Upcoming Events
6/3 - Planting of the Gardens
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Kindly submit your May newsletter information to Amy Franz at afranz3549@gmail.com
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New! Garden Club Forming
A new group is forming at the church which will focus on gardening and beatifying the church grounds. Members include: Brian Angel Burke, Roxanne Davenport, Roy Cannings, Eliot Foulds and Liz Wadsworth. If anybody would like to join please speak to one of these folks!
The first order of business will be planning for Rogation Sunday. Rogation Sunday will be held on June 3rd. During the 9:00 AM service this group will start the planting. As in the past the children (and any adults) are invited to participate in gardening and planting. Please wear your "old clothes" and prepare to get dirty! There will be a list of items needed posted in the church hall... please check this list to see what you may be able to do to help out with needed supplies. Some items include plants, large pots, and soil. In addition, monetary donations will be accepted to help defray the cost of the plants, soil, etc... As the saying goes... "Many hands make light work." We are anxious to see the church grounds looking great, colorful and inviting. Thanks goes out to this group for taking the lead!
Submitted by Scott Mingles
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 Church of the Good Shepherd
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Thank you to all who worked so hard to make this Lent and Holy Week so special. We enjoyed the coffee hour discussions during Lent, helping to develop our spirituality. The Holy Week services were enhanced by an expanded choir and a reinvigorated Lay Eucharistic Ministry. Easter Sunday was particularly special - including the music, the service, the bake sale, and the Easter Egg hunt. This year, the older members of our youth even helped by hiding the eggs! We look forward to sharing our worship with many others.
We are making significant progress this year. We are better organized due to our Planning Committee. We have a full vestry, with several new members bringing fresh ideas. Communication is better. Our Lay Eucaristic Ministry has expanded and will aid our spiritual growth. Our Youth Ministry is alive and well - the youth just held their second meeting and they are engaged. Marianne continues to do wonderful things with Sunday School, including a well attended trip to Drumlin Farms. This last Sunday, Fr Noble featured a Power Point presentation on growth through ministry. By focusing on our mission, we will expand our membership and ministry.
Thank you,
Robert
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| From Father Noble's Desk | |
Our Lent, Holy Week and Easter teachings were riddled with the Jesus Christ as the Savior of sinners, who sups with Zaccharus, the notorious tax-gatherer, collaborator, and traitor, Peter and the disciples, Thomas, the doubter. The Jesus Christ who went his way to the Cross in the knowledge that he must not shrink from the uttermost sacrifice in order to consummate God's coming to humankind. 'Behold the man, Jesus!' The servant of God who suffers for our sakes and bears our sins and so he has paid our debts. Our teachings of Holy Week leading up to the Risen Lord recorded in the Gospels so remind us of wounds given by injustice, as our living but persecuted Lord wrestles with our souls asking that we believe in him.
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Church School
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We're having a great year in church school! Through lectionary readings and doing activities, the students develop their spirituality and connect the lessons of the gospel with their daily life. Some highlights from the past year include outreach projects and field trips such as apple picking at Honey Pot Hill, the Heifer Tree project and a visit to Overlook Farm. We are currently working on making cards and colorful tissue paper flowers for homebound parishioners for special delivery to their homes. We are also planning to go strawberry picking in June. The last day of church school this school year will be on June 3. Children and youth of all ages are always welcome to participate in the church school lessons, activities, and field trips. We look forward to learning and growing together!
Submitted by Marianne McChesney
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Music Notes
 | Thank you to the choir for their dedication to attending extra choir rehearsals and providing meaningful anthems for Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Vigil, and Easter Sunday. Your time and talents are appreciated by all!
Also, a special thank you went out to Peter Anderson, who enhanced our Easter music with his trumpet playing.
Submitted by Scott Mingels
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| Easter Bake Sale a huge success... | |
Thank you to all who helped to make the Easter Bake Sale a huge success. Special thanks to all who baked and provided such a great selection, and to Cindy and Carol who worked the table. We raised over $250.00!
Submitted by Scott Mingels
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Woman and a Fork
There was a young woman who had been diagnosed with a terminal illness and had been given three months to live. So as she was getting her things 'in order,' she contacted her Pastor and had him come to her house to discuss certain aspects of her final wishes. She told him which songs she wanted sung at the service, what scriptures she would like read, and what outfit she wanted to be buried in. Everything was in order and the Pastor was preparing to leave when the young woman suddenly remembered something very important to her.
'There's one more thing,' she said excitedly. 'What's that?' came the Pastor's reply. 'This is very important,' the young woman continued. 'I want to be buried with a fork in my right hand.' The Pastor stood looking at the young woman, not knowing quite what to say. That surprises you, doesn't it?' the young woman asked. 'Well, to be honest, I'm puzzled by the request,' said the Pastor. The young woman explained. 'My grandmother once told me this story, and from that time on I have always tried to pass along its message to those I love and those who are in need of encouragement. In all my years of attending socials and dinners, I always remember that when the dishes of the main course were being cleared, someone would inevitably lean over and say, 'Keep your fork.' It was my favorite part because I knew that something better was coming...like velvety chocolate cake or deep-dish apple pie. Something wonderful, and with substance!' So, I just want people to see me there in that casket with a fork in my hand and I want them to wonder 'What's with the fork?' Then I want you to tell them: 'Keep your fork ..the best is yet to come.'
The Pastor's eyes welled up with tears of joy as he hugged the young woman good-bye. He knew this would be one of the last times he would see her before her death. But he also knew that the young woman had a better grasp of heaven than he did. She had a better grasp of what heaven would be like than many people twice her age, with twice as much experience and knowledge. She KNEW that something better was coming.
At the funeral people were walking by the young woman's casket and they saw the cloak she was wearing and the fork placed in her right hand.. Over and over, the Pastor heard the question, 'What's with the fork?' And over and over he smiled.
During his message, the Pastor told the people of the conversation he had with the young woman shortly before she died. He also told them about the fork and about what it symbolized to her. He told the people how he could not stop thinking about the fork and told them that they probably would not be able to stop thinking about it either.
He was right. So the next time you reach down for your fork let it remind you, ever so gently, that the best is yet to come.
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Submitted by Scott Mingels
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