Thursday, December 14, 2023

Update from Good Shepherd (December 14, 2023)

Greetings!

REGULAR SCHEDULE 
          Sunday School -- Sundays at 9:00 AM.
          Adult Bible Class -- Sundays at 9:00 AM.
          Divine Service -- Sundays at 10:00 AM.
          Advent Vespers -- Our final service will be on Wednesday, December 20 at 7:00 PM.
          Bible Matters will resume on Wednesday, January 10.
          For a calendar of events and meetings, click here.

CHRISTMAS INVITATIONS
          We have printed out postcard invitations to take to give or to mail to friends, inviting people to our Christmas services.  Please take as many as you want and invite people to join us.  Christmas Eve tends to be one of the most popular services for people to try out a church.  Let's take advantage of this and let people know that we have a place here for them.

NEW VIDEO FOR GOOD SHEPHERD
          Here is a video to introduce people to Good Shepherd Lutheran Church of Novi. Share it as much as you can.
          Shout out to Kaitlyn Cole for her work on its production!

ADULT BIBLE CLASS
          We are studying the Scriptures to see how they describe the End Times so that we can face it with both comfort and confidence, and so that we will not be distracted by false teachings and promises. The schedule is below. 
               12 / 17 -- The Events of Judgment Day
               01 / 07 -- The Judgment
               01 / 14 -- Millennialism (a 1,000 year reign of Jesus)
               01 / 21 -- Dispensationalism (Rapture and Tribulation)
               01 / 28 -- The Present Life in Light of Jesus’ Future Coming 
           We will not have class on December 24 and 31.  
          Classes are Sundays at 9:00 AM.

PLANNING FOR 2024
          The Evangelism & Stewardship Committees will meet after church on Sunday, December 17 to lay out plans for 2024.  We urge members to join us to help brainstorm ideas and to develop a schedule for making our plans productive and successful. 

2024 OFFERING ENVELOPES
          The offering envelopes for 2024 should be labelled and placed in your church mailboxes soon.  If you do not receive a box of envelopes or if you somehow do not have a church mailbox (oversights happen, sorry), please speak to Pastor Schroeder.
          It should also be noted that offerings can be given by electronic transfer of funds.  If you prefer this method to using the envelopes, speak to Terry Barber or David Kirvan to arrange this.

POINTSETTIAS FOR CHRISTMAS
          We will be taking orders for poinsettias. Each plant will be used to decorate the church for Christmas, but can be taken home anytime following the Christmas Eve service. The cost for each plant is $7.00, and they can be white or red. Indicate your desire at the sign-up sheet on the church bulletin board. Payment can be made to “Good Shepherd Lutheran Church.” If made in cash, please designate it for the offering plate.

DIVINE CALL RECEIVED
          On Sunday, November 19, Pastor Schroeder received a Divine Call to serve at Peace Evangelical Lutheran Church in Wautoma, Wisconsin (about 90 miles north of Madison). Over the next several weeks, Pastor Schroeder will have discussions with members of both congregations and other advisors to determine where he would serve in God’s kingdom as seems best to him.  You can find letters which explain the calling process here.
          Your prayers and words of encouragement are welcome.

CHURCH COUNCIL HIGHLIGHTS (November)

>     We have made some headway on a new LED sign for the church.  There is a proposal to use our current sign base and frame, and there is a proposal to move the church sign so that it faces 9 Mile Road in both directions.  This would involve a new base and is quite a bit more expensive.  We are arranging a demonstration of what this sign would look like so our members have an opportunity to see it before we make such a large expense.  More information can be attained by speaking to people from Church Council.

>   Please note that we have little to no committee for Evangelism and Stewardship.  While members have been willing to help out leading up to a particular event, the planning of these events tends to be a bit scrambled, and some events get cancelled because they do not get planned well.  In order to excel in our efforts for outreach to our community and to strengthen the bonds of fellowship among us, we welcome and encourage members to join us for these planning meetings.  We meet roughly every other month, so the time commitment is minimal.

>    We will be looking into a method for people to give offerings through an app on their phones.  When we get this service set up, we will provide more information.


GOOD SHEPHERD ON YOUTUBE
          Services are uploaded to YouTube each week. Feel free to share the videos. Here is the service from Sunday, December 10: Good Shepherd Novi, Divine Service, December 10, 2023 (youtube.com)

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.

REGULAR OFFICE HOURS
          The pastor will try to maintain regular office hours are Monday – Thursday, 9:00 AM - Noon. To ensure the pastor’s availability, it is best to make an appointment. He is available by phone or text (248-719-5218). You may also email (welsnovi@aol.com), but the response may be slower. 

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 -- Wednesday, December 20
     Supper at 6:00 PM
     Worship at 7:00 PM
Bible Matters will resume on Wednesday, January 10 at 6:30 PM.

GOOD SHEPHERD’S WEBSITE
www.GoodShepherdNovi.org

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

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