SIGNS OF SPRING

Last Saturday was pretty cold and windy, but everyone on my block was out getting their yards ready for summer. Lots of pruning and raking and digging going on. And, under all of the dead stuff you can see the shoots coming up from bulbs that were planted long ago…..And pretty soon, people will be planting annual flowers and vegetables. New Life! The Easter Season is here…..

Spring is arriving at Good Shepherd. We are getting ready for some of the things we’ve always done – like the Senior Shepherd’s potluck lunch or planning for Confirmation Sunday. The Softball team has had their first practice and pretty soon we’ll have Music Sunday and be moving to our one-service 9:30 a.m. summer worship schedule.

There are signs of new life here, too.  Starting in April, we will be offering a Communion Service at Chestnut Knoll each month. Coke Spence & Vickie Acree are starting a Prayer Shawl Ministry to provide prayer shawls for those who need a comforting reminder of Good Shepherd and the people who love them. We are working with the folks at St. John’s Lutheran Church to offer a great Vacation Bible School Program together this summer. And, our youth are working with our Deacons to do some fundraising. There is a local child who needs to have frequent wheelchair-accessible transportation to CHOP each month. They are currently working to raise the money for a specially-adapted van. Our youth are planning some fundraising activities and our Deacons will match every dollar that the youth raise with $2.00 to contribute to the van fund. And, those are only a few things.

As our Search Committee begins creating a church profile, the Transition team is continuing work with 4 Task Teams – Worship, Pastoral Care, Ministries with Children & Youth and Missions. They will spend the summer looking at what we are doing, finding out what people want to do, gathering resources and making recommendations to the Consistory. This is exciting new work that will hopefully lead to even more possibilities!

There is much about which we can all be excited - new ideas and new possibilities. There are also the foundations of our common life and ministry that go on and on – reminding us of who we are and whose we are. And, we can be grateful for the new and the old.

Wishing all a blessed spring – Laura Lee