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We held our Annual Meeting last Sunday and elected two new vestry members: Laura Meissner-Denmark and Ana Janckson-Curtis as well as a new delegate, Lynn Wood, and alternate delegate Ana Janckson-Curtis!! Welcome and thank you to all!! Debbie Beebe was elected to serve another term as Senior Warden and gave a presentation summarizing our history from mission to parish and the growth of our footprint with several additions including a new sanctuary. Our old buildings (old sanctuary, parish hall and office wing) are now undergoing a total renovation to house the new Evergreen Montessori School. We are growing and our financial status is much healthier! The presentation and the Annual Report will be available to view on our website shortly.
Lenten Book Study and Discussion on Immigration Issues- Deacon Linda and Lynn Wood will co-lead a discussion of Migrant God: A Christian Vision for Immigrant Justice (2025) by Isaac Samuel Villegas. It will give us an opportunity to understand issues immigrants are facing now and how we as Christians are called to respond. The Episcopal Diocese of Washington passed a resolution this year asking everyone to learn about this issue and discern how to be strong allies to immigrants. We will meet on Zoom on Tuesday evenings from 7:00 PM to 8:30 during Lent. The dates are: 02/24, 03/03, 03/10, 03/17, 03/24, and 03/31. You do not need to commit to attend every session. Email Deacon Linda at deacon@gsecmd.org if you would like to participate to receive the Zoom link.
The Boy Scout Troop 97 will be at church this Sunday March 1 to help usher and host a coffee hour (coffee and donuts)!! Please come and welcome our wonderful young people and their leaders!!
Stations of the Cross- On Friday evenings at 7:30 PM during Lent Deacon Linda Mahler will be offering Stations of the Cross on Zoom. This liturgy tells the story of Jesus' passion and death. This short service (30-35 minutes) offers an opportunity for prayer and meditation that many people find meaningful. The service is the same each week. Come as many times as you like. The dates are: 02/20, 02/27, 03/06, 03/13, 03/20, and 03/27.
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.
Five of us from Good Shepherd joined over 100 others from parishes all over the Diocese at the Migrant Solidarity Convening: Learn, Act, Resist to learn more about efforts to respond to the needs of the immigrants in our area. The emphasis was on offering solidarity in times of vulnerability as we strive to fulfill the promise in our Baptismal Covenant to respect the dignity of every human being, especially in this time of the dehumanization and violence that many of our neighbors are facing. We heard stories that both saddened and inspired us. We joined breakout sessions for skill-building. We feasted on a delicious lunch of pupusas, and we sang and created art. We will be sharing more with you. Ana, Jay, Joe, Lynn, and Melissa
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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