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eVOICE for May 14, 2026
GOOD SHEPHERD EPISCOPAL CHURCH
The Seventh Sunday of Easter
May 17, 2026
We will be celebrating with Transfiguration Church via Zoom at 9:00 am and in-person at Good Shepherd Church at 10:30 am.
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Good Shepherd Mission Statement
We are a people who hear the Good Shepherd's voice.
We know by faith that we belong to God.
We are called to seek and love our neighbors as God loves us!
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On Tuesday, May 12, Ana Janckson-Curtis and Lillian Luksenburg participated in a peaceful protest in Hagerstown against the proposal to build an ICE detention center in Washington County. It seems clear to us that the rush to jail immigrants, many of whom have been in this country for years and have committed no crimes, is antithetical to Christ’s teaching to love our neighbor. Accounts of detention facilities such as the notorious “Alligator Alcatraz” in Florida suggest that people in some of these places are being caged in crowded cells and illegally denied health care as well as their right to bond hearings. We oppose the creation of what could amount to a concentration camp for immigrants in our own state of Maryland. Many State and local governments, including in Maryland, are fighting the proliferation of ICE warehouses by denying building and utility permits.
Get ready to vote in the June 23rd primary by learning about the candidates! There will be a nonpartisan forum for Montgomery County Council District 6 candidates
online from 10 to 11 AM on Friday, May 22. All are welcome to attend! This is being
organized by AIM (Action in Montgomery), so the questions to be asked will focus on
their issues, inspired by the listening campaign in which members of Good Shepherd
participated last fall: unfair treatment of immigrants, the lack of affordable housing, and
the need for more just and transparent approaches to energy and the environment.
Good Shepherd is in District 6, but separate forums (also online, on different days and
at different times) are being organized for Districts 1, 3, 4, and 7. For details and
information on how to register, email Lillian Luksenburg at Ldohertyuam@gmail.com.
| Good Shepherd members turned out in force last Sunday to sort and pack food donations for Midcounty United Ministries (MUM). More than 6000 pounds of food was collected for MUM by postal workers at seven local post offices through their annual Stamp Out Hunger food drive." | | |
Pentecost is Coming!!!
Pentecost Sunday is May 24 where we will celebrate the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles of Jesus who spoke in a variety of languages and were understood by all!!
1. We will have a POTLUCK for our traditional Pentecost Picnic and the Vestry will set up and clean up! Bring your favorite dish, salad, or dessert to share!!
2. Please contact Deacon Linda if you would like to say a phrase in another language (besides English) during the service. She will let you know what phrase or phrases to speak and when.
3. Michelle Diblee, Missioner for Equity and Justice in the Diocese, will be visiting Good Shepherd to present Marca Woodhams with a Letter of Commendation from the Diocese and a gift as the person who best personifies Courage and Joy in our Congregation!!
4. Wear RED!!
There will be no bible study this Wednesday.
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.
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WARDENS' MESSAGE
Welcome to Our New Rector!!!
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We have been waiting and praying for this moment, and we are overjoyed that it has arrived. After a thorough and prayerful search, we are thrilled to announce that the Rev. Sarah Akes-Cardwell has accepted our call to serve as your next Rector. We know this community has been patient, and we are so grateful — because that patience has brought us to exactly the right person.
Sarah is joining us as our half-time Rector — a model that is increasingly common in the Episcopal Church and one we believe is a wonderful fit for Good Shepherd at this moment in our life together. In practice, that means Sarah will be with us most Sundays, with one Sunday off per month, and in the office one to two days per week. We’ll share more about office hours and rhythms as her start date approaches. Sarah’s gifts as a preacher, a pastor, and a leader are a wonderful match for this community, and we cannot wait for you to get to know her. Her first Sunday with us will be August 23.
Please join us in welcoming Sarah, her wife Amanda (Rev Amanda Akes-Cardwell), and their son Sam as they make their home among us.
Newsflash: The Vestry will be organizing meet and greets with Rev Sarah in the coming weeks so stay tuned!!!
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From EPPN Office of Government Relations:
Join us each week as we share new prayers for the vulnerable among us facing challenges, fears, and threats. We will name many of the harms unfolding and acknowledge what is being erased, lost, and threatened. These prayers are not a replacement for action; they are meant to offer space for grounding and discernment as we seek to bear one another’s burdens in the love and way of Christ. Join by Zoom (click here) each Monday at 11:45 a.m. to hear the prayers aloud, in the context of a simple liturgy, prayed by members of the Community of Francis and Clare. Click here to read the prayers for this week.
Shepherd’s Table is asking Good Shepherd for volunteers. Please follow this link for opportunities to volunteer or reach out to Daniella Burgos dburgos@shepherdstable.org. Thank you!
Grocery Shopping for our Food Collection
All nutritious non-perishable food is welcome, but please consider:
- Small- to medium-size packages and cans, not mega-size
- No glass containers of any kind
- Unopened containers only
- No candy or cookies
Our recipient organizations have made a special request for:
- Cooking oil
- Lentils and beans
- Pasta sauce
- Shelf-stable milk in individual milk boxes
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LESSONS AND CALENDAR
The Seventh Sunday of Easter
The First Lesson: Acts 1:6-14
Psalm: 68:1-10, 33-36
Second Lesson: 1 Peter 4:12-14; 5:6-11
Gospel: John 17:1-11
The Week of May 17, 2026
Sun 5/17 via Zoom 9:00 am, in-person at Good Shepherd 10:30, Panda computer class, 1 pm, Iglesia de Dios 2 pm, BS Troop 97 3 pm
Mon 5/18 Iglesia de Dios 7 pm
Tues 5/19 SDA service 6 pm
Wed 5/20
Thurs 5/21 Iglesia de Dios, 7pm
Fri 5/22 SDA 6 pm
Sat 5/23 SDA service 9 am & 6 pm
Sun 5/24 Zoom 9:00 am, in-person at Good Shepherd 10:30 am, Panda computer class, 1 pm, Iglesia de Dios 2 pm
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Zoom Readers (9 am):
May 17 Lillian Luksenburg
May 24 Sue Womack
May 31 Greg Wood
LEM & Lector
May 17 Donna Clemons-Sacks, Elisa Elliot
May 24 Liz Cocke, Greg Wood
May 31 Linda Campo, Elspeth Nunn
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Ushers
May 17 Shaun Hardy, Diane Janesko
May 24 Kirk Franklin, Florence Walters
May 31 Sal Campo, Eric Reiffenstein
Vestry on Duty
May 17 Eric Reiffenstein
May 24 Lillian Luksenburg
May 31 Shaun Hardy
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Altar Guild
May 17 Melissa Garcia
May 24 Millie Mautz
May 31 Arlene Mahon
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A-V Lead
May 17 Ray Groshong
May 24 Eric Reiffenstein
May 31 Ray Groshong
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OFFER PRAYERS INTENTIONALLY TO GOD FOR ALL HIS PEOPLE:
Sue Womack (GS member), Nella Fisher (former GS member), Pat and Christina Ogg (GS members), Don and Joan Lewis (GS members), John Elliott (GS member), Joan DeMoss (GS member), Gary Anderson (GS member), Patrick Townsend (friend of Florence Walters), Kathryn McMahon (Deacon), Jeanette Ottley (friend of Florence Walters), Ken Douglas (friend of Florence Walters), Liz DeVivo (friend of Eric Reiffenstein), Avi Ramsundar and Carole Boodoosingh, (friends of Arlene Mahon), Angie Karlene Lowe (friend of Florence Walters), Robert Rather, Jolene Grimmer (cousin of Eric Reiffenstein), Robert Rhodes (friend of Florence Walters), Merri Wolf (friend of Shaun Hardy), Judith Bowen (friend of Arlene Mahon), Mary Ann Marsh (friend of Arlene Mahon), Kosi Kumi (friend of Laura Meissner), Gladys Brooks (sister of Ana Curtis), Raul Calderon (relative of Maria Fernandez), Tony Stamp (friend of Florence Walters), Harrington Brown (friend of Florence Walters), Rita Brown (friend of Florence Walters), Hugh Walters (brother of Florence Walters), and Willpert McCalla (friend of Florence Walters) and Narumon Sivali.
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Clergy & Staff
Senior Warden
Deborah Beebe
sr-warden@gsecmd.org
Deacon
The Rev. Linda Mahler
deacon@gsecmd.org
Organist & Choirmaster
George Drumwright
music@gsecmd.org
Parish Administrator
Megan Kennedy
assistant@gsecmd.org
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Vestry & Delegates
Senior Warden
Deborah Beebe
Junior Warden
Eric Reiffenstein
Shaun Hardy
Ray Battistelli
Becky Parks
Lillian Luksenburg
Diane Janesko
Laura Meissner Denmark
Ana Janckson-Curtis
Delegates
Lynn Wood
Alternate: Ana Janckson-Curtis
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Counters & Recorders (All serve on a rotating schedule.)
Ray Battistelli
Elisa Elliot
Kirk Franklin
Arlene Mahon
Florence Walters
Greg Wood
Jim Woodhams
Allen Wyrick
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GOOD SHEPHERD EPISCOPAL CHURCH
818 UNIVERSITY BLVD. WEST, SILVER SPRING, MD 20901
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