In This Issue...

The Daughters of the King thank all who contributed to the Mobile Meals Senior Christmas Bag project. We were able to provide 35 bags stuffed with all sorts of fun, useful and warm items. The bags were then delivered to seniors at Christmas with their meal. For some this is all they receive and they know someone cares. DOK appreciates your support.

 Love and Blessings to you,

Like last year, our Silent Auction will be online, on Facebook. Bidding opened online yesterday, Wednesday February 23, and will continue through midnight on Shrove Tuesday, March 1.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/865645247570116/?ref=share

THIS Sunday, February 27, auction items will be on display in the Narthex at Good Sam. There will be no bid sheets, but you may pull out your cell phone and bid while browsing the auction items in person! If you don't have Facebook, find a friend who does, and they can bid on your behalf. (We had a few folks do that last year.) You are also invited to purchase from our Cash & Carry section!

Instead of eating pancakes, we are asking folks to bring some “fats” to be donated to local organizations. Suggested items: pancake mix, muffin mix, small bags of flour, small bags of sugar, syrup, cookie mixes, etc. If your item requires cooking oil, a small container to pair with it is a huge gift for families. There will be a collection bin in Henslee Hall for these items! Please bring these items to church THIS Sunday.

Also on Sunday, we will be Burying the Alleluias during the 10:00 AM service. Supplies will be available to color an alleluia and place in the Alleluia box during communion. (You can also make your own alleluia at home and bring it with you on Sunday.) 

Drivers are needed for FISH to deliver groceries Monday, February 28 and on the 4th Monday each month afterwards, from 10:30 to about 1 or 2.

Please contact Mary Ann Venable at [email protected].

We are excited that Peter Green, Volunteer and Co-Sponsorship Manager for Bridge Refugee Services, will join us again on March 6 as we continue to build our Good Sam Team to welcome and support a refugee family arriving in Knoxville.

This will be an opportunity for Peter to share with us in-person and to ask further questions. If you have already expressed interest to Malinda Lewis and/or Ed Hochnedel about being a part of the Good Sam Team working with Bridge, please plan to attend. And if you haven't yet expressed interest but are still discerning how you might get involved (or are hearing about this opportunity for the first time), please also plan to attend! CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT JOINING THE GOOD NEIGHBOR TEAM.

We will also provide a zoom link so you may be a part of this gathering if you cannot attend in person. Look for the link in the worship email on March 5.

Good Samaritan is honored to host this year’s Absalom Jones service, presented by The Diocese of East Tennessee.

Join us Good Sam at 5:00 pm on Sunday, March 6 to hear The Rev. Chris Battle, pastor of the Underground Collective, Knoxville.

Offering donations for this event will go to the East Tennessee Chapter of the Union of Black Episcopalians and the East Tennessee Freedom School.

A reception will follow the service.

Adult Formation in Lent: JOY

Beginning Sunday, March 13

At first glance, "Joy" may seem an out-of-place focus for Lent. This is the season where we put our "Alleluias" away and remember that we will one day return to the dust. What place does "Joy" have in the midst of the ashes?

His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu would say that "Joy's" place is in the center of the ashes - right in the mix - play and laughter right alongside struggle, loss, and grief. These holy and spiritual leaders invite us to practice joy, and after a pandemic season which has felt like an extended Lent - perhaps now more than ever, we need to practice joy. Only then will we arrive at Easter Day with the fullest "Alleluia!" we can proclaim.

Please join us beginning Sunday, March 13, in Henslee Hall or on Zoom as we prepare for Easter by practicing joy. Be watching for a reading schedule and further details.

The Book of Joy may be purchased at any of your favorite book sellers.

We have been invited - you have been invited - to join in partnership with St. Elizabeth’s Episcopal Church to become part of this new ministry that benefits Children’s Hospital here in Knoxville.

This new ministry involves sewing very simple pillowcases for the young patients at Children’s Hospital. The pillowcases are easy to make and most importantly help Children’s Hospital provide their young patients with the added level of comfort, love, and care they so need at a difficult time in their lives. Whether you are a seasoned sewer, an occasional sewer or have wished to sew but never have, join us in our partnership project with Children’s Hospital!

The pillowcase design being made for the Children’s Hospital can be found in this You Tube Demonstration Link: How to Make an Easy Tube Pillowcase by the Missouri Star Quilt Co. You may view the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrYWCma9wgM

Information sheets with instructions and a list of the materials needed to make the” Easy Tube” pillowcases will be made available for anyone interested in becoming a part of this sewing ministry.

IF you do not sew but would like to help with this ministry for Children’s Hospital, please consider:

Fabrics are available in several Knoxville stores. Sewing Machines ETC., located on the Kingston Pike between Walker Springs and West Town, has a huge selection of fabrics and offers a discount of 10% or more depending on the fabric purchased for charitable causes. JoAnn’s is another option. 

If needed, arrangements can be made for a “how-to demonstration” at Good Sam for those interested in this sewing project for Children’s Hospital. Please let Ann Backus know if you would be interested in a sewing demonstration at Good Sam. [email protected]. 

Please let Ann Backus know if you are interested in sewing as part of this ministry. If you need further information, please call, text, or email our contact at St. Elizabeth’s - Bernadette Renfro 865.368.3811; [email protected] 

St. Elizabeth is looking forward to partnering with us on this ministry for Children’s Hospital!

We are beginning our Family Promise outreach on Sunday, March 6, going through to Sunday, March 13. We will be providing supper only for up to 3 families. At the suggestion of Family Promise, we have been providing food cards which allows families to purchase their own breakfasts.

Meals need to be dropped off at the Family Promise Center at 3545 Middlebrook Pike at 5:30.

As a little boy imagines the adventurous life of being a hero, his mother plays along and uses the opportunity to admire each goldy quality of her son's royal character by sharing verses from the bible. I think you will enjoy this sweet book called I'll Be Your Hero, a royal tale of Godly character.  

Don't Miss Out On The Fun!

Our annual pancake supper/silent auction will look different this year, but will be special still. The silent auction will be online, and open Wed 2/23- Tues 2/25, with an in person option including special cash/carry items only on Sunday the 27!

Mission Trip to Nashville, TN! (see the article below for more information)

Youth MUST be over 12 to attend. Youth under 12 can attend with a parent, but many places we volunteer on these trips require 12+, so we cannot guarantee that those youth could participate fully in the trip.

Grace Point Camps!! VBS!! Local service project opportunities!!

Please stay tuned for more details and information. I hope to see you Sunday! Contact Sinead at [email protected] with questions.

Our 2022 Good Sam Mission Trip is heading to Nashville TN!

We will travel around the area to many different learning, service, worship and recreational opportunities!

To register, contact Sinead Doherty [email protected]

Mark Your Calendars now for Vacation Bible School! The theme this year is "KIDS LIKE ME" - Bible stories of amazing kids doing amazing things!

Vacation Bible School will be held this summer, July 11-15, from 9:00-12:00 every day except Friday when it will end at 11:00. Put this on your calendar now so you do not sign up for any other camps and your children can attend this fun week of fellowship and learning.

The Cash in the Plate for Sunday, February 27 will go to Cherokee Health Food Assistance program.

In addition to the medical care Cherokee Health System provides in Knoxville and surrounding counties, they also maintain 13 food pantries, each one administered by their staffs at their clinics, because they are familiar with their patients and families. Cherokee used to view their food pantries as a source of supplying only emergency food, but now the need for food has ballooned.

Thank you for providing real nourishment to our neighbors.

You can make an online cash plate gift to the cash in the plate on the Good Sam online giving page. There is an option on the giving page to give to the "Cash in Plate". As always, you may also send a check to Good Samaritan. (Please designate that it is for "Cherokee Health" in the memo line).