June Enlightener

Transcription

1 Emanuel Lutheran Church June 2018 Enlightener 125th Anniversary ~ Sunday, August 25, 2019 During the decade the women s Sewing Circle was a very active group. Every year they held at least one auction. There were also several raffles, a bazaar, and various socials. The Sewing Circle was a tremendous help in paying off the church debt in In 1919, they secured a bank loan for $300 for the purchase of a furnace, as well as he cost of erecting a chimney and making the basement deeper to house the furnace. The Sewing Circle also supported special mission projects such as Augustana College and the Lutheran Old Folks Home. Sunday Worship Service 11:15 AM Office hours Wednesday and Fridays 10 AM-2 PM Interim Pastor Warren Geier (906) or (906) pastor@bethanyishpeming.org Church Phone: emanuel@tds.net

2 Congregational Leadership Interim Pastor Warren Geier (906) Council Members Sandi Ruotsi Mary Lou Behrens Donna Oliver Jolene Kokko Betsy Koski Jane Sims Jesse Kainulainen Christian Education Betsy Koski ~ Confirmation Leah Kainulainen, Karen Maki ~ Sunday School Sandi Ruotsi ~ Adult Forum Office Jolene Kokko ~ Office Assistant Emanuel Lutheran Church has both a Face Book Page and website! Catch up on upcoming and past events, our monthly calendar and Enlightener newsletters at: Committee Leaders Sandi Ruotsi ~ Council President Barb Bach ~ Stewardship Sarah Kimball ~ Outreach Betsy Koski ~ Christian Education Betsy Koski ~ 125th Anniversary Committee Leah Kainulainen ~ Youth Mission Jane Sims ~ Worship & Music Roger Kimball ~ Building & Property Patti Bergdahl ~ Cemetery Board The deadline for getting information to the office for the July Enlightener is Sunday, June 24. Thank you! Worship time is 11:15 AM through June. Beginning July 1 worship will begin at 9 AM through October.

3 Date Acolyte Ushers Lector 06/03 Luke Kainulainen Bahrman Family Barb Bach 06/10 Tiffany Ridolphi Roger & Sarah Kimball Jesse Kainulainen 06/17 Hailey Ridolphi Tom & Barb Bach Betsy Koski 06/24 Luke Kainulainen Needed Laurie Kass June 3 June Worship Leaders Pastor Warren Geier June 10 Mrs. Virginia Paulson June 17 Pastor Chrys Levesque Hendrick June 24 Pastor Chrys Levesque Hendrick 06/01 Carlos Perez 06/02 Ronda Barr 06/03 Konner McMaster 06/04 Sherri Jo Murphy 06/05 Erica Foster 06/07 Tom Mattson 06/09 Pam Bahrman 06/09 Connie Ritter 06/15 Toni Peterson 06/16 Dale Ingalls 06/07 Dave & Sue Ridolphi 06/10 Paul & Betsy Koski 06/15 Bob & Bonnie Barr 06/26 Chuck & Patti Bergdahl 06/23 John Berglund

4 On May 17 th, 18 th and 19 th the 31 st Northern Great Lakes Synod Assembly was held in Marquette. For me it was the 18 th NGLS assembly I have attended, along with (I think) five New England Synod Assemblies. After awhile, memories of them kind of run together but there are always similarities: the worship is always uplifting, the keynote speakers and other representatives of the wider church are always engaging and worth listening to, there are always times of enjoyable fellowship and connecting with colleagues one doesn t see very often. All of that was true of this year s assembly; the similarities were all there. One thing that stood out for me as being different from at least some of the assemblies I ve attended though was that I found the overall tone of it was very positive and hopeful. For a long time we ve heard about the decline of the church attendance is down, younger families aren t in church, Sunday Schools are smaller or non-existent, finances are tight. All of that is true and has to be acknowledged, but I think we are finally at a point where that is not the dominant narrative. Rather than being a source of despair and a longing for the good old days, we re beginning to see what is going on as another chapter in church history, one that provides new opportunities and being open to the possibilities. What it means to be the church has changed and is continuing to change, but that shouldn t be seen as a bad thing. The ELCA representative and keynote speaker at the assembly was Linda Bobbitt whose official title is Congregational Vitality

5 Project Coordinator. In her address, she talked about some of the things I mentioned above and as she talked about congregational vitality, she made it clear that vitality isn t about numbers, that a congregation with twenty people in worship can be a vital congregation. She didn t come with a one size fits all solution to what congregations are facing these days but instead echoed what Bishop Katherine Finegan has been saying which is that the dynamics in every congregation are different: what works in one place won t necessarily work in another. We can learn from each other, but ultimately each congregation has to determine its own path. All in all it was a hopeful message! It s so easy to become cynical and focus on negativity but across our synod and across the ELCA there is vitality and lots of good ministry going on in large and small congregations and in other partners and committees! We re not perfect, there is always more than could be done, but there is much to feel good about as we move together into the future. It feels like we ve turned a corner and it will be exciting to see where things are headed! ~Pastor Warren Geier Our deepest thanks go to Amy Ayotte for her work here during the past year as Administrative Assistant. Amy has taken a full time job and we wish her God s blessings as she begins this new venture. Thank you, Amy, for sharing your gifts with us!

6 In 2019, Emanuel will celebrate 125 years of ministry! We invite all current and former members to be a part of the celebration. All should have received a copy of our 125th Anniversary brochure. Please be sure to RSVP regarding your attendance at the July 20 dinner so that we can plan accordingly. We will be having a Scandinavian Smorgasbord at Emanuel. We will need vegetables, salads, and desserts made to accompany the main dishes of potato sausage, Swedish meatballs and ham. A sign up sheet will be on the counter in the Fellowship Hall. A free will offering will be appreciated and will support Emanuel s upcoming 125th Anniversary events. Bring your friends and family who are in town for Skandia Days and enjoy a great meal! Help Support Our New Church Roof! Tickets are still available to win this beautiful handcrafted quilt made and donated by Sarah Kimball. Tickets are $1 each and can be bought from Roger Kimball after Sunday worship. The drawing will be held Friday, July 20 at the Scandinavian Smorgasbord here at Emanuel. You do not need to be present to win. Thank you Lois Kokko for sponsoring the June worship bulletins in honor of both her family and church family.

7 Although we will not be offering Vacation Bible School at Emanuel this summer, there are many opportunities for your children to attend. Camp Luther is coming to Sion Lutheran Church, N5177 Rock River Street in Chatham. All children going into Kindergarten through 6th grade are invited to attend Monday, June 11-Thursday June 14, from 8:45 AM to 3PM each day. Any questions call the church office at or Messsiah Lutheran Church of Marquette will be having Vacation Bible School for children ages 3 completed 5 grade, Monday, June 25-Friday, June 29, from 9 AM-12 Noon. For more information see their website at Outreach Committee News Our next Outreach meeting will be Thursday, June 14, 10 AM at Emanuel. All are welcome to attend! Love INC. is seeing an increase at their Clearing House of the telephone calls coming in asking for assistance this year. Numbers for April have increased since January of this year. April had 19 calls to the office; 4 referrals to agencies; 3 referrals to church ministries; 1 church ministry assisted; 1 Pastoral visit; 11 field volunteers went out and helped clients totaling 20 hours of volunteer time; 9 clients were assisted by volunteers. Any questions concerning LOVE INC. please contact Sarah Kimball, she is the church liaison for Emanuel. LOVE INC s Clearinghouse Hours have Increased! New Hours: Monday, Wednesday, Thursday 10a.m.-2p.m. Contact them to see how you can become a volunteer at

8 June 2018 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 2 Bahrman/ Pirman Wedding 3 PM Anniversary Mtg. 10AM Worship With Holy Communion 11:15 AM A.A. 7PM Toni s 9:30 AM Stewardship Mtg. 10AM Worship With Holy Communion 11:15 A.A. 7PM Toni s 9:30 AM Outreach Mtg. 10AM Worship With Holy Communion 11:15 AM Father s Day A.A. 7PM Toni s 9:30 AM First Day of Summer 24 Worship With Holy Communion 11:15 AM Council Mtg. 1PM 25 A.A. 7 PM 26 Toni s 9:30 AM July 1 - Christian Ed. Mtg. 10:30 AM

9 All are Welcome to enjoy a Scandinavian Smorgasbord!! Friday, July 20 4:00-7:00 p.m. Emanuel Lutheran Church 9812 U.S. 41, Skandia The menu includes ham, Swedish meatballs, potato sausage, vegetables, salads, desserts, and beverage. A free-will offering is appreciated and will support Emanuel s upcoming 125th Anniversary events. Bring your friends and family who are in town for Skandia Days and enjoy a great meal! A generous grant from Thrivent Financial will help support costs related to the dinner.

10 Thank you to Roger Kimball for volunteering his time being the groundskeeper at both Emanuel Lutheran Church and Haglund Cemeteries. The cemeteries are kept beautifully mowed and trimmed around the headstones when needed. We are very grateful for all of the work both inside and outside of the church that Roger does. Thank you to all of those that took part in the cemetery raking and highway clean-up. Each spring and fall it takes time and many hands to get these jobs completed. Thank you for being good stewards of our God s creation! Church Council News ~ On May 13 before worship services, a special congregational meeting was held to vote on the proposed church sanctuary roof replacement. A recommendation from Roger Kimball to use the Okler Construction and Services Inc. From Kingsford, MI for $52,250 was shared by Council President Sandi Ruotsi. Discussion was open to the congregation, a vote was taken and it unaminously passed to accept the bid. Treasurer Donna Oliver is researching loan possibilities. Once the loan is secure, Okler Construction can order materials to possibly begin the project in August. We encourage congregation members to help with the finances of this project by giving an amount beyond their normal monthly giving. We will have various fundraisers to also help with the expense of this needed roof replacement too. If you have any questions, please contact a council member.

11 We Need Your Help! While visiting garage sales or thrift stores this summer, please keep an eye out for things we use for our annual holiday bazaar. We need decorative birds for wreath decorating, tapered, regular, votive and tea light candles for yule logs, fabric for to make table runners, quilts, and potholders, yarn for knitting projects & holiday plates for cookie sales. We also need pillow batting or old pillows we can dismantle and use to make new pillows. We always are in need of flat sheets for quilt backs for Lutheran World Relief quilts too. If you know of anyone that makes handmade items, ask them if they would consider donating an item either for the bazaar or for a possible raffle item! THANK YOU for helping the annual holiday bazaar be a successful event! For our members, family, and friends who are ill, have health concerns, or are grieving Our members who are absent from worship and unable to attend Herb Anderson, and Bettie Ahola, and prayers for Natalie Larson and family during her recovery. Our Thanks and Praise to God. If you have a prayer request, please let the office know by calling or by leaving a message.

12 The June Enlightener Emanuel Lutheran Church P.O. Box 160 Skandia, MI Emanuel Lutheran Church is a people centered in Christ, rich in heritage and beauty, living out Christ s openness to all. Our ministry is to spread the Word of God in our community through service, education and fellowship, creating a sense of family as we break bread together in the company of Christ. Worship Time 11:15 AM. Beginning July 1 Worship will be at 9 AM.