Thursday, February 1, 2024

Update from Good Shepherd (February 1, 2024)

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.
          Bible Matters meets on Wednesdays at 6:30 PM.
          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.

ADULT BIBLE CLASS – New Series
          Beginning Sunday, February 4, we will begin a new series for Adult Bible Class. Our topic will be “Families of the Bible.”
          The Lord lays out his plans for godly families. But sin leaves its mark on families, producing families that are strained, fractured, dysfunctional, and blended. We will consider various families who are mentioned in the Bible. First, we will see that there is nothing new under the sun. Then, we will see God’s blessings for families—strength, encouragement, and healing.
          Who will benefit from this series? Husbands and wives, parents and children, singles, divorced, and widowed … anyone who was born into a family, brought into a family, or has been ostracized from a family. I think that should cover all of us.
          The schedule for this class can be found here.
          Adult Bible Class beings promptly at 9:00 AM. All are welcome.

BIBLE MATTERS
        Bible Matters meets on Wednesdays at 6:30 PM.  Our final winter session will be on February 7.  We have been working through the topic of End Times. Our final class will focus on a commonly held false teaching called the Rapture.

NEW MEMBERS FROM LOLA PARK LUTHERAN CHURCH (REDFORD)
       Lola Park Lutheran Church conducted its final service on Sunday, December 31. Now the members of Lola Park will be transferring to area WELS congregations. Good Shepherd is likely to receive a number of these people as members here. Strive to make them feel welcome, as it can be a traumatic experience to have one’s home church close.

EASTER FOR KIDS

          Good Shepherd’s 2024 Easter-for-Kids Event will be held on Saturday, March 23, 10am – Noon.
          At this event, kids will follow a path from Jesus’ crucifixion, to the guards who guarded his tomb, to the empty tomb on Easter morning. Along the way, there will be lessons, crafts, and special guests (centurion, angel) to tell them what they have seen. They will get a sticker for their “passport” at each station, with a reward at the end for filling their passport.
          There will be 5 stations – Sign-in, the crucifixion, the Centurian, the tomb, and the selfie-station. We will need some help making this event a success. Here are some of the ways that you can help.
          >>> Planning for the stations – we have a basic idea of what each station requires, but need some people to help put it together. This will include planning crafts, decorating, etc. Ideally would like to get someone to be in charge of each station.
          >>> Decorating -- We want to turn our room divider into a tomb, need a stone to roll, costumes, etc. We have some ideas to start but just need help making it happen.
          >>> Crafts – if you have good craft ideas for kids, we would love to hear them.
          >>> Giveaway – put together goodie bags for the kids at the end. Also need some kind of raffle game and prize. (Last year we did a guess the number of jelly beans in the jar.)
          >>> Volunteers day of the event – will need people to sign kids in, help with crafts, lead kids into the stations, and some “actors” to play roles. Would ideally like to get about 10 people.
          Another way to help will be to “like” and share our posts on social media when they come out. Please help us to make this event a success.

WELS INTERNATIONAL YOUTH RALLY
          This summer, about 2,000 WELS teens (from 8th grade graduation through 12th grade graduation) from all over the country will be gathering in Fort Collins, Colorado for a Youth Rally. The Rally will be held June 25-28. All who have attended have raved about what a good time this is. More information can be found at www.welsyouthrally.net. The cost is $410 for early bird registration, March 6 – April 30. Transportation costs are not included in the registration fee. Good Shepherd teens will likely connect with St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Livonia to ensure that we have our teens connected to a chaperon. If you are interested, please speak to Pastor Schroeder.

CHURCH COUNCIL HIGHLIGHTS (January)

>    We have drafted a tentative schedule of events for 2024.  Some events will involve more planning than others in order to make them more appealing and beneficial to our guests—for example, our Easter for Kids event on March 23 which will be here sooner than it seems.  Look for opportunities to plan, prepare, and participate in upcoming events.  The 2024 schedule of events will be posted on the church bulletin board.

>    We will have our Annual Open Forum, followed by our Voters’ Meeting, on Sunday, February 11 after church.  A continental breakfast will be provided to keep people alert and energized.  We will be reviewing briefly the highlights of last year and propose plans for the remainder of 2024 and beyond.  We enco8urage all our members, as well as those who are coming to us from Lola Park, to engage in conversation about what we can do as a congregation.  We welcome questions, suggestions, and critiques so that we can make the most of the gifts God has given to us—especially the service of his people.


GOOD SHEPHERD ON YOUTUBE
          Services are uploaded to YouTube each week. Feel free to share the videos. Here is the service from Christmas Eve (January 28, 2024): Good Shepherd Novi, Divine Service, January 28, 2024 (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 
Bible Matters meets on Wednesdays at 6:30 PM.

GOOD SHEPHERD’S WEBSITE
www.GoodShepherdNovi.org

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

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