News

Last Updated July 31, 2025   

Adult Bible Class will be at 9:15 a.m.in the fellowship hall.

High School Youth Bible Class meets on Sunday Mornings at 9:15 a.m. in the Youth Room on the School Lower Level. Youth who have graduated from 8th grade through Senior year in High School are invited to join us for Bible Study, Fellowship, and Snacks!

Sunday School – Join us this Sunday, from 9:15 a.m. – 10:15 a.m. for Sunday School!
- Parents & Babies (birth - 2 years old) will meet in the Nursery in the Church Lower Level.
- Preschool 3 year olds - Kindergarten will meet in Tracks 
- 1st - 6th grade will meet in the school cafeteria
- 7th & 8th grade in the learning center. 

Pastor Packer has a Fascinating Finds page and a Book List page. Please visit these links.

Portals of Prayer for July-September are available in the narthex.

Altar Flower Openings - August 17,31 and September 21.The cost is $40.00 per vase. Please sign up at your convenience .Thank you.

We’re updating our church directory! If you would like to set a time during the week to come and get the photo taken please email Pastor Gray at pastorandrewgray@gmail.com.  We will have them set up in the hallway connecting to the school. Thank you for helping us keep our directory current!

There will be a special Congregational Meeting on Sunday, August 3rd following the 10:30 a.m. Service. The meeting will be to consider HVAC upgrades that are needed. All members 18 and older are encouraged to attend

Beginning Wednesday, August 6th, we will be having our Midweek Prayer Service again beginning at 6:15 p.m.

All Women please join us at LWML on Saturday August 2nd starting at 9am.  Mrs. Carol Walther (SID President) will be speaking about the June 2025 LWML Convention and other topics of interest.  Our mission outreach Ingathering : we will be collecting school supplies for Unity Lutheran School which are : spiral notebooks (narrow or wide), pocket folders, tissues, mechanical pencils, crayons, colored pencils and scotch tape.  Please being the above items the day of our meeting.  If you would like more information, please about LWML contact Pam Hoffman at 618-409-3163. 

Help and food needed for SOS: GSLC will be serving at the SOS (Spirit of Sharing) Soup Kitchen at St. John UCC in downtown Collinsville Thursday, July 31. This will be our last time to serve in 2025. We still need someone for 4:45 to 6 p.m. for serving and clean up. Please call or text Kathy Bohnet at 618-910-1698 if you can help. We will also need donations of six packs of applesauce and Nutri Grain (or other brand) soft baked breakfast bars. The donations can be placed in the marked crate in the connecting hallway. THANK YOU!

Do you have an Used, Reliable Car that you could donate or sell for a reasonable price to one of our members? Emmanuel and Joyce Ben need a car. Joyce is starting a class in August and will be taking their son, Mitota, to daycare. Please call the church office if you could help!

The Saturday Morning Women’s Bible Study has moved to Saturday August 16.  All women are encouraged to attend the St. James BUILDING SISTERHOOD: A Faith-Based Journey in Strengthening Relationship on Saturday August 9.

Table of Friendship is designed to provide GSLC members social time together to become better acquainted with each other. Five or six people (couples or individuals) are grouped together for three months. During that time they will take turns planning/hosting a dinner, brunch or lunch with the others in their group. The hosting person(s) decides whether to hold their event in their home, at a restaurant, at a park, etc. If the meal is in a home, it could be a potluck with the host providing the main dish and the others providing the side dishes. The second round will be September, October and November. Please email Jan Van Beek at janetlvb@yahoo.com or call 217-851-7417 with your questions and/or registration. Please register by AUGUST 29th. We hope you will give Table of Friendship a try!!!

Mark your calendar for Lutheran Young Adults Top Golf Outing. Enjoy an afternoon of fun and refreshment on Saturday, August 2, 2025 at 2:00 p.m. At the St. Louis Midtown Top Golf, 3201 Chouteau Ave, St. Louis, MO. Bring a friend!

Welcome back, Teachers!!!  The Board of Congregational Life is once again offering you all an opportunity to welcome our amazing teachers back to school.  There will be a tree in the narthex starting the first weekend in August.  On this tree will be tags for each teacher with some items for their special "wish list" for their classroom.  You are invited to take a tag, purchase the item, return the tag and item to church or the school office.  The teachers are always so grateful for the congregation’s generosity.  Mostly, they appreciate all of your prayers for them and the students as they start the new school year

!Metro-East Lutheran High School is looking for HOST FAMILIES for foreign students who would like to attend MELHS in the 25/26 school year.  Host Families can host for a semester or an entire school year and there are Host Family stipends involved as well.  For more information please contact Dr. Jay Krause, MELHS Principal, at 618-656-0043 or jay.krause@melhs.org."

MELHS is accepting applications for the following Head Coach positions for the 2025-2026 school year: 
Boys Tennis
Girls Tennis
Golf
Softball 
Track
If you are able to share your time and talents with our athletes, please contact Jason Batty, MELHS Athletic Director, at jason.batty@melhs.org or at (618) 656-0043 ext. 134. Thank you for your prayerful consideration.

BUILDING SISTERHOOD: A Faith-Based Journey in Strengthening Relationship; Calling all ladies…  You are invited to join us for a morning of connection, growth, and faith at St. James Lutheran Church in Glen Carbon Illinois. All women are warmly invited to join us for a special morning of encouragement, reflection, and connection as we continue our journey in Sisterhood. Bring your friends, neighbors, and family and gather with us on Friday, August 9th, from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM in the St. James Fellowship Hall for our event: Building Sisterhood: A Construction Approach; Together, we’ll explore how to lay a strong foundation of trust and faith, frame a supportive structure through encouragement and accountability, and strengthen what we've built through commitment and prayer. With engaging activities, heartfelt discussion, and biblical inspiration, this will be a time to grow deeper in your faith and closer to one another. This event is free of charge, and childcare is provided, but reservations are required.  We are also collecting trial-size hygiene products (soap, shampoo, razors, toothpaste, toothbrushes, feminine products) as an in-gathering for a local homeless mission.  So if you are able please bring your trial size products to the event! Join us as we continue building something strong, beautiful, and lasting—together in Sisterhood.  To reserve your spot please register through our church website at saintjamesglencarbon.org (select the “Building Sisterhood” post on the homepage to access the registration link) or use the backside of this form and email it to the below email address or send to St. James, 146 N. Main Street, Glen Carbon, Illinois 62034. Questions about Sisterhood?  Contact Cheryl at cheryl@stjamesglencarbon.org

Be a Friend to an International Student at SIU-E - Is your family willing to get together with an international student studying at SIU-E once a month for their first year in the U.S.? You would invite them to join your family in things you already do. Couples and singles of any age, with or without children have found this rewarding. Contact jodi.olyseen@gmail.com or search for International Hospitality Program SIU-E on facebook.  

Issues, Etc.- TRUTH, GOODNESS & BEAUTY... Issues, Etc. is a radio talk show and podcast produced by Lutheran Public Radio in Collinsville, IL and hosted by LCMS Pastor Todd Wilken.  Recent topics include: Did Martin Luther Add Books to the Bible?, The Scopes Monkey Trial, Lutherans & Life Issues, The Obergefell Ruling & the Redefinition of Marriage & Family, Conspiracy Theories and more.  You can listen on-demand at issuesetc.org, Amazon Alexa, Google Home, Apple HomePod, TuneIn, the LPR mobile app and a podcast provider.  You can also tune in live weekdays from 3-5 p.m. on KFUO, 850 AM in St. Louis.

LCMS Foundation - We may face competing priorities when we think about planning our estates someday.  The Lord gives us a charitable heart but where should we direct our charitable intent?  A plan for chartable giving from your estate might need to be updated periodically as ministries you have favored might reach the end of their active lifespan in God’s Kingdom.  Do you need to review your choices?  Your LCMS Foundation Gift Planning Counselor can help.  Contact Scott Radden @ 618-977-4049 or scott.radden@lfnd.org 

We have many on-going Volunteer Opportunities. Check out our Volunteer page to see how you can get involved!

Altar Flowers - 

Attendance last weekend was 365. The offering was: General Fund $28,171, Specials $837, Total $29,008

Thanks to those who serve this week
Usher Team:(5:30) D. Ulkus  (8:00) J. Fiudo (10:30) J. Hartke
Altar Guild: (5:30) Steve Hendry (8:00) Jeff & Terri Blasingame (10:30) Denise Brune
Greeter: (8:00) Jeanne Lomax (10:30) Donna Kober

Download Good Shepherd’s App so that you have easy access to announcements, videos, online giving, and much more. Also, you can join our Good Shepherd Facebook Group to see additional announcements from the church and individual members.

Prayer List 

Click here to add someone to the Prayer List
 

For Richard Surface, brother in law of Mitzi Montgomery who is hospitalized (July 30, 2025)

For Larry Shasteen, beginning Chemotherapy treatment for cancer recently found (July 24, 2025)

For Ann Goldsmith, that God will continue to be her strength through her continuing battle with cancer & radiation beginning in August (July 24, 2025)

For Barbara Brown, friend of Kay Jones, prayers for cancer surgery (July 15, 2025)

For Tony Zidolek, son-in-law of Rich and Linda Lubbert, hospitalized while waiting for heart transplant (July 15, 2025)

For Jamie Rezabek, nephew of Amy and Ed Beyer, back in hospital with complications after cancer surgery (July 11, 2025)

For health and healing of cancer for Daylene Sullivan, sister of Cheryl Clessa (July 1, 2025)

For Logan Kowalski, prayers for critical condition in the PICU due to his cancer (June 20, 2025)

For Nancy Schilbe, prayers for healing from breast cancer recently found (June 16, 202)

Prayer of thanksgiving for Zoey Wagenknecht, a healthy baby girl born to Nick and Hannah Wagenknecht. Granddaughter of Kevin and Deb Wudtke and great-granddaughter of Jerry and Marie Wudtke (June 14, 2025)

Marguerite Krenning, mother of Carrie Kober, prayers for surgery for a broken hip (June 11, 2025)

For the family of Dorothy Hoffman, Asleep in Jesus (June 10, 2025)

For Judy Brombolich, friend of Sharon Mays, being placed on Hospice care with congestive heart failure (June 8, 2025)

For Aaron Fisher, friend of the Beyer family, hiking the PCT and heading into the Sierras, with little phone contact for several days (June 7, 2025)

For the family of Myrna Schneider, Asleep in Jesus (June 2, 2025)

For Ester Bauer, friend of Carlene Wirth, prayers for cancer recently found (May 22, 2025)

For Michael Fedorsak, prayers for medical issues (May 21, 2025)

For the family of O'Neal Smith, Asleep in Jesus (May 15, 2025)

For the family of Dasima Bagby, sister of Sherolyn Goetz, Asleep in Jesus (May 14, 2025)

For the family of Kenneth Cole, father of Julie Fulton, Asleep in Jesus (April 21,2025)

Family of Karen Dall, mother of Valerie Fortner, Asleep in Jesus (April 13, 2025)

For Gary Engeling while he is recovering from a heart attack (March 22, 2025)

For the family of Ruth Clark, Asleep in Jesus (March 10, 2025)

Gary Whitehead has gone out of remission and has recently been recently re-diagnosed with Marginal Zone Lymphoma (December 8, 2024)

Note:  All prayer requests are kept on the list for one month unless you make a request for long term prayers. It is helpful to resubmit prayer requests with updates.