April 30
Beloved of Good Shepherd Parish,
Grace to you and peace in Jesus Christ our Lord!
A sheepfold is a safe enclosure for sheep. It has protective walls, a gate that closes and locks, and often has a shepherd who tends the gate and lets the sheep in and leads them out. The shepherd also has his or her eye out for bandits and thieves and those who would seek to do the sheep harm.
Jesus uses metaphors like this, so that we can lay the text lightly over our own lives and thus be led by the text to see God at work in our workaday rhythms.
When I think about how the sheepfold image applies to our lives, I consider this: the sheepfold is the company of any group of people with whom it is safe to simply be yourself. We come into the sheepfold searching for God and looking for love.
You are in the sheepfold anytime you’re with people who are saying, Yes, to the love of Jesus as a way of life.
Good Shepherd Church is a sheepfold. You make it so. We have all been led here by love and our longing for God’s love.
In the sheepfold there is no judgement or anger. There is only mercy, understanding, friendship, and love. The people in the sheepfold are looking for God and just want to be helpful to others.
Who are the people in your life whose company creates the sheepfold? That is, when you are with them you are held in the safety of their love.
In the sheepfold you don’t have to have your guard up. You’re safe to rest in the company of friends and the presence of God. Unfortunately, there are people in the world who are not safe. These people are hurt and they seek to hurt others. Fortunately, unsafe activity at churches is rare, but it does happen. Therefore, at Good Shepherd we take a variety of safety precautions. Our doors have locks, we have a security system, on Sunday mornings vestry members take turns keeping watch, our school has security and safety protocols, and we employ security guards on Sundays during the main worship services. Our guards are safety helpers, like shepherds tending the gate. One of them keeps an eye out and helps parishioners cross the street in the front of the church, and we have an additional safety helper who keeps an eye on the other side of the building. Our safety helpers are very friendly and skilled and have a special interest in helping keep the sheepfold safe for everyone.
Some people have asked if anything in particular caused us to hire safety helpers. It’s a good question, and the answer is, no. There was not a particular event or circumstance that led to our more robust safety plan. We are simply aware, like you are no doubt, that the world can be a dangerous place sometimes, and we seek to do all that we can to keep our parishioners safe while they are at church.
We do two things to respond to danger. First and foremost, we practice “Love is all” with all that we are, and secondly, we employ a plan that includes safety helpers who keep an eye on the sheepfold, so that all the sheep can worship and learn and enjoy each other in a safe enclosure.
I encourage you to talk with our security guards and thank them for helping to keep an eye on the sheepfold.
Remember this always - God loves you, and I love you too!
Love is all,
Hendree+