	Service Schedule for Sunday February 23
8AM - Holy Eucharist, Rite I 10AM - Holy Eucharist, Rite II child care available ****** Office Hours Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday and Friday 8 AM - Noon** closed Thursday ****** Meetings and Events Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper Tuesday, March 4 -- Ash Wednesday March 5 services at 12:00 noon and 7:00pm --- Vestry Meeting Tues, Mar 11, 7:00pm ***** For events and meetings and church office schedule for the months ahead, see the calendar listed under"What's Happening" on our website! Click here to go directly to the church calendar

Outreach

Bargain Box Thrift Shop

Hours of Operation:

Friday: 10am - 3pm

Saturday: 10am - 1pm

Items may be dropped off during regular hours of operation or Wednesdays,

9am - 11:45am.

**please note: if you have items to donate, but cannot bring them during the hours listed here, please contact Martha Wishart to make other arrangements:

jacksnana1@verizon.net

DO NOT LEAVE ITEMS AT THE CHURCH

and

PLEASE -- NO TVs,
COMPUTERS OR OTHER LARGE ITEMS

*****

Bread of Life

Feeding Ministry

Next Date: Friday, April 4

First Baptist Church

493 Main Street, Malden

Volunteers needed:

4pm for food prep

5pm for food service

5:30 - 7pm for clean-up

Bakers also needed

Contact Tony Lopes for details:

978 710 6927

click here for more information

*****

Reading Food Pantry

Items needed for February:

stew

chili

hash

canned meats

(chicken, turkey

ham, Spam

chicken a-la-king, etc.)

Sunday

Service

Participants

Acolytes

Feb 23: Holly Manzelli

Mar 2: Allison Torres

Ushers

Feb 23: Paul Dustin and Tim McLaughlin

Mar 2: Dave and Edna McDonald

Coffee Hour

Feb 23:

Hosts: Sharon Lopes

Bakers: Sharon Lopes

Mar 2:

Hosts: Sheila Batchelder and Karen Ward

Bakers: Sheila Batchelder

We need volunteers for March coffee hours -- please click here to volunteer to host or bake!

Sunday School

Feb 23 - February vacation, no Sunday School. Children are invited to sit with their parents in church. Children's bulletins and crayons will be available at the back of the church.

Altar Flowers

February 23:

Given in loving memory of

Freda and James Rawstron and

Esther and Ray Vincent

by the

Vincent and Boisvert families

	From the Book of Remembrance
Margaret Page Les Starke Ethel McLean Herbert Medlock Willis Chipman Esau Smith

Good News

From the Church of the Good Shepherd

a welcoming and inclusive parish dedicated to growing in faith, spirit and community

February 16, 2014

From the Reverend Roger Nelson

Dear Members of Good Shepherd,

Though we did not have church this past Sunday because of the weather conditions, I thought that you might like to read the sermon I had prepared for the occasion. I find that sermons can seldom be repeated because the context and my own ideas change as time goes on. So it was simply file this sermon until after my death when my son will probably file it for all eternity, or send it out to you.

Rev. Roger

PS: I do not title my sermons, so you will have to figure that out yourself.

Sermon for Sunday, February 16, 2014 , Year A, Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany

"Happy are they whose way is blameless,

who walk in the law of the LORD!

Happy are they who observe his decrees

and seek him with all their hearts!" (Psalm 119:1-2)

I have had living with me for the past four years a young man from South Sudan in Africa as he pursues his education at Bunker Hill Community College and Harvard Extension School. On Friday he wanted a ride to BHCC for a class and I said "Sure, but first you will have to go down and clean yesterday's snow off the car," which he gladly did. Halfway to the school I suddenly remembered a sign I had seen flashing last weekend on one of those electronic boards you often see now on state highways:

It's the law! Clear your car roof of all snow. $ 200 fine.

Oh my gosh, I thought, I had not specifically told Daniel to do that and I had not checked before starting out. I suddenly had visions of this short 15 minute drive, offered out of the goodness of my heart, costing me a huge sum of money. Well, as it turned out, Daniel had cleaned the roof and all was well.

But it did get me to thinking. There are so many laws and rules and regulations and customs in our society, that each of us is bound to break one, knowingly or unknowingly, every day. Of course I know there is a purpose and a need for such laws in a complex society such as ours, where so many people live crowded together in urban and suburban environments.

I also know that when I arrive at the gates of heaven Saint Peter will check his Book of Life and see 27 parking/speeding tickets, 20 times of cheating while at school or on my taxes, 12 occasions of stealing, at least 500 occasions when I lied (mostly white, I hope), and a number of other offenses. Nevertheless all of these will not automatically exclude me from passing through those pearly gates. I am not concerned about my venial sins, because Jesus has promised forgiveness to those who confess their sins and repent, as scripture says not seven times or seventy, but seven times seventy times; in other words, forgiveness without limits.

What does worry me is words such as Jesus speaks in today's Gospel (Matthew 5:21-37). He takes the Ten Commandments and spiritualizes them, writes them on our hearts, as I said in my sermon last week. Yes, we should not murder, but we also should not be angry or insulting to another. We should not commit adultery, but even looking with lust upon another person is adultery (remember Jimmy Carter's words). And we should not swear an oath ("so help me God!" "cross my heart and hope to die," "on my mother's grave"), but simply say yes or no when challenged as to our veracity.

In other words, what Saint Peter is really interested in is not how many black marks we may have in the Book of Life, but rather what is in our hearts. Have we repented, which means to have turned away from the temptations of the world and reoriented ourselves towards God. The word "repent" comes from the Hebrew root word which means "to turn around." The question is not have we sinned, for we all have. The ultimate question is have we turned our hearts away from the temptation of the world and towards God? The issue is not have we sinned, for we all are sinners, even to the very day of our deaths; rather the question is have we allowed God's Holy Spirit into our lives, the Spirit that will strengthen and fortify our heart in the struggle against the world, the flesh, and the Devil?

It is important for us to stop once a year and to evaluate how we are doing in this spiritual journey to convert and reorient our hearts. To a large degree this is what the approaching season of Lent is about -- a time to take spiritual inventory. It is not too early to begin to plan your Lent.

I would suggest that you might use a very old Christian tradition this year as a checklist as to how you are doing. I am sure that you have heard of the seven deadly sins. I am not sure that you could name them all, though between us I am sure we could.

PRIDE is often said to be the root of all sins. It is to put yourself first, at the center of all you do. It leaves little room for consideration of your neighbors and no place for God in your life

ANGER is sometimes justified, but a lot of it is self-centered, thinking you alone are the sole purpose of the creation.

GREED is endemic in our society, though generally hidden under a mask of consumerism or lifestyle. Those of us in the wealthy world may not see ourselves as greedy, but in the context of the whole world as it is, we are.

SLOTH is not an acceptable trait in the world of capitalism and America, yet it is present. The fact that it is taking us so long to provide decent medical care for all our citizens is a sign of national sloth.

GLUTTONY is visible in the binge of eating out and of overweight that curses this country. The more food on the plate, the more we are likely to be satisfied and to recommend a restaurant. Gluttony is not just overeating; it is also not eating a healthy diet.

ENVY is one of the sustaining factors of our ethic of consumerism. The advertisers use it as a hook to get us to desire the latest product, the more expensive shampoo, the most recent iPhone.

and LUST is everywhere in a society that is drowning in a sexual ethic that is based upon personal pleasure and fulfillment only, rather than mutual love and commitment.

Exploring the presence and power of these seven deadly sins in our lives today will help to increase the desire for personal and societal reformation and the seeking of forgiveness from our Lord and from our family and friends. We are not evil people, but we are fallen people. We do not go around killing or stealing or fornicating -- at least not literally. But we are a part of this world, infected by the sins of this world. We are not what we would be or what God desires us to be.

And so God gently and lovingly bids us to come to repentance and to dispense in our lives to others the love we have received from the Almighty God. Remember the Comfortable Words:

"Come unto me all ye that travail and are heavy laden. and I will refresh you." (Matthew 11:28)

"God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, to the end that all that believe in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

(John 3:16)

"This is a true saying and worthy of all to be received, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners." (1 Timothy 1:15)

"If anyone sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and he is the perfect offering for our sins, and not for ours only, but for the sins of the whole world." (1 John 2:1-2)

AMEN.

Lent

Lent is quickly approaching. As always, we will have our Annual Pancake Dinner on Shrove Tuesday, March 4. If anyone is interested in coordinating this event, please let a Vestry member or Eileen know. We will also be needing volunteers to donate food, cook, serve and clean up. Please RSVP so that we know how many people to expect. There is a signup sheet on the bulletin board outside the sanctuary to RSVP and to sign up to volunteer, or you may click here to RSVP or volunteer online.

At the dinner, we plan to have a jar, pen and paper available for anyone to commit to -- in writing -- what they would like to adopt as their Lenten discipline (anonymous, of course). This is a great time to renew those New Year's Resolutions which may have slipped away.

If you still have your palms from last year's Palm Sunday service, please bring them to the dinner. We will be burning these palms to be used as the ashes during the Ash Wednesday Services on March 5. Services that day will be at 12:00 noon and 7:00 pm.

More information will be forthcoming regarding Lenten events.

Meet the Bishop Nominees at March 14-18 Public Forums

The Standing Committee of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts announced on Feb. 12 the schedule of public forums with the nominees for election as bishop. The forums will take place on:

Friday, March 14, 6:30 p.m., at St. Andrew's Church (79 Denton Road) in Wellesley;
Saturday, March 15, 1 p.m., at Trinity Church (Copley Square) in Boston;
Sunday, March 16, 4 p.m., at St. Stephen's Church (74 South Common Street) in Lynn;
Monday, March 17, 6:30 p.m., at Grace Church (422 County Street) in New Bedford; and
Tuesday, March 18, 6:30 p.m., at Christ Church (33 Central Street) in Andover.

PLEASE NOTE: Linda Hank and Roger Nelson will be attending the March 16 forum at St. Stephen's in Lynn. Anyone who would like to join them and carpool should meet at Good Shepherd at 2:30. If you are interested, please email Linda at lhank@comcast.net so that we can be sure we have enough drivers.

Clergy and convention delegates, as well as all interested members of the diocese, are invited and encouraged to attend one or more of these sessions. It is expected that all five nominees on the slate announced Jan. 15 and any qualifying petition candidates will participate in all five forums. Any qualifying petition candidates will be announced on or before Saturday, March 1.

Additional daytime events are being planned for the candidates on the dates set aside for the forums. Candidates will have a tour of the diocesan offices and meetings with the bishops and diocesan staff. The candidates also will have the opportunity for prayer and reflection, as well as exposure to local cultural activities to better understand the diocese and its people.

The electing convention is scheduled forSaturday, April 5 at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul (138 Tremont Street) in Boston. In the event that the electing convention recesses before completing its business, it is scheduled to reconvene on Saturday, April 12 at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul.

Information about the current slate of nominees and about the election process is available at www.mabishopsearch.org.

In Our Community...

From February 21 through April 27, Marie and Joe Field will be living out in Lincoln while their new home is under construction. Their temporary phone number for these two months will be

781-259-1721.

For your prayers....

O God of compassion, at whose table all are welcome: draw near to homebound, hospitalized, or sick members of our parish family during the coming week, and to those who minister to them. May all our members always feel included at our table, strengthened in our friendship, renewed by bread and wine for their life's journey and always filled with your loving presence, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen

The following members of our parish community have asked for our prayers. Please remember them this week when you pray, and let us know if there is anyone whose name you would like to add.

Christine Camper, Kevin Cellucci, Gerry Chagnon, Betty Fraser, Bernice Herrick, Linda Johnnene, Scott Johnnene, Thomas and Henrietta Kane, Debra Katt-Lloyd, Tony Lopes, Lynn McDonald, Rheta McKinley, Bishop Thomas Shaw, Kevin Smith, Jake Torrisi, Scottie Wagner, Stephen Wagner, and Nickie Zitoli.

Contact Information

Church office: cgsreading @gmail.com or 781-944-1572

The rector: rectorgoodshepherd@gmail.com

Visit our website: www.goodshepherdreading.org

Shopping at Amazon? Every time you use this link to get to amazon.com, Church of the Good Shepherd will receive a portion of the total amount purchased. This charitable donation from Amazon Associates does not cost you a thing and benefits our church community. Thank you!