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
Save The Date! Delco Park Worship Service
On Sunday, July 25 is our annual picnic! This year we will gather at Delco Park at 10:30 am (located at 1700 Delco Park Dr., in Kettering). After the service we will share in a carry in picnic.
Altar Flowers
Ginny and I are working on flowers for the Altar. We will be starting with those who donated last year. As weren’t able to do Altar flowers due to covid. If you would like to donate please contact Ginny Herbeck at 937-298-8876 or Michele Weyhrauch at 937-510-4264. There will also be a new flower chart put up in the Narthex. Thank You! Michele Weyhrauch, Worship Commissioner
OUTREACH AND SERVICES
Jeremiah’s Letter – May 16
The mission of Jeremiah’s Letter is to bring congregations together from the greater Dayton community so that together they can enhance the daily lives of individuals and families of the inner-city who find themselves in need. To help support the works of Jeremiah’s Letter, Many thanks to all who made donations on JLI Sunday recently. We were able to deliver a whole SMART CAR full of donations. Don’t laugh. The SMART CAR is much bigger than you think. There were about 15 bags and boxes filled with cleaning supplies, household goods, food items, and clothing items – all of which were greatly appreciated by the JLIU staff and will be appropriately shared with their many clients.
Food Pantry News
The definition of Generosity- the quality of being kind and generous. Well done generous and kind parishioners. We delivered 240 items to the food pantry this month!!
Thanks for your support for many needy families in our area who are serviced by the Neighbor to Neighbor Food Pantry.
And a HUGE thank you to our Boy Scouts who participated in the Scouting for Food drive in the community recently. Through their efforts several pick up trucks of food were delivered to the Marshall Road Church of God food pantry – another of our church and community partners in the fight to help alleviate hunger in our neighborhoods.
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.
CONTINUING EDUCATION
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! 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 for ALL
Topic: Lectionary for Sunday worship
Facilitator: Roger Bauser
Time: 9:00 am – 10:00 am
Place: comfort of your home – connect online!
Bring your own coffee and breakfast along with your BIBLE. The focus is on the Lectionary Lessons for the upcoming Sunday. Come join the discussion facilitated by Roger Bauser. Use the Zoom meeting link to join the conversation. Everyone (ALL ages and genders) 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. If you experience any difficulty connecting, please contact Roger at rebauser@me.com or call 937-299-5186.
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: May 16 Session 6:
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.
THURSDAY MORNING BIBLE STUDY for Men
Topic: Lectionary for Sunday worship
Facilitator: Roger Bauser
Time: 9:00 am – 10:00 am
Place: comfort of your home – connect online!
The Men’s breakfast Bible Study is ONLINE on Thursday mornings at 9:00 a.m. Bring your own coffee and breakfast along with your BIBLE. The focus is on the Lectionary Lessons for the upcoming Sunday.
Come join the discussion facilitated by Roger Bauser. Use the following link to join the conversation. If you experience any difficulty, please contact Roger at rebauser@me.com or call 937-299-5186.
WELCA BIBLE STUDY on Tuesday, May 25, 2021
SAVE the DATE! Waiting to be unwrapped! This is the Bible study on intergenerational friendships from the May 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 pm – 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: N/A
The amount reported applies to contributions used towards the annual ministry plan which requires contributions of $5,243 every week.
Chair for the Memorial Committee
Thank you to Bonnie Hershey for agreeing to be the Chair of the Memorial Committee.
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.
On Graduation Weekend, there will be a special offering in honor of our graduates for the GSLC scholarship Fund. You can honor our graduates by placing your gift in a pew envelope and indicate it is for the SCHOLARSHIP FUND. This honors our current graduates and allows us to continue to support our future graduates as they pursue their studies. Gifts to the Scholarship Fund can be made at any time.
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
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:
Lutheran Disaster Response Click here.
Lutheran World Relief Sustainable Development. Click here.
ELCA Global Links. Click here.
ELCA World Hunger Links. Click here.
Mental Health Awareness statement from Bishop Eaton
Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ (Galatians 6:2 NRSV).
Since the global pandemic was declared in March 2020, many of us have endured extended emotional and psychological anguish. That experience may be dramatically worsened by the ugly realities of racism, sexism, homophobia, xenophobia or poverty. Our anguish has taken the form of sadness in isolation, anxiety in uncertainty, grief over loss, stress over economic challenges and worry over events beyond our control — including the tremendous impact of the crisis on our children. This pandemic threatens our mental health just as much as our physical health. For millions of us adults living in the United States, receiving the vaccine and the hope it brings has alleviated our unease, sorrow and grief.
This past year has provided some of us with a deeper understanding of and empathy for the ongoing mental health challenges endured by our neighbors, friends and family. During Mental Health Awareness Month, especially, our church intentionally recognizes the anguish our siblings in Christ experience daily — pandemic or no — and the fear many of them feel about sharing their stories.
As a church we also acknowledge the true depths of these invisible illnesses. Our children, neighbors and friends grappling with mental health issues need to know that God does not love them any less. They need to hear that they, too, are embraced by God’s unfathomable love.
Our church cautions against judgmental words and actions that might suggest to someone that their faith is not strong enough or that their outlook on life would improve if they would change certain behaviors. Praying, socializing and exercising are great activities that can help someone get out of a slump or move past a painful episode. But this is not always the solution for moderate or severe depression, bipolar depression, anxiety or even grief. Telling someone they aren’t doing enough to be happy creates a sense of stigma that they are not living “correctly.” We need to listen so that our words of care and compassion guide others to the help they need. We need to support people in their struggles, walking side by side in partnership with them through the good days and the bad.
Dear church, God loves us all. No matter how we are grappling, we are not alone; God is with us. Throughout May and beyond, we must seek ways to erase the stigma surrounding mental illness and continually love everyone compassionately as a child of God. We must embrace the benefits of therapy and encourage the use of medication when necessary in supporting and sustaining mental health and wellness. We must also work to ensure access to affordable mental health care for all people, especially those living in poverty or in historically marginalized communities.
Our faith teaches that caring for health is a shared endeavor. Being the body of Christ means carrying one another’s burdens; it also means placing our burdens in God’s hands and admitting to a caring person close to us that we need help. This is true no matter how great or small our anguish may be.
In Christ,
The Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton
Presiding Bishop
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Mental Health resources:
“The Body of Christ and Mental Illness“
Suicide Prevention
Lutheran Suicide Prevention Ministry
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. Anyone 16 and up can schedule an appointment for a vaccine.