Good Shepherd News 2017

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Good Shepherd News 2017 WORSHIP SCHEDULE 8:30am Worship 9:30am Sunday School 10:30am Worship OUR MISSION Called and sent into the world, we seek to serve as the living expression of God's compassion,

1 Good Shepherd News 2017 WORSHIP SCHEDULE 8:30am Worship 9:30am Sunday School 10:30am Worship OUR MISSION Called and sent into the world, we seek to serve as the living expression of God's compassion, love & forgiveness. THE SHEPHERD S STAFF Pastor Secretary Handbell Director Choir Directors Organist Custodian Nursery Larry Grunden, Jr. Emly Dye Nancy Davis Nancy Davis, Mike Morris Larry Halpern Coverall Custodial Services Donna Knasel March 8, 15, 22, 29, 6:00pm Soup Supper 7:00pm Lenten Worship CONGREGATION COUNCIL Jenny Rousculp-Miller, President Marcia Morris, Vice President Deb Botkin, Secretary Diane Timmons, Treasurer Barb Bendure, Ron Green, Jeff Henning David King, Ginny Martycz, Rebecca Sanders Mark Shirk, Rachel Tune, Chris Zechman Daylight Savings Time ends, Saturday, March 11 th. Don t forget to turn your clock AHEAD one hour on Saturday night! The Good Shepherd News is a monthly publication from Good Shepherd Evangelical Lutheran Church 712 N. Fountain Avenue Springfield, OH (937) gselc@sbcglobal.net, pastorlarrygselc@gmail.com Web site: Facebook at facebook.com/goodshepherdspringfield

2 Lent is the season of introspection and reconciliation with God. We look within our own hearts and explore our sins against God. We make sacrifices in order to remind us to stay on the path of righteousness with God and we open ourselves to the love and forgiveness of God through our admitting to God the limitations of our humanity. Yet there is a light at the end of the tunnel. We must go through the emotions that come with Lent in order to find the joy of Easter. We must admit our sin in order to really understand the power of Jesus on the cross. We must come to terms with our mortality, in order to center ourselves on our need for God s power in our lives. We must look within ourselves in order that we may see more clearly the needs of others. All of this we must experience in order to fully appreciate the joy of the empty tomb. I found some questions for us to ponder during the Lenten season. Honestly, I cannot remember where I first saw these, so I cannot give credit where credit is due, but you are invited to think on the words during your forty-day countdown: Am I heeding God s call for my life? What progress am I making in sharing gladly with the poor? How is God s Grace evident in my attitudes towards those who irritate me? How is my corporate worship contributing to community? Am I charitable in my support of the Church s mission? Can I re-budget so as to have more to give away? Do I speak in defense of those who are being treated unjustly? How can I better support programs that help the marginalized and oppressed? Am I listening more, or talking more in my personal devotions? Am I thanking more, or complaining more? How am I confronting prejudice in and around my life? How can I practically respond to hurting people around me, in addition to prayer? Is my participation in prayer, service and/or corporate worship setting an example for the development of other s discipleship? Blessings to you on your journey. Pastor Larry

3 THE JOY OF GOD'S WORK BEGETS THE JOY OF GIVING These are fun times at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church. Yes, fun is the right word here if fun is defined as an activity that brings pleasure, joy, and renewal to the participant. Sharing God's work together at Good Shepherd is bestowing exactly such blessings upon our members, and many others in the community whom our ministry touches. There is no more dramatic recent single example of that dynamic of the people of God coming together for service and outreach than the Chili Supper Cook-off Fundraiser for our Food Pantry Ministry held on February 11. Thanks to tireless efforts by Denise Roberts and many other helpers, and outstanding responses and participation by members and friends, the event was truly an evening of fellowship and joy; but far more so, a celebration of faithfully undergirding a very important ministry of life and outreach for our community. The ingathering of gifts sufficient to underwrite nine months of the costs of the pantry, while also strengthening the relationships of congregational members one with another, was truly a Holy Spirit inspired convocation of God's faithful followers at Good Shepherd. That ministry, and many others of worshiping, learning, caring, and sharing weekly continue to weave the tapestry of the congregation. The work is God inspired and God pleasing. And, our active involvement, week after week, also makes the soil fertile for trusting that God will continue to provide the resources for the work. It is a joy to report here that not only did we finish calendar year 2016 with black ink in our general operating fund, we continued to give generously in January 2017, also showing a modest surplus of income over expenses for the month. Thanks be to God and to the entire congregation. God has plans, to be sure, for God's work among us, and God has held back nothing we need to do God's work. Yes, we are having fun at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church. Yes, we are sharing the joy of walking together with God, and sharing the Good News of God's plan of salvation, given to us and all believers through Jesus Christ. We rejoice in sharing love and nourishment with neighbors in need. We rejoice in God's grace which frees us from the burden of sin and opens the doors of living in peace with God and with one another. We rejoice in the opportunity to thank God for all God's gifts through our generous gifts in the offering plate each Sunday morning, which God multiplies and transforms into more ministry. Yes, we are having fun at Good Shepherd. Thanks be to God. Ron Green

March 8, 15, 22, 29 6:00pm-6:30pm Wednesday Soup Supper 7:00pm Lenten Service WEDNESDAY LENTEN WORSHIP Wednesday Lenten Program - You are invited to join in food and fellowship with a light soup

4 March 8, 15, 22, 29 6:00pm-6:30pm Wednesday Soup Supper 7:00pm Lenten Service WEDNESDAY LENTEN WORSHIP Wednesday Lenten Program - You are invited to join in food and fellowship with a light soup supper from 6:00PM - 6:30PM on Wednesdays beginning on March 8th and ending on April 5th. Following supper will be our Lenten worship service at 7:00PM. Come, eat and worship! Please sign up in the hallway or contact Marcia Morris to provide soup for an evening. ADULT SMALL GROUP Monday s Fellowship Group meets March 27 at 7pm at the home of Mark and Denise Roberts. BIBLE STUDY Tuesday s 9:30am Bible Study group meets at church in March on the 7th, 14th, 21st and 28th. Together we study the weekly scriptures and pray for the needs of our church family, our community and our world. YOUTH GROUP NEWS A Pancake Breakfast is being planned for Sunday, March 5, at 9:30am with proceeds to help fund our youth group going to Service Camp in July. Youth Mystery Fun Day! Sunday, March 12, from 5pm to 7pm a time of fun and fellowship to celebrate the youth of our church. Grades 6th thru 12th are welcome! Bring friends! Women s Book Group The Women s Book Group will be reading "Year of Wonders" by Geraldine Brooks for our meeting on Monday, March 20 at 7:00 pm. If you need a copy of the book, please contact Barb Bendure.

MIRIAM CIRCLE All Good Shepherd women and invited along with their friends! Miriam Circle will be hosting a special presentation at their scheduled time Wednesday, April 5, at 9:30am.

5 MIRIAM CIRCLE All Good Shepherd women and invited along with their friends! Miriam Circle will be hosting a special presentation at their scheduled time Wednesday, April 5, at 9:30am. David and Mary Karkan, missionaries from Thailand, will be here sharing their stories and photos from their experiences in Thailand. You don't want to miss it! RSVP to Marcia Morris or Barb Bendure. The Shepherd's Yarners The Shepherd's Yarners will be meeting immediately following the Lenten Service on Wednesdays, March 1 and 15 in the Fellowship Room. If you ve been wondering about what we do, this is the perfect opportunity to have some fun and fellowship by crafting or just joining in on the conversation. You ll be at church for the service and can just stay for a while extra. We re a fun group! Interfaith Hospitality Network (IHN) Jane Strahler During the year 2017 Good Shepherd and our six helper churches will serve evening meals at IHN during five different weeks. The first week was February 5-11 and we served our meal on February 9. Bev Kitchen, Jane Strahler and Da'Netta Jordan served the meatloaf dinner and Pastor Larry cleaned up. Everyone agreed the meal was a success. The food was donated by the following: Bev, Jane, Alma Rutherford, Ron & Diane Timmons, Barb Bendure, Da'Netta, Patty Foltz and Emly Dye. A big thank you to all. The next time we serve at IHN is during the week of April 2-8. Our church will serve the meal on April 6. Look for the menu when it is posted. The Soup and Salad Dinner will be at First Lutheran on March 3, 4:00pm to 7:00pm. Tickets are: Adults $8.00 and Children $4.00. All proceeds go to IHN. FOOD PANTRY A heartfelt thank you to all of you who participated in our food pantry fundraiser, Chili Fest. To those who donated merchandise, bought tickets, created items, set up, cleaned up, made chili, served food, contributed food, sold tickets, supervised games, bid on auction items, counted money and shared your funds with our pantry, thank you! We raised enough to support our pantry's bills for 9 months, wow, that's incredible. February's pantry went well with some new faces. Thank you Elise Schwenn, Pastor Larry, Emly Dye, Betsy Frock, Jane Chernek-Shaw, Phil Winchell, Rick Broderick, Deb & Randy Botkin, Mark Roberts, Vicci & Nick Lubbers, Nora & Melissa Archambeau, Mimi Spotts, Ginny Martycz, Ellen & Mark Shirk and Melinda Jud. Next pantry is Thursday March 16th, 5:30-7:30pm God's work. Our hands. denise roberts

6 WINNING CHILI RECIPES from the 2017 Chili Fest 1st Place Merritt Wichner Green Chile Stew 16 C. Water (chicken broth is better) 6 C. Chopped Green Chile (charred skins - (6 to 8) removed) 1 C. Dried Onion Flakes (or 4 Cups chopped fresh onion) 2 C. Chopped Tomatoes 5 tsp. Salt 3 tsp. Garlic Powder (or 10 cloves fresh garlic) 1/8 tsp. **Mexican** Oregano 2 lbs. Pork Loin (any cut will do, loin minimizes trimming time) 6 TBS. Oil (or lard) 1 C. White Flour Combine the water (or chicken broth) green chile, onions, and garlic. Simmer for a couple of hours. Meanwhile grill the pork on the grill. (Note: Do not smoke the pork, the smoke flavor will overwhelm the dish. You can also cube the pork first and brown in oil, if so do the onion and garlic also.) Cube the grilled pork in 1/2" cubes, add to the stew and simmer another hour. When the stew is finished simmering it needs to be thickened. In a separate pot, heat the flour and oil for a few minutes (like you are making a roux). Add 2 cups of the broth from the stew to the flour and oil and whisk into a paste. Add the whisked mixture to the stew to thicken. (Another variation is to whisk the entire pot of stew for several minutes after adding the flour thickener. This breaks up the pork cubes and green chile chunks and produces a very smooth creamy texture.) Bring back to a simmer and it's done. Eat like a stew with tortillas or smother burritos, eggs, beans with lots of it. Makes a great salad dressing if you got the "green chile thing" like I do. 2nd Place Deb Botkin Eet Mor Chiken Chili 2 chicken breast (4 halves), cut in chunks Salt and pepper for chicken ½ cup frozen corn 2-3T olive oil ¼ cup white vinegar ½ large onion, chopped 3T chili powder 3 cloves garlic, minced 3T cumin 1 can black beans, drained 2T dried cilantro 1 can great Northern beans, drained 1 pinch cayenne pepper 2 cans diced tomatoes with green chile peppers ½ green pepper, diced 1 (14 oz.) can tomato sauce ½ red pepper, diced 1 small can tomato paste ½ yellow pepper, diced ½ cup chicken stock salt to taste 3T brown sugar Heat oil in a large pot. Salt and pepper chicken, add to pot and sauté chicken until no longer pink. Add onion and garlic and sauté until onion is translucent. Add peppers, chili powder, and cumin and cook until chili powder and cumin are well mixed with chicken (approx. 5 minutes). Stir frequently to prevent seasonings from scorching. Add remaining ingredients, and stir to combine ingredients. Add additional salt to taste. Bring to a boil and simmer on low for as little as a ½ hour or as long as 2 2 ½ hours. Or cook in crock pot on high for 3-4 hours.

Norma Shuirr 27 Dean Archambeau 29 Angela Barber MARCH ANNIVERSARIES 2

7 MARCH BIRTHDAYS 2 Brad Jarzab 4 Andy Rigsbee 6 Tim Bell 8 Bryson Malone 9 Shawn McCombs 10 Brad Malone 13 Angie Hill 19 Chelby Dye 24 David King, Norma Shuirr 27 Dean Archambeau 29 Angela Barber MARCH ANNIVERSARIES 2 Alma and David Rutherford 16 Andy and Cheryl Rigsbee 23 Laura and Shawn McCombs

Good Shepherd News 2017

Good Shepherd News 2017 WORSHIP SCHEDULE 8:30am Worship 9:30am Adult Sunday School 10:00am Children's Sunday School 10:30am Worship THE SHEPHERD S STAFF Pastor Secretary Choir Directors Handbell Director