to be tempted during the penitent season of Lent.
Good Shepherd hosts a free pancake and sausage supper from 4:30 to 6pm to mark the day, which is followed immediately by a short ceremony in which all of the palm fronds from Palm Sunday of the previous year are burned to produce the ashes that are used for Ash Wednesday. If you would like to help, please contact Steph Warner.
Ash Wednesday Ash Wednesday is a day of reflection in the Christian tradition. On this day that begins the Lenten season, Christians all over the world come together and have ashes imposed upon their foreheads as a reminder that we are all sinners and to “remember that we are made of dust, and to dust we shall return”.
The ashes are imposed in the shape of a cross to remind us that Christ bore the weight of our sins on the cross and ultimately defeated death to offer salvation to all who would come to him. The Ash Wednesday services this year are on March 2nd at 7am and 6pm.
Arrowhead Service Trip The GS youth group will be going to Arrowhead Bible Camp for their annual work day trip on February 3-5. If you would like to help with transportation or in another way, please see Jonathan.
Mission Opportunity In February, Anne Thompson will be going to Nicaragua to work with the CHE group communities. Her group will be making baby items with women. If you have any baby fabric, thread, zippers, or patterns that you could pass on, that would be great. Also, if you would like to help cut out some items ready to sew for our 100 kits, that would be wonderful! Lastly, we would welcome you if you would care to join us for a few days in a community, to see CHE in action. Contact Anne at thompam02@gmail.com for more information.
Good Shepherd Food Pantry Did you know that Good Shepherd has a member food pantry? This pantry is a small room off the kitchen and is open to all members of Good Shepherd.
Please feel free to pick up a few items for the pantry when doing your household shopping if you have the ability. We are currently running low on soups, peanut butter, cereals, and general non-perishables.
If you are in need of food, please do make use of the supplies there.
Prayer Offered Good Shepherd has resumed offering Prayer on the side altar during Communion. Beginning this 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 newly formed 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.
Volunteers for Tech Team Are you a technologically capable person who would like to serve the church with your gifts? Good Shepherd is looking add a volunteer team to run sound and the livestream for our services. If this is a ministry that interests you, please reach out to Micah.
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.
Please check with your home group contact to learn of meeting schedules for the holidays.
Sunday Worship and Holy Eucharist
The 8am service If you are high risk, or at all nervous to be in social gatherings, this service is designed for you. All those who attend are asked to remain socially distanced throughout the service. The 8am service is not currently being live-streamed.
The 10:30am service You can download a PDF copy of the service bulletin here.
This Sunday’s lectionary readings are: Isaiah 60:1-9, Psalm 72:1-11, Ephesians 3:1-13, and Matthew 2:1-12.
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, Micah preached on Luke 2:41-52. You can listen or watch ‘Mary, Did You Not Know?’ here. You can find previous sermons here.
Christian Education This Sunday we continued our discussion of Luke’s account of the advent of the birth of Christ.
You can watch that class here.
You can find previous classes here.
Zoom Morning Prayer This service normally 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.
Preventing Grace Did you know that Matt and Anne have a podcast? Most weeks they cover topics like church polity, raising children, current events, and baking bread. In this week’s installment, ‘2022 Review’, Anne and Matt talk about the good and bad of 2022 including Roe v. Wade being overturned, the cathedral in Cordoba, Kristin Du Mez’ departure from the faith, etc. They also talk about Wendy Alsup’s critique of Anne’s Revoice 2021 article, the Christian Research Journal (CRJ) and CRJ’s response to Ms. Alsup, and Matt’s article about Christian orthodoxy and sexuality being free and online 10 months ahead of schedule.
Miss an episode? You can find many previous recordings here.
Tuesday Morning Bible Study This Tuesday we continued our series on the miracles of Jesus.
You can watch the recording here.
Miss a class? You can find all of the previous classes in this series and previous series here.
Thursday Evening Beginner’s Bible Study The Thursday evening study meets in person at 6pm in the classroom area. The class is working through the book of Judges. This is a great place to connect with others and learn more about what God has to say to us through his word.
Men’s Breakfast and Bible Study The Men’s bible study meets at 6am each Friday morning, and they are currently studying the book of Jeremiah.
Women’s Bible Study This study is meeting at 4:30 pm on Friday afternoons in the Parish Hall. Anne Kennedy is leading and they are studying Advent texts taken from The Messiah. Children are welcome—as in, we hope to have some childcare available. If you’d like to join by zoom, please join the church email list and look for a link in the weekly update email.
| Weekly Bible Reading | |
| Monday
December 19 |
Psalm 22
Gen 9 John 5:1-24 |
| Tuesday
December 20 |
Psalm 25
Gen 10:1-9,15-22,30-32 John 5:25-end |
| Wednesday
December 21 |
Psalm 26, 28
Gen 11:1-9,27-32 John 6:1-21 |
| Thursday
December 22 |
Psalm 29, 30
Gen 12 John 6:22-40 |
| Friday
December 23 |
Psalm 34
Gen 13 John 6:41-end |
| Saturday
December 24
|
Psalm 32, 36
Gen 14 John 7:1-24 |
| Sunday
December 25 |
Psalm 37:1-18
Gen 15 John 7:25-52 |
| Serving at Good Shepherd January 8, 2023 | Serving at Good Shepherd January 15, 2023 |
| 8am Celebrant: Matt Kennedy 8am Preacher: Matt Kennedy 8am Assistant: Anne Kennedy 8am Reader: Colleen Kenny-Kuk 8am Usher: Terry Ray 10:30am Celebrant: Bob Carlson 10:30am Preacher: Matt Kennedy 10:30am Supporting Clergy: Bob Carlson 10:30am Assistant: Jonathan Groves 10:30am Reader: Jenn Fowler 10:30am Intercessor: Carrie Nelson 10:30am Crucifer: Rowan Kennedy 10:30am Acolytes: Elinor Kennedy & Ellie Pineau 10:30am Usher: Ben Manwaring Tellers: Subm Don Dean Altar Guild: Karen Carlton Nursery: Kariah, Addy, Murielle Shepherds Bowl: Joyce Carlson with Team 2 |
8am Celebrant: Matt Kennedy 8am Preacher: Matt Kennedy 8am Assistant: Anne Kennedy 8am Reader: Terry Ray 8am Usher: Terry Ray 10:30am Celebrant: Matt Kennedy 10:30am Preacher: Matt Kennedy 10:30am Supporting Clergy: Bob Carlson 10:30am Assistant: Jonathan Groves 10:30am Reader: Ronnie Murphy 10:30am Intercessor: Anne Thompson 10:30am Crucifer: Jonah Carlton 10:30am Acolytes: Seth Carlton and Addy Pineau 10:30am Usher: Scott Pineau Tellers: Chris Jones, Bruce Layman Altar Guild: Mary Restino Nursery: Carrie, Abigail, Addy Shepherds Bowl: Stephanie Warner with Team 3 |
Have an item for the Update or Announcements?
send an email to gs.binghamton@gmail.com by Monday evening.