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Lent 2019 Newsletter

3/1/2019

Good Shepherd Episcopal Church - March 2019 NewsletterShield

Don't forget to Spring Forward your clocks on this coming Saturday night and join us on Sunday morning at 10am for a special teaching session followed by Holy Eucharist at 11am.

Greetings everyone,

Apologies that this newsletter is a bit late and we've already had a couple of wonderful services at Good Shepherd.  March began with an Epiphany visit from our bishop, Ted Gulick on March 3rd.  We had delightful and meaningful discussions with Bishop Ted over a delicious breakfast provided by so many of our wonderful parishioners.  Our discussions centered, mainly, on the future of our church. 

The worship service that followed was moving and memorable, with inspired preaching and teaching from the Bishop and the baptism or our new pianist, Lucy Mae Martindale, and the reception of our dear lay leader, Josette Marie Keelor.  Welcome and blessings to you both.  A festive, celebratory luncheon followed with the centerpiece being England's national dish... curry, and too many other delicious foods to name them all here.  The Parish Hall was beautifully decorated and we all enjoyed hearty fellowship as the lightly falling snow filled the view from our parish windows.  This was our first morning visit from a Bishop of Virginia in as long as anyone could remember, but still we didn't wrap things up until after 3:00 p.m.

Then, for something completely different, we gathered to begin our Lenten pilgrimage with the Imposition of Ashes on Ash Wednesday, March 6th, at 7:00 p.m. It was a frigid evening, but that did nothing to dampen the spirits of the nine intrepid souls that came together for this special service.  It was a joy to have Father Ralph leading the service and we were so pleased that Mother Maeva could join us, as well, and share the reading of the Gospel. 

We’ll continue our Lenten journey using Rite I for our worship settings on Sunday mornings.  Please join us this Sunday, the 10th, at 10:00 a.m. for a teaching on The Holy Trinity: Its History, Nature, and Importance.  And we’ll congregate at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday evenings for our Lenten program, “Dinner & a Movie”, eating, learning, and praying collectively.  Finally, we’ll culminate the month with a special Morning Prayer and Healing Service on March 31st.

We're making good progress on both our Vicar Search and our Building & Grounds initiatives.  Andrea submitted our first facility grant request last month and John, our Junior Warden, has been working really hard to obtain quotes for the work that needs to be done... and there's a lot to be done!  Our next grant request needs to be submitted next week and we're gathering together the final pieces for that.  Then we'll be looking to move forward on some of our other fundraising efforts, especially our church picnic dinner now planned for June 15th.

On the Vicar Search front, the committee met again on February 17th and made good progress in beginning to understand our desires and limitations, and becoming more aware of the search process and where we stand in it.  Self-awareness is a good first step in determining where we can go.  And one of the biggest steps completed was the completion of our Parish Discernment Report, thanks to the efforts of Josette.  This will be of great help as we widen our discussions throughout our Winchester Region and with The Diocese.  We also prepared a letter for Bishop Gulick prior to his visit, outlining our efforts and including many questions, and this was of great benefit to our discussions during his visit.  Our next Search Committee meeting is March 17th.  Please join us after church that day.

We gave 70 pounds of food to FISH in February, down a bit from our January total, but not bad for a short month.  Please give generously during Lent as the winter can be a lean time for many of our neighbors who are live close to the edge of poverty.

We've also discussed other Outreach possibilities for our little church, with one of the more popular ideas being to look into how we can do outreach to seniors in our community.  One of the ideas gaining traction is to be more regular visitors to the senior living facilities and nursing homes in Clarke County.

May God bless you and keep you and help you observe a Holy Lent. 
Tim Hall

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Upcoming Events

SUN March 3Bishop Visitation:  Baptism, Reception, and Holy Eucharist with the Rt. Rev. Ted Gulick, Visiting Bishop of Virginia.  Meet with Bishop Ted at 10:00 a.m. before the service, then after worship we’ll gather for a gala potluck reception celebrating our newly baptized and newly received.

WED March 6:  Ash Wednesday: Holy Eucharist and Imposition of Ashes with Father Ralph and Tim Hall, 7:00 p.m.

SUN March 10:  Holy Eucharist with Father Ralph, followed by Refreshments and Fellowship in the Parish Hall.  Plus, a 10 a.m. teaching by Father Ralph on The Holy Trinity: Its History, Nature & Importance.  All are welcome!

WED March 13:  Lenten gathering at 6:30 p.m. for “Dinner & a Movie” followed by ComplinePotluck soup, salad, and bread.

SUN March 17:  Morning Prayer with Josette Keelor, followed by Search Committee Meeting.  Our vicar search committee will meet after Morning Prayer.  If you’d like to be a part of helping us find a new, part-time clergy leader for our church, to help us grow in faith and body, please come to this meeting.  Perhaps we’ll even enjoy something a little special for St. Patrick’s Day!

WED March 20:  Lenten gathering at 6:30 p.m. for “Dinner & a Movie” followed by ComplinePotluck soup, salad, and bread.

SUN March 24:  Holy Eucharist with Father Ralph, followed by Refreshments and Fellowship in the Parish Hall

WED March 27:  Lenten gathering at 6:30 p.m. for “Dinner & a Movie” followed by ComplinePotluck soup, salad, and bread.

SUN March 31:   Morning Prayer & Healing Service with Tim Hall and our special guest homilist, Brother John Ogle.  Hope you will join us for what promises to be a very special day of worship, as we make further preparations for Holy Week, just around the bend.

 

Good Shepherd Episcopal Church

27 Good Shepherd Road, Bluemont, VA

(in Pine Grove, just west of Snickers Gap and north of Route 7)

www.goodshepherdbluemont.com

 

 


2/27/2019
Good Shepherd Discernment Report
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4/10/2019
Invitation to Holy Week 2019
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