Good Shepherd Weekly 9/27
50th Anniversary Celebration Thank You
Dear Members,
Looking back at our 50th anniversary celebration as a congregation, I am filled with thankfulness and joy.
First, I need to give glory and thanks to God who showed his amazing grace to this congregation. Although I missed the first few months of the existence of the congregation in Rumford, I visited for the first time while Pastor Scherbarth was away to get married. Kathy soon joined me and together we have been with this congregation for almost fifty years. We have lived through the trials and high points the congregation went through, we have seen Pastors come and go, we have seen members join and leave again for various reasons. It may seem strange to some of our younger members, but the older Kathy and I are getting the clearer we can see God’s hand at work. He comforted us when we came to him in prayer during challenging times and was with us during times of joy. Celebrating fifty years as a congregation is a visible sign to all of us that God was at our side and turned everything into the best for his children.
My second thank you is more tangible and goes to all people who made the anniversary a day to remember.
The members of my stewardship committee consisting of Pastor, Sarah, and Kathy, who spent time creating the master plan for the event. Some of the items were presented to the congregation, voted on and approved in the February congregational meeting.
Our guest preacher, Pastor David Scherbarth, who accepted our invitation with joy to come and preach for us in our special anniversary afternoon service. His sermon was very inspiring as was the time chatting with him and his wife, Nancy, after the service.
Our own Pastor Goetzinger who didn’t have to preach but prepared the rest of the special service and led us through the liturgy. He was also very involved with some of the “behind the scenes” preparations.
The coordinators, Celline and Dylan, Inga, and Sarah, who directed and planned for the setup, cleanup, and beautiful table decorations, and Jessica who provided the altar flowers.
No matter how much coordinating was going on, it wouldn’t have been possible to put the event together without all the volunteers doing the work. Many of you were involved with cooking and baking for the meal, tent setup, and cleaning before and after the celebration. We had greeters, an usher, a choir, and special music for the afternoon service.
The people who prayed for a blessed celebration. I am sure many prayers were sent to our Lord to make this a memorable (in a positive way) celebration and he listened. It started out with dismal weather, and it only got worse as the day went on. During the service it was raining heavily and some of our guests were delayed because of the weather. But by the end of the service, it had stopped raining and we could enjoy our meal outside in the tent. Thanks to Gina, who even had the foresight to bring a supply of towels to quickly dry the chairs outside.
Finally, let’s not forget Tony of Huli-Huli Island Pig Roasts, who spent about 7 hours under a tent of his own to roast the pig to perfection. Our members and guests had only good things to say about the pulled pork and coleslaw.
Fifty years as a congregation is a blessing. Seeing the building fuller than usual and listening to the voices praising our God made for an uplifting day for me. Thank you all for making this possible. I am looking forward to celebrating the 60th! Maybe some of our younger members are looking forward to the 100th already!
May our God continue to bless us.
Wednesday Evening Bible Study Resumes
This Wednesday Evening at 7:00pm online Bible study resumes. We will be studying the Gospel of Mark. Mark gets to the point in his book when he wrote in the first verse, “The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God.” That’s the last time he’ll give you his opinion of Jesus. He will show you what Jesus did. Mark includes more of Jesus’ miracles than the other gospel writers. He shows you that Jesus is on the move from Galilee to Jerusalem where he will die and rise again. He lets you watch Jesus and listen to him so that you can experience him for yourself. Mark shares these precious memories of Jesus, so that you too can be drawn into his story and share in his joy.
Sunday Morning Bible Study
The beginning of something is important. That is especially true when it comes to the Bible. Genesis is foundational to the whole Bible, and to every human life. Genesis tells us who God is, who we are, how things went wrong, and the plan that God has put in place to return the earth to the way it was meant to be.
Upcoming Sunday
God doesn’t want us to go through the motions. He doesn’t just want our actions, he wants our hearts and minds too. We see what Jesus did. He was in very nature God, yet he gave up that equality with God to become our servant. He became our savior. Christ’s love for us moves us. It changes us. Now we think differently and seek to imitate the selflessness of Jesus.