The Spirit of Good Shepherd
Who We Are
From Good Shepherd's beginnings over 45 years ago in the basement of founding Vicar Art LeClair's home to our current congregation of 245 families and 750 members, parishioners have experienced a church community where they are known, loved, empowered and cared for. Good Shepherd is a friendly and welcoming congregation that is known for its tolerance of different views, its joyful and accessible worship, and its active community life, where people find ample opportunities for creating meaningful friendships and finding support in times of need.
We welcome all people who seek the love of God without regard to ethnic background, family configuration, gender, nationality, or sexual orientation. We promise to live out our Baptismal Covenant in striving for justice and peace among all people.
“Why” We Are
Good Shepherd’s Vision and Mission are wrapped up in our “Why Wheel”. We took to heart the suggestion of Simon Sinek (from his TED talk), which you can view here.
He distinguishes between an organization’s “Why” (its purpose); it’s “How” (actions taken to realize “Why”); and its “What” (the specifics of those actions).
We believe that our why reflects the Mission of the Church (as found in “An Outline of the Faith” in the Book of Common Prayer, p. 855):
Q. What is the mission of the Church?
A. The mission of the Church is to restore all people to unity with God and each other in Christ.
At Good Shepherd, our specific “Why” is “Building relationships with Christ, each other, and the world around us”. Our “How” is found in living out our Baptismal Covenant, which translates in the “What”: specific programs and endeavors.
