What’s Happening at Good Shepherd
An Offer of Prayer The prayer team prays for the needs of the church on a weekly basis. If you have a specific request (Praise or intercession) please fill out a card and place it in the “prayer box” by the bulletin boards in the parish hall. All prayers are kept confidential.
‘Thank You’ Doesn’t seem sufficient for all the work that was done in preparing for, working at, and most importantly praying for the CANA East 2017 Synod! The synod was a great success, and over and over again, we heard that our volunteers were warm, welcoming and helpful. Thank you!
Food Distribution The next Broome County Mobile Food Pantry food distribution will be Wednesday, May 24th, from 10-11am. All are welcome, please bring containers to take away any goods that you receive.
Basileia is Coming! Over the next three weeks, almost 900 people, including college students from all over New York and New Jersey, will attend InterVarsity’s year-end discipleship and leadership conference, Basileia. Good Shepherd supports InterVarsity at Binghamton and around Central NY. Please pray for those attending from Good Shepherd — (students): Ashley, Joe, Mary, and Melissa, (staff): Carrie, Lauren, Lisa, and (volunteers): Bill Freund and Anne Thompson. If you want to send a note of encouragement to any attendees, you can give it to Lisa or Lauren by next Thursday.
Garage Sale Donations Needed: CHE Nicaragua will be holding their annual garage sale in Montrose on May 26/27. Proceeds will help support Nicaraguan missionaries serving in rural communities. Please see Anne or Bill if you have items you wish to donate. While we deeply appreciate your generosity, we cannot accept bedding, clothing for adults, exercise equipment or computers / printers. Thanks very much for your support!
Health Fair Saturday June 3rd noon to 3PM we will again be hosting our Health Fair and Ice Cream Social! This is a great means of reaching out to the community with the love of our Savior, Jesus Christ! It is also a perfect venue for evangelism! Please plan to participate in the event and be sure to invite friends and neighbors to come! In the Parish Hall, there is a sign-up which includes the many ways you can help!
An Invitation Lauren Kirst and Nick Sluyter are getting married! All are invited and welcome to celebrate the beginning of their marriage at the wedding ceremony. It is taking place here at Good Shepherd on June 24th at 2:00pm.
VBS Vacation Bible School is coming! Think about joining in the fun of telling our neighborhood kids about Jesus.
Look for the sign-up sheet downstairs and save these dates: Monday, July 31- Thursday, August 3. 6:00-8:15 PM
Captial Campaign Many of you have asked for information on the capital campaign. Look for a letter in the upcoming weeks with more details.
Scheduling Reminder If you need to make an appointment with Pastor Matt, please be sure to contact Stephanie directly at gs.binghamton@gmail.com.
Often when people come to speak with Matt after the service on Sunday, he’s already been working for over nine hours, and doesn’t always remember to put it into the calendar. This can cause double bookings, or forgotten appointments. Please keep in mind that the office is closed on Mondays and Fridays, but you can always leave a message. Thank you so much for your understanding.
Ongoing Ministries
Children’s bulletins are available to help your children follow all parts of the service today. Please pick one up from an usher.
Bread and Wine If you are interested in joining a group of moms for a monthly supper and discussion of women in the bible, please contact Liz Hull, or the Good Shepherd Office.
Health and Wellness Our bodies are “the tents” that the Lord has given us to house our souls. Begin to take care of the body which God Has given you. Check your blood pressure, blood sugar, and weight every Sunday in the Parish Hall 9-10AM. Please see Dolly Shaller or Carmen Swoffer-Penna for more details.
Member Food Pantry Have you had times of adversity, when things don’t go the way you planned? Well it happens more often than not, and especially to those who live paycheck to paycheck. We know that food clothing and shelter are essential parts of a healthy life, but add rent and utilities, and it can become overwhelming. People then have to prioritize what things are most important, and sometimes food takes a backseat to everything else. Then it’s up to pantries like ours to meet the need. By keeping our pantry filled with healthy foods, we can provide families what they need for a proper diet. The next time you are out shopping please try to remember our member food pantry, and give to it generously.
Items Needed: Soups and stews, canned veggies, canned meats and tuna, bottled juice, one box meals, peanut butter, jam or jelly, salad dressings, powdered milk packets, coffee creamers, canned fruits, other than cranberry/applesauce, assorted pastas and sauces, rice in 1 lb packages, and anything else you’d like to bring.
Note: Please don’t bring flour or sugar, or leave any open packages of pasta or rice in the pantry, as it attracts mice.
Last Week
Last Week in Christian Ed This was the 7th class in a series on Evangelism. We discussed the topic first from a theological perspective, using JI Packer’s, “The Sovereignty of God and Evangelism”. We then turned to more practical “how to” questions. You can listen to or download it here.
Last Week’s Sermon was called ‘A Priest Forever’, and was based on Hebrews 7:3-10. It can be listened to or downloaded here.
Preventing Grace Podcast Did you know that Matt and Anne have a podcast? They talk about everything from church polity to rustic breads. In this week’s episode, ‘Driving Dr. Gatiss’, Matt and Anne drive Dr. Lee Gatiss to the airport in Newark and chat about his experience of Anglicanism in the US.
You can catch up on all of the older podcast episodes here.
This Week
This Week in Christian Ed We plan to wrap up our discussion of JI Packer’s book, Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God. This week, we will discuss the more practical question of how our theology impacts our practice of evangelism. Hope to see you there at 9:15am.
This Week’s Sermon is based on Hebrews 7:11-19.
Now if perfection had been attainable through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need would there have been for another priest to arise after the order of Melchizedek, rather than one named after the order of Aaron? For when there is a change in the priesthood, there is necessarily a change in the law as well. For the one of whom these things are spoken belonged to another tribe, from which no one has ever served at the altar. For it is evident that our Lord was descended from Judah, and in connection with that tribe Moses said nothing about priests.
This becomes even more evident when another priest arises in the likeness of Melchizedek, who has become a priest, not on the basis of a legal requirement concerning bodily descent, but by the power of an indestructible life. For it is witnessed of him,
“You are a priest forever,
after the order of Melchizedek.”For on the one hand, a former commandment is set aside because of its weakness and uselessness (for the law made nothing perfect); but on the other hand, a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God.
Team Phillippians is working on the altar this Sunday.
Shepherd’s Bowl Team 1 will be working this week with the Carmen Swoffer-Penna (5/25).
Altar Guild Karen Berman is serving this Sunday.
The readings for this week are: Isaiah 41:17-20 and Hebrews 7:11-19.
The PDF Bulletin for this Sunday’s 10:30 service can be downloaded here.
Have an item for the Update or an Announcement?
Email the secretary at:
gs.binghamton@gmail.com
by Monday night.