Good Shepherd has a small but vibrant youth population, with an increasing number of programs that help connect their energies and talents with the life and mission of the congregation.
Check here periodically to see some of the recent examples of youth activities. For example, on November 8, 2009, Good Shepherd youth -- of all ages -- joined to plant daffodils around the church. Click here to see pictures from that day's activities.
Following are some of the recent activities of the youth and Sunday School programs:
Congregation in Red for Pentecost!
Pentecost is a time for vigor, excitement, energy, movement, birth, fresh air, fresh commitment and red -- a color of fire and zeal and passion and heat. The Spirit is incendiary within us. Wind is another symbol of the Spirit, since the Hebrew word for “spirit” also means “wind” or “breath”. Like the wind, the Spirit is not seen except by how the surrounding world is affected.
On May 23, the worship service began with a procession into the sanctuary, much like on Palm Sunday, with many people in the congregation wearing red in honor of Pentecost. The service included signs of fire and wind, with Gabriela Deifelt-Streese and Emily Gomersall leading the procession, each carrying a small wreath of red streamers attached to a banner holder. Everyone received a red pinwheel, and pinwheels lined the sidewalks leading to the church.
During coffee hour, candles on a symbolic Pentecost cake and individual cupcakes were lit and blown out at the same time to symbolize the rush of wind at Pentecost. Everyone signed a thank you poster for Sunday School volunteers who shared their gifts with students this year. Thank you to Don Berg for leading the intergenerational event!
People also created prayer flags with messages of praise and thanksgiving to be flown outside the church. Prayer flags are an important tradition and symbol in the mountainous regions of Central Asia, where prayers expressed on the flags are then flung to the wind. These flags have their roots in the Buddhist tradition but have been widely adopted by many religions and cultures around the world.
It’s believed that the prayers of each flag become a permanent part of the universe as the images fade from exposure to the elements. Sets of five colored flags are put in order: blue, white, red, green, yellow from left to right and according to tradition represent the following: Blue (sky/space), White (air/wind), Red (fire), Green (water), Yellow (earth)
Final Pennies For Peace Update
Thanks to the wonderful outpouring of support during Lent by the entire congregation, a total of $632.90 was sent to Pennies For Peace, a project of peace activist and native Midwesterner Greg Mortenson to build schools for children in the remote regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan. The Sunday School met its goal of $600, which will pay for one teacher’s salary for a year at a Pennies For Peace school. To read more about Pennies For Peace, check out the website at http://www.penniesforpeace.org/.