All posts by jwynkoop75

General

Church Reopening Guide

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Dear fellow parishioners,

We are pleased to share with you this guide to how we will safely reopen the Good Shepherd sanctuary for in-person services, starting November 1. There is important information you need to know in there about signing up to attend a service; the mandatory requirements that attendees must follow; and a summary of the steps we’ve taken to ensure everyone’s health and safety. We recognize that not everyone is ready to return, of course, so please be assured that we will continue to provide online services. What a blessing to finally be able to see inside our church building again.

Virtual coffee hour – Ask us anything

After the service this Sunday (October 25), please join members of the Vestry’s reopening committee for a virtual coffee hour. We will be available to answer any of your questions about the reopening plan and anything else you might be wondering about.

Registering through Flocknote

At this time, we anticipate that the Flocknote registration system to sign up to attend services will be open Sunday night before the following weekend’s services. Stay tuned for additional information.

Blessings to all,

Your Vestry

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General

Reopening Update

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Dear fellow parishioners,

The Vestry would like to give you an update on our journey to reopening the church building now that the Diocese has approved our plan.

Father Rick will be leading us in our Sunday services this weekend and next weekend. These services will be on Zoom. He will be conducting the services from the sanctuary and will include readings and Jen playing the organ. This Sunday is Stewardship Sunday, and as a part of the homily we’ll see a short video from Bishop Stokes. We are recording these services, so if you are unable to participate live on Sunday, you will find links to the videos on our website and on our Facebook page and view them at your convenience.

Father Dave is returning
Beginning on the weekend of October 31/November 1, Father Dave Snyder will be returning to Good Shepherd as our interim rector. Father Dave will be continuing Morning Prayer on Tuesday and Thursday mornings (via Zoom only) and offering Eucharist services on Saturday and Sunday.

Our plans to reopen
We will begin in-person services commencing with Father Dave’s first weekend of October 31/November 1. At this time, we are limited to 25% of the building capacity, which means 40 people per service, including the celebrant, organist, ushers, and reader. Stay tuned for more information by early next week about what you need to know about attending in person, but please be assured that we will continue to provide services via Zoom.

We thank Father Rick, Deacon Carl, and Mel Caron for leading us in worship this month, and we are so happy to welcome back Father Dave as our pastoral leader and to open up the sanctuary for in-person services once again.

In his service,
Your Vestry

General, Sunday Zoom Service

Sunday Zoom service recordings

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Beginning with the July 5, 2020 Service, recordings will be posted, when available, to YouTube. Please make your selection via the YouTube pane in the upper right hand corner of the church website home page to select these recordings or click the link under the pane to see all selections. The videos will usually be available for viewing within 24 hours. If you wish to be notified by email when new videos are posted, please subscribe to the Good Shepherd YouTube channel.

General

Living the Questions

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JOIN FR. DON AND MEL CARON for a new study tomorrow evening, Wednesday, 5/27, at 7 p.m. on Zoom.

We will be using a series called “Living the Questions”. This is a combined  class with the members of St. David’s in Cranbury. Each session is self-containing, so you can do one week or all seven!

The Zoom ID is 871 6705 8188.  No password is required – just click on zoom.us and join meeting and then type in ID.

It should be an interesting study – hope you join us!
General, Latest News

Church Reopening Update

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The decision to remain closed to in-person communal worship was made by our bishop in consultation with the best available experts and information. Though painful to us all, the restrictions were made in a spirit of loving sacrifice intended to protect our community and our most vulnerable parishioners.
 
As we move closer to re-opening, Bishop Stokes has called two special task forces of experts to help guide the diocese into the “new normal.”
Bishop Stokes has appointed the Re-entering, Re-opening and Re-imagining (RRR) Task Force to provide guidance to congregations on how and when to re-open. The Task Force includes approximately 20 members who represent the diversity of congregations in our diocese and bring skills and experience in public health, liturgy, and congregational life. The task force met for the first time this week and issued the following statement:
 
This team is committed to providing preliminary guidance by June 5th so that parishes may begin the planning process. Each parish will create its own plan and submit it for review to the Task Force. We anticipate that the time it takes each parish to create and implement their plan will vary greatly. While some parishes may be able to resume limited use of their buildings shortly after the release of the guidelines, others may plan to open months later based upon the unique needs, composition, staffing and location of each parish. –The RRR Task Force
 
A second group–the Learnings and Breakthroughs Task Force–has been formed to look at the lessons we’ve learned during this crisis and how we can keep the good parts happening. We’ve been amazed at the level of community we’ve been able to build online, bringing Christ’s word to people who haven’t been in church in years. We don’t want to lose those aspects when we return to “normal.”
 
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The above was sent to all churches in the diocese. We will endeavor to follow the guidelines determined by the Diocesan task forces.
 
Looking forward with hope, certain that we live in God’s blessings,
Mother Susan+
 
See You All Soon!
General

Study and Contemplative Group Meetings

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Contemplative Group

We are meeting every Wednesday at 10 a.m. on Zoom (ID 813 1796 4254), No password is required. We begin with 20 minutes of silent meditation followed by a teaching and discussion. This week (May 20) we began a new series on the Enneagram. The Enneagram is a system of personality typing that describes patterns in how people conceptualize the world and manage their emotions. It describes nine different types and maps each on a nine-pointed diagram which helps to illustrate how the types relate to one another.
According to the Enneagram, every personality has a certain world view and looks at the world through their own lens or filter. This makes it possible to explain why people behave in certain ways.
We will be using a series by Fr. Richard Rohr and Russ Hudson. This will be an introductory to the Enneagram, which hopefully will enable participants to further their work in their spiritual journey.
If interested, please send Mel Caron your email so that materials can be sent prior to the class – melanieannecaron@gmail.com.

Thursday Study Group

This group meets every Thursday at 9:30 a.m. on Zoom (ID 860 0220 4298). No password is required. We are beginning a new study on May 21 called Following the Mystics Beyond the Narrow Gate. This is a DVD series presented by Fr; Richard Rohr and Dr. James Finley. In this series we will learn about the history of the mystics through the ages, including every major religion. We will also be introduced to the mothers and fathers who have gone before us, having attained a oneness with God. If interested, please send Mel Caron your email so that materials can be sent prior to the class – melanieannecaron@gmail.com.