Newsletters

Church Picnic #1 -The first of two picnics will be in Deibert Park on Sunday, May 23, right after coffee hour. This picnic will feature a treasure hunt for all the Sunday School kids. Prizes for the teams are part of the incentive to get clue sheets filled out first. The picnic will consist of hot dogs, potato salad, dessert, and drinks. Should you wish to contribute a potato salad or a fruit salad, please contact Barbara Sage, Helen Etienne, or Sandy Dickinson.

Wednesday prayer and study group - continues to meet. Everyone is invited. We would like to see this ministry expand! And keep working on friends who might be prospects to join this family of God!

April Newsletter

Annual Church Picnic - April 25!! Most of you have already been to the Cane Creek Preserve and have seen the incredible wild flowers, the ninety foot waterfall, and the breath-taking overlook. Jim and Faye Lacefield, who own the property, are making it available for us for an afternoon church picnic on April 25. Most of us will be able to hike down to the meadow by the stream for the picnic. For those of you who can’t, they have a small ATV, to cart our food and about four people. The walk is not inconsiderable—about three quarters of a mile. But it is very beautiful, going across a stream and by some caves. You have to plan on hiking mostly up hill to go back home. Cane Creek is about 30 minutes south of church, the turn-off is exactly eight miles south of 72 on Frankfort road. The turn-off is called Loop Road. A map is posted on our church bulletin board. Everybody should bring a sack lunch, and there will be drinks provided, to augment anything you want to bring. Bring your camera!!

Intimacy Training Workshop - couples please consider going! It will last about eight weeks. Yes, we can love each other, but intimacy is the real goal and desire of everyone who is married. Intimacy doesn’t just happen. It requires not just work but learning. This training is meant for marriages both new and more mature. Finding a time during the week that will not conflict with busy schedules is a challenge. Wednesday afternoon and Sunday afternoon were discussed, and both had problems. It seems that the best idea is to go with the Sunday School hour, when everyone is already here and people don’t have to make a separate trip. Additionally, we will have to plan for interruptions during the course of the eight week span to allow for absences for long-planned summer trips.

February Newsletter

Women’s Ministry - We will have our first meeting Tuesday, February 1st at 10 AM. All women interested in making crafts for selling this year are invited to attend this inaugural meeting. If you have any ideas for crafts, please contact Shirley Liles or Judee Donahue.

Super Bowl Party – will be held at the Toso home – 121 Pine Cove Point – Sunday, February 7th beginning at 3 PM until the game concludes. Please bring a snack to share and your favorite drink. Hope to see you there.

Happy Valentine Day – Sunday, February 14th…don’t forget your sweetheart(s).

Lent Begins – with Ash Wednesday on February 24th. We will begin our Lent schedule that evening. Dinner will be at 5:45 with worship service at 6:30. Choir Practices during the Lent season will be at 7 PM.

Fellowship Committee – is planning a Progressive Dinner for some time in April. We need volunteers to open their home for each of the 4 courses. Please contact Sandy Dickinson or Helen Etienne if you are able to host one of the courses of dinner.
The committee is also looking for ideas for “Family Night”. We would like to hold these at least once a month. Please contact someone on the committee if you have a suggestion.

January Newsletter

Epiphany Dinner – will be Saturday, January 9th beginning at 6:30 PM at Don & Judee Donahue’s home. Please bring a dish to pass. See the sign up sheet on the bulletin board.

Directions from Church: Cox Creek Pkwy to Cloverdale Rd turn right and go to the top of the hill. Turn right at the light into Winborne Park, go straight to the stop sign, turn right and follow to 237 Camelot Way. Phone 764-5609 if you get lost.

Flower Chart for 2010 – the first 6 month is on the bulletin board. Please sign up to provide flowers for the alter.

This will serve two purposes; conservation of our resources and also bring some financial resources to our church. Every little bit helps!

December Newsletter

Whole Hog Plate Dinner – Thursday, December 3rd, 4:00 – 7:00 PM. Cost is $7.50 per plate. You may either eat your dinner here at the church or take it with you.

Holiday Craft Sale – will be Saturday, December 5th beginning 7:00 AM – 1:00 PM here at Church of the Good Shepherd.

Women’s Christmas Tea – Tuesday, December 14th, in the fellowship room. Please bring a Christmas dessert to share. Punch and coffee will be provided. Bring a friend and enjoy an evening of fellowship.

Christmas Eve Worship Service – Thursday, December 24th, 7:00 PM we will have candlelight worship service.

This will serve two purposes; conservation of our resources and also bring some financial resources to our church. Every little bit helps!

November Newsletter

$$$$ FUND RAISER $$$$
Whole Hog Plate Dinner – Thursday, November 5th, 4:00 – 7:00 PM. Cost is $7.50 per plate. You may either eat your dinner here at the church or take it with you.

Holiday Craft Bazaar – will be Saturday, November 21st, 8:00 AM – 3:00 PM at the Underwood Petersville Community Center, which is located at 840 Co Road 7. From Cox Creek Pkwy, turn north on Chisholm Rd, follow to stop light at Co Road 7, turn left, UPCC will be .9 miles on the right. Hope to see you there.
Pie Fest – Wednesday, November 25th, 7:00 PM we will have Thanksgiving Worship followed by a Pie Fest. Bring your favorite pie and come join us for fellowship and fun.

October Newsletter

$$$$ FUND RAISER $$$$
Whole Hog Plate Dinner – Thursday, October 1st, 4:00 – 7:00 PM. Cost is $7.50 per plate. You may either eat your dinner here at the church or take it with you.

Yard $ale – the Good Shepherd Yard Sale will be Saturday, October 3rd beginning at 7:00 AM until 4:00 PM.

Camerata Concert & Fund Raiser – Camerata will be giving a concert on Tuesday, October 13th. There are 2 choices for tickets: $30 which will include Hors d’oeuvres at 6:30 PM or $10 for the concert only, which will begin at 7:00 PM.

Sunday, October 18th – Pastor Bill Sullivan from LCMC will be preaching here.

Crafts - We will meet twice this month; Thursday, October 1st, 3:00 – 7:00 PM and again on Thursday, October 22nd, 9:00 AM.

This will serve two purposes; conservation of our resources and also bring some financial resources to our church. Every little bit helps

September Newsletter

$$$$ FUND RAISER $$$$
Whole Hog Plate Dinner – Thursday, September 3rd, 4:00 – 7:00 PM. Cost is $7.50 per plate. You may either eat your dinner here at the church or take it with you.

Happy Labor Day – Have a safe and fun last Hooray of the summer the weekend of September 5th thru September 7th.

Crafts - We will meet twice this month; Thursday, September 3rd, 3:00 – 7:00 PM and again on Thursday, September 17th, 9:00 AM.

Recycle – Did you know our church is now recycling aluminum cans? There is a large blue bin in the kitchen under the window. Judee Donahue has volunteered to take the cans to the recycle center for us.
This will serve two purposes; conservation of our resources and also bring some financial resources to our church. Every little bit helps!

Help – Mitchell-Hollingsworth Nursing and Rehabilitation Center is in need of:

August Newsletter

$$$$ FUND RAISER $$$$
Whole Hog Plate Dinner – Thursday, August 6th, 4:00 – 7:00 PM. Cost is $7.50 per plate. You may either eat your dinner here at the church or take it with you.

Crafts - We will meet twice this month; Thursday, August 6th, 3:00 – 7:00 PM and again on Thursday, August 20th, 9:00 AM.

Choir – Choir practice starts back up on Wednesday, August 26th, 7:00 – 8:00 PM and will be every Wednesday (7 – 8 PM) going forward. Anyone who would like to lend their voice is invited to join.

Picnic – Church picnic will be on Sunday, August 30th, 11:00 AM – until? Please watch your Sunday bulletins for more on the location and other details.

This will serve two purposes; conservation of our resources and also bring some financial resources to our church. Every little bit helps!

Wish List for Good Shepherd One projector for our big screen in the sanctuary to project the words to our hymns and also a computer to enter our hymns in.

Please note Remember as of August 9th we will have the responsibility for the cleaning of the church and bringing treats for Sundays.

July Newsletter

The Shoals Spirit of Freedom celebration at McFarland Park is free. There will be live music all day, food vendors and the largest Fireworks show around. For more information, please visit www.visitflorenceAL.com

$$$$ FUND RAISER $$$$
Whole Hog Plate Dinner – Thursday, July 2nd, 4:00 – 7:00 PM. Cost is $7.50 per plate. You may either eat your dinner here at the church or take it with you.

Crafts - We will not meet this month

Pool Party
Michael Anne Sweeney is having a pool party on Sunday, July 19th at the pool at Alpine Village Clubhouse. Please watch the Sunday bulletins for more information.

Sunday School
Please note that there is a Sunday School class for all kids every Sunday at 10:15 am – same time as the Adult Bible study class. Michael Anne Sweeney is the teacher and encourages children of all ages to come and “check it out”

June Newsletter

Don’t forget to wish all the dads you may know a Happy Father’s Day on Sunday, June 21st.

$$$$ FUND RAISER $$$$
Whole Hog Plate Dinner – Thursday, June 4th, 4:00 – 7:00 PM. Cost is $7.50 per plate. You may either eat your dinner here at the church or take it with you.

Crafts
We will meet on two Thursdays this month: 3:00 PM on the 4th & 9:00 AM on the 18th.

Family Game Night
Join us for a fun filled evening of a light meal and then games to follow on Friday, June 19th. More details to follow – watch the Sunday bulletins.

May Newsletter

Don’t forget to wish all the moms you may know a Happy Mother’s Day on Sunday, May 10th.

$$$$ FUND RAISER $$$$
Whole Hog Plate Dinner – Thursday, May 7th, 4:00 – 7:00 PM. Cost is $7.50 per plate. You may either eat your dinner here at the church or take it with you.

Crafts
We will meet on two Thursdays this month: 3:00 PM on the 7th & 9:00 AM on the 21st.

Community Events
The Shoals Symphony will perform at Heritage Park in Sheffield at 2:00 PM. This event is free to the public.
The Camerata will perform here at Church of the Good Shepherd on Tuesday, May 5th at 7:30 PM and the cost is $10.00.

Special Events
After church on the 24th, there will be the annual Memorial Day picnic at Harold's cabin. All are welcome to attend.

April Newsletter

Whole Hog Plate Dinner – Thursday, April 2nd, 5:00 – 7:00 PM. Cost is $7.50 per plate.

Soup and bread supper each Wednesday evening in lent at 5:45 PM prior to the 6:15 service. Please sign up to bring soup or bread and join us for this fellowship opportunity.

Palm Sunday – worship service at 9:00 am, the women of Good Shepherd will meet during fellowship following service to discuss the Bake Sale and fundraiser. Bible study at 10:15 am and Day by Day will meet one week early at 2:00 pm.
Holy Thursday – worship service at 7:00 pm
Good Friday – worship service at 7:00 pm
Easter Sunday – Sunrise service at Deibert Park Gazebo at 6:30 am, Easter Breakfast at 7:30 am and Celebration Easter Service at 9:00 am.

Plan to join us for a fun filled afternoon of enjoying nature at its best.
Come to church in casual clothes and sturdy shoes. We will leave right after church to go out to the Cane Creek Preserve in Colbert County.
Bring a sack lunch and water (or soda or tea).
If you are not up to hiking, you can ride to the picnic area with Jim or Faye Lacefield. Either hiking or riding, you will se a wonderful waterfall and many varieties of wild flowers.
The Lacefields welcome visitors to their wonderful Preserve every year and we had a great time there last year and know we will again this year. We will have directions available for those who need them.

March Newsletter

You are invited to Restoration Ranch’s 24th Annual Graduation Banquet. This year our graduation banquet will be held on Saturday, March 28, 2009 at 6:30 PM (the doors will open at 6:00 PM), at the Florence Conference Center located in Florence, Alabama. Every year we have a ceremony to honor the graduates of the residential and staff-training programs. Our founder, James Bracken, and directors and staff from the other Mission Teens centers around the country attend the banquet as well. It is a wonderful time of fellowship, testimonies, praise and worship, and good food that we share together. Please come and spend the evening with us, we would love to share the evening with you. The tickets are $35.00 each, and you can call Katie Tanner at (256) 381-0930 to make a reservation. We must have a total count of how many people are coming by March 18, 2009, so please make your reservation today! If you would like to purchase a ticket or tickets, please mark “Banquet” on the memo line of your check or money order, or send a note with your donation specifying that is what you would like your donation to go towards. Also, some of our residents are not able to purchase their own tickets, so we are asking everyone to pray about sponsoring a resident or staff member for the banquet. If you would like to sponsor a resident or staff member, please put “banquet sponsor” on your check or money order. Thank you so much and we hope to see you there!

Annual Spring Talent Show – you are invited to join us on Saturday, March 14, 2009, at 7:00 PM at Restoration Ranch. Come and be blessed by the skits, songs, and testimonies that our staff and residents will be sharing! We look forward to seeing you there.

December Newsletter

Sunday, Dec. 7th @ 12:00 PM
        This event is for children, youth, and adults. Come & make a craft to take home as you prepare for the Christ child.
        A sloppy-joe lunch will be provided.
       Come enjoy and help us fill the Salvation Army stockings.
Salvation Army Stocking needs:
        School supplies, craft items, personal care items, socks, gloves, & hats.

Monday, Dec 15th @ 6:30 PM
Women’s Christmas Tea
Desserts, tea, & punch will be served.

August Newsletter

Summer is fast disappearing. We had a good Handy Festival, once again with Laszlo Gardony as our featured jazz piano performer. Because Wednesday night was also the street night for the festival, and because we heard only weeks before he arrived that we would indeed secure Gardony as our artist, the attendance at our Brats and Brownies pre-concert meal was not nearly as well attended as last year. Nevertheless, the kitchen crew still turned a little profit on their efforts. The brats, the German potato salad, and all the desserts were just sensational, as usual!

Sheila and I were deeply impressed by an artist whom we would like to suggest as our first choice for an artist for our church next year. His name is John McAndrews. He plays piano and guitar to accompany his singing. He is a solo act and thus has no back up group, such as drums or bass. I suppose that the best way to describe his act would be to say that he is somewhat like Billy Joel. He does jazz standards as well as a lot of his compositions. If you want to hear what he is like, go to his excellent website, by doing a search on his name.

Plans are moving quickly now for preparing for our next mystery theater production in September. We still have parts and places to be filled. Call Judi Richard if you are interested in participating in any way.

Our prayer and Bible study group on Wednesday continues to grow. But that is just a step in the longer term vision of moving our church from being a “prayer ministry group” to being a full fledged “church of prayer”, where everything is undergirded and supported by prayer. As the apostle Paul reminded us last Sunday in our Romans 8 lesson, our vocation as the new people of God in this in between time is to suffer gladly for His sake, and to intercede for His church and for the world, until Jesus comes again. Prayer is something we have to learn. It doesn’t just come naturally; otherwise the disciples wouldn’t have said to Jesus, “Teach us to pray!” They must have asked that after watching Jesus really “lean into it” in a conversation with his Father in heaven. That kind of praying was not rote petitions strung together. It was exciting. It was vital. They wanted to learn to pray like that. So do we!

Monetarily we have made momentous progress in bringing our ministry plan (our budget) to a workable, achievable size. Through staffing changes and mortgage reduction (-$13,000 per year), and income from our new congregational partners (+$21,000 per year), we have reduced our expenses almost $3000 per month. Although we are seeing about a $200 increase in our utility usage, that is about the only significant expense involved in this new arrangement. Our council is still waiting to see if we will now be able to make up some of our overdue bills (that is, the pastor’s salary.) Our church caught up to being only 7 days behind on our cash flow as recently as the first Sunday of June. We will see now how that compares to the first Sunday of August.

But here is the critical key! Now that we are so close to being “out of the woods”, I personally think that continued talk of shutting our doors or selling the church is not only no longer warranted, and is highly damaging to our community of faith! I think talk like that unnecessarily drags down the morale of a very long-suffering body of God’s people. The call here is to be encouragers of one another to praise God for His goodness in getting us faithfully thus far, and not to be whiners, like the children of Israel in the wilderness. (You know how God felt about that!!) Yes, we are still “in the wilderness”, just like them, in our walk of faith. The challenge for us, just like the challenge was for them, is to believe that God will give us each day our daily bread, and will wonderfully provide for all of needs on our own journey Home.

Recipes

All cans are the regular 10, 12 or 15 oz. sizes. The original recipe for 7 cans was given to me by my friend Judy Kittle but---- I'm one of those people who can never leave well enough alone so .... Here is my version which you all taste tested at a recent Lenten soup supper.

1 can Del Monte original style tomatoes with peppers, celery & onions (also known as Stewed Tomatoes)

1 can diced tomatoes (or if you like it extra spicy - an additional can of Ro-tel tomatoes and chiles)

Cook noodles according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, butter and sugar until smooth; add lemon juice and mix well. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Drain and rinse noodles; add to egg mixture. Spoon half into an ungreased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish. Top with half of the preserves; sprinkle with half of the cinnamon. Repeat layers. Bake, uncovered, at 325° for 45 minutes or until golden brown and a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Serve warm.