WORSHIP
In-person Worship!
Good Shepherd is continuing to meet for in-person worship on Sundays at 10:30 am. Please come and fellowship with us, we are looking forward to seeing more familiar faces!
Worship With Us Online!
Good Shepherd will continue to offer online worship on Sundays and our parking lot Holy Communion on the first and third Sundays from Noon – 1:00 pm.
Please use the following links below to connect online to the Sunday Church Service:
Facebook click here: Facebook
YouTube click here: Youtube
Online Events Information
Good Shepherd Lutheran Church will be doing a Streaming Devotional with Pr. Jamie Vannoy every Wednesday at Noon. We will also be including Read Aloud Stories with Don Bennett every weekday, Monday – Friday, at 2:30 pm. Please come, connect, and enjoy.
Please use the following links below to connect:
Facebook click here: Facebook
YouTube click here: Youtube
Altar Flowers
I am going to wait until May of 2021 to re-evaluate Altar flowers. With our home bound not being able to have visitors we have no one to bring flowers to. If you want flowers for the Altar we will gladly order them, you are welcome to take them home/give them to whoever you would like. Or we will dispose of them for you. When we do start back up we will contact folks from the 2020 flower chart. If you have questions or concerns please feel to contact me at mweyhrauch@woh.rr.com or 937-510-4264. Michele Weyhrauch, Worship Commissioner
OUTREACH AND SERVICES
Jeremiah’s Letter Sunday, April 18 is Jeremiah’s Letter Sunday. Please consider donating any of the following items to Jeremiah’s Letter: sheets, bath towels, blankets, toilet paper, shampoo, conditioner, soap, deodorant (full size or trial size), toothpaste, tooth brushes, feminine hygiene products, Depends, razors, shaving cream, denture cleansers and adhesives, backpacks, sleeping bags, broth based soups, canned goods, cereal, laundry or cleaning supplies.
Update from Witness & Outreach
I want to thank the members of GSLC for their contributions to the Lenten Offerings & Easter Lily Project. Because of your generosity, the following will be sent to two outreach projects: $1525.00 will be sent to ELCA Disaster Relief to help victims and recovery efforts of the Louisiana & Texas flooding. $1335.00 will be sent to Daybreak of Dayton. I am always so grateful and amazed at the generosity of GSLC members towards those in need. Fondly, Lisa Connelly, Witness & Outreach Commissioner
Food Pantry News
The definition of Generosity- the quality of being kind and generous. Well done generous and kind parishioners. We delivered 308 items to the food pantry!! You guys rock!! Thanks for your support for many needy families in our area who are serviced by the Neighbor to Neighbor Food Pantry. The food pantry donation bin has been moved back to the narthex; so if you are coming to church on Sunday morning you can bring your donations and place them there. During the week, if you are going by church, you can still place your donations inside the fellowship hall as we have been doing. Monetary donations may still be made by placing a check in the offering or mailing it to the church office payable to Good Shepherd with “food pantry” in the memo line. Recently we have been able to make generous donations to several other area food pantry ministries: Harmony Creek United Church of Christ Food Pantry; Marshall Rd. Church of God Food Pantry; South Community “Caring Hands” Food Pantry.
Volunteers Needed
Our church is responsible for preparing and serving a breakfast meal, to guests of First Lutheran Church in Downtown Dayton, on the second and fourth Sundays of each month. We have a group of dedicated volunteers who have been faithfully helping for many years. We are looking for some more to join our team. We can use volunteers to occasionally shop for food, help prepare food (on Saturday and/or Sunday) and deliver the grab-n-go meals on Sunday morning. Please consider volunteering and help feed those less fortunate in Downtown Dayton. Please contact Lisa Connelly at 937-435-6721 for further information. Thank you very much!
CONTINUING EDUCATION
Call for GLSC Scholarship Applications 2021-2022 Academic Year
Applications will be solicited from April 5 – April 19. Anyone who is a member of Good Shepherd pursuing a 2 year degree, 4 year degree, or ELCA rostered leadership is eligible to apply. Those who are interested in applying for scholarships from the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Scholarship Fund may review the requirements on the church webpage, www.goodshepherdkettering.com. Applications may be found on the webpage or requested from the church office. Completed applications must be submitted by Monday, April 19.
Amazing Grace Daycamp July 19-23, 2021
Summer is just around the corner. Soon it will be time for Amazing Grace Daycamp. Circle July 19-23 on your calendars! Those are the important dates to remember. We will have a team from Lutheran Memorial Camp to lead the programming. We will need lots of volunteers to help with the campers, serve meals, provide support, and house the LMC staff. Hold this important outreach ministry in your prayers.
Lifelong Learning
Learn more about God’s Word for us. Join us ONLINE to learn together.
Our ADULT Lifelong Learning Classes are ONLINE! Everyone is welcome! Use the links below to join in the conversations. Take this opportunity to “zoom” in and discover the quality adult education we have at GSLC. Our Bible studies are open to ALL near and far. If you haven’t checked any of these out, please consider this invitation to join us now.
Our YOUTH classes (Kindergarten – 6th grade) are now IN PERSON meeting in the chapel. Times are 9:00 – 10:00 a.m. Karin Linch and Sandy Rosholt are the teachers for our youth classes.
CATECHISM is being offered online this year. Catechism is for our 6th, 7th, and 8th graders in preparation for confirmation, affirming the baptismal promises. If you have an interest in our studies of the Bible, Luther’s Small Catechism, and Lutheran heritage, please contact the church office for more information. Pastor Jamie and Don Bennett teach our catechism classes.
SATURDAY MORNING BREAKFAST BIBLE STUDY DISCUSSION
This study has been cancelled for the next several weeks. More information will be shared to resume at the end of April.
SUNDAY MORNING ADULT BIBLE STUDY
Topic: Hungering for Justice: Luther and the Economy
Facilitator: Roger Scott
Time: 9:00 am – 10:00 am
Place: comfort of your home – connect online
Date: April 18 Session 2: Economy of Grace
Martin Luther emphasizes grace over merit. Luther believed that grace was a gift from God, not something that could be earned by humans. He believed that the church should teach people that God forgives their sins because God loves them, not because they had done enough good works to earn grace or bought enough indulgences to purchase grace. What does this mean for us today?
Grace helps us focus on others and the good of our whole community challenging us to examine some important questions:
How are vulnerable people protected?
Does everyone have a fair opportunity to enjoy the benefits of the economy?
Are things like economic risk and opportunity experienced equally by all people?
We are using the resources from the ELCA World Hunger: Hungering for Justice: Luther and the Economy, study guide click here. Participants do not need to print the study guide. All information needed will be provided in the Sunday morning sessions. This is available for your information.
NOTE from Session 1: If you were interested in learning more about the ELCA World Hunger’s work in India to reduce the use of wood stoves, here is the link: vimeo.com/channels/elcaworldhunger
THURSDAY MORNING BIBLE STUDY for Men
This study has been cancelled for the next several weeks. More information on restarting will be available at the end of April.
WELCA BIBLE STUDY on Tuesday, April 27, 2021
SAVE the DATE! This is our final “Journey with the Angels” Bible study on angels from the April issue of the WELCA Gather Magazine. We have two sessions available: 10:00 am or 7:30 pm. Mark your calendars now!
Financial Peace University
Stop and think about this for a second. Imagine what the people of God, could do for the Kingdom of God, if they were debt free. What would you be able to do if you were debt free? Imagine what it would feel like to be able to give freely and generously toward needs you feel passionate about, whenever God leads you to. Financial Peace University will walk you through the process that will get you there and make it incredibly practical in your daily life. And if you know anything about Dave Ramsey you know it’s going to be a lot of fun!
To learn more about the class, visit the Financial Peace University website at www.daveramsey.com or register for the class. The FPU class will meet in the Fellowship Hall for the next 9 Tuesdays from 6:00 – 9:00 pm starting last Tuesday. If you have any questions, contact Martin Pierce at 287-4021 or Kathy Seim at 294-1145.
MISCELLANEOUS
Offerings for last week: $3,087.11
The amount reported applies to contributions used towards the annual ministry plan which requires contributions of $5,243 every week.
Calling for all Graduates Graduation Weekend – May 23, 2021
Each spring Good Shepherd honors our graduates from high school, college, and graduate programs. This year our graduate recognition will be the weekend of May 23. We need your help identifying this year’s graduates. Please submit the names of those members of your family who are graduating this spring to the church office as soon as possible. This will help us plan for the event. Please indicate the graduate’s full name, the name of school, and the degree earned, including the field of study. Thank you for helping us gather this information! It is a blessing to honor those graduates who are special to our congregation.
Memorial Committee
We are in need of a chairperson for the Memorial Committee if you are interested feel free to call the church office and talk to Pr Jamie at (937) 298-0136. Attached below is more of a description of the responsibilities of the committee and the chairperson as you discern serving in this way. Click here: Memorial Committee Description
Electronic Giving
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.
Questions: Contact Martin Pierce (937) 287-4021 or Denise Wilson (513) 913-0133.
CHURCH PROGRAM DONATIONS
AmazonSmile
In 2018, we received $15.95 in donations from AmazonSmile. In 2019 we received $19.64. Would you like to help go over those amounts for 2020? It’s easy to do. Go to our website for Youth Donations, Good Shepherd Youth Donations, scroll down and you will see a little graphic labeled amazonsmile. Click on that and follow the directions. Once you’ve done that, instead of going to amazon.com to make an online purchase, go to smile.amazon.com and for every purchase you make, we will get 0.5% of that price donated to us. It’s still Amazon, with all the features of the normal site, we just get a small cut. Over time those 0.5% donations add up. Please consider supporting us in this way. The proceeds go to help with youth events. If you have any questions, please contact Don Bennett.
GSLC Lutheran Youth Corps (LYC)
Gift Card Program Did you know there is a way that you can financially support Good Shepherd at no cost to you? Through the LYC, you can order gift cards from a variety of merchants and restaurants at face value and a portion of each purchase is donated to the church to support youth programs and the First Lutheran Breakfasts. Although the percentage donated to the church may seem small, a few percent of our collective purchases can add up to a significant donation to Good Shepherd over time. Order forms are available in the Narthex. Orders placed on the weekend are normally available for pick up the following week, with the exception of some holiday periods and weeks where we do not reach the minimum threshold for placing an order. Please contact Don Bennett if you have any questions. What a great way to be faithful stewards of our resources!
A PLACE FOR NEWS
ELCA NEWS:
ELCA Disability Ministry God’s work. Our hands. Click here.
Lutheran World Relief Sustainable Development. Click here.
ELCA Global Links. Click here.
ELCA World Hunger Links. Click here.
COMMUNITY EVENTS AND NOTICES
Vaccines Available You can now go to vaccinespotter.org to search around on each pharmacy’s website, in your area, and it will show you any available appointments for COVID19 vaccines. Click on your state and available appointments will be in green.
Vaccines Available You can now go to the Kettering Health Network website where you can submit your name to be contacted for a vaccine appointment when your age group comes up.
Click here: Kettering Health if you are interested. When you click the Kettering Health link you will go to their coronavirus information page, at the bottom there will be a link to schedule your appointment. Right now it’s just for 80+ but in the following weeks the age groups of 75+, 70+, 65+ etc. appointments will be available as per the governor’s guidelines.