July 30
Beloved of Good Shepherd Church,
Grace to you and peace in Jesus Christ our Lord!
I have three exciting things to share with you.
First, we are making progress on our Parish Hall project. We’re in the process of securing the necessary approvals and permits from the city with our sites set on breaking ground as summer rounds the corner into fall. We are currently working with the Board of Architectural Review which is the group of city officials concerned with historical preservation. They help projects like ours that are situated in a historical overlay stay within necessary guidelines and parameters. Last week we had a very productive meeting with the BOAR which has us well positioned to go before them for approval to proceed at their mid-August meeting. We’re getting close to putting shovels in the ground!
The second bit of good news is that the Reverend Gary Jones will soon be joining us on a part-time basis to help out with Pastoral Care and Newcomer teams while we search for our next Assistant to the Rector. You may remember Fr. Gary as he has been with us three times in the past couple of years to co-lead Silent Retreats with me. He is a dear friend of mine, a marvelous and very talented priest (retired), and a huge fan of everything that’s going on at Good Shepherd. Fr. Gary will travel to Lexington once per month to be with us for 7-10 days at a time to consult with and coach our pastoral care and newcomer teams. His first Sunday with us will be August 16th. You can learn more about him here -https://contemplativechapel.substack.com/
Finally, I am really excited to let you know that we have hired a new Communications Director! Christine Senak will join us on August 1st. Christine comes to Good Shepherd with a great deal of experience in communications having previously served in the business community, higher education, and the church. She is a very talented communicator whose skill and passion will help us build upon our strong rhythm of excellence in communications.
One more thing. I want to personally invite you to come to our parish picnic on Sunday, August 16th at Ashland Elementary directly following the 10:00 a.m. worship service. Join us for a catered lunch and an outreach project at which we’ll pack 10,000 meals to be distributed to neighbors in need in central Kentucky. You can sign up to help with the outreach meal packing project here - https://gslex.churchcenter.com/registrations/events/3746178
All are welcome!
Remember this always - God loves you, and I love you too!
Love is all,
Hendree+