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Virtual church in a snowstorm! Despite the all the challenges that a severe snowstorm bring, we still were able to worship at both our 9 AM and 10:30 AM services last Sunday by Zoom thanks to Ray Groshong, our amazing and faithful verger along with Reverends Linda, Randy and Noreen. THANK YOU!!!!!
Visit from Bishop Eugene Sutton - Bishop Sutton postponed his visit last week to this Sunday February 1 so this is a reminder to bring all the instruments you have to make a joyful noise with him. Please stay after service to enjoy refreshments and participate in a discussion with the Bishop in the sanctuary. Be there with bells on...literally!!
EDOW Convention- The Annual Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington is this coming Saturday January 31. Please pray for our wonderful delegates Rosemary Addy and Ana Janckson-Curtis, clergy and lay leaders who are attending.
Annual Meeting- The Good Shepherd Annual Meeting will be held on February 22 immediately following the 10:30 am service. We will hear from our vestry and finance committees on our current status and future plans and elect new members of the vestry and delegates.
Nominations for Vestry positions are as follows:
Second term Senior Warden:
Debbie Beebe
Vestry:
Ana Janckson -Curtis
Laura Meissner-Denmark
Delegate and Alternate Delegate:
Lynn Wood
Ana Janckson-Curtis
Below are brief statements from the nominees:
Debbie Beebe- Candidate for Second Term Senior Warden
It is an honor and a privilege to be asked to serve for another term as Senior Warden. Good Shepherd means so much to all our wonderful congregation and working for our combined good and the good of our community is one of the most meaningful things I have ever done. I hope to continue to help us through the upcoming transitions including the completion of construction, moving in and opening of the Evergreen Montessori School, increasing our collaborations with our sister churches that share our space as well as starting a new collaboration with the Living Faith Lutheran church which houses the second Evergreen campus in Rockville. Most importantly the vestry will be working hard to discern a new rector for Good Shepherd and I will labor joyfully on that glorious transition after four years without a rector!!
Laura Meissner Denmark – Candidate for Vestry
I’ve been a member of Good Shepherd since 2009, when my husband and I moved up here from DC. I was immediately drawn to the open-table, welcoming, no-fuss atmosphere, and stayed for GSEC’s unabashed belief — backed up by action - that God has put us here to spread love and work for justice for the marginalized. As a member of an interfaith family, I’m especially grateful for the warm welcome and acceptance we’ve always gotten here at Good Shepherd. I worked at USAID for many years until last spring; currently I volunteer and am a humanitarian assistance consultant. My most time-consuming but also most fun vocation is as a mom of two.
Ana Janckson Curtis – Candidate for Vestry and Alternate Delegate to Convention
I am writing to share with you my desire to serve as a Delegate to the National Convention next year and on the vestry here at Good Shepherd Episcopal. I have been a member of this community for about 30 years, and I feel called to offer my time and skills to support our parish’s mission and future growth. When my son and mother first joined GSE, we were in the old sanctuary and happily joined others in building the one we have
now. GSE is my church. My primary goal in seeking a position on the vestry is to keep GSE open by contributing to our community service and building efforts and so, help to revitalize our membership. I believe that my racially and culturally diverse background as well as my professional training as an attorney (now retired) would be an asset to the leadership team as we navigate the opportunities and challenges ahead. I am committed to listening to your concerns and working collaboratively to ensure our church remains a vibrant and welcoming spiritual home for everyone. Thank you for your prayerful consideration and for all that you do for our parish.
Lynn Wood, Candidate for Convention Delegate- I became a member of Good Shepherd in the fall of 1977 along with my husband Greg and my baby daughter Beth. Since then, I have been an active participant in Good Shepherd in a variety of ways: Sunday School and adult education teacher and chair, member of the Vestry, Shrine Mont retreat regular and planner, participant in numerous forms of Good Shepherd outreach activities, chair of Social Ministries, member of the 2009 profile committee, convention delegate in the early and mid-twenty-teens, and member of the diocesan Holy Land Committee for many years. My interest in the relationship between Good Shepherd and the Diocese as I learned more about the Diocese began when I was previously a convention delegate and continues to the present. I participate on the Refugee Response Team and work to raise awareness at Good Shepherd of the lives and needs of immigrants and opportunities to respond within the Diocese, especially in these challenging days.
Copies of the updated Directory will be available on the desk in the narthex this Sunday. Please check to make sure you are listed correctly (feel free to write in any corrections!).
Migrant Solidarity Convening: Learn, Act, Resist, Saturday February 21, 9- 2, San Mateo Episcopal Church, Hyattsville Register here
We are growing together! Join EDOW members and congregations to learn more about our collective efforts to organize and mobilize congregations to meet basic needs, offer solidarity in times of vulnerability, and proclaim publicly the dignity and value of all. We need YOU to share what you’re doing and learning as we resist the dehumanization and violence our neighbors are facing. Agenda includes panel discussions, breakout sessions for skill-building and support, lunch, plus music and art to lift our spirits. Members of all our congregations are welcome. Interpretation provided.
Follow-up to Good Shepherd Listening Session, October, 2025: Twenty-three members of Good Shephard participated last October in a church-wide listening session to discuss issues in our parish community. Listening sessions were held by dozens of churches state-wide and involved over 3,000 people. The main issues raised in our session were (1) food insecurity, (2) affordable housing, and (3) the safety/security of immigrant families. Of these three, people state-wide felt the most pressing issue discussed was affordable housing. At a state-wide housing team meeting facilitated by AIM and the Maryland Just Power Alliance last week, participants discussed the need to increase the state’s housing supply, and create more affordable options for homeowners and renters. The group will convene again on Thurs, Jan 29, 7:00–8:30 pm on Zoom to develop a statewide strategy to move this issue through the state legislature. Several members of Good Shepherd’s Core Team will attend, but the meeting is open to all who wish to participate. Please consider joining this meeting. For details, ask any member of the Core Team – Lillian Luksenburg, Deacon Linda, Debbie Beebe and Ray Battistelli.
Wednesday Bible Study - 11:30am 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 518-318-5354. If you have any questions contact Lynette Clark at 301-357-1726.
Creativity Fair, April 19, 2026: Get your creative juices flowing for our return to a Creativity Fair in the Spring. We’ll have the “Fair” at the April 19, 2026 coffee hour. Creativity could include crafts, food (cookies, cakes, bread or whatever), or even a service (babysitting, doing an Ancestry search, taking a photograph, etc.) Each item for sale would be donated to GSEC so that 100% of the price of the item would go to the church. Let’s see how creative we can be!
Food Drive - We are accepting non-perishable food donations and work with partner organizations like MUM (Midcounty United Ministries) and Luther Rice to ensure that all food donated to Good Shepherd reaches our neighbors in need. Here's how you can help:
· Bring your food donations to Sunday services and place them in the wooden chests at the rear of the sanctuary
· Drop off food on weekdays when the Office is open (currently Wednesdays and Thursdays)
· Drop off food in the plastic bin outside the narthex entrance any time, even when church is closed
With your help we can continue to respond to the words of Jesus that have become the motto of Good Shepherd: Feed my Sheep.
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