NEWS 

Family Night with CAPTIVE FREE East Lakes
February 2, 2010

Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church and the Accident Lutheran Parish invite the community to a Family Night Program with "Captive Free East Lakes" on Tuesday, Feb. 2 at 7:00 p.m.  at St. Paul's Lutheran Church, located at 102 North Main Street, Accident.  The program, geared for all ages, will include music, drama, personal sharing, sing-a-longs and puppet show.  Refreshments will follow.

"Captive Free East Lakes" is one of the regional touring teams of Youth Encounter, a Christian organization that is a resource for congregations and communities to challenge the faith of the youth. The Team Ministry of Youth Encounter began in 1965 with a team to Sweden. Teams are made up of 3-8 people who travel around the United States and the world for one year – sharing the Gospel of Christ.  The national teams are all a part of “Captive Free”, divided into regions to serve all parts of the United States. “Captive Free East Lakes” travels through Alabama, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and West Virginia, and were a featured group at the Youth Encounter “Quake” and “Zone” in Coraopolis, PA during the weekend of January 29-31.

Team members include Matt Aasberg, a recent high school graduate from Sherwood Park, Alberta. Andrew Barber, from Hatboro, Pennsylvania, attended Quaker schools during his younger years and then attended Christopher Dock Mennonite High School in Lansdale, Pennsylvania. Alicia Peterson, from Fulda, Minnesota, recently graduated from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota with degrees in Music and Business. Lisa Marie Neuberg is a 2009 graduate of Cloquet High School, Culver, Minnesota.

For directions or further information call St. Paul's Lutheran Church at (301) 746-8235 or see www.shepherdofthehillslutheran.org

CHRISTMAS EVE SERVICE
THURSDAY, DEC. 24, 2010
at WILL O' THE WISP

Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church will hold its Christmas Eve worship service Thursday, December 24, 5 PM in the Sitzmark Room of Will O' the Wisp, with the Rev. Donald R. Thomas officiating. Special Christmas music will begin at 4:45 p.m.

Designed as a worship opportunity for the community, the candlelight communion service will include many Christmas hymns, and special music provided by instrumentalists Ruth Seib, Sammi Bessey, Marcene Huebner and Judy McCaughey, and the Praise Ensemble (vocalists) of Shepherd of the Hills.

Will O' the Wisp is located at 20160 Garrett Highway on US 219, ½ mile north of the traffic light at Glendale Road. The Sitzmark Room is located on the lower level. Handicap entrance access is by car at the rear of the building; enter at the patio doors.

Weekly services are held at Garrett Eight Cinemas, Sundays at 9:30AM. Tourists, newcomers and those seeking a church home are always welcome to attend.

Shepherd of the Hills is a mission congregation of the West Virginia-Western Maryland Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. For further information, persons may contact Shepherd of the Hills at 301-387-0400 or the church website at www.shepherdofthehillslutheran.org .

Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church Celebrates its Fifth Anniversary
July 5, 2009

Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church will be celebrating its fifth anniversary on Sunday, July 5, 2009. The community is invited to join in worship and celebration at 9:30 a.m. at Garrett 8 Cinemas, Deep Creek Lake.

The first gathering of “Lutheran Fellowship at Deep Creek Lake” took place July 4, 2004 at Will O' the Wisp. A group of about fifty individuals began worshiping together with the intention and expectation of establishing a new Lutheran congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Helen Harms, a Mission Director for the ELCA, assisted exploration of the necessary steps for the formation of a new mission congregation. An intense study and application process culminated Saturday, October 16, 2004, when the Synod Council of the West Virginia-Western Maryland Synod of the ELCA voted unanimously to establish “Lutheran Fellowship at Deep Creek Lake” as a Synodically-Authorized Worshiping Community. The Synod Council also voted to be supportive of Lutheran Fellowship as the first mission congregation in the synod since the merger of the ELCA in 1987.

Although called a “Fellowship,” the group established the permanent church name of “Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church” in December, 2004. According to Dr. Ralph W. Dunkin, Bishop of the West Virginia Western Maryland Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), "This name really describes who and where you are". The goal of the new congregation was to minister to all, with special emphasis on providing worship opportunities for newcomers and tourists, as well as reaching out to the 50% of Garrett County citizens who have no church home. The social dynamics of a growing resort community brought new challenges to evangelism to which Shepherd of the Hills hoped to respond.

Mission status as a developing congregation was determined by the national organization of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America January 16, 2005. According to Mission Director, Helen R Harms, “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 that God will help the ministry grow in numbers and faith.”

Many generous visiting pastors from the WV-WMD Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) gave of their time to lead the new ministry in Word and Sacrament during its early years. Rev Claude C. Villemaire served as Mission Developer from September 25, 2005 to January 31, 2007. Installation and Commissioning of The Reverend Donald R. Thomas, was held Sunday, November 11, 2007. Rev. Thomas currently continues to lead the ministry of Shepherd of the Hills.

The congregation began worshiping each Sunday afternoon at Will O' the Wisp, originally to accommodate the schedule of visiting pastors. In 2006, the congregation chose to move to Sunday morning worship in order to better meet the needs of young families and visitors to the community. Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church held its first worship service at Garrett Eight Cinemas, beginning Sunday, May 14, 2006. Under the leadership of Rev. Donald Thomas, Shepherd of the Hills celebrates its niche ministry of serving visitors and newcomers to the Deep Creek Lake area of Garrett County. 2008 saw a total of 424 visitors, nearly 200 more than in the previous year.

The vision of Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church is that it will continue to be a church that welcomes newcomers with liturgical, inspiring worship; is active in the community; and provides opportunities for learning, service and leadership. God's purpose for Shepherd of the Hills is to live as a community of faith in Christ Jesus, reaching out to all to share God's love and forgiveness.

For further information, visit the church website www.shepherdofthehillslutheran.org or call 301-387-0400.

WORSHIP

9:30 a.m.

Garrett Eight Cinemas

Route 219 at
Deep Creek Lake

McHenry, MD