Immanuel Monthly News Notes

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1 Immanuel Monthly News Notes Living hope a new series of messages for Immanuel and Sanctuary Do you know what this is? May 2017 Boards & Ministries 2 Social Ministries 3 It s a picture of the Egyptian Coptic Church that was bombed on Palm Sunday, April 9, More than a few Jesus-followers died. Vital Stats Youth Ministries 3 4 What about this pic? Stephen Ministries 5 It s a picture taken later that day outside the bombed church of many Egyptian Jesusfollowers reciting the Nicene Creed. This is how Christians mourn and battle through terrible atrocities with confident HOPE. HOPE IS A WEAPON to fight evil, death, and the power of satan s influence in this world. So naturally, during the Resurrection Season of Easter, we will explore and mine together the depths of HOPE s life-giving ways. If you had to offer a picture of HOPE, what would it be? What s your picture of hope? them to me at nguelzow@ilcdg.org with your HOPE story! IYC Plant Sale Coming May 5 and 6 VBS Registration Opens VBS Volunteers Needed! 6 th -7 th Grade Camp Luther Registration

2 2017 Altar Flowers Calendar The 2017 altar flower chart is posted in the hallway by the Grove Street entrance. Sundays needing sponsorship are still available. Please write your name and phone number next to the date(s) on which you would like to sponsor the altar flowers. The price remains at $ A member of our Altar Guild, Louise Manak, will contact you prior to the date(s) you have chosen. Manna Gift Cards Program You can pick up a Manna Gift Card form from the Information Station table in the chapel. May orders are due on May 12th with card pick up on May 17th. IYC Plant Sale Coming May 5 and 6 Get your garden gloves and trowel ready for the IYC Plant Sale! The dates this year are Friday, May 5 from 1-7pm, and Saturday, May 6 from 9am-2pm, rain or shine. The sale will be loaded with brightly colored flowers and lush foliage, ready to usher in spring at your home. Preorder flats and geraniums until April 30. At the sale, over 100 hanging baskets of all colors and varieties will be on display just in time for Mother s Day! This event is one of the major fundraisers for the teen summer trip to the Blue Ridge Workcamp in Frederick, Maryland- thanks for supporting that important mission! Snap To It Jewelry Sale May 6 This year we ll be offering the Snap To It line of jewelry at the plant sale on Saturday, May 6. Come to the library during plant sale hours and create your own beautiful pieces. Check the possibilities at snapjewels.com Vacation Bible School Registration Opens VBS 2017 is coming July 10-14, and registration is now open! Please use the form included in this newsletter or on the Information Table to register for the Galactic Starveyors VBS, where we ll look to the heavens and discover the God of the universe. Invite neighborhood friends to share in this time of exciting spiritual growth and fellowship! Calling All VBS Volunteers! Vacation Bible School is one of Immanuel s largest and most effective outreach events to families in our community. It is truly a Door to Jesus for children and parents alike! This year s VBS (July 10-14) will be another exciting, Jesus-focused program that will appeal to all grade school and preschool children. Volunteers entering 7th grade in the fall are welcome. Please prayerfully consider how you can best serve in this wonderful outreach, fill out an application and drop it at the church office this month! Youth Mission Car Wash May 20 Bring in the family transportation for a gentle bath on Saturday, May 20! Our IYC teens and friends will be washing cars at Immanuel from 10am-2pm, raising money for their summer mission trip to the Blue Ridge Workcamp. If it s rained out, come on May 27, instead. There is no set charge for the car wash, but donations will, of course, be accepted with gratitude! Confirmation Volunteer Team Thanks Wednesday Confirmation classes wrapped up on May 10, and we have been so blessed by a great team of volunteers who helped make class time more personal and impactful. Big thank you s go to our small group facilitators Joy Crowe, Mike Reichert, Dave Thompson, Lori Wrzesinski and fieldworkers Rebecca Drewitz and Tais Perez. Well done, good and faithful servants! Weekday School Staff Thanks Huge thanks go out to Jeri Lau and Jane Connolly for leading our 3 rd through 6 th grade Weekday School classes this school year, and to Jill LaBardi for her faithful help in the 3/4 th grade class. Together, they have done an amazing job of making it exciting and fun to learn about Jesus! 6th-7th Grade Camp Luther Registration This school year s 6th and 7th graders are now registering for the Confirmation Kick-off at Camp Luther coming August Except for vacation plans, all students should plan on being a part of this first Confirmation event of the year, a real faith-and-friends adventure! Forms have been mailed to each Confirmation family, and extra forms are available outside of Tom s office on the upper level. Early-bird discount pricing is in effect until Sunday, May 21! Vacation Bible Immanuel July 10th thru the 14th Registration has begun for Immanuel's Vacation Bible School! Pick up a registration form from the Information Station in the chapel. Volunteers are also needed! Applications are also available at the Information Station. VBS Volunteers! Hurry and fill out a volunteer form to get your spot for this year's VBS, Galactic Starveyors! You don't want to miss out on this amazing experience! We will learn how the God who created everything we there is -- the visible and invisible -- wants a relationship with us!!! Volunteer forms are in this newsletter or on the Information table at church. We will also have a Volunteer open house on May 20th and 21st. Come check out the open house even if you have already volunteered! Voters' Meeting - Sunday, May 21st at 4:00 p.m. Fellowship with Friends Senior Ministry On Monday, May 22nd at 7:30 p.m., the Women's Service Guild will gather for their monthly meeting. All ladies are cordially invited to attend. If you have a servant heart but also like to have an enjoyable time, join the Women's Service Guild! Boards & Ministries 2 Next gathering, Thursday, May 11th at 11:30 a.m. Topic: Game Day! Join us for lunch (provided) and a fun time playing BINGO! Bring a white elephant gift and be prepared for a good time! This May meeting will close out the 2016/17 season. Regular meetings with start up again in September.

3 2017 Sunday Morning Fellowship Sponsors We are looking for families, individuals or groups within the church to sponsor the Sunday Morning Fellowship coffee, juice and treats. Sign up on the special fellowship calendar located in Luther Hall (library). The cost is $40.00 per week; we do the shopping and preparing for you. Questions? Contact the church office. Vital Stats Baptisms: Ryan Hudson Shanholtzer, April 2, 2017 Mason Parker Ferrone, April 8, 2017 Benjamin David Van Beek, April 23, 2017 Hudson George Funk, April 30, 2017 Welcome New Members: Jack Kling, Kelli & John Kramer, the Mowry Family and Barbara Weiss. The following 8th grade students will be confirmed on Sunday, May 7th at 10:00 a.m. First Sunday of the Month Food Pantry Collection First Sunday Food Collection will be held on the weekend of May 6th & 7th. Check out the weekend bulletin and s for the items needed. VBS Registration! Dust off your telescope and discover the incredible mysteries of the final frontier right from your backyard! Join us for a week of searching the visible to discover the invisible at Galactic Starveyors. Kids will begin each day at Worship Rally. From Worship Rally, kids will gather at the Starveyors Clubhouse where they will explore God s Word. Each day kids will encounter amazing and wonderful things designed by a Creator who is even bigger than the vastness of His creation, as well as make crafts, play fun games, enjoy tasty snacks and sing cool songs. Kids will discover that the God who created everything there is the knowable and the unknowable, the visible and the invisible wants a relationship with them! On May 20th and 21st, we will be having a REGISTRATION open house for member of Immanuel. This gives members a chance to register their children for VBS in a timely manner. The sooner children are registered the easier it is on the VBS volunteer staff! Look for a registration form in this newsletter or on the Information table at church. Each child is still only $12 and free if YOU volunteer during the week of VBS! John Camfield William Carlberg Hannah Crowe Josh Delorto Mason Ferrone Lily Johnson Nathan Kerr Arena Marciante Matthew Nielsen Ceara Price Grace Reichert Daniel York Zumba Fitness is at Immanuel! What is Zumba? A dynamic, low-impact cardio fitness workout that fuses hypnotic Latin rhythms with easy-to-follow dance moves. Classes will be held on the first Thursday of each month. The next class will be 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 4th Classes are FREE No fee! Come burn some calories with instructor and Immanuel member, Melissa Marohn, and have fun doing it! 3

4 Confirmation Ministry Sunday Teen Bible Studies Classes for high school teens and 7 th /8 th grade teens meet every Sunday at 9am in the choir room and junior high room. It s been a great year of diving into God s Word and discussing how to follow Jesus, and May 14 will be the final class time before summer break. IYC Joins the Cupcake Classic 5K On Sunday, May 21, middle and high school teens will be joining together to run or walk the Noah s Hope 5K Cupcake Classic, supporting a cure for Batten Disease. Participants need to register at and then meet at the starting line near McCollum Park at 8am on the 21 st. Call Tom for more details. IYC Feed My Starving Children Saturday Service Event IYC ers, including newly confirmed 8 th graders, will skip dinner and meet at church at 6pm on Saturday, May 13, then head out together to FMSC to pack life-saving meals at the Saturday night shift. Afterwards they will enjoy a late and needed dinner together before heading back to church around 10pm. Watch for the signup early in May! IYC Night in May May is a lively and action-packed month, and on Sunday, May 28, IYC meet to catch their breath and gear up for finals and graduation season. Join in the fun and fellowship beginning at 7pm! IYC News and Events at Your Fingertips! Anytime you want to know what s happening in high school ministry at Immanuel you can visit the IYC Update website. You will get youth ministry future, present and past in living color, with current event posts and links to upcoming events, photo galleries and the master IYC calendar. Type into your web browser and hit enter! 4

5 Stephen Ministries May 2017 from the desk of Steve Herner I have shared this meditation by Frank Topping via an titled A Thought. Even so, I want to use it again to help us to understand what it means to be a Stephen Minister in particular and a Christian brother and sister in general. How often do I nod, as if I were listening, to words I cannot hear, because I am thinking of something else, because I am planning what I am going to say. Yet there are are those who are good listeners: a good conversationalist listens. A good counselor listens, a good doctor listens, a good judge listens, a good friend listens. And You, my Lord, You listen even to my thoughts. Teach me to listen that I may hear You when You speak in wind, in music, in others, all with love. As the pleasant days of warm, sunny weather become routine, I see changes in some of my behaviors. One of those changes is about my pattern of listening. The sights and sounds of this weather are endless and are all capable of distracting us from our focus on listening. The sights of nature; trees, flowers, birds, frogs; the sounds of birds, baseball, golf, gently falling rain, children playing; to name just a few all look for our attention. And we should pay attention to all these since they are all gifts from the God that loves us beyond measure. And we must treasure these gifts. But we must also continue to treasure those who need us to listen. But we must not let them take away our commitment to listen. Those who are speaking to us are looking for the same degree of listening as they do during the winter, the more quiet and less distracting times. Their need for that dedicated ear and heart do not lessen because of these wonderful distractions. The love and compassion that they need does not change with the change of seasons. If anything, for Stephen Ministers, and all listening brothers and sisters, their needs may even be greater during these times. Because of whatever life situation they are dealing with, they may not be able to open up as easily as we do to the sights and sounds that abound around them. Life does not change with the season, but continues on a given path and their needs may deepen. They will probably need your ear more during these days. We are all, Stephen Ministers and brothers and sisters in Christ, and be one of their most valuable comforts because we listen without prejudice and judgment. So as I know that I must be careful and listen during these times. And ask each of you, Stephen Ministers and brothers and sisters to also be careful. Enjoy the gifts from God but continue to be that listener that someone needs and depends upon. If you or someone you know could use the loving care and presence of a Stephen Minister please contact one of the pastors at or Flora Allgaier at or Beth Spilky at or Steve Herner at