Eblast 1/9

Eblast 1/9

Face Masks Love your neighbor as yourself. – Mark 12:31
Please wear your mask to keep you and your neighbor safe from the spread of COVID19. Please wear your mask when you are inside the church building.
Masks are required for worship at GSLC.  GSLC leadership monitors the health advisories for our area. Under the current conditions, health officials recommend wearing a mask indoors for everyone’s safety. This includes people who are fully vaccinated. Given the current rise in COVID19 cases in our area, we are requiring MASKS during worship at GSLC. You may remove your mask for Holy Communion and then put it back on to return to your seat. If you prefer not to wear a mask, please join us for worship online.  From the CDC website: To maximize protection from the Delta variant and prevent possibly spreading it to others, wear a mask indoors in public if you are in an area of substantial or high transmission.  Montgomery, Greene, Preble, Butler and Warren counties are all areas with substantial transmission.

WORSHIP

Parking Lot Communion will be offered on the 3rd Sunday of the month from 12:00 pm – 1:00 pmJanuary 16 will be the next time we have it. 

Worship With Us Online!  Good Shepherd will continue to offer online worship on Sundays and our parking lot Holy Communion on the third Sunday 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

Read the Bible in a Year 
One of the best things we can do to strengthen our beliefs is to spend time in the Word. Oftentimes we don’t know where to start or how much to read. In your bulletins today, there is a “read the Bible in one year” plan. This can be used to keep you on track if you want to try it. If you don’t care for this plan, there are others available on the internet. If you’d like a larger print version of this one, please contact Don Bennett.

OUTREACH AND SERVICES   

Souper Bowl Sunday  GSLC’s Super Bowl 2022 has begun! We are collecting non-perishable food items to benefit our local food banks in Kettering.  Who are you rooting for this year: the NFC team, the AFC team, or the Commercials?  Let us know by placing your donations in the labeled boxes in the narthex. We will be collecting through Super Bowl Sunday, February 7. Thanks for your support of our local food pantries.

Jeremiah’s Letter 
Sunday, January 16 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, back packs, sleeping bags, broth based soups, canned goods, cereal, laundry or cleaning supplies.

Food Pantry News 
Thank you to all who faithfully continue to support the food pantry with your donations. 305 food items were delivered from the December collections and were received with deep appreciation. 
The primary food pantry donation bin is in the narthex; so, if you come to church on Sunday morning you can bring your donations and place them there.  During the week, you can still place your donations inside the fellowship hall doors. Monetary donations may still be made by placing a check (payable to Good Shepherd with “food pantry” in the memo line) in the offering or mailing it to the church office. The food pantry has told us that the following items are among the most needed and useful for donation: noodles and pastas, cereals, canned fruits and vegetables, kids’ canned pastas, boxed “helper” meals, canned meats, chicken and tuna, instant potatoes, canned soups (Campbell’s Chunky soups or Progresso soups – if on sale – are especially useful because they can be stretched by adding pasta and making a casserole meal).   
Please remember that January is SOUPER BOWL Month for Good Shepherd (thru Sunday, February 13 – Super Bowl Sunday). You will have a chance to vote for your favorite team or the commercials by placing your donations in the appropriate bins each Sunday.

CONTINUING EDUCATION

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! 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. 

Sunday School for K-8 youth:   Our youth will resume meeting on January 9, 2022, in the chapel on Sundays at 9:15 am. ALL youth are welcome!

FRIDAY MORNING BIBLE STUDY DISCUSSION for ALL
Topic: Gospel Lectionary Readings for worship 
This study resumes on Friday, January 14, 2022.
Come on FRIDAY mornings! Bring your own coffee and treats along with your BIBLE. The focus is on the Lectionary Lessons for the upcoming weekend. Come join the discussion facilitated by Roger Bauser. 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.
Facilitator:  Roger Bauser
Time: 9:00 am – 10:00 am   
For more information, please contact Roger at rebauser@me.com or call 937-299-5186. 

SUNDAY MORNING ADULT BIBLE STUDY  
This session will be returning Sunday, January 16, 2022. 

THURSDAY MORNING BIBLE STUDY for Men
Topic: Gospel Lectionary Reading for worship 
This study resumes on Thursday, January 13, 2022.
Facilitator: Roger Bauser
Time:  9:00 am – 10:00 am
Place:  comfort of your home – connect online!
The Men’s Bible Study is ONLINE on Thursday mornings at 9:00 a.m.  Bring your own coffee along with your BIBLE.  The focus is on the Lectionary’s Gospel Lesson for the upcoming weekend.  Come join the discussion. This is a chance to go deeper before hearing the lessons on Sunday.  If you experience any difficulty, please contact Roger at rebauser@me.com or call 937-299-5186.

Griefshare 
Mourning to Joy – Good Shepherd offers a fall and winter session of GriefShare. This ministry offers biblical, Christ-centered teaching on topics associated with the death of a loved one. The DVD seminar features nationally respected grief experts and real-life personal stories, followed by a small group discussion about the weekly topic and personal grief experiences.  Good Shepherd is offering the 13 week GriefShare program in person and online from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm on Sundays. 
The winter/spring session will begin this Sunday, January 16, 2022. We will continue to offer hybrid class sessions, both in person and online. The spring sessions will conclude on Sunday, April 8, 2022.
Registration and more information is available online at  www.griefshare.org  If you have any questions, contact Kathy Seim (937-901-0532) or Pam Bauser (937-602-8385).  If you would like to support this ministry with more than your prayers, please contact Pam Bauser or Kathy Seim. 

MISCELLANEOUS

January Stewardship Snippets – January 9, 2022
Isaiah 43:1-7 – Thus says the LORD: … Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.
When we think of generosity, we remember that God was first generous to us, redeeming and claiming us as God’s own children. We do not fear to be generous because we are God’s, and we trust in the Almighty One.

Offerings for last week: $2,570.00
The amount reported applies to contributions used towards the annual ministry plan which requires contributions of $5,243 every week.

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. 

CHURCH PROGRAM DONATIONS

AmazonSmile 
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!
Click here to fill out the form:  Gift Card Order Form

A PLACE FOR NEWS

ELCA NEWS:
NEW  Lutheran Disaster Response. Click here.
Lutheran World Relief. Click here.
NEW  ELCA Global Links.  Click here.