Worship

Our worship service follows the Book of Alternative Services (BAS) with a mix of both traditional hymns from the Book of Common Praise and contemporary music from our “Parish Songbook”. Each Sunday we celebrate Holy Eucharist. Our musical instrument is a Roland Intelligent Digital Piano, which allows a tremendous variety of sounds including traditional pipe organ or piano, plus a wide array of brass, woodwinds and stringed instruments, making the music always varied and interesting.

Something unique to Church of the Good Shepherd is the arrangement of the pews in the Sanctuary. In October 2005 it was decided to try “something different” so we moved our pews from the traditional ‘rows-facing-the-front’ configuration to a more circular setup, with the Altar in the centre of the Sanctuary. After one year of this experiment, and much discussion, in November 2006 it was decided to continue with this format on a permanent basis. This is quite different from most churches, and makes Good Shepherd one of very few to conduct worship-in-the-round.

Children take part in our “Sacred Storytelling” program each Sunday during the first half of the service and then join their families for Holy Eucharist and the remainder of the service. Sacred Storytelling is designed for children ages 3-12, and uses wooden figurines to tell the parables and teachings of the Bible in a very visual way.

About once every four to six weeks, we celebrate an “Intergenerational Service” which is more ‘child-friendly’ and for which the children stay for the full service. Often, Sacred Storytelling plays a part in these services, or sometimes a dramatized Gospel is read with several individuals taking part. Intergenerational services are a more intentional way to involve and include people of all ages.

© 2008 Anglican Church of the Good Shepherd, Winnipeg MB
Site designed and created by David Tafelmeyer
This page updated July 2008

At Good Shepherd we do a Sung Eucharist with many of the familiar settings found in the Book of Common Praise. Our music director has complemented many of the settings by writing additional pieces, such as Acclamations, Glorias, Sanctus and Amens. In some instances, the setting of Eucharistic Music we use it totally unique to Good Shepherd, having been written in-house. These settings are changed seasonally to keep the music interesting and varied.

Our choir is an integral part of our worship services. If you love to sing, we are always eager to welcome new voices. Practices are held Wednesday evenings at 7:30-9:00 PM from September to May

After-service fellowship in an important part of who we are at Good Shepherd. This is an opportunity to reconnect with other parishioners and to welcome new guests. It takes place right after service each Sunday in the Parish Hall. A rotating staff of volunteers prepare coffee, tea, juice and goodies for everyone.