October 30
Beloved of Good Shepherd Church,
Grace to you and peace in Jesus Christ our Lord!
Every Sunday at Good Shepherd is magnificent, but the next two are going to be especially wonderful. This coming Sunday is All Saints Sunday. This is the day that we remember all who have come before us and welcome new members into the church through the sacrament of baptism. We will read the names of our beloved departed before each service and at the 10:00 a.m. service we will baptize 8 new Christians. Baptism is saying, Yes!, to God’s love as a way of life and to God’s son, Jesus, as our Lord. It’s going to be a marvelous day!
The following Sunday, November 9th, is our Commitment Sunday. You will have the opportunity at each worship service to fill out commitment cards for our Annual Mission and Ministry Budget for 2026 and for our Building Together Capital Campaign. We will each place our cards on the altar as an offering to God through our church. You can find out more about both in our detail brochure HERE.
You are invited to lunch on Commitment Sunday. We will have a catered celebratory lunch at Ashland Elementary at noon on November 9th. Everyone is invited! I do hope you can join us. It is so fun to be together to rejoice and give thanks for what God is doing at Good Shepherd. Our lunch will be an especially meaningful opportunity to meet and visit with members of the church that you do not yet know. Come join us!
When I look out at the congregation on Sunday morning it is no less glorious than looking out upon the Grand Canyon. You are a beautiful sight to behold! I think to myself each Sunday, “Look what God has made and planted in this place, carving each one of us out of the clay of the Earth, shaping us with love and grace, and infusing each of us with his Holy Spirit.” Last Sunday’s cardboard testimonies were a magnificent witness to the transformative power of God working in our midst. You can watch a video of the testimonies HERE. It is the great honor of my life to serve with you at Good Shepherd for the cause of the Gospel as we proclaim together that - Love is all!
One of our outreach projects for November is a food drive for God’s Pantry. Many of our neighbors will rely on God’s Pantry food this month because SNAP benefits will not go out in November due to the government shutdown. This presents us with a wonderful opportunity to serve by helping God’s Pantry feed our neighbors in need. You are invited to bring non-perishable food items to the church to fill our big blue God’s Pantry food barrel. You may also donate money to God’s Pantry (checks may be made out to Good Shepherd with God’s Pantry in the memo). I am reminded that when faced with a great crowd of hungry people Jesus said to his disciples, “You feed them.” And they did!
Remember this always - God loves you, and I love you too!
Love is all,
Hendree+