Update from Good Shepherd (December 5, 2024)

Greetings!

REGULAR SCHEDULE 

Divine Service is Sunday at 10:00 AM.
Sunday School is on Sundays at 9:00 AM.
Adult Bible Class is on Sundays at 9:00 AM.

CALENDAR: For a calendar of events and meetings, click here.

INTRODUCTION VIDEO FOR GOOD SHEPHERD LUTHERAN CHURCH

          Here is a video to introduce people to Good Shepherd Lutheran Church of Novi. Share it as much as you can.

MID-WEEK ADVENT VESPERS
           To prepare our hearts for Christmas, we offer additional services in the Advent season.  Our Advent Vespers (a prayer service) will be conducted on the Wednesdays in December leading up to Christmas.  We will serve a supper at 6:00 PM.  Vespers will be at 7:00 PM.  The schedule for topics and preachers can be found here.

CHURCH DECORATION

          After church this Sunday (December 8), we will be putting up decorations around the church for Christmas and decoration the tree.  We will be offering a lunch for anyone who would like to stick around for that.  Please RSVP to welsnovi@aol.com regarding the lunch so we know how much food to provide.  Early predictions suggest sandwiches from Jimmy Johns.  

          And, if you are so inclined, a group of people will be retrieving the tree and figures for our outdoor Nativity scene from the attic on Saturday, December 7 at 10:00 AM.  Besides getting the tree down, it will also be erected so that it will be ready for decorating on Sunday.

COOKIE EXCHANGE

          On Sunday, December 15, the Ladies of Good Shepherd will sponsor a cookie exchange and offer other baked goods for your consumption.  If you want to contribute, bring a few dozen cookies or other baked goods.  Members may gather them up and give a free will donation to the Ladies of Good Shepherd in appreciation for their labors of love and holiday goodies.

OPEN FORUM/VOTERS' MEETING HIGHLIGHTS (November)

>    We are looking into updating the kitchen at the church.  Several ideas have been proposed for what will best suit our purposes.  If you have any ideas to enhancements to our kitchen, please speak to Bob Wozniak.  All suggestions will be received, but we may not be able to achieve all of them.

>    A proposal was made to renovate the kitchen in the parsonage.  This is a much larger project and would not happen until late in 2025.

>    We will be getting postcards printed to give out as invitations to our Christmas services.  In order to make these postcards worth the cost and effort, it will be up to our members to distribute them as invitations to friends and family.  You may also want to invite friends and family to a new Bible Information Class which will begin in January 2025.  Start date still TBD.

>    We passed a budget for the 2025 year.  If you would like to receive a copy of the budget, please contact Dan LeFevre.

>    Elected to Church Council offices are the following – Ken Reisig, president; Tom Brisbey and Ron Rose, elders; David Kirvan, treasurer; Matt Crenshaw, evangelism committee chairman; Philip Schroeder, stewardship committee chairman.  Each of these men will serve a two-year term, beginning on January 1, 2025. 

BAD WEATHER POLICY FOR SERVICES AT GOOD SHEPHERD
          We will always have services as scheduled at Good Shepherd. Since I live across the parking lot, I can get to the church no matter how bad the weather gets. Even if the service is just me and my family, we will be here. For everyone else, please use your God-given common sense to determine whether or not you will get on the road to attend any service when the weather is bad. We don't want anyone to risk his or her life to be here. But if you do venture out, the scheduled service will take place. It may be only a handful with a cappella singing and/or spoken liturgy, but we will be here.
           Bible Classes and meetings may be canceled due to weather. Check your email regarding announcements to see if any of those scheduled events are canceled. If there is no email about it, it is not canceled. But again, use common sense to determine if you can make it, and call the pastor to let him know if you will not be coming.

EVERYONE OUTREACH – FOLLOW-UP
             Our one-day seminar, Everyone Outreach, was completed on Saturday, September 21. But to establish an outreach culture, we will need to keep our goals present and encourage one another to pursue them.  There will be follow-up meetings (TBA) where we can encourage efforts and discuss what has been accomplished so far.  The Church Council will be taking the lead as we will dedicate a good portion of our next meeting to how we will implement our plans. 

A NEW WEBSITE – MADEKNOWN.NET
          The made. known. website was introduced at the WELS Youth Rally earlier this summer. madeknown.net is dedicated to “walking with you in faith through identity, gender, and sexuality.” It does this through a growing library of written resources and connection to personal support.
          We pray madeknown.net can be a resource to you as you embrace Christ’s enduring message of grace and forgiveness for yourself and your loved ones.

GOOD SHEPHERD ON YOUTUBE

          Services are uploaded to YouTube each week. Feel free to share the videos. Here is the service from December 1, 2024: Good Shepherd Novi, Divine Service, December 1, 2024

REGULAR OFFICE HOURS

            The pastor will try to hold formal office hours Monday-Thursday, 9:00 AM – Noon. It should be noted that some meetings are scheduled for those times. It is best to call or text to confirm any meetings with the pastor (248-719-5218).

 

DO YOU LIKE US?

          Look for Good Shepherd on Facebook. Then “LIKE” us for updates and other postings. Be sure to share posts with friends.

SHARE THIS POST!
          We desire as many as possible to rejoice in the Gospel which we proclaim and confess. Share the information from our weekly email blast, links to our web page, and even to the pastor's blog to let others know that we have a space in our congregation for them!

In Christ,
Pastor Schroeder

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REGULAR SCHEDULE
DIVINE SERVICES are on Sundays at 10:00 AM.
Sunday School -- Sundays at 9:00 AM.
Adult Bible Class -- Sundays at 9:00 AM.

Advent Vespers -- Wednesdays at 7:00 PM.  (A supper will be served at 6:00 PM.)
Bible Matters will resume in January 2025.

GOOD SHEPHERD’S WEBSITE
www.GoodShepherdNovi.org

PASTOR SCHROEDER’S BLOG
www.LutheranSubject.blogspot.com