August 8, 2007
This Week’s Readings
Genesis 15:1-6; Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16; Luke 12:32-40
This Week at Good Shepherd
Wednesday,
August 8
1:30pm Helping Hands
6:30pm College Age Ministry
Thursday,
August 9
7:00pm Sisters in Faith
Saturday,
August 11
8:00am Faith in Motion
5:30pm Worship
Sunday, August
12
8:00am Outdoor Worship
9:30am Indoor Worship
Monday, August
13
10:30am Staff Meeting
7:00pm Committee Night
Small Group Steering Team
Tuesday, August
14
7:30am Men’s Coffee
9:30am Stay and Play
Wednesday,
August 15
12-4pm Summer M&M: Canoeing and Swimming
We need…
The church doesn’t just “have opportunities” for adults in youth
ministry... the church needs adults
in youth ministry and, more importantly, our youth need adults. They need Christian adults in their life as a
sign that they have an identity and a destiny in life and belong to something
bigger than a team, a school, or a peer group.
Chances are you know someone who is meeting face to face with a 9th
grader on Wednesdays this Lent as part of Faith Mentorship. This is just one of many places where people
from different backgrounds, generations, and stories come together to share
life. Where might you share?
Mark Hannan’s Farewell
Party!
Come to the big party! It will take place after
the 9:30am worship service on August 26. Look for further
details… but be prepared to eat, say thanks and farewell to Mark, and celebrate
his ministry here at Good Shepherd. We’ll see you there.
Can $1 Curb Your
Hunger? Take the ELCA Food Stamp Challenge
and find out!
Can $1 curb your hunger? Each month about 25 million people in the United States participate in the nation's
largest nutrition program: Food Stamps. The reality for many folks who
participate in the Food Stamp program is that the average benefit of $1 per-
person, per-meal is not nearly enough and many healthy food choices are out of
reach.
The challenge before you is to live for
one week on the national average Food Stamp benefit of $1 per- person,
per-meal. Try serving a Food Stamp Challenge meal for your congregation or
community. ELCA Food Stamp Challenge guidelines, FAQ's, leader guides, meal
planning, and educational resources are available at www.elca.org/advocacy.
Small Group Steering Team
Our Small Group Steering Team is looking for additional members. If you
see yourself as someone who would like to influence Small Group Ministry at GSC
then grab the phone... call Tim Fynskov at 288-3607 (home), 253-0817 (work).
We're reviewing Roberta Hestenes' book entitled "Using the Bible in
Groups" and would love to have your help/perspective on implementing Small
Groups at GSC this Fall/Winter.
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!!!
9th Grade
Summer Mentoring
Remember that your Summer
Mentor packets are available in the GSC office or online at www.gscyouth.com for both Faith Mentors and
9th Graders. Our advice:
start getting together now so that you won’t be rushed to finish by the
September 15th due date.
Last Chance
to Sign-up..!
If
you are up to helping us this Saturday, August 4th with our next Habitat work
day of the summer make sure you either talk/e-mail Mark or sign-up on the youth
bulletin board before Friday. We work
from 9 – 3pm and lunch in
provided. Bring a pair of light gloves
with you and shoes that you don’t mind getting dirty.
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.
Some Familiar Faces at GEV
If you spend any time down at Good
Earth Village
this summer you might just recognize a few faces. Eric Howe is working as a counselor for the
whole summer and both Erik Mainz and Emily Howe will be spending time down
there as Staff-In-Training as part of the three week SIT program.
Hey Football Fans…
Are you interested in a Good Shepherd Fantasy Football League? We would use an internet based format (e.g.
Yahoo Sports), instructions on setting up your team and pre-ranking players
would be provided, then we would let the system do the draft. After that you would manage your team through
trades, etc. We might even get together
a couple times during the season to talk about our teams. Pastor Dave said he has never lost at fantasy
football… up for the challenge anyone?
If interested, please email Scott Hansen at Hansen.scott.jtm@gmail.come
by August 24th. We would need to have
the draft run on or about September 1st.
Let the season begin!
Widow’s Lunch
The monthly Widow’s Lunch will be held at the Old Country Buffet on
Wednesday, August 15 at 11:30am.
“No Expense” Fundraising
Scrip is a term that
means “substitute money”. In recent
years many non-profits have stopped selling candy, magazines, and frozen pizza
and have begun working through Scrip Programs.
Scrip is “no expense” fundraising because the program requires neither
the church nor the members pay any additional money. The donations are made entirely by
businesses. What the church does is
simply to pre-pay for anything they might purchase at these local
businesses. This allows the business know
that the members organization it is supporting is also customers.
So, if you were going to purchase a $200 stereo system from Best Buy
instead of paying $200 to the cashier at the store you would purchase a $200
scrip card (like a debit card) through church.
This is what you would give the cashier at Best Buy. You still pay the same amount but the church
makes a fair percentage (varies with each store). Want to be a part of our Scrip fundraising
planning? Talk with Mark or Pastor Dave
or come to our meeting on Sunday, August 5th at 6pm here at the church.
Good Earth Village Quilt Auction
Sunday August 19th at Good
Earth Village. This special event raises funds to help cover
the cost of Camper Scholarships and help keep camp affordable for everyone. 175 Quilts and Quilted Wall-Hangings will be
auctioned off starting at 1:00pm. Worship at 10:30
with Quilt Review and Concessions to follow.
Quilts displayed in Log Lodge and auction held outside under the big-top
tent. Come enjoy a wonderful day at your
camp, support the kids and go home with a cherished heirloom. For more information www.GoodEarthVillage.org
or call 507-346-2494.
As
We Say Farewell to Mark… What comes next?
After
six years of ministry, leadership, and building relationships it will be hard
to see Mark go! We will miss his energy, passion for youth and sense of
humor. We give thanks for his time here and keep him in prayer as he
continues to follow God’s call in ministry. Good Shepherd Church remains committed to making sure our Senior High
Youth continue to thrive and grow in the faith, and we are making plans for
staffing in the fall.
We
currently have two needs with regard to staffing: a youth coordinator and a
second pastor.
Step
One: A youth coordinator. We are
posting a job opening for a half time youth coordinator who will focus on the
needs of Senior High Youth (grades 9-12). This person will facilitate weekly
meetings, monthly outings, and organize at least one summer mission trip.
If you, or anyone else is interested in applying for this job, you can pick up
a full job description in the church office. Applications are due by
August 20.
Beyond
the Youth Coordinator position we will enhance our youth ministry by developing
a Youth Service Team who will organize regular service opportunities in the
community about every 6 weeks. This will help keep the importance of
service at the forefront of our youth programming. If you are interested
in being a part of this exciting team, please talk with Pastor Dave.
Step
Two: A second pastor. This
need was expressed through the previous call process, the congregational
conversations, and was stated as an objective in the 2004 Strategic Plan.
Throughout this month we will be investigating what it will take to call a
second pastor, what our needs are, and how we might structure that call to meet
the needs of Good Shepherd and our ministry to the Rochester community and beyond.
These
are exciting times at GSC!
In this time of transition, we have the opportunity to discern how to best
serve our community and create a place of mission and welcome.
Let’s keep our youth program and congregation in prayer – that we might be led
by God’s Spirit to faithfully follow where God would have us
go.
God bless your year!
August 8 Nancy Flaharty,
Garrett Kolar, Kay Drenth
August 9 Dylan
Larson, Erik Olson, Molly Van Norman
August 10 Betty
Attleson, Dano Lange
August 11 Kelly
Boettcher, Mardel Carey, Matthew Hoeft, Elissa Larson, Caleb Peter, Gabriel
Swanton
August 12 Kari
Enger, Shelby Husser, Dylan Persinger
August 13 John
Bird, Eric Havelick, David Hengel, Marlene Sabatke
August 14 Andrew
Johnson, Pat Kolar, Joanna Lipp
August 15 Isaac
Feenstra, Robyn Floyd, Levi Poppe
+ For all the members of GSLC, especially:
Jeff and Kathy Orth (Jeremy, Katie, Joel, Jonathan, Jim, Kari, Joshua), Todd
and Michele Osman (Andrea, Anthony, Peter), Michael and Pamela Pagelkopf.
+ For all congregations in the
Southeastern Minnesota Synod, including: Urland Lutheran in Cannon Falls, St.
Paul ELCA/UCC in Lewiston, Trinity in Blue Earth, and Vang Lutheran in
Dennison.
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)