Grace Good Shepherd Church

Seasons He made the moon to mark the seasons, and the sun knows when to go down.

-Psalm 104:19

Volume 1, Issue 3 April 2015

What does the Lord require of you but to do

justice, and to love kindness, and to walk

humbly with your God. -Micah 6:8

Grace Good Shepherd

Church 1450 Hiller Road

McKinleyville, CA 95519 (707)-839-3726

Find us online!

www.facebook.com/ggsmck www.gracegoodshepherd.org

http://goo.gl/EsJC1L

Pastors: Rev. Dr. Lynn Hubbard Rev. Deborah Hubbard

Sunday Schedule Worship 10:00 AM

Eucharist 1st/3rd Sundays

Sunday School 10:00 AM

Seasons Published monthly Deadline for copy:

23rd of the month prior

From the Pastors Desk

The Passion of the Christ

Over the last 10 years or so, Palm Sunday has become

Passion Sunday in many Protestant churches, (and not

because of Mel Gibsons movie!) but because the tendency is to

go from waving palm branches and shouting Hosanna! to

celebrating the resurrection of Christ, without pausing to

reflect on the torture and crucifixion of Jesus. To gloss over the

cross is to sanitize our Christian faith, but our culture prefers a

feel good religion, and very few people even attend Good

Friday services anymore. Besides there is nothing good about

Good Fridayit was just a mistranslation of the German word

for God, it is Gods Friday

So, on Passion Sunday the shadow of the cross illumines the

darkness in our own faith; the places Jesus sometimes leads his

disciplesplaces we do not wish to go. On Passion Sunday we

confront our reluctance to follow Jesus when his path leads us

toward the cross, and we also celebrate faith that does not

buckle under the weight of the cross. The same two chapters

that display the failure of Jesus closest friends also report acts

of courage and fidelitythe woman who anoints Jesus with a

costly jar of oil, Simon of Cyrene who carried Jesus cross, the

centurion who confesses that Jesus is the son of God, Mary

Magdelene and Salome who watch and wait at their own peril

so that they can give Jesus the burial he deserves, and Joseph

of Arimatheaa member of the councilwho, at some risk to

himself, goes boldly to Pilate to ask for the body of Jesus.

Page 2 Seasons April 2015

Passion Sunday gives an opportunity to witness to faith that holds through in times of difficulty

and fear. Fear of change, fear of death. Fear of going to an isolated Indian reservation to serve

God, even fear of getting a new pastor. But we must live our lives by Faith, not Fear. Faith that

does not run away from Jesus in his moment of greatest need, that does not deny him, that

does not betray him. We, too, remember those other timestimes when we stood up for

someone or something because it was the right thing to dolike the Presbyterian Church

supporting gay marriage; times when we paid a price for the courage of our convictions; times

when we stepped up for a stranger in need, defended what was just, embraced a hurting,

vulnerable human being.

The cross confronts us with a choice: to exercise our courage, or to run in fear. Facing the

reality of the cross, I feel more fear than good in that choice. There are too many times when I

find myself defecting from Jesus with the disciples, denying him with Peter, betraying him with

Judas for a few extra pieces of silver. There are too many times when my courage has not been

enough to help me do the right thing, to keep me close to others suffering, to help me stand

and deliver the good news of Gods justice and Gods love. There are too many times I have

found myself standing in the courtyard, listening from a distance while Jesus is condemned;

standing so close to undeserved suffering, afraid to speak, afraid to made demands, afraid to do

the right thing.

But the good news is that unlike the disciples, unlike Peter, unlike most of us, Jesus does not

defect from his people. He does not defect from his love for them. He does not defect from his

promises. He sticks with Peter even when he knows Peter will abandon him. He sticks with the

disciples even when he knows they will turn and run. His love for themhis love for usstays

constant even when he knows they are not up to the task that he has set before them.

This is the mystery of Gods love for uslove that is steadfast even when it is not returned; love

that grants us second chances that we do not deserve. Love that believes that we are worth

dying for even when we have already proven that it is not sufficiently returned.

And I am not sure why God chooses to love us like that. This kind of love is costly, painful, and

deep. Im not sure why Jesus doesnt cut the disciples loose and join with people he knows will

stick with him through thick and thin. Im not sure why he does not fire those who fail him and

reconstitute an organization of people who are more up to the task!

All I know is that once you know what it feels like to receive forgiveness that you dont deserve,

once you have felt Gods love sustaining you through hard times of your own making, once you

have made an honest assessment of your own life and acknowledged the many gifts that you

did not earn and do not deserve, courage grows a little deeper, conviction a little stronger,

resolve a little deeper for the next time God calls toward the cross. Remember, ultimately, God

does not and will not let us down.

Happy Easter

Pastor Deborah

Page 3 Seasons April 2015

Whats Happening April 2015

Wednesday 4/1 12:00 p.m. APC 2:00 p.m. Tai Chi 4:00 p.m. Bell Choir Thursday 4/2 10:30 a.m. Womens Bible 10:00 a.m. 2:00 p.m. WIC 3:00 p.m. 5:00 p.m. WIC 6:00 p.m. Maundy Thursday Service 7:00 p.m. NA Friday 4/3 7:00 a.m. Mens Breakfast 11:00 1:00 p.m. Mck Food 7:00 p.m. Good Friday Service Sunday 4/5 10:00 a.m. Worship

Monday 4/6 6:30 Al-Anon

Tuesday 4/7 6:30 p.m. McK Choir

Wednesday 4/8 12:00 p.m. APC 2:00 p.m. Tai Chi 4:00 p.m. Bell Choir Thursday 4/9 10:30 a.m. Womens Bible Study 10:00 a.m. 2:00 p.m. WIC 3:00 p.m. 5:30p.m. WIC 7:00p.m. NA Friday 4/10 7:00 a.m. Mens Breakfast 8:30 a.m. 1:00 p.m. WIC

Sunday 4/12 10:00 a.m. Worship Eastern Orthodox Easter Monday 4/13 Presidents Day 6:30 p.m. Al-Anon Tuesday 4/14 6:30 p.m. Mck Choir Wednesday 4/15 12:00 p.m. APC 2:00 p.m. Tai Chi 4:00 p.m. Bell Choir Thursday 4/16 10:30 a.m. Womens Bible 10:00 a.m. 2:00 p.m. WIC 3:00 p.m. 5:00 p.m. WIC 7:00 p.m. NA Friday 4/17 7:00 a.m. Mens Breakfast 8:30 a.m. 1:00 p.m. WIC Sunday 4/19 10:00 a.m. Worship

7:00 p.m. AA

Monday 4/20 6:30 Al-Anon

Tuesday 4/21 6:30 p.m. Mck Choir

Wednesday 4/22 12:00 p.m. APC 2:00 p.m. Tai Chi 4:00 p.m. Bell Choir Thursday 4/23 10:30 a.m. Womens Bible Study 10:00 a.m. 2:00 p.m. WIC 3:00 p.m. 5:00 p.m. WIC 7:00 p.m. NA Friday 4/24 7:00 a.m. Mens Breakfast 8:30 a.m. 1:00 p.m. WIC Sunday 4/26 10:00 a.m. Worship

7:00 p.m. AA

Monday 4/27 6:30 Al-Anon Tuesday 4/28 6:30 p.m. McK Choir

Wednesday 4/29

12:00 p.m. APC 2:00 p.m. Tai Chi 4:00 p.m. Bell Choir

Thursday 4/ 30

10:30 a.m. Womens Bible Study 10:00 a.m. 2:00 p.m. WIC 3:00 p.m. 5:00 p.m. WIC 7:00 p.m. NA

Page 4 Seasons April 2015

News News News News

One Great Hour of Sharing Through the One Great Hour of Sharing, the Presbyterian Church (USA) invites you to follow Gods call and take action to help those who are hungry, thirsty, without shelter or a safe place to call home. From people living in your community to those around the world, your gifts have a global reach, providing food and water, relief from the effects of crises and catastrophic events, and assistance for those stricken by oppression. Our congregation will be taking this special offering during Palm Sunday and Easter. OGHS envelopes will be included in this Sundays bulletin as well as in the church narthex for those who choose to give to this wonderful mission of the church.

Ecoclub News On Saturday, March 28th, the Ecoclub celebrated Csar Chvez Day. First, the club worked with Master Gardener Stan Schmidt in the Community Garden, assisting with organic gardening activities. The garden, located behind Grace Good Shepherd Church, provides organic produce for people in our community who do not have sufficient food resources. Doug Moyer, the

Coordinator of the Mobile Outreach Program distributed seed packets to the families. Later, there was a showing of the film Viva La Causa, the story of Csar Chvez and his movement for social and economic justice.

Installation Service Rev. Jeri Gray-Reneberg, Dean of the Sierra Pacific Synod, ELCA, and Rev. Dr. Robert Conover, Executive Presbyter of the Presbytery of the Redwoods will be leading us in the service of Installation for the Rev. Dr. Lynn Hubbard and Rev. Deborah Haffner Hubbard on Sunday, May 3rd, at 4 pm in the afternoon. Please mark your calendars!

Thoughts from The Old Lion

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The Credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again because there is not effort without

error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat. Theodore Roosevelt

Article Submissions Friends, please feel free to submit your news articles and thoughts for the Newsletter. Hopefully, we can offer additional pages on new worthy happenings around our parish. Please submit your offerings to me as early in the month as is possible. Remember, the Deadline for copy is the 23rd of the month prior to publication. - LDH

Page 5 Seasons April 2015

Celebrating Birthdays in April

Birthdays

02 - Anne Bird 06 - Shirley Bird 07 - Barbara Brimlow 08 - Alonna Freeborne 10 - Bill Combs - Phyllis Carlton

11 - Lynn Kitchen - Emi Botzler 14 - Tom Botzler 25 - David ONeil 28 - Meghan Rose -Tin Botzler