Acton-Boxborough Family Project

This month an A-B School Committee member reached out to Good Shepherd to solicit support for families that have been identified to be in crisis during this pandemic. Good Shepherd is supporting two families in the A-B School District from February through June. A family sponsorship for one month involves at a minimum a $50 gift card to a local supermarket and optionally any other suitable additions. We are looking for 10 sponsors to cover the five months or partial contributions to help out. Please reach out to Barb Magee or Kate Ogle for details if you would like to be a sponsor.

Lowell Transitional Living Center

“Whatsoever You Do to the Least of My Brothers You Do unto Me”

                                                                                                  – Matthew 25:31-46             

Sunday November 22

  We will be joined by Andy McMahon, Director of the Lowell Transitional Center

 Andy will present an overview of the conditions at the Center.  As a follow up to his visit last year, he will outline the specific challenges the LTLC faces during the coming winter months.

As most of you know, we have supported the Lowell Transitional Living Center (LTLC) for many years. Each year we gather and send new underwear, socks, undershirts, scarves, and hats to the LTLC. We’ve also had fundraisers for specific items such as pillows, blankets, cots, and a commercial washer machine.  

Due to the Pandemic, we will be asking for “virtual donations” this year.  If you would like to support this ministry we ask you chose a donation ( listed below) and send a check directly the the Church of the Good Shepherd.  Please write LTLC in the memo on your check.

I also encourage you to send a card ( or cards if you’d like to write/make more than one) with words of encouragement to the staff and residents along with your donation.

Here are the donation options:

$10.00 - socks, underwear, undershirts scarves, hats

$20.00-  pillows

$50.00 - blankets

$100.00 - cots

(If you’d prefer you can also send checks/gift cards for items that are not on the list above. )

In closing, here is my last email from Andy on 10/31:

 “Thank you and everyone else at the Church for your continued support of LTLC's mission to help the homeless. You are certainly correct about Winter Bed needs....cots, blankets and pillows are great and always in need. As far as drives go...anything warm..... Gift cards to places like Market Basket or the Dollar Store or similar stores are great too. Checks are fine. Whatever makes the most sense for folks is perfect. This Winter will likely prove to be the most challenging yet. It is comforting to know that we are not alone as we head into the "great unknown"

Andy”

 I thank you all for your past generosity and hope that in this very difficult time, you will help sustain this ministry.

Helene Gagliano

SOLIDARITY IN ACTION: UNDERSTANDING THE CENTRAL AMERICAN REFUGEE CRISIS

Solidarity in Action: Understanding the Central American Refugee Crisis

The United States has long been the main destination for Central American migrants people seeking asylum, but in recent years, the rights of migrants and refugees have been questioned in an increasingly divisive political context. How do we talk about migration, refugees, and asylum seekers? Who defends and promotes their rights?

Join Solidarity in Action, an online workshop organized by The Church of the Good Shepherd, Acton and facilitated by Cristosal Global School to learn about the international and U.S. laws regarding refugees and asylum seekers. With a focus on the Central American refugee crisis.

Join us for an exciting opportunity to learn more about the rules that guide immigration for refugees and asylum seekers and to reflect upon our response as Christians in an interactive online workshop led by Cristosal experts Jeanne Rikkers, Elizabeth Hawkins, and Diego Jones.

When: December 5 and 12 7:00 – 9:00pm.

Registration is free and limited. It will be open exclusively to CGS through this Wednesday November 25. Then it will open to the diocese and neighboring faith communities.

To register click here.

For more information click on More Information

Join the CGS Gratitude Challenge 2020

Challenge: Show gratitude for 20 different things.

It’s a fact that expressing gratitude not only has a positive effect on your mood, but it also improves your relationships and your overall health! Join the Church School in this fun gratitude challenge.

What things can I show gratitude for?

Download this calendar for ideas (but you can also come up with your own).

What ways?

That part is up to you, but here are some suggestions:

• Write a card

• Give a smile or hug

• Take a walk

• Attend a prayer service

• Create something

• Talk about it

• Give your time

• Look

• Listen

• Enjoy
  

Reward

Check off 20 gratitude topics before the end of November and win a prize!

Record your efforts in any way you like and share with Taryn, Church School Coordinator at Church of the Good Shepherd. The kind of prize will remain a mystery. Along the way, though, you will earn obvious other types of rewards.

Esperanza Good News!

Thanks to generous donations by Good Shepherd parishioners, we raised $2500 for Esperanza Academy scholarships through their Harvest of Hope this past weekend.!!! Our sponsorship will help provide a rigorous curriculum to 60 middle school girls of Lawrence. The tuition is still free and their fundraising options are limited due to the pandemic. The students gift to us is this 40 minutes entertainment and informational show designed with one question in mind: " What if Esperanza girls ran the world?" The program is infused with Esperanza's joy, love, and inspiration! https://www.esperanzaacademy.org/hope

An energetic crop walk team

Sunday, October 18th was a beautiful day for walking, discovering turtles, and spending time with friends. The gang from Good Shepherd drew the attention of passersby on the Bruce Freeman Trail with their hand-designed Crop Walk sashes. Click  here to visit the Church of the Good Shepherd team page and to make a contribution to support families with food challenges during this pandemic.

Join the Mission Outreach Committee!

The Mission Outreach Committee will be assembling a new calendar of themes and events and working with Ellie to embed our vision in liturgy and the life of our church community. We need more members in order to continue to be a vibrant energized group. The goal of the committee is to increase the hands-on participation of members of the congregation in mission projects. Committee members meet about every six weeks. There are a myriad of ways to help us in carrying out Good Shepherd's mission:

To be the change we want to see in the world by actively engaging in improving the rights and conditions of people locally, nationally, and globally.

Please join us. Contact us for more information.

Connect with and support Esperanza Academy

We at Good Shepherd have had a 13 year relationship with Esperanza Academy, a tuition-free school in the Episcopal tradition welcoming girls of diverse faiths, races and cultures from Lawrence, MA. The school is 100% privately funded and relies on the generosity of its donors. 

Esperanza is holding its annual fundraiser, Harvest of Hope, virtually this year. It will include a virtual show by the students, a silent auction and the opportunity for churches and individuals to  become sponsors. We are asking Good Shepherd folks to contribute to a $2500 sponsorship goal for scholarships. 

3 ways to connect with and support Esperanza Academy NOW

1. Tune in to a virtual show by the students Friday, Oct. 23 at 7:00-7:45 PM. The show is designed with one question in mind: “What if Esperanza girls ran the world?” This will be an antidote to depressing news… a lifting of the spirit, a performance filled with hope, love and joy. Watch the show.

2. Bid on silent auction Sunday, October 18 to Sunday, October 23. TIP: Look for a virtual Dominican cooking lesson by head of school Jadi Taveris and his wife Kelly. View the auction.

3. Sponsorship: We are asking Good Shepherd folks to contribute to a $2500 sponsorship goal for scholarships. (Remember the school is tuition-free.)

   • We have been in a relationship with Esperanza since its start in 2006! In the past 5 years our “Esperanza chef Dana Caribbean dinners” have raised between $2000 and $2500.

   • Sadly, there will be no Esperanza dinner this year, but to continue our efforts to disrupt the cycle of poverty in girls’ lives from Lawrence, we are hoping you will contribute to this sponsorship, and have Good Shepherd listed with other churches, Bishop Gates, businesses and individuals as sponsors.

   • To do this, please send a check made out to Church of the Good Shepherd with Esperanza on the memo line by Tuesday, October 20 either by

     • snail mail to Treasurer, Church of the Good Shepherd , 164 Newtown Rd., Acton, MA 01720
       OR

     • through bank by mail

"Reclaim Our Vote" Initiative

This month, a group of Good Shepherd volunteers is writing 350 postcards for Reclaim Our Vote, a non-partisan organization that is working to encourage minority voting in states with voter suppression. The postcards inform and mobilize voters of color to make sure they are registered and they know how to get a ballot and vote. The Center for Common Ground, a 501(c)3 nonprofit, runs this campaign which has sent almost 5 million postcards in 2020.

Esperanza Academy COVID response

Esperanza Academy is a tuition-free independent middle school in the Episcopal tradition welcoming girls of diverse faiths, races, and cultures from Lawrence MA. Good Shepherd has had a long relationship with the school since its start 14 years ago.

Jadi Taveras, head of Esperanza Academy, gave an inspiring Zoom update on the school’s response to COVID-19. He shared the effects of COVID on students and families of color—the high risks, barriers, and the fact that COVID is magnifying the often invisible inequities. He highlighted three main focus areas for the school: Esperanza’s commitment and innovation in anti-racist teaching, the strength of their community partnerships, and an updated mission statement and core values. The school’s work with students and families using Restorative Justice Circles is an example at the local level of what Ibram X. Kendi’s book How to Be an Anti-Racist is all about.

Learning will be remote the first four weeks of school and then go hybrid with some on-line and some in-school learning. The school will be open for the most vulnerable learners and they are offering a daily pick-up lunch. The level of response and action at Esperanza goes beyond academic skills to embracing and supporting these students of color and their families. To quote Jadi, “Esperanza is a home and safe place for the girls.” We plan to share the recording of this update when it becomes available later this month. Meanwhile to learn more about Esperanza, go to esperanzaacademy.org.

Esperanza Mission for 2020-21 Academic year:

Through the 2020-21 academic year Esperanza will deliver a holistic program focused on addressing the academic and social disparities that impact our students and their families as a result of the covid 19 pandemic. We will continue to be a school that focuses on the growth of each student through culturally responsive teaching and prioritizing restorative justice practices. We will maintain our relationship-centric ethos and our commitment to our program that honors and celebrates the cultural, linguistic, familial and navigational capital of the families from Lawrence MA.