Church of the Good Shepherd

We gather together in the name of Christ as Episcopalians in worship and in community. To pray, learn, love, and share. To reach out in hope to those within our parish and beyond. To empower one another to live the love of Christ in the world as good shepherds. We celebrate our diversity and we welcome all.

Summer At Good Shepherd

Sundays, May 30 Through September 5 we will have one service at 9:30 AM.

Ann Franklin will be out of town May 27-31. In the event of a pastoral need, please call the church office. On Sunday, May 30, Joseph Anderson will officiate at Morning Prayer at 9:30 am.

Richard Hunter will conclude his position as interim director of music on Sunday, June 5.

Alice Smith will be with us most Sundays this summer, beginning June 13. We are grateful for the healing of her shoulder that makes this possible!
Weekday service times will remain the same:

Wednesday - Friday

7:15 am -- Morning Prayer

Thursday/ June & July

7:00 pm -- Hidden Brook service of candlelight, chant, prayer and meditation

Last Wed of month/June & July

3:00 pm -- Holy Eucharist at Arsenal Apartments. Everyone is welcome.

Our good friend Cotton Fite visits - here's his sermon.

Older News!!!

PEWS and PULPIT
Through the church pew exchange we have finally found a new home for our pews and pulpit. They have been sold to the Hillside School in Marlborough for their chapel. Hillside School is an independent day and boarding school for boys in grades 5-9. They are delighted: the pews are just the right size for their chapel. We are delighted that they will be used for religious purposes. Much thanks to Curtis Whitney for arranging storage of the pews and pulpit. We will shortly be sending an appeal to the parish to help fund the purchase of new chairs.

VESTRY NEWS
At the July 7 vestry meeting, a presentation of the report of the discernment committee for Joe Anderson was made by Jeff Migliozzi, the chair of the committee. The vestry vote unanimously to recommend that the diocesan Committee on Ministries consider Joe for ordained ministry. We thank all the members of the committee for their hard work in this thorough process.

SUMMER LAWN CARE
There are two ways you can help with summer lawn care. Want to enjoy our beautiful grounds and, at the same time, lend a hand with weeding and watering? Contact our head gardener, Deb. Want to contribute toward the cost of mowing, hedge and tree maintenance (about $75 weekly)? Note your check according and give it to Jim.

FALL PILGRIMAGE AND WITNESS TRIP TO ISRAEL AND PALESTINE
Join members of Living Stones and others from the Alewife Deanery for a pilgrimage to Israel-Palestine this fall. Visit holy sites throughout Israel and Palestine. Meet with Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders working for peace. Witness the lives of Christians who keep the faith in the land of Jesus. Scholarships are available. Call the church office, 617-924-9420 for information.

ON MAY 17 WE REDEDICATED OUR NEWLY RENOVATED SACRED SPACE, LOWER PARISH HALL AND NEW MEMORIAL GARDEN. It was a glorious occasion presided over by Bishop Tom Shaw. Many friends from throughout the diocese and Watertown community joined us. We have much to be thankful, then and now. For those who were unable to be with us, our Litany of Thanksgiving from the service follows. Join us as we continue to be grateful to God, to those who have gone before us, and to our friends in mission and ministry. (If you would like a full service booklet from the evening, let us know.)
Church of the Good Shepherd

The Hidden Brook's Fifth Annual Celebration of

MARY MAGDALENE
Thursday, July 23, 2009, at 7 p.m.

featuring:

THE STATIONS OF MARY MAGDALENE

Spend time with Mary in the way that speaks most deeply to you

Scripture
Music & Poetry
Images & Icons
Legends & Lore
Symbols & Objects
or through Openness that makes space for your own path.

Click here for the flyer: 2009 MARY MAGDALENE flyer

HIDDEN BROOK ACTIVITIES IN FEBRUARY
On Thursday, Feb. 19, at 7:45 pm, following the Hidden Brook candlelight service, we will have a book discussion "My Stroke of Insight" by Jill Bolte Taylor, who is a neuroscientist that had a massive stroke but has been able to achieve a remarkable recovery requiring many years. Her book is both inspirational and illuminating on how the brain works, particularly the different roles of the right and left sides of the brain. She is also an Episcopalian and reveals important insights on religious connections with the mind. Please see Steve Steadman for a copy of excerpted material from the book to read, if you do not wish to read the whole book, and want to prepare for the discussion. However, please join us for the discussion even if you have not read any material ahead of time.

LIVING STONES DINNER WITH NAIM ATEEK TO BENEFIT SABEEL
On Monday, February 23 at 5:30 pm, Living Stones will host a dinner with Naim Ateek to benefit Sabeel. Sabeel is an Arabic word meaning The Way or living springs. In Israel and Palestine Sabeel Ecumenical Theology Center works to strengthen and support Christians in their faith and to teach non-violence. Around the world Sabeel provides information and education programs to raise awareness of the lives of those who live, work, and worship in the Holy Land. Dinner reservations are required.

Tickets: Friends $50-$100 (sliding scale), Benefactors $125 (receive a signed copy of Naim's new book. Living Stones is making dinner tickets available to members of Good Shepherd for $25 and some complimentary tickets are available. The program below will follow the dinner. (The program is open to the public. Bring a friend! Admission is free.)

LIVING STONES INVITES YOU TO A PRESENTATION AND BOOK SIGNING?BRING A FRIEND!
On Monday, February 23 at 7:15 pm the Rev. Dr. Naim Ateek will present his new book, A Palestinian Christian Cry for Reconciliation, followed by a book signing. (Books will be available for purchase.) The presentation is co-sponsored by Friends of Sabeel-NE and Peace with Justice Task Force of WCES.

CELEBRATING OUR ANNIVERSARY!
We are celebrating our 125th year as a parish in Watertown. In the fall of 1883 several families began to meet in homes on the east end of Watertown for services and fellowship. As the group grew, they moved services of the Union Hall in Watertown Square. In 1884 they purchased a lot abutting Mount Auburn Street from the Russell family, on their celery farm, and began construction on a church building. The first service in the church was held on Christmas 1884.

If you would like to help us plan a year of celebrations, including a celebration of our newly restored Sacred Space, please contact Steve Steadman or Ann Franklin.

An Outreach Opportunity...
The Coalition for the Homeless, which is housing people at the Cambridge Gateway Inn, is in need of paper products (paper plates, plastic utensils, paper napkins, etc.). Here is your chance to meet your New Year's decluttering resolution by donating your left over holiday / party paper goods to Good Shepherd to be delivered to the Coalition for the Homeless. A collection box will be placed in the narthex, with the donation to be made following the Annual Meeting (Jan. 25).

THE HIDDEN BROOK RETURNS!!!
Good Shepherd's Thursday first evening service will be September 11, 2008

As always on the first Thursday of the month, the service will be in the style of Taize, with candlelight, music, poetry, and time for reflection.

All the old regulars will be there: The labyrinth looks forward to your footsteps on a symbolic inward journey, the floor cushions hope to make any sprawlers among us comfortable, the candles wait to be lit for the concerns of your heart, and the Hidden Brook Team very much looks forward to welcoming you.

Come by any Thursday, at 7 pm to spend some lovely, quiet, candlelit time at CGS.

Regular Service Schedule

Wednesday through Friday   Morning Prayer 7:15 am in the Chapel
Thursday   Hidden Brook Candlelight Prayer Service 7:00 pm
Sunday   Holy Eucharist Rite II 8:00 am spoken service.
Sunday   Holy Eucharist Rite II 10:00 am service with music.

Our Senior Warden writes about CGS in the Watertown TAB:

Migliozzi: Return of the 'Prodigal Son'

The Hidden Brook is rediscovered!

Thursday nights resume with a new name. "The Hidden Brook" resonates on several levels, both historic and spiritual. Literally, it describes the underground stream that runs down Russell Avenue and irrigated the celery farms that were on this land before the church was built. It was also the name of Good Shepherd's first nursery school. And now, for CGS's Thursday night community in the 21st century, it evokes the spiritual hidden brooks in all our lives -- sources of peace and refreshment that we can touch more deeply by spending time on our inner journeys?individually, yet still together..

Mid-Week Services

Our service schedule reamins the same:

Wednesday - Friday 7:15 AM --- Morning Prayer
Thursday Evening 7:00 PM -- "The Hidden Brook" A candlelight Service for all

The last Wednesday of each 3:00 PM --- Holy Eucharist in the Community Rooom as the Arsenal Apartment

If you are traveling on the weekends this summer consider attending one of our mid-week services.

If you attend a church at your travel destination, please take them our greetings in the name of Jesus Christ.

May the glories of summer bring a song of praise to our lips.

You appointed the moon to mark the seasons, and the sun knows the time to its setting?.O Lord, how manifold are your works!
In wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. Psalm 104

In the familiar words of the 1928 Prayer BooK: Come, let us worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.

This Place of Worship

As you enter, you will notice an atmosphere of worship and reverence. Episcopal churches are built in many architectural styles; but whether the church be small or large, elaborate or plain, your eye is carried to the altar, or holy table, and to the cross. So our thoughts are taken at once to Christ and to God whose house the church is.

This church was built in 1887, and rebuilt after a fire in 1959. On or near the altar there are candles to remind us that Christ is the ``Light of the world'' (John 8:12). Often there are flowers, to beautify God's house and to recall the resurrection of Jesus.

On one side at the front of the church, there may be a lectern-pulpit, or stand, for the proclamation of the Word; here the Scriptures are read and the sermon is preached. In many churches, however, the lectern is separate from the pulpit and stands on the opposite side of the church.