The Church of the Good Shepherd
eShepherd's Staff
New & Noteworthy 
   April 11, 2014      
Bell Tower
Join us for Palm Sunday! 

 

7:45, 9:15, and 11:15 am - Nave Services

*We invite the 9:15 am congregation to begin our worship at the outdoor altar*

10:40 am - Reception in the Parish Hall

 

All Youth and Adult Classes Meet

"The Passion Narrative" Dr. Steve Goldman leads hi class this week to prepare us for Holy Week and Easter. (10:40 am, Rm 6, LL)


Rector Reflects on the Nats

No getting around being a Braves fan, but it was painful for me to watch third baseman Ryan Zimmerman lob the ball way over the first baseman's head.  The MRI revealed no new shoulder injury leaving us wondering - "Is this it for him?"  It is truly sad to see him wear out.  Does it help to recall Flannery O'Conner, "I believe in the resurrection of the body.  I also believe in it before it gets that way!" Life does not end; it changes over and over. We do not know what that may mean for anyone.  But take God's word for it - God makes all things new, ready or not. 

Peace, 

Larry 

Rector's Easter Read 
 Barbara Brown Taylor has put out another insightful book, this one called Learning to Walk in the Dark.  She continues her intelligent discussions of our spirituality and the faith that sees when life blinds us.
 

Holy Week Services

  • April 13th, Palm Sunday- 7:45 am (No Music),  9:15 am & 11:15 am
  • April 14-16th - 7:30 pm Weeknight services
  • April 17th - 7:30 pm Maundy Thursday Commemoration of Lord's Supper & Stripping of the Altar      
  • April 18th, Good Friday - Three Sacred Hours (45 min services held at  12 noon, 1 pm & 2 pm), Children's Good Friday Retreat 12-1 pm &  the Good Friday Office with Choir at 7:30 pm
  • April 19th -  Holy Saturday Liturgy (8 am)

Easter Services

  • April 19th - 7:30 pm The Great Easter Vigil (with Champagne Reception)
  • April 20th  - 7:30 am (with music), 9 am and 11 am, Easter Egg Hunt follows the 9 am Service.
Worship and Parish Notes

Easter Cross 3  

God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing.   

C. S. Lewis

 

Music During Holy Week There are numerous opportunities to hear great music during Holy Week.  The choirs, bells, and brass are rehearsing in preparation for all of these special services.  

  • On Palm Sunday the Brass Ensemble will lead parishioners into church after the opening Liturgy of the Palms.  Special music during the service includes a lovely setting of O Vos Omnes by Pablo Casals presented by the Senior Choir, and a communion motet based on Psalm 13 by the youth choirs (Lightshine and Junior Choir).  
  • On Maundy Thursday a solo quartet will sing the poignant Tantum Ergo by Franz Schubert during the stripping of the altar.  
  • The Good Friday services will include featured music  from the St. John Passion by J. S. Bach during the second hour beginning at 1:00.  
  • The Good Friday evening service will include Vittoria's famous setting of The Reproaches which have been sung for many centuries during the Veneration of the Cross.  
  • The Easter Vigil will include another offering by the youth choirs, along with cantor Debbie King's presentation of The Exsultet and flute soloist Susan Todenhoft. 
  • On Easter Sunday, the brass will accompany the hymns, bells will play a prelude, and the choirs will present special Easter music including music by Stanford, Wood, Albrecht, and the ever popular Hallelujah Chorus by Handel.   

Please plan to join us for some or all of these services as we take a musical journey through Holy Week.

 

If you have never been to the Easter Vigil service on Saturday night, 7:30 pm, then discover it for yourself.  We begin in darkness, read the stories of salvation in scripture, before the lights come on and we declare, "Alleluia, Christ is Risen!" 

 

No Stack Parking for Easter! Enter and leave from either direction.
 

Love Finds a Way Update

Have you checked on your pledge for Love Finds a Way?  Please check on your pledge and thank you for your support because it funds salaries for employees.
Be a Green Shepherd

Need a ground cover for a shady spot? Try golden ragwort, which will quickly cover any area that will not support grass. Golden ragwort is a low-growing leafy plant with lovely yellow flowers in the spring. It does not get more than a few inches high and holds it's bloom for a long time. It can spread aggressively, but it is beneficial to wildlife, which the old standbys, ivy and vinca, are not. Linn Osborn has plenty of ragwort to go around.  If interested, email [email protected]. 

Good News at Good Shepherd
Updates on Community and Stewardship Events
A Not So High Tea Update
 
We had a nice tea welcoming Molly Connelly who talked about her book Sisters Between: A Novel of the Beguines. If there are other authors in the church, please email 
[email protected] and join us!
Ministry Opportunities

Rebuilding Together Desperately Needs Your Help! So far we have only about 10 volunteers to help with this project, but we need 20 to 25. The Church of the Good Shepherd will participate again in this year's National Rebuilding Day through the Rebuilding Together (RT) organization on April 26.  Under the leadership of Scott Burk and Kate Lowe, a COGS team will repair the home of a needy family in Springfield. This church has also made a donation of $3,000 to RT for materials to support the program throughout Fairfax county. The work is fairly light e.g.  paint inside, repair weather stripping, repair fence, caulk bathrooms, do light electrical work, yard clean up, and a couple of folks to take an old washer and fridge to the dump. Please join this worthy COGS project which has been on going for many years and volunteers are very much needed. Please contact Scott Burke to help at [email protected] or Tel 703 988 9841

 

Still Looking for two hostesses for the Great Vigil Reception, 4/19, 7:30 pm.  Please email Rhonda if you can help!
Buildings and Grounds Update

HVAC repair work has progressed well this week and by the time you read this all systems should be up and operating.  We've run into no unanticipated problems during the whole project.  This week was spent installing all the new ducting for the Parish Hall and Atrium units.  The new ducting was fabricated off-site and hauled up to the roof in sections on Monday and Tuesday.  Unlike the older ducting, this is a much stronger, more durable commercial grade quality ducting and it should provide us many more years of service than our previous installation.  During the teardown last week, technicians found several of the old

 duct's airflows more than 50% blocked by pieces of insulation and metal that had become separated internally.  The best news was that no water leaked into the kitchen ceiling during this past Monday's rain storm, so our roof repairs seem to have worked! 

Contact Information
The editor, Alyssa Pierce Blevins,  may be reached at [email protected]
  
Submissions must be received by Wednesday at 5 pm. 
Visit
Good Shepherd on the web at
Episcopal Shield

          good-shepherd.net  

 
Church of the
Good Shepherd
                9350 Braddock Rd. 
                    Burke VA 22015
                     703-323-5400    
Save the Date!
April 13-20      
See the Holy Week and Easter dates above

Sun, 4/27
7:45 am, 9:15 am (Confirmation, Reception, Reaffirmation) 11:15 am
Easter Flower Donations

The Easter Flowers Deadline is Here! Dedication and memorials for the Easter bulletin are due by April 13th with a $25 suggested donation for Easter flowers (checks made payable to "Church of the Good Shepherd" noting "Easter Flowers" in the memo field). Complete the attached form and return it with payment. Or use the envelopes found in the pews and place it in the alms basin or in the basket below the Easter Flowers poster in the Narthex. Funds collected enable our Easter floral decorations and offset expenses for altar flowers throughout the year. 

Thank you many times over! 
"Stir us up to good works"

For Jennifer Gotten and Grace Hall for their lovely solos at the 9:15 service last Sunday

For Carleen Dixon Webb for donating the Holy Week Banner,

 

For Tom Appich and Craig Herberg installing the new parish computers,

 

For Jim Weber taking the purple sash down for funerals and then raising it for Lenten Services,

 

For Bob Hall's AV ministry for so many groups and events,  

 
For last week's Leewood Ministry Team: Elvira Beracochea, Sharon Brown and musician Brian Walsh,
 
For parishioners for donating mulch purchased through the Boy Scouts 

 

Help us recognize others for their good works! Email your suggestions to the Rector. 

Follow the Rector's
Daily Reflections
at stoneshout.blogspot.com
Be the Prayers of the People 

 _______________________

For those who have lost loved ones,

 

For the victims of the school stabbing in Pennsylvania

 

For those serving in Afghanistan:   1Lt. Jack Curtis,

 

For peace in Crimea and the Ukraine and throughout the Middle East,

 

For the sick:  Sue Chamberlain, Jennifer Durant, Mike Browning, Jim Brock,

 
For those who have died: John Ellis, (Dan Ellis' father),
 
 
For the unemployed and  for those who will pass this day without food or shelter. 
 
For all on our prayer list linked here, we offer these prayers.
Did you know? 

Randi Hicks Rowe delivered the 7:45 and 11:15 am sermons last week, her first at Good Shepherd as she prepares for ordination.

 

Our hospital visitation team includes the Rector, Chaplains Ted Simpson and Randi Hicks Rowe (both for Fairfax) and Carol Lawton Johnston and Fr. Phil Johnston. 

 

The Rev. Dr. Anne Gavin Ritchie returns as guest preacher for Mother's Day, Sunday, May 11th at 9:15 am. 

 
Congratulations to our Daughters of the King Chapter for hosting the Diocesan DOK Assembly last Saturday.
 
"Send us out to do the work you have given us to do."
Our Parish Mission and Vision 
The Church of the Good Shepherd is a Christ-centered community sharing God's love. We strive to Strengthen Faith, Build Community, Serve Others.