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Please submit any articles for next month's newsletter to Scott Mingels at [email protected]  by April 25th.

Another Successful KidsFest!

 

KidsFest 2014 was another great success. Lots of happy, smiling faces came and enjoyed games, crafts, ping-pong, cardboard crafts, the kid's cafe and more.   Bags of food as well as a cash donation were delivered to the Dedham Food Pantry as a result of this event.

 

Special thanks to all our Good Shepherd helpers - Blue Hills Regional High School volunteers, Tedeschi's and 4C's for Kids. It was a wonderful day for everyone involved. We could not have done this without your support! A big Thank- you to all who helped make this even such a great success.  

 

-Patty Roberts

Choir Rehearsal Schedule for Holy Week and Easter

Come and sing for any or all of our holy week services. No experience needed!

Choir rehearsals will be held for a quick 30 minutes right after church on the following Sundays:

March 30th

April 6th

April 13th 

 

Candidates for Bishop

Below is a link for those of you who have not gotten this to see the interviews of the candidates for Bishop. About half-way down on the right click on video and see each candidate.

 

http://www.diomass.org/diocesan-news/meet-candidates-bishop-march-14-18

 

4Cs Raffle

Mark Consentino from 4C's for kids-non-profit is holding a raffle which is scheduled for June 2014. Tickets are $10.00 each and prizes will be raffled off for 19 days in June. Prizes range from gift cards to local businesses to large prizes worth over $500. Mark is also generously providing us with a percentage of raffle ticket sales! See Patty Roberts for raffle information.

 

  
Servers Needed
If you would like to serve during Sunday services as an usher, greeter, lector, altar guild member, or to help with coffee, hour please contact the church office.

 
ShieldChurch of the Good Shepherd
Dedham, MA
April 2014
 
Rectors Message

As I write this letter I realize we are half-way on our Lenten journey. Our focus this Lent is the sacrament of Baptism and our response. Through it all we are faced with challenges of our changing church, the diocesan process of electing a bishop, and the dynamics of world peace. We seek to be satisfied, but not as God gives, but as the world gives. I'm reminded of the words of Proverbs 27:20, "Just as death and destruction are never satisfied, so human desire is never satisfied." When we get what we want, we still want more of it. Just as drinking saltwater actually makes you thirstier, the Bible promises that getting more of something actually makes you less satisfied. Let me present a contrast:

As baptized persons then, how do we encourage religious expression that brings about a godly satisfaction? As Christian people and our relationship with Christ, there is a yearning to be overt about whom we are, but we live and work in a setting that makes our religious expression awkward. As priests, we believe that people should be happy. We feel a responsibility to help our church members cope with the strains generated by their personal lives. We want our churches to be the source of personal spiritual meaning and practice. We want our people to love the church because it is the place which energizes them, excites them, and gives them growth in Christ.

Our obligation as baptized persons is also to be aware of our roles as stewards. I have never been eager to speak and preach about appealing for money. I read somewhere that many clergy show less aptitude in relating finances to faith itself. The problem is that clergy seldom have a clear understanding of the way in which parishioners think about money, work and other economic issues.

I would like to appeal to all our church members to generate a new sense of satisfaction as we strive to enhance our expectations and obligations. The church being our spiritual home will constantly make demands of our response to its needs. And here, God is the One who will constantly pick at us until He is satisfied. The logic is, the church is always giving, with the sacraments including Holy Communion, pastoral care, Bible studies, worship and teaching, preaching, and fellowship. Our moral obligation as baptized persons is that we give in return.

The answer my dear friends, is not to increase the quantity of appeals for money, but rather to reconsider the quality of these appeals. Our vestry will indeed talk in due course about broader relationships between faith, work, money, giving, the poor, and economic justice.

Every Blessing,

Fr. Noble    

ALL CHURCH "FUN"DRAISING EVENT

Our next All Church "FUN"draising event is set for Saturday, May 31st. Please mark your calendars now. This will be one of several fundraising events we will hold throughout the year.   It will be an outdoor event and we'll utilize all of the church property. An event like this is a great way to showcase the church and be visible in our community while having fun and engaging in fellowship. We are planning on incorporating several events into one! We will hold an all church yard sale - so start cleaning out your closets, cabinets, basements and attics.   We will also have a BBQ and a car wash. So, lots of opportunities to get involved. Of course, there will be upfront costs to prepare for such an event. If you would like to help donate time, food, "seed money", etc., please see anyone on the planning committee. We will be having a kick-off and "sign-up" sheet on Palm Sunday. Start thinking about what you'd like to do to help and get involved in the FUN.  Please start saving your plastic and paper bags!