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Good Shepherd is a community that celebrates children. We want children to be active members of our community of faith where they are able to belong before they believe.

While it may feel counterintuitive, we encourage families with young children to sit close to the front. The Episcopal liturgy is rich with movement, music, and color—all of which help capture a child’s attention and imagination. From processions to candles to stained glass, there is always something to capture imaginations.

If your child becomes restless during the service, it often helps to discuss what’s happening in the liturgy, or draw pictures of the readings or stories from the sermon. If at any point in the service your children need to stretch their legs or run off some energy, feel free to do so and come back when you’re ready.

Please be at peace about your children’s behavior in church.

If you have to step out because your child is having a tantrum, you won’t be the first parent to do so, and you won’t be the last! Try to set your heart on being with your children before the Lord, and not before the congregation (based on the concepts of Robbie Castleman, Parenting in the Pew).

Finally, remember that infants, toddlers and children can minister to the rest of us, sometimes without knowledge. Your baby might smile at a widow who came to church feeling lonely, your toddler might give a laugh to someone struggling with depression, and your child’s questions could captivate the heart of an adult on his or her own faith journey. This is the beauty of intergenerational worship – we are able to minister to each other and see the Kingdom of God reflected in our pews.

We also have a nursery available for children 4 and under at our 8:30am and 11:00am services.

Parking is available:

• At the church’s main drive off of Walton Way
• Behind the Parish House
• Between the church and the school
• Directly in front of Episcopal Day School
• In the last 20 lined spaces along the south side of Woodlawn Methodist’s parking lot (Sunday only)

Click here for a map of our parking lot.

The Communion Table does not belong to Good Shepherd, but to the Lord. All baptized Christians are welcome to receive Communion. You may also come forward and cross your arms over your chest in the shape of an X if you would prefer to receive a blessing from one of the priests rather than Communion.

We haven’t lost anyone yet! All you will need during the service is found in the service bulletin you will receive when you arrive.

We hope you will find our members to be warm and welcoming, but you will not have to introduce yourself publicly. We would love to thank you for coming to visit, so please fill out a Connect Card found in your pew and place it in the offering plate. On the Connect Card you will have the option to be added to our weekly e-newsletter, the Shepherd's Fold, so you can stay up to date.

Our worship follows the ancient pattern of Word and Sacrament—Scripture is read, prayers are offered, a sermon is preached, and we share Holy Eucharist (Communion) together each week. The service may feel more structured than what you’ve experienced elsewhere, but everything you need is printed in the bulletin, and you’re invited to participate as you feel comfortable.

Episcopal worship is both reverent and communal: we stand, sit, kneel, and pray together as a way of engaging our whole selves in worship. The liturgy—our shared prayers and responses—connects us not only with those in the pew beside us, but with Christians across the world and throughout history.

When we don’t know what to pray, liturgy guides us.

When we don’t know how to react, Scripture shapes us.

When we need to be grounded, Tradition reminds us that we are part of something bigger than our present circumstances.

You don’t need to have it all figured out before you come. Join us. Our hope is that you’ll find belonging, and a sense of God’s presence in our midst.