Good Shepherd Weekly Update, July 29, 2023

Kennedy Vacation The Kennedy family are taking their annual vacation.  They will return to work at the beginning of August.  We hope to provide them with as much quiet and rest as possible during this month, so please refrain from contacting them unless it is an absolute emergency (death, divorce, or arrest).

Jon, Micah, and Steph will all be working their normal schedules, and will be available to answer questions, carry out administrative tasks, and care for the congregation spiritually.  Thank you so much for your kindness and consideration.

Funeral Services for Joyce Coppola 

As many of you know, Joyce Coppola, a beloved elder of Good Shepherd passed away during the pandemic.  The family decided to have the memorial service at a later date when people could attend freely.  The memorial service will be held today (July 29) at 11am at Good Shepherd.

Take Them a Meal The Powers Clark family welcomed their fourth son, Simon last month.  They’ve just returned home, and we have set up a Take Them a Meal page.  You can go here for more on how to sign up.

Chili & Cornbread Cookoff! This year’s annual chili cookoff will be held next Sunday, August 6 directly after the 10:30 service. There will be three chili categories:

• Meat (traditional pork/beef-based chili)
• Vegetarian
• Non-Traditional (white chili, chicken chili, etc.)

All cornbread entries will go into a single category.

If you would like to enter the competition, please make sure your chili is present before the 10:30 service, labeled with your name and the name of your chili.  Please clean up after yourselves if you choose to cook or prep food in the church kitchen.

If you would like to be a judge, please let Steph know.

Church Picnic Good Shepherd’s annual Church Picnic will return to Cole Park for the first time since 2018!  The big change to note is that the picnic will be on a Saturday this year, which we hope will make it easier to both attend and facilitate.  Please mark your calendars for September 9, and keep an eye out for more information in the coming months!

Good Shepherd Kid’s Music Camp On August 15, 16, and 17, Good Shepherd will be hosting a kid’s music camp.  This will be a time of learning more about music, and how it is utilized to worship God.  A light snack and refreshment will be provided at the end of each day.  If you have a child age 6 and up that you would like to attend, please contact the Good Shepherd Music Director, Michael Berman.

There will be an adult music workshop on August 19^th.  Please keep an eye here for more info in the upcoming weeks.

Good Shepherd Food Pantry Needs Please feel free to pick up a few items for the pantry when doing your household shopping if you have the ability.

The Food Pantry’s most pressing needs currently are:

• Vienna Sausages
• Canned Chicken
• Tuna

Thank you to all the folks who have been so generous with their donations!  The variety, quality & consistency of what the food pantry is offering to those in our parish & outreach who need help is much improved!

Confirmation Classes Matt will be hosting a series of confirmation classes by Zoom in September.  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.

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: 1 Kings 3:3-14, Psalm 119:121-136, Acts 9:10-19, and Matthew 13:31-33,44-50.

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 9:1-9.  You can watch or listen to it here.

Christian Education Last Sunday Scott continued our summer Christian Education series on the Homilies, with the fourth homily, The True and Living Christian Faith.

Our friend, Dr. Lee Gatiss, has recently published a modern version of the Homilies (the older ones are written in King James style English) which we will be using throughout the series and which you can purchase here. You  don’t need to buy it to follow along in the class though since there will be notes and guides each Sunday.

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 The Kennedy family are on their annual vacation.  The podcast will return in August.

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! 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.

Morning prayer is on hiatus until September.  

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. Many of the groups are on hiatus for the summer.

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 on hiatus for June and July.

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 1 John.

Women’s Bible Study meets at 4:30pm on Friday afternoons in the Parish Hall.  Anne Kennedy is leading, and they are currently studying the book of Hosea. If you’d like to join by zoom, please join the church email list and look for a link in the weekly update email.

Women’s Bible Study is on hiatus.

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

Youth Group will be meeting ad hoc for special events over the summer.

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.

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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