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Announcements COVID-19

Worship at the Gazebo returns May 9

We are excited to announce that Worship at the Gazebo will return for a second summer beginning Mother’s Day, May 9. Please join us at 10:30 for worship with Holy Communion!

There are three convenient ways to join us:

  1. Bring your favorite lawn chair or blanket and find a comfortable spot in the lawn. (We have folding chairs you can use, too.)
  2. Park in one of the spaces conveniently located by the gazebo and remain in your car.
  3. Catch us online, just as always.

In the event of inclement weather, we’ll announce on our website that services have been moved indoors. According to our current (revised) COVID-19 policy, those who have been fully vaccinated are able to join us in the sanctuary these Sundays. (This means that two weeks must have passed since your final dose of the vaccine. Please contact the church office to let us know your vaccination date[s].)

No matter whether we’re indoors or outdoors, we’ll continue to take precautions to keep everyone safe – please bring your mask and keep those respectful six feet of distance from others outside your immediate household.

We are excited to return to our beautiful gazebo this summer, and even more excited to worship and commune with you in person! If you are able to join us, we can’t wait to see you at the gazebo May 9.

And if the time isn’t right for you just yet, we completely understand – we’ll be sure to wave at the camera to let you know you matter to us, too.

We’ll see you online only this Sunday, May 2… and online or at the gazebo next Sunday, May 9!

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Announcements

April Financial Update

Our Financial Secretary, Steve Smith, provides monthly reports to the Congregation Council – contents of which were previously made available through weekly bulletins, hard copies of reports in the hallway stand in the church as well as hard copies of the Council Meeting minutes. In the absence of that opportunity for sharing, we will be posting information on the website. The spreadsheet below provides the actual financial information so far this year. Prior years’ information was available in the Annual Report that you would have received in January.

 Mar-21Year to Date
Total Contributions and
Income for Budgeted Items
 $17,749 $34,897
Expenses($18,880) $(55,350)
Actual Deficit($1,132)($20,453)
Transfer from Keeping God’s House $2,766 $ 9,010
Adjusted Deficit/Surplus$ 1,634($11,443)

Total Contributions and Income for Budgeted Items during March were improved as compared with the first two months of the year as well as with any individual month in 2020. We are hopeful that with the Stewardship Campaign and the continued focus on supporting Good Shepherd’s ministries, this favorable trend will continue. We continued to receive contributions “Keeping God’s House” as well. This fund can be used for facility improvements and has, over the last few years, been used to offset utility/maintenance expenses during the month. Expenditures in the month of March were fairly normal with higher expenses for snow removal and natural gas than will be anticipated with the onset of spring. In this chart, “Operating Deficit” is meant to be the deficit before transferring money from Keeping God’s House to cover utility and other maintenance type expenses. “Recorded” deficit is the deficit after use of the Keeping God’s House fund for those specific expenses.

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Announcements

Support the Shelter Meal

We want to remind you that the monthly Shelter Meal in support of North Side Common Ministries continues!  We usually have enough signed up to make Sloppy Joes but new cooks are always welcomed.  We could use monetary donations to help with the cost of the side dishes, desserts, beverages and paper products. Use your green envelope, or a plain one, labeled Service Committee-Shelter Meal.

Again many thanks to Harry McCollum for continuing to deliver the meal and clothing donations to the North Side. Thank you to you all who continue to support this ministry.

– Your Service Committee

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Announcements

Ongoing Medical Equipment Collection

As a result of the great response we had with our last collection of new and used medical equipment and new supplies, our collection will continue. Spread the word to family and friends that we are a collection site, please! Once we have collected enough items, Brother’s Brother Foundation will be scheduled for a pick-up. Please call the church office at 412-372-2934 to schedule a time for drop-off. And please keep in mind, a small collection of items is kept at the church for use: wheel chairs, walkers, canes. Thank you for keeping this mission alive!

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Announcements

Easter Flowers

Thank you to the following who donated flowers to beautify our worship space this Easter! Please stop by the church at your convenience to pick up your flowers – give us a call so we can make sure someone’s there to help you out.

  • Donna & Charley Barr – in memory of daughter Beth Lynn
  • The Pogue Family – in honor of our risen Lord
  • Laura Mauser – in honor of Dick & Pat Almes
  • Rich Curry – in memory of Mary Lou
  • Del Hauer – in memory of Shorty Burkett
  • Del Hauer – in memory of Frank Mellon
  • Mary Duggan – in memory of loved ones
  • Bill & Fran Lewis – in honor of loved ones
  • Jeanne Lewis – in honor of parents
  • Dick McClain and sons Ted, Bill, Dan and Jon – in memory of Connie McClain
  • Amy Imblum
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Announcements

All About Stewardship

Our 2021 stewardship campaign is off to a great start! We’ve rolled out a special page at www.goodshepherdlife.org/stewardship to be your one-stop source for helpful information, videos and links about the campaign. Check it out!

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Announcements

Please Note: Update to Easter Worship Plan

As one may have expected, we will need to make some adjustments to our worship plans for Sunday, April 4th, Easter Sunday.  We had previously announced that we intended to hold two worship services on Easter Sunday in the sanctuary, for those who are fully vaccinated and for a small number of those not fully vaccinated.  However, in light of the recent COVID trends in Allegheny County and the fact that we have moved into the red “very high risk” category, the Council has had to revisit our previously announced plan.  Our current COVID Policy states that in the event Allegheny County is in the red category, all in-person events will be suspended.  However, due to the recency of this change in status for the County and the in light of the number of people in our congregation who are already fully vaccinated, the Council has opted to make the following exception to the COVID Policy for Easter Sunday only and announce the following changes to the Easter worship opportunities:

  • One Worship Service including Holy Communion will be held at 10:30 am for anyone who is fully vaccinated*.
  • The Worship Service will be live streamed for all others on You Tube and via Zoom at 10:30 am and will be posted at goodshepherdlife.org
  • Parking Lot Communion from 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm- Holy Communion will be made available in the Good Shepherd parking lot for anyone who is interested – between the hours of noon and 2:00pm.  COVID vaccinations are not required to participate in parking lot communion.  We will continue to observe good practices of mask-wearing, social distancing and hand sanitizing in the distribution and receiving of Holy Communion.

Anyone who is fully vaccinated and interested in attending the 10:30 Worship Service on Easter Sunday, in person, will still need to wear face masks and observe appropriate social distancing.   Pews will be marked to aid in the seating with distance.  Entrance to the sanctuary will be from the narthex and exit will be out of the door near the library.  Windows on both sides will be open to provide safer air flow. 

Pre-registration is required to attend the worship service in person.  In order to register, please contact Donna Wenger in the church office either by phone or via email – no later than 3:00pm on Thursday, April 1, 2021.  You will need to provide information regarding the number of people in your party and the information about the dates that each in your party received vaccination(s).

We are sorry that we’ve needed to make a change to our original plan but we believe this is the most appropriate response in light of the current trends.  We are continuing to act with caution and care for our members and our community in establishing precautions to ensure safety for all.  The Council is also preparing to revisit the current policy on COVID protocols as it relates to worship participation and the current positive trending in vaccination statistics to determine the appropriate way forward for worshipping in the future.

* Fully vaccinated – is defined as being 2 weeks after having received the \second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines or 1 dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

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Announcements

Financial News

Our Financial Secretary, Steve Smith, provides monthly reports to the Congregation Council – contents of which were previously made available through weekly bulletins and hard copies of the Council Meeting minutes. In the absence of that opportunity for sharing, we will be posting information on the website. The spreadsheet below provides the actual financial information so far this year. Prior years’ information was available in the Annual Report that you would have received in January.

2021 Financial UpdateJanuaryFebruaryYear-to-Date
Total Contributions and Income for Budgeted Items$4,670$12,478$17,148
Expenditures($18,107)($18,363)($36,470)
Operating Deficit($13,436)($5,885)($19,321)
Transfer from Keeping God’s House$2,980$3,264$6,244
Recorded Deficit($10,456)($2,261)($13,077)

The contributions for January 2021 were down significantly from any other months in years’ past. There was an improvement in February, however it was noted that there were two “one time” donations that affected contributions that are not expected to be recurring. We are hopeful that with some things in the economy opening up and with the upcoming Stewardship Campaign, that regular giving will return to more normal levels and even improved for the balance of the year. Expenditures were fairly typical for winter months. It is worth noting that we continue to receive collections in “Keeping God’s House”. This fund can be used for facility improvements and has, over the last few years, been used to offset utility/maintenance expenses during the month. In this chart, “Operating Deficit” is meant to be the deficit before transferring money from Keeping God’s House to cover utility and other maintenance type expenses. “Recorded” deficit is the deficit after use of the Keeping God’s House fund for those specific expenses.

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Announcements

Holy Week and Easter schedule

We are pleased to announce the following services to make your Holy Week and Easter a profound and moving experience this year:

Palm Sunday

  • Worship with us online using Zoom or YouTube!
  • Special “Readers Theatre” presentation of the Passion Gospel by members of The Good Shepherd.
  • Special music by the church musicians.

Holy Week

Maundy Thursday

  • A special service will be offered on our YouTube channel – you can view at any time at your convenience.
  • Gather a some water and a towel before so you can participate in the washing portion of the service.

Good Friday

  • The rostered leaders of the Synod Council have prepared a service of readings and preaching based on the Passion According to John. Pastor Bob will read the seven readings from scripture.
  • We’ll view the service together at 7:00 pm using our regular Zoom link. Or you can view the service any time on the Synod’s YouTube channel.

Easter

Easter Sunday

Plans have changed…

Please note that due to a recent surge in COVID-19 cases in our county, we have revised this plan since it was first posted.

  • We are planning for two services: 9:00 and 10:30.
  • We are planning a single service at 10:30.
  • If you have been fully vaccinated (two weeks have passed since your final dose), you may attend in person – please register with the office.
  • If you have not been fully vaccinated, you may request to attend – up to 25 at each service will be permitted on a first-come, first-served basis.
  • The service will be livestreamed as always using our normal Zoom and YouTube links for any who are unable to join us in person.
  • Lots of special music has been prepared by our musicians!
  • Holy Communion will be offered in the sanctuary for those who can attend the service in person, and to everyone in a drive-through distribution from noon to 2:00 in the church parking lot.
  • Please note that case numbers in Allegheny County are currently rising. It is possible that they could reach levels where our COVID-19 policy no longer permits in-person gatherings indoors. If that occurs, we will be in touch with anyone who has registered, and will announce alternative plans.

The Second Sunday of Easter

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Announcements

Paper? Email? Both? How to get our newsletter

The Shepherd’s Staff is the newsletter of The Good Shepherd Lutheran Church. We publish two different editions of the newsletter – an online version that comes in your email, and a printed edition that is mailed out. We understand this might be a little confusing, so let us lay out the details:

The Shepherd’s Staff – Digital Edition

  • Sent to all members and friends of the congregation with email addresses on file.
  • Contains a summary of the news and announcements on our website in the last week, as well as helpful links like our online calendar and the Sunday worship instructions.
  • Emailed early every Tuesday morning.
  • Free for us to send.

The Shepherd’s Staff – Print Edition

  • Sent to all members and friends of the congregation who do not have an email address on file, or who have requested a print copy.
  • Contains a summary of the news and announcements on our website in the last month, as well as a copy of the next month’s calendar.
  • Mailed via USPS the last week of the month.
  • Costs a little bit to print and mail, but you’re worth it to us!

All of the content in The Shepherd’s Staff is available on our website – just choose “The Latest” or “Calendar” from our menu.

If you’d like to change how you receive The Shepherd’s Staff, just let the office staff know.