LET IT BE ACCLAIMED that Deacon Lynette McSpadden is a called and ordained minister of Word and Service of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America! Deacon Lynette McSpadden was ordained at Bethel Lutheran Church on Saturday, January 17, with Bishop Phyllis Milton presiding.

In the ELCA, pastors and deacons are ordained under the apostolic succession, which is why our denomination has bishops. The apostolic succession began with Jesus' apostles choosing and entrusting other Christians to -- well, faithfully -- pass on the faith; then that next generation chose the next group of Christians, and so on, until the present day. This unbroken line of the apostolic succession is historically traced through bishops all the way back to Jesus' apostles. It's kind of like a geneology, but instead of a family tree, we're looking at where our teachings came from.

When Bishop Milton laid her hands on Lynette during the ordination service, this was a sign of the continuity of our Christian faith, being passed down from the first apostles, and now entrusted to Lynette. The church entrusts and empowers Lynette McSpadden with the authority to faithfully and publicly represent the church of Jesus Christ in her own ministry and life, and to publicly teach, proclaim, enact, and otherwise pass on the faith to others.

We are SO BLESSED to have Deacon Lyn called to serve in ministry with Good Shepherd!

L-R, front row: Rev. Terry Hannon, Deacon D'Etta Broam, Deacon Lynette McSpadden, Bishop Phyllis Milton. L-R back row: Deacon Phyllis Cox, Pastor Dave Young, Pastor Colleen Hetrick, Pastor Anna Havron, Pastor Ingrid Chenoweth.

And a heartfelt THANK YOU to the many volunteers from Good Shepherd who -- when Bethel needed help -- stepped up to provide a wonderful array of savory and sweet refreshments to help us all celebrate this important day, including this beautiful cake:

Thanks be to God!

THIS week:

• Wednesday, January 21 - 10:00 a.m. - Bible study
• Sunday, January 11 - 9:30 a.m. Worship service followed by fellowship time, refreshments, and Sunday School

Mark Your Calendars:

• Saturday, February 7 at 4:30 p.m. - Good Shepherd Chili Cookoff - watch the bulletin and this newsletter for more details.