From the Pastors Desk - January 07, 2024
As many of you know, our daughter, Anne, works as an undergraduate research assistant for one of her professors. The lab she works in contains years of experiments in current states of use or left abandoned by past graduate and undergraduate assistants. While she was working this summer, a group of unfamiliar faces appeared. The Ohio EPA had come to pay a visit. Although the lab had no serious violations, the EPA did order them to clean up, especially after one of the ladies walked across the floor yelling “Sticky! Sticky! Sticky! Sticky!” Unfortunately, that clean up became a major undertaking. Years of past experiments, some older than the students currently working there, had to be discarded properly in various waste bags. There were many days that the task at hand seemed insurmountable. At one point, Anne and another undergrad stopped to take a break. The other student looked at Anne and flatly stated “We are doing the best we can!”
“We are doing the best we can!” has become somewhat of a motto in our household now. When the going gets tough, or something just isn’t working out, usually Anne or I exclaim that famous phrase and frequently start laughing. We have found it best to stop, take a breath or a break, and then start again.
I suspect “We are doing the best we can!” is the way things are going to be at Good Shepherd for a while until we get used to not having Ed around. Although Ed has left us in a good spot by organizing so many things ahead of time, I’m sure there are things that we will discover along the way that we had forgotten about. I don’t expect this transition to be seamless.
Thank you to all who have volunteered to help take on Ed’s office responsibilities. I will be taking on the bulletins and newsletter since I am already familiar with the program and have access to the full worship service information. Please send your announcements or information for those items to my email or the church office email, or you can always call me or hand me notes on Sunday morning too. I plan to print the bulletins on Thursday so we will keep the weekly bulletin deadline on Wednesday. We’ll also keep the newsletter deadline on the 20th of each month as it remains now. We’ll see how that goes, and if it needs changed we’ll change it. Thank you to all who have offered to help with the bulletins and newsletters, but, unfortunately, I have to have the process firmly in hand before I can train someone else to do it.
For all the rest of you who are taking on additional responsibilities, please let me know who you are and what responsibilities you are taking. Communication is going to be key in getting this whole process working well. If you have questions, call or email me. I may not have the answers, but we will figure it out together, and remember, “We are doing the best we can!”
Faithfully,
Lei Fahrner
Notes from the Choir Loft - 11/24/24
Welcome Dr. Maira Liliestedt!!!
From the Pastors Desk - 11/24/24
Odds & Ends
From the Pastors Desk - 11/03/24
Thanks Be To God for ALL of You!!
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Serving Others
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A Busy Month!
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Where Did Everyone Go?
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Small Can Be Mighty!
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Dandelions!
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Keep It Short!
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When “Thank You” Seems Insignificant
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Searching for an Organist/Choir Director
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Always Living in the Future
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Thank You!
Notes from the Choir Loft - 11/26/23
Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve Worship
From the Pastors Desk - 11/26/23
A Toast to Ed!
Notes from the Choir Loft - 10/31/23
All Saints Sunday, November 5th & Christ the King Sunday, November 26th
From the Pastors Desk - 10/31/23
November Already!!!???
From the Pastors Desk - 10/31/23
November Already!!!???
Notes from the Choir Loft - 10/01/23
Reformation Sunday, October 29th Combined service with Zion United Church of Christ
From the Pastors Desk - 10/01/23
A Mighty Fortress Is Our God!
From the Pastors Desk - 08/31/23
God’s Amazing Creation
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Oh, for a Thousand Thanks to Give!
Notes from the Choir Loft - 06/27/23
Lutheridge Bound…
From the Pastors Desk - 06/27/23
Fifth Sunday Combined Worship
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Trinity Sunday
From the Pastors Desk - 06/02/23
Happy Father’s Day!
Notes from the Choir Loft - 04/30/23
Organ Concert and Space Dedication
From the Pastors Desk - 04/30/23
Random Thank Yous!
Notes from the Choir Loft - 04/03/23
Holy Week Schedule
From the Pastors Desk - 04/03/23
Worship Opportunities with Zion
From the Pastors Desk - 02/25/23
The Future of the Church
Notes from the Choir Loft - 02/01/23
Ash Wednesday and Additional Lenten Worship and Bible Study…
From the Pastors Desk - 02/01/23
Care and Concern Committee
Notes from the Choir Loft - 01/01/23
January Sundays and Inclement Weather
From the Pastors Desk - 01/01/23
An Interview!
From the Pastors Desk - 11/28/22
Working Together
Notes from the Choir Loft - 10/31/22
November/December Upcoming Events
From the Pastors Desk - 10/31/22
Thanksgiving!
From the Pastors Desk - 10/02/22
Future Possibilities
From the Pastors Desk - 09/02/22
Thanks Plus More
Notes from the Choir Loft - 07/31/22
Upcoming Events…
From the Pastors Desk - 07/31/22
Odds & Ends
Notes from the Choir Loft - 06/30/22
This month I will be attending Music Week at Lutheridge
From the Pastors Desk - 06/30/22
Dream Big!
Notes from the Choir Loft - 06/30/22
This month I will be attending Music Week at Lutheridge
From the Pastors Desk - 06/30/22
Dream Big!
From the Pastors Desk - 05/29/22
Waiting!
From the Pastors Desk - 05/04/22
Thankful for Others
From the Pastors Desk - 04/10/22
The Sure and Certain Hope of Easter
Notes from the Choir Loft - 02/27/22
The narthex is an architectural element typical of early Christian and Byzantine basilicas and churches consisting of the entrance or lobby area
From the Pastors Desk - 02/27/22
Spring IS Coming…Really!
Notes from the Choir Loft - 01/30/22
Look Up
From the Pastors Desk - 01/30/22
Chilly Musings
Notes from the Choir Loft - 01/07/22
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From the Pastors Desk - 01/07/22
Let’s Get Back to Normal Living Again… Maybe????
From the Pastors Desk - 12/19/21
Christmas Time… Again, Already??!!
From the Pastors Desk - 11/07/21
Always Living in the Future
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november Voice 2021
Notes from the Choir Loft - 03/31/21
The Easter season starts out with dwelling on the resurrection appearances,
Notes from the Choir Loft - 03/31/21
The Easter season starts out with dwelling on the resurrection appearances, and then moves back in the gospels to Jesus’ farewell speeches while simultaneously moving forward in the book of Acts as th
Notes from the Choir Loft - 03/02/21
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Notes from the Choir Loft - 01/31/21
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Notes from the Choir Loft - 01/03/21
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Notes from the Choir Loft - 11/01/20
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From the Pastors Desk - 11/01/20
Are you familiar with the term Minnesota Nice?
Notes from the Choir Loft - 10/01/20
Music in church has taken on a different tone since the pandemic started.
From the Pastors Desk - 10/01/20
The Northeastern Ohio Synod held its Synod Assembly online
Notes from the Choir Loft - 09/05/20
As the Sanctuary Worship Team looks at the guidelines we will use in October for sanctuary worship, I thought I would share a little about our musical options for the fall and winter.
From the Pastors Desk - 09/05/20
A global pandemic. Civil unrest. A society divided. A church struggling to find its place.
Notes from the Choir Loft - 08/01/20
What Do We Do This Fall?
From the Pastors Desk - 08/01/20
Do you watch the TV show Jeopardy?
From the Pastors Desk - 07/04/20
At Good Shepherd we are fortunate to have a large parking lot
From the Pastors Desk - 07/04/20
At Good Shepherd we are fortunate to have a large parking lot
Notes from the Choir Loft - 06/06/20
On Singing Together1
From the Pastors Desk - 06/06/20
One of my favorite church holidays is Pentecost
Notes from the Choir Loft - 06/06/20
On Singing Together
From the Pastors Desk - 06/06/20
One of my favorite church holid
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Coming Festival Days
From the Pastors Desk - 05/01/20
Many years ago, when I was in the Metro DC synod
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As I type this article (I decided not to use the one I’ve been working
Notes from the Choir Loft - 03/03/20
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From the Pastors Desk - 03/03/20
When I was in the 3rd and 4th grade our across
Notes from the Choir Loft - 01/30/20
Organ Dedication
From the Pastors Desk - 01/30/20
During the season of Epiphany the
From the Pastors Desk - 01/03/20
I remember the first time I was allowed to stay up to welcome the New Year. Some of the details are a bit fuzzy, but I do remember the night.
Notes from the Choir Loft - 12/06/19
Music Fund
From the Pastors Desk - 12/06/19
New Stewardship Projects
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Stewardship
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Organist Notes
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New Hymns, New Organ
From the Pastors Desk - 10/07/19
Found faithful in little, with much, with all
Notes from the Choir Loft - 09/29/19
How Singing impacts your well-being
From the Pastors Desk - 09/10/19
Introducing Junior Church