An ELCA Congregation in Decorah, IA
On Sunday, December 7, the Good Shepherd youth invite everyone to participate in an intergenerational activity in the sanctuary during the Sunday School hour. Lise Kildegaard will be presenting the Christmas story making this story come alive to the audience.
Also on December 7, the final photo session for the new Good Shepherd Directory will be held in the Fellowship Hall immediately following the worship service. After this final photo session, print directories will be prepared.
This spring Good Shepherd members, under the leadership of W/ELCA, have collected and assembled 3 sewing kits, 5 quilts, 34 baby care kits and 40 personal care kits. The kits collected by churches from Northeast Iowa will be sent to the LWR warehouse on May 3 on a truck donated by Olson Explosives of Decorah.
Monetary donations will still be accepted to help with the shipping of the kits to their final destination. For every $1 given, someone in need receives $8 worth of essential personal items. Checks can be made out to W/ELCA with LWR shipping on the memo line.
Good Shepherd is participating in the Ecumenical Thanksgiving Eve service to be held this year at Decorah Lutheran Church on Wednesday, November 26 at 7:00 pm. Pastor April will be a participant. The theme is “It’s All Gift!” and offerings are designated for Habitat for Humanity, Bread for the World, and local food pantries. Pie will be served in the Social Hall following the service. A joint choir rehearsal will be held on Tuesday, November 25, at 7:00 pm at Decorah Lutheran. All are welcome!
THE ANNUAL STEWARDSHIP CAMPAIGN is being held this coming weekend, November 22-23. Letters with pledge cards have been mailed to congregation members. Jon Christy is presenting a temple talk about stewardship. This year for the first time, it will be possible to pledge online. To access the pledge form, click on the “Serve/Give” tab on the Good Shepherd homepage, and then click on the “Give” link. The online pledge form will be submitted directly to the church office for processing. A link to the PDF of the paper pledge form is also there. Pledging will greatly assist the Council in preparing the congregation budget for 2015.
Pastor April Ulring Larson began as the Interim Pastor at Good Shepherd during the weekend of November 8-9, 2014, during special services followed by a reception on Sunday. The reception was integrated with the annual W/ELCA Soup Luncheon and Country Store event. The congregation welcomed Pastor April with the long-standing Good Shepherd tradition of a potluck, but for this significant occasion supplemented with cupcakes, unique fall centerpieces, welcome sidewalk flags and a short program. The reception was held in the Fellowship Hall.
In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, Good Shepherd is fully accessible to all. (Learn more)