“The best things in life are free.” Theologically speaking, this is true… God’s gifts of creation are offered free of charge … forgiveness comes free because Jesus paid the price for our sins on the cross. Perhaps that is why there are no admissions fees for worship, no tuition charges for Sunday School, and no turnstiles to gain entrance to holy communion! Join Pastor Jack this week for his Reformation Sunday sermon, “Justified by Faith,” and discover that God’s grace is absolutely free of charge … a GIFT to be received through faith. Amazing!

SAVE THE DATES:

SAMARITAN’S PURSE – We are once again participating in Operation Christmas Child. Shoeboxes are available in the church office. Completed boxes, including the $ 10 donation, are due in church on Nov 12. For more information https://www.samaritanspurse.org/

GENEROSITY SUNDAY & Visit from the Bishop – Sun., Oct 22 – Many thanks to all who completed their pledge cards. A pledge card is requested of all giving families, even if you adjusted your giving electronically during the 10% growth campaign earlier this year. The cards are on the narthex table. Please complete and return one to the church office as soon as possible.

VENDOR FAIR – Sat. Oct. 28, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. Please sign up in the narthex to volunteer for set up, clean up, and to donate coffee supplies. Father John’s will be bringing animals for adoption! Please spread the word to your friends and neighbors.

CHRISTMAS WREATH ORDERS – Please return all order forms with payment by Sunday, Oct. 29. Please email the church office if you do not have the order form. Pick-up is Sunday, Nov. 26.

FOOD DRIVE – The Thrivent Action Team is sponsoring a food drive! If we collect 500 food items by Oct. 31, they will donate a $500.00 check (once verified) that we can give to The Weekend Bag Program along with the items we collect. Please put your items on the table on the stage in the Parish Hall.

IT’S TURKEY TIME! – We are again partnering with Project Self Sufficiency to provide turkeys and Thanksgiving meals to 20 families here in Sussex County. Diane F. and her team are in need of food, turkeys, monetary donations, and folks to deliver on Sunday, Nov. 19, after church. There is a sign-up sheet in the narthex to donate turkeys and to deliver. Checks made to SOTH with PSS on the memo line would be appreciated. Phyllis is also in need of large paper bags in which to pack the food.

ALL SAINTS SUNDAY – Nov. 5. Pastor will read a prayer of remembrance. Please provide the church office with the names of those who entered the kingdom of heaven since Nov. 2022.

NEW MEMBER CLASSES – Mon., Nov. 13, 20 & 27 at 7 p.m. – Please get in touch with the office if you want to be included.

GRIEF AND THE HOLIDAYS SEMINAR – Tues., Nov. 14 – 6:30 – 8 p.m. Sponsored by the Newton Medical Center. In person or via Zoom. Click here for more information.

JOIN US WITH GENEROUS GIVING TO OUR MISSION: with these gifts, we continue to welcome folks to our community, to equip them with faith tools – learning the word, prayers for one another, and communal support – and then to send us into the world to welcome others. Your donations to SOTH can be accomplished in the following ways:

On Sunday, place your donation in the offering plate.
Mail your offering to: SOTH 246 Woodport Rd., Sparta, NJ 07871
Go online to setup your e-giving from your checking, savings, credit card or debit card http://secure.myvanco.com/L-YXCY
Download Vanco Mobile (Faith) on your smartphone, search for Shepherd of the Hills (Sparta)
Text Giving to 973-832-0226 You can make a one-time gift or setup recurring offerings.

PLEASE CONTACT STEVE LEWANDOWSKI FOR FURTHER ASSISTANCE WITH ELECTRONIC GIVING. (973) 670-0773 or sjlewan@gmail.com

Many thanks to all of the donors who support our mission!

STREAMING IS HERE!: We are excited to announce that you can now view our service live at 9:00 a.m. each Sunday. Click on this link to see the service and subscribe to our SOTH channel:
https://www.youtube.com/@shepherdofthehillslutheran8820/streams Don’t worry if you missed the live broadcast. All services are archived on our channel. You can also search for us on Facebook and like our page. https://www.facebook.com/SOTHNJ/.

WORSHIP INFO For October 29, 2023

Worship Service Bulletin

New Link for Zoom Bible Study, Wed. at noon

Meeting ID: 829 4727 4304

Passcode: 002314

CONGREGATIONAL COUNCIL:
President: JD Allen
Vice President: Emery Malasits
Treasurer: Brett Maynard
Recording Secretary: Celeste Bethmann
Financial Secretary: Steve Lewandowski
Property: Patrick Wood
Worship & Music: Pat Kovacs
Community Relief: Diane Fitzpatrick
Giving: Arden Krych
Membership: Janine Shugan
Activities: Judi Wolff

CLOTHING DONATION BIN – Place clothing and shoes in plastic bags. Proceeds will benefit SOTH. Please do not leave items outside of the box. Please tell your friends and family so that we can fill those bins!

BROWN BAG BIBLE STUDY
Continues in person at Holy Trinity Church or via Zoom, the first and third Wednesdays from noon-12:45. Join Pastor Jack for a lively discussion of the Bible. No prior experience necessary! Click here to join us via Zoom.