From time to time…
Scheduling Reminder If you need to make an appointment with Pastor Matt, please be sure to contact Stephanie directly at 607-723-8032 or 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.
Welcome Home! Did you know that Michael and Karen Berman have officially moved into the rectory? I suppose now that the Rectors have moved out, we’ll need to call it something else…hmm, I’ve heard a few suggestions. What do you all think?
Please be in Prayer As many of you know, Mary Lindsey was hospitalized two weeks ago. She is currently in a rehabilitation center. We are prayerfully hoping for a speedy recovery. You can contact the Good Shepherd Office for more information.
What’s Happening at Good Shepherd
School Supply Giveaway and FREE Barbecue Thanks to so many who helped with the School Supply Giveaway and Free Barbecue. God truly blessed this event! We not only distributed over 255 backpacks and many additional school supplies, we also fed 380 people with delicious, nourishing food. There were also games, face-painting, live Christian music (thanks to Treasure), and the wonderful service dog Inca! In every backpack we included a flyer with COGS information and also a prayer for a blessed school year. May God bless each child who came and may He use our efforts for His purposes. Please continue to pray for these children!
And Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink”… There are bottles of water in the church refrigerator which are available to offer to anyone who is in the vicinity of the church. These are not for members of COGS, but are for those outside our walls. Please use this gesture to show others that we care.
Mission Groups Mission groups will return to regular format and schedule this week. If you are already part of a Mission Group, check the location and schedule of your meetings with your Mission Group Leader, and in the Week at a Glance section of this morning’s update. See Ben Murphy if you haven’t joined a Mission Group yet and need help finding one!
Ministry Fair Please join us this Sunday, September 11th in the parish hall following the 8:30 service as we embrace stewardship as a way of life. Take a few moments to see the various ministry opportunities that are available at Church of the Good Shepherd. “If anyone would serve me” Jesus says in the Gospel, “let him follow me; where I am, there will my servant be.” Please join us in celebrating and learning more about each of these ministries.
ACW Anglican Church Women (ACW) are inviting all the women of Good Shepherd to a lunch this Saturday, September 10 from 11:30-2:30. Come enjoy good food, fun, and fellowship at the Chaney’s home! Reservations are not required, but appreciated. If you need a ride or directions, see Pat Chaney or Christine Osgood.
Update and Announcements If you have an item you’d like to have announced on Sunday morning, or included in the update, please be sure to forward the item to Stephanie by Wednesday afternoon, and specify if you’d like it announced or just listed in the updates. It will then be edited and forwarded to Anne/Ife to announce on Sunday and/or added to the paper and digital update.
Ongoing Ministries
“And as for your little ones…”
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.
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 Our Church’s food pantry is essential to many of the lives of our church members, without resources like CHOW, Broome Bounty, food stamps, and pantry’s like ours, many parents would be hard pressed to put food on the table to feed their families. When you are shopping for yourself or your family, remember to pick up some healthy food for the pantry. You and our members will be glad that you did!
Needs: Canned meats, tuna in spring water, one box meals, soups and stews, peanut butter, cereal, canned veggies and fruits, crackers and cookies, powdered milk packets, coffee packets or instant coffee, or anything else you’d like to bring.
Last Week
Last Week in Adult Christian Education: This was the eighth class session of our Christian education course on the 39 Articles. We discuss Articles 14 through 16 and whether it is possible for a Christian to do more than God requires and earn “merit” that can then be distributed by God to other believers. You can listen in here: Articles 14-16: Can Non-Christians Do Works Pleasing to God?
Last Week’s Sermon: was called ‘Paul’s Letter to Philemon’, and was based on Philemon. You can listen to or download it here.
Tuesday Morning Bible Study: This Tuesday’s Bible Study was called ‘God’s Endgame’.
When Jesus speaks of his church, he makes two things abundantly clear: 1. His word is both the foundation and the means by which he builds and 2. His church is One…United. Christ by his shed blood has established his church. It can never be divided….and yet when believers refuse to act in keeping with the truth Christ has established there is strife, division, quarreling. In Romans 15 Paul discusses God’s endgame in Christ…to do what no human philosophy, empire, or institution could ever do…unite Jew and Gentile and make the two One and so bring joy to the Church and glory to his Son. You can view it here, or watch it below.
Missed a study? You can catch up on the last month of the Tuesday morning Bible studies you might have missed 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, ‘Andy Stanley, Discernment, and the CofE’s Downhill Slide’ Matt and Anne Kennedy Andy Stanley’s assertion that scripture is not the Foundation of the Christian Faith, the desperate need for Christian discernment, Archbishop Justin Welby, an English bishop in a same sex relationship, and the persecution of orthodox Church of England clergy. You can catch up on all of the older episodes here.
This Week
This week’s sermon is based on the book of Luke 15:1-7.
Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.” So he told them this parable: “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. (Luke 15:1-7 ESV)
Team Ephesians is working on the altar this Sunday with Ife Ojetayo.
The readings for this Sunday are: Exodus 32:1,7-14 and 1 Timothy 1:12-17 .
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.