Let us provoke one another to love and good deeds

The Church of the Good Shepherd

231 North Church St.

Rocky Mount, NC

eShepherd November 21, 2024

This Sunday at Good Shepherd

The Last Sunday After Pentecost

Christ the King

November 24, 2024

8:00 AM

Rite 1 Holy Communion

10:30 AM

Contemporary Language Service of Holy Communion

with choir and congregational hymns.

Live streamed at gslive.org

Serving this Sunday

8 a.m.

Altar Guild Lalor Smith and Jeanette Belfield;

Celebrant The Rev. Becky Zartman Carpenter;

Eucharistic Minister Al Hicks;

Flower Guild Pam Larimer and Sally Harris;

Reader Barbara Hicks

10:30 a.m.

Acolytes Ann Price Harris and Andrew Hedgepeth;

Altar Guild Jeanne Shannon;

Audiovideo Engineer Ron Sowers;

Eucharistic Minister Ashley Moss;

Flower Guild Pam Larimer and Sally Harris;

Greeters Al and Barbara Hicks;

Intercessor Howard Weeks;

Musicians The Good Shepherd Choir;

Lawrence Goering, organist;

Presider The Rev. Becky Zartman Carpenter;

Readers Corey Folta and Belinda Allen;

Vestry Counters Barbara Hicks and Jack Miller

A Reflection from Rev. Becky+

Hello Good Shepherd!

Growing up in Central Pennsylvania, I have very specific memories of this time of year. The gasoline smell of a chainsaw for firewood, watching my dad and my brothers pull out their hunting gear to get ready for deer season, and the harvesting of the corn, which had been left standing to dry so it could be stored. Everything seemed to be about gathering up what was left of the year and preparing for the cold winter ahead.

But something else was happening, too. Yes, we were most obviously preparing for winter, but we were also preparing for spring. The firewood being chopped wasn’t for this winter, but would be left to dry for the next. Deer season kept the herd thinned so it could make it through to spring, to fawning time. Plowing under the crops was a way to nourish the soil, alleviate weeds and pests, and make it ready to be planted again.

Yes, this year was a time of reflection and giving thanks, and it was also a way of preparing life to burst forth again, both at the same time. We harvest, we give thanks, and wait for the time when the crops will send up bright green shoots amid all the brown and grey. This at-the-same-timeness of it all is exactly how I think about our fall practice of stewardship season. We harvest, we give thanks, and we look towards spring.

This Sunday, we’re doing just that. I hope that you’ll be able to join us for a beautiful moment of coming together to give our gifts in thanks and look towards the future of what God has in store for Good Shepherd. Bring your pledge card (or pick one up at the door!) and be a part of the past and the future.

Yay!

Becky+

PS If you can’t make it on Sunday, please pledge online, or the QR code below so that your pledge can be dedicated too!

This week at Good Shepherd

Coffee Hour Please join us for coffee and goodies in the Parish Hall after the 10:30 Service

Children's Chapel this week. Children are invited to follow the cross after the Collect. Nursery is available for the little ones. See an usher for directions.

Choir Rehearsal Schedules

The Cherub and Alleluia Choirs will rehearse together on Wednesdays for thirty minutes beginning at 5:15 p.m.

The Alleluia Choir will rehearse for another thirty minutes after the rehearsal with the Cherub Choir, finishing at 6:15 p.m.

The Good Shepherd Choir rehearses on Wednesdays from 7 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. and is open to all adults and high school students.

Mid-week Eucharist

Refresh your soul on Wednesdays at noon in the Sanctuary.

Coming Soon:

Sunday, December 1, plan to stay after the 10:30 service for Advent Wreath Making! You'll need clippers and any greenery you are able to cut and bring along. This is a one family craft. Please RSVP by email to eshepherd@goodshepherdrmt.org as soon as possible so that we can have everything ready for you. It will be a fun time as we begin Advent.

The Episcopalians are playing Mahjong! Come play with fellow Episcopalians from St. Andrew’s and Good Shepherd on Wednesday, December 4th at 6 p.m. in the parish hall at St. Andrew’s. Be sure to bring your 2024 card!

Kindly respond to Sissy Dunton 252-883-3464, Boyd Harris 252-904-6647 or Terry Noble 252-813-4646

Sunday, December 8, 5:00 p.m. A Service of Nine Lessons and Carols

This much loved annual candlelight service, sung by the Alleluia and Good Shepherd Choirs, will include traditional carols, hymns, and anthems.

The mystery of the missing baskets! The Flower Guild is missing two farmstand/produce baskets. If you grabbed them by mistake, please return to the kitchen in the Parish Hall. No questions asked! They look something like this:

Outreach Committee Update

Thanksgiving Boxes – WOW!!!

Once again the love and generosity of our Good Shepherd Family has come through to help those around us. Thank you so much!

We had a goal of providing Thanksgiving boxes to 65 of our neighbors in need, but your amazing generosity will allow us to bless 80 families.

We'll be packing and distributing the boxes on Sunday, Nov. 24. If you'd like to stay after the 10:30 service and help us pack boxes, we'd love the help. And then from 1 to 3 we will be carrying the boxes to the cars of those who will enjoy them. The Outreach Committee thanks you again!

A few photos from last week's final Fall Gathering

at Deborah and Kenneth Burnett's home.

Thanks to all our gathering hosts, Nan and Kim Bayless, Isabella and Harris Walker and the Burnettes.

Parishioners Celebrating Birthdays this week

November 21

Thomas Adams, Jr.

November 22

Susan Van Dyke

Emily Haley

November 23

Laurie Ann Ezzell

November 24

Barbara Mullen

November 25

Matthew Mangano

Happenings in our Diocese

This Thursday and Friday is the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina's conference. If you would like to view any of the sessions online, please go to the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina's website; www.episdionc.org

Other information on events in the diocese is available by clicking here .

Are you looking for a way to start the Advent season with some reflection and a quiet time? You are invited to a Quiet Day: A Time of Reflection and Fellowship at St. Timothy's. More information at this LINK.

Parish Prayer List

For those in trouble, sorrow, need, sickness, or any other adversity: especially Joyce Cuthrell, Whitney Herbert, Randy Reid, Dinah Fowlkes, Bill Harris, Aileen Harris, Amy McCotter, Jeanette Belfield, Linda Mattocks, Chris Poole, Gregory Strickland, Bruce Biggs, Willie Skinner, Debbie Freas, Bobbi Weeks, and .

For continued health and healing: Bill Hudgins, Mary W. Dawson, Becky Bryan, Elizabeth "Sister" Cherry, Albert Ervin, Frances Gaither, Dwight Johnson, Boo White, and Brent Wilson.

For the blessings of this life:

For those expecting the birth of a child: Morgan and Benton Moss

For those who have died:

To add or remove people on the Prayer List please contact Cheryl Coppedge at coppedgecheryl@gmail.com. Please ask their permission before submitting.

A note about pastoral care emergencies: If you are experiencing a pastoral emergency (e.g. someone you love or you yourself are in the hospital, or you’re experiencing some distressing news) please call my cell phone (570-259-0671) and leave a message if I don’t pick up right away. I’ll get back to you as soon as I can. If in doubt, please call – I can’t support you if I don’t know you need support!

BZC+

252-442-1134 churchofthegoodshepherdrm@gmail.com

www.goodshepherdrmt.org