For most of this season, our New Testament lesson is from Paul's letters to a church that he had founded in Corinth.  Each time I read these letters, I am struck by how contemporary they seem; if I didn't know that Paul had penned Corinthians around 54 A.D., I could believe that those letters were written in 2013. 

Last Sunday, our reading from First Corinthians reminded the church--both in Corinth and in our congregation today--that there are as many gifts and talents as there are parishioners, but all of those talents are gifts from God.  And there are countless ways to share those talents and gifts with our church.  Each time a talent or gift is used for the common good, it serves and honors God.  Paul goes on in our reading for this Sunday to compare the church to the body of Christ.  He writes, "For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ."  Each member of the body is needed and deserving of respect and honor.  Paul points out that it would be ridiculous if, say, the ear said, "Well, because I'm not an eye, I'm not a part of the body."  It would be similarly silly for the head to say to to the feet, "I don't need you."  Paul reminds his readers that each individual member may actually be indispensable, writing that, "If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it."

What perfect readings for the week before, and the week of, our Annual Meeting!  Every member of our Church of the Good Shepherd is crucial to our life together.  We are so blessed with talented parishioners, but even more blessed that our members are so generous in sharing their gifts with our church.  There has not been a week--indeed, there has hardly been a day--that passes without my seeing our members caring for one another, and living out the truth that when one of us suffers, we all suffer together, and when one of us is honored, we all rejoice.

On any given day, I may see loving volunteers coming in to clean the church, or to help with a mailing, or count the offering, or (in nicer weather than we're having now!) care for the garden.  People stop in to drop off food for the pantry or to volunteer at the Bargain Box, or to bring baked goods for Bread of Life--or they just drop by to share some news or a laugh or to ask for prayer.  In the evenings, people might be gathering to study scripture together, or to make crafts, or to sing in the choir, or your vestry might be meeting to grapple with our finances or to make plans for an upcoming event. 

Early on a Sunday morning, I almost always arrive to find that a beloved Good Shepherd member is already at church, turning on lights and opening wide the doors.  If there's been snow, say, I can almost bet that our junior warden will be up very early, just making sure the path inside is clear and safe, and most likely a usher has come early to put down ice melt and brush off the mats.  The church is filled with music as musicians and choir prepare to share their talents; the church fills with the smell of good coffee and baked goods as volunteers get ready our coffee hour.  Acolytes are getting vested and lighting candles; church school teachers are readying their classrooms and greeting children.

When members get sick, or when a family suffers a loss of any kind, our whole parish seems to come together to help.  I can't tell you how many times I've heard someone say to a parishioner who is sick or who has lost a loved one, "Just tell me what I can do.  You know I'll do anything I can to help you."  And when someone has good news--a teenager got into college, a spouse has responded well to a medical treatment, someone got engaged or had a baby--I have seen the recipient of that good news joyfully share it at church so that we can rejoice together.

As we celebrate our shared ministry at Annual Meeting, let us recommit ourselves to the unity and concord that comes from respect and love for each of our members, and to sharing our gifts with generosity.  Let us also commit ourselves to inviting and welcoming others to be a part of this caring community.  

Our Annual Meeting will be on Sunday, January 27, immediately following our 10 o'clock Eucharist.  This meeting is an opportunity to celebrate our ministry in 2012, and to make plans for 2013.  The budget will be presented, and we will hear reports on stewardship, outreach, Christian formation and other ministries.  There is an opportunity for every parishioner to ask questions or to express ideas of concerns.  Every parishioner in good standing age 16 or older is entitled to vote, and all parishioners have a voice at the meeting.

We will elect parish officers at Annual Meeting.  Our nominees are:

For Senior Warden, Ben Sands, to serve until June 30, 2013

For Vestry, Jane Farrar, David Louanis, and Robert Newton, to serve three year terms

For Diocesan Convention Delegates: Linda Hank and Raymond Luddy, and as alternate, Robert Stasonis.

Child care will be provided for infants and toddlers, and there will be activities and projects for church school children.  The vestry will provide a reception.  Please plan to join us!

We have had a number of applications from very qualified candidates for the job as The Good Shepherd Parish Administrator, and are reaching the end of the interview process.  Rev. Scottie has interviewed seven strong candidates.  Priscilla has met with each of them as well, to give a tour, to show them our office systems and to answer questions.  Rev. Scottie will be narrowing the search down to three or four finalists, who will meet with our Senior Warden, Ben Sands for an interview.  Our hope is to make a decision sometime in the next week.  Priscilla has agreed to train our new Parish Administrator, and we hope that she or he will be ready to begin by February 3.  We will keep the parish updated, and profile our new Parish Administrator in the E-News once a decision is made.

The book is available for purchase in the parish office, or you may see Rev. Scottie.  The books are ten dollars.  You are also welcome to buy the book on your own or check for it in the local library.  Our class begins on Monday, February 18, from 7-8 p.m. and will run for four Mondays.

Our annual Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper will be on Tuesday evening, February 12, beginning at 6 p.m.  The pancake supper is a traditional celebration of the last night before Lent begins, with breakfast for supper, and lots of tasty treats.  (It is a very old tradition to use up the butter, sugar, and meat before Lent, when many people gave up those things for Lent.  Though most Christians don't fast so rigorously during the forty days of Lent, the Shrove Tuesday supper has become a beloved tradition in most of the Anglican Communion.)  We also burn the palms from last Palm Sunday to use as ashes in our Ash Wednesday worship.

Ash Wednesday services with the imposition of ashes and a Eucharist will be at noon and at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, February 13.  Please join us as we begin the celebration of a holy Lent, in community.  These quiet services of prayer and contemplation are a wonderful way to enter into a holy season of penitence, preparation, and reflection as we prepare to celebrate Holy Week and Easter together.

Hospitality is a key part of our shared ministry.  The Good Shepherd is a warm and welcoming community, and our parishioners seem to understand that welcoming our newcomers and including all of our community is an essential part of who we are.  The parish coffee hour is a time when our parish family gathers to greet one another, and get to know one another better.  Many newcomers report that the welcome they received at coffee hour was when they first felt at home at The Good Shepherd.

Please consider signing up for one or more weeks to serve as a host at our coffee hour.  Being the host for our social time means arriving early for the 10 o'clock Eucharist and setting up for coffee and refreshments and making coffee.  The hosts for coffee hour also bring baked goods or other snacks.  You can sign up to be a host at coffee hour, or to bring baked goods for one or more Sundays.  A sign up sheet is located on the bulletin board outside the sanctuary, and in the lounge, with the coffee on Sundays.  Of course, you can also sign up using "Sign-Up Genius."  just click here!  

We also need a coordinator for coffee hour.  Norma Strack is currently our coordinator, and she has served ably for a number of years.  Norma would like to turn this ministry over to someone new so that she can be open to new ministries.  To learn more about how to volunteer, or to find out if being a coordinator might be right for you, please contact Norma: 4stracks@gmail.com.   

The annual Service Auction is one of the most fun evenings of the year.  We hold this event in spring, with a social hour and appetizers, and then auction off parishioners' services for the coming year as well as goodies, tickets for sports and entertainment, and other beautiful and fun items.  We need a coordinator for our auction, which, in addition to being a lot of fun, raises money for the parish.  If you would like to learn more, please contact Mary Ines:  ineshouse@verizon.net.