T h e G o o d N e w s
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Dear People of Good Shepherd –
I’m reading a book on Tai Chi. Don’t worry, I’m not
changing my Faith and going Eastern (although all of us Christians would be well
served by practicing many of the disciplines from the East). No, I’m studying
Tai Chi because I want to have better strength and balance.
As a clergyman I am constantly reminded how dangerous our
falls can be. Just think about some of your fellow parishioners or friends. They
get a bit older and gradually become less active. They are losing strength and
agility but they don’t know it yet – it’s sneaking up on them. Then one
day they stub a toe, slip, fall, do the big face plant and break something.
Recovery is always slow and complicated leading to further lose of strength,
agility, and vitality. The slide has begun. Inactivity leads to some other
sickness and so the story goes. So I’m going to study Tai Chi
and hope that I can share it with some of you. We all need more strength,
vitality and balance – for our physical well being, but also,
(you guessed it) for our Spirits as well.
As we move from our Annual Meeting we must refocus
ourselves and take up anew the challenge to become disciples of Jesus, modeling
our lives after His. And people, Jesus was balanced! He lived out his life in three relationships: UP –with
his Father; IN – with his followers; OUT – with the hurting world around
him. We need to have the same balance to our relationships in order to
have fruitfulness in our ministries, sincere care for one another, and a depth
in our personal walk with God.
Jesus Got Up.
He prayed a lot. Prayer was as fundamental an element in the life of Jesus
as breathing. He inhaled his Father’s presence so he could exhale his
Father’s will. Let each of us do the same and begin this year with a renewed
focus on connecting to God in prayer. As we make a point of praying,
studying God’s Word and entering fully into Worship – our UP relationship
with The Lord – we will find a new fruitfulness to all of our efforts.
Jesus Invited Others In Jesus constantly invited others into
relationship with him. Let’s face it; this is sometimes hard for us.
It’s easier to stay with people we know and are comfortable with. So we have
to be intentional about getting to know each other better. Remember, Jesus was
not a “karma chameleon” he did not compromise himself or his understanding
of his Father, but he did invite everyone to “come and see”. This year I
want us to work at finding new and varied ways to get closer with one another.
Jesus Reached Out He never lost sight of his Father’s vision to reach out
to a dark and dying world. Certainly, the Lord lived out his life in the
presence of his followers, but he also walked among the crowds – teaching and
healing, feeding and comforting. Jesus did not wait for people to come to him.
He went to them and ministered to them at their point of need. I hope to be more
direct in my outreach this year and I hope you are too. If we put our heads
together I’m sure we can find something we can really roll up our sleeves on
and work together to accomplish.
When I was a boy I had a large stallion pony I rode bare
back because of a sore he had from the girth. That pony, Patches, loved to get
me bouncing on his back with his choppy trot, drop his head, stop abruptly, and
send me flying! One day I was so frustrated that I was going to simply quit! At
this point my extra grandfather, Mr. Jack, explained to me that the best riders are the ones who fall off the
most. He gave me the courage to try again and that day I fell
off 43 times. Boy was I getting good!
All of us, even us dear church folk, get our relationships
out of balance from time to time. When this happens and we fall, we can hurt
ourselves and each other. But, we can also learn better balance from our falls -
provided we get back on the horse and try again. I believe that 2008 can be
really great at Good Shepherd if we all work at balancing our relationships: UP
with the Father, IN toward one another and OUT to a hurting and needy world.
Let’s join together and see what God can make of us!
Fr. Jack+
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Lunch Bunch!
Mark your Calendars for another great year of
once a month gatherings. Just RSVP
on the Tuesday before we are to meet on the First Thursday of every month.
Reminders will be printed monthly the Good News & two weeks prior to
each luncheon in the Sunday bulletin. Bring
a friend, and let’s enjoy being together!
Bernice Gani & Emily Harper
February 7—710 Downtown
March 6—Archie’s April 3—Mazen’s
May 1—De-Angelos June 5 —Peking July
3—Pat’s of Henderson
August 7—Pappy’s September 4—Casa Manana October
2—Olive Garden
November 6—Luna’s December 4—Pioneer Club
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Books and Volunteers Needed
Shepherd’s
Staff is collecting BOOKS: hardbacks and paperbacks, fiction and non-fiction;
CDs, books on tapes, DVDs & video tapes. We also will need volunteers to
help collect & sort books from now until the sale April 5th –6th. Books
may be dropped off on the porch of the Wayne Remy Outreach House in boxes and
placed in the plastic containers that are provided.
Pick up can be arranged. Please contact: Sheila Rainer, 439-5169 (2ran@bellsouth.net)
or Courtney Dampf, 480-1614 (dampf313@hotmail.com) if you are able to help.
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CANTERBURY
HOUSE
Canterbury House (located at 4107 Bayou Road) is now open and ready for
action! Jamie Simon stopped by and reported that Canterbury House will begin
serving meals to McNeese students on Friday, February 8 from 11 a.m. –1 p.m.
They will continue with the meals every Friday until the semester ends.
They are also offering a WEEKLY BIBLE STUDY beginning Wednesday, February 13
from 6:30—8:00 p.m. with a light supper provided. The Topic will be “Making
Love Last a Lifetime” by Adam Hamilton. Call Jamie Simon with any questions
you may have, 802-4424 or stop by the house for more information.
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News from the Foundation
Corner
This month’s article features the first of
our nine endowments– THE OPERATING ENDOWMENT FUND. This fund provides the
church with a flexible gift, one that the Vestry can apply to fill special
needs, for example, helping us through the after effects of Hurricane Rita.
The Foundation Board happily announces and
gives thanks for the most recently named endowments: Glenda and Dave McCarty
Endowment, The Altar Guild Endowment and The Earl Richard Family Endowment.
If you have any questions about the
Foundation and/or giving to any one of the endowments, please call Father Jack
or Ann Lindsay at the church, 433-5244 or Denise Rau at 480-1975
U The
Foundation exists to secure Good Shepherd’s long-term future-to keep our
church a place of faithful worship and faithful outreach to the surrounding
community.
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The Imperial Calcasieu Order
of St. Luke the Physician
presents a
HEALING CONFERENCE
at the Episcopal Church of
the Good Shepherd
715 Kirkman St., Lake
Charles, Louisiana
Friday, April 18, 2008
6 p.m.—9 p.m.
Saturday, April 19, 2008
9 a.m.—4 p.m.
Deadline for pre-registration is April 10th.
$20.00 ($25.00 at the door) registration fee includes drinks, snacks and lunch on Saturday
The Rev. Dr. Jack and Anna Marie Sheffield, Co-founders of Christ Healing
Center in San Antonio, TX will be the
speakers at this Annual Healing Conference . Together they
have served in ministry for over 30 years. Jack has been a Chaplain in
the International Order of St. Luke the Physician since 1993 and is now the
Director of Region V, which encompasses
six states. He is also the author of two books: God’s Healing River and
Under Healing Wings.
Interested in finding out more
about what's new at Good Shepherd?
For more information, contact the church
office.
Interested in finding out more
about what's new at Good Shepherd?
For more information, contact the church
office.