Category: Ministry News

Beginning June 20th

Holy Communion 9:30am

The semi-annual congregational meeting of Good Shepherd will be held May 16, 2021 following the 11:00am worship service. Agenda items will include the annual budget and congregational council elections.

By Pastor Wes Poole

Psalm 100:4-5

Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise. Give thanks to him, bless his name. For the Lord is good;    his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations. – NRSV

A 12 year old boy named David was born without an immune system. He underwent a bone marrow transplant in order to correct the deficiency. Up to that point he had spent his entire life in a plastic bubble in order to prevent exposure to common germs, bacteria, and viruses that could kill him. He lived without ever knowing human contact. When asked what he’d like to do if and when released from his protective bubble, he replied, “I want to walk barefoot on grass, and touch my mother’s hand.”

G.K. Chesterton once penned, “When it comes to life the critical thing is whether you take things for granted or take them with gratitude.” As I sit here tapping away on a Tuesday in Holy Week, my head and my heart are fixed on gratitude. We have just returned to in-person worship on this past Palm Sunday. We will gather together on Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday for the first time in 2 years, and for the very first time as pastor and congregation! Despite the dark road we must still walk with Jesus before we can celebrate the Empty Tomb, I just can’t muster the usual somber, Holy Week headspace. If COVID has taught us anything, it is that we should never take anything for granted. From hugs to handshakes to regular communion, we have had a yearlong lesson in just how many things can be taken from us in a relative instant. I pray that we can all find that spirit of gratitude and put it to work in the coming months as the world continues to open back up.

Of course, during this truly holy week, when we acknowledge once again what Christ’s sacrifice means to us, and how painful the road was that he took for our benefit, we embrace another sort of gratitude; that of a people who have been given so much by the God who cherishes them. Sure, we already know how the story “ends”…life and hope and resurrection joy, but experiencing Our Lord’s sacrifice with him makes the reality of the gift just that much sweeter. In Jesus Christ, God has claimed us once and for all. As we recall during this holy time the dark and difficult path Jesus walked for us, may we cultivate an even greater spirit of thankfulness and indeed awe at just how much Our God loves us in Jesus Christ. In the end, we are always an Easter People. Friday may look dark…but Sunday’s always coming! Thanks be to God!

Let us pray…

God of all Hope and Goodness, we pause during this Holy Week to ponder upon and give thanks for what you have done for us in Jesus Christ. As we take those steps with Jesus once again, through passion and pain to the foot of the cross and the wonder of an empty tomb, make us always ever more thankful to you, and appreciative of your lavish generosity. We ask these things in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Be well, be kind, and be safe. See you in church!!!!

Blessings always,

Pastor Wes Poole †

Holy Week worship will be live in person at Good Shepherd. Services will be recorded and posted online as soon as possible after the end of each service for those who cannot attend.

Holy Week/Easter Worship Schedule

• Mandy Thursday — 7:30pm
• Good Friday — 7:30pm
• Easter Sunday — 8:30 and 11:00am

Masks are required and social distancing will be observed. Capacity will be limited to allow for social distancing.

The downtown clergy will be sponsoring a Good Friday Ecumenical Service

12:00-1:15pm
First Presbyterian Church, Wilkes-Barre, Pa. 
97 S Franklin St. 

We are gathering in the sanctuary and through Live – Streaming (Link:  https://cutt.ly/goodfridaywb). We observe social distancing, and masks are required. Invite a neighbor to join us. Send them the Link.

Live worship will return Palm Sunday, March 28th. Masks and social distancing will be required at all services. Services will be recorded and made available online as soon as possible following each service . We ask that you do not attend if you are not feeling well, have a fever, or have been exposed to someone who has Covid-19.

Holy Week/Easter Worship Schedule

• Palm Sunday — 8:30 and 11:00am
• Mandy Thursday — 7:30pm
• Good Friday — 7:30pm
• Easter Sunday — 8:30 and 11:00am

Today she worship video has been fixed and can now be viewed at http://goodshepherdwb.org/first-sunday-in-lent/

By Pastor Wes Poole

Genesis 3:19b

“[Remember] you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” – NRSV

Gloomy or depressing words? Perhaps. Yet those are among the first words we usually hear as the season of Lent begins. Most years, when we gather together for the Imposition of Ashes on Ash Wednesday, we are reminded of our humanity and mortality; of our human frailties and capacity for sin. The need for safety precludes that this year, but the message contained in those ashes, and what follows in the ensuing weeks has not changed at all. It is during these weeks before Easter that we, as Christians, are brought face to face with our God in a way that is not always comfortable. Lent is the appointed time for us to behold the suffering of God.  Accordingly, we are encouraged to share in it with personal discipline and sacrifice. As the love of God is seen most clearly on the cross at Golgotha, the crosses we each bear bring us ever closer to the one who gave his very life that we might have new life.

The mood of Lent is certainly different from that of Christmas or Epiphany. The images of a suffering Jesus and our own Lenten disciplines can seem dismal at first. The title of this devotion is a joke, obviously, but a powerful argument could be made that maybe we shouldn’t even observe Lent this year. Haven’t we seen enough suffering since this time last year? If you feel that way, I could hardly blame you. I am comfortable assuming that all of us have seen our share of suffering and sacrifice, thank you very much! Do we really need to force more of it to please God?? Well no, God doesn’t need us force anything to maintain our relationship with him. Still, Lent and its sterner tone has a lot to say to us during a time of difficulty. First and foremost, Lent shows us again that ours is a God who is Himself no stranger to suffering. Jesus proved that in his life and ministry, even to the point of being sacrificed on a cross so that our relationship with God could never be broken again.

Of course we already know that the story doesn’t end with a man on a cross but with an empty tomb and the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of his sacrifice, we too are born into the new life Jesus has provided for us. In baptism, we become part of Jesus’ sacrifice and the inheritors of his resurrection. Dust we may be, and to dust we may return, but eternal life in Jesus Christ is the certain hope of all believers and the real end of the story! Jesus’ sacrifice has rendered our human imperfection ultimately powerless. Let us take the time during the season of Lent to ponder the mystery of this God who has done that which by human standards would be complete folly. God has shown power in powerlessness and turned death into life; reason enough to press on with a faithful Lent. I pray that your Lenten experience will provide you with new insight into this wonderful gift that God has given us through Jesus Christ. Remember, the darkness of Lent will always give way to the brilliance of an Easter light!

May the blessings of the Triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit strengthen your hearts and minds for the journey of Lent.

Let us pray…

God of salvation, you have showed us that you know our suffering and indeed share it with us. During this season of Lent, help us to ponder more closely the lengths to which you were willing to go to bring us into a relationship with you. Help us focus our hearts and minds on the sacrifice of Our Lord Jesus, and to act accordingly. For it is in His name that we pray. Amen.

Be well, be kind, and be safe. I pray we can see each other soon!

Blessings always,

Pastor Wes †

It’s not too late to sign up for the virtual Lenten Bible Study that begins tomorrow.

Here are some of the texts we’ll be discussing tomorrow during the Ash Wednesday Bible Study —

• Genesis 3:17-19
• Job 42:1-6
• 2 Samuel 13:18-19
• Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

Click here for more information and to sign up for the Bible Study.