Service Times:

Sunday mornings – Holy Eucharist 10:30am
Wednesday nights- Healing Service with Holy Eucharist 6:30pm

There are many ways to be engaged at Good Shepherd, through our worship services and bible studies . We also have a very active thrift store that always needs volunteers if you are want to volunteer for outreach to the neighborhood.  As always, for the safety of all, if you do not feel well, please stay home, even if you think it is just a cold or allergies, coughing and sneezing still can spread asymptomatic Covid 19.

 

Whoever you are, and wherever you are on your journey of faith, you are welcome here!

What is worship like?

At Good Shepherd our worship is orderly but not stuffy.  If you are new to us or to the Episcopal Church, just ask the person nearest you for help finding your way through the service–we love welcoming and helping folks.

Our music is an eclectic mix of traditional hymns and songs familiar from church camps and Sunday School days.  If you have musical talent to share, either vocal or instrumental, speak to Caryl Frink!

The worship in all Episcopal churches is “liturgical,” which means it follows a set structure every week based on the historic worship of the Christian church through the ages.  To a newcomer, it may look somewhat like Roman Catholic worship, although we are a Protestant church, and you may notice a few other differences–such as our having women as clergy as well as men, and married clergy as well as single. Our liturgy is found in the Book of Common Prayer 1979, which is shared by all the congregations in the Episcopal Church and closely related to prayer books in other Anglican churches (churches historically related to the Church of England) around the world.

Our worship is centered on Scripture and Sacrament.  The first half of the service focuses on listening and responding to the Word of God–we hear one reading from the Old Testament/Hebrew Scriptures, two readings from the New Testament, and recite a Psalm every week.  The middle part is a response to those readings via preaching, prayer, and offering. The culmination of the service is the celebration of Holy Communion, also known as the Eucharist.

To learn more about our worship, or to make arrangements for baptism or another special service, speak with Fr. Dennis, or Deacon Mary Ann.  You can also find more resources here and here.

Children are welcome to worship with their families, but they are also welcome to engage with Scripture and faith in a more active format in Sunday School during the first half of the service.

Sunday School

Sunday School for children ages 4-middle school occurs during worship, in the Jenks Room from the Sunday after Labor Day until early June.  Children rejoin their families in the worship service during the Peace.  Sunday School is coordinated by a group of adults, all of whom have been certified in the SafeGuarding God’s Children Program.  For more information about Sunday School, or to register a child, speak with Deacon Mary Ann or Karen Tripodi.

Coffee Hour and Fellowship

Immediately after worship we gather in the Parish Hall for refreshments, provided by a different household each week.  This is the time to catch up with friends or connect with the clergy.  It is the main gathering time for the parish other than worship, so sometimes committees will meet or there will be discussion group or Bible study offered immediately afterwards.  You can sign up to provide refreshments for one or more weeks by putting your name on the list on the kitchen refrigerator!

Inclement Weather Policy

In the case of bad winter weather, we follow the City of Pawtucket’s snow/parking ban policy–if there is a parking ban in effect as of 8:00 am Sunday morning, we do not gather on Sunday. Likewise, whenever there is a parking ban in effect, all other church activities are cancelled, as we have no off-street parking.

Parking

We do not have any off-street parking during the week, but on Sundays worshipers are welcome to park in the lot immediately behind the barber shop and dentist adjacent to the church.