The Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd
7800 W. McCarthy Road
Palos Heights, IL 60463
708.448.4170
The Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd 7800 W. 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 Rev. Dr. Wayne A. Basch (708)448-4170 November 2011
“WOW!” The idea was to have a birthday party that would celebrate my appreciation for all of you as my family in Christ! What happened was an incredible expression of love and affirmation that will be with me for the rest of my life.
For whatever your part was in making my birthday a love fest, “Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!”
The day was so wonderfully and lovingly framed by the words of Pastor Brandt in reciting the words of Hebrews 12: “Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us.” Thank you for your witness to the gift of Christ’s love in my life and ministry. It is your support and encouragement that leads me on with great hope and enthusiasm. Let us all run on dear sisters and brothers in faith with great joy!
With a Very Thankful Heart, Pastor Basch
Highlights of November . . .
ALL SAINTS’ SUNDAY, November 6 . . . a time to remember the gifts of the faithful witnesses who lived before us, a time to pray that God’s love might so flow through us to the world around us. Rev. John Nunes, President of Lutheran World Relief will share a message of God’s love with us.
CHRIST THE KING SUNDAY, November 20. . . the last day of the church year, a day to praise the kingship of redeeming love and eternal life.
THANKSGIVING FESTIVAL WORSHIP Thanksgiving Eve, November 23 at 7:30 PM Thanksgiving Day, November 24 at 10:00 AM
“Now thank we all our God, With hearts and hands and voices Who wondrous things has done, In whom this world rejoices; Who, from our mother’s arms, Has blest us on our way With countless gifts of love, And still is ours today.”
Once again, to symbolize our Thanksgiving sharing, a table will be placed in the chancel to receive canned goods and staple items to be distributed to the needy in our area. All offerings have been designated for missions to support the hungry of our world. Bring your gifts and a thankful heart!
THE FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT, November 27. . .the beginning of a new church year. The time of preparation begins, as we make room in our hearts and lives for the coming of our Savior.
November is a turning point of faith in the seasons of the year, as we travel from grace to grace. May our journey along the spiritual path of life always reflect true thanksgiving, abiding faith and expectant hope! Annual Clothing Drive . . . With the cold months ap-proaching, the Missions’ Committee is sponsoring a clothing drive for those less fortunate individuals in need of winter wear. Please clean out your closets of any warm clothing that would be helpful to someone facing a Chicago winter. Blankets are also very helpful. We are also asking for sweatshirts to be given to our friends at Chicago Ridge Nursing Home. Please, no summer wear. The committee will be receiving these items in the Family Life Center from 9:00 AM until 12:00 Noon on Saturday, November 19th and will deliver them the week of Thanksgiving.
REST Cooking is reaching out to those less fortunate! The next date for cooking for the homeless is Tuesday, November 15th at 9:30 AM. Food Pantry: Specific needs for November include: cranberry sauce, stuffing mix, boxed mashed potatoes, canned sweet potatoes, gravy mix, cake mix, frosting and jello. Any donations other than those specifically requested are always appreciated.
R.E.S.T. Needs Our Help! In addition to the need and appreciation for donated meals, clothing and household goods, there is a special need for NEW socks and underwear, especially long underwear (all sizes – men’s and women’s.) For many years, Good Shepherd has been helping to support R.E.S.T., a Chicago north side shelter. This shelter provides ongoing programs for men and women, helping these individuals deal with the problems that have led to their homelessness. Therefore, we are asking the congregation to help fill this need by bringing a gift of designated items to church by Sunday, December 4th. These much needed gifts will be delivered to R.E.S.T. promptly and distributed to the many clients. Thank you for helping Good Shepherd in this mission outreach.
Sharing Connections Furniture Bank, a nonprofit organization in Downers Grove, provides furniture and household items to low-income families. They currently have a critical need for cleaning supplies and unopened personal care items such as shampoo, deodorant, and conditioner. Silverware is also needed. If you would like to donate any of these items for Sharing Connections please drop them off at the church office and Ruth Sava will deliver the items to this organization.
Fall means the return to school for children and adults alike! Our Tuesday groups are having meaningful discus-sions of faith in the days and weeks ahead. The 9:30 AM Prayer Group is discussing Gospel In Life by Timothy Keller while the 10:30 AM Bible Class continues their journey through the Book of Proverbs.
The 4:00 PM Discussion Group is discussing Simply Christian by N.T. Wright. 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.
The Thursday Evening Bible Discovery Group has become a close group of searchers sharing the gift of God’s Word. Now is a great time to join and learn more about the Bible and meet some very nice people along the way. We are currently studying the book of “Job”. The class is preceded by prayer and devotion in the Sanctuary at 7:00 PM. This opportunity to be still and know God’s love is open to everyone.
“Body and Soul”, our men’s group, continues to meet at 8:00 PM every Monday evening. Discussion follows an hour of basketball every other week. They are discussing John Wooden’s Pyramid of Success. Come and join this exciting group! This group meets November 7th and 21st with basketball only on the 14th and 28th.
The Macular Degeneration Support Group will meet on Tuesday, November 15th at 1:00 PM. If you have been diagnosed with Macular Degeneration or know someone who has this condition, please feel free to join us. On Tuesday, December 6th at 10:30 AM, the Macular Degeneration Support Group will welcome Polly Abbott from the Guild for the Blind. Polly will lead a “Dining with Confidence” workshop. From 10:30 – 11:30, we will learn skills that will help us while eating and from 11:30 – 12:30, we will enjoy a meal together and practice what we learned. Please RSVP to Carole Peterson or Ron Skoglund by November 29th for this event.
In November the “OFF Club” will celebrate Thanksgiving on Wednesday, November 16th at 11 a.m. and we certainly have much for which to be thankful! We will open with a brief meeting and will vote into office our board members for 2012. We will enjoy a full turkey dinner with all the usual sides and dessert. Then we will head upstairs to the sanctuary once again for our entertainment. (We will have a couple of wheelchairs available this time for those having difficulty getting to the elevator.) Our entertainment will be the 40-plus voices of the intermediate advanced chorus from Shepard High School led by Michael Fallon. Since they are coming in the middle of the day, they will be on a strict schedule to return in time for their continuing classes so we will want to be seated by 12:40 p.m. to enjoy their fine singing.
There will be no regular meeting in December but be sure to contact Nancy Westlund, 708/ 448-1927, to make arrangements to attend our wonderful Christmas party on Wednesday, December 7th, at Silver Lakes Country Club. Tickets are $25 and we will have the pleasure of a very fine singer, Peter Oprisko, to entertain us. Great food, lovely music, good company and a festive holiday atmosphere...plus we hope to see Santa & Mrs. Claus again! Let Nancy or Marilyn, 708/361-4682, know if you need a ride.
Congratulations to fellow member Gail M. Christoffer Baruch for her outstanding contributions to promoting equal employment opportunities for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Twenty-eight of our High School Students have made a commitment to attend next summer’s ELCA National Youth Gathering in New Orleans, Louisiana from July 18th – 22nd. We all have a lot to do in order for us have a successful trip. There will be a meeting for all participants who are registered for the Youth Gathering and their parents November 13th at 10:15 AM in the Galilean Room. The focus of this meeting will be to talk about our trip preparations, including fundraising. In addition, our monthly group meeting for all participants will be on Sunday, November 13th from 7:00 – 8:00 PM. Please let Ron know if you will be unable to attend either of these meetings.
Need Gift Cards for Christmas Gifts? The High School Students participating in the Youth Gathering will be selling gift cards to help pay for our trip. We will be selling gift cards from many retailers (including Jewel, Panera, Starbucks, Barnes and Noble, as well as many others). You will pay the retail value for the gift card and the High School Students will get a percentage of the cost. The order form is the last page of this paper. Please turn in all orders to Ron Skoglund or the church office by Sunday, November 27th. Gift cards should be available for pickup on Sunday, December 4th.
Our High School Students will be serving dinner at REST’s homeless shelters on Friday, November 11th. We will meet at church at 6:30 PM, load our vehicles, and leave for the shelters before 7:00 PM. We will return to church around 11:00 PM. This is a wonderful opportunity to share God’s love with people who are in need. Please sign up on the bulletin board if you would like to attend this meaningful event. Adult volunteers are also needed, so please let (cont’d) (cont’d) Ron know if you can help out and are willing to spend an evening with our High School Students. We will be making food for us to take with us on Wednesday, November 9th at 7:00 PM. If you would be able to help us prepare food, please sign up on the bulletin board as well.
Our Confirmation Stu-dents will be playing Laser Tag at Laser Quest in Downers Grove on Sunday, November 20th. We will have lunch immediately following the 11:00 AM service in the Family Life Center. We will leave for Laser Quest by 1:00 PM returning at approximately 4:30 – 4:45 PM. Anyone interested in attending this afternoon of fun should sign up on the bulletin board. The cost for this event is $10/person. Adult drivers are always needed, so please let Ron know if you would like to spend an afternoon with our Confirmation Students. Please see Ron or Pastor Basch if you have any questions about this event.
Left with too much Halloween Candy? Our Sunday School students have shared their Halloween Candy for the past 9 years. The candy has gone to various organizations and has even been used for the gingerbread house decorating in December. We will, once again, collect the Halloween Candy on Sunday, November 6th. The Good Shepherd congregation is welcome to share their leftover candy also. There will be baskets in the Narthex for your donations.
Holiday Planning. . . Here are the dates for the Sunday School rehearsals, party and service to help you better coordinate your holiday plans. Rehearsals are as follows: Saturday, December 10th 10:30 AM – 12 Noon for Kindergarten thru 5th Grade only, and Saturday, December 17th 10:30 AM- 12 Noon for “ALL” Sunday School classes. The Sunday School Christmas Party will follow the rehearsal on December 17th from 12 Noon to 1 PM. Our Children’s Service will take place on Sunday, December 18th at 4:00 PM. We hope all are able to attend.
November’s Family Fun Event is on November 4th from 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM. We will meet in the Family Life Center downstairs. The theme is a night of Forgiveness. Families will play a large scale game of “Sorry”. Families are asked to bring a snack or dessert. Sign-up sheet is on the bulletin board. Please be sure to let us know if you plan to attend.
A fine tradition continued. . . Christmas gifts for the L.S.S.I. Foster Children The Christmas wish lists for the foster children will be available on November 20th. We will have the opportunity to help 175 children in foster care. Look for the table with the names of children ranging in age from 1 month – 18 years and a few slightly older due to their mental/physical challenges. There are guidelines and ideas to help you in purchasing a gift. Please only take one child’s name at first, so we can give as many people as possible the opportunity to share the Christmas spirit with others. On November 23rd, 24th and 27th, you may take an additional name if you should want to. Gifts need to be back at church no later than Sunday, December 11th. Lutheran Social Services of Illinois is always very appreciative of the generosity of the Good Shepherd family.
FYI for December’s Family Fun Night. . . we will continue our tradition of Gingerbread House decorating on December 2nd. Due to the popularity of this evening, you will need to make sure you sign up if you plan to attend! Sign up sheets are on the bulletin board. Once you sign up, a house kit is reserved for your family.
Time Change Sunday, November 6th. Turn back those clocks, enjoy the extra hour, get a good night’s rest and come prepared for an All Saints’ Sunday celebration.
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