Angel Tree-Every one of the 25 names from our Angel Tree was claimed! We have received some monetary donations that we will use to cover gift requests. Remember to bring your gifts/donations to the church on or before December 6. Service Committee members will be in Fellowship Hall on Sunday, December 6 from 11am until 1pm.
The Good Shepherd Virtual Choir is featured on the SWPA Synod website! Deacon Beth Caywood writes in her article “What About Christmas Music?” about the process of making music virtually. She draws on an interview with Pastor Bob, whom she calls “our resident expert” on virtual choirs, noting that he has “explored, experimented with, and perfected many tools necessary to provide beautiful music online.”
Congratulations to the musicians of The Good Shepherd for being at the cutting edge of musicmaking in our synod!
The Fellowship Hall will be open again this Sunday, December 6, from 11:00 to 1:00 for pick up and drop off:
This Christmas, we invite you to sing with us!
It’s everyone’s favorite moment – when the lights go down low, we light candles one by one, and we sing together, “Silent night! Holy night!” It might be the most beautiful three minutes of the entire year.
We may not be able to sing together in person this year, but through the power of technology, our worship team is planning to bring all the families of our church together for one verse of this beloved hymn.
It’s easy to join us! Just play back our karaoke-style video below for the words and piano, and record your family using any video camera. When you’ve got the perfect take, you can send it directly to us by clicking this link.
Don’t worry at all about how you sound – when we all sing together, everyone sounds great!
And be sure to have some fun with this! Let your video reflect your personality. Choose clothes and lighting and props and a setting that say something about who you are and what Christmas means to you.
We’ll premiere the video at worship on Christmas Eve, and will share it on our YouTube channel, too.
Ready to go? Here’s the video!
The Fellowship Hall is open today until 2:30 for you to pick up and drop off the following:
Pick up your FREE Advent wreath kit in the Fellowship Hall – one per household.
Advent is a very special season in the church year. It is a time of preparation and anticipation for the coming of Christ both in the past in His incarnation as the baby Jesus, but also in the future with His promised second coming as Christ Triumphant. Furthermore, Advent is a time to focus on His present coming to us in the Word and Sacraments.
The Advent Kit included here will provide you with a way to experience this beautiful season of light in your own home. The ritual of lighting a new candle each week and sharing God’s word of promise and hope in our Savior, Jesus Christ may make the darker days seem brighter!
The Advent Kit includes 4 Candles, Instructions for Creating your own Wreath and Liturgy to use each week when lighting your candle(s).
From our partners at the Southwestern Pennsylvania Synod of the ELCA:
This year, as we have had to transform our worship, our gatherings, our understanding of church, the one thing that congregations continued to do exceedingly well was minister to one another and to the communities around them.
Your gifts to your congregation, to partner ministries, and to Mission Support have saved and improved lives across the globe.
Pass On the Gratitude
All the blessings we’ve shared happen because we each commit to participating in the Church’s call together. Please share the heartfelt thanks of all within our synod with your congregation, council, and lay leaders for their contributions to Mission Support.
We are still planning to have the Angel Tree! We have 25 names this year. In communicating with the Director of The Northside Common Ministry, the suggestion was made to provide gift cards this year. Target, Amazon, and Dollar General are all stores accessible by most families in the program. If you wish to donate money, the Service Committee will purchase the gift card for you. If you are donating money, bring the donation to the church in an envelope labeled Service Committee/Angel Tree. You can come to the church to select a name from the tree or call the church office, 412-372-2934, to get a name. Please have your donation to the church by Sunday, December 6. The church will be open on Sunday, November 22 from 11am to 1pm, Monday, November 23 from 10am to 2:30pm and 5pm to 7pm, and Tuesday, November 24 from 10am to 2:30pm for drop-off of your donation or pick-up of a name from the Angel Tree. Again, we Thank You!
In keeping with our COVID-19 policy, in person events at The Good Shepherd have been suspended as of Friday, November 13, due to a surge in cases in Allegheny County.
We will continue to offer worship online each Sunday at 10:30. It’s easy to join us!
Please visit our COVID-19 Information Center for more information and current status updates.
Remember that we are the Church together – nothing can separate us from Christ’s love for us, the love that makes us family. Stay safe out there!