June 8, 2025

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

Pentecost Sunday is sometimes referred to as the Birthday of the Church.  Moved by the Holy Spirit, the Apostles leave the Upper Room and go out and do the work of Jesus.   Pentecost was the start of the next chapter of Salvation History.  It is a time of new beginnings.  A time of renewal!

June 1, 2026, will be the 75th birthday of Good Shepherd Parish.  Then, 2027 will mark the 50th anniversary of the construction of our current church here on Trindle Road.  These important milestones are a time to celebrate, remember, honor, give thanks, and to look to the future with hope. It is a time of renewal.  First and foremost, it is a time of renewal for you and me, the People of God.  Renewal in our hearts, our faith, our relationship with God, and our relationships with each other.   We are preparing wonderful ways to encounter and accomplish this spiritual renewal in our parish family.  

As we open our hearts for the Holy Spirit to refresh and strengthen us— the living stones that build the Church— we will also work to refresh and strengthen the physical stones of our church buildings.  Over the past three years, our Parish Pastoral Council and Parish Finance Council have been reviewing the needs of our physical plant not only in terms of structural elements and mechanical systems, but how these valued resources express who we are as the Body of Christ and support and sustain us in Jesus’ mission and ministry. The good people of Good Shepherd have sacrificed and provided for more than seven decades to bring us to this point.  We are heirs to a legacy of grace and generosity.  It is now time for us to ensure that legacy continues for the next generations of disciples. 

A Steering Committee representing a cross-section of our parish family is guiding this process of renewal.  Over 160 people were part of committee work, focus groups, and interviews. There have been three public information sessions where all parishioners were invited to attend. Now is the time to take the next steps to accomplish what needs to be done to give God thanks and praise and for His People to grow in holiness. Look for special bulletin articles and features this summer that will outline the why, the what, and the how. Let us pray together that God will give success to the work of our hearts and hands.

Love and prayers,
Father Neil Sullivan