Meet Good Shepherd, Raleigh

By Kirk Royal

In Christ there is no east or west,
in him no south or north,
but one great fellowship of love
throughout the whole wide earth.

The Church of the Good Shepherd in downtown Raleigh has lived into the words of that beloved hymn since its organization in 1874. At the time of the congregation’s founding, charging pew rents was still a widespread practice in The Episcopal Church, and was indeed still in effect at what then was the only house of worship for Episcopalians in the City of Raleigh. A contingent of folks from that parish set out on their own and formed the Church of the Good Shepherd, the first “free” Episcopal church in Raleigh, which welcomed worshipers into its pews—any pews they wanted—without regard for socioeconomic circumstances.

In time, Good Shepherd would become a pillar of Raleigh’s social fabric, known for such charitable acts as partnering with Christ Church in the early 20^th century to found what became Rex Hospital (and even bucking racial segregation expectations of the day in one particularly well-known instance). Good Shepherd went on to found The Shepherd’s Table Soup Kitchen in the early 1980s and watched it grow to eventually become a stand-alone nonprofit organization that still shares space with the parish today.

Fast forward to 2019: Good Shepherd remains a prominent fixture in the Capitol Square neighborhood of downtown Raleigh and continues seeking ways to be the kind of neighbor God calls us to be. For instance, the parish recently partnered with the City of Raleigh and NC State University to construct a rain garden on its property designed to mitigate storm water runoff and the pollutants it can carry due to the amount of impervious cover in the downtown urban core. Not only does this answer God’s call to be good stewards of Creation but it also allows Good Shepherd to live into Jesus’ commandment to love one another, even if it is just a drop in the bucket (no pun intended) towards ensuring all our neighbors in the greater Raleigh community have access to clean water.

Good Shepherd is a parish on the move. In addition to currently being in the midst of a rector search (receiving names until May 3), the vestry is launching a new partnership with a local event coordinator to market the Duncan-Giersch Parish Life Center’s outstanding meeting and event facilities. They envision the partnership growing in such a way that Good Shepherd will be abuzz with activity not just on Sundays, but on every other day of the week. Marketing the space in such a way will generate revenues to fund the mission and ministries of Good Shepherd and has the potential to become a powerful instrument of evangelism. Keep listening for more details on this exciting new venture.       

Finally, when it comes to loving one another as God calls us to do, the parishioners of Good Shepherd have staked a firm and intentional commitment to developing a pastoral care culture and style that they would like see grow into a model for the way ahead. The congregation looks forward to working with its new rector to nurture this commitment and build a pastoral care infrastructure that could one day shape and define Good Shepherd’s identity and legacy.

The folks at Good Shepherd often say those well-worn words: “All are welcome. No exceptions.” In their case, they’ve been living into those words since day one. You’re invited to come see for yourself. Visit Good Shepherd on the web at www.cgs-raleigh.org or on Facebook and Instagram. Or better yet, drop in one Sunday for a visit. They’re always saving a seat for you at Good Shepherd.