PDF of the bulletin insert can be found here
WORSHIP
Worship With Us Online!
Join us now in worship online!
Connect with us for an encouraging Word from God and a time of worship. Are you ready to worship together?
Please use the following links below to connect online to the Sunday Church Service:
Facebook click here: Facebook
YouTube click here: Youtube
LAST WEEK’S SERMON You can watch last week’s sermon here
NEW CONGREGATION OFFICERS
Congratulations to the new officers of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church:
Mary Pierce – Congregation President
Paula Bennett – Congregation Vice President
Kathy Seim – Congregation Secretary
These officers will lead the Council and Congregation in our journey of faith in the year ahead. Other Council members include: June Newell, Congregation Treasurer, Lorry Creech, John Crouch, Wayne Rosholt, Holly Selanders, Jeff Seibert, Judy Treadway
PARISH LIFE
NEW: PRAYER CARD
Your Response is needed: God’s call to reach out into our community
With the help of our Co:Lab team, Good Shepherd has been called to embark on a bold expedition. Currently our congregation is pretty good at welcoming visitors who come through our doors, but now we are being challenged to proactively reach out to our neighbors rather than wait for people to arrive. Good Shepherd is being called to join God’s mission within our community, trusting the Spirit to guide us. What is your response to God’s call?
Please read and reflect on the prayer that you received a couple of weeks ago.
Dear God, Thank you for all the blessings you bestow upon us each day. Please continue to guide us as we seek your lost sheep, and may your Spirit help us bring them into your community of faith. In Jesus’s name we pray. Amen.
What’s your response to God’s call to actively reach out into our community?
Reflect on this Call, our challenge to actively join God’s mission, led by the Spirit.
Write and post your excitements, concerns, and prayers on the bulletin board in our gathering space (the narthex). This bulletin board is our Prayer Wall. Blank cards and push pins are on the counter.
Read and reflect on the comments and prayers of others.
You are welcome to write your excitements, concerns and prayers at home on index cards or pieces of paper and just thumbtack them up on the bulletin board when you get to church.
God’s peace,
Judy Treadway, Co:Lab team member
NEW: COMMUNITY FAMILY SOCIAL NIGHT
Join us for an evening of connection, laughter and fun for the whole family
Date: Friday, October 24
Time: 5:30 PM – 7:30 PM
Location: Good Shepherd Lutheran Church
Here’s what’s happening:
– Pulled Chicken sandwiches served with a smile
– Craft Activity for Kids to spark creativity
– Games for Adults—from friendly competition to just plain goofy fun
All are welcome—neighbors, friends, and newcomers alike.
NEW: ATTENTION QUILTERS:The quilters of Lutheran Church of Our Savior, Oakwood, have invited quilters and quilter wanna-bees from Good Shepherd to join them a couple times a month to quilt together. They have fabric, machines, and a joy for quilting. Both novice and experienced quilters are welcome! Please contact Judy Treadway directly or leave a voicemail at 937-434-9407 if you are interested in this fine adventure!
NEW: ALL SAINTS WEEKEND
During the services on November 1st and 2nd, we will be honoring those Saints who were members of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church who have entered the Church Triumphant during the past year. If you would like a friend or family member, who were not members to be included during this very special service, please contact the office.
OUTREACH AND SERVICES
TRUNK OR TREAT TIME!
You are invited to participate in the Trunk or Treat Event sponsored by Good Shepherd and Harmony Creek in the Parking Lot, Sunday, October 26, 2:00 – 4:00pm
Ways you can participate:
1. Bring your car and decorate it with your favorite Halloween decorations.
2. Hand out treats from your trunk.
3. Donate treats (candy, bags of chips, sticker sheets, nut free/allergy free treats.
There will be a bin in our gathering place (the narthex) to place your donations.
Bring donations to church on 10/18, 19 or 10/25, 26
4. Bring your kids, grandkids, nieces, nephews and INVITE your neighbors to enjoy the fun.
SURVIVING THE HOLIDAYS 4.0 COMING UP – Saturday, November 1st
Spread the word. ONLY one session that is powerfully packed with real experiences and expert advice.
This single session focuses on the challenges of grief during the holiday seasons of Thanksgiving and Christmas. The holidays intensify our feelings of loss amidst the emphasis on family and holiday gathering. The experts offer both practical suggestions and hope for remembering and cherishing our loved ones who are not gathering with us.
Saturday, November 1
GSLC Fellowship Lounge
10:00 am – Noon
Survival Guide resource for this session is $10.
If you or someone you know is interested, you may register online at www.griefshare.org or call the church office. If you have any questions, contact Kathy Seim (937-901-0532) or Pam Bauser (937-602-8385).
Mark your calendars now!
FOOD PANTRY NEWS
Our September food donations were delivered to 4 local food pantries on October 7 – totaling 325 food items. Thank you for faithfully remembering the families who are served by the food pantries in our community. As you do your personal food shopping, consider adding a few items for these families. It will be a wonderful way to help those around us. It is very helpful to avoid donations of food in glass containers so that nothing can be broken. You can bring your donations to church any time, but the next official Food Pantry Sunday will be Sunday, November 2 .
If you would like to volunteer on a Thursday at the Feeding Friends Pantry on Bigger Road near the former Victoria’s Secret Building, click here to sign up.
CONTINUING EDUCATION
YOUR WEEKLY INVITATION: #5
An invitation is like opening a door and telling a person, “Please, come on in, you’re important to us, and we want you to be here.”
Inviting a person to join you at a congregational event is riskier than improving the congregation’s visibility. With visibility, one lets others determine if they want to encounter the congregation and learn more about it. Congregation members can sit back and wait for people to show up.
Invitation is riskier. It is riskier because it means that we must speak directly to a person, share with them what we see as good about the ministry of our congregation, and ask them to join us. The risk—the person can say no. And I know very few of us who handle well hearing the word no.
Here are the pieces necessary for invitation to take place.
- Be a follower of Jesus who wants others to meet Jesus.
- Have an affection—even more than that, a passion– for the ministry of your congregation.
- Be able to and want to speak well of the congregation.
- Want others to experience the same goodness as they do.
- Have a concern for others and want them to be included in the congregation’s work.
- And be able to say, “I would really enjoy having you join me.”
Source: Pastor Tim Mentzer, “Discipleship: The Five Layers of Evangelism,” Podcast 22, June 24 2025, Southern Ohio Synod, ELCA.
BOOK DISCUSSION GROUP
You are INVITED to join our group discussion!
Open for ALL. Drop ins welcome! Come join the lively conversation in the Fellowship Hall.
October Wednesday evenings ( 10/8, 10/15, 10/22)
6:00 – 7:30 pm
Meeting in person.
Studying The Invitational Christian by Dave Daubert
Curious about the emphasis on being an INVITING CONGREGATION? Wondering who is doing the INVITING? Thinking – what does INVITING mean to me? This is the place for you.
SUNDAY MORNING ADULT BIBLE STUDY
The Sunday morning Adult Zoom Bible Study is taking several weeks off for the summer.
Please watch for information about future opportunities.
THURSDAY MORNING BIBLE STUDY DISCUSSION for ALL
Come join us on Zoom on Thursday mornings! Bring your bible with your coffee. Everyone is welcome! No prior experience is needed. Each week the study relates to the Scripture lessons for Sunday’s worship. Drop by and learn what’s behind the message on Sunday. Questions: Call the office at 937-298-0136
Topic: Gospel Lectionary Readings for Worship
Facilitator: Roger Bauser
Time: 9:00 am – 10:00 am
MISCELLANEOUS
NEW: GSLC CHRISTMAS MARKET
The GSLC Christmas Market is on November 8, 2025 from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM. Vendors from all over the area will be attending with a variety of handmade items and small business products. The handmade presentations include stone candles, rehab’d vintage pieces, baked goods, crocheted pieces, jewelry of all sorts, embroidered pillows, designer cups, freshly made ornaments, wood designs, and so much more! The small businesses include Scentsy, Avon, Mary Kay, Lularoe, and many others! We will be selling a bite to eat from our kitchen, we will be conducting a Raffle, and we will be offering festive decorations to align with our theme!
Financial Update
The updated financial results through July 2025, are as follows:
- YTD income of $198,802 is $24,116 lower than the budget of $222,918
- YTD expenses of $160,094 is favorable to the budget of $227,948 due to lower Senior Pastor expenses
- July YTD net income is therefore $38,708
The bi-annual contribution statements have been mailed, please contact June Newell with any questions
Hand Sanitizer in pews: Small bottles of hand sanitizer are now available in the pews for you to use. The bottles are located near the center aisle.
The 2025 Altar Flower Calendar is posted in the Narthex near the serving area. You are encouraged to sign up now to select your favorite date. Flowers can be given in HONOR of a person or event or in MEMORY of a person or special occasion. When you choose to donate Altar Flowers, you are welcome to take them home after the Sunday service. Flowers that remain are made into bouquets and distributed to members of the congregation. They do bring great cheer and a loving connection to our GSLC family to someone who is hospitalized, ill or unable to worship with us. Altar Flowers are $45.00.
Consider adding your gifts to this important worship ministry. Donate flowers. Offer to become a Flower Delivery person.
There will be no altar flowers during the season of Lent
Offerings: Electronic Giving
Please don’t forget to send in your weekly tithe/offering to the church at 901 East Stroop Rd, Kettering, OH 45429 or go to our online Electronic Giving:
Electronic Giving Good Shepherd Lutheran Church is now offering the option of electronic giving for regular offerings and special offerings. Giving is done using the company Tithe.ly which is the only one endorsed by the ELCA. There are three ways to give:
1. Via smartphone using the Tithe.ly app (download via the App Store or Google Play)
2. Online at Tithe.ly
3. Via the GSLC Website which has a link to the Tithe.ly website to give directly to GSLC
The process to create an account and give is simple because it is tied to a debit or credit card. There is also a processing fee of less than 3% that you can choose to cover if desired. Benefits of Electronic Giving:
1. Ability to give from anywhere including other countries – you only need an internet connection via smartphone or computer.
2. Ability to give 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
3. Ability to choose from a variety of options where your gift goes.
4. Can give more than one gift at a time with the “Add Gift” option