Thursday Notes

Dear Good Shepherd,

Happy Thursday. It's been a great Lent so far. Aside from the small matter of the 41 degree Ash Wednesday service, everything has gone smashingly well. I know I should be more optimistic and trusting, but I was surprised at how many people came to the Pancake Supper. We were packed. And even though it was a new kitchen and there were some confusing moments early on, everybody who came ate well and was served well. Thank you to Carmen for organizing the whole thing and thank you to everyone who helped cook, serve, clean, seat, and set up for it. It took a lot more work than usual simply because we are unfamiliar with our new surroundings. The greatest thing about the whole event was that we were able to meet a lot of people from the neighborhood. Establishing community relationships will be vital to our future mission here.

Here are your Thursday Notes:

Pie and Cake Sunday is This Sunday: March 1st is going to be a big day. The Diocese of Central New York will be officially decommissioning the former "Good Shepherd" building. Good Shepherd the church, on the other hand, is going to have a party to celebrate God's awesome power and provision for his people. Please bring your favorite pie or cake to church Sunday March 1st and invite neighbors, friends, acquaintances young and old to join us as we worship with an extra bit of sweet hospitality. The pie and cake will be served between services during Christian Ed and also after the 10:30 Worship Service.

Remember that Sunday, the day of Christ's resurrection, is never a day of fasting (not even during Lent).

The Bishop is Coming: Bishop Bill Murdoch, Bishop of the Missionary District of New England (soon to be a diocese in the Anglican Church in North America), of which we will one day be a part, is coming to visit Good Shepherd on Sunday morning March 15th. Here's a video of his sermon from last week. During his time at Good Shepherd he will preach, teach, celebrate Communion and Confirmation. Confirmation, for those who do not know, is 1. a public profession or "confirmation" of personal faith in Jesus Christ for those who were baptized as young children or infants. 2. A public profession of the vows of baptism covenant of and 3. an official entry into the Anglican Communion for those baptized in other branches of the Church.

Interested in Anglicanism? There are a number of parishioners who are ready to be prepared for Confirmation and have indicated that they want to be confirmed during the bishop's visit. Others have expressed interest in knowing more about Anglicanism. If you want to know more about Anglicanism, please email (lambeth@flash.net) or call me (773-4810) and we'll talk. I'm planning to host a series of discussions with those who hope to be confirmed and if you are interested in Anglicanism it might be a good idea to sit in on those discussions.

Thursday Night Bible Study: There will be bible study tonight at the Conklin Avenue Baptist gym right after the Shepherd's Bowl is over at 6:30pm.

Men's Breakfast and Bible Study: Darrell and Bob are cooking tomorrow morning (breakfast and bible study starts at 6:30am)

A Message from Carmen: Many thanks to everyone who worked so tirelessly and generously in order to make the Pancake Supper such a super success! And above all, praise be to God who blessed our efforts.

Women's Bible Study will meet at the regular time at 10:00am in the parish hall.

Choir: meets every Saturday at 11am after the Women's Bible Study.

Podcasts: There are two podcast sermon's this week. Last Sunday's Sermon entitled "The Bible and Experience" deals with the relationship between our experience of God and God's self revelation in scripture. The second sermon, "A Badge of Dishonor" delivered on Ash Wednesday, deals with the problem of repentance.

Donations and Pledges: Now that we have our own bank account any checks or money orders may be made out to: The Anglican Church of the Good Shepherd rather than St. Matthias.

Adult Education: Christ and Culture Last Sunday we discussed the "Christ of Culture" model of cultural engagement...the church that conforms to culture rather than seeking to change or transform it. This Sunday we'll take a look at the opposite extreme--the "Christ against Culture" model...those churches that see non-ecclesial culture as unredeemably evil.