Thursday, October 29, 2020

Update from Good Shepherd (October 29, 2020)

 Greetings!

DIVINE SERVICES
      For information on what you can expect when you come to church and what will be expected of you, see this link.
        Services will still be broadcast on Facebook Live, Sundays at 10:00 AM, and uploaded to YouTube.   Share our services and invite friends to tune in.

FALL SCHEDULE
Divine Services are at 10:00 AM on Sundays. 
Sunday School is on Sundays at 8:45 AM.
Adult Bible Class is on Sundays at 8:45 AM.  We are starting a series on Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  The schedule can be found at this link.
Catechism Class is on Wednesdays at 3:30 PM. 
Bible Matters, a discussion group, is on Wednesdays at 7:00 PM.  Topics coming up:
Nov 4 –   Is it important that I'm special?
Nov 11 –  Are all judgmental people bad?
Nov 18 –  The canon of Scripture: Can we be sure we have the right books in the Bible? 
Nov 25 –  Thanksgiving service 
If anyone wants to follow along on Zoom, contact the pastor (welsnovi@aol.com) and I will send you a link.  Your contribution to the discussion may have to be limited to the Chat feature. 

PREPPING FOR THE ELECTION
          On Sunday, November 1 after church, we will need people to stick around to prepare the church and fellowship hall for Good Shepherd's use as a polling place.  We will arrange the chairs to make a path through the chapel and protect it with plastic liners that will need to be put down.  More hands make for lighter work, and is appreciated.

CALL FOR NAMES FOR REMEMBERANCE ON SAINTS' TRIUMPHANT
Every year, we remember the names of loved ones who have died in the Christian faith, praising God for the mercy he has had upon them and thanking God for preserving them in that saving faith throughout their life.  Normally, the names of these departed souls are recalled in a prayer on All Saints' Day, which is November 1.  Good Shepherd will transfer this prayer and these remembrances to the 3rd Sunday of End Times which focuses on Saints Triumphant.
  In addition to members of Good Shepherd who have been called to eternal rest, you may submit the names of your own loved ones who have died in the Christian faith between November 17, 2019 and November 15, 2020.  

Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary Married Student Assistance
Annually, Good Shepherd has been participating with the WELS congregations throughout Michigan for a food drive for the married students at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, alleviating their expenses while they study for the ministry and take care of their families.  COVID-19 has made the collection of food prohibitive; the Seminary is not accepting such donations.  Instead, they have asked us to take a monetary collection which will be exchanged for gift cards to be handed out to the students.  Checks can be made out to “Good Shepherd” (designate it: Seminary), and we will send in one check from our congregation to Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary.  Your contributions are appreciated by these students and their families.

SERVING THE MILITARY, THE INCARCERATED, AND THE MENTALLY DISABLED
          Extend your ministry Can you imagine a young person leaving home, facing life and death situations and pressures to sin? It happens to our military members. Can you imagine someone who went to your Lutheran elementary school facing years in prison? WELS members and others we love get incarcerated.  Do you have members with an intellectual or developmental disability (IDD) and wish that they experienced more Christian love? Please provide Special Ministries with contact information for your members who are in the military, incarcerated or have developmental disabilities.  In less than a minute, you can connect a member who is not able to attend your church with WELS military ministry or prison ministry. A member who may be isolated because of his IDD will love being part of the He Cares / We Care program. Just go to wels.net/refer.

CONQUERORS THROUGH CHRIST
          Get training via webinars. Conquerors through Christ (CtC) helps you help people struggling with porn. Now they have webinars to teach you how to use some of their best ministry resources. They have created a Parent Support System to help Christian parents talk about purity and the spiritual struggle – and there’s a webinar to help you present the material to parents! One of CtC’s best resources is the Bible class “Bought at a Price.” Written the way that adults learn, the Bible class now comes with a webinar to prepare Bible class leaders so students get the most out of the course. Don’t forget that CtC also has preaching resources that pastors can use in their circuit studies. A new website is under development – coming soon at conquerorsthroughchrist.net.

OFFICE HOURS
Office hours are Monday-Thursday, 9:00 AM – Noon.  
The pastor will be in his office unless a meeting has been scheduled elsewhere (consult the weekly schedule).  The pastor is also available by appointment.  Call or text (248-719-5218).  You may also email (welsnovi@aol.com), but the response may be slower.

CONCERNING PASTORAL CARE
        Besides Facebook Live and YouTube, you can find the pastor's sermons archived on this blog.  You can use the search bar to find a particular date, day of the Church Year, or Scripture reference.
        Pastor Schroeder will be available for private devotions, Holy Absolution, and Holy Communion to members in small groups or to individuals.  You may call to set up an appointment at any time.  Visits by appointment can be done either at church or at your home.
        If you want to ask for intercessions for loved ones, we will certainly remember them in our prayers, too.  If your loved one has no pastor, ask if they would like Pastor Schroeder to visit them.  

GOOD SHEPHERD ON YOUTUBE
         The service from October 11 did not record, but there are a number of services posted on YouTube to peruse.  Feel free to share the videos.  For other services, do a search for "Good Shepherd Novi."  
         Bulletins for services can be downloaded from here (scroll down): 

OFFERINGS
While we may not be meeting for worship, we do have financial obligations to meet.  You may either mail your offering into Good Shepherd, or you can set up your offering to be transferred electronically from your bank.  If you are interested in the automatic transfer of funds for your offering, please contact the church at (248) 349-0565 or welsnovi@aol.com.

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 -- Sundays at 10:00 AM  (We also stream on Facebook Live )
SUNDAY SCHOOL & ADULT BIBLE CLASS on Sundays at 8:45 AM.
BIBLE MATTERS, a discussion group, on Wednesdays at 7:00 PM.

GOOD SHEPHERD’S WEBSITE
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