Nicole B. selected twenty of our Prayer Bears that she packed up and sent to Moore, OK. The bears were sent to comfort children that were effected by the recent tornado there. The bears were mailed to and distributed by the Hope Raiser Organization. Thank you, Nicole, for sharing God’s love through our Prayer Bear Ministry.
One of the things we have been trying to accomplish this past year is to become more acquainted with a variety of Christian music. A Music Committee was formed to help in this process. For the most part, it has gone very well. We have wonderful musical talent in the congregation and it has manifested itself in The Shepherd’s Own, The Shepherd’s Strings, various singing and instrumental solos, and some smaller groups of singers and instrumentalists such as the Worship Ensemble just getting formed. Most of the special music of late has been of a more contemporary style, which helps us expand in that direction.As we look at all the music available to us as Christians, we do not want to forget about our rich heritage of music in the Lutheran Church, which is found in our own hymnal. We are fortunate to have in our congregation a member whose expertise is the music and liturgy of our hymnal. The Rev. Dr. David Johns has played, taught and studied the hymns and the liturgical services of our church most of his life.So, while on the one hand, we are expanding our musical
experience into the contemporary field, we, with Dr. Johns’ help, will also mine deeper into the treasure that is our hymnal. Starting in September, Dr. Johns will take some time each month before one of our worship services to introduce us to some of the many wonderful hymns in our hymnal that we may be unfamiliar with or a part of the worship service we may not know very well. Music is a wonderful gift from God and the more we can
grow in it the wonderful it is.
There will be a congregational cook-out on Sunday, August 25, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Pastor and Gerry serving here at Good Shepherd. WOW! We are blessed! And, Pastor will have just had a birthday (Aug. 23) that we will also celebrate, but don’t let on. Okay?
We will be furnishing the brats, hamburgers, and hot dogs, plus the drinks and condiments. There will also be a birthday cake and ice cream. A sign up sheet for you to pick what you would like to help furnish will be available. The list will include SALADS, CHIPS, BEANS, and any other dessert or whatever you would like to bring to make this a good and tasty cook out. Hint: Anyone have gooseberries to make a pie???
We thank you in advance for your participation and hope to see you all there. Make sure to mark your calendar and put it on your TO DO LIST.
~ The Good Shepherd Fellowship Committee
LCMS is helping to diminish the deaths of children by Malaria in Africa through the Lutheran Malaria Initiative. One of the best ways to do this is providing nets to protect the children from mosquito bites. As little as $10 buys a net. You can join in this initiative by putting your donation in the offering plate and marking it Malaria Initiative. Together we will save many lives.