I love Venn diagrams. The visual representation of all logical relations between a finite collection of different sets is just the coolest. Don’t you think?...
As we enter a new year of “inviting all people to grow into a Christ-centered life in God’s family” Good Shepherd staff members have brainstormed three key areas vital to living out that mission....
Every year at this time, the Weekly is filled to the brim with various opportunities in the life of our church. By my count, there are 23 opportunities this week alone! A recent member of the Good Shepherd family recently e-mailed me to share of the fun...
Next Saturday, August 25th, our elders are meeting for a bi-annual retreat day. We do so every January and August, and they have become two of my absolute favorite days of the entire year, not only because we have a lot of fun together, but also because I learn so much from each one of the leaders on the team....
Last week we welcomed over 220 kids for VBS. This week, our Middle and High School students are on Catalina at Campus by the Sea for a week of summer camp. Different settings, to be sure, but the same goal....
VBS week is like no other week on campus. It’s not even close. All week, over 220 Pre-K through 5th graders have been making crafts, engaging in science experiments, playing games, watching skits and singing. And singing. Then, a little more singing...
When we discovered Jen was pregnant with our first child we were still in Princeton, NJ, entering the last year of our seminary adventure. It was the summer of 2000. In the fall of that year we traveled back home to southern California. We celebrated Jen’s birthday...
The Red Sox and the Yankees. Tom and Jerry. UCLA and USC. Batman and the Joker. Coke and Pepsi. The Hatfields and the McCoys. Classic rivalries are all around us. Here's one you may have never thought of: 9am Classic and 10:45am Modern...
Stanley Hauerwas and Will Willamon’s book Resident Aliens opens with these words: Sometime between 1960 and 1980, an old, inadequately conceived world ended, and a fresh, new world began. We do not mean to be overly dramatic....
In 1926, the United States Supreme Court made a well-intentioned ruling that affects our everyday lives - perhaps for the worst. The justices ruled that the town of Euclid, Ohio could bar the development of land which had been slated for an industrial-use...
This week our church family suffered a very difficult loss as the 26-year old son of Julie Varley, Alex Bradley, was killed in a car crash. A couple of days later Julie pulled from the wreck a photocopy of the hymn “It is Well with My Soul,” which Alex had played on...
Keep ReadingHere are some unofficial statistics from our Church Family Picnic, last Sunday: People attended: 157 In-n-out burgers consumed: 196 Water balloons tossed: 98 Bounces in the bounce house: 2,742 Kids laughing: 52 Seniors laughing: 53...
Keep ReadingLike many children I enjoyed watching the Hanna-Barbera cartoons: Scooby-Doo, Tom & Jerry, The Jetsons, The Flintstones...they were all Saturday morning favorites. (They're still rather fun to watch today, especially Tom & Jerry.)...
Keep ReadingAt Tuesday evening’s Session and Staff Meeting, we reviewed a document written by ECO’s Synod Executive, Rev. Dr. Dana Allin, entitled Five Important Shifts for Our Future Development. The first shift is From ‘Clergy-Centered’ to an ‘Unleashed Laity.’...
Keep ReadingSunday we continue our series They Will Know Us By Our Fruit, inspired by Jesus’ teaching in Luke 6: No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from...
Keep ReadingIf you think about it, e-mail is a strange communication medium. Instead of speaking with someone face to face, or talking over the telephone, where we can at least hear their voice, in e-mail, our brains think up words that our fingers type...
Keep ReadingOne of the ways in which we love is through action. When Jesus washed the feet of his disciples (John 13) he was setting an example for them of humble care. The Church shines in its community when it lovingly serves. On Saturday, June 3rd,...
Keep ReadingOur new web-based church management software, MyGoodShepherd, is really great! Like anything new—especially involving technology—there is much to learn and some inevitable kinks to work out. But......
Keep ReadingThe mission of Good Shepherd is to “Invite all people to grow into a Christ-centered life in God’s family.” This is the clear and concise statement that describes what we are all supposed to be doing together. Easter is a vital opportunity for us to...
Keep ReadingIn 1882, ten men began the arduous journey from Roseto, Italy to the New World. In Roseto, they had toiled day in and day out in a stone quarry, which prepared them for similar work when they arrived near Bangor, Pennsylvania. The next year, fifteen more...
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