[graphic] The Church of the Good Shepherd [graphic] No Christ, No Peace Know Christ, Know Peace
The Church of the Good Shepherd
16500 State Route 400
Unionville, NV 89418
Ph. 775-538-7570

[graphic] Link to the home page. [graphic] Link to the Barnabas Letters - letters from the pastor. [graphic] Link to the church schedule and meditation page. [graphic] Link to the home page.

[Graphic] Link to "The Way of the Disciple"
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Evangelical Catholics

       When we call ourselves Evangelical Catholics, what exactly do we mean? In order to answer that question we must first define our terms.
       Let us begin with the word Evangelical. The Evangel is the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We, as Christians are called to proclaim the Gospel to all we meet. Thus we are 'evangelicals' in so far as we follow our Lord’s command to preach the Gospel to every living creature. (Mark16:15)
       Now, what about the word 'catholic'? The word 'catholic' derives from a Latin word meaning universal. We are part of the universal church, the ecclesia, the called out ones. We hold to the ancient faith, we are, first and foremost, Christians. As such, the Holy Bible is our rule and norm for righteous living. Our head is Jesus Christ, the Lord. It is He who is the Author and Finisher of our faith, the only begotten Son of the Father. Jesus said "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No man comes to the Father but by Me." (John 14:6) St. Paul writes in his first letter to the church at Corinth, "For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ." (1st Corinthians 3:11) Therefore, when we call ourselves evangelical Catholics we proclaim that we hold to the one holy and true faith handed down to us by the Apostles and Prophets. This faith is contained in the Holy Bible, God’s inspired Word.
       Now that we have defined our terms, what exactly do we believe? We believe, teach and confess that the Holy Bible is the true and inspired Word of God. As such it is the rule and norm for all doctrine and belief. We confess the three ancients, ecumenical creeds of the church. These are: The Athanasian, the Nicene, and the Apostles creed. These creedal statements contain all that must be believed in order to be saved. Each of these creeds affirm the following: The Trinity - God the Father; God the Son and God the Holy Spirit; the virgin birth; the sinless life; the atoning death; the physical, bodily resurrection, and the imminent return of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
       We honor the Virgin Mary as Theotokos, the God-bearer, and the mother of our Lord. We remember the saints as examples of holy and righteous living. Yet we realize that Mary and the saints were saved by the same grace that saves us all. Therefore, we do not invoke or pray to them. "For there is but one mediator between God and men, the Man, Jesus Christ." (1st Timothy 2:5) We reject the doctrine of purgatory as being unfounded in scripture and repugnant to the Word of God. We acknowledge two sacraments, holy baptism and holy communion, or the Lord’s Supper.
       How then, do we worship? We worship liturgically. In other words we follow an order of service; however the liturgy is something more than an order of worship. The liturgy is designed to preach the Gospel. Even if the pastor has no ability to preach an inspiring sermon, the Gospel will be preached by the liturgy. Properly attended, the liturgy is a deep and profound journey of the spirit. The liturgy calls us in to fellowship with our gracious Lord. We undertake this journey each Sunday as we gather together to worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.
       We baptize infants, children, and adults. Such was the practice of the ancient and primitive church, therefore we continue to do as our elder brothers and sisters in the faith did in the apostolic age.
       We celebrate the Eucharist, or Holy Communion, each Sunday. We invite all baptized Christians to join us in the Lord’s Supper. Our Lord commanded us to partake of this Eucharist in remembrance of Him, and so we do.
       We acknowledge all Christians as our brothers and sisters in faith. While we may respectfully disagree on some points we are still a part of the body of Christ. As such we all agree that Jesus Christ is Lord. Therefore, we consider that how you worship is not nearly so important as that you worship.
       We cast a friendly eye toward both Rome and Constantinople. However, we are under the jurisdiction of neither. We are far closer to the teachings of The Augsburg Confession of 1530. We use the smaller Catechism of the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther to teach the faith to our children. Yet we do acknowledge those who follow the Bishop of Rome or the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople as our brethren. We welcome all who hold the Christian Faith to come and worship with us. We also invite those who are seeking to come, hear the Gospel, repent, and believe. To all we proclaim the joyful news, Jesus Christ is Lord and Jesus Christ will save!


Church celebrates three-year anniversary

        The Church of the Good Shepherd near Unionville will celebrate it's three-year anniversary on Aug. 24.
        The non-denominational congregation meets in Buena Vista valley, below the ghost town of Unionville. The church was founded by D.W. Hutson "in order to provide a more liturgical form of worship for those who had, for whatever reason, become dissatisfied with the churches that they were attending," he said.
        Hutson said the church was founded in order to provide a place of worship for those people who live in the valley and are unable to make the long-distance drive to a larger town for church.
        "Good Shepherd is doctrinally conservative and adheres to the conservative view of Holy Scripture. We accept the Bible as the word of God, and as such, we consider it to be the rule and norm for all doctrine and belief," the reverend said. "The church uses liturgical form of worship."
        An order for service is followed and Holy Communion is celebrated every Sunday. Evening prayer service is held Thursday evenings at 7 p.m.
        "The Church welcomes all who wish to attend," Pastor Hutson said. A fellowship meal follows after the Sunday service.
        "It's mostly a potluck," Hutson said. The church accepts no monetary donations, but will accept donations of non-perishable food items and clothing. These items are taken to Lovelock and given to those who need them in Pershing County.
        Hutson was ordained to the ministry in June of 2003; he is currently engaged in studying to obtain a doctor-of-theology degree from Grace Bible College Seminary.
        Church is about proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ, he said.
        Huston is "available to those who need pastoral help, whether they are members of the congregation or not."
        The church is located at 16500 State Route 400, Unionville, Nev. Call (775) 578-7570 for further information.
        This article reproduced with the permission of G. Carter - publisher and editor of the Lovelock Review-Miner newspaper.

   
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