Gleaner. The. Immanuel Lutheran Church

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1 The The Gleaner A publication of Immanuel Lutheran Church 320 S. Bradley Mt. Pleasant, MI (989) Gleaner July 2012 Immanuel Lutheran Church If you would like to receive your Gleaner by , please contact the office by phone or at office@immanuelmp.com Pastor: Dana Hendershot Layout and Editor: Andrea Redmond The Deadline for submitting articles and information is the 20th of each month. Mission We welcome you into faith in Christ Jesus, we equip you with a faith that works in real life, and send you to serve in the name of Christ. Vision Jesus is Lord! Every person is nurtured in building a strong relationship with God. Our response to God s grace is to faithfully care for each other, our community, and the world. Advent Lutheran Church in Lake Ann, Michigan, is the newest mission congregation in Michigan. They are in the process of beginning a building project for their young and growing congregation. Immanuel Lutheran was once in the same position as Advent is right now. As we celebrate our 35 th anniversary, the 35 th anniversary committee and the church council have approved an opportunity for Immanuel to help Advent in their building project through a special anniversary gift from our congregation. During August and the first part of September, you will be given the opportunity to make a gift of your own to their building fund. The Immanuel Lutheran Mission Endowment Fund is offering a challenge of matching the first $3500 raised toward Advent s building fund. A special gift envelope will be mailed out to you asking you to consider a gift for Advent. This is something you can participate in if you choose, but not something you have to do if you feel unable to participate at this time. Immanuel has been graciously blessed the past 35 years. This special gift is a way to extend the bounty we have received to another congregation just getting started. More information will be coming soon! Dave Simon Council President

2 the Pastor s Page 2 2 It is a sacred moment every Sunday when I process out of the church and turn around to see each of you worshipping as we sing the sending hymn. One day, as the service was ending, I had already processed down the aisle. It was a blended service and Take Joy was leading us in song. As I was observing the congregation I noted that a number of people were not singing. This is logical because for those who normally worship at the 9:00am service these songs are new. My heart was a bit sad because I always enjoyed watching a little dancing and movement at the end of the 11:15am service each week. That day it seemed so still. People staring at a screen possibly wondering when the song would end. Then some movement caught my eye, then more movement. I began to see the 11:15am worshippers dancing among the 9:00 worshippers. I smiled as I thought about how it looked like little wiggle worms moving to the music, praising God. In that moment I gave thanks to God for each of you worshipping together. We are one in Christ. This summer we are not gearing worship towards a certain style. Instead, we are placing personal preference on the altar so we can live Church, ecclesia, assembly. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, The most segregated time in America is on Sunday between the hours of 10-11am. Segregation is more than an ethnic, denominational or theological reality. Sadly, worship style also divides us. We worship one God, together in love even when your heart is not into the hymn. We worship one God, together in love even when we don t know the music to the contemporary song. We worship one God, together in love even when the hymn seems to never end. We worship one God, together in love even when the contemporary song seems to repeat. We worship one God, together in love even when the band seems too loud. We worship one God, together in love even when the organ seems too loud. We worship one God, together in love. The heart of worship is not found in styles, rhythms, or volume. Nor is it found in lyrics, drama skits, or multi-media presentations. The heart of worship is praising God through love. Worshiping together outside of personal preference shows a new love. A life-giving love. A love for another. Together in love, let s Worship! In Joyful Praise, Pastor Dana Hendershot Pastor will be out of the office July 2 9, Ron and Margaret Vredeveld will be available for pastoral emergencies. On Sunday, July 8, Ron will be preaching and Margaret presiding.

3 3 Meijer Community Rewards Immanuel is set up as a community organization with the Meijer Community Rewards program. If you do any shopping at Meijer, please consider signing up for a Meijer 1 card. In order to receive the points, you must pay with cash, a PIN-debit card, or a Meijer credit card. Purchases with a check or other types of credit cards will not earn points for Immanuel. If you have a Meijer 1 card, please remember to use it every time you make a purchase at Meijer, and tell all of your family and friends to sign up for one as well! Purchases made with a Meijer credit card earn 1% and purchases made with cash or a PIN-based debit card earn.5%. This might not seem like a lot, but if each member of Immanuel used their debit card for $100 in purchases at Meijer every month, that would add up to $360 per year for Immanuel in FREE money. To find out more information, or to sign up, please visit The code for Immanuel is Every little bit helps! Thank You!!! The Youth Group would like to thank all the members of Immanuel who donated items for the annual Rummage Sale. With your donations, we were able to raise $1, for the National Gathering Fund. In addition to the funds raised, Thrivent matched our sales with a $600 contribution. We appreciate your generosity!!! You are Invited! CrossRoads, the small group of Immanuel young-ish adults, would like to invite anyone who is interested to join us for a Great Lake Loons baseball game on Saturday, August 25 at 7:05pm. There will be a sign-up sheet in the Narthex for anyone interested in coming out for the game. The tickets are $9 each (children 2 and under are free but will not have a seat). The deadline to sign up and turn in the required payment to Amy Powell is Sunday, August 5. If you have questions, please call Amy Powell at We hope you will join us!!! The following youth will be traveling to the National Gathering in New Orleans from July 17-23, along with our Youth Director, Beth Mundwiler. Please keep these individuals in your prayers: Abby Geisthardt, Austin Ferguson, Ben Strandskov, Michael Wyman, Alicia Podolsky, Katie Caleca, Michael Caleca, Sarah Keller, Matthew Keller and Daniel Keller. Praises and Pinches As a congregation, we are committed to voicing our praises and not sitting on our pinches! To be a healthy, faithful community, we need to be open with one another about what we expect in all areas of our life together. If there is anything in our community life that brings you joy or causes you to be concerned, please share your feelings and questions. Thank you for taking the time to communicate about ways we are doing well in our ministry together at Immanuel, and the areas that need attention. Your Mutual Ministry Team needs your feedback In order to best respond to your needs. If you would like a personal response to your praise or pinch, please be sure to sign this form at the bottom. To discuss a concern directly with the Mutual Ministry Team or one of the Team members, please indicate below. Praises: Pinches: Desired Outcome: Is it OK to publish in Gleaner? Yes No (Name must be posted if you wish for this to appear in Gleaner.) A specific question I would like answered: Name (If you would like a direct response to your Praise or Pinch) Please return this form to the Praises and Pinches Box located in the Narthex.

4 4 1 st Kathy Hunt 2 nd Laurie Wood 3 rd Jackie Spycher 4 th Kenny Galdeen 5 th Alayna Fetting 8 th George Polanco 10 th Lou Ann Christensen Mary Ulmer 11 th Todd Hammond Wes Kahkonen 12 th Zachery Wang Sarah Gallaher 13 th Caiden Mitchell Tara Malek 14 th Nancy Simon 17 th Eric Decker 18 th Betty Koenig 19 th Heather Hanley Nicholas Wang 20 th Linda Wicander Alaina Wills Jody Tomko 21 st Keith Allen Maris Polanco 22 nd Lynne Danielson Penny Endres Katherine Scott 23 rd Christopher Brown 24 th Mary Williams Julie Shellenbarger 25 th Esther Lounsbury Karen Graef 26 th Ashley Jurick 27 th Dennis Marshall 28 th Dave Keilitz Jacob Mahoney Lily VanHevel 29 th Jamie Decker 31 st Linda Hoedt Jim Goodrich Debra Marshall Chefs with Spirit has reorganized!! If you are a member of Immanuel please know the food is avalible for anyone to use and is stored in the Chef s freezer. It can be used by anyone to take to a friend in time of need or for yourself. Just sign out the food you take on the list that is posted on the freezer door and also a paper from the folder on the wall next to the freezer as to whom you have taken it to and leave it in the mailbox of Bonnie Schaeffer. We are a group that loves to get together, cook and have fun!!! We meet in the church kitchen on the third Thursday of each month at 1:00 p.m.. I f you have any questions, please contact Bonnie at Move Pastor Dana Day(s) Thursday, July 26, 4:00pm (Dinner around 7:00pm) Saturday, July 28, 9:30am (Lunch around 12:30pm) My current address is: 1145 Fairway Dr. Unit 6 Lake Isabella, MI Moving to: 913 N. Arrowhead Dr. Weidman, MI We ll meet at my current address (Fairway Dr.) at the start time and load up. If you would like to join us in the middle of the move you can find us one of two ways: 1. Drive between the addresses and find us (they are only 5 min apart). 2. Call my cell and if I don t have my hands full of boxes I ll answer to let you know where we are. On Thursday, we ll have dinner and festive beverage around 7-8ish. If it s not too warm we might even have a campfire! On Saturday, we ll have lunch around 12:30pm with hydrating beverage if we re not done and festive beverage if we are. Please sign up in the Narthex if you can help move and let us know if you have a trailer you ll bring. THANKS! Pastor Dana

5 5 VBS Food Donations The kitchen staff needs your help in donating food items for Vacation Bible School, which will take place between July 9- July 13. If you are able to supply one or more of the following items, please sign up in the Narthex or call the church office. The food should be brought to the church no later than Sunday, July 8 th. If you have any questions or would like to help out, please contact Bonnie Schaeffer at or Marcella Armstrong at Large Bags of Skittles, 5 Large Bags of M & Ms, 2 Large Bags of Pretzels, 2 Large Bags of Carrots, 2 Pkg. Celery, 6 Pounds of Grapes, 2 Large Watermelons, 2 Cans of Ready Whip, 2 Pints of Blueberries, 2 Packages of Strawberries, 1 Large Bag of Animal Crackers, 7 Cans of Crescent Rolls from Cooler, 2 Pails of Ice Cream, 3 Large Pkg. Gummy Fish, 4 Small Pkg. Tortilla Shells, 2 Cans Squeeze Cheese Dear Immanuel Family, Please forgive us for the belated thanks for all your prayers and cards when Len s daughter, Cathy, passed away in March. It has been difficult for Len and her brothers and sisters. Also, our thanks for all your prayers for my daughter, Paige, who was hospitalized for several weeks. She continues to deal with her Epstein-Barr and lymphoma, but has an excellent primary care physician. Thank you again so much for always being here for us. Jacque Jackson LTS/ALTS Camp The following youth will be attending LTS/ALTS Leadership Camp from July 29-August 3. Please keep these individuals in your prayers: Katie Caleca, Sarah Keller and Jamie Decker