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GOOD SHEPHERD LUTHERAN CHURCH 4201 Stoudt’s Ferry Bridge Road

Muhlenberg Township, Reading, PA 19605

Telephone 610-926-4201

Pastor Denise E. Keltz

email: denise.keltz@gmail.com

Number 11 November 2017

Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

To be grateful is to recognize the love of God in everything.

Thomas

Merton

As we approach our national holiday of Thanksgiving, we busy

ourselves with preparation for the big feast. That might mean

getting out the “good dishes” and preparing those special entrees

that we only get to eat on holidays. The Thanksgiving meal is a time when we get to sit

around the table not just to feast; but to remember the past and tell those stories that bind our

families together, to enjoy one another’s presence, and to dream of a

bright and hopeful future for our families.

In addition to our celebration of Thanksgiving, November is

also the last month of the church year, which is a good time to look

back over the past year and with a grateful heart count our collective

congregational blessings and “recognize the love of God in

everything”.

So, as we gather for the feast of the Lord’s Supper on All Saints Day

on November 5th

and on Christ the King Sunday on November 26th

, let

us engage in the same practices for these Eucharistic (Giving Thanks)

Meals as we do with our families on the Thanksgiving holiday. Let us

tell the stories that bind us together as a church family. Let us

experience the joy that we find in being in one another’s presence.

And let us dream dreams and envision a bright and hopeful future for

God’s church here on this corner.

I am so very thankful to have been called to be your pastor.

Yours in Christ,

Pastor Denise

Pg. 1 Pastor’s Page

Pg. 2 Worship Highlights Pg. 3 Stewardship News

Pg. 3 Pumpkin Festival

Pg. 3 “Jingle” Offering Pg. 3 Preschool News

Pg. 4 WELCA News

Pg. 4 Social Ministry Pg. 4 Breakfast

Pg. 4 Legacy Gift

Pg. 5 Financial Tax Incentive

Pg. 5 Youth Ministry News

Pg. 6 LYO Activities Pg. 7 Praise Band

Pg. 7 College Ministry

Pg. 7 Confirmation Pg. 7 Fellowship

Pg. 8 Sports Ministry

Pg. 9 Reminder Sign-up Pg. 10 Preschool Fundraiser

Pg. 11 WBMD News

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Sunday, November 5th

– Micah declares God’s condemnation of those who abhor justice. Jesus warns

against hypocrisy. Paul urges the Thessalonians to lead a life worthy of God.

Called to be humble servants, we gather for worship, seeking justice and welcoming all

people to share the banquet of life. The readings for today are: Micah

3:5- 12 Judgment upon corrupt rulers, Psalm 43 Send out your light

and truth, that they may lead me., 1 Thessalonians 2:9-13 The apostle’s teaching

accepted as God’s word, Matthew 23:1-12 All who humble themselves will

be exalted. We will be celebrating All Saints Sunday today. Come

and join us as we remember those members who have received their new life in

Christ.

Sunday, November 12th

- Today the prophet Amos calls for justice to roll down like waters. Paul urges

us to encourage one another with the promised coming of the Lord. Jesus tells the

parable of the wise and foolish bridesmaids. Surrounded by the faithful of every

time and place, we celebrate Christ’s coming in our midst in the word of life and

the feast of victory—the marriage feast of the lamb. The readings for today are:

Amos 5:18-24 Let justice roll down like waters, Psalm 70 You are my helper and

my deliverer; O LORD, do not tarry., 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 The promise of the

resurrection, Matthew 25:1-13 The story of the wise and foolish bridesmaids.

Sunday, November 19th

- Our readings during November speak of the end times. Zephaniah proclaims

that the coming day of the Lord will be filled with wrath and distress. Paul says it

will come like a thief in the night and urges us to be awake and sober. Jesus tells

the parable of the talents, calling us to use our gifts, while we still have time, for

the greater and common good. In a world filled with violence and despair, we

gather around signs of hope—word, water, bread and wine—eager to welcome the

good news of Christ’s coming among us. The readings for today are:

Zephaniah 1:7, 12-18 The day of the LORD, Psalm 90:1-8 [9-11] 12 So teach us to

number our days that we may apply our hearts to wisdom., 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11

Be alert for the day of the Lord, Matthew 25:14-30 The story of the slaves

entrusted with talents. Come join us for our special Thankoffering Service!

Our guest speaker will be Bonnie Coller from our Muhlenberg Churches

Food Pantry.

Sunday, November 26th

- On this final Sunday of the church year our gospel is Jesus’ great story of

judgment. In the end, the faithful are those who served Christ by ministering to

those who are poor, hungry, naked, sick, or estranged. In the first reading

God is the shepherd who seeks the lost, weak, and injured and feeds them with

justice. We gather this day to celebrate the reign of Christ and his victory over death,

yet awaiting the consummation of all things yet to come. Acknowledging

Christ as our merciful ruler, we go forth that his reign may be known in our loving

words and deeds. The readings for today are: Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-

24 God will shepherd Israel, Psalm 95:1-7a We are the people of God’s pasture

and the sheep of God’s hand., Ephesians 1:15-23 The reign of Christ,

Matthew 25:31-46 The coming of the Son of Man; the separation of sheep and

goats

INCLEMENT WEATHER - If you are not sure whether we are having church due to the weather,

please check the following sources: Channel 69 News, Facebook (church page) or Reminder text (see

page 9).

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What’s Your ENOUGH?

Thrivent ran a contest where children and youth answered this in drawings, illustrations, words, and

videos. I thought it was very interesting. I wanted to share some of these with the congregation through

our newsletter, unfortunately I could not get permission to do so. Thus the best I can do is 1) point you to

the web site: thrivent.com/contest and place the September 2017 issue of “Thrivent Magazine” in the

Narthex. (It is Pastor Grant Wickert’s copy.) I would suggest the web site as the videos are there. Don’t

have a computer?—ask a friend or family member to take you to it on their computer or smart phone.

After looking at the material there, ask yourself: What is your enough?

Dale Nelson

The Annual Pumpkin Festival will be held on Sunday, November 5 from 11:45

AM until about 6:30 PM. Activities will include Food and Baked Goods,

Vendors, Music and Charlie Adams, Carnival games, a Fall Play Area, a Hayride

Ride and more. Watch for ways to help us by donating food and other items, and

by helping us with the activities the day of the Festival. For now we could use glass items for our Dime

Pitch game - such as glasses and bowls, etc. And we are planning a Chinese Auction so if you could put

together a themed basket - like a craft, boy, girl, movie, etc. basket - or if you had access to a gift

certificate for something that people might want to win, that would be helpful! If you know of a business

that might be able to help us out as a sponsor - money or donations - please let the committee know. We

do have a sponsor letter if you would need one. Also, if you would like to help us with the planning,

please join us at our Festival meetings. Check the bulletins for future dates."

WANTED: CRAFTERS and VENDORS for the Annual Pumpkin Festival. There is still time to rent a

space at our Pumpkin Festival on November 5, 2017. Spaces are just $10.00 which includes a table and 2

chairs. If you would need a space with electric the cost is $15.00. If anyone is interested of knows of

someone who would be interested please contact Rebecca Watson, slw0219@comcast.net or 610-926-

4201, ext. 207, for more information. Please be aware that we will only allow one vendor per product

line.

JINGLE OFFERING FOR NOVEMBER The Jingle Offering for November will be received on Nov. 19

th. The recipient this month

will be the Lutheran Congregational Service. Please be as generous as possible when the

bucket comes your way. Thank you.

PRESCHOOL NEWS

"We are once again filling the halls with laughter and love!! Preschool has begun

with four classes - two four year old classes and two three year old classes. The children are enjoying

meeting new friends and rekindling old friendships. We are getting used to our routines and learning

about each other as we establish our classroom families for the year. Thank you so much for supporting

our outreach program as we show children and families God's love and support!

We still have a few openings in our Tuesday and Thursday afternoon class and are offering these

positions to 3 or 4 year olds so if you know anyone who may still be interested.... we do enroll students

throughout the year if we have availability."

WELCA NEWS

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WELCA will be taking orders on Nov. 19, 26 and Dec. 3 for Zook’s meat pies and apple dumplings. The

small pies are $5, beef, chicken & vegetable. Large pies are $10 and are only available in beef or chicken.

Apple dumplings, also by Zook’s, are $3 for a single and $6 for a double pack. Pick-up will be in the

fellowship hall on Sat. Dec. 16 from 11 to 1. Order blanks will be handed out on the order dates. Please

help WELCA by participating in this delicious fund raiser. See Barbara Huegler with any questions

Social Ministry News

Just a reminder that the food pantry is always in need of items that the clients can’t purchase with food

stamps: papers goods (tissues, TP, paper towels), detergent, dish soap, bath soap or gel, shampoo,

deodorant, and toothpaste and tooth brushes. Also, the pantry never seems to have enough cereal to give

out. Cans of tuna, soup, fruit and veggies are also welcome. Let’s fill the white shelves in the gathering

area with these things! The clients are always so appreciative. Any questions? Ask Barb Greth

Worship & Music Notes

Please mark your calendars now for these important dates!

We will not be having a Thanksgiving Eve Service this year. Please join us on Sunday

November 19th

for our Thankoffering Service at 10:30AM.

This year’s Christmas Eve services will be as follows:

Saturday Evening, Dec. 23rd

at 6:00PM Contemporary Christmas Worship Service

Sunday Morning, December 24th

at 10:30AM Regular Church Service

Sunday Evening, December 24th

there will be two services

7:00PM Family Service

9:00PM Candlelight Service

Fellowship Breakfast

A special fellowship breakfast will be held on Nov. 26th

from 9-10 a.m. in the Fellowship Hall to

celebrate Christ the King Sunday. For this year, this is replacing the breakfast we have been having on

the first Sunday in Advent. All are welcome to come and enjoy a great meal and a great time. If you can

help in any way with this event, contact Joe or Heather Garl, or Doris Canonico. Thank you.

Legacy Gift

This year we have received a legacy gift from the estate of Edward Cramer. In his will, Edward

gifted to the church a number of stocks. We have graciously accepted these gifts and the funds from the

stocks have been invested in our Endowment Fund. The Endowment Fund is used for “one-time

expenses” to pay for capital improvements or special projects. Thank you Edward for remembering us in

your will.

A legacy gift to the church may be something that you also would like to consider. Pray about it

and talk with your family and/or your financial planner about how to make sure that your wishes will be

carried out.

Financial Tax Incentives

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Did you know? If you are considering cashing in stocks or taking money out of your IRAs in the

near future, you may want to check with your Financial Advisor about the tax incentives that are available

with regard to charitable donations. At the current time, these incentives are still in place and may work to

your advantage, while at the same time be very helpful for the church.

Hello gang and welcome fall! I hope everyone is having a great school year so far. I am recovering

slowly but looking forward to a great fall and winter season with some awesome kids. Thank you for all

your thoughts and prayers as well as the wonderful cards I have received! Without your well wishes I

would not be recovering as well as I am.

With that said I am going to need as much help as we can get to run our Children’s Carnival during the

Pumpkin Festival on Sunday November 5th

from 12:45 – 4:30 or so. We need you to man the different

games that we have set up for the children. Also, if you’re available on Saturday morning anytime from 9

a.m. until most likely at least noon to help set up we could surely use you then too. We will be here!

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

We will be having our monthly committee meeting on Tuesday November 7th

at 7:30 p.m. in the

conference room. Please consider coming as we are looking for great ideas for the remainder of the year

and into the New Year. Anyone in 5th

grade and above is more than welcome to join us.

If you ever have a question with a youth event please don’t hesitate to contact me on my cell phone at

610-207-0699. If I am not able to take your call at that moment please leave me a message and I will get

back to you. If you are on Facebook be sure like to and follow us at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church

Youth Group! Remember Youth Ministry is open to youth from 5th

grade and up including our college

kids! God doesn’t have an age limit to enjoy his love and neither do we! We always love to have more of

our church family join us in our events!

I would like to wish everyone from my family to your family a very blessed Thanksgiving holiday!

Kathlynn

AKA Mama Knarr

I am sorry to keep this in the newsletter but there are so many of you that

are not signed up to this system yet! This is the best way to receive all our updated

events and cancellations! Get connected now before you miss out on the next activity! Need

to know when the next LYO event is? Now there’s more ways than ever. Try our Text Alert System.

It’s easy and free to sign-up! We’ll send out texts to remind you of events. To sign-up, please send a

text to 81010 and message: @gselcyouth! Sign-up today and get connected. Don’t have unlimited

texts? No problem - call the church at 610-926-4201 and follow the automated prompts to hear the latest

church announcements! This is the best way to hear about schedule changes especially once winter

weather comes around!

November Activities

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Sunday November 5th from 12:45 until approx. 5:00 p.m.: Pumpkin

Festival Children’s Carnival. We will need all the help we can get for

carnival game stands, obstacle course and our concession stand. Please sign

up and volunteer your time for a great and fun festival here at church. Please sign up at

the youth bulletin board to help with the Children’s Carnival!

Tuesday November 7th at 7:30 P.M.: Youth Ministry Committee will be

meeting in the conference room Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. Any youth 5th grade

and up may join us to help plan our remaining 2017 events and give opinions

of past events. We would also like to schedule some 2018 events as well.

Saturday November 18that 6:00 P.M.: Please join us for our last fall Holy

Communion Contemporary Worship Service. We will be led in music with our

own praise band “The Awakening”!

December Activities

Sunday evening December 3rd time TBA: We will be joining the other youth

groups of the West Berks Mission District in a fun Christmas Scavenger

Hunt at Gring’s Mill! Reformation Lutheran church is running this event for

all to enjoy. We will meet here at the church once are aware of the time and

travel to Gring’s Mill. This is going to be a great night of fellowship with

other youth groups within our district. Please plan on attending.

Friday evening December 29th @ 4:30 P.M.; The Youth

Ministry is once again sponsoring a trip to The American Music

Theatre in Lancaster for their annual Christmas Show! This

year’s theme is “Home for the Holiday’s”! We will meet here at

the church at 4:30 to carpool to Cracker Barrel for dinner.

After dinner we will enjoy a fantastic show that starts at 7:30 P.M. We have 23 adult

tickets available for $34.50 per person and 10 tickets for children 17 and under available

for $18.00 per child. Our seats are once again in the 1st and 2nd rows of the center

orchestra seating area! You are responsible for your own dinner and spending money.

Never know what to get someone for Christmas this is the perfect gift! Please see

Kathlynn for your reservation! Your nonrefundable deposit of half down was due by

October 1st and the balance is due by December 3rd. We had a great time last year and are

looking forward to another great night with our church family! As of the end of October

we have 6 children’s and 2 adult tickets available. However we can always trade in a

child’s ticket for an adult ticket.

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PRAISE BAND

Please join us for the following Saturday evening as will be

offering a contemporary worship service with Holy Communion.

Saturday November 18th at 6:00 P.M.

This service will be musically lead by our own Praise Band

“The Awakening”! The praise band will rehearse in the music room

Thursday evenings from 7 – 9 p.m. unless otherwise notified.

College Ministry

Please email me at kknarr.gfs@gmail.com with your child’s college

mailing address. If you think I already have it please send it to

me again just to be sure I have the correct address just in case

anything may have changed. I don’t want anyone to miss out on

getting mail from us and letting them know we are thinking of

them. In your email please include their mailing address, year of college they are in, what

they are studying, and their birthday. Any other interests they have that you would like

to share would also be appreciated! This program is for commuters as well as living on

campus students and also any military service personnel.

Confirmation Classes Monday Night November 6th and November 20th from 7:00 – 8:15 p.m. in

the conference room: All confirmation class students please plan to join

Pastor Denise for confirmaion class. Please see Pastor Denise with any

questions.

Fellowship Committee

Please plan to join us Saturday November 11

th from 7:00 – 11:00 A.M. for our

monthly all you can eat breakfast! We could also use some extra help this Saturday

in the kitchen. Please see Joe or Heather Garl if you can help out in any way! Enjoy

scrambled eggs, southwest scrambled eggs, hash browns, French toast, sausage,

bacon, and toast, cookies, coffee and orange juice! Wow! All this food and service

with a smile for only $6.00! Children age 4 – 10 are only $5.00 and 3 years and

under are free! Bring all your friends as all are always welcome!

Plan on joining us on Sunday, November 26th

from 9:00 a.m. until 10:00 a.m.

for Christ the King Sunday breakfast. We will be serving scrambled eggs, hash

browns, bacon, sausage, French toast, regular toast, cookies, coffee and orange

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juice. This is a free will offering! Don’t miss out on this special breakfast with your church family!

Our next volleyball fun night is Wednesday November 1st, 15

th and 29

th from 7 – 9! All

are welcome to join us every other Wednesday night for our volleyball fun night in the

multi ministry hall from 7 – 9! As always food and drinks will be served. We generally

have sandwiches and snacks to eat; along with water, lemonade, orange drink and ice tea

to drink. If you enjoy to laugh this is the place to be! Bring a friend the more the better!

Ever wonder how to get a church event put on our Facebook page for Good

Shepherd Evangelical Lutheran Church? Please just email Kathlynn at

kknarr.gfs@gmail.com and she will make sure it is advertised on our page!

So check us out and like our page!

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Important information!!!! Please sign up and be connected to Good Shepherd Evangelical

Lutheran Church! Sign up and join from your cell phone! It’s easy and free as long as you have

unlimited texting on your cell phone plan! Never miss another church service, meeting or event because

you weren’t sure of the date and time! You will get reminders from GSELC! Join today! Any questions

see Kathlynn Knarr or Lynn Shollenberger!

Sign up for important updates from GSELC!

Get information for GSELC right on your phone—not on handouts or the bulletin!

Pick a way to receive messages for GSELC:

If you don’t have a smartphone, get text notifications.

Text the message @7b62f8a to the number 81010.

If you’re having trouble with 81010, try texting @7b62f8a to (484) 577-2992.

* Standard text message rates apply.

Don’t have a mobile phone? Go to rmd.at/7b62f8a on a desktop computer to sign up for email

notifications.

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The West Berks Mission District is a coalition of area Lutheran Churches working together to do

effective, cooperative ministry. YOU are a member of the West Berks Mission District!

The WBMD office is located in St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, 1015 Windsor Street, Reading PA 19604.

WBMD Director – Dawn Baxter Dawn@westberksmissiondistrict.org

Office Staff/ Bookkeeper - Jane McClellan Renner Jane@westberksmissiondistrict.org

Office Phone – 610-375-8303 Website: www.westberksmissiondistrict.org

WEST BERKS MISSION DISTRICT Newsletter – November 2017

WBMD Fall Assembly Event Thursday, November 9, 2017 6:30 -8:30 PM

Hosted by Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Tuckerton

Please join us for a night of food, fellowship and education

as we share information on some new ministry opportunities.

Come hear how our community is working together to help

an asylum seeking family from Nigeria as they came to our

country to find a safe environment for their family. You will

have the opportunity to meet some of the Johnson family.

We will also hear from Georgia Suranofsky, Director of our synod’s Mission Interpreter

program. Hear how this program is sharing the stories of mission and ministry happening

across our synod! Learn how you can invite a Mission Interpreter to visit your congregation

and how you (or someone you know) can become a mission interpreter!

Another ministry you will hear about is Congregational Care Teams. What are they and

what do they do??? Come and learn.

We will begin the evening at 6:30 pm with fellowship and appetizers, followed by worship

and the program. A free-will offering will be collected to support our Lutheran Pantry. The

primary “Order of Business” will be to review and adopt the 2018 WBMD budget.

Each congregation should send their rostered ministers and two lay voting members.

But all are welcome to join us for good company and fellowship!

WBMD – Witnessing Boldly – Making a Difference!

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My Neighbor is Muslim

Exploring the Islam Faith

Our second TableTalk event was held at the

McGlinn Conference Center on October 11 and

was attended by 32 people. We heard from Ms.

Tahara Akmal, a member of the Islamic Center

of Reading and Director of the Clinical Pastoral

Education Program at the Reading Hospital who

was our Speaker for the evening. She helped us

understand what Muslims and Christians have in

common, how we differ and how we can work

together for the common good.

“My Neighbor is Muslim” study materials are

available electronically by contacting the

WBMD office.

Hey look! Is that Flat Luther on Pastor Jen’s hat???

2017 CROP Hunger Walk

a great success!!!

On Sunday, October 8th

about 300 people

walked at Gring’s Mill in the annual Church

World Service CROP Hunger Walk. It was

another beautiful, sunny day – well, not

really… it was cloudy and hot and humid and

very buggy but the predicted rain and

thunderstorms never came so it was a

wonderful day!

This was our 36th

annual Walk and we have

already collected over $24,000 and donations

continue to come in. 75% of money raised goes

to Church World Service to help feed people

around the world and 25% goes to the Greater

Berks Food Bank to help feed our hungry

neighbors locally.

Special thanks to all for helping to fight

hunger one step at a time! GREAT JOB!!!

This year’s awards went to:

Funky Flip Flop Award for the most youth

walking - St. Paul’s UCC in Fleetwood

Golden Sneakers Award for most walkers -

West Lawn United Methodist Church AGAIN!

Benevolent Bling Award for most money raised

– so far it seems to be West Lawn UMC!

Looking forward to seeing you next year!

2018 CROP Walk – Sunday, October 7th

WBMD Calendar of Events November 2 Installation of President United Sem.

November 4 Youth Leaders meeting at Grace

November 9 WBMD Fall Assembly

December 3 Youth Scavenger Hunt @ Gring’s Mill

Mark your calendars now for these 2018 events!

Jan. 23 WBMD Council

February 24 WB Annual Youth event at Robeson

March 11 Bowl-a-thon at Berks Lanes

October 7 CROP Hunger Walk

PLEASE NOTE:

The WBMD no longer has a designated

fax line so we can no longer receive faxes!

Please scan and email any information

you may have previously faxed. Thanks!

PSST… HEY YOUTH!!!

Plan to join other youth from the WBMD for

an awesome, night-time scavenger hunt at

Gring’s Mill on Sunday, December 3rd

from 6:30-8:00 PM. Watch for more information coming soon!!