The Shepherd’s Voice The Shepherd’s Voice The Shepherd’s Voice 2018 Program Issue

The Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd Brentwood, TN 37027

Using Your Gifts Hello Friends!

I am so grateful to be your new Music Minister! First off,

thank you for the hospitality everyone has shown to my

family. You guys have welcomed us warmly, and for that

we will always be grateful. Particularly to Jim, Brian,

Paul, Jill, and Evelyn, I say again, thank you for helping us

get settled in and for being so considerate of our needs.

Secondly, if I were you, I’d want to hear the background

on the new guy. Who is he? How did he get here? To

that end, I’m excited to share a little more of my story

with you here. (Yep, that’s me with the guitar, and no I

did not know how to play it at that age!).

I remember the first time someone ever told me, “You

have a gift.” It was right after a solo in front of Parkview

Baptist Church, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 1989. It was an

odd statement for a

7-year old to digest. I

began to ponder what

it meant for me that

year, and I don’t know

that I’ve ever stopped

mulling it over. At age

8, I started piano les-

sons. As the years

went by, I found my-

self singing in church,

school choirs, playing in praise bands, and for several

years, in a country Gospel band.

At age 17, I subbed for the music minister, leading wor-

ship for one of the Sunday morning services. And that

intriguing phrase, “You have a gift,” was repeated to

me off and on throughout the years.

By the time high school graduation came, I concluded

that one of the ways God wanted me to use my gifts

was to lead worship, and to serve his church. In 2000, I

headed to Nashville to attend Belmont Uni-

versity for 4 years, where I studied Church

Music and had the great fortune of meeting

my lovely wife of 14 years, Pamela.

Throughout college and after graduating, I

worked at churches (also started a wedding

cover band – see photo below), while explor-

ing on the one hand what it meant to “use my

gifts,” and on the other hand, questioning

heavily the fundamentals of my religious up-

bringing.

In 2007, the questions reached their pinnacle

in a big crisis of faith, and I walked away from

all of it. Church, God, etc. This began what

my wife and I refer to as the “exile” period. It was also

during that period of time that I started my own busi-

ness, StitchMark, LLC, selling promotional products (I’ll

come back to

that in a mo-

ment).

After about 5

years of “exile,”

I began having

strange and

vivid dreams.

There were a

few key people placed in my life as well. It was so

powerful that I felt like God had literally put his hands

on my shoulders, turned me around to face him, and

said gently but firmly to my face, “Stop running and

surrender.” So I did. I surrendered completely, and

one by one, God instructed me on next steps to take,

spoon-feeding me all along the way. It wasn’t long

before I felt the return of that old familiar calling to use

my gifts and serve his church.

What is your gift? Do you play an instrument? Sing?

Dance? Write poetry? Perhaps you can arrange flow-

ers? Or knit? Or you have a good reading/speaking

voice. Or you’re a great cook. Can you work an ipad

during the service to mute a mic here or there? How

will you respond to God’s call to use your gifts?

If you haven’t already, I hope you’ll reach out to some-

one at Good Shepherd to get plugged in. If it’s music

related (or even if not), please stop whatever you’re

doing and email me TODAY –

rmclellan@goodshepherdbrentwood.org. I want to

help you get plugged in. Even if you think you can only

serve once every now and then, I’d love to chat about

possibilities.

Upcoming Musical Dates to note:

Aug. 8, 2018 - Wednesday night 6:30pm Choir re-

hearsal resumes weekly (for the 11am Tradi-

tional Choir). We’ll meet in the choir loft eve-

ry Wednesday night, and we’d love to have

you sit in on a rehearsal sometime and just

see what you think (no commitment required

and reading music is not required).

August 12, 2018 – Sunday morning 8am rehearsals

resume weekly (for the 9am Praise Team).

We’ll meet in Herlong hall and the invitation is

open here as well if you’d like to sit in on a

rehearsal sometime.

Lastly, I’ll close with one of my favorites from the pray-

er book:

O God, whom saints and angels delight to worship in

heaven: Be ever present with your servants who seek

through art and music to perfect the praises offered

by your people on earth; and grant to them even now

glimpses of your beauty, and make them worthy at

length to behold it unveiled for evermore; through

Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (BCP).

I look forward to meeting more of you soon!

Randy McLellan

rmclellan@goodshepherdbrentwood.org

615.594.5058

Continued from previous page

It was about 2012 when St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal

Church in Nashville became a place of healing for my

family.

We felt like God used St. B’s to completely redefine who

God is. Slowly at first, but steadily through the years, I

started using my gifts again.

More recently, about Fall 2017, I was feeling called more

urgently than ever. I can even recall God telling me that

our time at St. B’s was done. It was time to move on. To

where? No clue. But it was clear that something was on

the horizon. For my business, StitchMark, as well. After

looking into the books and praying hard, I decided my

business should take a huge scale-down: I dropped a

large program that wasn’t hitting targeted profitability,

laid off both of my employees, and got out of the office

to work from home instead.

Looking back, I can see God’s hand leading every step of

that transition. At the end of it all, my weekly time

spent on the business was cut by 50-60%. During that

change-up, while seeking to answer the call to use my

gifts, I received the email from Evelyn Weems about the

Music Minister position at Good Shepherd. My wife and

I prayed and talked openly with our kids about it, with

our friends, our pastors, etc. Every interaction I had

with this community was warm and reassuring, and we

concluded that this is where God was leading us.

For now, I turn to you with a question/challenge to con-

sider, and this is for all ages, not just adults.

The McLellans; Randy, Garrison. Caroline and Pamela

YOU MAY BE A MEMBER OF THE LEGACY SOCIETY AND

NOT KNOW IT!

By: Bill Bailey

For the last three years we have established a Legacy Society which recognizes the fact that some of it’s mem-bers have made provisions to leave some amount of their estate or wealth to Church of

the Good Shepherd at their death. This is a spe-cial fund for the future of the church that the vestry has no control over.

Our committee consists of me, Morry Ellis, Babs Knieriem and Eric Perez.

Our mission has been to get people to look at ways they can do this in some cases with tax sav-ings or other benefits and to recognize the peo-ple who have made that commitment.

In making our calls we have found that some people have already done this and we don’t know about it. If you have already made provi-sions to leave something to the Church of the Good Shepherd, please contact me or one of our committee members so you can be recognized as a member of the Legacy.

Congratulations to Eric Perez and Paul & Jane Eggers on becoming members of the Church of the Good Shepherd Legacy Society.

There are a number of benefits to being a mem-ber of the Legacy Society. Besides our annual wine and cheese meeting, we will make available seminars in planning your estate. We plan to do a seminar on Planning for the End of Life, Writing your Will, Planning your Funeral, etc.

Please let us hear from you.

Update from the Sr. Warden

Our transition is proceeding smoothly as the Vestry works on maintaining what has made Good Shepherd our parish home and works toward positioning our-selves to find our new Rector.

Father Tony Ferguson has stepped in as our stated sup-ply priest and has blessed us with his pastoral leader-ship. He will continue to officiate at our services until our new Rector answers our call. Father Tony and our

Deacon, Bonnie Lloyd-Downs, are available for pastoral care by contacting them through our church administrator, Angela Premoe.

Blessings continue to fall on Good Shepherd as our music minister position has now been filled by Randy McLellan. Randy and his family join us from St. Bartholomew’s where they have attended for the past several years. Randy impressed our music minister search committee with his musical skills, music degree, his enthusiasm for church music ministry and his engaging personali-ty. We hope everyone will go out of their way to meet him and make him and his family feel at home at Good Shepherd. In the short time Randy has been with us he has shown how fortunate we are to have found him.

The Rector Search Committee has been hard at work preparing the docu-ments necessary for our search to begin with the assistance of the Diocese and the national church’s office of transition ministry. A church profile telling the story of who we are in text, pictures and statistical graphs has been ap-proved by the Vestry and the Diocese as has our office of transition ministry profile. The church profile will be posted with links through our church web-site so be sure to check it out within the next few weeks.

Father Tony announced in July that the Vestry has decided to make changes regarding our Rector’s Discretionary Fund. As you know the loose plate offer-ing the first Sunday of each month has gone to the Rector’s Discretionary Fund. Father Randy used these funds to help his “beloveds” who would come to him for financial assistance. For several reasons the Vestry has de-cided to use the discretionary fund only for the extreme financial needs of members of our congregation. We will seek to maintain a balance of $2,000 in the account for that purpose. All funds in excess of that needed to main-tain that balance will be sent equally to GraceWorks in Williamson County and St. Luke’s in Davidson County. Each has the capacity to assist with the financial needs of the “beloveds” and because the “beloveds” come primarily for both Williamson and Davidson Counties we felt it best to divide the funds between the two.

Our columbarium expansion is moving forward in the Dunnavant Chapel. We are looking for the expansion to be complete in the coming weeks. If you are interested in securing space in the columbarium contact Angela in the church office and she will be able to provide details.

The Vestry meets monthly and beginning in September will meet the third Tuesday of each month at 6:30 p.m. Meetings are open to anyone who would like to attend. Minutes of the meeting can be found on the bulletin board across from the church office.

Jim Weatherly Sr. Warden

Almighty and ever living God,

ruler of all things in heaven and earth, in this time of transition for Good Shepherd, hear our prayers for this parish family. Strengthen the faithful, arouse the careless, and re-store the penitent. Grant us all things necessary for our common life and bring us all to be of one heart and mind within your holy Church; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

AMPED—

Live Fully Alive

@2017 The reThink Group, Inc. All rights reserved. www.orangevbs.com

VBS 2018

By: Chrissie Coombs Children’s Ministry Director

When you read your Bible, do you ever put yourself in the shoes of the people you read about? Making that connec-tion – a personal response and a spiritual contemplation – is giving yourself the great gift of inviting the Holy Spirit’s life-changing truths straight from the Word of God to you.

That’s what I’ve always felt Vacation Bible School was all about. At its core, we are bringing Biblical stories and peo-

ple, messages and miracles, and most im-portantly a risen Lord and His father’s love, straight from the scriptures to those growing up in our parish. Every summer, churches every-

where provide children a few days of concentrated fun cen-tered in putting themselves into a Bible story, wondering what it means to them today, where/how they fit in God’s kingdom…and what they should do with this knowledge.

During our time together at our AMPED VBS 2018, we were graced with hearing the children sing praises to their heav-enly Father and dance in the joy the Spirit during music time. I wish we could have captured the moments when seeds of faith were planted during the Bi-ble Story led by Tracy Hamm and Deacon Bonnie and when the kids gave High Fives to God. If only you could’ve heard the snippets of brief but meaningful conversations about God being with us always by craft leader Catharine Humphrey; or in the hallway after some rowdy outdoor games with guest leader April, a children’s minister from another church. Listening to the conversation led by Elizabeth Gollihue during the Missions rota-tion when the kids saw themselves as important pieces of God’s puzzle and learned more about friendship was special too. In fact, all of VBS was really special – God totally AMPED us up!

Wouldn’t it be nice to see how the seeds we plant today, grow in the future? To know if all the work of putting on a VBS is worth it? But just as the kids learned, God’s way doesn’t give us the script to read ahead, or an overview of every-thing. We certainly don’t get the option to pick and choose what you’ll know, what you’ll go through, what works or what fails. We do not know the outcome; we only know God is with us every day. He has a plan, and we are part of His bigger story.

I saw how, yet once again, God comes through when I do my part. Of course we all want a wonderful and nurturing VBS – that’s certainly the goal! This year we decided to try a weekday experience from 10am-1pm and serve lunch. In the end, everything was fantastic, but I vividly recall times

when I nervously wondered if I had made a big mistake with the sched-ule and worried this VBS would be the one that made all future VBS’ die. Enrollment was low, there was a des-perate need for volunteers, a lot of money had been spent, etc., but I kept reminding myself that regard-less of numbers, the Lord’s presence is assured. And isn’t that what it’s all

about? It’s God’s work, I reminded myself, simply focus on the task at hand and let God be God.

So I turned it over to God, but thought some research might be a good idea in case I was really off the track with our VBS plan at Good Shepherd. I volun-teered at another church’s VBS and fol-lowed a group of 4th graders around for a week.

I gained reassurance that at COGS we are on the right path for us. It was in-sightful for me to see the traditional VBS in action and make sure we were deliv-ering on the most important points. I was reminded that God has been with me from the start of planning, and in the never-to-be-forgotten message of

AMPED (Continued from previous page)

Shipwrecked VBS – Jesus rescues!

Meanwhile, back at Good Shepherd, Deacon Bonnie made announce-ments, and wow, the volunteers starting calling! Enrollment grew to a point where I could safely say hello to the Vestry should our paths cross in Herlong Hall.

In the end, we had a nearly 1:1 ratio of adults/helpers to the children attend-ing. Just think for a moment about the awesome moments of sharing friendship and planting seeds of faith we had with that kind of help!

The daily themes of AMPED VBS were:

God is always with you (the life of Joseph)

God has a plan (the life of Esther)

Live like People Matter - We are Part of a Bigger Story! (the life of Paul and the early church)

Our outreach ministry was for San Jose Obrero preschool in Ecuador and over $400 was gathered from the Coop of Many Colors! Thank you all for sharing your egg money!

The memory scripture verse was words that Jesus spoke, “I have come so they may have life. I want them to have it in the fullest possible way.” ~ John 10:10b.

It was incredible to see that He was SO with us!

His hand in the works, and His love in the results.

This is why a Child's First Communion is a Big Deal. Jesus comes to us in a unique way in the Eucharist. When He comes, we receive Him into our body and our soul. This is very beautiful, personal, and intimate. We should not take it for granted!

The first time a family member makes their Holy Communion, it is an exciting event for the whole family. The boy or girl preparing for this sacrament is going to be pro-foundly united with Jesus in a way that they never have before!

Here at COGS, we have four Sundays of classroom study leading up to First Communion. The students begin learn-ing in their second grade Sunday school class, which is ac-tually the same age in which most Roman Catholic commu-nities celebrate a First Holy Communion. Matching this as-pect of the practice reassures many of our parents, yet doesn’t conflict with our Episcopal tradition in which there is no given age to gain a better understanding of the sacra-ment.

Some of the content of the class is:

* What does Baptism do? * Learning about the Last Supper * Difference between Liturgy of “The Word” and Litur-

gy of “The Table” * Describing the sacrament of Holy Eucharist * How Jesus chose this particular act to remember him * “Show and Tell” in the sacristy with the “Holy Hard-

ware,” at the altar, and tasting bread and wine

The Sunday 'Event'

Preparing for the event, certain traditions creep into our celebration. Many of the girls are wearing white dresses and the boys are in their (possibly) first suit or sport coat. There are no major changes to our worship. However, the second grade is seated together as a class in the front pew. At the beginning of the Eucharistic Prayer, the class will be called to join the priest around the altar, where they can closely witness the actions and words used by the priest in blessing the bread and wine.

The second graders then kneel at the altar. Parents then come up to stand immediately behind their children as they receive Communion. Afterwards, the rest of the con-

By Deacon Bonnie Lloyd– Downs

The age in which a child is introduced to the Eucharist can be an area of tension in our church. For many, especially for-mer Roman Catholics, the tradition of a First Holy Communion is part of their shared family experience. Despite the weekly invitation that “All baptized

Christians are invited and encouraged to partake,” some parents often feel uncomfortable and may not wish for their children to receive communion-- yet. They wish their chil-dren to have more of an understanding of what it’s all about.

Here at Good Shepherd, many parishioners who were raised Roman Catholic feel at home in the Episcopal church – the liturgy is very similar, we follow the lectionary, and we are a sacramental church. For several years, our church has con-ducted a special First Communion Sunday with our second graders. Quite often, there are some children in 3rd grade who have not made their First Communion yet—and the parents wish them to participate. We used to have our first Communion on the second Sunday of Easter. However, be-cause of spring break schedules—we have changed it to the first Sunday in October.

Admittedly, when I first started teaching the first commun-ion classes, I was unsure about this special Eucha-ristic Celebration, think-ing that it might cause confusion for our fami-lies. I would never want to discourage a family who wishes their young child to partake of com-munion. This is a paren-tal decision. However, a child’s First Communion is a special event. The Eucharist is at the heart of ‘Christian initiation’, together with Baptism and Confirmation, and it constitutes the source of the Church’s life itself. From this Sacrament of love, in fact, flows every authentic journey of faith, of communion, and of witness.

Why a Child’s First Holy Communion is such a Big Deal

Continued on next page

gregation is communed as usual. At coffee hour, there is a cake (because nothing says sacred event like gobs of buttercream icing), and grandparents take pictures of beaming children.

There is formation for parents and family members as well. Before the service, as we greet families' visiting relatives, I con-tinue the conversation: explaining our practice of inviting all baptized Christians to take Communion. I explain that just as parents feed their children before teach-ing them about good nutrition, we wel-come our children to this sacred table before they understand why we are do-ing so. We want them to associate the Holy Eucharist with being a nurtured, cherished and nourished member of the family of God, especially those friends and family gathered at our church.

And If the family wants pictures of them-selves in front of the altar, gathered around the child wearing their new dress or new suit, so be it. When our families see their family’s spiritual history in pho-tos (even if they themselves have con-flicting feelings about that history...) it is treated with respect and grace. This is just another way of saying, “Come to the table, all are welcome.”

Communion… a Big Deal Continued from previous page

By Patti Dietrick

Are you interested in finding a meaningful way to serve in our church? The Altar Guild of COGS is in desperate need of more volunteers. This is a great oppor-tunity to do a small job that fills a BIG need. Both men and women can partici-

pate in this ministry!

What is Altar Guild?

In general terms, the duty of the altar guild is to prepare all the things necessary for the celebration of the Eucharist or any of the other sacraments and offices of the church. Being part of Altar Guild is one of the most rewarding gifts you can give yourself.

We currently have openings for volunteers at all three of our service times, so you can easily participate at the service you regularly attend.

Training is provided and you will be paired with another Altar Guild member during the learning process. You usually serve only one Sunday per month and we have one meeting a year to catch up.

Altar team member Judy Hollandsworth says “Being on the team is fun and really very easy. It only takes a few minutes to set up for Communion and clean up is simple, too. Some volunteers prefer to serve by laundering and pressing the small linens used at the altar. Others keep the can-dles filled with oil or pre-count wafers and wrap them up. We can find a job for you! I encourage you to join this wonderful team.”

Please prayerfully consider being part of this ministry. We really need you. Please contact Patti Dietrick by text 615-642-7627 or by e-mail: pdietrick1@gmail.com

Please join us on the Altar Guild Team!

By Evelyn Weems

Scripture is full of images, some fantastical such as in The Revela-tion and in Ezekiel; others practi-cal as in things of nature. The use of stones spoke to me recently. Earlier this summer we read the story of David slaying Goliath. I

have thought about how David, a mere lad, took up five smooth stones to take on the giant. Smooth, mind you, not with well chiseled sharp edges meant to cut, maim, and possibly slay, but smooth, rounded by the water passing over them in the stream for millennia. Smooth so that the Lord’s hand would be evident in the fall of the enemy.

Another reference to stones came in a Daily Office reading mid-July in which Joshua has led the wander-ing Israelites out of the desert through the Jordan on dry ground even though the river was at flood stage. When the last person passed across between the priests and into the Promised Land, God instructed Joshua to have one representative from each of the twelve tribes to choose a stone from where the priests stood in the middle of the river bed. These were not small stones such as David had wielded but large, heft onto your shoulder type stones that together would make a memorial for future generations to see and be reminded of what God had done for His people.

Some of you know me well enough to know my very favorite stone reference comes in I Samuel 7:12 in a previous encounter between the Israelites and the Philistines, when God routed the attackers in a panic before the eyes of His Children. Samuel chose a stone, again a stone of some size that would stay in place and serve as a reminder, and he named it Ebenezer, mean-ing, ‘Thus far has God helped us’. Israel was a young nation. It needed reminders of all God had done for them to support their hope in His help to come.

Good Shepherd is a young church. We too need re-minders of how God has helped us. In your life, where have you set an Ebenezer stone? In the life of our con-gregation, where do we set such a reminder? Looking around we see the Sunday School and Administrative wing of our church building and then the Nave; these

“The Stone of Help” can serve as our Ebenezer. As can the outdoor chapel or the cross in the circle or the chapel.

As we pass through this time of transition, it is good to call to mind the ways God has helped us. And it is good to continue to come before Him in prayer. If you have been faithful in praying for this church, continue to do so. If you have become lax, shore up your pray-er muscle with regular exercise. As you pray, set an Ebenezer stone in a journal, in your home, in your garden, wherever you will see it to remember that God has helped you and the church.

Prayers for transition and for the search committee are posted on the screens, in the weekly blast, in the bulletins and in this Voice. Use these or others from the Book of Common Prayer or extemporaneous ones. AS Fr. Tony has been preaching, use the Lord’s prayer as a template. However you approach the throne of grace, do so with faith that OUR Father will provide our needs as He always has. Take up a stone in remembrance and praise the Lord for this Ebenezer.

As we recall how far He has helped us it is fitting to rejoice in Him and to come to Him with praise and thanksgiving.

By Chrissie Coombs

Children’s Ministry Director

After the last day of vacation Bible school, there is an immediate sense of relief, but it is short-lived when you get home and see VBS leftovers have taken over the house. I moved piles around for a few days, and got

as close as the keyboard a couple times to write about our AMPED VBS experience for the Shepherd’s Voice. I got distracted though and ended up clearing off three shelves of children’s ministry stuff that was taking over the desk.

Apparently, my distraction was divinely inspired, because something unexpected happened. I picked up a file or-ganizer recently unearthed from somewhere in the church building. I took a look inside, and discovered it contained old VBS papers from 2007 and 2009. Not quite as precious as, say the Dead Sea Scrolls, but Evelyn Weems’ words of wisdom for children’s ministry are in there, so pretty close! I figured I’d just take a quick look to satisfy my curiosity.

Well, my writing plans for the day took a backseat as I quickly became fascinated with a glimpse of a bygone era at Good Shepherd - one that took place a decade ago, right before I put down roots at Good Shepherd. It was all very well preserved. A folder containing email commu-niques made me laugh because they had been printed and saved all this time. A few sentences in, and I was hooked. It was a little bit like reading a memoir, written by people I know now, but didn’t know then. I really en-joyed reading about the planning and organization of VBS Then vs. Now. It had been on my heart that to make sure the purity of VBS wasn’t lost in the tweaking of the pro-gram to fit our parish. This was a treasure trove of insight I just had to dig into.

As I randomly pulled out manila files, I saw names of people who served on a VBS team or taught Sunday school back in the day. Some names were of people who have since become good friends who bless my life today; while others I never had the

pleasure to meet. I wondered who left because of circum-stances and who by choice? Honestly, it made me a bit

sad. As I prayed about feelings being evoked in my nosy little expedition. I sensed there was a meaning about to be made known. So I carefully put one file back and pulled out anoth-er. Pondering and perusing, I saw even more familiar names

and thought, ‘Wow they did so much, for so many years, no wonder they graduated from VBS!’ Then, I worried for a sec-ond – ‘Oh no! what if these peo-ple wistfully wondered if anyone will ever ask them to participate in a VBS again? Do they feel ne-glected? Forgotten? Was I too focused on my work to see a need?’ My heart sank for a sec-ond, but common sense reas-serted itself, ‘get a grip, this is VBS we’re talking about here!!’

Full belly laugh, right?! Those TWO DOZEN fine folk put in their time and it’s probably not happenstance that they’re engaged in ministries far, far away from VBS!

After a good chuckle imagining what their reaction would be if I asked them to be on the VBS team next year, yet another name jumps out at me. Wonderful Sarah Loar. My heart lift-ed – Sarah unexpectedly appeared to help on set-up day for AMPED and I don’t know what I would’ve done without her help! She was such a surprise blessing on top of the blessings from Head Start Sunday when a lovely crew of volunteers helped with VBS décor. And surprise! Sarah was listed as the person in charge of crafts in 2009. She was so quiet about that too, in all the hours we spent hanging posters the subject never came up!

This year, working beside Sarah putting up murals for two days, and then leading daily Music & Dance breaks at AMPED VBS, was 13 yr. old Annalise Knostman. She was another sur-prise blessing to me. She is a very talented leader already, and will be leading a VBS soon I’m sure! Mark my words be-cause she’ll rock it! Other names that made me smile were Judy Hollandsworth – she has helped with décor at every VBS and also my mother Lynda Gibson’s name was on that 2009 list of helpers. I was glad to see she volunteered for VBS before I cashed in on familial obligation.

VBS – it’s not over just because the décor is gone!

Sarah Loar and Elizabeth

Gollihue at 2009 VBS.

I decided to reach in that file folder one last time. I sternly told myself this would be the last one - I pulled out a set of papers which listed the children by age groups for VBS.

That’s when it hit me:

Some of those babies who attended VBS 11 years ago….were our youth helpers and leaders in 2018!

Little Megan Glewwe (left) was in the youngest class. Next, I saw Elizabeth Golli-hue’s name as a teen helper. She is someone I was blessed to get to know at AMPED VBS.

Wow! And now, here we are: Megan is a VBS teen helper and Elizabeth was our Missions Leader.

Educators point out cycles all the time. The Bible is full of great examples on this very subject. But it feels different when you discover one unexpectedly – rummaging through old church papers that should have found a trash can long ago. God had a message in it for me and maybe for you too.

In that pile of old VBS history, I found a most unexpected connection to AMPED VBS - ALL THOSE NAMES!

These are people who God raised up. Using their experience and willingness to share their talents, His joy and light was shared with another generation. Our recent VBS was so suc-cessful because of their contributions.

I had a serious in AWE of God moment. I know my words don’t do it justice, but I hope something of it stands out for you too because at VBS, we focused on our NAMES every single day. Because God knows us individually; living like we know God has a plan, that He is with us and that all people matter means we need to ensure everyone, every age, doesn’t feel like a nameless visitor in His church. This is a place where everybody belongs. Others will know about Jesus by the way we treat people. All feel the love of Chris-tian fellowship when they come to church and caring people call them by name.

I will always remember how impressive our young helpers, age 10-15, were in their interactions with the little ones. It truly seemed like God put us all together for exactly this mo-

ment, “for just such a time as this” (Esther, Chapter 4).

In our daily opening at VBS we played an obstacle course game in which our names were a central part. Sometimes, we had to find our own names, other times we had to find a teammate’s name. Sometimes the kids didn’t even know what the purpose of the game was at all – so who won? The ‘plans to give you a hope and a future’ from the words of Jeremiah, mean that God knows exactly who you are, and no matter what you face, as a believer in Jesus, you win.

None of these experiences or events took place by chance or accident. God prepared, in advance, a week of seeing His good works unfold. He already knew about the frustration of posters that wouldn’t stay on the walls and countered it with the thought ‘what are decorations compared to this?!’ as joy literally ran around, without tiring I might add, on two little legs, stopping briefly to grin for a picture taken with a wooden frame containing the words “Live Like You Know God Has a Plan for You!”

Did I realize I shared a little something in common with Es-ther before this VBS took place? No, I did not. But I do now. I hope you do too.

For example, per-haps when you read that I now know the names of 24 people who have VBS expe-rience, you wondered if your name was one of those names, and if I’ll be asking you to help at the next VBS? Well, kind of like we did at AMPED, you just got a glimpse of what Es-ther may have felt when she said ‘If I perish, I perish.’ Hah!

The memory scripture for VBS were words Jesus spoke, “I have come so they may have life. I want them to have it in the fullest possible way.” -John 10:10b. Our lives are full of experiences that bring us perspective and adds to our confi-dence that todays will lead into tomorrows that are already taken care of. We share this faith with others by living it.

I am so thankful for that nugget of Good Shepherd history – for the names of people who by helping, teaching, and being there, showed Jesus to kids in such a way that they are the ones helping today. I am especially thankful for the kids who attended, helped, and served. It was truly inspirational.

The words in the song I Can Do All Things from VBS are still with me. I find my strength through Christ, and joyfully rec-ognize the people of Good Shepherd who have through love and service, increased my faith today.

Megan and Annalise led the

Dance and Music in 2018.

Report from the 79th General Convention of the Episcopal Church

By Jim Weatherly

The 79th triennial General Convention of the Episcopal Church was held July 3-13, 2018 in Austin, Texas. The Diocese of Tennessee was represented by clergy and lay deputies who were elected at the Dio-cese Annual Convention in January, 2017. I was one of the four lay deputies elected to attend the General Convention. Also serving as lay deputies were Pete Stringer from Christ Cathedral, who attended his seventh (that’s 21 years) General Convention, Gareth Aden and Susan Huggins both of St. David’s and Henry Walker from St. Ann’s who at-tended as an alternate lay deputy. On the clergy side were The Rev. Vicki Burgess from St. Phillip’s, The Rev. Kristine Blaess from St. George’s, The Very Rev. Timothy Kimbrough, Dean of Christ Cathedral, the Rev. Jody Howard from St. Joseph of Arimathea, and the Rev. Chris Bowhay from St. Peter’s Church in Columbia who served as the alternate clergy deputy. Bishop Bauerschmidt and Canon Andrew Petiprin also attended.

Austin, Texas in July is hot, but the city was a wonderful host to the thousands of Episcopalians who gathered to share experiences and work for the betterment of the Church. Presiding Bishop Michael Curry gave several of his impassioned fiery sermons and speeches that were uplifting and inspiring to us all. Bishop Curry reminded us that we along with other Christians are all part of the “Jesus Movement.” He further branded our Church as the “Episcopal Branch of the Jesus Movement.”

The most anticipated issue prior to the convention being opened was the trial use of the same sex marriage liturgy that had been authorized by the 78th General Convention in 2015. The resolution that authorized the trial use also vested the individual Bishops in each Diocese to de-termine whether the trial use liturgy would be allowed to be used in the parishes within that Bishop’s Diocese. Of the 101 Dioceses in the Unit-ed States only in eight Dioceses had the Bishop of that Diocese prohib-ited the use of the trial liturgy. This was an issue of particular interest to our Diocese since Bishop Bauerschmidt has been one of those eight Bishops that has declined to allow the use of the same sex marriage liturgy in the Diocese of Tennessee. At its Annual Convention in Janu-ary of this year, a resolution was passed by the deputies to the conven-tion that urged the General Convention to consider the pain caused on all sides by rules that prevented the use of the trial liturgy in all Dioces-es. After much consideration, testimony and debate both the House of Bishops and the House of Deputies overwhelmingly passed Resolution B012 which allows for the continued use of the same sex marriage litur-gy and further provides that if the Bishop of the Diocese is theologically opposed to same sex marriage, he may reach out to a Bishop in anoth-er Diocese who is not so opposed and who can provide pastoral sup-port to any couple desiring to use the rites as well as to the clergy and congregation involved. The effect of this revision is to place the theolog-ical decision making for same sex marriage on the Rector of the parish. Bishop Bauerschmidt has penned a letter to the Diocese reporting on the action by the General Convention on this issue and advising that he will be working through plans for the Diocese of Tennessee to comply with the resolution.

The second largest issue before the Convention was revision to the Book of Common Prayer. The 1979 revision was memorialized as a continuing Book of Common Prayer for the Church. Strong considera-tion was given to producing a completely revised prayer book by 2030.

However, that was ultimately modified to call upon the Bishops to engage worshipping communities in their Dioceses to experiment with and create alternative liturgical texts that can be submitted for consideration to the new Task Force on Liturgical and Prayer Book Revision. One of the directives to the Task Force is to con-sider liturgical revision that will utilize inclusive and expansive language and imagery for humanity and divinity. It was anticipated that there would be a move to revise the Book of Common Prayer to incorporate the same sex marriage liturgy, but that was not part of the Resolution that passed the House of Bishops and the House of Deputies.

Several other issues were given prominent consideration by the Convention including the adoption of a resolution allowing all con-gregations in the Episcopal Church to use optional, expansive language versions of three Rite II Eucharistic prayers in the 1979 Book of Common Prayer. Prayer A B and D are all subject to the experimental use by the congregations of expansive and in most cases gender neutral language.

Cuba was readmitted as a seated and voting member of the Gen-eral Convention after many years of absence due primarily to polit-ical issues in 1967. Racial Reconciliation was prominent on the Convention’s agenda as both the Bishops and Deputies approved a resolution that calls upon the Church to organize efforts to re-spond to racial injustice and build a community of people working for reconciliation and healing by 1) telling the truth about the church and race; 2) proclaiming the dream of beloved community; 3) practicing the way of love; and 4) repairing the breach in society and institutions. In furtherance of this commitment the Convention appropriated $5 million dollars over the next three years to help Dioceses and other entities of the church to respond to racial in-justice. Women’s issues were also prominent in testimony and resolutions as the convention sought to further understand the plight of women and minorities in the priesthood and to provide better platforms for their support, their equal employment opportu-nities and their equal pay.

These are simply the highlights of the matters that came before the Convention. Over 400 resolutions were filed and considered. More information about the matters before the Convention and the action taken can be found at the national church’s website or at contact@houseofdeputies.org. One other event to mention, on Sunday July 7 over 1000 attendees at the Convention bused forty-five minutes to the Hutto Detention Center where female immigra-tion/refugee detainees were housed. Although the attendees could have no contact with the women being detained a prayer service was held outside the facility as the attendees demonstrated Christ’s love and support for the detainees.

This was my first General Convention and I had little idea of what to expect. I came away with some frustration of the process as a committee of 1000 deputies is not a very efficient means for doing the business of the Church. But, the serious consideration given to the issues and dedication of our deputies to the tasks at hand should give confidence to the members of our Diocese that the Diocese was well represented. Our deputies voted their minds and individual beliefs but not until full consideration was given to the issues before us and what was believed to be in the best interest of the Church, our Diocese and our individual parishes.

Continued on next page

At our two medical clinics (one at San Jose Obrero in Manta, and one at Santiago Apostal in La Pila) ap-proximately 380 people received some combination of dental work, medical care (including prescrip-tion drugs), physical therapy, eye exams, glasses, and prayers (the priests had a prayer station).

We donated $500 to the Manta University Dental School mo-bile dental unit. They were thrilled because it gave them enough money to buy a new autoclave.

We donated $200 to the San Jose Obrero Vestry. They are going to use the money to buy new electric fans for the church.

We support the SJO nursery. We pay for the teacher, Raisa Cevallos. While we were there we took her out and bought all the supplies she needs for the rest of the year. The nursery takes care of 22 preschool neighborhood chil-dren at no charge.

At the preschool visit, AMPED shirts from our VBS were distributed to the children who proudly wore them. Handmade greeting and thank you cards from the SJO preschool children were given to us to bring back to Good Shepherd expressing their thanks for all we do for them.

Highlights from our San Jose Obrero Mission Trip 2018

By: Paul Wholley

A Shared Mission Trip

This year during our annual June SJO mission trip, our COGS team traveled with other churches in our diocese. There were five of us from COGS (Jim Weatherly, George Fossey, Chris Ol-son, Catherine Olson, and myself). The other ten travelers in our group came from three area Episcopal churches. Some of us were first-timers, and some of us were trip vet-erans. Everyone got along, everyone pitched in.

We get to do a lot of good

George Kurz (St. Phillips) led work-shops on improving stewardship with church leaders in Guayaquil and Manta.

Continued from previous page

In the Guayaquil portion of our trip we met with Bishop Morante, the Episcopal Bishop of the Dio-cese of Littoral, where SJO is lo-cated, and discussed with him our history of partnership with SJO and plans for the future as he is retiring and a new Bishop will be selected next month. Bishop Mo-rante hosted a wonderful lunch-eon for our mission team, his Di-ocesan staff, and those from Guayaquil helping with our medi-cal clinics.

On the last Sunday we attend a great worship service with our friends at San Jose Obrero. After attending the Sunday service some of us met with the vestry at SJO and heard what we can do to further assist our sister church. Roof repairs were identified as needed and we provided the funding for those repairs.

Even the hard work was fun and it wasn’t all hard work. We had several dinners with our Ecuador companions

Ecuador Mission Trip

The combined team from Iglesia Episcopal San José Obrero, Church of the Good Shepherd, St. Philips, St. Marks, and St. Joseph of Arimathea (all TN) .... the doctors, dentists, and volun-

teers who served almost 200 people in 6 hours. — at Iglesia Episcopal San José Obrero.

and the beach was only a few blocks from the hotel.

It can get a bit crazy at times. Like the first day of the medical clinic when the doctors didn’t show up on time. Or when we forgot the medical intake forms for the sec-ond day. Jim Weatherly and Chris Olson can tell you all about their passport mishaps. But we all figured it out, and it all worked out.

It was such a great, rewarding time.

We’ll be going again next year, and we’d love to have you join us.

Paul

By Larissa Root

The Triennial meeting of The Order of the Daughters of the King® was held in Austin, Texas on June 20-24, 2018. Gayle

Happell and I were blessed enough to be able to attend along with 10 other women from our Diocese and over 800+ from around the world!

We listened to speakers, sang songs, prayed, voted on new leaders and poli-cies, and attended work-shops.

Our keynote speakers were Canon Stephanie Spellers from the National Church Office and Canon Evangelist Carrie Headington from the Diocese of Texas. (pictured right) Our theme was “Walk His Way,” which we learned was with LOVE through evangelism.

Through Presiding Bishop Michael Curry’s encouraging message of the Loving, Liberating, Life-Giving Jesus Move-ment, Canon Stephanie shared with us the definition of Episcopal Evangelism: “The spiritual practice by which we seek, name and celebrate Jesus’ loving presence in the sto-ries of all people, then invite everyone to MORE.” But what does this really mean?

Evangelism doesn’t necessarily mean knocking on doors and passing out pamphlets. Seeking means looking around your world for opportunities to spread the gospel. Naming means speaking the word of God. Celebrating means thanking God for what He is doing. But the inviting every-one to MORE is what intrigued me. MORE can mean a lot

of things…. It’s not just inviting peo-ple to church. It’s sharing a conver-sation, a cup of coffee, a book you’ve read, or even taking a meal to someone. It’s meeting someone where they are, and helping them to get to the next level.

I was privileged enough to return home and share this mes-sage with several Daughters from around the Diocese. After all, as Daughters we pledge to live a life of prayer, service and evangelism. Hopefully, my enthusiasm for evangelism has and will continue to rub off.

You may ask, why are they wearing crowns? We are Daughters of the King… That makes us princesses!

“Walk His Way”

Canon Stephanie Spellers, Larissa Root and Canon

Evangelist Carrie Headington.

Members of the Daughters of the King across Tennessee represented us well at the Triennial.

Sue Morphis, Shelley Sircy, The Rev. Donna Floyd, Gayle Happell, Rebecca Markert - first row

Sara Richter, Terri Smith, Larissa Root, Toni Strong, Barbara Whalen, Rita Sue Warner - back row

Thank you all for praying for us and providing supplies while we were at Mt Top last week! We were filled from the nourishment of serving others through day camps for chil-dren, and minor home repair pro-jects in Grundy County and sur-rounding areas. I am especially en-couraged after watching our Good

Shepherd youth grow out of their comfort zones and discover the fullness of God at work in a community seeking to intention-ally live out our calling to follow Jesus and serve those in need.

We served through window washing, building a car port, building stairs, yard work, and painting. Sometimes the most significant im-pact we had was listening and talking to the family we were sent to work with. Several of the teens built porches, and one got halfway through building a shed. At day camp, we took field trips to a farm, a county court-house, and a military museum. We taught the children about caring, organization, honesty, courtesy, and God’s love for them

through bible stories, prayer journals, and art projects. We have had some amazing worship in the evenings at Camp Cumberland Pines where we eat, sleep, and fel-lowship during the week, through prayer stations, lectio

visio worship, singing, quiet daybreaks alone and more. Prayer stations focused on the seasons of the year and connected the symbolism of winter, spring, summer, and fall to the seasons of our faith. We created our own prayer stations inspired by the theme of Mt TOP this year: God is our Source.

Summer adventures 2018- bowling, packing and loading fuel bags in Richard’s Truck, and house parties!

GOD IS OUR SOURCE- a recap from the mountain By: Jill Altom, Youth Minister

We worshipped 3 times each day and con-sidered how God is as near to us as breath-ing in and out. We played nine square and Gaga ball and frisbee in evening free time. Our church even did a skit during campfire on our last night!

We have been inspired by the community of youth and adults who traveled here from Texas to Cincin-nati who joined us in this opportunity and shared their lives with us as we served with the people in the Cumberland mountains. We have been overwhelmed by the families we have met and partnered with. Most of all, it is a privilege to be up on the Mountain T.O.P and focus more fully on God and feel our spirits soar in the nearness of our creator redeemer and sustainer. It is our desire to take what we’ve learned and share it with others in the “valley below.”

~Jill Altom

I pray that GOD, the Source of hope, will fill you com-pletely with joy and peace because you trust in Him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the Holy Spirit. -Romans 15:13

Youth Ministry at Good Shepherd

New Beginnings for a New School Year August means we are ramping up to welcome new 7th graders into the community

with a Lock-In, Sunday morning Liturgy classes back in session and a regular Wednesday night schedule back in swing!

We are so excited to have this new class of youth join the youth group this year! We have a fun, loving community with lots of energy and enthusiasm. I also have a wonderful team of adults including Jenifer King and Stephen Reksten who are committed, patient, and awesome leaders and guides for our group. To learn more about us please read our bios on our website: http://www.goodshepherdbrentwood.org/the-team.html

Our first event for all is our Back to School Lock-In. It begins Friday night, August 10th at 5:30 through August 11th at 8:30am. We will have dinner, games, prayers, and connecting opportunities to meet each other.

COGS YOUTH LOCK-IN

WHO: ALL 7th-12th graders ~~~ WE especially welcome our newest 7th graders!!!

WHAT: Hanging out, Praying, Playing, Reconnecting, Pizza, Ice Cream sundaes, and More!

WHEN: Friday, August 10th 5:30pm– Saturday August 11th 8:30am

WHERE: Church of the Good Shepherd 1420 Wilson Pike, Brentwood, TN COST: $10 please contact Jill for scholarship

BRING: Registration form, and Permission/Release form for 2018-19 school year (if not already turned in), Sleeping Bag, Pillow, PJs, comfy shoes, toiletries and feel free to INVITE A FRIEND!

RSVP: Email Jill to let her know if you are coming and if you are bringing any friends by August 5th

jillaltom@goodshepherdbrentwood.org

WHEN Youth GATHER:

Liturgy: Sunday mornings starting August 12th, from 9:00-10:15 in the couches corner of Herlong Hall. Our class repre-sents the Liturgy of the Word portion of the service where we dive into one the stories read each week in our common lectionary and bring it to life in community. We strive to go deep, be real about our lives, and engage in The Great Sto-ry God calls us to live. We join in the congregation for the Holy Eucharist. Youth are welcome and encouraged to sit with their families or with the class for the Eucharist. We remain in the service until its dismissal. Our hope it to build bridges between our youth and the whole experience of our worship service as they mature into faith as full members of the body of Christ.

Wednesday nights: 5:30-7:30 in Herlong Hall starting August 15th. We share a meal together, hang out and grow as a community of disciples who are learning the way of Jesus. Programs vary from Lenten prayer to Dead Theologians soci-ety, where we learn about saints who have gone before us. Other times we have Film School, art projects, game nights, prayer stations, and close our time with Compline (a prayer for the close of the day from our Book of Common Prayer).

Annual youth activities also include our pancake supper, fundraisers, diocesan youth gatherings, retreats, special trips, service projects such as: room in the inn, fuel bags, youth-led Sundays, and our annual summer trip to Mountain T.O.P.

Mark Your Calendars!

August 10-11th- Back to School LOCK-IN- (5:30pm-8:30am)

August 12th- Sunday School starts back at 9am in the couches corner of Herlong Hall

August 15th-First Youth Group starts back from 5:30-7:30

August 22nd- Parent and Youth Meeting-- from 5:30-7:30. Please join us as we start off another semester with dinner, plan-ning for the upcoming year, and a fun, interactive program for everyone.

I look forward to the coming school year with you all!-------Jill Altom--------- jillaltom@goodshepherdbrentwood.org

Our Ministry needs for GraceWorks Many thanks to everyone who

donated highlighters for the

2018 GraceWorks Big Backpack

Giveaway. COGS committed to

donate 1,000 highlighters for the

backpacks to help Williamson

County students in need. Not

only did we reach the goal, we

exceeded the goal!!

The Church Of the Good Shep-

herd supports the GraceWorks Ministries in many ways including provid-

ing volunteers, prayer, financial contributions, food donations and helps

out whenever there is a need. Below are some examples of ways COGS

provides assistance.

The Church Of The Good Shepherd……

donates over 3 tons of food for the food pantry each year. Some of the

large organized food drives include the Lenten Drive: 40 Items in 40

Days, and the Thanksgiving and Christmas food drives

participates in the annual Backpack giveaway each summer and donates

school supplies for Williamson County students in need

recruits donations and volunteers for “The Manger” which is the Grace-

Works annual Christmas program that allows residents of Williamson

County (who qualify) to shop for Christmas gifts for their family at a

minimal fee

collects and donates food items for the Williamson County school Fuel

Bag Program

collects and donates critical need items for the food pantry throughout

the year

has parishioners who volunteer for various positions at GraceWorks such

as food donation pick-up drivers, client service assistants, food pantry

and thrift shop workers, board of director members, and many more.

For more information on how you can get involved with this ministry,

please contact Dayna Moseley at daynamose@comcast.net. DOK President Katie Zeger and the new Chaplain, Father Tony Ferguson.

GraceWorks Director of Operations, Anthony Hendricks accepted our donations.

Fr. Tony Ferguson is new DOK Chaplain

Mountain T.O.P. Making Memories