Thank you for your patience.

Sanctuaries are built for the primary purpose of public worship in the life of a congregation. As Lutherans, it is the place where God serves us with his Word and his Sacraments. We join together with brothers and sisters to confess and be absolved, to pray, praise and give thanks, to hear the promises of God’s steadfast love and faithfulness, to receive the Body and Blood of Christ in Bread and Wine among so many other wonderful things. During His earthly ministry Christ regularly attended synagogue to teach God’s people that he was their Messiah. Every time we gather together in worship we teach the same thing!

Teaching is an important aspect of a life lived in a sanctuary.

Most of you already know that at the beginning of the 2023-2024 school year GSLC was approached by Hayward Collegiate with a conundrum. They were out of space and needed a temporary location for a 5th grade classroom. With reservation and great respect they asked if they might be able to use one side of our sanctuary for one year until plans to build more classrooms were developed. After much prayer and discussion the congregation voted to approve this temporary use of our sanctuary seeing it as a way to serve and instruct, to practice wisdom while also trust that God would honor the tough decision to repurpose part of the worship space.

Thank you for your patience.

After a long year of flexibility we are down to our final few months of utilization of that space for classroom instruction. The timeline for final installation of new modular classrooms is early Fall 2024 at which point we will recover the side of the sanctuary for full-time worship use. We know that it wasn’t the prettiest thing to look at nor was it always the most convenient. However, thank you for being patient because it provided an invaluable opportunity to gain trust and respect with not only school administration but families as well. Each time they entered the sacred space of our sanctuary they were reminded of the incredible level of sacrifice you made for their children. Many, many times in public and private faculty, administration, families and visitors alike have commented on how grateful they are for your willingness to open your doors *literally* and metaphorically.

While we’re on the topic of sanctuary spaces — take a look at the OTHER SIDE where we have removed the large stage that was constructed during the COVID-19 pandemic. While it served a wonderful purpose of creating a space to present online worship during the pandemic after a return to in-person worship it soon became underutilized. More than this, it took up A LOT of space that we have recently needed for overflow seating. So, it has been removed and now we have even more flexibility to make room for all of the new visitors and families that have been gracing the sanctuary of Good Shepherd.

MAJOR Construction!

MAJOR Construction at Good Shepherd as we prepare more effectively utilize our campus to welcome students and families.

Over the past three years Hayward Collegiate has grown to encompass students from TK-6th Grade. As they’ve grown we’ve really had to be flexible, get creative, and stretch our capacity to host so many students. Converting the Bethel Room to a TK Classroom, squeezing in Office Administration in the entrance to the social hall, and even temporarily housing 5th Graders in our Sanctuary are just a few examples of the challenges faced with the wonderful problem of a growing student population. Thankfully, we are not alone in this endeavor but have an incredible partner in Navigator Schools with their Hayward Collegiate site being hosted on GSLC’s campus.

As we look to the future and plan for continued growth of the school community it became very, very apparent that we were out of space and needed to use our creativity to focus on expansion of new buildings. After almost a year of planning, sketching, discussing, applying, and revisioning ground was finally broken in order to prepare space to install three modular classrooms that will function in the upcoming school year as the classrooms for TK, K, and 1st Grades. The changes taking place are significant and certainly alter the campus in some very new ways. Here is a breakdown of the major changes underway:

• Three NEW Modular Buildings will be installed by Sep/Oct — each will have it’s own restroom!

• Upgraded plumbing and sewer connections will alleviate restroom congestion and issues.

• Upgraded and increased power supply from PG&E will increase capacity and safety.

• The Playground will be removed to accommodate the modulars. No need to worry as improvement plans are in the works to upgrade the Gading Rd playground in the rear of the current classroom buildings.

• New ADA walkway connecting the public sidewalk on Harder Rd. to the main entry to the church and school.

• New fencing along the current roundabout sidewalk to mitigate play space for what was removed to make room for the modular classrooms.

• Improved dumpster enclosure as well as increased pick-up frequency to maintain cleanliness and efficiency.

• Effective utilization of the main entryway double doors to service both the church and school offices.

While there are other changes underway these significant improvements to the campus will increase the school’s capacity to serve students in our community and empower us to love on faculty, students, and families. The partnership with Hayward Collegiate and Navigator Schools has been an absolute blessing from God as it not only has resulted in a community oriented outreach but facility improvements we would otherwise be incapable of securing. Although the changes may feel disruptive this is just another construction moment in the history of Good Shepherd. Since our founding 70 years ago their have been material improvements and construction projects undertaken for the sake of the mission of GSLC and the Gospel. While they all felt chaotic and different for sure the result was the same — increased opportunities to be present in the community and love on our neighbors.

* Adulting * is B A C K !

Last Friday night the young adults of Good Shepherd, affectionately known as the Adulting group, returned from a long hiatus to get dinner together and discuss the future at a local brewery in Oakland. While some familiar faces attended there were also some new folks to join the adulting community. It’s an exciting opportunity for these young professionals to build relationships, pray, explore God’s Word, and reach out to their peers with the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Adults. Young adults. Young adults in the Bay Area can be a tricky demographic to effectively engage in ministry. Often times they are a group that doesn’t come back to congregational life post-college. In other situations, they feel out-of-place in church settings that appear out-of-touch and strange in their professional or social worlds. In the Bay Area, the challenge is a cultural one for sure. Not as a result of culture wars or political divides per se but because the young adult professional world in the Bay Area resembles a mine more than the farm.

Have I piqued your interest? Let me explain…

The purpose of mining is to strip land of valuable resources and move on in a very short amount of time < > the purpose of farming is to cultivate land in order to produce valuable resources over a long period of time.

The allure and opportunity of the Silicon Valley draw many young, tech professionals into the Bay Area. Not a bad thing. Actually, this is an incredible resource we have in the Bay. However, the sticker shock cost of living, cultural chasms that exist (for out-of-state transplants) and the general grind of traffic on any freeway with the # 80 buy the greater population only about 3-5 years of these young professional’s lives. They strip the Big Tech landscape of resources like resume builders and invaluable job experiences to see that a long term commitment to any city along the Bay is almost certainly a pathway to burnout. So, instead, they glean what they can then move on, or move back to where they came from to start their small businesses or families closer to family or the comforts of childhood homes. While there are many challenges with this in the employment sector the hardship is even greater within the spiritual sector. Relationships are built over time. Faith matures over time. Community is formed over time. Three to five years just isn’t a lot of time.

Contrary to a mining mindset, what many churches in the Bay Area seek to instill is a farming mindset instead. How can we compel our young adults to stay just a few years longer? Embrace the tension and stick around and make a go of it in CA? Till the soil, water the seeds, pull the weeds, put down roots, see the long term possibilites that exist… farm the land. The best shot we’ve got is to cultivate a safe, healthy, and inviting landing spot for these solo or barely-coupled people to find community and a sense of purpose beyond paychecks and potent resume bullet points. In doing so, perhaps we buy enough time to show them a different perspective on the landscape of the Bay — one that can be invested in to bear fruit instead of stripped bare and left behind. Adulting seeks to do just that.

You’re Preparing Good Shepherd’s Property for Many More Years of Mission.

If you’ve ever owned a home then you know how challenging it can be to maintain everything and keep all the plumbing, electrical, gutters, and grass in good working order. Maintaining a church is no different – just bigger! From the first day Good Shepherd was built until now members have been faithful in not only maintaining the property but making improvements to it over the years in order to facilitate outreach and mission. Even though many of those members have moved or passed away you’ve inherited their same privilege and responsibility.

Over the past couple of years, due to the growing partnership between Good Shepherd and Hayward Collegiate, there have been some remarkable changes made to the property. Just take a look at the photo above and see the transformation of the social hall with a stunning flooring change. The school covered the cost of the materials while the installation came from a generous donation of time and expertise from a carpenter connected to a couple members of the congregation. In addition to new flooring, the social hall and every single classroom are now outfitted with energy efficient heat pumps providing heat during winter and air conditioning when it’s hot. The main sanctuary even has a new heater to ensure worshipers in the sanctuary  are able to worship  in a comfortable environment. Electrical and plumbing upgrades around campus have been completed or are in process too!

Not only are you doing a great job building relationships with faculty, students, and families but your partnership with the school is resulting in campus improvements that will facilitate mission and outreach to all the students and families that come to Good Shepherd every single day. Thank you!

As you continue to support the ministry of Good Shepherd Hayward, we want you to remember the impact that your contribution is making in the lives of our congregation, the Hayward community, and beyond. By God's grace last year, Good Shepherd was able to deepen its relationships with the community. We have seen tangible evidence of positive change and transformation in individuals' lives and long-term friendships with people from surrounding communities have been developed. This critical progress in our church's English ministry now allows both our Tigrinya and English ministries to grow side by side because the Tigrinya ministry arm of Good Shepherd Hayward already has a strong relationship with the Tigrinya speaking community in the Bay Area. Now that both of our language ministries have a clear, targeted audience to share the gospel with, connect lives with, and serve alongside, we can use this year to learn and understand what it truly means to share the gospel and our lives with those whom we aim to reach.

So, how can we simply share our lives and the message of Jesus with those in our community?

•  Connect with people by inviting them for coffee to listen to their stories and build relationships. 

•  Open up your home to host meals or gatherings where people can connect and feel welcomed. 

•  Lift up prayers for those you spend time with, praying for their well-being, families, and salvation in Jesus.

When you feel it's time to invite people to join the community of God, remember that Sunday morning isn't the only opportunity. You can also use other avenues to extend invitations.

• Monthly ladies-only breakfast (English)

• Monthly prayer afternoon on Saturdays (Tigrinya)

• Weekly adult Bible study on Sundays at 9:00 am (English)

• Virtual weekly Bible study on Wednesdays at 8:00 pm ( Tigrinya)

• Youth group for grades 5-12 every Thursday starting at 6:30 pm (English)

• Sunday school program available every week during worship service for young families. 

• All other events, conferences, basics of Faith teaching class, lent and advent nights are wonderful opportunities to invite people to come and experience the community of Good Shepherd and learn about the teachings of Jesus.

Good Shepherd family, You are  LOVED  beyond your wildest dreams and You are SENT with a great purpose. 

 “We cared so much for you that we were pleased to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become dear to us.” - 1 Thessalonians 2:8.

The Annual IMPACT Conference sees an even more diverse group!

You Made an Impact in the Lives of Young People through IMPACT.

IMPACT began as a conference run by Eritrean Evangelical Lutheran Mission Society (EELMS) in order to gather Eritrean youth from around the USA and Canada for a weekend of worship, encouragement, and fellowship with one another. Three years ago Good Shepherd took over as the organizers of IMPACT in order to broaden the pool of youth and young adults beyond just the Eritrean community and host the event on our campus. For this year’s event, you welcomed about 80 young people from the Bay Area, Las Vegas, Canada, Texas, Tennessee and Los Angeles. How amazing is that?! Not only were the participants geographically diverse but ethnically diverse as well.

Throughout the weekend you welcomed all of our guests with quintessential Good Shepherd hospitality ensuring their bellies were full, their spirits were encouraged, and their bodies were well rested. Unlike previous IMPACT Conferences where guest speakers were invited this year the shift was made away from preaching styles of presentation to something more engaging for the young people – live podcasts. Pastor Ebenezer from Minnesota joined IMPACT again this year but this time in the role of discussion facilitator. As someone who has a very successful podcast speaking to how Christians can shape the culture around us he led interview-style conversations focused on the topics of: Finding Your Voice, Identity, and Navigating Christianity and Culture.

Immediate feedback from the guests was encouraging that they were extremely thankful to you for hosting and planning the new format and engaging schedule for the entire weekend. You made such an IMPACT on the lives of so many young people they are already talking about coming back next year! Thank you for creating a space for young people to engage with one another and their faith in a meaningful way that will impact their lives in this cultural moment – no matter what city or country they are from.

The legacy of Grace presents an opportunity for new ministry.

You Merged with Another Congregation to Start Something New.

Did you know that Grace Lutheran planted Good Shepherd almost 70 years ago? Me neither! One year ago, after their pastor of 20+ years took a call, the congregation of Grace Lutheran in North Hayward was left without pastoral care. As a result of a long-standing relationship with Pastor Dawit and Saron, Grace was approached by Pastors Dawit and Josh to lead worship for them and help navigate a very uncertain future. For a year, they led worship each week, were present at Church Council meetings, and facilitated discussions about the current reality Grace was faced with in addition to what the future could hold for them. 

After much prayer and many conversations the members of Grace voted to merge with Good Shepherd in order to leave their legacy ahead of them. The reality of Lutheran ministry in the Bay Area is that churches are aging, attendance is declining and pastors are retiring. Sadly, in just the last five years 11 LCMS Congregations have closed their doors in the East Bay – their property now either sold or sitting vacant. The members of Grace did not want to see this happen to their near 100 year old ministry! Although it was a challenging decision they honored you by entrusting the future ministry of Grace’s campus into your hands. 

So what does the future hold? Nothing has been decided yet but the plan is to explore options for both a new worshiping community/church plant as well as a resuscitation of some form of school ministry. God was faithful to Grace for almost one hundred years. May He continue to use you and the members of Good Shepherd to faithfully steward their legacy for another hundred years! In the meantime, thank you for welcoming them to the Good Shepherd family with love, encouragement, and warm hearts.

A Perfect Christmas Present – the Gift of Baptism!

You Welcomed the Birth of the Christ-Child with a Child’s Baptism.

The theme for Advent this year followed the O Antiphons found in the popular hymn: “O Come, O Come Emmanuel.” Each Wednesday and Sunday you contemplated the roles, titles, and functions of who Jesus as Messiah would be for His people Israel – and who He is for you! Christmas Eve was the culmination of the antiphons as we welcomed the birth of the Christ-Child Emmanuel: God with us. During the service we explored the hope, joy, peace, and wonder of what the arrival of God in-the-flesh means for the world, for you and I.

During the worship service our children assisted in celebrating the birth of Jesus by leading the congregation in singing not only “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” but also a song in Tigrinya, “Ab Lbey Tweled Yesusay.” There was so much joy in the children as they led worship the rest of the congregation couldn’t help but be filled with joy as well. Were you? In perfect harmony with the theme of Christmas Eve you welcomed the birth of the Christ-Child with a child’s baptism!

Anaiya first came to Good Shepherd through getting to know Paul and Sefo in the after-school program at Hayward Collegiate. At the time she was not a believer in Jesus and did not attend a church but because of the relationship with two of your fellow members she expressed an interest to attend youth group and Sunday morning worship. Fast forward a few months, after witnessing the infant baptism of Lucas Laxen, Anaiya expressed a desire to learn more about baptism. After a couple of discussions with her and her parents it was decided that you would get to celebrate the gift of Baptism with her on the same day you would celebrate the gift of God-with-us! How amazing is that?

Leadership Council Corner

Last year the Pastor’s office Ministry Plan  was focused on Strengthening the Roots of GSLC’s worship, discipleship, and outreach to the community. In 2024, Sharing Life + Sharing Jesus will be the focus of our strategic ministry plan based on the first letter of Paul to the Church in Thessalonica: “We cared so much for you that we were pleased to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become dear to us.” - 1 Thessalonians 2:8. Our goal is to leverage hospitality in order to create opportunities to share our lives together and share Jesus with others.

GSLC Family, it is our great honor to serve God and you in our capacity as the leadership council of your church. We would love to take this space to give a quick update on some of our works from the year 2023. The Leadership Council held a total of 11 meetings in 2023. Throughout these regular gatherings, the council emphasized the importance of enhancing financial reports and meticulously examining the legal procedures associated with Grace and GSLC merger process. Additionally, they facilitated a special voters meeting to authorize the merger. The LC also closely monitored and provided support for the pastor's activities aimed at achieving the ministry plan while preparing to finalize its replanting efforts by 2024 to ensure that day-to-day operations at GSLC are not neglected.

Key achievements in the work of the 2023 leadership council included addressing three critical financial reports, conducting a pastoral performance review, progressing with the merger with Grace Lutheran, as well as giving approval to an official Memorandum of Understanding signed between Calvary Lutheran and GSLC for exploring potential collaborative ministry partnerships leading towards potential mergers. Overall, the Leadership Council in 2023 placed great importance on financial transparency, legal procedures, and strategic partnerships to ensure the successful merger and smooth operation in the year 2023.