Worship
We are a vibrant church community that is inclusive, welcoming, and inter-generational.
We gather in community weekly to thank, praise, and dwell with God.
When we worship, we gather with others before God. We hear the Good News of Jesus Christ, give thanks, confess, and offer the brokenness of the world to God. As we break bread, our eyes are opened to the presence of Christ. By the power of the Holy Spirit, we are made one body, the body of Christ sent forth to live the Way of Love.
In Person Services
Sundays: Holy Eucharist
8:00 AM
10:00 AM
(Childcare and Sunday School at 9:30 AM)
Sign up to help at Coffee Hour
Wednesdays: Morning Prayer
9:30: AM
Services
This is a general overview of our services. For specific days please see our Events page.
Services and activities are in person, masks are optional. Services can also be viewed via Zoom and YouTube (links below).
SUNDAYS
For Advent & Christmas, see home page
8:00 - 9:00 AM Holy Eucharist (In person and Zoom)
9:00 - 9:45 AM Jr Youth Group
9:00 AM Coffee Hour
Sign up to help at Coffee Hour
9:15 - 10:00 AM Senior Choir warm-up
9:30 AM Sunday School (Children join the 10 AM service after the Peace)
10:00 - 11:00 AM Holy Eucharist (In person and Zoom)
6:00 PM Sr. Youth Group
Meeting ID: 926 2516 9665
MONDAYS
11:30 AM Contemplative Prayer (in person)
WEDNESDAYS
9:30 AM Morning Prayer (in person)
5:30 PM last Wednesday of the month Recovery Dinner Church
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Baptisms
Baptism is the sacrament by which we are raised to new and eternal life in Christ. In Baptism, we meet Jesus, who calls us his own, and commit to follow him as his disciples. All are welcome to be baptized, whether it’s your child or yourself. To discuss options, please reach out to Pastor Kathy
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Weddings
Weddings are one of the places where God’s love is most intensely revealed through the love of two people for each other. They are a time for the celebration of both this love, which can be expressed between partners in a multitude of ways, regardless of sex and gender. If you are interested in getting married at our church, contact Pastor Kathy.
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Funerals
The service of Christian burial marks two things: the resurrection from the dead of Jesus Christ, who our loved ones have gone on to meet; and our lament that they are no longer with us. From Last Rites to the graveside, we will walk with you through times of grief. To make arrangements, contact Pastor Kathy.
How We Worship
We are a community of open and affirming Christians rooted in the tradition of the Episcopal Church and Anglican Communion whose lives are centered around the Good News of God revealed in the person of Jesus Christ. Our worship liturgy pulls from the “Book of Common Prayer” Rite II, “Enriching Our Worship,” and other approved Episcopal liturgical resources such as the Season of Creation. Lay people participate as readers, intercessors, lay eucharistic ministers, youth acolytes, vergers, choir members, and more.
Our mission is to proclaim this Good News, seeking and serving Christ in all persons in the Nashua community.
We Episcopalians believe in a loving, liberating, and life-giving God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. As constituent members of the Anglican Communion in the United States, we are descendants of and partners with the Church of England and the Scottish Episcopal Church, and are part of the third largest group of Christians in the world.
We believe in following the teachings of Jesus Christ, whose life, death, and resurrection saved the world.
We have a legacy of inclusion, aspiring to tell and exemplify God’s love for every human being; women and men serve as bishops, priests, and deacons in our church. Laypeople and clergy cooperate as leaders at all levels of our church. Leadership is a gift from God, and can be expressed by all people in our church, regardless of sexual identity or orientation.
We believe that God loves you – no exceptions. To learn about our beliefs please visit What We Believe.
To learn more visit The Episcopal Church web site.
Special Services/Holy Days
Throughout the year Good Shepherd has many special worship events. These include Ash Wednesday, Holy Week and Easter services in the spring, and the Advent and Christmas services in the winter.
We host Recovery Dinner Church year-round on the last Wednesday of every month for anyone in recovery and those who love them to gather for a meal, worship, and connection.
Service Music
The History of the Church can be found in our hymnody. The Hymnal 1982 and its supplements, including “Wonder, Love, and Praise” contain hymns that are inclusive of many times, traditions, and nationalities. Hymns at CGS are chosen with special attention to the lectionary, liturgical season, and last but not least, hymns that the congregation loves to sing! When a new hymn is introduced, we often sing it for a couple weeks in succession to give us a chance to become familiar with both the tune and the text. CGS worshippers are particularly flexible, willing to try most anything in service of God.
Music before the service, known here as Voluntaries, is chosen for quiet reflection or to contribute to the festive nature of special liturgies. Sometimes the organ is used in concert with other instruments such as with our great brass groups on Christmas and Easter.
Altar Guild
Altar guilds were first formed to assist the clergy in the beginning of the 20th century. Historically this was a women only guild, but Church of the Good Shepherd welcomes all laypeople to join this vital ministry. The Altar Guild, as one might expect from the name, cares for the altar and also the sacred vessels, the flowers, the linens, and does semi-annual cleaning of the sanctuary. Members serve before all services including weddings, funerals and baptisms. Generally, service is one Sunday per month, and trainees work with veteran members. Please contact our Parish Administrator to be connected to our Altar Guild if you are interested in learning more.
