A Lutheran Congregation on South Pearl Street
Good Shepherd Lutheran Church sits at 320 South Pearl Street in Canandaigua, a short walk south of the central square of this Ontario County seat. The congregation has lived by the motto Sharing Christ, Changing Lives for as long as anyone asks, and the line shows up on the church's identity, in its newsletter, and across its outreach. More than three hundred members make this their church home in the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York. Visitors often notice two things on a first Sunday: the warmth of the greeting and the steadiness of the Lutheran liturgy.
Worship Three Times a Weekend
Worship is the rhythm around which everything else turns. Through the program year the regular weekly schedule gathers the congregation three times:
- Saturday at 5:30 pm
- Sunday at 8:00 am
- Sunday at 11:00 am
During the summer months the two Sunday services combine into one Sunday morning gathering at 9:30 am, while the Saturday evening service continues unchanged. The two-service Sunday schedule returns each fall with the rest of the program year.
Worship takes place in the main sanctuary on the South Pearl Street campus. For those who cannot be present, services are livestreamed and then archived, with bulletins, song sheets, sermon transcripts, and weekly devotionals available for each weekend going back to September 2021.
What Sunday Morning Looks Like
A service at Good Shepherd follows the classical Lutheran pattern: confession and forgiveness, readings from the Old Testament, Epistle, and Gospel, a sermon drawn from the day's texts, hymns from the church's hymnal, prayers of the people, and the Eucharistic liturgy. The congregation walks the three-year lectionary, so seasons such as Advent, Lent, and Pentecost arrive with the appointed readings, printed in large print in the bulletin for ease of following along.
Worship is led by the pastor and supported by the Music Director and a Worship Team of volunteer singers and instrumentalists. Hymns lean toward the traditional Lutheran repertoire, with the occasional contemporary song folded in. Visitors looking for a spirit that is warm and approachable but faithful to Lutheran roots usually find it here.
Lutheran Identity, Spelled CHRIST
The congregation is grounded in the four solas of the Reformation: Christ Alone, Grace Alone, Faith Alone, and Scripture Alone. From those pillars Good Shepherd has built a working acrostic called CHRIST that shapes its ministry decisions.
- C - Cultivating disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ
- H - Honoring Him in all we do and say and how we behave
- R - Reflecting the Authority of God's Holy Word
- I - Involving everything we do by prayer
- S - Serving others both in the Church and in the world
- T - Teaching the Gospel and taking it to the world
This framework points the council back toward mission whenever they consider a new program, and it gives Sunday School teachers and ministry team leaders a shared language for what they are doing.
Little Lambs Preschool on Site
Tucked into the same campus is Little Lambs Preschool, a faith-based early childhood program that has become a familiar part of Canandaigua family life. The preschool is led by its own director and welcomes children from the wider community as well as from church families. It runs on the church's building and grounds, drawing on the same classrooms that host Vacation Bible School in the summer.
The preschool connects with the wider congregation at intergenerational events such as the annual Mardi Gras potluck, where Little Lambs families are invited to stay after worship for food, games, and a blessing. Prayer shawls are sometimes presented to the children at these gatherings, linking the preschool back to the prayer life of the church. The Little Lambs office can be reached directly at misskellylittlelambscdga@gmail.com.
Christian Education Across the Age Span
Education is structured for every stage of life. On Sunday morning, Adult Sunday School and Youth Sunday School meet in parallel with worship. Vacation Bible School fills a week in the summer with Bible stories, crafts, games, and music for children of the parish and the wider community.
Midweek, the Bible Study ministry gathers around a book or a series of passages. Small Groups and Growth Groups meet in homes and at the church for fellowship, prayer, and study. A Grief Group meets regularly for those who have lost a loved one, providing space to share stories and lean on prayer together.
Periodically the church hosts topical half-day seminars open to the wider community. Recent offerings have included a morning titled "Prayer: Be Transformed!" with guest presenters, lunch, and childcare provided for parents who want to attend.
A Building Equipped to Welcome Every Worshipper
Good Shepherd's building has been updated with hospitality and accessibility in mind. A hearing loop is installed in both the worship space and the gathering space. Worshippers with a t-coil-equipped hearing aid can switch on the loop and receive the service audio directly; those without one can borrow a handheld receiver from the folks at the tech board.
Children are welcome in worship. For parents who prefer a quieter place, a prayer room sits at the rear of the worship area, just off the back of the nave, with space to care for a child while still hearing the service. A family-assisted bathroom with a changing table is also available on site.
Visitors driving in from the New York State Thruway take Exit 44, follow NY-332 / South Rochester Road for about 8.2 miles, turn right onto Clark Street, and then take the second left onto South Pearl Street. The church will be on the right side of the road.
Music Ministry and the Daily Devotional
The Music Director leads the music program, working with a Worship Team of singers and instrumentalists drawn from the congregation. The team supports the liturgy each weekend and prepares special music for the festivals of the church year, from Christmas to Easter to Reformation Sunday.
For those who want a short scripture-rooted reflection during the week, Good Shepherd has long sent out Pastor Don's Daily Devotional, a written email devotional carried over from the long-serving predecessor pastor. The subscription remains open to anyone who would like to receive it, with a sign-up link from the church's home page.
Mission That Walks Out the Door
Two ongoing efforts point to where the church puts its faith into practice beyond the building.
The first is the congregation's partnership with Habitat for Humanity of Ontario County. Good Shepherd stepped up as the major sponsor for a new Habitat home at 59 Buffalo Street in Canandaigua. The lot was purchased by Capstone Construction on the former Daily Messenger property, then donated to Habitat by Don Lasher of Capstone, and rezoned for residential use. The church has committed a significant share of the campaign funds to underwrite the build, and members also show up on the worksite: typical Habitat days run Tuesday through Thursday from about 8:30 am to 3:00 pm, with additional Saturdays during peak weeks. The Mission Team collects volunteers through a sign-up sheet posted on the Wittenberg door at church, and Habitat supplies tools. People who cannot do physical work can sign up to provide lunch for the crew or simply to pray. A Habitat steering committee includes Maggie Wiegand as Mission Expansion Team Leader and ties to the wider Mission and Ministry Team.
The second is Operation Christmas Child, the Samaritan's Purse shoebox ministry. The Mission Team sets a goal each year and picks an age range (recent years have focused on older children ages 10 to 14, an often under-served group). A published shopping list tells donors what to buy: toothbrushes and holders, soap, washcloths, combs, pens and pencils, sharpeners, erasers, rulers, scissors, composition notebooks, markers, colored pencils, calculators, T-shirts, and small toys. Packed boxes leave the gathering space each fall and travel into a wider mission field, sharing the gospel along with school supplies.
The Go! Campaign and Pastoral Expansion
The congregation runs a three-year ministry campaign known as the Go! Campaign, with the simple goal of moving Good Shepherd beyond its walls to love and serve its Canandaigua neighbors. Ten percent of every gift (a tithe) is set aside for outside missions, with the bulk of that tithe so far committed to Habitat and a smaller reserve held for the pastor to shape future projects in partnership with the congregation.
Three priorities organize the campaign. The first is mission expansion, led by Habitat and a reserve fund for new initiatives. The second is pastoral expansion, a deliberate effort to bring on a new pastor while a long-serving pastor remained, so the congregation could grow into supporting permanent additional staff rather than losing momentum during an interim. The third is facility improvements, including new sanctuary flooring, replacement windows, drywall and insulation on the south wall of the nave, electrical and lighting work, power to the garage, exterior concrete and caulking, repainting of classrooms and offices, and the hearing loop installation in the worship and gathering spaces.
Giving to the Go! Campaign can be set up electronically through the church's giving app (which offers a separate Go! Campaign option) or by check, using a campaign envelope or noting "Go" on the memo line. Designated envelopes are available at the Usher Station in the Gathering Space.
Pastoral Staff and Leadership
The congregation is currently shepherded by Pastor Steven Geske. He is supported by a small paid staff that includes Music Director Stephanie Cheney and Preschool Director Kelly Brainard-Nichols, who leads Little Lambs. The Office Manager and an Administrative Assistant keep the building and records running Monday through Friday.
Governance is shared with a Church Council that includes a Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary, Financial Secretary, Treasurer, an Elders representative, Trustees, and a Strategic Planning liaison. A wider circle of Elders provides spiritual care across the congregation, visiting and praying for members at home and in the hospital. Volunteer Ministry Team Leaders head up Helping Partners, Hospitality, Outreach Hospitality, Prayer, Christian Education (which coordinates Kids Worship, Sunday School, VBS, and Growth Groups), Mission Expansion, Tech Team, Host Team, Worship Team, and the Kitchen Team.
Getting Connected
The church mailing address is PO Box 690, Canandaigua, NY 14424, and the main phone line is (585) 394-2760. The office is staffed Monday through Friday from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm. General inquiries go to office@goodshepherdcdga.org; pastoral inquiries can be sent to pastorsteve@goodshepherdcdga.org.
A digital Connection Card is available online from Saturday at 5:00 pm through Sunday at 5:00 pm. The card is the congregation's primary way to introduce new families, request a visit or a prayer, sign up for a ministry, or RSVP for a potluck or special event.
Good Shepherd keeps a regular presence on Facebook at /gslchurch and on a YouTube channel where weekend services are livestreamed and archived. Electronic giving, including designated gifts to the Go! Campaign, can be set up through the church's giving app, and designated envelopes are available at the Usher Station in the gathering space for those who give by check.