Eblast 6/11

Eblast 6/11

Summer Music Festival GSLC will be hosting a Summer Music Festival featuring Generation Big Band in the Fellowship Hall on Thursday, June 29 from 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm.  Beverages and ice cream sundaes will be provided.  Everyone is welcome!  Bring a friend. Come, sit back and relax, feel the beat and dance, socialize and enjoy a snack.

WORSHIP

Worship With Us Online! 
Good Shepherd will continue to offer online worship on Sundays.
Please use the following links below to connect online to the Sunday Church Service:
Facebook click here: Facebook
YouTube click here: Youtube

4th Wednesday Monthly Prayer Service  
Do you need some time away from the busyness of life? On the 4th Wednesday of the month come join us at GSLC for a prayer service. Enjoy some time together singing and praying, while also getting some time to spend with the Lord in prayer by yourself.  There will be “stations” to help you focus on open different parts of our life if you need that, you can stay in your pew and pray, or you can just walk around the sanctuary if that is what helps you enter some prayerful space for the Lord. Come join us Wednesday, June 28 at 7:00 pm in the Sanctuary. All are welcome to join us!

Save The Date! Delco Park Worship Service   
On Sunday, July 30 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.

OUTREACH AND SERVICES   

All Hands-on Deck! 
We will be having a beautification day on Saturday, June 10 with GSLC and HCC at 9:00 am.    Wear your sunscreen and bring your gloves and hats!!  We will be weeding, laying mulch, trimming bushes, and possibly doing some planting.   If you have any questions, please contact Wayne Weyhrauch or Chris Connelly.

Kettering Noon Optimist Club Note
Dear Good Shepherd Board and Members,Please find enclosed our check for $250 as a token of our appreciation for the use of a storage room at Good Shepherd. Having a wonderful partner in the community is a Godsend. Yours in Optimism, Sue Armstrong. Secretary, Kettering Noon Optimist Club

Day Camp  Click here for our Operation Restoration brochure! 
INVITING ALL YOUTH!  GSLC would like to invite any kids who have completed grades K-5 to be a part of our Operation Restoration Day Camp.  If you know of anyone who has young children, invite them too! We would love to see as many kids as possible!
All are invited to grow in faith as they play, learn, sing, and work to be members of God’s creation and universe.  Registration is open and limited to 30 campers. Registrations for Day Camp can be picked up at the church office or download a copy here.
Good Shepherd is hosting a Day Camp called Operation Restoration: Mending God’s World. During this exciting weeklong program, kids learn to be menders of the universe as they explore the daily themes of Feed, Heal, Forgive, Pray, and Rest. Operation Restoration is scheduled over the dates from June 26 through June 30. Each daily session starts at 9:00 am and ends at 3:00 pm.
If you enjoy working with children, we invite you to help them grow in faith, learn, sing and work to be members of God’s creation and universe.  We will need lots of helpers in lots of areas!  You can find volunteer forms on the table in the Sanctuary or by clicking here.  Click here for our Day Camp Volunteer Request List and daily schedule.

Food Pantry News
Your generous donations for the month of May totaled 720 items. What an amazing site to see all that food filling the donation bin to overflowing This is our highest total for any single month in a very long time Thanks for your continued faithfulness to this important ministry and many thanks to our ANONYMOUS DONOR who really pushed us way over the top – figuratively and literally. Food was delivered to four different feeding ministries (Feeding Friends, Neighbor-to-Neighbor, South Community, and Marshall Road Church of God) on June 5. and helps support their efforts to provide food for families in these difficult economic times. The feeding ministry staffs and patrons are always so deeply appreciative. You can bring donations to church any time during the month of June. Next Food Pantry Sunday will be July 2.
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 pantries have 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 or brand name Chunky soups or Progresso soups – if on sale – are especially useful because they can be stretched by adding pasta and making a casserole meal).

Jeremiah’s Letter June 18
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, Good Shepherd will be collecting bath and bedroom linens, personal hygiene products, canned foods and cleaning/laundry supplies.

Matthew 25 Ministries Update:
347 pill bottles were donated on May 31 to this important ministry center in Cincinnati. Donated goods are sorted and processed in the facility and then redistributed to the poorest of the poor and disaster victims throughout the United States and to more than 40 countries around the world. Please clean pill bottles with “Goo Gone” to get the glue residue off. Then wash them inside and out with HOT water. After they are dry, be sure to replace the lids. Place them in the tub in the narthex. They will be sorted and bagged for next time. Thank you.

THRIVE Campaign 
Last year we had our culmination celebration for the SOS Thrive Campaign on Pentecost weekend. Thanks to the generous response to support God’s work in the SOS, we received over $43,000 in pledges. To date we have already given $29,000 to the SOS for the important ministries outlined in the five campaign goals.

Homework Club 
Just in case you ever wondered how important ministry is at Good Shepherd, please read the following note to our Homework Club Staff. It came on a card with the following message and hand-written note. 
“Sometimes all it takes is a single ray of sunshine to make the whole world seem
lighter. And sometimes that ray of sunshine is a person – each of you! Thanking God for you always.”

Dear Mr. Bennett and the Homework Club Teachers, I could not believe when my daughter came home from school saying she wanted to go to a place called “Homework Club.” I had no idea how much the program would mean to us. As a single working mom, it gave me two extra hours to work – which was priceless because it allowed me the time to create my own business at a massage therapy clinic. I had worked so hard to get here after my schooling and boards exams.  Now my life was thriving. Homework Club is even more valuable because of all my daughter has learned. HC really helped her grades AND her confidence. On top of all these good things I remember my disbelief that there was “NO COST.” Free? How could that be? It felt too good to be true. I’ve always heard the best good deeds are done anonymously. This is exactly what each of you has done . . . for years, without fail. You show up and work for the best for our kids and our community – without even thank yous!!! You are truly being the Light by giving the most. We will always remember.  Love, Homework Club Mom and Daughter. 
Many thanks to Don Bennett, Duane Tackis, and Judy Oldham who have staffed Homework Club this school year and to Patty Biddle and Ferne Relich who have been strong supporters in the past. To see how you might be able to help with Homework Club, contact Don Bennett.

We Need Volunteers! 
GSLC is in need of four new Commissioners (Commissioner for Finance, Parish Life and Response, and Worship and Celebration).  If you would like to volunteer for these positions, please let Pr. Jamie, Roger Bauser or Wayne Rosholt know.

CONTINUING EDUCATION

Lifelong Learning   
Our ADULT Lifelong Learning Classes and YOUTH Sunday morning classes are on a break in June. Please watch for updates as there are new opportunities on the horizon. 

Sunday School for K-8 youth:   Our YOUTH Sunday morning classes are on break for the summer. Please watch for classes to resume in the fall.Many thanks to our faithful Sunday School staff, Sandy Rosholt and Karin Linch, for their service.     

SUNDAY MORNING ADULT BIBLE STUDY 
Our Sunday morning classes will resume in July. Watch for further information. 

THURSDAY MORNING BIBLE STUDY for Men 
Topic: Gospel Lectionary Reading for worship 
This Men’s Bible study is currently on break. Watch for emails when the study resumes. 

FRIDAY MORNING BIBLE STUDY DISCUSSION for ALL 
Topic: Gospel Lectionary Readings for worship 
The Friday Morning Bible study is on break. Watch for emails when the study resumes. 

WELCA (Women of the ELCA) Bible Study
The Summer 2023 Bible Study is Salvation Now by the Rev. Dr. Anna Madsen. More details can be found here https://www.gathermagazine.org/summer-2023-bible-study-salvation-now-by-the-rev-dr-anna-madsen/
This study has three sessions. The first session Promised Salvation Now: Jesus brings wellness is currently online and, in the May,/June issue of Gather Magazine.
All the Bible studies are accessible online at www.gathermagazine.org 
Contact Pam Bauser at psbauser@me.com or call 937-602-8385 with any questions. 

Harmony Creek Safety Training  
A Kettering Police Officer will come out on Saturday, July 29 at 10:00 am for a training session on church safety.  Harmony Creek would like to invite any GSLC leadership, ushers and greeters, and staff for this event.  Please let Sonya Harris know at office@harmony-creek.org if you have any questions or would like to attend.

MISCELLANEOUS

Harmony Creek is circulating a petition to put before the Ohio voters an Amendment to add Section 22 to the Ohio Constitution titled “The Right to Reproductive Freedom with Protections for Health and Safety.”   The particulars of the amendment are printed on the Petition, but basically prohibits the state from interfering in any reproductive decisions. There is a provision to allow prohibition of abortion after fetal viability.   They will have copies of the petition available to be signed by registered voters of Montgomery, Greene, Warren, Miami, and Butler Counties after our church services for the next 3 or 4 Sundays.   If you would like to sign the petition or if you need more information, just walk over to the fellowship hall after Sunday services and ask an HC member to help you.

Offerings: 
The previous communications on weekly offerings were misleading due to the exclusion of on-line and monthly giving.  Going forward the financial information will be shown as monthly and YTD totals:
March monthly offerings $18,993 vs. budget of $20,172, excluding Harmony Creek contribution
March YTD offerings $116,285 vs budget of $121,034, excluding Harmony Creek contribution
March YTD Harmony Creek $13,750 vs budget of $10,000
March YTD expenses $123,208 vs budget of $128,453

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

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:
ELCA Good Gifts. Click here.
Lutheran Disaster Response. Click here.
Lutheran World Relief. Click here.
ELCA Global Links.  Click here.
ELCA World Hunger.  Click here.
ELCA Disabilities Ministry.  Click here.

COMMUNITY EVENTS AND NOTICES

Kid’s Fishing Derby 
The City of Kettering will be celebrating kids with a Kid’s Fishing Derby at Delco Park on Saturday, June 10 from 10:00 am to Noon.  Registration will be from 9:00 am to 9:45 am.  Free lunch and awards will be from Noon – 1:00 pm.  Parents or guardians must remain with their children during the event, 87 loaner poles with be available, wax worms will be provided, and the event will be held rain or shine.  For more information call Ron Labatzsky at 937-689-1021.

Spaghetti Dinner Fundraiser 
On Saturday, June 10 from 4:00 pm – 7:00 pm at St. John’s Lutheran Church located at 470 S. Gebhart Church Road in Miamisburg.  The fundraiser supports Miamisburg Helping Hands Food Pantry.  The menu will be spaghetti with tomato-based sauce, meatballs, breadsticks, salad, homemade desserts and drinks.  Price is $8.00 per adult and $4.00 per child (10 and under).  Eat in or order online for take out visit www.stjohnsmiamisburg.org for more information or ordering online.

Previous
Eblast 6/4