The next plastic recycling drive is scheduled for Sunday, March 7. Pick up a recycling guide from the table in the church entryway to find out what types of plastic you can recycle that day.

W.H.O. is Coming March 7-14!  Good Shepherd’s week to help with the Winter Hospitality Overflow Shelter at St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church is March 7-14. Sign-up sheets are available in the church entry to provide evening snacks and to volunteer for a shift. The 6-10:00 p.m. shift sets up the gym with pads and linens and hosts our guests with coffee and snacks. The 10 p.m.-2 a.m. and 2-6:00 a.m. shifts are quiet; keeping the watch, washing and drying towels, and preparing lunches. The 6-9:00 a.m. shift is a busy one; rise and shine, cereal, rolls and coffee, and clean up. The need is great this year – it’s been a full house most nights. This is our seventh year of participation in this program with Council for the Homeless and Share.

Eucharist will be celebrated by the Rev. Ann Whitfield on Thursday mornings at 6:00 for the rest of Lent, to be followed by Bible study and discussion.

Wardens Greg Rhodes & Julie Gullett ready to serve: At the special congregational meeting held Sunday, Feb. 14, the bylaw amendment passed and Greg Rhodes was elected to serve as the non-voting Senior Warden. The vestry re-elected Julie Gullett as the Junior Warden.  

Lenten Soup Supper - The Rite 13 youth have the tradition of providing a soup supper and prayer service for the Good Shepherd community. The Lenten Soup Supper will be held on Sunday, March 7, at 5:30 p.m. in the parish hall. The youth are getting their soup supper preparations underway so plan on joining them for this wonderful Lenten event! Look for a sign-up sheet in the church entryway.

Montessori Preschool Now Enrolling - Good Shepherd’s House is open for enrollment for children ages 2 ½ to 5 in our new, beautiful classroom. The Catechesis of the Good Shepherd (religious education) and a condensed Montessori curriculum are combined to offer the best in early childhood education. Good Shepherd’s House spiritually, academically, emotionally and socially supports the development of the child. Options include a Mon, Tues. & Wed. morning class, a Thurs. & Fri. morning class or a one-morning Catechesis option. Research shows that the early years are important learning years. If you are looking for a high-quality program please call Marcella Rush, 892-7770.

Sunday School Happenings
Rite 13 (6th-8th grade) Feb. 28: same as above – Lent II

J2A (9th-12th grade)
Youth Happenings
All youth grades 6th-12th are invited to attend Good Shepherd’s Youth Group, which meets Wednesday evenings. If you have any questions please call Danielle at 892-7770

Junior Youth (6th-8th) EXTREME Sleepover!  Fri., March 12 – Sat, March 13, 6 p.m.- 10 a.m. in the Youth Building and JJ Jump Extreme in Clackamas. Cost is $10 per youth, financial assistance available; talk to Danielle. We will meet at church at 6 then head to Clackamas at 6:30. JJ Extreme has lots of bouncing, bungee basketball, zip line, climbing wall, dance, dance revolution, and more! Afterward, we will go back to church for our sleepover and more fun activities. This is a great opportunity to bring a friend!  Waivers and permission slips will follow.  You will need to REPLY if you are planning on attending! Reply now to: youth@goodshepherdvancouver.org if you can’t wait! P.S. We need parent drivers to help transport to and from Clackamas!

Low-Impact Exercise Classes especially tailored for seniors will be led by Sue Buratto on the first and third Mondays of each month. Anyone who is interested is welcome to join them in the music room from 11:30 to 12:00. On the first Monday of the month, you are invited to stay for the noon potluck.

Lenten Series - Lent is a time when we are invited to turn inward and examine ourselves in light of the journey to the Cross. This year, that journey of self-examination will happen during Adult Education time as we focus on questions about sexuality. Class curriculum will include Bishop J. Neil Alexander's book This Far by Grace: A Bishop’s Journey through Questions about Homosexuality, the documentary For the Bible Tells Me So, and supplementary readings about Christian tradition, history, and Scriptural interpretation. All are warmly invited to come and participate, and to honestly and humbly dialogue with one another. The series will run for 5 Sundays during Lent: February 21, 28, March 7, 14, and 21, in between the 9:00 and 11:05 services. Copies of Bishop Alexander’s book are available used online from amazon.com or powells.com, so please order them soon. A limited number of copies will be available to purchase at the church for $9.50. Contact Father Tom or Reverend Shelly if you have further questions.

Date Change for Women’s Retreat - The dates for the spring women’s retreat will now be April 23-25 so that Grethe can be with us and minister to us! Please mark your calendars. This spring we will be journeying with women of the Bible – lesser known and amazing women whose stories are not often told. Come prepared to grow with your sisters in Christ and to relax and refresh yourself. Registration forms will be available soon.

Movie Matinee!  Please join us for a community showing of the documentary “For the Bible Tells Me So” on Sunday, March 14 at 3:00 p.m. This movie is part of our Adult Ed Lenten series about sexuality. It tells the stories of several Christian families dealing with a family member who is gay or lesbian. We will be showing the movie in the sanctuary, as we are expecting more people than the parish hall or the youth building can manage. Please bring your cushions and blankets if you would like them.  We will be having an extended time for question-and-answer afterward with Rev. Shelly. Please come!
Childcare will be provided from 3:00–5:00 PM. Parents are asked to sign their child(ren) in and out from the following areas: Nursery: Infants-Kindergarten; Youth Building: Grades 1-6 (a movie will be shown). Childcare questions: Kara Uhrich, 892-7770 or Kara

Come Sing With Us! On Palm Sunday the Shepherd’s Kids Choir will lead the processional at the 9 and 11:05 a.m. services. Please join us at rehearsal, where we learn the joy of praising God through singing by: learning hymns and songs of faith; participating in worship service; learning scripture and Bible stories through  song; and having fun together! All children, grades K-6, are invited.  Practice is every Tuesday, 6:30 – 7:15 p.m. in the Music Room. For further information, please contact Maureen Walker.

Would You Like to Chat?  In an effort to provide more opportunities for the Vestry and Parish to discuss the issues of the day, the Vestry would like to invite you to join us from 6:00-6:55pm in the Parish Hall the first Tuesday of every month.  This will be an agenda-free time where a few members of the Vestry will be available to chat. In addition to contacting a member of the Vestry via e-mail or phone (numbers and addresses are located on the web and in the church entryway), this is another avenue of communication should you have questions, comments, or concerns you'd like to discuss with the Vestry. The first Vestry Chat will be Tuesday, April 6th. If you are attending and need child care or a ride, please contact a member of the Vestry by March 28th as we will be happy to make provision for you. As another reminder, the Vestry will be meeting the first and third Tuesday of every month from 7:00-9:00, generally in the Youth Building. Please check with the Church office for a firm location as sometimes we choose to meet off-campus. As always, all are welcome to attend. Whether it's by phone, e-mail or face to face, we look forward to chatting with you!

Baptism Preparation Classes - Easter Vigil is approaching quickly! This is one of the feasts on which we celebrate baptism. If you are interested in baptism for yourself or for your children, please contact Rev. Shelly (360)892-7770 or Shelly. You may also sign up in the narthex.  Baptism class dates will be March 7, 14, and 21 after the 11:05 service. These classes will involve light reading, fellowship and story-sharing.

Red Cross Blood Drive is scheduled at Good Shepherd on Mon., March 15. Appointments are available between 2:00-7:00 PM, with check-in planned for the Youth Building.  Donors age 16 years old and older can sign up in the narthex, online at www.givelife.org (use the code: goodshepherdvanco) or by phoning the Goforths. In preparing to donate blood, you can contact the Red Cross (on the above website or by phoning: 1-800-Give-Life) to ask questions related to travel and/or medical circumstances including medications one is taking. Once you have an appointment consider eating many iron rich foods including legumes, citrus fruits along with beef, molasses and/or cereals such as cream of wheat or raisin bran. Our family is committed to offering a blood donation opportunity in memory of our daughter/sister, Leah, who benefited from many blood product transfusions. Available blood products made a difference for Leah, as they do for many in SW Washington. Those experiencing various medical conditions or surgery will be grateful for your donation! So, contribute to the greater community by scheduling your appointment today.  P.S. There will be pizza and treats for donors!

Children’s Prayer Walk of the Passion, Saturday, March 27.  2nd-6th grade: 3:00 – 4:00 p.m.; Age 3-1st grade: 3:45 – 4:45 PM.  Children age 3 through the 6th grade are invited to experience the “Prayer Walk of the Passion”, led by Fr. Tom. The Prayer Walk is an overview of the Holy Week events of Jesus’ life that will help children understand more about this special time in the church year. Parents/guardians of the younger group of children are asked to attend with their child(ren). If a family has children in more than one age group there will be supplies available to make Easter cards, or they can help plant flowers in the church courtyard. If childcare is needed for younger children please note on registration form. Registration forms are available on the table in the narthex, or from your child’s chapel or Sunday school leaders. Please pre-register children by March 21st. Friends are always welcome! Contact Kara Uhrich with questions through the church office at 892-7770 or email: karau@goodshepherdvancouver.org

2010 Lenten Prayer Vigil Sundays, Feb. 21 – March 28, 3-6:00 p.m. Come and pray; no sign-up necessary. On February 28 and March 7, when other activities conflict in the sanctuary, the vigil moves to room #5, south end of Children’s Education Building.

“Welcome to Good Shepherd” is a five-week orientation series for those who are new (and not-so-new) to Good Shepherd and who have not yet had an opportunity to participate in a ‘newcomer’ get-together. The spring series will begin on April 5 and continue each Monday for five weeks. The first four sessions will be held at the church from 7-9 p.m. Session 5 will be at the home of Tom & Saran Warne. These “Welcome” classes provide newcomers a chance to get better acquainted with others in the congregation and an opportunity to ask questions about Good Shepherd, the Episcopal Church, and Christian faith in general. The format is relaxed and conversational. The purpose is to provide a sense of belonging at Good Shepherd! Please sign up in the church entry. For more information call the church office, 892-7770.

An opportunity to grow and learn in beautiful Canada! You are invited to be a part of the Order of St. Luke International Conference at  the University of British Columbia, Okanagan, Canada from June 21-25! You do not have to be an OSL member to attend. The theme is “Sharing the Heart of Jesus,” and many of the workshops will be presented by speakers  from around the world! OSL International Conferences are only offered once every three years and rarely as close as Canada. For more info about this exciting and possibly life-changing opportunity, visit the OSL web-site at www.orderofstluke.org and click on the hotlink for the conference. You can also check out the web-site www.OSL2010.ca. Registration forms and sign-up sheets are available in the front entryway. If you have any questions, please talk with OSL members who will be attending: Audrey Courser, Barbara LeRoy and Saran Warne. Registration for the week is $100 BEFORE May 1. Rooms can be booked with local hotels individually or directly with the university. The UBC rooms are a much better deal, and will go quickly. Booked directly with the university in British Columbia by March 22 using your credit card; payment due when you arrive at the conference. There is a space on the sign-up sheet to denote interest in carpooling, so talk with your family and friends and lets go to beautiful Canada to learn and grow together!