New teen music group to begin at Good Shepherd. Kevin Maule is organizing a teen music group for the youth group and for the 11:00 service on the 1st and 3rd Sundays each month. Please see Kevin if you are a teen and would like to be in this group.
Next Wednesday, February 8th is the deadline for reports to be included in the 2011 Annual Parish Report. All ministries should be represented in the report and let everyone know what they have done in 2011 and what they plan for 2012. If you have questions about what you need to say, please contact the office.
Our teens will be attending their Winter Retreat February 10-12 and our delegates will be representing Good Shepherd at the Diocesan Convention, February 10 and 11. Please hold these people in your prayers this week.
Mark your calendars for the February Women’s Fellowship which is scheduled for Friday, February 17, at 6:00 p.m. in the Upper Building. A Sign-up sheet will be out on February 12.
Would YOU be interested in serving on the Altar Guild? Members of this group serve about once a month, preparing the altar for worship services. Please see Fr. George if this is a ministry you would like to pursue.
We have sent $736 to help rebuild the Cathedral in Haiti. Thank you so much for your generosity. If you still intend to give an offering to the Clearys, please do it this week, so we can send that money to them.
Ted Adams still needs some still photos from the Christmas Concert. A lot of flashcameras were going off during the concert, so SOMEBODY is holding out on us ! E-mail them to him NOW !...He needs them this weekend (tadams54@cox.net)
Mark your calendars now and plan to go with your parish family to Eat Out at the BrewHouse restaurant in the Chula Vista Mall on Tuesday, February 28th. Details of time, etc. will be out soon as well as flyers to present when you pay your bill. This is a great chance to get together with friends and family for a fun evening!
Prayers are asked for a safe pregnancy for Jen (Tseng) Marchewka; she and Matthew are expecting twins in August. Healing prayers are asked for Ginger Sanford, who is undergoing chemo for lymphoma.
TAGS WINTER RETREAT
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WINTER RETREAT!
February 10-12, 2012
Cost: $75
INCLUDES
Lodging, Food, Transportation, Sledding, Bible Teaching. Worship.
Games, Friends, S'mores, and FUN!
Limited Spots!
First Come, First Served
Money Due by Jan 26th, 2012
On Sunday, February 19th, after both the 8:30 and 11:00 a.m. services, at the coffee hours, there will be a celebration of the 25th anniversary of Father George’s Ordination to the Priesthood.
Fr. George was ordained a priest by Bishop Morton at St. James-by-the-Sea, La Jolla, on February 21, 1987. His ordination celebration will be on Sunday, so that everyone will be able to participate. Please plan to be at church on the 19th, for this special celebration.
In addition to the anniversary of his ordination, Fr, George will be marking his birthday on the 19th as well.
Mens' Fellowship
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The men of the parish will gather at the home of Darryl Peralta on February 21, 2012 @ 6:30p.m. Make plans to attend and bring a friend to help discern whose story is the biggest lie Fun, food and fellowship are the agenda items for this meeting. God bless and hope to see you at my home on February 21! Email Darryl
Alter Guild
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Altar Guild Members needed
The work of the Altar Guild is to prepare the altar and the church for worship services. This entails setting up the area and putting out the proper amount of wine and wafers, as well as cleaning up after the service, washing the chalice and other items, washing the linens, changing the altar coverings and banners as the seasons change, and other housekeeping chores as they develop.
These are simple and uncomplicated tasks, a ministry that is small but very important. The Guild prepares the church for the body and blood of Christ coming to us - what could be more important? If you are interested in being a member of the Altar Guild, please contact Jim or Sharon Vanden Bosch.
WOMEN'S FELLOWSHIP
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Our next Women's Fellowship will be at Mary Myers home Saturday Jan 28 @ 4pm. She welcomes a potluck dinner. Teresa Beck was given the special basket (don’t recall what it’s called) that she will present to her choice of recipient. A sign-up sheet will be available on the picnic tables during coffee hour. . THE OFFICE AT 479-0943 or EMAIL Sharon
Communion Instruction for Children
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Communion Instruction Class for Children
There will be a Communion Instruction Class for children who need to know, "what is Holy Communion?" The class will meet on Sunday mornings, March 11th and 18th, and will be taught by Sharon Vanden Bosch. Those children who are baptized and wish to participate in this class, whether or not they have been receiving communion, should take this class. They will be presented at the service on Easter Day, April 8. Contact the Office at 479-0943 to enroll. or email Ellen
PUBLIC NOTICES
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Would YOU like to advertise in the "Staff" of the Good Shepherd?
Advertise reach 100+ families a month!
Advertisers help defray our costs!
Tell all the businesses you go to regularly about this wonderful opportunity., A "business card" sized ad costs $50 for 6 months and 1/6 page runs $100 for 6 months.
CALL 479-0943 FOR INFORMATION
EPISCOPAL COMMUINTY SERVICE
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E.C.S. Ingathering is February 12
Episcopal Community Services supports many different types of groups. Para Las Familias provides a wide range of services to high-risk, low-income children under the age of five years in South San Diego. An important goal of the program is to empower parents and provide them with information about the child's development, encouraging their participation in the treatment process and becoming aware of other community resources. Services offered include: screening, assessment, family therapy, school observation, teacher/provider consultation and parenting classes. A trained, bilingual therapist provides necessary services in the easily-accessible Para Las Familias office or in the child's home, school or preschool site.\pard fs24 PLEASE consider making a donation on the second Sunday, ECS Sunday, so that we can help these groups.
DAILY MEDITATION AND BIBLE STUDY
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Quick access to the daily meditation offered by Forward Movement.
Current Weather Bonita, CA 55°, Partly Cloudy 2-Day Forecast:
Tuesday: 63°/49° Rain
Wednesday: 71°/49° Partly Cloudy
Our purpose is . . .
" To know Christ Jesus as Lord and Saviour, To make Him known, and to nurture a loving Christian family."
THE REVEREND GEORGE C. CALVERT "FATHER GEORGE"
Rector's Ramblings
I was Blind, but Now I See!
I am now in my mid-50's and recently, I have had a hard time seeing things such as reading labels on food packages and other items in small print. Sometimes on Sunday, I have even had a hard time reading the bulletin. For the first time in my life, I have realized how important seeing is for living everyday life. All it takes is not to be able to read one or two things and what you are doing may have to come to a stop. I have felt that in some ways, I have been blind, and have felt the frustration that blindness brings. I am happy to report that, after going to my optometrist, I now have new contact lenses and glasses that let me read with ease. It is amazing how much I was not seeing; I was blind, but now I see.
The famous hymn, "Amazing Grace" (Hymnal 671) has the words in it, "was blind but now I see." John Newton (1725-1807) wrote those words because he was a slave trader who was blind to the harm he was causing other people, and he was blind to his sin before God. It was when he believed in Jesus that amazing grace flowed into his life and he saw his sin, saw God’s forgiveness and love for him. None of us at Good Shepherd has lived a life as evil as John Newton, but all of us have sin in our lives that blinds us from seeing ourselves as we truly are. We, left to our own devices, will never see our blindness. We are like alcoholics who cannot see the problem of their alcoholism. It is only when we yield control over our lives, more and more, to Jesus, that through his amazing grace, we can see ourselves as we truly are.
I majored in Philosophy in college and I strongly believe in philosophical reasoning, but philosophy cannot overcome the spiritual blindness from which we all suffer. In the church, we learn to give our lives to Jesus and, as we do, he enlightens us. Jesus is, "the true light, which enlightens everyone . . . " (John 1:9) Spiritual enlightenment is the result of faith in the miracle of God’s grace, freely given to us in Jesus Christ. It is the miracle of grace working inside of us that enlightens us, not our own reasoning.
In the upcoming season of Lent, we will try to yield control of our lives, more and more, to Jesus, so that we may be enlightened by him, lifted out of our darkness, and emerge into His light. It is exciting; it is wonderful; it is life-giving to come to a point where you can say, "I was blind, but now I see."
Along with John Newton, our entire soul sings out the words, "Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound that saves a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now am found, was blind, but now I see."
Copyright 2005 Church of the Good Shepherd Church of the Good Shepherd, Episcopal, 3990 Bonita Road, Bonita CA 91902, 619-479-0943
FaithConnector Church Websites
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