For Adults
As adults, we have many needs: to learn and grow, to find meaning and support, to make connections and put down roots, to feel like we belong. At Church of the Good Shepherd, we have activities in three major areas to meet all these needs. They are:
Worship and Music
It all starts with worship, the opportunity to praise and say thank-you for the gift of life. Services are offered every Sunday throughout the year and you’ll find them advertised in the Faith section of the Record. We follow the traditional Christian calendar, observing all the seasons and major holy days, plus the days unique to us: Johnny Appleseed Sunday; Swedenborg Birthday Sunday and New Church Day. Of course our biggest service of the year is the candlelight Christmas Eve Carol Service which packs the church every year. Also very popular is our Easter “balloon service”.
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The first Sunday of every month is now “guitar service Sunday”, a family-oriented worship celebration featuring a regular group of guitarists and singers and a sermon in the form of a play or skit (often acted out with the assistance of youth volunteers). Services can also feature special guest speakers and particularly those from agencies serving the disadvantaged in our community.
Overall, we think you will find our services to be affirming, welcoming and inclusive, in tone, style and message. We use different kinds of personal and artistic expression, and we love music of all kinds. – choir, instrumental and solo, traditional and alternative. If you like music, or sing or play or just think you’d like to try, this is the place!
Spiritual Growth
In our church, there are several ways to grow spiritually:
Study Groups
At least once every church year, a weekly study series is offered. The focus may be on a book of the Bible, or a book by Swedenborg, or a spiritual bestseller like “The Shack”. Sometimes they take up a theme like relationships or making a personal change. We share insights together and help support each other’s spiritual journeys.
Soup & the Bread of Life
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The longest running and most popular kind of learning has proven to be what we call “Soup & the Bread of Life”. Every Tuesday night, from September to April, the minister makes up a big pot of broth on the stove in the church kitchen and sets out a table and chairs. Whoever comes knows to bring a fresh chopped vegetable or some pasta with them. There is a time for fellowship in the kitchen as ingredients are added to the pot in the manner of creating “stone soup”. Then the soup is put on simmer while everyone repairs to the table, a candle is lit, and the Bible reading for the coming Sunday service is read. Everyone is invited to share thoughts, feelings and experiences that are brought to mind by the passage and often some deep sharing emerges. Then we close, bring out the soup and some bread, and share a simple meal together. This often is like a kind of sacred communion event. Finally we close with a ritual of thanking God and one another for the time together.
Learning by Doing
For many of us, the best way to learn is by doing. To learn about love we practice being loving. here at Good Shepherd, we engage in service projects such as helping with Habitat for Humanity or serving the Easter dinner at the Soup Kitchen to the city’s poor and homeless on Maundy Thursday. In these ways we learn what it really means to follow in the Way of Jesus. (To learn more about our Outreach, go here.)
INNER SANCTUARY
Spiritual life is about spiritual practice. If we want to seek God’s face, if we want to open ourselves enough to feel God’s presence, then there are ways to follow to help us do that. Some are well known like prayer and worship. Other “ancient practices” are less well known but coming back into favour. They include sacred circle dance, labyrinth walking, meditation, journaling and chanting. These kinds of practices involve getting more in tune with the rhythms of our body and of the earth.
This is the idea behind a brand-new program this year, called “Inner Sanctuary”, an alternative and a complement to regular Sunday morning worship.
To learn more about Inner Sanctuary, go here,
Fun & Friendship
Women’s Group
Our Women’s Group meets in the homes of different members throughout the year. Their activities have included everything from outings to chocolate-tasting to belly dancing! An annual women’s retreat in the fall is a highlight of the year. All women of the church, whether members or friends, are welcome.
Women’s Book Group
Our Women’s Book Group meets every month from September to June in each other’s homes. Bestsellers, romances, favourite oldies – everyone gets to suggest a book and everyone has fun sharing an opinion or two!
Men’s Group
Our Men’s Group meets monthly at a popular pub in town for good food, good conversation and good times. An annual men’s retreat in the late spring tops off the schedule. All men of the church, whether members or friends, are welcome.
Special Events
A Halloween dance? A picnic or a barbeque? A night for cards or for a movie? A “Shepherd’s Market” with members and local vendors and craftspeople selling all kinds of neat stuff? We have events like these at various times throughout the church year. There’s always something happening at the church!
116 Queen Street North. Kitchener, Ontario N2H 2H7. 519-743-3845.
