Lent Madness
It’s not too late to participate in Lenten Madness!
Lent Madness
If you are looking for a fun and different way to practice Lenten devotion, try Lent Madness! Rev. Tim Schenck and folks at Forward Movement have selected a collection of saints and placed them into a tournament-like single elimination bracket. You get to review or learn about different saints as they face off against each other each week. Just like basketball's March Madness, the pool of competitors whittles down until there is just a final 2 and then the winner!
The best part is you can play along. If you want to play less officially, fill out a bracket and send a picture of your choices to Taryn . You can also officially vote for your choice for the winner of each battle on the Lent Madness website or the Lent Madness Facebook page (@lentmadness on Facebook). Either way, we hope you take a look and consider reflecting on this impressive group of faithful people as we journey toward Easter.
Sunday Adult Formation
Our Lenten Adult Formation Class begins February 21
A Spring in the Desert: Rediscovering the Water of Life in Lent
Our Lenten Adult Formation class will be based on the book A Spring in the Desert by Frank and Victoria Logue. The book provides a Lenten journey inspired by the imagery of water and desert. The course will begin on February 21 and continue through March 28. We will start shortly after the Zoom service ends at 11:15am. Each class will be about 45 minutes.
There will be a few hard copies of the book available. If you would like to purchase your own hard copy you can go do so here or you can order a Kindle copy from Amazon here.
The Zoom link for the Adult Ed gathering will be separate from that for the service.
Lenten Food Pantry Challenges
Enjoy Giving during the Lenten Season!
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.
The February 2021 Issue of the Shepherd's Staff
Read the latest issue of the Shepherd’s Staff with the lenten schedule and much more.
What Martin Luther King, Jr. Can Teach Us About Race and Equity in the Suburbs
MLK event Cosponsored by Good Shepherd!
Church of the Good Shepherd is cosponsoring this program with other local churches and Congregation Beth Elohim on January 18 from 7:00 to 9:00pm. The Zoom event requires prior registration. Click here for more information and to register.
Talking to Kids about Race and Racism: A Conversation with Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum
Community Offering from the Discovery Museum!
Wednesday January 27, 2021
7:00 to 8:30pm
This is part of the Discovery Museum Virtual Speaker Series. Preregistration is required. For more information click here.
Joint statement following hate incident at school committee meeting
Acton-Boxborough clergy members issue statement following hate incident.
The Beacon: Acton's Church of the Good Shepherd welcomes new rector
Patty Mahoney of The Beacon speaks with Rev. Eleanor Applewhite Terry about her call to Good Shepherd.
Sunday Adult Formation
Study Advent Scripture a different way!
African Bible Study Technique
The Adult Ed after the Sunday morning Zoom service will regather for the four Sundays of Advent, starting this Sunday November 29. Using the simple African Bible Study technique, Jessie Panek will lead us as we share our reactions and insights into the Gospel reading (and probably therefore also the sermon) we have just heard earlier. We will start shortly after the Zoom service ends, at 11:00am.
The Zoom link for the Adult Ed gathering will be separate from that for the service.