CARING FOR OUR COMMUNITY

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CAREGIVERS SUPPORT GROUP

If you’ve ever been a caregiver or walked that sacred path with someone who is providing care, you know it’s a hard but blessed road. At Good Shepherd, we gather on the 2nd Saturday and 4th Thursday of each month with those who provide care for loved ones suffering from any form of dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease. We worked closely with and were trained by The Alzheimer’s Association to establish this first Caregiver’s Support Group in Cherokee County. Learn more about our Caregivers Support Group.

CARMEL ELEMENTARY

Children are essential to our community and to God. As a sponsor of Carmel Elementary School, our members work weekly with the children in their library. Each Christmas, we sponsor an angel tree that overflows with gifts for the school’s children. We also collect our coins to help pay the bills for those children who need lunch money assistance.

CAROLING AT LOCAL ASSISTED LIVING

Every Christmas we spread festive cheer by singing at local assisted living facilities and to our shut-in members.

ENCOMPASS MINISTRIES

Each month we roll out the grocery cart and celebrate “Two Can Sunday”. We each bring two shelf stable cans and fill the cart, then deliver it to Encompass Ministries, a ministry that provides nutritious groceries—including fresh produce and shelf-stable items—through their client-choice pantry and outreach programs.

GARDEN OF GRACE

We delight in growing fresh vegetables and produce for Forever Fed, a local feeding ministry sponsored by Hillside Church. Our garden was begun in 2020 by beloved member, Mary McCoy, and has grown to include apple trees, blueberry bushes, a pollinator garden, and seven beds that provide an assortment of squash, peas, tomatoes, okra, and more – yum! Our dedicated members maintain the garden each summer and delight in the sharing the weekly harvests.

GIVE A KID A CHANCE BACKPACKS

Give A Kid A Chance is a community outreach event designed to provide students in Cherokee and Pickens counties with new backpacks and school supplies, so they are prepared to attend school on the first day ready to learn with the tools they need! Each year Good Shepherd collects backpacks and helps to distribute them in July to the students. Last year, we collected over 150 new backpacks!

GOD’S WORK. OUR HANDS.

Each Sunday after Labor Day, Good Shepherd joins with other ELCA congregations across the United States to do God’s work with our hands. After a lively worship service and a quick meal, we head out into our community to serve, remembering that all of life in Jesus Christ – every act of service, in every daily calling, in every corner of life — flows freely from a living, daring confidence in God’s grace. This past year we served at our partners, Mostly Mutts and Homeless Veterans, plus packed goodie bags for the first responders, wrote thank you notes to those who serve, and made door hangers for our neighbors in assisted living. It’s always a wonderful day of service!

HABITAT FOR HUMANITY – LUTHERAN COALITION

Working with eleven other Metro Atlanta Lutheran churches, Good Shepherd participates in yearly housing builds through the Lutheran Coalition for Habitat to provide affordable housing to hard-working, well-qualified, lower income families. Since 1994, we’ve helped to build over 35 homes and provide safe housing for 35 families. Construction jobs are available for all skill levels. if building a home isn’t in your toolbox, please join us at the annual fundraiser, Taste of Habitat. Good food. Good friends. Excellent ministry!

HOMELESS VETERANS

We are fortunate that our community cares deeply about those who have served our country, some giving the ultimate sacrifice. We work with the Cherokee County Homeless Veteran’s Program that provides help with food, limited housing, clothing, Veterans Affairs claims, home of record, and other support. We are honored to provide a gift card tree at Christmas, along with ongoing support for their shelter through our workdays.

HUNGER WALK

We have a passion for helping those experiencing food insecurity both in our immediate area and beyond. Each year we sponsor a local hunger walk around our neighborhood and also walk with 4,000 other Atlantans in the Atlanta Community Food Bank’s Hunger Walk. The money we raise goes directly to our food ministry partners

MARTIN LUTHER KING JR DAY OF SERVICE

This is a U.S. federal holiday observed on the third Monday in January, encouraging volunteer service to honor Dr. King’s legacy of community engagement and social justice. It’s an opportunity for us to reach out again into the community to serve our neighbors. Past projects have included writing letters to active duty military, providing care bags for assisted living communities, working in the Mostly Mutts Thrift Store, and fighting kudzu at the Homeless Veterans thrift store location.

MOSTLY MUTTS

Mostly Mutts is a local no-kill shelter that houses approximately 45 dogs, providing abandoned, stray, and neglected dogs with the necessary medical attention and love to prepare for adoption. Good Shepherd members of all ages love to work at the Mostly Mutts Thrift Store during our service days.

MUST MINISTRIES

Ministries United in Service and Training (MUST) is a faith-based organization dedicated to providing services to people in crisis while maintaining their dignity. Good Shepherd serves as a year-round collection facility, filling two large barrels each week with non-perishable food, personal hygiene products, diapers and wipes, and transports these to MUST Cherokee. We also help support seasonal ministry services such as the MUST Summer Lunch Program and Thanksgiving bounty program. We continue to be amazed at the generosity of our members and the community who keep these barrels full.

RECYCLING / CARING FOR CREATION

As children of God, we recognize our call to care for creation and reduce our impact on God’s creation. We actively reuse and recycle pill bottles, eye glasses, metal, oral care waste, batteries, and much more. Learn more about our recycling initiatives, including electronic and Hefty Energy Bag recycling. We donate clothing to The Drake House to help empower women and children to achieve economic independence.

RED CROSS BLOOD DRIVES

Our long-term relationship with the American Red Cross results in quarterly blood drives in January, April, August, and November at Good Shepherd. When signing up for one of our drives, please use our sponsor code: goodshepherdlutheran. You too can save a life.

SLEEP IN HEAVENLY PEACE

The number of children in our Cherokee County community who don’t have a bed is literally staggering – in the thousands. So that no kid sleeps on the floor in our town, we actively participate with Sleep In Heavenly Peace in “bed builds” to assemble beds for our local children. We also donate the bedding required so that the children in our community will not only be off the floor but enveloped in new linens.

THE EXTENSION

Quarterly, our Men in Mission gather to cook an incredible meal and enjoy fellowship with men at The Extension. The Extension helps men take control of their lives back from drug and alcohol addiction. Through The Extension’s unique process, the residents gain the skills they need to recover and lead healthy, productive lives.

TRUNK OR TREAT

Every year we invite the community to our lower parking for our Trunk or Treat!

YARN ANGELS

We have some very talented individuals, lovingly named “The Yarn Angels”, who provide prayer shawls for members and friends to comfort them during difficult times. Many of their hand-crafted items also support The Encouragement Project. Each stitch of the prayer shawls, blankets, scarves, and hats is prayed over, ensuring those in our local community feel the love of Jesus.