Sunday, April 3, 10:45 a.m. – Narthex Area

49 Years of Military Occupation in the Holy Land – Jon Ailabouni, presenter

For nearly half a century, Israel has maintained the military occupation of the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem. The millions of Palestinians who live in the occupied territories are subjected to routine human rights abuses including excessive use of force, arrest and imprisonment without charge or trial, ill-treatment and torture of detainees, forced evictions and home demolitions, and the denial of free speech, assembly, and movement. Jon Ailabouni, a Palestinian-American and Luther Adjunct Professor of Music, will share his family’s experience and his insights into the situation as well as the potential for peaceful resolution through the engagement of American citizens.

Tuesday March 29
7:00 p.m.- CLA Circle, Judy Schoel hosts

Wednesday, March 30
7:30 a.m.- Men’s Breakfast
7:00 p.m. – Choir rehearsal
8:00 p.m. – Band Rehearsal

Thursday, March 31
No Adult Bible Study – Will resume weekly April 7th

Sunday, April 3
9:30 a.m. – Worship with Holy Communion, 2nd Sunday of Easter
10:30 a.m. – Fellowship Hour
10:45 a.m.- Sunday School in Sanctuary, Youth SS/Confirmation w/Pr. Office
10:45 a.m. – Adult Forum, 49 Years of Military Occupation in The Holy Land

On Easter Sunday,  the Resurrection of Our Lord will be celebrated at Good Shepherd at 9:30 am with Holy Communion and festival brass.  The festival service will feature a New Liturgical Season, Colors, and Symbols

The Season – The Fifty Days of Easter began on Easter Sunday and lasts through the Day of Pentecost, Sunday, May 15. It is a time of celebration and rejoicing over the resurrection of our Lord.

Colors – White, symbolizing the joy, gladness, purity, and light of Christ, is the predominate color for the Easter Season. It is seen in the gates in our sanctuary weavings, altar and pulpit paraments, and Pastor Amy’s stole. Barbara Berg also added gold, the color of royalty, into the design of our paraments and pastor’s stole. On the Day of Pentecost, the last day of the Easter Season, the color will be bright red.

Symbols – A very visible symbol of the Easter Season in our sanctuary is the Paschal Candle. Symbolizing Christ’s resurrected presence, it is the large white, decorated candle predominately displayed near the altar throughout the season. It will be lighted when the sanctuary is open for worship and extinguished after worshipers leave as a reminder of the unity of the fifty days of celebration. After the Day of Pentecost, it will be moved closer to the baptismal font and lighted for baptisms and funerals.

The hand-formed, colored and applied decorative designs and symbols chosen for our Paschal Candle, the Good Shepherd Paschal Candle, are very meaningful for our congregation. In the center is a gold pastoral staff shaped like a shepherd’s crook incorporating a gold cross with silver highlights. Four colored squares representing the liturgical colors, red, purple, green, and blue, are placed on the corners of the cross. The Greek letters, Alpha (the beginning) and Omega (the ending), are attached on each side toward the bottom of the shepherd’s cross. Five wax covered nails containing grains of incense, representing Christ’s wounds, are attached to the cross portion; four white sheep below the shepherd’s cross look toward it; and the date of the current year is noted at the bottom. Our candle is 39 inches tall and is to be the largest candle in the sanctuary. Feel welcome to take a close look at it.

Maundy Thursday worship, March 24 at 7:00 pm, will be observed at Good Shepherd with Personal Absolution, Holy Communion and Stripping of the Altar.

Good Friday worship, March 25 at 7:00 pm, will feature the choral work “The Seven Last Words of Christ on the Cross” by Heinrich Schütz.  Lasting approximately 15 minutes, the work was originally scored for 5-part chorus (SATTB), a handful of accompanying instruments, and several soloists, who sing the part of the Evangelist, Jesus, and the thieves crucified with him. At Good Shepherd, the chorus parts have been revised so that they can be sung by our standard SATB configuration, along with two vocal soloists, organ, and four instruments.

Soloists include congregation member Jonathan Struve, adjunct faculty member at Luther College, who will sing the role of the Evangelist. The role of Jesus will be performed by Andrew Last, Assistant Professor at Luther. The instrumental parts will be played by members of the Good Shepherd congregation, assisted by keyboardist Kathryn Reed, Instructor at Luther. Good Shepherd’s Music Director is Brooke Joyce.