Good Shepherd Update, Thursday May 20th, 2010

Dear Good Shepherd, 

Good morning. Hope all is well. I am burning through some of the last bits of makeup work after our vacation and don’t yet feel the need to run away screaming. The new sign is up finally, which means we no longer look as if we’re just kind of worshiping here for the moment but that we are here, God willing, permanently. We’re still waiting for a clear plexiglass vandal cover but at least now people will drive by on Conklin and not miss the fact that there is a church here. Drive by yourself if you get a chance before Sunday and take a look. This Sunday is Pentecost which you can read about below. Be sure to wear red of some kind to represent the fire of the Holy Spirit.

Pentecost: . This Sunday is Pentecost Sunday. Every year at Pentecost the Church sets aside the day to celebrate and remember the coming of the Holy Spirit. When Jesus ascended to the right hand of the Father, he sent the Holy Spirit to live with and in his people. You can read about the coming of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2. The presence of the Holy Spirit is the reason the Church is called one, “holy”, catholic, and apostolic church. The holiness of the Church is not our holiness but the holiness that comes by virtue of the fact that the Holy Spirit indwells the body of Christ, the Church, and works to sanctify her members.

The Holy Spirit is a “who”, the third Person of the Trinity, not a “what”. He is not a ghost or a sprite or a fairy. He is God, fully God, and he has come to dwell with the Church and in the heart of every believer. The Holy Spirit cleanses us from sin by convicting us, leading us to repent, and then empowering us to overcome temptation. He does this primarily through scripture as it is read, studied, and proclaimed faithfully in the church but also through Communion, through fellowship with other believers, and through prayer. By all these and through all of these, the Holy Spirit draws us closer to the Father through the Son; purifying, cleansing, and pouring divine love, the love of Christ, into our hearts, minds, and souls so that we begin to love God and, over time, to love and desire what God loves and desires.

The Holy Spirit also binds us to one another. He gives us the power to forgive, to let go of grudges, to recognize when we have wronged someone else, to have compassion for those who hurt and to rejoice with those who rejoice. He helps us not to envy or to be selfish. Because the Holy Spirit lives in every believer and binds us together as one spiritual body, it is true to say that the connection between believers is deeper, stronger, and more lasting than even family relationships.

Because the Holy Spirit is God, he never contradicts the Word of God. Sometimes Christians abuse the Holy Spirit by claiming that he gives them license to do things the scriptures clearly forbid. Dr. RC Sproul recounts an experience of a believing woman who was unhappily married to a non-Christian husband. She came to Dr. Sproul because she wanted a divorce. “I prayed about it and I just know the Holy Spirit is calling me out of this marriage.” she said. Dr. Sproul showed her some of the many scriptural passages that forbid divorce apart from the extreme cases of abandonment or adultery and concluded that the voice that she heard in her heart could not be that of the Holy Spirit. The woman was upset. “But I prayed about it and the Lord gave me peace” she said. She may have, indeed, felt peace but it was not the peace of the Spirit.

The Holy Spirit never guides us away from obedience to the Word of God but always toward greater obedience and faithfulness. This is why it is so important to test your desires and directions in light of the scriptures. The Holy Spirit always and everywhere illumines and affirms the written word of God. He never contradicts or conflicts it because to do so would be to contradict himself. So the best and surest way to hear what the Spirit is saying to you and to the church, is to read the bible. 

New Members/Interested Members Class: Turnout was down last Saturday for the new member/interested member class and we went over some important material about the nature of Anglicanism that people have been asking about so I will be happy to schedule a makeup class sometime in the next week or two. I’ll send out more information. This Saturday we’ll talk more about what makes Good Shepherd tick. We’ll discuss the mission and purpose of the church, the way people can get involved and participate in that mission and the leadership structure. Looking forward to seeing you all there again. The class is not just for new members but for anyone interested in Good Shepherd. The class starts at 2pm on Saturday in the parish hall and generally lasts 1 hour.

Systematic Theology: Systematic Theology will meet this Saturday at 3:30pm in the parish hall. We had a great discussion last week about the Fall and didn’t get as far as I thought we would so we’ll hopefully make up some ground this Saturday and then, next Saturday, move to a discussion of Regeneration. That will round out this semester. We’ll be breaking for the summer.

Good Shepherd Summer Festival: Live music, free ice cream, free medical examinations, a car show, pony rides, clowns, and much more at this year’s Summer Festival at Good Shepherd. The festival is a great opportunity to meet and form relationships with our neighbors and the community in general. More information will be coming soon but for now, be sure to mark your calendars. The Festival will be held on Saturday, June 5th

A Note about specific donations: I thank God for your generosity in giving. Over the last year we have basically doubled the church income when compared to past years which has enabled us not only to take care of our own needs but to contribute to foreign missions, help other ministries, help people who are suffering in the aftermath of disaster, and to more effectively proclaim the gospel here in Binghamton. Generosity is a true sign of faithfulness to the call to follow Jesus Christ and a sign that the gospel is bearing fruit.

Last night during the vestry meeting we noticed that a fair number of people are giving to specific ministries in the church: the youth ministry, the music ministry, altar guild etc… This certainly helps those ministries but it does create a problem for the church as a whole. If, for example, we have 4000 dollars given on Sunday morning and 2000 is specifically given for specific ministries, then the vestry really only has 2000 dollars to use for bills, expenses, maintenance, and other budgeted expenses.

The vestry and I agree that it would be a great help and service if—with the exception of specific calls for donations for special funds—like the elevator, capital campaign, Haiti—pledges and offerings not be specifically directed to any one ministry. This will enable the vestry to use all the resources God provides in their decision-making and planning.

We elect our vestry members because we trust them to steward the resources of the church in a way that will be faithful to Christ and serve to build up the congregation. The men and women presently serving on the vestry are faithful to their call and responsibility so I pray and I have great confidence that we will do all that we can to help them in their task. Thank you.

Parish Picnic: The Annual Good Shepherd picnic will take place on Sunday, June 20th, 2010 from 11am to 2pm at Nathaniel Cole Park (see directions here). Everyone is welcome. The picnic will begin with an outdoor worship service before lunch. There will be an 8am service at the church as usual.

Arianna Margarite Leary the daughter of William Leary (Dolly Shaller’s son) and his wife Kim was born on Sunday May 16th at 1:36pm eastern (7:36am in Hawaii). She is 7.83lbs and both mother and daughter are very healthy. Please be sure to congratulate Dolly and her family. What a great blessing children are!

AMBA blood screening will occur at our church on Saturday June 5th from 6AM-10AM (before our Health Fair and Ice Cream Social) IF 50 people make an appointment.  Otherwise it will be canceled.  This is a full blood screening which costs only $35.  To make an appointment call 1-800-234-888 Monday-Friday 8:30AM-5PM.  You should provide your physician’s name and address at the time of the call.  Please pass this information on to those who have no health insurance, but are interested in being screened in this way.  There are also fliers in the Parish Hall which you are encouraged to post.

Clothes for the Needy: A young woman of our neighborhood has requested clothes.  She is pregnant, new to our country, and in need.  If you have tops (size large) or skirts. slacks, or dresses (size 16) which you wish to donate, please see Carmen or Anne and drop them off at the church.  Thanks!

Meals for the Deans (from Anne): I meant, on Sunday, to make an announcement but flaked out utterly, so here it is a few days late.

Carolyn Dean is going in for back surgery this morning and will be basically out of commission for 6 to 8 weeks. I would love it if we could provide the Dean family a few meals a week to help them out over this time. Carolyn won’t be able to bend, lift or do anything that makes cooking easy or possible. If someone has extra time and could provide something for the family this evening, that would be Awesome. And then if someone else could make or provide something for Friday that would also be wonderful.

I WILL have a sign up Sunday for the next few weeks. I look forward to Good Shepherd being able to serve and minister to the Deans in this rough time and to hearing from all of you

Thursday Night Bible Study: There will be Thursday night bible study tonight after the Shepherd’s Bowl at 6:30pm. We are in John 7. All are invited.

Women’s Bible Study will meet this Saturday at 10am in the parish hall. This study is led by Carmen Swoffer Penna and they are currently discussing the book of Isaiah. It’s a great book and all women and guests are invited to join in.

Men’s Breakfast and Bible Study: The Men’s Bible Study meets at 6:30am every Friday morning for breakfast and discussion. We are presently working our way through 2nd Samuel. Matt Kennedy is scheduled to cook but is hoping for a replacement.

Tuesday Morning Bible Study. This is Good Shepherd’s first bible study. I started it 8 years ago and all the other bible studies grew out of it. Presently this study is led by Chris Vail. It meets every Tuesday morning at 9:00am in the parish hall. A basic but comprehensive verse by verse study of the scriptures. Presently this group is working through Acts in an effort to piece together Paul’s missionary journeys before turning to his Letter to the Romans. Ultimately, this group will work through all of the New Testament epistles and letters.  All are welcome!

First Light Bible Study: Meets every Tuesday evening beginning at 6:30pm. The First Light bible study is designed for intermediate and advanced students of scripture. The group takes the time necessary to delve as deeply as possible into the text, learning the art and science of biblical exegeisis. Ife Ojetayo leads the group which is currently working its through Ephesians. All are welcome.

Worship Team schedule: Team Romans is scheduled for this week. Chris Jones is the captain.

Christians and Suffering: Here is a fantastic sermon by John Piper on the topic of suffering. Just excellent. Make the time to listen or read here. It’s really good.

Sermon: Chris Jones usually records the sermons at Good Shepherd but he was out of town last Sunday and took the camera. So you can read Anne’s sermon from last Sunday here, but there will be no video until next week record last week’s sermon. 

Daily Podcasts I am planning at some point next week to start the daily podcasts again. I’ll send out an email. Meanwhile you can listen to the previous podcasts here. 

Provincial Synod: From June 7 - 11: Good Shepherd’s denomination, the Anglican Church in North America will hold its second Provincial Council and College of Bishops Meeting. Over 100 Bishops, delegates and laity will attend from all over the U.S. and Canada will attend. The Synod will be held at the home church of our own diocese, the Anglican Diocese in New England, which is headquartered in Massachusetts. I have been ordered to be there for the installation ceremony of our bishop as a bishop in the province on the tenth and two reps from our vestry have been asked to be there as well. But you are all invited. I’ll update you on this as the time nears.

Good Shepherd in the News: Good Shepherd was featured in a nationally syndicated news magazine “One News Now”. The story is about our being sued and the sale of our former building to the Islamic Awareness Center. You can read it all and watch a video here. Or you can watch it below

Speaking of the Episcopal Church: If you have been following the news then you may know that our former denomination, sadly, has continued to walk away from the truth and to lead people struggling with questions about sexuality away from Christ. Mary Glasspool, a non-celibate lesbian, was consecrated bishop in the Diocese of Los Angeles last Saturday. Please pray for the repentance and restoration of the Episcopal Church.

Adult Christian Education: As a lead up to confirmation classes and to help our new members understand Anglicanism, we have begun a new series on the 39 Articles of Religion. The 39 Articles is the Anglican confession of faith. They are very broad and basic and cover a good deal of Christian doctrine so they are a good platform for reviewing and discussing some basic Christian beliefs for anyone who needs a refresher.

Last Sunday we began by setting the historical context for the articles and now we are in the middle of a discussion of some of theological issues that lie at the heart of the articles. I hope you will participate and learn more about the foundations of Anglicanism.

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