Greetings!
REGULAR SCHEDULE
Divine Service is Sundays at 10:00 AM.
Sunday School and Adult Bible Class are on Sundays at 9:00 AM. Classes resume on January 8.
Bible Matters will resume on Wednesday, January 11 at 6:30 PM.
MINOR FESTIVAL: The Circumcision of our Lord and the Name of Jesus
Lutheran worship is liturgical. While that often refers to an order of worship, it can also refer to the calendar of the Church Year. The Church Year includes major festivals, such as Christmas, Epiphany, Easter, Pentecost, etc... On Sunday, January 1 we recognize a minor festival, the Circumcision of our Lord and the Name of Jesus.
In order to fulfill all righteousness, Jesus’ parents had him circumcised on his 8th day. It was at that time that a Jewish child was named. In obedience to God’s command, Joseph named him Jesus. Jesus (or Yeshua, as it would most likely have been pronounced in Arabic) was a pretty common name. However, for this child, it was most appropriate. The angel told Joseph why: “You are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21) In the case of our Lord, Jesus was not merely a name, but an identity. “Jesus” (Greek) means “Savior.” “Yeshua” (Hebrew/Arabic) means “the Lord saves.”
God’s people of all time do well to heed calls to repentance so that we do not lose the gifts God is eager to give. Therefore, we will hear Jeremiah preach to us and humbly take to heart his words of repentance and his words of promise.
The schedule for this class can be found here.
New Hymnal Introduction, Part 1
Our target date for using the CW21 hymnal will be Sunday, February 5. While Setting 1 of the Divine Service bears some resemblance to The Common Service in our current hymnal, there will be a few differences. Some of the canticles have been rewritten, and we will want to practice those before we utilize them for the entire service. A tentative schedule for the rehearsal of these canticles is here:
Sunday, January 8
Dedication of the CW21 Hymnals and resources
Sunday, January 15
Responsive "Lord, have mercy" (Kyrie)
NOTE: Glory be to God on High (Gloria in Excelsis) is the same as The Common Service
Gospel Acclamation for the season
Sunday, January 22
Gospel Acclamation for the Lenten season
Preface for the Sacrament
Holy, Holy, Holy (Sanctus)
NOTE: O Christ, Lamb of God (Agnus Dei) is the same as The Common Service
Sunday, January 29
Review all parts of the liturgy
May God bless our worship for the glory of his name and for the edification of his people.
NEW HYMNAL INTRODUCTION, PART 2
In order to prepare our new hymnals for use, we will take time after the service on Sunday, January 8 to break them in so that the bindings do not get destroyed. Each hymnal has a breaking-in procedure to follow, and we will have about 125 hymnals to deal with. We welcome many to do this so that it can be done quickly.
We will also be adding new ribbons to the new hymnals in order to enable worshipers to bookmark the Psalms and any other portions of the hymnal prior to each Divine Service. The date to make these new ribbon inserts will be announced once we have the materials to do it.
We will also be making 3-hole punches into all of our organists’ accompaniment books to make their service much easier. The accompaniment books are large and will create a great deal of havoc if we expect our organists to use them as is. The 3-hole punch will allow them to manage their work much more efficiently. There are probably over 1,000 pages to take care of, so this may take place over different times.
CHURCH UNDECORATION
If you are not helping out with breaking in the new hymnals on Sunday, January 8, you can lend a hand with the un-decoration of the church. We will need a few people to take down ornaments, lights, wreathes, the Nativity scene, and other Christmas-related items.
GOOD SHEPHERD ON YOUTUBE
Services are uploaded to YouTube each week, usually the Monday after the service. Feel free to share the videos. Here is the service from Sunday, December 18: (66) Good Shepherd Novi, Divine Service, December 18, 2022 - YouTube
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.
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 is 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.
Offering Envelopes
If you have not received your offering envelopes, please check the mailboxes at church and you should find one. Every confirmed member of Good Shepherd should have received a box of offering envelopes. If you can find neither envelopes or a mailbox for you, please speak with the pastor.
Besides giving offerings through envelopes, you may instead give offerings electronically from your checking account. For more information, please speak with Terry Barber.
Bible Matters
Bible Matters will resume on Wednesday, January 11. We will have a five-week session leading up to the season of Lent. Classes begin at 6:30 PM. Topic soon to be announced
Starting a new year also means resolutions. Why not resolve to become better acquainted with the Bible? Or resolve to bring friends to become better acquainted with the Bible. While any of our Bible Classes would be valuable, Bible Information Class presents an overview of the basic Bible teachings. Members of Good Shepherd, start thinking of people whom you might invite to this class and bring them along. There is no cost.
Bible Information Class will meet on Sundays (6:30 – 8:00 PM) beginning January 15. To register, please contact to Pastor Schroeder at welsnovi@aol.com or (248) 349-0565.
Through the Bible in a Year
If you want to take up the discipline of reading through your entire Bible in a year, you can use this schedule: WORBIbleThroughTheYear.15373011.pdf (goodshepherdnovi.org). Note that you will be reading through all four Gospels twice throughout the year.
This will only require a commitment of 15-20 minutes each day. That 15-20 minutes will be better spent reading the Bible than going through Facebook entries, so it can be done.
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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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DIVINE SERVICES are on Sundays at 10:00 AM.
Sunday School and Adult Bible Class are on Sundays at 9:00 AM. Classes resume on January 8.
Bible Matters will resume on Wednesday, January 11.
GOOD SHEPHERD’S WEBSITE
www.GoodShepherdNovi.org
PASTOR SCHROEDER’S BLOG
www.LutheranSubject.blogspot.com
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