Church of the Good Shepherd United Methodist, Vienna, VA

09/06/2026

09/01/2026

Dear Community,
The Church of the Good Shepherd in Vienna, VA will host its third Christmas Market this holiday season. Shoppers, we invite you to make merry with us on Dec. 5, 10:30am-2:00pm! Creators (new or experienced) of unique gifts, handcrafted goods, or delicious treats), please join us in this community outreach. Contact the church office for an application form (fees are $25 for one table, $45 for two). Applications are being accepted until November 16th, so get yours submitted today! Of special note, the Market is being held at the same time as our annual Puppy Nativity. It’s a holiday event that will warm your heart!
Church of the Good Shepherd, 2351 Hunter Mill Road, Vienna; 703-281-8987; [email protected].

08/30/2026

08/23/2026

08/16/2026

08/09/2026

05/01/2026

We are starting to collect "treasures" for our Rummage Sale next week. We will collect Mon, May 4 - Thursday, May 7, 9:30am - 12:30pm. Possible other times by appointment, call 703-281-3987.

04/05/2026

Happy Easter! Our SonRise service is still on this morning (6:30am)! We will meet in the back of the church with a fire burning. Blessings to all this Easter morning!

04/05/2026

Daily Lenten Devotional

Easter Sunday, April 5 Read: Romans 8:38-39

TODAY: Offer this prayer: Lord, we grieve the loss of loved ones who are no longer with us. On this Easter Sunday as we celebrate the Resurrection, reaffirm in our hearts that love and faith are stronger than loss. Help us always to remember that nothing can separate us from your love.
Amen.

SIGNS AND WONDERS
During a recent prayer meeting, we were encouraged to ask God this question: “What ordinary things in my life do you want me to see as holy or extraordinary?”
When our son died this past August at the age of 39, it broke our hearts. During that time of numbness and disbelief, I experienced a series of small wonders that can only be described as holy and extraordinary.
Thanks to our son’s wonderful group of friends, they took care of every last detail to get his house on the market to save us the pain of doing it. All his furniture and household items were donated to a good cause. There was only one small item I requested for myself. It was a silver cross our son had worn throughout his high school and college years. One day I asked him why he wasn’t wearing it anymore, and he said the chain had broken. I had no idea if he had kept the cross, or if anyone would be able to find it, but it was found and personally delivered back to me.
I immediately put it on a new chain, placing it close to my heart. It’s human nature to wonder where our loved ones are when they pass away. The Bible does not give us the answers to all our questions, and as much as we love our family and friends, we can never fully know another person’s heart — though I believe God does, and I trust in his mercy and never-ending love for us all.
Shortly after receiving the cross back, as I was cleaning out my office desk, I came across something I had not seen in years. It was the memorial card for my mother-in-law who passed away in 2007. I knew instantly that it was a holy and extraordinary moment when I read: “We little knew that morning that God was going to call your name. Our family chain feels broken, and nothing seems the same. Yet, as God calls us one by one, the chain will link again.”
Until then, I hold on to the knowledge that love and faith are stronger than loss.
— Bonny Pasowicz

04/04/2026

Daily Lenten Devotional

Saturday, April 4 Read: Matthew 7:7-8

TODAY: Reflect on times when you’ve been warmed by the presence of the Holy Spirit. Treasure those moments, and open your heart to experience God’s presence again and again.

KNOCK AND THE DOOR WILL BE OPENED
This past summer Bob and I traveled to England’s Northumberland Coast. We visited Lindisfarne, also known as the Holy Island. Believed to be the place where Christianity first came to England via an Irish missionary, it has been a place of pilgrimage since the first priory was established in 634 AD. These days, you will find on the island an impressive castle, the ruins of the medieval priory, and many other sites of interest.
As we toured the town, we saw a huge crowd hiking to the castle on the highest point of the island. Instead, we headed to the priory ruins and Saint Mary’s Church. Along the way we slipped into what looked like a small church that had a lovely window with a Celtic design. Inside, the church had been stripped of its altar and organ. Since there aren’t enough people to have Sunday services, it’s now used as a small retreat space called Saint Cuthbert’s Centre, United Reformed Church on Holy Island. Hospitality is offered to those who enter — coffee, tea, and cookies. We were warmly greeted by the chaplain, who shared the history of the church and its transformation into a retreat center. She engages with the community as well as caring for the upkeep of the center and grounds, stripping worn paint from a wall to prepare for a new colorful mural designed by local artists and planting a prayer garden with flowers in a rainbow of colors. The chaplain gave us a tour of the building, pointing out an old boiler room turned prayer nook, appropriately named the Boiler House Chapel.
Since I always like to say a prayer whenever I am in a church, chapel, or cathedral, I entered the Boiler House Chapel. Dimly lit, the intimate chapel had a small altar across the back with a cross and two chairs. In this tiny space, about the size of a closet, I was overcome by the Holy Spirit. I felt it surround me. The feeling was so intense that tears streamed down my face. I sat in one of the chairs and took in the all-encompassing presence of the Holy Spirit. I thanked God for showing me that the Holy Spirit is still present on this island. It is indeed a Holy Island, both then and now.
You never know when you’ll experience the Holy Spirit. It may be in a big, beautiful cathedral, a small country church, or a prayer nook on a remote island on the Northumbrian coast of England. You can also feel God’s presence in the forest, by the ocean, or on a mountain top. I believe we have to go looking for God and be ready to receive him. You never know where or when God will surprise you. As Matthew 7:7-8 says: “Ask and it shall be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be
opened.”
Praise God!
— Elaine Woodward