July 25, 2007
This Week’s Readings
Genesis 18:20-32; Colossians 2:6-19; Luke 11:1-13
Vision Team Update 2.0
“The
Church may be the only organization on the planet that exists entirely for the
sake of those people who don’t belong to it yet. In fact, as soon as we
forget this and start making it all about ourselves, WE STOP BEING CHURCH.” Kelly Fryer – Reclaiming the ‘L’
Word pp.100.
Does
GSC exist for the sake of the people who aren’t here? What does it mean
for us to be church today? Five years from now? Where is God
leading us? Will we follow? How?
These
are some of the types of questions the GSC Vision Team has been discussing as
we study scripture, read Kelly Fryer’s Book – Reclaiming the ‘L’ Word,
and listen for where God might be calling us to go. If you are interested
in reading this book, there are several copies available in the church library,
and a couple copies available for purchase in the church office.
Looking
ahead, The Vision Team will be meeting with various leaders in Rochester to determine where some of the gaps and needs
exist in our community. We will use the Congregational Conversations and
the many ideas generated there as a way of determining which needs we should
focus on first. In addition the team will be planning two events this
fall for the congregation to gather and talk, discern, and dream together about
a shared mission and vision for ministry.
Our
goal is to determine what the core values of Good Shepherd Church are and what mission and vision God has in store
for us here at GSC. Please continue to hold Good Shepherd and the work of
the Vision Team in prayer as together we seek to follow in the footsteps of
Christ and be the people God has created us to be.
In
Christ,
The Good Shepherd Vision
Team
Pastor
Dave, Jeff Brown, Kelly Curtis, Alex Dearborn, Paula Freitag, Dave Herder,
Jenny Jaeger, Jenny Kruse, Pam Peterson, George Price, Heather Willman
This Week at Good Shepherd
Wednesday,
July 25
IHN Week (July 22-29)
St. Louis Senior High Mission Trip (July 22-27)
Thursday, July
26
7:00am Morning Bible Study
7:00pm Sisters in Faith
Friday, July 27
12-3pm Summer M&M: Color Me Mine
7:00pm Senior High Mission Trip returns
Saturday, July
28
8:00am Faith in Motion
5:30pm Worship
Sunday, July 29
IHN
Week ends
8:00am Outdoor Worship
9:30am Indoor Worship
Monday, July 30
10:30am Staff Meeting
Tuesday, July
31
7:30am Men’s Coffee
9:30am Stay and Play
12:00pm Prayer Lunch
June Financial Summary
2007 June Income $41,862
2007 June Expenses $44,335
2007 June Net Loss ($2,473)
2007 Year-to-date Income $252,582
2007 Year-to-date Expenses $256,173
2007 Year-to-date Net Loss ($3,591)
Summer M & M
If you’re in
6-8th grade, join us on Wednesdays at noon this summer as we enjoy some
incredibly fun activities. Below is a
schedule with the times, dates, and activities.
Please note that activities with an * require signing up in advance to
the date. You can sign-up for an
activity on the youth bulletin board just outside of the youth room or by
e-mail Mark at gscyouth@goodshepherdchurch.net.
Day Event Time
What to bring:
Aug 1 Large
Screen Movie 12-3pm a
snack to share
Aug 15 *Canoeing
and swimming* 12-4pm $5,
swimsuit & towel
If you’re an adult or high school student and you’d like to
come along for any of these activities give Mark a call. He’ll be glad to have you along!!!
Mark Your Calendars
Saturday, August 4th is our next Habitat work day of
the summer. You must be 16 years of age
to work with Habitat in this capacity.
Adults are welcome and needed for our build days. Sign-up sheet located on the youth bulletin
board.
Simple Supper Help Wanted
Simple
Suppers are a valuable and nourishing part of Good Shepherd’s Wednesday night
programs. Simple Suppers will be
resuming in early September and Good Shepherd is looking for your help. If you are interested in volunteering,
contact Ellen Herder at 289-5723 for more information.
8th Grade Sunday School
Facilitators
Two
people are needed to facilitate the 8th grade Sunday School group for the
2007-2008 school year. Our hope is to
expand on the existing 7th grade program by ministering to others. Ideas will be provided and you would work
along with existing teachers. Please
give Cynthia a call at 289-1748 for further information.
Thrivent Night at the
Honkers
Tickets to “Thrivent Night at the Honkers” are now
available in the GSC church office. The
tickets are free, and are good for the Tuesday, July 31 game that starts at 7:05pm. Fans are
asked to bring a non-perishable food item for Channel One to the game.
National Night Out at GSC
Good Shepherd Church will be hosting the National Night Out picnic on August 7, 2007 from 6-8.
We
have invited the whole neighborhood and the congregation to come. Please
plan to attend if you aren't having one in your own neighborhood.
There
will be a bouncy house and face painting for the kids and more. Food will
be provided. Fun for all.
If
any of you would like to volunteer , please give Sheila Bennett a
call at 990-6179.
Good Earth Open – August
6th
The Good Earth Open will be
held on Monday, August 6 at Somerby Golf Club in Byron. This golf benefit helps to raise funds to
help kids attend camp at GEV.
Registration is $125 and includes Greens fees for 18 holes, Carts, Box
or Buffet Lunch, Dinner, and much more.
Shotgun start is at 12:30pm,
with dinner, awards and a live and silent auction set to begin at 6:00pm. More
information can be found online at goodearthvillage.org.
Total Makeover:
Newsletter Edition
By unanimous approval of the
Good Shepherd Church Council at the end of June, GSC will be giving the church
newsletter a “total makeover.” Starting in October the Good Shepherd newsletter
will go to a once a month publication. It will be up to 12 pages in
length with a pull out monthly calendar. The newsletter will be
produced in house and sent to Liturgical Publications (LPI) who will take care
of the printing - at no expense to the congregation. LPI pays for this by
having one page in the back where members of the congregation and venders with
whom we do business can advertise. This will cover all expenses of the
newsletter with the exception of postage. The council was impressed with
the quality and look of newsletters that LPI has produced, and they come highly
recommended from many Lutheran churches throughout Minnesota.
In addition… A weekly email Happynings will be sent each Friday with details,
news and updates for the coming week. Those who do not receive email can
pick up a hard copy at worship each weekend. It is the hope of the church
council that these changes will enhance our communications and extend human and
financial resources as we are led by the Spirit into the exciting ministry and
mission of Jesus Christ here in Rochester and beyond.
Worship Times are
Changing…Kind Of
Another change that was unanimously supported by your Church
Council was to change school year Worship times to 8:00 am and 10:30 am. The early service
will remain at its summer start time of 8:00 a.m., and the late service will
now begin at 10:30 a.m. No changes are being
made to the Saturday night service start time. It is our hope that this
small 15-minute change will provide a more welcoming time for Worship to begin
for guests and visitors who attend GSC each Sunday. Sunday School will be
adjusted accordingly, and will take place from 9:15 – 10:15 am. Don’t think of this as
having to get up just a few minutes earlier, think of this as an opportunity to
reach out and invite someone to GSC with you!
Nursery Room is Moving
I am
excited to tell you about the changes that will be taking place over the next
few months. The nursery will be moving
to Room K. Room K is a larger room than
our current space with better lighting.
Changes have already started with a fresh coat of paint, and we hope to
have the room ready by the fall. Knowing
that the nursery can be the first impression a family has of our church, and it
can be the first memories a child has of church, we hope to create a welcoming
space for children and parents.
With
the change of space, we are planning to replace some toys that are in need of
replacement and add to the toys we currently have. Two of the bigger items wanted are a toy
kitchen and a child size table and chair set.
A registry has been created at Target with items wanted for the
nursery. You can access the registry by
entering in Good (mother’s first name) Shepherd (mother’s last name). The “estimated arrival date” is September
2007. Items purchased from the registry
can be dropped off in the office. If
registries aren’t for you, please know donations are always welcome. Please designate that your funds should go to
the nursery.
We
are also looking for someone who sews to sew 2 or 3 large cushions for the
floor for a reading area. Please contact
me if you are willing to help at 292-1546 or dougandtracy@charter.net.
Thank
you to everyone who has helped with the planning of the room change! Please consider how you might contribute to
this important ministry. Thank you for
your continued prayers and support.
Sincerely,
Tracy Tollefson, Nursery
Coordinator
God bless your year!
July 25 Stephanie
Ellsworth
July 26 Crystal
Drake, Erika Lee, Christian Swenson
July 27 Karna
Casciano
July 28 Monica
Aswegan, Jo Derouin, Alaina Halverson, Ashley Johnson, Ray Lucas, Vicky
Mulvihill
July 29 Jan
Garnatz, Lori Gartner, Ron Matson
July 30 Nola
Lee, Joshua Schwartz, Lucy Thurlow
July 31 Karen
Christensen, Rita Hengel, Nick Leimer, Carol Michaelson
+ For all the members of GSLC,
especially: Kris Olson (Jessica, Samantha), Luther and Mary Olson; Tim and Sue
Olson (Linnea, Erik).
+ Shawn Stellenberg + Sonia Ellsworth
+ For all congregations in the
Southeastern Minnesota Synod, including: St. John in Elkton, Oakland Lutheran
in Oakland, St. Paul in Red Wing, and Trinity in Blooming Prairie.
Good Shepherd Lutheran Church
559 20th Street SW
Rochester, Minnesota 55902
Phone: (507)
289-1748
Office hours: 8:00 am – 4:30 pm
Monday – Friday
E-mail info: gscsecretary@goodshepherdchurch.net
Worship Services (with Holy Communion)
Saturday 5:30 p.m.;
Sunday 8:00
& 9:30 a.m.
Staff
Dave Berg, Lead Pastor
Jack Friedli, Pastoral Assistant
Cynthia McLaren, Education & Music Director
Mark Hannan, Youth Director
Mike Thilges. Office Administrator
Vicky Mulvihill, Volunteer
Coordinator
Ellen Herder, Roger
Harty - Custodians
Happynings Newsletter: deadline,
Mondays by 4:30pm
Mike Thilges gscsecretary@goodshepherdchurch.net
Web site www.goodshepherdchurch.net
Paul Willemssen, Admin
(willemssen@charter.net)