The Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd
7800 McCarthy Road, Palos Heights, IL 60463
708.448.4170
The Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd 7800 McCarthy Road, Palos Heights, IL 60463 708.448.4170
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Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd 7800 W. McCarthy Rd. Palos Heights, IL 60463 (708) 448-4170 January 2008 God’s spirit moves in wonderful ways. Sunday morning, December 23rd, had a frustrating beginning. We were all very excited to share the Christmas message through the Choir’s Cantata, “The Winter Rose.” But the high winds of the previous night cut the power; no light, no sound system, no organ and no heat! But the power of a faithful community that had come to worship did not waver. With coats on and huddled together we heard God’s word, sang songs of faith and expressed our love for God and commitment to each other. The true power of grace and truth were never more evident! The spirit of faith and love were consistently shared through the Christmas season. Thank you for your reflection of God’s love in the life of our church family. You are all gifts of Christmas. Have a blessed new year. Pastor Basch Please plan on attending the Congregational Meeting following the late service on January 27th. This meeting should provide a very meaningful opportunity for us to reflect upon the power of God’s spirit in leading us to new opportunities for mission and ministry. You play a very important part in the ministry of love that we share! Child care will be provided during the meeting. A Word of Gratitude . . . In addition to the exceptional efforts that were made to bring God’s love to others in the past few months, (The 177 foster gifts, the clothing drive, the food drive, the mission trip to Mississippi, etc.) our Missions Board was able to once again extend our outreach to others. This year, it was our privilege to send more than $172,000.00 for mission and ministry to places all around the world. It’s with gratitude and joy that we announce that we have reached our goal of 35% of operating expenses being given to missions outside the Good Shepherd community! The board wants to assure you that your gifts are being used to support and care for people as directly as possible, as we screen every request for financial aid. We hope that taking this step in missions to others is meaningful for all our members, as we continue to dedicate ourselves to faithful discipleship following the path of our Lord. We are thankful for what we have been able to do together this past year and look forward to new challenges and opportunities in the coming year. Thank You, the Missions Board We continue to take food to the Worth Food Pantry. The need continues. January request includes: cereal, macaroni and cheese, canned fruit, juice, canned vegetables and canned meat. The 2008 Flower Chart is posted on the bulletin board outside the church office. Donors may use this opportunity to celebrate anniversaries, weddings and birthdays or in memory of a loved one. The cost of the flowers is $40.00, and checks should be made payable to Good Shepherd Chancel Guild. Thank You! Thank You! Thank You! To all those who helped to beautify our church for the celebration of love . . . . . . to All our CHOIRS whose joyful sounds brought beauty and inspiration to our services, echoing the voices of angels and the pealing of Christmas bells. The concert was an inspiring moment of Christmas . . . to the Adult Choir who presented “The Winter Rose”. . . . to all our Members who participated in our worship for their part in bringing beauty and grace to our services, gatherings and celebrations. . . .to Everyone who participated in the L.S.S.I. foster gift program. There were 177 children who benefited because of your love and care for them. Thank you for helping make Christmas a more positive experience for those children for whom life is more difficult. . . . to Our Sunday School children who shared “Star of Love” on December 16th. Many thanks to all of our Sunday school children, parents, teachers and staff for a job well done! . . . to the Lions Club for their generous donation of our beautiful Christmas tree. Special thanks to Forest Reeder for coordinating this gift. In the words of many, it was “perfect!” . . . to You for the card sent, the gift given, the good word shared, your devotion of faith expressed, for your living expression of Christmas peace and love. . . . to Everyone who purchased Luminaria to share the “Light of God” with the world at your own homes this year. 91 kits were sold (including 41 for the church). In addition, several donations were also received. Thanks to your generosity, over $2142.50 was raised for the food pantries in Midlothian and $431.30 was raised to support the youth and mission programs at Good Shepherd. Special thanks also go out to Bruce Arquilla for donating the sand for this program. . . . to a Special Angel and all her youthful helpers for their hard work displaying our luminaries. . . . to the Hulse family for their kind donation in paving the turn of our middle driveway. Thanks to their gift and the landscape efforts of Henry Lang our front lawn is much neater! . . . to Jim Peliwo for the gift of a new mailbox. Look for it in front of the parsonage soon.
Tuesday Groups. . . Our Tuesday groups are looking forward to many meaningful discussions of faith in the days and weeks ahead. The 9:30 Prayer Group is discussing “A Disciple’s Joy” by Mike Foss. The 10:30 AM Class will be selecting a new book of the Bible and the 4:00 group is discussing “Women in the Bible”. We are thankful for the opportunity these groups provide for us to grow in faith and share God’s love with each other, and we invite others to come and join us. Our Thursday evening class will resume on January 17th. New participants are always welcome! “Body and Soul,” the men’s group that includes time for recreation and reflection, has become a close group of support and friendship for men in our congregation. The group is open to anyone who wishes to participate in either activity and continues to meet every other Monday starting at 8:00 PM. The meeting dates in January are the 14th and the 28th. They are currently discussing a series of DVDs by Rob Bell. Basketball is also played on the “off” Mondays, January 7th and 21st. The “Spiritual Fitness” home study will be meeting at the home of Wendy Kalafut on Monday, January 21st at 7:15 PM. Come and join this friendly group of women who meet on the 3rd Monday of each month. The “OFF Club” begins the New Year with a meeting on Wednesday, January 16th beginning at 11:00 AM in Bethany Hall. This program will include the installation of officers along with a silent auction. All church members (over 55) and their friends are invited to join us. Regular meetings are on the 3rd Wednesday of the month beginning at 11 AM. We have great activities planned and would love to meet you. The Adult Volleyball crowd is always looking for new players. If interested in blowing off a little stress and getting exercise after the holidays, come and join us on January 11th and the 25th at 7:30 PM. Another remodeling job! Our church kitchen is currently undergoing a major renovation under the supervision of Keith Gansel and Sue Buerger and their committees. The hope is to be completed by Ash Wednesday, just in time for the Seniors’ Luncheon. Anyone who has ever remodeled a kitchen knows to keep this project in their prayers. On Friday, January 4th, our High School Students will be serving dinner at REST. We will meet here at church at 6:30 PM, leave at 7:00 PM, and arrive back at church between 10:30 and 11:00 PM. Please sign up on the bulletin board or call me if you want to spend an evening helping others. Adult volunteers are also needed. Please let me know if any of your parents would be willing to participate in this evening of sharing God’s love with the less fortunate. The Confirmation Basketball League will have an organizational meeting and scrim-mage on Saturday, January 5th at 9:00 AM in the Family Life Center. If you are unable to attend this meeting but would like to participate in the league, please sign up on the bulletin board. There is a cost of $20 to participate in the league. Games will begin on January 12th at 9:00 and 10:00 AM and will continue on Saturdays through March. A specific schedule will be handed out on the 12th. Please see Ron Skoglund or Pastor Basch if you have any questions regarding the basketball league at Good Shepherd. The High School Basketball League will have an organizational meeting and scrimmage on Tuesday, January 8th from 7:00 – 8:00 PM in the Family Life Center. If you are unable to attend this meeting but would like to participate in the league, please sign up on the bulletin board or call Ron or the church office. There is a cost of $20 to participate in the league. Games will begin on Tuesday, January 15th at 7:00 and 8:00 PM and will continue on Tuesday nights into March. An exact schedule will be handed out on the 15th. There will be a High School Mission Trip Meeting on Sunday, January 20th from 6:30 – 8:00 PM for all trip participants. The emphasis for this meeting will be spent on getting to know each other and providing more specific information in regards to the trip. Please let Ron know if you will be unable to attend this meeting. All high school students who are interested in partici-pating in this years Youth Service should see Ron. Good Shepherd’s high school youth will present their annual Youth Service to the congregation on Sunday, January 27th at 9:00 and 11:00 AM. Off to the Races! . . .for February’s family fun night! This will be a night of racing against time to complete the many activities. Please join us on February 1st for a night of fun. Each family will participate as a team and smaller families will be grouped together. Our evening will begin at 7 PM. We will race for about 1 hour and then enjoy an ice cream sundae treat. Sign up sheets are on the bulletin board. “Winterfest” Fellowship Activity Day for Nursery (3 yr. olds) thru 1st Grade Sunday school students will be on Sat-urday, February 9th from 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM. Fun will be had by all who attend. There will be parachute play, snowballs, sledding, other relay races, crafting and a frozen popsicle treat. All of this will take place inside the family life center. Please be sure to sign up on the bulletin board if you plan to attend. Parent and High School volunteers will be needed. Looking ahead… Vacation Bible School 2008 Planning Meeting will take place on Monday, February 4th at 7 PM in the third grade classroom. Our theme for 2008 is a “Rainforest Adventure”. Anyone interested in helping to brainstorm for the 2008 VBS is welcome to join the meeting. |
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