Good Shepherd Lutheran Church

Find out at a workshop on June 28th at Unity Temple. Co-sponsored by the Oak Park Interfaith Green Action Network. See the attached flyer for details.

Good Shepherd received this notice and thought it might be of interest to some of our readers.

Notice:

diakonia™ includes a whole new way of thinking and doing, of perception and reception, of defining and redefining our lives and purpose for living. The focus is no longer on ourselves, our fears, trials and tribulations, but on what God would have us say and do in the midst of those fears, trials and tribulations. God’s call to ministry amidst the daily struggles of life is our call to Christian discipleship. For further information about this two-year theological program for lay people, please contact Pamela Marino at 773-763-0605 or go to http://www.thediakoniaprogram.org.

Pastor NorthOAK PARK, IL—Pastor Kathy North will be installed on Sunday, August 10, at 9:30 a.m., as the pastor of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church. Pastor North will be the 7th pastor in the church’s 70 year history. “Everyone is invited to help us welcome our new pastor and spiritual leader,” says Jan Salzman, president of the congregation. “We look forward to her ministry with us and her participation in the Oak Park community at large for years to come.”

In the tradition of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the largest Lutheran church body in the U.S., Good Shepherd established a Call Committee, an appointed group of church members, to oversee the process of searching for a new pastor. The Committee worked in partnership with the Metropolitan Chicago Synod office of the ELCA by interviewing candidates and traveling to locations throughout the Midwest to hear applicants preach in their own environments. With a unanimous recommendation and vote of acceptance, on June 22nd, Pastor North has become the next Pastor at Good Shepherd.

Having earned a B.A. in biology from Knox College, and following a management career in the private sector, Kathy North received her Master of Divinity degree from Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago in 2001. She most recently was Pastor at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in North Aurora where she demonstrated a unique talent for bringing people of different cultures and languages together into a combined worship. The ELCA has hailed her as a “visionary”, offering a good fit for this Oak Park church and their unique style of Lutheran worship and inclusive philosophy. The Oak Park community will benefit greatly from her leadership in these areas, adding enthusiastic energy and an ambition for bringing together people from various backgrounds.

Do I have to join to be involved?

You are welcome to attend worship, take communion, and engage in ministry with us at Good Shepherd even without official membership, except for things such as serving on the board or in certain other elected positions or voting at officially called congregation-wide meetings.

How do I join?

If after visiting for a while you would like to become a member, just let the pastor know. We usually hold membership classes in the fall and in the spring. The main goals of our new member gatherings are to build a stronger sense of community with others interested in Good Shepherd, to help you know more about this church and some of its members, to answer any questions you might have, and to help you find a satisfying place to plug in.

The precise content varies a little from group to group. Generally, in four or five sessions, you will connect with others interested in joining; experiment with a variety of ways to pray; experience different ways to read, study or meditate on the Bible; consider a variety of faith questions; maybe learn more about your spirituality type; and discover a little about your gifts and talents and where you might plug in at Good Shepherd to make a difference in something you care about and in ways you enjoy.

There's usually a good deal of laughter in these groups as well as substantive conversation. And the beverages and munchies are pretty good, too. Childcare can be provided.

At Good Shepherd, we value diversity. Our mission statement, in its brief form, says it well: Embracing the diversity of God's creation and celebrating our oneness in Christ. We embrace diversity by welcoming all people regardless of race, gender, class, sexual orientation, physical ability, or family composition. In embracing diversity we seek to be a bridge of understanding among people, to live in the creative tension of differences, to be a blessing to a community and a world where dialogue, understanding and collaboration among diverse people is needed.

We celebrate our oneness in Christ by recognizing that it is Jesus' embrace that comes to us and holds us together. And that embrace is broad. Any relationship with the God we know in Jesus Christ grows throughout a life-long journey of seeking, deepening, questioning, praying, serving, learning, caring. Both faith and doubt are part of the journey in this dance of life-giving relationship.

A warm and caring place, Good Shepherd is noted for

• A friendly, welcoming atmosphere
• Vibrant Worship with musical variety
• Social Ministry and Social Justice
• Spirituality

As a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), Good Shepherd is part of a church body comprised of almost five million members in more than ten thousand congregations throughout the U.S. We share in ministry with Evangelical Lutheran churches throughout the world. And we partner with a variety of Christians, Jews and Muslims for social ministry and social justice.

Other ELCA organizations include Lutheran Social Services, disaster relief, prison ministries, immigrant and refugee services, hospitals, nursing homes, camps and retreat centers, schools, colleges and seminaries.