Advent wreath-making workshop

On the First Sunday of Advent, November 30th, after each service, we'll be making our own Advent wreaths after each service. This is a perfect event for families, and our members, friends and visitors of all ages. The wreaths will be tabletop style, and centerpiece sized, around 12-15" when complete. They’re not difficult to make, and we will have parish wreath pros on hand to help if needed. They don't take long to make, so they'll fit right into Coffee Hour. We will have the candles, oasis wreath rings, and fresh greens here for you, all ready to turn into the Advent wreaths you'll take home with you or the season.

We need to know as soon as possible who will attend so that we can order supplies, as the wreaths will take a while to arrive, so I will be ordering it soon. There will be a free will offering to cover supply costs. That in mind, contact Margaret if you want to decorate a wreath. Please include your name and contact info. If it happens that you can’t participate after signing up, no worries - there will likely be people who hadn't signed up to make a wreath and then want to make one that day.

Also, since it will be the tail end of Thanksgiving week, any family and friends you have visiting will be welcome to participate. Lastly, if you are or know of any shut-ins who would like an Advent wreath, please let Diane Cooke know. We are hoping that anyone who loves wreath-making will be willing to make a wreath for one of the shut-ins. This will be a lot of fun, and we’re excited to see you there. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to email or talk with me.

Blessing of the Animals

Join us on Sunday, October 5 at 12:00 PM for an annual Good Shepherd tradition. Bring your pet (or a photo if they don't travel well) to church for a special blessing and celebration of all God's beloved creatures in the parking lot.

Please leash or crate your pet. Stuffed animals are welcome, too!

Download the flyer.

Photos from the pancake supper

About 40 or so people attended the Pancake Supper at Church of the Good Shepherd on Shrove Tuesday. While festive Mardi Gras music played, everyone enjoyed pancakes with all the fixings; bacon and sausages; fruits and juice, coffee and tea. Children (of all ages) created colorful masks and a good time was had by all. Thank you to EVERYONE who helped setup and cleanup, and to the cooks in the kitchen!

Become a "Lenten Friend"

This Lent send and receive prayers and secret greetings:

• Put your name and mailing address in the LENTEN FRIEND jar in the parish hall before Ash Wednesday.

• Draw a Lenten Friend name Ash Wednesday or Sunday, March 9.

• Keep your Lenten friend in your prayers and mail an occasional note or card.

• Give your Lenten friend in person a little present on or near Easter Day. (ex Easter chocolate egg, small plant, something baked…)

• Know that the person who drew your name will be doing the same for you.

If you can’t be in church and want to participate, let Carolyn Platt know (cwplatt3@gmail.com) and she will put your name and snail mail in the jar…and also pick a name for you.

Theatre with a Twist tickets go on sale February 8!

Since the new year, dozens of children with Theatre with a Twist have been busy rehearsing in our parish hall, acting, singing, and dancing their way through scenes from Alice in Wonderland and Anastasia. This Saturday, February 8 tickets for their final performances go on sale!

If you’d like to support these wonderful young thespians (including some you may recognize from church!), you may purchase tickets online starting this Saturday. Online ticket sales close on Wednesday, March 5.

Adult Formation

I come into the peace of wild things who do not tax their lives with forethought of grief... For a time I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

The Adult Formation group continues to meet via Zoom on Sunday mornings after worship. This has been a wonderful opportunity to connect through a variety of resources. Throughout the summer, the group read and discussed Barbara Brown Taylor’s An Altar in the World. This book challenged each of us to see our faith reflected in ordinary everyday occurrences. Each chapter highlighted a way in which to experience God as One who is integral to our lives beyond our experience of worship. With a treasure trove of personal stories, Taylor shared some of the ways that her faith has been challenged and stretched thus bringing her to an understanding of God’s presence in everyday encounters from the grocery store clerk to the occasional power outage. Her reflections invited us to think about our own encounters with the Divine in places we’d least expect.

The next series of Adult Formation discussion will focus on the Sabbath poems of Wendell Berry, American novelist, poet, essayist, environmental activist, cultural critic, and farmer. “For nearly thirty-five years, Wendell Berry has been at work on a series of poems occasioned by his solitary Sunday walks around his farm in Kentucky. From riverfront and meadows, to grass fields and woodlots, every inch of this hillside farm lives in these poems, as do the poet’s constant companions in memory and occasion, family and animals, who have with Berry created his Home Place with love and gratitude.” The book is called This Day: New and Collected Sabbath Poems 1979-2012 and is available through special order at the Silver Unicorn Bookstore and at your local library. Please plan to join us on Sundays at 10:45am - 12:00 pm via Zoom as we delve into these treasured writings. The Zoom link is available in the weekly e-blast.

+Melissa

New England bishops respond with one voice to President's "cynical" photo op

Sent to clergy and congregational and diocesan leadership

The bishops of the seven New England Episcopal dioceses today issued the following joint statement in response to President Trump's photo op at St. John's Episcopal Church in Lafayette Square, Washington, D.C., characterizing it as "cynical" and calling out "the abomination of continued oppression of and violence against people of color in this nation." The text of the statement appears below.

June 2, 2020

What President Trump did in front of St. John’s Episcopal Church, Lafayette Square on the evening of June 1 was disgraceful and morally repugnant. Displaying a Bible from which he did not quote, using as a mere backdrop an Episcopal church where he did not pray, and – more callously – ordering law enforcement to clear, with force and tear gas, a path through demonstrators who had gathered in peace, President Trump distorted for his own purposes the cherished symbols of our faith to condone and stoke yet more violence.

His tactic was obvious. Simply by holding aloft an unopened Bible he presumed to claim Christian endorsement and imply that of The Episcopal Church. Far more disturbingly, he seemed to be affecting the authority of the God and Savior we worship and serve, in order to support his own authority and to wield enhanced use of military force in a perverted attempt to restore peace to our nation.

His actions did nothing to mend the torn social fabric of our nation. Instead, they were a blatant attempt to drive a wedge between the people of this nation, and even between people of faith. No matter where we may stand on the partisan spectrum, we, as Christian leaders called to proclaim a God of love, find his actions repugnant. Jesus taught us to love our enemies, to seek healing over division, and make peace in the midst of violence.

Our church may rightly feel outraged and insulted by having the symbols of our faith used as a set prop in a cynical political drama. The real abomination before us, however, is the continued oppression of and violence against people of color in this nation. Let us reserve and focus the energies of our indignation to serve our Lord Jesus Christ’s higher purpose: to extend love and mercy and justice for all, and especially for those whose life, liberty, and very humanity is threatened by the persistent sin of systemic racism and the contagion of white supremacy.

The Rt. Rev. Laura J. Ahrens, Bishop Suffragan, Connecticut
The Rt. Rev. Ian T. Douglas, Bishop Diocesan, Connecticut
The Rt. Rev. Thomas James Brown, Bishop Diocesan, Maine
The Rt. Rev. Alan M. Gates, Bishop Diocesan, Massachusetts
The Rt. Rev. Gayle E. Harris, Bishop Suffragan, Massachusetts
The Rt. Rev. A. Robert Hirschfeld, Bishop Diocesan, New Hampshire
The Rt. Rev. W. Nicholas Knisely, Bishop Diocesan, Rhode Island
The Rt. Rev. Shannon MacVean-Brown, Bishop Diocesan, Vermont
The Rt. Rev. Douglas J. Fisher, Bishop Diocesan, Western Massachusetts

# # #

https://www.diomass.org/news/diocesan-news/new-england-bishops-respond-one-voice-presidents-cynical-photo-op

Immigrant Sunday

Parishioners Andy Platt and Emmanuel Aronie interviewed six Good Shepherd members about their immigrant stories. They came from Palestine, England, Nigeria, India, and Cuba for reasons that ranged from seeking new opportunities to escaping persecution. The full video was played during our Immigrant Sunday service. Below you’ll find excerpts from each interview.

Get ready to start cooking and crooning, it is time Chili-oke chili & karaoke!

Saturday, October 19th, beginning at 6:30 PM in the Parish Hall. This is a great opportunity to break out your secret recipe for homemade chili to share. Some shenanigans are sure to ensue at this rockin’ event, and light hearted awards may be in the offing! Of course, for those who do not want to cook, there will be lots of food to enjoy as well as non-alcoholic beverages as you cast your vote for your favorite chili. We will also have beer and wine to purchase To add to the fun, we’ll have a karaoke machine and DJ for those who wish to sing for their supper...Who knows, there may be an American Idol talent scout undercover, looking for the next contestant. Free-will donations will be happily accepted to defray the cost of the event. Please contact Jason Davis for more information on bringing chili or to volunteer with some much needed help.

Turning a sad, untimely death into good for the world

Donna Heaney is offering an opportunity to do away with many single use plastic bags for free! Here is her powerful story: “When my son Tom suddenly died from a heart attack while walking his sister’s dogs, he was living with my daughter Sharon and her husband Stephen in Florida. . Sharon had a hard time coping with her grief and started sewing shirt shaped coasters for people to take from his Memorial Service as a way of healing, which blossomed into the lunch and snack bags of today. They help eliminate the use of plastic bags as they can be used over and over. Just wipe the waterproof liner out or wash in machine but don’t put them in dryer (apparently it gets ugly). They are free, she doesn’t charge for them! Some people do send her lengths of 100% cotton fabric sometimes in gratitude, which enable her to keep making them. It’s her form of therapy and turning a sad, untimely death into good for the world. If you would like some you can see Donna after the 10 am service, she often has them with her in various fabrics.