In this Issue:

Convention 2006

Convention 2006: Alaskan Bishop and Gwich'in Elder, Environmental Art and the Business of the Diocese, February 23-25

Nominees for Diocesan Offices

Other Stories

Go in Peace to Love & Serve the Lord

Nominees for the 26th Presiding Bishop Named

From the National & Anglican Fronts

News to Use form Our Diocese and Beyond

Commentaries

From the Bishop: Lessons form Fishing with Mattie

Reflection: Headlines that hit the heart

X-ercizing: Community, Solidarity, and Humanity

Diocesan Calendar

Past Issues

Go in Peace to Love & Serve the Lord

By Elise Johnstone and Pam Noyes

“And now, Father, send us

out to do the work you have

given us to do, to love and serve you as faithful

witnesses of Christ our Lord.”

Each week the Postcommunion prayer of the Holy Eucharist bids us to do as Christ asks us to do. Being of a good heart and a kind and giving nature is the order of the day. Recently, our congregation at Church of the Good Shepherd, Lexington, was reminded of this at our monthly outreach meeting when a member of the parish joyously announced that she was learning to be a driver for St. Agnes’ House. St. Agnes’ House provides temporary housing for 10 or 12 individuals seeking medical treatment, as well as their family members — many of whom are in a strange city. It might be very traumatic for those residents of St. Agnes’ House and what a joy it will be for her to be in relationship with people in such a perilous situation and in an unfamiliar location and provide a friendly face as those people are taken to and from their medical treatments.

Throughout the year many local and foreign ministries receive either financial assistance or volunteer labor from the parishioners of the Church of the Good Shepherd. For the last several years we have held a gala — a dinner and silent auction — in February, which is our biggest fundraiser of the year. The gala began as a means of raising funds to purchase a home for and provide continued support for refugee families seeking a new home in Lexington. That home has now become Refuge House and provides a safe haven for families who have come to the U.S. seeking sanctuary from war, disease, famine or other natural disasters. Some of our parishioners helped refurbish and furnish Refuge House. Others took on the task of teaching English to the residing families, helping them find employment and permanent housing.

Since the gala’s inception, the funds raised at the event have contributed to such ministries as our companion diocese program with the Episcopal Diocese of Haiti, Moveable Feast of Lexington, the Diocese of Lexington Reading Camp, the Medical Mission Ecuador program, as well as the Refuge House. “The mission of the companion diocese bond is to encourage and facilitate the people of the Diocese of Lexington in building relationships with the Episcopal Diocese of Haiti that lead to mutual understanding, prayer, care, and respect with an emphasis on the ministries of the Episcopal University at Port-au-Prince,”1 as well as support through action and financial support the alleviation of the hunger and poverty that exist in war-ravaged Haiti. Moveable Feast of Lexington is a nutritional support program for people living with HIV/AIDS as well as those who are served by Hospice. Medical Mission Ecuador is a non-profit medical organization with the mission to provide medical facilities as well as personnel to underserved areas of Ecuador and is sponsored out of the University of Kentucky.

Good Shepherd’s clergy assist in the numerous outreach efforts of the parish through communicating the central message of service that comes from Jesus Christ as we have received it through scripture. Not only are the clergy a means of introducing new ways the parish can be in relationship with the community through our action, they also support and assist in many community projects brought to their attention by our own parishioners, but they also bring a passionate concern, engender support from our parish family and get out the word. A part of our mission at the Church of the Good Shepherd is “to honor our Episcopal tradition, to care for one another within our parish family and to reach out in loving service to our community and the world.” Occasionally the rector, Bob Sessum, reminds us of the mission statement, but in all truth, this parish seems to have this advocacy imprinted upon their hearts. It’s astounding to read the list of ministries that we have participated in or supported.

Good Shepherd has generously supported Aids Volunteers of Lexington, the Cathedral Domain through scholarships and other projects, the Hope Center, One Hundred Women — a respite for victims of domestic violence, the Black Church Coalition, Deaf Teen Quest Mission Trip, the Salvation Army, Mission Manna — a program that provides healthcare for the malnourished of Montrouis, an outlying town of Haiti, the Resource Office for Social Ministries — a joint ministry which works between Lexington churches and social agencies as an information clearinghouse in gathering aid for emergency assistance, and God’s Pantry just to name a few. When actual volunteer participation is required, our parish is quick to supply the tools necessary for the job. Volunteers appear with little more notice than a couple of announcements during church or in our weekly newsletter, The Shepherd’s Voice.

Feeding and housing the disadvantaged has been a source of satisfaction, and so many at Good Shepherd are truly dedicated to any ministry of this type. We participate in Room in the Inn, a program in which we currently feed and house 14 or 15 homeless men two or three times a month. In conjunction with other Lexington area churches, Room in the Inn ensures that this group of men has a warm bed and meals every night from November through March. We hope to become even more involved in this ministry next winter. There are volunteers who participate in Habitat for Humanity, Church under the Bridge — an ecumenical effort that provides weekly worship and a hot meal for the homeless and the under-resourced, and Faith Community Housing — a program that makes available affordable and safe rental property for those who would not be able to otherwise have a safe place to live. Crop Walk, a fundraising walk of the Church World Service, provided an opportunity for parishioners of Good Shepherd for fun fellowship as well as to successfully raise money for those in need throughout Lexington and the world. And how could we forget our Cross Quilt Ministry that provides 2 or 3 quilts a week for Hospice, Chrysalis House, the Florence Crittenten Home, or anyone needing the comfort of a quilt blessed at the altar by one of our priests. As the Christmas season rolls around, nearly everyone in the church participates in The Giving Tree, which supplies toys and clothing to families experiencing desperate times. We also support Shepherd’s House, a residential treatment facility for men recovering from alcohol and drug addiction, a ministry initiated by Good Shepherd. We also participate in the Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Freedom March to bring awareness that racism and bigotry are still vibrant issues our society faces.

The Church of the Good Shepherd was also more than happy to donate thousands of dollars when the tsunami struck Indonesia and when the devastation of Hurricane Katrina wrenched the hearts of the entire country. Not only was as much money as possible gathered and sent, but we pray for relief for all the poor souls whose lives were changed forever by these monstrous forces of nature. This is by no means a complete list of our ministry involvement. There are numerous ministries that are ecumenical; after all, our mission also includes caring for one another within our parish family. For instance, care packages are sent regularly to parishioners or their family members and even friends serving in Iraq. And meals are delivered to those celebrating a new life as well as to those experiencing some of the more unpleasant events in life.

Two ministries that are on the horizon for Good Shepherd are our Adult Free Clinic, a program that will provide healthcare for the working uninsured and under-resourced of Lexington, as well as an emerging relationship with the Hispanic Immigrant population.

Outreach at Good Shepherd is not simply a committee that meets monthly; outreach is a ministry that involves nearly every person at the parish. Many parishioners participate in several diverse ministries. There is still so much need for relief from poverty, hunger and loneliness in the world. Recently the Outreach Committee was presented with several very interesting relief opportunities in which our congregation can participate. No doubt Good Shepherd will remember to do as we are bidden. We will “Go in Peace to Love and Serve the Lord” and it will be done with all the joy and love of the lady who is learning to drive the bus for St. Agnes’ House.

Advocate Online Staff:

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