NEWS
September-December , 2005
December 2, 2005
Carolers at Christmas on Main Street, 2005
Oakland, MD - Christmas carols and hymns provided the backdrop for last week's community celebration, Christmas on Main Street. Twenty-six carolers from Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church added to the Christmas spirit, singing out from the town gazebo. Although the weather was a bit chilly, the Christmas cheer warmed many hearts.
November 10, 2005
Thanksgiving Community Service
Thanksgiving is an excellent opportunity for ecumenical worship. People from across the community are invited to join together in a special service, scheduled for Tuesday, November 22 at 7:00 p.m., in the Sitzmark Room of Will O' the Wisp, on Rte. 219 at Deep Creek Lake.
The Reverend Claude L. Villemaire, pastor of Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church, will lead the service of Praise and Thanksgiving, which will include well-loved music and the reading of Abraham Lincoln's Thanksgiving Proclamation. It is an opportunity for the community to show thanks for the many blessings it has received. The service is free and open to the public.
The first record of a pilgrim feast was in 1621, marking an abundant harvest and three-day feast after a perilous winter. George Washington issued a Thanksgiving proclamation in 1789, but the first national proclamation of a day of Thanksgiving came from Abraham Lincoln in 1863. Six weeks before the Gettysburg Address, Lincoln issued a proclamation calling for a day not only of thanksgiving but also for national penitence. Lincoln's address began with
The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come…
For further information, persons may contact Shepherd of the Hills at 301-387-0400, Pastor Claude Villemaire at 301-746-6187 or the church website at www.shepherdofthehillslutheran.org
September 25, 2005
Installation
Sunday, September 25, 2005 was celebrated with the service of Commissioning and Installation for Reverend Claude Villemaire, who accepted a call from the West Virginia-Western Maryland Synod Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) to serve as the Mission Developer for Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church. The call began August 2005.
Attendees were : Rev. Theodore Bessey, Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Elkins, WV; Rev. David Rockwood, Grace Lutheran Church, Fairmont, WV; Helen Harmes, Region 8 Mission Developer for the ELCA; Rev. James Caton, St. Mark's Lutheran Church, Fairmont, WV; Rev. Dr. Ralph W. Dunkin, Bishop of the West Virginia- Western Maryland Synod, ELCA; Rev. Claude L. Villemaire, Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church, Deep Creek Lake, MD; Rev. Scott Robinson, St. Mark's Lutheran Church, Oakland, MD; and Rev. Allen Schwarz, St. John's Lutheran Church, Davis, WV.
The Reverend Claude Villemaire and his wife Cyndi currently reside in Accident, MD, having recently moved from the Florida-Bahamas Synod, where he served as Pastor of King of Glory Lutheran Church, New Port Richey, FL. He has a B.A. degree in history from Florida State University, and a Master of Divinity from Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary, Columbia SC and was ordained July 13, 1997. Pastor Claude received Mission Developers' training in Chicago, in 2000, and has just returned from further training with Sue Green and Judy McCaughey, members of Shepherd of the Hills congregation. The entire congregation participated in a Mission Retreat October 1 and 2 at Deep Creek Lake.