GOOD SHEPHERD SUNDAY

This Sunday, the fourth Sunday in Easter, is traditionally “Good Shepherd Sunday,” and thus our patronal feast.  Our patron is not just any saint, but Jesus as he understood himself as the good shepherd.  The naming of a church is significant.  It is the opportunity of the founding congregation to say something about what that congregation sees as its fundamental nature.  In Darien, one of my congregations was named for St. Andrew, which reflected the fact that Darien was founded by Scottish highlanders and St. Andrew is the patron saint of Scotland.  The other congregation, which was founded by the freed slaves of McIntosh County, was named for St. Cyprian, an African bishop and one of the Latin fathers of the early church.  Which brings us to our patron saint, Jesus in his self understanding as the Good Shepherd.
      “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” (John 10.11)  Although our name was suggested by a small child, it reflects the understanding of our founders that this congregation was being called to minister to the community, i.e. to shepherd the flock of Summerville (and later the greater Augusta community,)  and that is what it has been doing for the last 155 years.  From being one of the first churches on the “Hill,” to founding a school for the black children of the area in the late 1800’s, to providing child care for women working at the Augusta Arsenal during WWII, to creating a school to educate and form the character of children of the area, to taking a lead on civil rights movement in the 1960’s (including integrating EDS), to providing crucial financial support to dozens of local philanthropic organizations, etc., our congregation has seen its mission as being a good shepherd to the flock.  This history also makes it clear that,  from its very beginning, our congregation has been focusing, not just on ministry to ourselves, but also ministry to the people outside of our doors.  Jesus said “I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.” (John 10.16)  We must never forget that the Good Shepherd never saw a sheep that he did not want in his fold. We are the Church of the Good Shepherd.  May we always be a reflection of our patron to the residents of Augusta and beyond.
     Bobby Jones was a man of epic integrity. He knew what it meant to lead a righteous life, and that spilled over into his golf. Jones was the quintessential steward, and he left the world a legacy of stewardship. God calls us to do the same.
     In golf and in life always replace your divots out of respect for those playing behind you.

Ted+

COGS MINISTRIES
Our next COGS outreach will be returning to work with Downtown Cooperative Church Ministries Food Panty whose mission is to “feed the hungry in our community.” Our group will be volunteering on April 20th from 8:30am until 11:30am. Volunteers should come to the St. John UMC parking lot (736 Greene Street) between 8 and 8:30am where the DCCM volunteers will be setting up the food distribution.  Volunteers should plan on parking on 8th St. or across the street on Telfair since the parking lot is used for the drive through and walk-up distributions.  The volunteers will be at the various stations with the food and place it in the client’s trunk as they drive up.  They have a separate area for the walking clients.  A volunteer “personal shopper” takes their cart and goes to get their food. The food distribution generally occurs between 9am and 11am. Volunteers must be at least twelve years of age all youth under 16 years of age must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.  Please e-mail Lynn Tyson at ltyson517@gmail.com if you would like to volunteer or call or text at 706-833-7415. Name tags for our COGS volunteers will be available.  They report that donations of granola bars or ready to eat items such as peanut butter crackers for snack bags for the homeless are always appreciated.  DCCM reports that this ministry is doing  what Christ has asked us to do.  “Feed his sheep.”

START THE PARTY VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL
Good Shepherd Episcopal and Woodlawn United Methodist are collaborating to present Vacation Bible School for children age 4 years through fifth grade.

Early Bird Registration will be open for Good Shepherd & Woodlawn members until April 24th. On April 25th, registration will open to the public. Members, please be sure to register during this time to reserve a spot for your children. Space is limited to 100 participants so please register ASAP! There will be no on-site registration, June 3rd. Click here to register: https://forms.gle/p21KgpB9nmgKzuS49

Rising 4th & 5th graders will participate in community service activities.
Rising 6th-12th graders are eligible to apply for Crew Leader positions. Click here to register to be a Crew Leader: https://forms.gle/nokoN2DyTMsmkm8Q9

Adult volunteers are needed, please contact Jinny Bradshaw for more information.

Date: June 3 - June 7, 2024
Time: 9:30 am - 12:00 noon
Location: Church of the Good Shepherd
Eligible Participants: Rising Pre-K - Rising 5th Graders
Registration Deadline: May 5, 2024

SAVE THE DATE
Parish Retreat at Good Shepherd, September 20-22, 2024. Registration coming soon!

DAILY DEVOTIONALS!
The Forward Day by Day have arrived. Booklets are available for you to pick up in the church lobby.

COMMUNITY MEAL VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
Volunteers are needed for the Harrisburg community meal, April 20th, at Christ Church. This community meal is being coordinated by the newly founded Byllesby Center. The Byllesby Center is a ministry outreach center based out of the Christ Church building. In partnership with the Diocese of Georgia and Church of the Good Shepherd, this new ministry is being led by the Reverend Larry Jesion. Contact Rev. Jesion at 706-832-4758, byllesbycenter@gmail.com.  For more information or to get involved. 

HERITAGE ACADEMY TRIVIA NIGHT
Heritage Academy is bringing back our Trivia Night on April 25^th at the Savannah Rapids Pavilion.  This fun night of trivia, food, a raffle, and silent auction raises vital funds for access to a quality education in the name of Jesus Christ. For questions, call Diamond Bythwood at (706) 821-0034 ext. 106. To sign up, or for more information, please go to: https://one.bidpal.net/triviaha/welcome.

CURIOUS ABOUT CENTERING PRAYER? The Convent of Saint Helena - Episcopal
Join a new Centering Prayer group starting May 3. No experience necessary! The first meeting will be a kick-off workshop about Centering Prayer. Each weekly meeting will include time for coffee and tea. For more information or questions, email: guests@osh.org. Meet us Friday mornings, from 10 am to 11 am at The Convent of Saint Helena Episcopal Church on 414 Savannah Barony Drive, North Augusta, SC 29841. The facilitators are Sister Linda Elston, OSH and Kevin Sharpe. ALL ARE WELCOME!

Head to the Shell Newsletter for details & to sign up for upcoming events.
For any questions, email mgwynn@goodshepherd-augusta.org.

YOUTH GROUP
 This Sunday, April 21st, 5:30-7:30pm, we will gather for Youth Group at Top Golf for two hours of fun and food! Space is limited so please RSVP to Mary Grace.

ACOLYTE SCHEDULE
Check the Shell Newsletter for the new Acolyte Schedule that runs from this Sunday, April 21st, through June 30th. For July, we will use Sign-up Genius and then restart the school year with a mandatory acolyte training and the release of a new schedule. The Acolyte Program is open for students in grades 3rd-12th.

STUDENT RECOGNITION SUNDAY
Mark your calendars for Student Recognition Sunday on May 12th at the 9am Church Service. We will honor our youth choir, rising 9th graders, and graduating seniors and celebrate with a reception in the Parish Hall!

VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL
VBS at Good Shepherd is June 3rd-7th. Early bird registration is currently open for Good Shepherd and Woodlawn members. Space is limited so please register as soon as possible. Crew Leader applications are open for Grades 6th-12th. Go to link to register to be a crew leader: bit.ly/vbsgs

Sunday, April 21st

8:00 am 

Celebrant, Joe Bowden

Preacher, Bunny Simon Williams

Organist, Wayne Lord

Lay Reader, Bobbie Ingenito, Lynn Tyson

9:00 am

Celebrant, Ted Clarkson

Preacher, Bunny Simon Williams

Organist & Choirmaster, Jim Nord

Lay Readers, Cissy Bowden, Kelley Norris

Ushers, Jonathan Adams, Lewis Baird

Verger, Mitzi McCoy

Acolytes, Rob Tracy, Kate Tracy, Merritt Jones, Si Williams

11:15 am

Celebrant, Joe Bowden

Preacher, Bunny Simon Williams

Organist & Choirmaster, Jim Nord

Lay Readers, Lynn Smith, Andrew Austin

Ushers, Jack Dugan, George Sancken

Verger, Lydia Smyth

Acolytes, Anabelle Wilkes, Lillian Wilkes, Hamp Helton, South Bryan

6:00 pm 

Celebrant & Preacher, Sonia Sullivan Clifton

Organist & Choirmaster, Nick Lowery

Lay Readers, Jim Price, Jennie Haynes

All Services

Altar Guild, Team I

Breakfast Ministry, Team VII

Vestry Person of the Day, Gilchrist Phillips

Christian Formation

NURSERY

• Infant Nursery - Room 101
• Toddler Nursery - Room 102

CHILDREN’S FORMATION: 

•   Three Year Olds: Room 305

•   PK-K: Level I Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, Room 306

•   1st-3rd Grades: Level II Catechesis  of the Good Shepherd, Room 304

•    4th and 5th Grades: Room 302

STUDENT FORMATION: 

6th - 8th Grades: Room 208

9th-12th Grades: Room 301

ADULT FORMATION: 

Young Adults Class: Meets in Room 209. We have selected “Christian Leadership” as our study guide (from LifeGuides) for the fall.  We have used other books from the LifeGuides series in the past and have found it to be approachable and good for engaging in discussion. Led by Matt Matson.

A Cup of Joe with Honey Buns: Sawmill Theology, meets in the Conference Room. Join Ken Hardy, Bunny+ and Joe+ as they share God Stories – no telling what will happen next!

Back to the Bible Groups (for more info, go to goodshepherd-augusta.org/b2b)

• Sundays, 10 am & 4:30 pm (Bride's Room)
  • 4 pm at the home of Nancy Sutherland
• Tuesdays, 4 pm (Bride's Room)
• Wednesdays, 11 am (Bride's Room)
• Thursdays, 5:30 pm