GSLC has been having some technical problems with getting our eblast sent out as we transition to a new website and email address. I will be sending it out via the old email address until it has been fixed. If you know of anyone who isn’t getting their eblast, please let the office know.
We will be doing a video of our church service on Sunday at 10:00 am, come and enjoy GSLC’s service while we wait to come together again.
Please use the following links below to connect to the Saturday Church Service:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/goodshepherdkettering/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFjr6taytoTncrtHVY9TGQw
We 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 while we wait to be together again.
Please use the following links below to connect:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/goodshepherdkettering/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFjr6taytoTncrtHVY9TGQw
Celebrate Communion
Holy Communion will be available from Pr. Jamie after worship Beginning at 11:30 on Sunday, June 14th and Sunday, June 28th. It will be made available by drive thru.
Let us take a moment to explain:
– You will come in on Kenosha Ave., pull up alongside the sidewalk.
– Then you will be given a communion wafer and juice, packaged together, that you will open and ingest, then you’ll receive a blessing.
– Then you can exit out onto Stroop Rd.
If you are not able to make it to the church and would like to receive Communion at your home, or residence if it’s permitted, then call the office and Pastor will set up a time to come to your home.
– Pr. Jamie will set up a time to come to your home.
– Pr. Jamie will bring Communion to your door. Where you will receive the communion wafer and juice, packaged together, that you will open and ingest; then you’ll receive a blessing.
Same Webpage, New Look
GSLC has a new webpage! The address will be the same: www.goodshepherdkettering.com. The content will be different, look different, and work with other electronics besides just computer screens much better. As a non-profit we are able to use this website in ways that we couldn’t before. Please check it out and let the office know of things that you think are missing or aren’t working as they should. Check it out on different devices. The more eyes to look at it the quicker we can get the issues that may arise fixed. Those who have been working on this are really excited at the new look and better functionality.
Offerings for last week: $3,500.00
Address Update
Judy and Elwood Richardson recently moved to a new location at Centerville Health and Rehab 7300 McEwen Rd, Dayton, OH 45459 in rooms 129 (Judy) and 315 (Elwood). Please update your directories.
Health Topic Flyers for June from the Health Ministries Program of Premier Health Please find a copy of this in the attachment.
Email Address Updates
Pr. Jamie Vannoy’s new email address is Jamie.vannoy@goodshepherdkettering.com. Don Bennett, Director of Youth & Family Ministry new email address is don.bennett@goodshepherdkettering.com.
Alisha Minamyer, Office Secretary new email address is office@goodshepherdkettering.com.
Please use these new addresses for any church related business.
Thank You
The Property and Facilities Commissioners, on behalf of the congregation, would like to say thank you to the “Mulch Team” for spreading 55 bags of mulch to spruce up the front of the church and make the flower beds in front of the sanctuary and courtyard look great. Team members were: Chris & Peter Connelly, Jen & Rich Kellstrom and Martin Pierce. Additionally, we want to say thank you to Peter Connelly for his willingness to climb new heights and help complete the sanctuary stained glass window project. Finally, thank you to Roger Bauser and Mike Oldham for their willingness to take on the fast-growing grasslands surrounding the church. You all have made our facilities look great and we all thank you for serving GSLC in these ministries.
Volunteer Work
Yes, GSLC is truly honored to have a few outstanding volunteers who help with special projects and the weekly lawn mowing and the grass and shrub trimming; however, as we all know … many hands make light work, so we are looking for additional volunteers to share in the effort and spread out the workload. Additionally, for those who want to stay inside, we have inside projects on the “to-do” list that need to be accomplished this summer as well. Note: All of these projects follow approved State of Ohio Social Distancing rules and could help improve your mindfulness. If you are interested in volunteering and serving GSLC in this capacity, please send an email or call the office @ 937-298-0136, Del @ 937-298-8876 or Wayne @ 937-510-4265.
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:
- Via smartphone using the Tithe.ly app (download via the App Store or Google Play)
- Online at https://tithe.ly/give?c=329631
- 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:
- Ability to give from anywhere including other countries – you only need an internet connection via smartphone or computer.
- Ability to give 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
- Ability to choose from a variety of options where your gift goes.
- 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.
This Week’s Article
This week’s article is by William Willimon @ Ministry Matters.
Paul addresses Christians in the church at Rome, assuming that they are people who have spent their lives attempting to get close to God. We are down here on earth. God is up there in heaven. A vast gulf—our sin, our mortality, our finitude—stands between us and God. Some in that early congregation surely thought that the key to bridging that gap was the law of Moses, the commandments, the Torah. Perhaps there were others who thought that being good citizens of the empire would please the gods who would give them something from the store of their bounty. Because it was the classical world, I expect that still others thought that they could reach divine knowledge through philosophical investigation and speculation: Think your way toward the gods.
Paul’s great affirmation which he makes in these few verses from his Letter to the Romans is that the gap has been decisively bridged, not by us but by Jesus Christ. In the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, somehow the God we thought we were attempting to reach has reached out to us.
“Therefore, since we have been made righteous through his faithfulness, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. We have access by faith into this grace in which we stand through him, and we boast in the hope of God’s glory” (Rom. 5:1-2).
“We have been made righteous,” says Paul. By an amazing act of God’s graciousness, things have been set right between us and God, the great chasm separating us from God has been bridged, and “we have access” to God. Our standing with God is this: we now “stand” in God’s grace (v. 2).
The grace of God in Jesus Christ that includes both Jew and Gentile is also the “grace in which we stand.” Because God has enfolded us in grace, we are able to “stand,” holding firm even in times of distress and difficulty. We can’t achieve this standing with God; we can only receive.
Aside from relating us to God, what does this divine grace get us? Curiously, Paul says that the reception of grace leads not to prosperity but often to suffering. Yet even in our suffering, there is gracious fruit. Our times of suffering are given meaning for those who stand in the grace of God. Suffering, which before grace produced only anguish, produces endurance that gives the fruit of character, and character produces hope. This “character” is not the result of our earnest striving but rather of our standing with God in grace.
It’s love that produces these fruits. And what a love! Paul’s contrast between dying for a righteous person and dying for a good person in verse 7 is striking. Paul says bluntly that Christ has died for the ungodly rather than for the godly. Surely this is one of the most difficult of claims for those of us who gather on Sunday, we the presumed godly. How striking for Paul to tell the godly in Rome—many of whom were probably suffering in some way or another for the gospel—that Christ died for the ungodly.
Paul really drives home his point that the God to whom we have attempted to gain access has, in Jesus Christ, gained access to us by saying that God’s desire is to love, not only the “godly” but the determinedly “ungodly.” Heaven has stooped to us who tried, in so many ways, to climb up to God. The One who was most godly has died for whom? The ungodly.
Much of human history is the sad story of struggle against God. Now, in Jesus Christ, God has declared a unilateral peace with those who could not make peace with God on our own.
Stewardship Snippets – June 14, 2020
Matthew 9:37-38 – Then [Jesus] said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” How will our faith communities look when we finally emerge from our sheltering in place? Many things will have changed, but the good news is eternal. We listen to Jesus, pray for renewal, and trust that God is doing a new thing with, among, and through us.
Food Pantry Donations
Our Good Shepherd delivery on June 8, of 275 food items to the Greenmont-Oak Park-Ascension Neighbor to Neighbor Food Pantry was much appreciated. Many thanks to all who continue to support this vital ministry with their donations.
In these uncertain times, the Greenmont-Oak Park Neighbor to Neighbor Food Pantry serves an even more vital role in the lives of many Kettering area families. As a congregation, we have supported the pantry with our gifts for many years. As you are shopping in the grocery, please remember these families with a few extra purchases. Even though we are not meeting together, food donations may be dropped off at the church during regular business hours. The collection box will be easily accessible just inside the exterior doors to the fellowship hall. Ring the bell. When the doors are unlocked, go inside and place your food in the collection box. If you want to make a monetary donation, make your check payable to Good Shepherd and marked FOOD PANTRY and send it to or drop it off in the office.
GriefShare Ministry
GRIEFSHARE IS ONLINE!
Join our Good Shepherd group that will be available on SUNDAY at 1:00 p.m.
This valuable resource is available for ANYONE! View the videos from the comfort of your own home. Then join the discussion via Zoom. Come join us. Invite your friends near and far. Families can view the videos and share in the discussions among themselves and in our group.
This is the new format. Register at www.griefshare.org Find a class. Choose the Good Shepherd Lutheran church session which began on Sunday, April 19. Enter your name, email address, and phone number. This will enroll you in our class and provide access to ALL 13 of the excellent GriefShare video sessions. There is a free PDF version of the resource book available online. We do have resource books ($15) available that we will be glad to deliver to you. Once you have viewed the video in the privacy of your own home, we will meet via Zoom on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. to review the Mourning to Joy exercises and discuss reactions and questions related to the video and our shared grief journeys.
ANY one interested may contact Kathy Seim 937-901-0532 or Pam Bauser 937-602-8385. We will gladly answer questions. We can help you register. We can help you be ready to Zoom with us. We look forward to extending this accessible opportunity to the GSLC family and friends.
Lifelong Learning
Our Sunday Morning ADULT Lifelong Learning Class is ONLINE! Everyone is welcome! Use the link below to join in the conversation. This is a great time to “zoom” in and discover the quality adult education we have at GSLC.
Questions?? – please contact Pam Bauser at 937-299-5186.
Facilitator: Roger Bauser
Time: 9:00 – 10:00 a.m.
Place: comfort of your home – connect online!
Bring your coffee. Have your Bible handy. Come discover how we hear and respond to GOD’S CALL!
Our is topic based on the January – April WELCA monthly Bible study by Kit Kleinhans, Dean of Trinity Seminary at Capital University. During the coming weeks we will explore how we hear God’s voice, how we respond to God’s call, how we serve God, and how we serve our neighbors.
Sundays at 9:00 a.m. on Zoom. Please contact Pam Bauser for the link.
NEW ONLINE BIBLE STUDY for Women
In the midst of hardship, tragedy, and unanswered questions, it’s difficult to glimpse God at work. How do we hold onto our faith during these times? How do we trust God is working all things for our good and His glory?
Paula Bennett is holding an online Women’s Bible Study for 8 weeks. It will meet each Thursday morning at 11am and run for 45-60 minutes. The study is called “Finding God Faithful”.
Over 8 sessions, trace the path of Joseph’s life in the Book of Genesis to observe how God’s sovereignty reigns, even in our darkest moments. Learn to recognize when God is working during periods of waiting, trust God’s plan when life doesn’t make sense, and rest in the sufficiency of His presence in every circumstance. His provision is enough, His presence is constant, and His purpose is unstoppable.
Please check the Paula Bennett at 937-475-9445 or Don Bennett at don.bennett@goodshepherdkettering.com for links to this class.
THURSDAY MORNING BIBLE STUDY for Men
The Men’s breakfast Bible Study continues ONLINE Thursday mornings at 9 a.m. The focus is on the Lectionary Lessons for the upcoming Sunday. Come join the discussion facilitated by Roger Bauser.
To join the conversation, which happens on Zoom, please contact Roger at rebauser@me.com or call 937-299-5186.
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 web site, goodshepherdkettering.com, and on the front page on the right side 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.
Amazing Grace Day Camp
Due to the unknowns of Covid-19, Lutheran Outdoor Ministries of Ohio (LOMO) have cancelled all camps this summer. This will include Good Shepherd hosting Amazing Grace Day Camp in July this year. It was not an easy decision for LOMO to come to but the safety of all kids involved in any camp was their primary concern. We will look in the Fall at possibly hosting another camp next summer.
Counseling Assistance
Good Shepherd is a member of the Covenant Society for Pastoral Counseling of Miami Valley Hospital. Trained and certified counselors are available to congregational members at any time, whether for a crisis or for ongoing help. This service is confidential, and anonymous if you choose. You do not have to go through the pastor or church to access this service. If you have a need simply call (937) 438-3486, tell the staff you are a member of Good Shepherd, our church is part of the Covenant Society for Pastoral Counseling through Premier. Because Good Shepherd is a member the cost to you is one-half of any non-reimbursed portion (for example, through insurance coverage) of the normal charge. For further information on this service you can call the above numbers, or talk to Pastor Jamie.
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!
ELCA NEWS:
NEW ELCA Disability Ministry God’s work. Our hands. Click here.
Lutheran World Relief Sustainable Development. Lasting Promises click here.
ELCA Global Links Global Links: Praying for our world during COVID-19 click here.