Thursday, February 12, 2026

Update from Good Shepherd (February 12, 2026)

Greetings!

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

Bible Matters will resume on Wednesday, April 8 at 6:30 PM.

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

OPEN FORUM AND VOTERS’ MEETING

We have scheduled our Open Forum, followed up by our Annual Voters’ Meeting, on Sunday, February 15 at 11:15 AM.  We will present proposed projects for the coming year as well as various opportunities for our members to serve the congregation.

ASH WEDNESDAY is February 18. This begins our 40-day Lenten journey toward Easter. We will have a Divine Service at 7:00 PM which will include the Imposition of Ashes for any who desire it. More information on the Imposition of Ashes can be found  here

LENTEN VESPERS
          As is our custom, we will add a mid-week opportunity to ponder the sufferings and death of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Sundays will focus more on Jesus’ actively serving to overcome our enemies. The Wednesday evening services will focus more on Jesus passively enduring his sufferings as the payment for our sins. Pastor Schroeder will be involved in a pulpit rotation with Pastor James Frey of St. Paul’s, Belleville and Pastor Paul Schaefer of St. Peter’s, Plymouth.  The schedule is here.
          Vespers will be at 7:00 PM. A Lenten dinner will be provided at 6:00 PM, allowing people to come from work and/or to not concern themselves with meal prep and clean up before the service.

LENTEN DINNERS
          We will need people to provide for meals on February 25 and March 4, 11, and 18. The Ladies of Good Shepherd have already agreed to cover February 18 and March 25. March 25 will include the supper for the Michigan Lutheran Seminary Choir. If necessary, we can have a meal catered, but we will need to know which Wednesday to do that if no one is available to provide a dinner.

EASTER FOR KIDS PREP MEETING
          On Sunday, February 22, we will have an organizational meeting to prepare for our Easter for Kids event. We will need people to attend each of the five stations for our visitors, as well as others who can assist with crafts as needed and to interact with our guests. To find out how you can serve, join us this Sunday after church.

ADULT BIBLE CLASS
          Sometimes we have a hard time understanding parts of the Bible. Some of those words come from Jesus himself. We are considering the Hard Sayings of JesusThe weekly schedule can be found here.  Adult Bible Class meets at 9:00 AM. All from grade 7 on up are welcome to attend.  

GOOD SHEPHERD ON YOUTUBE
           Services are uploaded to YouTube each week. Feel free to share the videos. Here is the Divine Service from January 25, 2026: Good Shepherd Novi, Divine Service, January 25, 2026

CHURCH COUNCIL HIGHLIGHTS (February)

>  We will be ordering postcards to invite people to our Easter Festival Service on April 5.  These postcards will blanket the area around church.  We will also be ordering additional postcards for our members to use to invite their friends and family.

>  Our efforts to get the windows replaced above the altar and the organ pipes were thwarted when the glass company who provided estimates closed their business.  Ken DeSantis has contacted two other glass companies to get estimates.  There were also some questions about the need to retain the design in the window above the altar.  A window with fewer panes would reduce the cost of replacement.  This will be a topic of discussion at our Open Forum.

>  In an effort to engage more members with more opportunities to serve, we are summoning more men to serve as ushers.  We also intend to be more organized so that we don’t grab people at the last minute to fill in for absent people.  We will be recruiting people who will count and deposit the offerings.  We will also be recruiting more women who can serve in handling the sacred vessels for holy communion.  Training for all of these areas of service will be scheduled in the months to come.

>  Every four years or so, the pastor conducts visits at the homes of all the members.  It is intended to stay connected with everyone and to allow people to address any issues that may bother them or confuse them.  Every Member Visits will begin in February.  A sign-up sheet will be posted at church by February 15 to allow people to schedule their visit.  As the year goes on, phone calls will be made to those who have not yet signed up (ominous music inserted here).

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
          For the most part, the pastor will be observing formal office hours (Monday-Thursday, 9:00 AM – Noon). Occasionally, duties will take him away from the office during these scheduled times, so you will still want to call or text to confirm any meetings with the pastor (248-719-5218).

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.

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

Sunday School -- Sundays at 9:00 AM 
Adult Bible Class -- Sundays at 9:00 AM 
DIVINE SERVICES -- Sundays at 10:00 AM.
Bible Matters resumes on Wednesday, April 8 at 6:30 PM.

GOOD SHEPHERD’S WEBSITE
www.GoodShepherdNovi.org

PASTOR SCHROEDER’S BLOG

www.LutheranSubject.blogspot.com  

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