October 2016 Volume I Issue 9

The Shepherd’s Voice 2200 Saginaw Rd. SE

Grand Rapids, MI 49506 Telephone – 616-805-3353

Email Address – GSPC2016@sbcglobal.net Facebook Page – Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church Grand Rapids

Website - GoodShepherdPres.com

POT LUCK The first anniversary pot luck is scheduled for October 15 and will once again be held at Jim Miller’s condominium Club House located at 1228 Mesa Junction Dr. SW, Byron Center. A map is available by the offering basket. Bring a dish to pass. Punch will be provided as will dinnerware.

A Minute with Mike

After this the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where He Himself was about to come. And He said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. Luke 10:1-2

Fall greetings to you and yours! I'm praying you and yours are well and that God is continuing to bless you in ways that are discernible. I also continue to pray for our country as we approach a very contentious election. The stakes are extremely high, and many Americans are deeply concerned about the future of our nation. Additionally, I pray fervently that God will bless our church and that He would add to our number daily. Indeed, the harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few... The Bible says that “we have not because we ask not” (James 4:2). We would all admit that there are lots of people living in our community. So where are they on Sunday morning? Where are they as we hold class and fellowship together? As I drive past a favorite local restaurant each Sunday morning, I see a line of people out the door waiting for a table. Makes me wonder where are those who are eager to wait upon the Lord in worship and prayer?

To that end I am asking for those who feel a calling to prayer to join me on Sunday mornings before we begin worship. Like a symphony orchestra, I pray there would be a symphony of prayer going up to God from the Good Shepherd church. We can never pray enough, and we should always seek to pray more. God is worthy and waits to hear from you and me. Perhaps He will fill our church with laborers!! Bless you,

Mike

PRAYER REQUESTS

If you have a request for prayers for you, family and/or friends, please contact the office at 616-805-3353. Your prayer request will be passed along to our Prayer Warriors and placed in the bulletin if you so wish. Prayer cards are available in the literature rack at the entrance to the Sanctuary.

Bettye Kay Oct. 4 Betty Rittersdorf Oct. 31 Lois Stephens Oct. 31

Jim and Betty Rittersdorf October 5

OCTOBER 2016

2nd Communion/Preaching on the Trinity 9th Preaching on the Incarnation 16th Guest testimony Bill Olensik/Preaching on Sin, Salvation and Predestination 23rd Preaching on Covenant Life and the Sacraments 30th Preaching on Stewardship and Obedience (Dr. Laura Smit)

HOME GROUPS Two new home groups are in the process of starting. Laura Smit and Peter and Ashley Johnson have started one that met September 19 and is scheduled to meet the first and third Monday’s. If you have interest in attending that one, please speak with Peter or contact him at pjohnson@acton.org for exact details and address. Mike and Donna Baynai are kicking off a group meeting once a month starting the second Sunday of October (9th) at 4:30 P.M. See either Mike or Donna for more details. For the month of October Dana Bilyea’s group (the Jolly Beans) will be meeting the 13th and 27th at 1:00 p.m. at Dana’s place. (Contact Dana for other details.) Bob Brooks’ group meets every other Monday at 6:30 p.m. The Monday’s sometimes vary to accommodate the members. In October, meetings will be held on the 10th and 24th. (Contact Bob for further details.)

WEBSITE Just a reminder to those who have computers with internet to continue to check out the new Good Shepherd website: GoodShepherdPres.com.

ESSENTIAL TENET SERIES

On September 25 Rev. Dr. Laura Smit began presenting a six-week series on the Essential Tenets of what we believe as an ECO Church. The first class was an introduction to The Fellowship Theology Project and the Essential Tenets. At that time the confessional documents of the Book of Confessions were introduced. If you were unable to attend the first class, you are still invited to share in the remainder of the series. The remainder of the topics can be found on the church website (goodshepherdpres.com under the Education link). For those with computers you may download the Participant Guide at goodshepherdpres.com under the Education link.

DOUG & ELAINE BROOKS MEMORIAL FUND

The Board of Trustees for the Doug and Elaine Brooks Memorial Fund has met and submitted the by-laws for the memorial fund. These by-laws were approved by the Session at the September meeting. For those who wish to make a contribution for advancing the education of children within our church community, make checks out to the church, and designate the contribution to the Doug and Elaine Brooks Memorial Fund.

DATES/EVENTS 4th (Tuesday) Billy Graham's Evangelical Association prayer

at State Capitol 12:00 noon 15th Church-wide Pot Luck dinner 19th Session meeting @ 6:30pm 21-22 Presbytery meeting in Logansport, Indiana 30th Pastor Mike will be away

Courtney Mills: Courtney is a senior studying Business Marketing and Graphic Design at Calvin College. She grew up in Plainwell, MI, with her parents Dave and Rhonda and her older brother Bradley. At Calvin, she is involved in various clubs and also volunteers at local organizations. Growing her faith is important to her, and she also enjoys exploring Grand Rapids. More than anything else she loves to spend her time with “a good book, good food, and good company.”

MEET OUR NEW MEMBERS

Carrie Barrett: Many of you may already know Carrie. Some may not, but I’m willing to bet you’ve met one of her adorable daughters. Carrie has called Grand Rapids her home the majority of her life and has never lived outside of the Mitten state we call home. Her daughters are Lucy who is 10, loves to sing, is always helpful, and just started 5th grade; and Kennedy who is 4, loves to run and play, eat ice cream, also sing, and will be starting pre-K this year. Carrie is a busy mom who works full time and is taking classes at Ferris and GRCC towards her business degree. As a family they love to go camping, travel, play at the beach and spend time with their family and friends. Carrie says she’s blessed with endless shenanigans from her kids and is fortunate enough to work for a company that pays for her classes. A wonderful trait of Carrie is her optimism. She says “Although life isn’t often smooth sailing, I find it is most beneficial to appreciate the breeze even if you think it’s blowing you in the wrong direction because we can’t read the map HE has for us.”

Eckhart Chan: Eckhart is currently a senior at Calvin College studying religion, philosophy, and classics. He was born in Chicago, but soon after his family moved to the West Coast where he grew up. For most of his life he lived in the Seattle, Washington, area. Both his parents, Catherine and Stephen, are originally from Hong Kong and still live in Washington. His brother, Calvin, is a staff member for Intervarsity Christian Fellowship in New York City. He is excited to be part of the community at Good Shepherd Presbyterian and looks forward to finding out what God has in store for our community.

Bolu Olayemi: Bolu is from Lagos State in Nigeria, the youngest daughter in a family of 7. She is very close with her four older sisters. Her mother is a nurse and a stay-at-home mom. Her father is a pharmacist and successful businessman. Education is very important to both of her parents which is why Bolu has chosen to study at Calvin College. She is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Information Systems and plans also to earn a Master’s degree as well. In her free time, she enjoys time with friends, swimming, trips to Lake Michigan, and dancing to hip hop music. Bolu is an employee of Good Shepherd helping to lead our children’s ministry. She says Good Shepherd members have been very kind to her, and it makes her feel like she has “been here forever.”

DO YOU REMEMBER WHEN? Back in February when Good Shepherd was still in its infancy stages, the “Shepherd’s Voice” contained an article reporting a designation for each Sunday of the month. The first Sunday was Communion. Our second and third Sunday’s were set aside for our Joyful Noise offering for various Mission projects, and we’ve now grown to the point that this has become a weekly event. The fourth and fifth Sunday were set aside to make donations to the JKPC Food Pantry. Sorrowfully this seems to have fallen by the wayside. The last Sunday in September was that designated Sunday, and Marie Zoerner who has graciously volunteered to deliver donated items to the Food Pantry reported that there were only two items to deliver. Hunger and poverty are all around us. It is only by the Grace of God that we are not the ones in need of food. Please remember to mark those Sunday’s on your calendar.

This month the children will be learning

about David and how he was faithful to God

and why he was known as, "a man after God's

own heart." The Bible verse they will be learning is:

"Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever."

Psalm 23:6

FAMILY CAMP For those of you who saw the

pictures from Family Camp 2016,

they were a small window into the

weekend. We were joined by the

following families: Johnson’s,

Barrett’s, Gunby’s, Vanderberg’s,

and the Gipe’s. Friday evening, we

shared family style Spaghetti and

meatballs, checked out the

awesome facilities, and got settled.

Saturday was full of excitement

with a trip to the beach, fishing, a

water balloon fight, meals in

between, of course, and closed with

an awesome fire built by Peter. We

roasted marshmallows and shared

fun camp fire stories. Sunday

dawned with beautiful weather for

us to have a fabulous outdoor

sermon given by Peter with the

children singing a hymn for us. A

beautiful hike ended our camp

weekend. Hope to see all of you at

camp next year.