A stalwart crew volunteered this past Friday and Saturday to paint the newly refurnished Narthex as well as hallway ceilings and walls.  The traditional Good Shepherd pink morphed into a creamy white with gold accents.  Walls were first washed with TSP and rinsed, holes and cracks were repaired, and all hanging objects removed. Verdi’s opera, Don Carlos, performed by the Metropolitan Opera, inspired the painters to burn through the last hours of Saturday to ready the spaces for weekend services.

Reactions from worshipers on Sunday morning ranged from “gorgeous” and “wonderfully bright” to someone noting that the Nils Kjome sculpture, a figure of the Good Shepherd, could finally “breathe” even though it was hanging in its customary space. Work will continue on Monday until the painting is completed.

The weekly Bible Study, “Going Deeper,” which started   during Lent is continuing through the Easter Season.       Each Thursday morning from 10:00-11:30, Pastor           April leads a group studying the texts, usually those         selected for the following Sunday. Texts are listed in       the monthly Newsletter. There is no particular                preparation so that discussion can be as open as possible. The “Going Deeper” series ends on Thursday, May 21. The Bible Study is held in the Fellowship Hall; refreshments are served and all are welcome.

The Easter Season or Eastertide is the period of fifty days from Easter Sunday to Pentecost Sunday, which is held this year on May 24, 2015. During this season of celebration, we can also reflect on the Lenten season just past through many photos which remind us of Good Shepherd events and activities.

• Weekly Wednesday night services using Holden Evening Prayer, followed by a puppet ministry and soup suppers, with three Luther College Choirs participating; Faith Stories shared by congregation members.
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• LWR Basket of Promise Personal Care Kits initiative
• Sunday School Lenten project, Mutuelle Matters
• Special Adult Forums
• Weekly Lenten Bible Study with Pastor April, Going Deeper
• Three noontime organ recitals on the Hook and Hastings Organ
• Palm Sunday (Sunday of the Passion with Holy Communion)
• Maundy Thursday service of Holy Communion with Personal Absolution and Stripping of the Altar
• Good Friday Tenebrae Service
• Saturday Easter Vigil at Washington Prairie Lutheran Church with Bonfire and Holy Communion; offering to support missionaries Mary Beth and Bayo Oyebade at the Mashiah Clinic, Jos, Nigeria
• Easter Sunday Festival Worship Service

Thursday, April 2 – Maundy Thursday
10:00-11:30 am – Lenten Bible Study With Pastor April Ulring Larson
7:00 pm – Worship with Holy Communion, Personal Absolution with Laying on of Hands, Stripping of the Altar   (Foot-washing will not occur.)

Friday, April 3 – Good Friday
8:00 am-7:00 pm – Sanctuary open for Meditation on the Passion and Personal Prayer
7:00 pm – Tenebrae Service with Procession of the Cross

Saturday Evening, April 4 – Good Shepherd Participates in Joint Easter Vigil Service at Washington Prairie Lutheran Church
6:30 pm – Reception and Refreshments
7:30 pm – Easter Vigil with Bonfire and Holy Communion

Notes – Offering will support missionaries Mary Beth and Bayo Oyebade and their work with those affected by HIV/AIDS at the Mashiah Clinic, Jos, Nigeria

Sunday, April 5 – Easter Festival Worship Service
9:30 am – Worship with Holy Communion

Wednesday, March 25
12:15 Organ Recital with Mike Reiter, Luther College Keyboard Technician
5:30 Holden Evening Prayer Lenten service, Faith Story – Barbara Berg
6:00 Soup Supper; Puppet Ministry – Sunday School room

Thursday, March 26
10:00-11:30 Bible Study with Pastor April – Going Deeper
Study: Isaiah 50:4-9a; Phil. 2:5-11; Mark 12:1-15:47 or Mark 15:1-39 [40-47]

Saturday, March 28
5:00 Holy Communion

Sunday, March 29 (Sunday of the Passion/Palm Sunday)
9:30 Holy Communion
10:45 Sunday School and Adult Forum – Dan Raney: Hindsight 70/150: Hindemith and Whitman on Human Conflict, Loss, and Healing

Special Benevolence Opportunities

For more detail, click on the News/Events tab on the Good Shepherd website.

• Lenten Offerings designated for Pathway to Citizenship (local) and ELCA World Hunger (global)
• Sunday School Lenten Project, Mutuelle Matters
• LED Lighting Initiative
• W/ELCA Basket of Promise campaign
• Vigil offering to support missionaries Mary Beth and Bayo Oyebade in their work with those impacted with HIV/Aids in Jos, Nigeria.