Sunday Worship
This week we conclude the Cross Training Message Series. Our faith journey is not a journey to be taken alone. The call of every believer is a call to be part of a radical community called the Church. Many promises of the Scriptures are connected not to individual believers but to believers who are gathered together in faith.
The live stream begins at 9:50 am (not 9:45 am). Worship begins at 10 am. Also, please note that there will be NO Communion this Sunday. But we will have communion together on Thanksgiving Eve.
A Covid Update from Pastor Phil
Our Circuit Visitor, Pastor Schonberg from Good Shepherd, Point Pleasant, was diagnosed last Sunday with Covid. We want to pray for healing for Pastor Schonberg and for all who have been infected with this virus. I spoke with him on Thursday, and he is grateful for the prayers and is on the road to healing.
But there is another part to this story. Vicar Jeff and I attended a meeting in-person the week before last with Pastor Schonberg. It was approximately 48 hours after this meeting that Pastor Schonberg developed the symptoms. Out of an abundance of caution during this time, both Vicar Jeff and I have chosen to self-quarantine. That means that both of us will be joining you online for worship this Sunday rather than in-person. It is an unfortunate circumstance, but our worship is in the hands of our more than capable volunteers.
The good news is that neither of us are experiencing any symptoms. And we both look forward to being able to join you in-person once again on Wednesday evening for our Thanksgiving Eve Worship.
I want to remind you again that it is up to all of us to do our part to prevent the spread of Covid. If you have any question in your mind about any potential exposure to the illness, we would rather you err on the side of caution rather than attend in-person and potentially infect others. We have established our guidelines, and we ask that you keep these guidelines in mind.
Everyone who attends will be required to:
- Register on-line
- Wear a mask at all times – please bring your own. Masks will not be provided.
- Maintain social distancing – pews will be marked. Ushers will direct you to your assigned seats.
- Use hand sanitizer as needed.
We ask that you would not attend worship in-person if you have:
- a fever or felt feverish in the past 14 days,
- shortness of breath or are having difficulty breathing,
- a cough,
- flu-like symptoms,
- currently experiencing loss of taste or smell,
- tested positive for COVID19 in the past 2 weeks,
- been exposed to someone in the past 2 weeks who was confirmed to have COVID19, OR
- visited one of the states that currently have a NJ travel advisory requiring a 14-day quarantine in the last two weeks.
Stay safe and well! In Christ,
Pastor Phil
Question of the Day
If you are watching online, share a comment to let us know that you are with us. Answer our question of the day. This week’s question is: “What is your favorite Thanksgiving side dish?” Share your answer in the Facebook or YouTube comments during our live stream starting at 9:50am. Also, make sure to give a “Like” to our live stream and subscribe to our YouTube Channel.
Thanksgiving Eve Worship
We may not be able to celebrate Thanksgiving with your extended families this year because of Covid. But that does not stop us from worshipping together as the family of God. We will come together on Thanksgiving Eve (Wednesday, November 25) at 7 pm on YouTube, Facebook, and In-person. If you plan to worship with us in-person, you will need to make a reservation. We will also share the Lord’s Supper during this evening. The deadline to make your reservation for this special service will be noon on November 25.
We will be taking a special offering as part of this service. The funds received from this offering will go to support our local food banks.
Virtual Angel Tree 2020
This year’s Angel Tree will be a virtual Angel Tree. This year’s gifts will go to residents of the Reformed Church Home and to Big Brothers and Big Sisters. Visit our Angel Tree page to pick your recipient. Gifts will be due back before December 1.
Midweek Advent Services
Prepare the way of the Lord! Good Shepherd will be hosting Midweek Advent services in December during the season of Advent. These services will begin at 7 pm and will be held in-person and will be live-streamed on Facebook and YouTube.
November Verse of the Month
If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
2 Chronicles 7:14, ESV
Home for Christmas
This year has been different. And Christmas Eve will be different as well. There will be no in-person services this year because of the ongoing Coronavirus Pandemic. Instead, we will be live-streaming a service – “Home for Christmas” – on Facebook and YouTube starting at 5 pm. We will be offering different ways to participate in this service and we will be sharing more information in the weeks to come.
Online Giving
Visit gs4nj.org/give to donate. You can donate with a credit card or have the funds debited from your checking account. You can also set up automated giving set up on a weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, or twice-monthly basis.
Another option to give is text to give. Text any dollar amount to 84321. We will reply with a link to a quick, self-guided setup process to tie your mobile phone to our church, your donor account, and a payment source.
All of this is easily managed through an online account that is set up the first time you give. There is also an app that can be used to manage your giving. It is available on iOS and Android.
As always checks can also be mailed to:
3139 County Rd 516
Old Bridge, NJ 08857
Holiday Shopping and Amazon Smile
We received $229.06 in Amazon Smile donations from shopping purchases made between July 1 to September 30 at smile.amazon.com. Thank you to everyone who has made use of Amazon Smile to support Good Shepherd.
If you already shop at Amazon, it is easy to support our ministry. Instead of going to amazon.com to shop, just add “smile.” before amazon.com. So the link will be smile.amazon.com. Any time you make a purchase at this link 0.5% of your purchase will go to the charity of your choice. It may not be much, but it adds up over time and as more of us make use of this service. Please keep in mind that you need to use the smile link every time you make a purchase. If you go back to using the regular Amazon link or use the Amazon app, we will not get a donation with those purchases.
