eVOICE for August 29, 2024



GOOD SHEPHERD EPISCOPAL CHURCH



The Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost

September 1, 2024

We will be celebrating virtual Eucharist with Transfiguration Church via Zoom at 9:00 am, and Morning Prayer in-person at Good Shepherd Church 10:30 am.

GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

A Memorial service for Don Schimmel our former organist will be held Saturday, September 28 at 1:00 pm. The Rev. Patty Downing will officiate and we will have refreshments afterwards. Please spread the word!

Updating our Photo Board: Several people have approached members of the Vestry about our photo board in the hallway and how we can update it. Liz Cocke and Diane Janesko would like to update this photo board by taking new headshot photos of members of our congregation, taken here in the Narthex, that we can then print and put on a newly organized photo board. We’re looking for one or two volunteers to carry out this effort, help take the photos, get them printed and organized on the board. Speak to Diane or Liz about helping with this effort.

2024 Shrine Mont Parish Retreat: Believe it or not, the time has come to sign up for our fabulous and beautiful Annual Parish Retreat. For those who are not familiar with this retreat, it is a very special weekend in the Shenandoah Mountains with fellow Good Shepherd parishioners where we spend two days away from the hustle and bustle of our region. With all of the transition we have had, this weekend is a great way to maintain our close community. So, if you are able and interested in joining us at Shrine Mont please sign up using the link below for the weekend of Oct. 18 - 20. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to Nellie_J_Thompson@mcpsmd.org or 301-537-8247. Link to sign up: https://rb.gy/9a74kv

Araba Pobee would like to invite interested parishioners and their families, friends and colleagues to join her in the More than Pink Walk organized by Susan G. Komen in support of finding a cure for breast cancer. The walk takes place on the National Mall on Sunday, September 8, 2024. You can register with her team CC Busters at 2024 Komen DMV Tri-State MORE THAN PINK Walk. Click on the tab "Find a Fundraiser" and join the team to fundraise or simply join the team. I look forward to seeing you then.

Food Drive Collection, September 7, 11am

Wednesday Bible Study - 11:30 am in-person with Deacon Linda Mahler

Telephone prayer meeting every Thursday at 9:15 am. The number to call to join the prayer meeting is 508-924-2778. If you have any questions contact Lynette Clark at 301-357-1726. 

End of Summer T97 Car Wash is Here!

Want to get your buggy spruced up after the summer driving season? BSA Troop 97 is here to help! Bring your family car around to GSEC starting at 11:30am, Sunday, Sept. 29, for a scrub up and wipe down to make your jalopy look almost new! Donations encouraged to support the troop's high adventure camping and replacement of tents, cookware, and other gear. Questions? Contact Chris Thorne at c.scott.thorne@gmail.com or (202) 699-1016.

From the Worship Team: 

We are hard at work to make sure that worship at Good Shepherd is both beautiful and

meaningful. There are several ways you can let us know how we’re doing, share ideas about what would make worship more fulfilling for you, or ask us questions:

• Come to a worship team meeting. Email Linda (mahlerlindal@gmail.com) for the Zoom link.
• Use this online form to give written feedback: bit.ly/GSECworshipfeedback. We see your comment as soon as you post it. 
• Talk to one of us at church on Sunday.

The conversation continues.… Ray, George, Debbie, Linda and Lynn



Shepherd's Table Presents: TableFest!

Come join us for a neighborhood block, Saturday, Oct. 5th, 4pm- 7pm

919 Silver Spring Ave.

Several of the most beloved Silver Spring restaurants will share a signature dish with us, and we’ll enjoy live music, entertainment for the whole family, and a short program with a silent auction. This is an excellent opportunity to learn about our impact on the community and a chance to reconnect with our Silver Spring neighbors! Individual tickets are $25 for adults, free for kids under 5.

Info for Attendees

The event will occur at 919 Silver Spring Ave from 4-7 pm. On a map, it’ll be the park/outdoor area and thru street behind Thayer & Spring Apartments, nestled in between Silver Spring Ave and Thayer Ave. We’ll set up two entrances, bookending the thru connecting Thayer Ave and Silver Spring Ave. It’s about a 7-minute walk from the Silver Spring metro stop on the red line, or you can park on the street or in public parking lots nearby. We recommend the Thayer Public Parking Lot decks and Fenton St. Village Public Parking Garage 4. With each TableFest ticket, you’ll enjoy complimentary food, so come ready to eat. To partake in adult beverages, please bring a valid ID. The Signature Dish Competition, where you can vote on the “Best of the Fest” dish, will run from 4:00 to 6:30 p.m., as will the silent auction—so don’t miss out on these opportunities! You can purchase TableFest and drink tickets on-site, so don’t forget to invite your neighbors! If you have any questions, contact Daniella Burgos at dburgos@shepherdstable.org

https://www.shepherdstable.org/tablefest/

MESSAGE FROM SENIOR WARDEN

The Vestry and Finance Committee met last week in a marathon session to do a mid-year review of our budget and finances. Overall we are doing very well and continue to be blessed by all of YOUR generous support!! Thank you!!! Our pledges, plate (contributions at services), and online (Paypal) donations are above budget (YAY!!) and so are the globe donations which go directly to our community ministries. We are also using your money to earn money (tax free because we are a non-profit) through our newly established high yield savings account, CDs, and our Vanguard account (endowment fund). Our expenses are within budget despite repairs to our oldest HVAC system (sanctuary and narthex) and repairs to the organ (generously paid for by Don Schimmel before he passed away) and we are continuing to streamline our financial systems with bill.pay. We are targeting areas for saving money as well. One example is the expansion of our Servant Keeper app to provide on-line giving where you can add the fees for processing donations to your donated amount so the church is not paying them as we do for PayPal which does not have that option. We will be spotlighting this new program soon!! As always we are so grateful for the many volunteers who work behind the scene to collect, count, and record your donations and pay our bills!! Hard copies of Vestry meeting minutes are available on the desk in the Narthex so you can stay informed!

The Vestry as always wishes to connect and/or reconnect with everyone in our congregation. We have updated our directory (ask for a copy!!). We are also interested in identifying everyone's gifts and ways to allow those gifts to work amongst us. We want to do more 'listening': asking people to share their stories one-on-one. Let me, or anyone on the Vestry, know if you would like to participate and share in the blessings you give and receive! Also there are links to recordings available from the Action in Montgomery (AIM) listening training that are very helpful!! Links to resources from AIM sessions in this folder: Summer Core Team Training

Finding strength in collective storytelling:

Whenever Jesus is asked a question, he answers with a story, a parable. “He did not say anything to them without using a parable” (Matthew 13:34).  

We tell our stories because all of us have survived something, because stories are signposts from the past that give us clues about the future. Our stories are a witness to the next generation and an opportunity to understand the universal as well as the particular in tales of trauma, healing, and survival. 

Barbara A. Holmes, Crisis Contemplation: Healing the Wounded Village (Albuquerque, NM: CAC Publishing, 2021), 110–111. 

GOOD SHEPHERD EPISCOPAL CHURCH

818 UNIVERSITY BLVD. WEST SILVER SPRING, MD 20901

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