Celebrating our 20th anniversary with El Ocotillo

It's hard to believe that the first delegation from Good Shepherd to El Ocotillo was twenty years ago in 2001!! Some of today's scholarship students weren't born yet.

On Sunday, October 24th, during the morning services, we will celebrate our relationship with this beautiful village in the mountains with music, a video montage, poetry, and prayers. We hope that you can join us in person or via zoom.

Learn more about our relationship with El Ocotillo, El Salvador in this Boston Globe article.

Hear directly from some of our past scholarship recipients.

Support our El Ocotillo Scholarship Students

We presently have 8 scholarship students in grade 8 through university. Scholarships typically provide 1/2 the cost of school expenses and the families provide the other half. We have also created one full university scholarship to insure educational opportunity for all students. An 8th grade scholarship is $275/year; high school is $495/year; university is $1440/year; university full scholarship is $2880/year.

We hope that you will support the continued education of our scholarship students. Please write "El Salvador" in the memo line of your check to the church.

Here are two ways that you can share in the experience of El Ocotillo without traveling 5800 kilometers:

Enjoy a cooking lesson from El Ocotillo: Great chefs in action. You can almost smell the melting cheese!

Meet the Scholarship Students: Translated videos of each student

The Good Shepherd Pupusa Truck is doing take-out!

Support the El Salvador Scholarship Fund and bring your family the experience of delicious Salvadoran pupusas!!

Place your order by Tuesday, March 9th and pick up in the church parking lot Saturday, March 13th at 5:00 – 6:00 pm. Details available in an attachment to the eblast.

(Deliveries available to those who are housebound.)

Pupusa choices are cheese, cheese and beans, cheese and jalepeño, cheese and chicken, cheese and port, and cheese and loroco (similar to summer squash).A typical adult serving is two pupusas. Dinner comes with red sauce, slaw and fried plantains. Send your order choices to Kevin Gross. Please include your phone number.  Any questions? Contact Kathleen Zawicki.

No set cost but a free will offering for the El Salvador Scholarship Fund is greatly appreciated.

BONUS TREAT: A video of our friends in El Ocotillo making pupusas!

The chefs in El Ocotillo teach us how to make pupusas

The scholarship students produced this video to show us how pupusas are made. Pupusas are the favorite Salvadoran food of delegations. They are served piping hot with cheese oozing out of them!

8 students from El Ocotillo introduce themselves

Our eight scholarship students introduce themselves and answer questions about their studies.

Lenten Food Pantry Challenges

NBC News reported this week that 6 million more people have applied for food assistance during the pandemic. Please consider one of Good Shepherd's Lenten Challenges to support the Acton Food Pantry.

 In the past it was customary to “give up” something for Lent, but now many also “take on” something. We have two Lenten Challenges you can choose between (or you can do both if you want). Each has its own Calendar:

The Daily Lenten Challenge Calendar offers a chance to take on a daily contribution to the Acton Food Pantry. Your offerings may be put in the large box outside the church front door. Ed Stockbridge, who has been delivering donations to the Food Pantry for years, will see that all the donations get to the Food Pantry on a regular basis.

The Weekly Lenten Kids Oriented Challenge Calendar invites children and families to collect items for donation to the Acton Food Pantry.  The items recommended for this kid focused collection are different than the usual Food Drive suggestions in that they are theme based.  We encourage kids to have fun thinking about what another child or family would want or need.  

To make donations by check, please make them payable to "Acton Community Supper and Food Pantry, Inc" and mail to them at P.O. Box 2098, Acton, MA 01720.    

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.