NEWS
January-July, 2006
July 18 , 2006
Dinner for Habitat Workers
Twenty-seven members of Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church joined sixteen associates from Coldwell Banker Deep Creek Realty on Tuesday, July 18, to provide the dinner meal, and interact with the forty volunteer workers for Habitat for Humanity. The guests arrived this week from the Rockville United Churches of Christ and the Bethesda United Church of Christ.
Coldwell Banker and Shepherd of the Hills are comitted to the support of the house-building, hope-building work of Garrett County Habitat for Humanity. Not only have they participated in providing meals, but they also joined other community organizations with the Winter Build, in February and March. Other groups included Oak Park Church of the Brethren, Pine Grove Church of the Brethren, St. Paul's United Methodist, ROTC groups and the Garrett County Board of Realtors. They, along with new partner families began building the exterior walls (at Simon Pearce) for three homes, leaving the interior walls for Habitat's summer campers who each work in Garrett County for one week.
The three homes currently under construction are located in Hopeland Village, off of Route 135 in Deer Park. Work camps scheduled between June 18 and August 11 include Grace United Church of Christ, St. Michael's Catholic Church, Oakdale-Emory United Methodist Church (UMC), Girard UMC, Damascus UMC, Rockville United Church of Christ (UCC), Bethesda UCC, Westminster Presbyterian Church, Christ Reformed UCC, St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church and Mt. Olivet UMC.
The goal of the Garrett County Habitat for Humanity is to eliminate substandard housing in our community!
May 9 , 2006
Now Praying at a Theatre Near You
Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church has announced that it will hold worship services at Garrett Eight Cinemas, beginning Sunday, May 14. Worship will begin at 9:30 a.m., each Sunday, in one of the small theatres, followed by fellowship in the lobby area of the movie complex. Sunday school will be offered for youth and adults at 10:45 a.m. Garrett Eight Cinemas is located at 19741 Garrett Highway, at Deep Creek Lake, two miles south of the 219 bridge. Visitors, newcomers to the community, and those seeking a church home are welcome to attend. Further information is available on the church website www.shepherdofthehillslutheran.org or by calling the church office at (301) 387-0400.
Until this week, the congregation of Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church had been worshiping each Sunday afternoon at Will O' the Wisp, originally to accommodate the schedule of visiting pastors. Now, under the pastoral leadership of Mission Developer, Rev. Claude L. Villemaire, the congregation has chosen to move to Sunday morning worship in order to better meet the needs of young families and visitors to the community. According to Reverend Villemaire, “The congregation is exceedingly grateful to Martin Heise and Will O' the Wisp for their gracious hospitality for the past twenty-two months.”
A small group of worshipers began holding services July 4, 2004. In October 2004, the Synod Council of the West Virginia-Western Maryland Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) voted to be supportive of the church becoming the first mission congregation in the synod since the merger of the ELCA in 1987. Mission status as a developing congregation was determined by the national organization of the ELCA in January 2005. According to Helen R. Harms, Region 8 Mission Developer for the ELCA, “ It is the desire of the ELCA that God will open the hearts of people in the community to respond to the witness of the congregation (and its spirit-filled leader) and that God will help the ministry grow in numbers and faith.”
The ministry of Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church has grown to include two prayer ministries, three weekly Bible studies and a monthly Tuesday Shepherd Club for elementary-aged youth. The congregation is actively involved in community outreach through Garrett County Habitat for Humanity, Christian Crossing Thrift Shop and Garrett and Preston County Food Banks.
May 9 , 2006
Tuesday Shepherd Club Final Event
(May 16 Picnic at Deep Creek Lake)
The Tuesday Shepherd Club, sponsored by Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church, has grown to include twenty-four youth representing sixteen Garrett County families. The last-scheduled event will be held Tuesday, May 16. Instead of meeting at the church offices and Brenda's Pizzeria, the final event for the school year will take place at the Deep Creek Lake State Park, beginning at 4 p.m., at the “Oak” shelter. Continuing the topic of Animals of the Bible , the participants will take a nature walk to discover God's creatures first-hand. Youth in grades K-5 are invited to participate. Following the Tuesday Shepherd Club, the congregation of Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church cordially invites all participants and their families to join them for a family picnic, beginning at 5:30 at the Oak Shelter. Church members will be providing all of the food and eating utensils. For further information contact the church office at (301) 387-0400, or check out the church website at www.shepherdofthehillslutheran.org
April 6, 2006
Mission Outreach during Holy Week
Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church is a mission church of the Evangelical Church in America (ELCA) established to reach out to vacationers, newcomers to the community and those who have no church home. The congregation welcomes all to worship with them during the Holy Week and beyond.
Holy Week services will be conducted at the following times: Palm Sunday , April 9, at 5:00 pm; Maundy Thursday , April 13, at 7:00 p.m.; Good Friday , April 14, at 7:00 p.m.; and Easter Sunday , April 16, at 9:30 a.m.
Worship services are currently held in the Sitzmark Room of Will O' the Wisp, located on Route 219 at Deep Creek Lake. Mission Developer, Reverend Claude L. Villemaire, conducts the services. Persons wishing information may contact the church office at (301) 387-0400, or check the church website at http://www.shepherdofthehillslutheran.org
February 22, 2006
Mid-Week Lenten Services at Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church
Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church invites the community to its mid-week Lenten services (beginning Ash Wednesday, March 1) held at the Sitzmark Room of Will O the Wisp, on Rte. 219 at Deep Creek Lake. All services begin at 7:00 PM, preceded by soup-and-rolls meals, provided by Will O the Wisp, at 6:15 PM. Free-will offerings will help defray the cost of the meals. Will O the Wisp is located on Route 219 (overlooking Deep Creek Lake), just north of Glendale Road. Further information about Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church can be found on its website http://www.shepherdofthehillslutheran.org or by calling (301) 387-0400.
The Mid-week Lenten services, entitled Praying Around the Cross, will be held March 8, 15, 22, 29 and March 5. The Reverend Claude C. Villemaire will lead the worship, utilizing suggested seasonal worship settings from Sundays and Seasons .
Lent is a 40-day liturgical season that begins on Ash Wednesday and concludes at the day before Easter. Though not biblical, Lent has long been a tradition in the Christian Church, and it is thought that the tradition of the 40 days recalls the 40 days Jesus spent in the wilderness, fasting and being tempted by Satan (Matthew 4:1-11).
Tuesday Shepherd Club
After-School Program for Children
Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church has announced the formation of a new, after-school program especially designed for children in grades K-5. Held on the third Tuesday of each month, Tuesday Shepherd Club will meet February 21, March 21, April 18 and May 16 from 4:00 to 45:45PM. The program will take place in the church office facility, located above Sub-Way and High Mountain Sports (at Traders' Landing) on Route 219, at Deep Creek Lake. Children from the entire community are invited and welcome to attend. For further information, please contact Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church at (301) 387-0400.
Tuesday Shepherd Club activities include pizza at Brenda's Pizzaria, Bible stories, related crafts and closing devotions with song. The Bible stories, based upon animals in the Bible, will illustrate God's love and care. The monthly focus will be on sheep, fish, birds and Noah's Ark.
Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church gathers each Sunday at 5:00 p.m. for worship in the Sitzmark Room of Will O' the Wisp, Route 219, just north of Glendale Road. The congregation welcomes tourists, newcomers and individuals seeking a church home.
January 16, 2006
Public Airing of the Martin Luther Film
Garrett County residents and visitors are invited to attend a special, showing of the movie, Martin Luther , Sunday, January 22 at 1:00 p.m. The program is free to the public, and will be held in the lower level of the Deep Creek Lake Discovery Center. Sodas and water will be provided…but bring your own popcorn. Seating is limited so reservations will be taken by calling Rev. Claude Villemaire at (301) 746-6187. Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church hosts the event.
Martin Luther is the epic tale of the great Protestant revolutionary whose belief in his faith would overthrow the all-powerful Catholic Church and reshape Medieval Europe. Join Luther as he recalls his life, from his initial crisis of faith in a storm-wracked forest that led him to become a monk, to his heady confrontation with the great powers of Europe. Few if any men have changed the course of history like Martin Luther. In less than ten years, this fevered German monk plunged a knife into the heart of an empire that had ruled for a thousand years, and set in motion a train of revolution, war and conflict that would reshape Western civilization, and lift it out of the Dark Ages.
Cancellation, due to weather, will be announced on WFRB and WKHJ.