episcshield_05_063.gif     The Episcopal          
Church of the Good Shepherd
invites you to join us!

We are located at
164 Newtown Road
Acton, Massachusetts 01720
(978) 263-5782

 

Click here
to download the June issue of the Shepherd's Staff newsletter.

 

Click Here

to download the June church activity calendar

 

Click here

to download a pdf file of the 2009 Pledge Campaign form

 

 

 

Sunday, June 28

Summer Service Schedule Begins

8:00am: Holy Eucharist (HE)

9:30am: Holy Eucharist (HE) and

Children’s Summer Chapel with

Food In-gathering

3:00pm: Facilitated Learning

Conversation

7:00pm: Taizé Prayer and Healing

 

Tuesday, June 30

1:30pm: Staff Meeting

 

Wednesday, July 1

7:30am: Holy Eucharist

 

Friday, July 3

Church Office Closed

Rector in California for General

Convention until July 18th

 

Sunday, July 5

8:00am: Holy Eucharist (HE)

9:30am: Holy Eucharist (HE) and

Children’s Summer Chapel

 

 

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N2S Book Group Summer Reading Selection:  The Space Trilogy by C.S. Lewis - Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra and That Hideous Strength)

Book Discussion Dates: Early August & Early September

 

For summer reading, we invite youth (grade 7 and up, and adults) to enjoy the three books in C.S. Lewis’ adult science fiction series: The Space Trilogy.  Those who sign up in the Parish Hall will be contacted by email/phone to set dates for two discussion meetings during the summer. Roughly speaking, by early August we’ll meet to discuss the first, and possibly the second book; by early September we’ll meet to discuss the entire series. Come to one or both of our meetings! “The Space Trilogy is a fine demonstration of the genius of C.S. Lewis. Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, and That Hideous Strength are tightly bound to each other--yet in a unique fashion. Like his "Chronicles of Narnia" books, Lewis draws out a Bible-based story and idea in this space-travel plot, but unlike that series, these are written for an adult audience with more than just a friendly comparison to Christ or the Christian walk. These draw on much more profound questions in a person's belief and faith. 

 

 

 

Vacation Bible School at Good Shepherd!

 

For children in grades K-6, August 3rd-7th from 9 am to 12 noon, $25 per child, $40 maximum fee per family. Led by Carol Brady and Barbara Kean. The theme this summer is inspired by Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s children’s book, God’s Dream, which expresses the Archbishop’s belief in the unity of all people and the call to love one another. We will heed that call by learning about, donating to, and visiting the Heifer Project’s farm in Rutland, MA. In addition to animals, the farm has a Global Village exhibition. Bible stories will be shared in the Godly Play style with time for prayer and song. Activities such as toasting marshmallows (on a safe hibachi), parachute games, nature hikes, crafts, playing chimes, bubble wands and water play (sprinklers) and more will round out the program.  Come join us and bring a friend!  VBS fliers with details about the week are in the parish hall, along with registration sheets.  12 children maximum.  Click here to download a registration form.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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 Acton Food Pantry Needs Help this Summer!

 

The Acton Food Pantry goes dangerously low on food and supplies during the summer months. To avoid this problem, Good Shepherd will have a food drive during the month of June to build up their reserves for the month of July. This means weekly food collections in June instead of just the first Sunday. We've been given a list of items most needed, which you can select from. Between 175 and 225 people come per week for groceries. This is a substantial increase from last year, which means our help is greatly needed.

 

The list of needed items includes:

• infant, baby and toddler diapers

• infant and baby formula

• rice: boxes or bags of plain and boxes of rice pilafs, rice-a-roni, etc.

• canned beans

• canned meats: chicken breast, salmon, sardines deviled ham, meaty chili, corned beef hash, etc. (but NO TUNA — they have plenty of that)

 

Families, please consider having the children help select the items from the list and help carry the bags to church. It is a way they can know that they as individuals, you as a family, and we as a church, are helping those in need and, as such, are following in Jesus' footsteps.

 

We will collect food and supplies on June 7, 14, 21, and 28.

During the week of June 15th please feel free to drop things off during the week since Sunday the 21st will be Worship in the Park — but you are also welcome to bring bags to the park and Ed Stockbridge or Barbara Claire will make sure they get to the pantry!

 

  

 

 

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WELCOME

RODERICK PHIPPS-KETTLEWELL!

Roderixk Phipps-Kettlewell has been hired as our Interim Musician. Roderick was born and raised in England and trained in both Britain and France. He attended Julliard for 4 years where he received his masters. He lived in Minnesota for over 20 years, where he served several churches - Catholic, Episcopal and UCC primarily and was the conductor of the Bach Society Chorus in St. Paul. He loves working with singers especially. His personal interest is in studying and writing about Spirituality and Music.

  

   

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Urgent Request for Furniture Donations

 

The Household Goods Recycling of Massachusetts (HGRM) supplies furniture and household

goods to agencies, such as Community Teamwork, Inc. (CTI) in Lowell, who are transitioning

homeless families out of shelters and hotels. We are in dire need of box springs, mattresses,

bureaus, dining tables and chairs. Of course we take all kinds of furniture. Please consult our

website: www.hgrm.org. Our drop-off times at 530 Main Street in Acton are Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, 9:00 AM - Noon. To call for a pick-up, dial 978-635-1763 (Pick-up fee is $25.)

  

 

 

 

 

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Spiritual Oasis, the Church of the Good Shepherd blog

 

http://www.goodshepherdacton.wordpress.com

 

What is a blog? It is a web site that contains an online personal journal with reflections, comments, and often hyperlinks provided by the writer. Unlike the church web site, however, a blog is more dynamic and made for readers to participate by adding their responses to the posted content. Users can start a dialog or conversation that others may see and extend. Having a blog would help the parish with its spiritual outreach, enhance educational programs like Connect, and foster greater communication and understanding within the parish. We hope to have discussions threads dedicated to parish seminars, hot topics, and the Youth Group.  Right now the daily Advent meditations and prayers from parishioners and Rector Gale are displayed and available for comments.  Pretty soon other topics of interest to Good Shepherd folks will be popping up so bookmark this link.  If you lose it, you can always find it again under the Resources-Links page on this website. 

  

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Do you like to make music?  We have musical programs for people of all ages and all experience levels. Click on "Worship" and then "Music," above right.

Questions? Contact Roderick Phipps-Kettlewell at the church.

 

  

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Our Church School is dedicated to creating a loving, safe environment for our children from infancy—6th grade.  Our programs offer age-appro