Shepherd's Heart 10/31/25
Dear Good Shepherd Family,
This Sunday we step into a sacred moment as we launch Forward Together, a new season of generosity, vision, and hope.
When we began this journey two years ago, our dream was simple and bold: to follow God forward into a future where our church would continue to be a light in our community. We longed to create spaces where generations would meet Jesus, where neighbors would find belonging, and where our worship, formation, and mission would point to the unshakeable Kingdom of God.
Through your faith and generosity, we have seen God’s hand at work. Lives have been changed. Families restored. The next generation nurtured in faith. We have strengthened partnerships with organizations like World Relief, Loaves & Fishes, and Hesed House. We have begun transforming our physical spaces, turning rooms into places of prayer, encounter, and hospitality.
But as we prepare to celebrate what God is doing, I write with a heavy heart.
This week, the United States government announced that the annual refugee ceiling has been set at 7,500, the lowest in our nation’s history. At the same time, 42 million people across our country, including an estimated 250,000 of our DuPage County neighbors, will lose access to SNAP food assistance. Many of these are children, families, and newly arrived refugees who have fled violence and persecution.
These are not distant headlines. These are our neighbors. These are people made in the image of God. These are the ones Jesus spoke of when he said, “I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was a stranger and you welcomed me” (Matthew 25:35).
As the people of Jesus, we must ask: What does it mean to move Forward Together in such a time as this?
Forward Together has never been about buildings or budgets alone. It is about formation, about becoming the kind of church whose generosity mirrors the generosity of God. The same God who did not withhold His Son but freely gave Him for the life of the world (Romans 8:32). The same God who so loved that He gave (John 3:16). The same Christ who, though rich, became poor for our sake so that we might share in His abundance (2 Corinthians 8:9).
Forward Together is our invitation to live that story.
When the world pulls inward, we open our hands.
When fear divides, we extend welcome.
When scarcity looms, we declare abundance in Christ.
This is what it means to embody the Gospel.
And so I invite you into this season with fresh imagination and holy resolve. As a church, we are called to give our time, talents, and treasures for the sake of the Kingdom.
Time: to be present with those on the margins. Volunteer with World Relief, become part of a Good Neighbor Team, serve with Loaves & Fishes or Hesed House, or take the time to sit with someone who feels unseen.
Talent: to use the gifts God has entrusted to you. Mentor a student. Tutor a newly arrived refugee. Offer your skills to strengthen another’s life. Every act of service becomes a thread in the tapestry of God’s Kingdom.
Treasure: to give generously to the Forward Together Initiative, helping us create sacred spaces for future generations, and to partner with our local and global mission allies, ensuring that no one in our community or world goes hungry or forgotten.
This is what it means to live For Our Neighbors and For the World.
Our Forward giving is not separate from justice and mercy. It is justice and mercy in action. It is worship. It is formation. It is discipleship.
This Sunday, as we gather to worship, we will also hold space for lament and intercession, for refugees seeking safety, for families facing hunger, and for all who live in fear or despair. And together we will pray, “Lord, let your Kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.”
Good Shepherd, may this be our witness in the world: that in a time of deep division and overwhelming need, we did not shrink back but moved forward in faith; that we gave of ourselves generously, joyfully, and sacrificially; that we became the living hands and feet of Christ in our neighborhood and beyond.
Let us move Forward Together, rooted in love, driven by compassion, and filled with resurrection hope.
From my heart,
Pastor Tara Beth
This Sunday we step into a sacred moment as we launch Forward Together, a new season of generosity, vision, and hope.
When we began this journey two years ago, our dream was simple and bold: to follow God forward into a future where our church would continue to be a light in our community. We longed to create spaces where generations would meet Jesus, where neighbors would find belonging, and where our worship, formation, and mission would point to the unshakeable Kingdom of God.
Through your faith and generosity, we have seen God’s hand at work. Lives have been changed. Families restored. The next generation nurtured in faith. We have strengthened partnerships with organizations like World Relief, Loaves & Fishes, and Hesed House. We have begun transforming our physical spaces, turning rooms into places of prayer, encounter, and hospitality.
But as we prepare to celebrate what God is doing, I write with a heavy heart.
This week, the United States government announced that the annual refugee ceiling has been set at 7,500, the lowest in our nation’s history. At the same time, 42 million people across our country, including an estimated 250,000 of our DuPage County neighbors, will lose access to SNAP food assistance. Many of these are children, families, and newly arrived refugees who have fled violence and persecution.
These are not distant headlines. These are our neighbors. These are people made in the image of God. These are the ones Jesus spoke of when he said, “I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was a stranger and you welcomed me” (Matthew 25:35).
As the people of Jesus, we must ask: What does it mean to move Forward Together in such a time as this?
Forward Together has never been about buildings or budgets alone. It is about formation, about becoming the kind of church whose generosity mirrors the generosity of God. The same God who did not withhold His Son but freely gave Him for the life of the world (Romans 8:32). The same God who so loved that He gave (John 3:16). The same Christ who, though rich, became poor for our sake so that we might share in His abundance (2 Corinthians 8:9).
Forward Together is our invitation to live that story.
When the world pulls inward, we open our hands.
When fear divides, we extend welcome.
When scarcity looms, we declare abundance in Christ.
This is what it means to embody the Gospel.
And so I invite you into this season with fresh imagination and holy resolve. As a church, we are called to give our time, talents, and treasures for the sake of the Kingdom.
Time: to be present with those on the margins. Volunteer with World Relief, become part of a Good Neighbor Team, serve with Loaves & Fishes or Hesed House, or take the time to sit with someone who feels unseen.
Talent: to use the gifts God has entrusted to you. Mentor a student. Tutor a newly arrived refugee. Offer your skills to strengthen another’s life. Every act of service becomes a thread in the tapestry of God’s Kingdom.
Treasure: to give generously to the Forward Together Initiative, helping us create sacred spaces for future generations, and to partner with our local and global mission allies, ensuring that no one in our community or world goes hungry or forgotten.
This is what it means to live For Our Neighbors and For the World.
Our Forward giving is not separate from justice and mercy. It is justice and mercy in action. It is worship. It is formation. It is discipleship.
This Sunday, as we gather to worship, we will also hold space for lament and intercession, for refugees seeking safety, for families facing hunger, and for all who live in fear or despair. And together we will pray, “Lord, let your Kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.”
Good Shepherd, may this be our witness in the world: that in a time of deep division and overwhelming need, we did not shrink back but moved forward in faith; that we gave of ourselves generously, joyfully, and sacrificially; that we became the living hands and feet of Christ in our neighborhood and beyond.
Let us move Forward Together, rooted in love, driven by compassion, and filled with resurrection hope.
From my heart,
Pastor Tara Beth