PASTORS' MESSAGE

Dear partners in ministry,

It’s that time of year again—our annual congregational meeting approaches! On Sunday, February 7th, we’ll gather at noon via Zoom to review annual reports and share this year’s congregational goals. We ask that you please set aside time for this event: we need 36 people to attend in order to make our quorum!

It just so happens that it was on this Sunday one year ago that we asked a professional photographer to come to Good Shepherd and take pictures for our website of our combined worship and the following Discipleship and Donuts event. I looked through these pictures not long ago, and the moments they captured reminded me of what a gift Good Shepherd’s community is: the choir singing, the praise band rehearsing, the lector reading, the child receiving communion, the delicious spread of food, the people laughing and sharing stories in an overflowing fellowship hall. The pictures made me long for those days to return, and in the meanwhile, reminded me that those same gifts of fellowship and community continue to hold us together in this time of pandemic.

Come celebrate those bonds with us, and in the meantime—here’s a glimpse of some of those moments from a year ago. I hope they remind you, too, of the joy that awaits us in a time not too far away.

Walking with you,

Pastors Jeff and Larson

For more detailed calendar, including events hosted by outside organizations 

IN OTHER NEWS

Thanks!

This note is being written with deepest appreciation and heartfelt thanks to Pastor Jeff, Yeon, Kirby, Marilyn and all the very special people of Good Shepherd for all their kind caring love, support, thoughts, prayers and many other expressions of sympathy and condolence on the passing of my daughter, Toby.
You have shown me the love of Christ personified and I am forever grateful.
God bless you all,
Ellen Cloutier

Intergenerational Gathering on Saturday, February 6th at 9 am

You’re invited to a special intergenerational gathering to kickoff the Lenten season! On Saturday, February 6, at 9 am we will gather in Good Shepherd’s parking lot to burn last year’s palm branches and make ashes for Ash Wednesday. This gathering will include a time for prayer and an activity for children and adults. We will then assemble household and children’s Lent kits. All are welcome to join the gathering and stay to help!  

Lent kits available for pickup

Everyone is invited to pick up a Lent kit beginning Sunday February 7th!  Our Lent kits will be in clear totes right outside the front doors of the church, and thus available to be picked up at any time.  Our hope is that these kits will help all of us to more intentionally mark the season of Lent in our homes.  There are both household kits and kits for children.  The household kits will include a Lent devotions booklet (written by the people of Good Shepherd), a music resource, ashes that you can use at home on Ash Wednesday, some adult coloring pages, and materials and instructions to create a "Prayer Paper Chain" where each link will have the name of one person from Good Shepherd on it, with the suggestion to pray for that person on that day.  The children's kits will include an activity to "bury the alleluia" to mark the beginning of Lent, as well as craft materials and guides for creating one craft for each Sunday in Lent.  Please spread the word!  If you would like to take one for your neighbors or friends, feel free.  This is one of the easiest ways to invite others to experience a little of our Good Shepherd congregation.  And if for any reason you would like a kit but cannot pick one up at the church, call or email the church office and we'll try to get one to you.

Save the Date! - Congregation Meeting February 7th at 12 pm

Please join us for our Congregation Meeting on February 7, 2021.  This meeting will be held virtually over the Zoom application. Also, if you prefer, you may participate by phone audio only. You can find instructions to access this on the back of this invitation.

The following topics are planned for discussion:

2020 Annual Reports – Recaps from Pastors and Staff

Year-end Financial Update

Progress against 2020 Congregation Goals

2021 Congregation Goals

We look forward to seeing you at this annual meeting to review 2020 and share plans for 2021.  Your thoughts, feelings and needs are important to us and this is an ideal opportunity for us, as a congregation, to share these with each other.  See you there as we continue to “grow, nurture and make disciples in Christ.”

Randy Koopman

Congregation Council President

On behalf of your Church Council

CLICK HERE FOR THE 2020 ANNUAL REPORT

Once you open the .pdf you can click on any of the Headers in the Table of Contents to get to that page.

Meeting Access Information

Topic:                     Congregation Meeting
Date & Time:        February 7, 2021 at 12:00 PM

To access the meeting by computer or tablet:

• Go to the Zoom home screen (zoom.us)
• Click Join A Meeting in the upper right corner.
• Where prompted enter Meeting ID: 854 4686 5362
• Click Join.
• Dialog box will appear: click Open Zoom Meetings.
• Dialog box will appear: enter the Passcode: 968954
• Click Join Meeting

To access the meeting by phone:

• Dial 1-301-715-8592
• Enter the meeting ID and passcode when prompted:
• Meeting ID: 854 4686 5362#
• Enter # for participant id
  (there is none for this call which is why you will enter #)
• Passcode: 968954#

On the phone #6 mutes and #6 unmutes

Reconciling in Christ (RIC) Reading Group

Are you interested in learning more about anti-racism? Want to find out what you can do about it? Or are you just trying to figure out why racism has become such a big topic?

We'll be reading and discussing the book: So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo.

Order your book today to be a part of this discussion.

Join the RIC Committee via Zoom as we host a weekly book club starting Wednesdays, via Zoom, from 8:00 to 9:00 pm. 

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85870975581?pwd=QlVmc1JmNk0vSjN0K2pVcHUwcVgrZz09

Meeting ID: 858 7097 5581

Passcode: 244545

Dial by your location

        +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)

Meeting ID: 858 7097 5581

Passcode: 244545

PRAYING TOGETHER 

In Our Prayers 

This week. . . 

Carolyn Breecher, Arthur Matson, Wendy Ying, Susan Rovaldi, Phyllis Taxiera, Kathy Allen, Jen Cinelli, the family of Robert Therrien, Kenan George, Stan Wilderoter, Janet Coe, Tarah Sproul, Vila Makkray, Brian Mulvihill, Cathy Dorey, Jimmy Pritchard, all those affected by addiction, all those affected by mental illness, all military personnel and first responders, for those who have contracted COVID-19.

If you or someone you know would like to be remembered in our prayers, call the church office or email prayercircle@goodshepherdcares.org. Names remain on this list for four weeks. Let us know if you’d like to renew, add, or remove a name.

Good Shepherd Lutheran Church
Pastors Jeff Goodrich & Victoria Larson
183 W. Main St., Westborough, MA 01581 • (508) 366-7095
office@goodshepherdcares.org • www.goodshepherdcares.org

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