Please mark your calendar now. Join us at Good Shepherd on Friday, February 26th from 6:30 to 9:00PM for an evening of fun, fellowship, and faith with you sisters in Christ. The Cost is $5.00. We hope to see you there

Fellowship Groups are formed at Good Shepherd to provide an opportunity to build relationships with others outside of church activities. Dick Wills says in his book, Waking to God's Dream that "Fellowship meets our need to belong. In worship we often mingle but seldom meet. Fellowship is the informal time when people get to know and love one another."
These are not Bible study groups; they are not Prayer or Growth groups, just pure fellowship and fun surrounded by good food. There are several types of Fellowship groups to choose from, for example: Saturday Morning Breakfast, Home, Cards/Games, Movies, Restaurant, Dessert and Coffee Groups.

Within the groups, each member is encouraged to make the monthly group gatherings a priority. All groups consist of no less than five and no more than nine members in order to enhance the ability of the group members to really get to know each other. Everyone is important in a Fellowship Group and each member is expected to be loving, honest and affirming of all other members. The confidentiality of every member is respected. Time spent together focuses on getting to know each other in fun, non-threatening ways and to care about each other in meaningful ways. Each Fellowship Group will stay together as long as it is fun!!

So you ask what kind of studies will be offered at Good Shepherd United Methodist Church in the upcoming months. We are currently working on a line-up of studies to be offered in fall 2009 and Winter/Spring 2010 and here is a sneak preview. As you can see the possibilities are endless. More information will be coming soon. Questions? Feel like sharing your thoughts and/or interests in these studies? Please contact Jeanne Parr at gsadults@gsumc.com or 301-843-6797.

Disciple: Becoming Disciples through Bible Study – This study will be offered in September 2009 and gives the Old and New Testament equal time, emphasizing the wholeness of the Bible as a revelation of God. Disciple draws upon the work of scholars, the personal Bible reading and study of the participant, and dynamic group discussion to aid understanding of the Bible. This study is an overview of the entire Bible.

Invitation to the New Testament - Using Matthew's Gospel as a starting point, this 8 session study beginning in October 2009 will explore how the New Testament writers and the early Christian community wrestled with the coming of Jesus--his life, actions, mission, death, and resurrection--and the implications of his arrival for their lives and their communities of faith. Who is Jesus and what is his significance for our lives? Participants are invited to join in this conversation, to study afresh this story of Jesus.

Invitation to the Old Testament - This study being offered in the spring 2010 will approach the study of Hebrew Scriptures by inviting participants to hear the story of God and God's calling of the people of Israel through the many "voices" of the biblical text. Narrative, poem, history, and prophetic utterance all have their own distinctive characteristics and purpose, arising out of a particular historical, social, and cultural setting.  To understand fully the story of God's covenantal relationship with Israel calls for listening to these various ways the story is told throughout the Old Testament. What does it mean to be God's chosen people? And how does the story of Israel's covenant with God inform our own identity as heirs of that covenant? Through this study, participants will be invited to listen afresh to the witness of the Old Testament to hear God's call and purpose for their own lives and respond to that call.

Breaking the Code – Understanding the Book of Revelation - The book of Revelation contains passages of great beauty and comfort, as well as passages that strike the casual reader as bizarre, bewildering, and sometimes frightening. How are readers today to discern God’s message in this peculiar part of the Bible? Breaking the Code provides a trustworthy guide to the rich symbolism of this important biblical book. This study is an exciting commentary on the Book of Revelation—an easy-to-understand, video-based study for adults.

Advent and Lent Studies will continue to be offered on Wednesday evenings.

Thursday Morning Ladies Studies – this group led by Bettie Dillon will begin once again in the fall of 2009.

Jeanne Parr

Good Shepherd provides a nursery for young children; infants (at least 6 months old) through 4 years of age as a service to parents on Sunday mornings during worship and Sunday school times. The nursery opens at 9:00 AM and closes immediately after the end of the 11:00 am worship. One those Sundays when there is one worship service the nursery will close immediately after the end of the 10:00 am worship.

Copies of the Good Shepherd Nursery Guidelines are available for each parent/guardian. All parents/guardians will have to complete a nursery registration form for each child and have to sign in and out their child/children each time they use the nursery.