THINGS HAPPENING IN DECEMBER... The Women of Immanuel (LWML) will host the Reason for the Season on Saturday, December 8 th at 6:00 PM. Please join us for an evening of sisters in Christ to gather for dinner, Christmas carols and fellowship. There will be a silent auction of baskets with the proceeds going to support the projects of the LWML. If you would like to donate a basket or for ideas on what to include in a basket, please call Sherry Clampitt (636-543-0486). There is a sign-up sheet in the narthex to indicate if you wish to attend or host a table. The Women of Immanuel (LWML) nominating committee is seeking to fill the offices of president, vice president, secretary and treasurer for the upcoming year. We currently have candidates for the positions of president, vice-president, and treasurer. All women who are members of Immanuel are welcome to join our organization in our mission to serve our church, our community and beyond. We also ask you to prayerfully consider if your talents could be shared by serving in one of the open positions. For more information, please contact Jeannine Pilliard at (636) 937-7446, Norma Burgess at (636) 209-0600, or Sherry Clampitt at (636) 543-0486. CHRISTMAS PARTY The Women of Immanuel will meet at Bob Evans Restaurant in Festus on December 16th after the late service. Bring a $5.00 useable gift if you would like to participate in the gift exchange. We will also have our election of officers at this time. All women of Immanuel are welcome. Let s try it again!! We re going on a road trip!! In October we were rained out of our trip to Eckerts, soooo, we are prayerfully planning a trip to Our Lady of the Snows on December 6 for site seeing and lunch (weather permitting)! All Immanuel members 50 years of age and older are welcome, but please RSVP to Linda Lewis @ 314-605-1046 so we can make reservations for everyone. We will meet at the Family Life Center at 11:00am for carpooling. Hope you will join us at this joyous time of the year!
December 2018 Who We Will Meet This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger. Luke 2:12 Can you believe it s December already? The time has come once again for us to celebrate the coming of our Lord and Savior. Whereas we most likely think of the new year as beginning after this month, in the church it begins now. A new year that begins with the looking forward to a promised Savior, and seeing that promise fulfilled at Christmas. Now as we step into this new year, pay close attention to the people that you will meet. Each one of these persons will convey the truth that God s forgiveness of your sins comes in God s gift of His Son, given forgiven. Each week during the Advent midweek services you will meet people who will come face to face with the reality of Christmas. These are real people who ask real questions that are answerable only by the truth of the Word God speaks. They are those who struggle with the sins in their lives, and those who discover how God deals with it. You will meet those who hurt and how God heals them. You will encounter those who struggle to figure out what God s plan is, and how He fulfills it in His way and in His time. So who exactly will you meet? You will meet people just like you and me. People who don t have it all figured out. You will meet people who ask transparent questions in need of real answers. You will meet people who think they manage by doing things their way. You will meet people who are all treated by the Truth of God. Who will you meet? You will meet your Savior sent to take upon Himself your greatest need. You will meet a Baby born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive the full rights of sons (Galatians 4:5). You will meet God s fulfilled promise. You will meet Jesus. I hope you plan to attend the midweek Advent services. I pray that each couple you meet will help focus your attention on the manger. I hope that as you see yourselves in these portrayals, you will see more than the struggles, but you will see God at work. You will see the soothing that comes for your soul and body in a baby who is your Savior who will be sacrificed on the cross for your salvation and the forgiveness of your sins. Kyle Castens, Pastor
THINGS HAPPENING IN DECEMBER... THE CHRISTMAS PRESENT The Children s Christmas Program will be on Sunday, December 16 at 6:00 PM. The first practice was on November 25th, but if your child missed it and would still like to participate in this program, just be at the next practice, no sign-up is necessary. For more information, please see or call Joanne Waltman at 314-606-6438. Mark Your Calendar for December 1st at 9:00 AM, and come help decorate the church and FLC for Christmas. We can use your help, it'll be fun, and maybe we can meet for lunch afterwards! On behalf of the Evangelism Committee, I would like to thank all who participated in the Operation Christmas Child project. With all your help the church was able to complete 55 shoe boxes, that means 55 smiling children s faces and 55 children who will hear the gospel message. I hope you and your loved ones enjoyed building and filling the boxes this year. What a great way to start the Christmas Season.Eric Hardman Our Mitten Tree will be in the narthex beginning Sunday, December 2nd through December 16th. Please help us decorate our tree with colorful mittens, hats, scarves, and socks (all sizes) for children and adults (men & women). The items will be given to the Jefferson County Rescue Mission in Pevely to help the needy in our community. Please place your canned meats, vegetables, fruit, peanut butter, boxed noodles, boxed potatoes, cereal, etc., under the mitten tree in the narthex. Items we collect will be given to the Jefferson County Rescue Mission in Pevely or the Festus Methodist Church Food Pantry to help the needy in our community. Don t forget our Annual Voters Meeting on December 2 after the late service at the Family Life Center. The sole purpose of the December meeting is to elect officers and members of the Boards, and establishing next year s budget. A potluck lunch will be served, so bring your favorite dish to share and join us for great fellowship and Immanuel decision making. See you there!...not a voter? Pick up a copy of our Constitution and bylaws, read over it, and come to the meeting.
UPDATE Right in time for Thanksgiving, our NYG group received an official e-mail from the LCMS Youth Ministry office saying we were registered to attend the 2019 National Youth Gathering in Minneapolis, MN in July 2019. This is the first step to attending! Our group continued it s casserole sales, which will continue through March. Coming soon, we will have an envelope fundraiser. We will place 100 envelopes in the back of the church, each with a dollar amount on it. To help support our group, you would take an envelope and put that amount of money in the envelope. This will be up beginning in January. In the works for March is a fundraiser to bring together the three churches in our group (Good Shepherd, Arnold; Holy Cross, Ste. Genevieve, and Immanuel) called 25 Lutherans who Cook. We will be looking for members from all three churches who would be willing to cook a family favorite, famous or just delicious dish and share it. We will sell tickets in the congregations to those who would like to attend but not cook. We will gather together on a Saturday afternoon to taste test and vote on the best dish, and just have a great time in fellowship. More details will be coming about that, so be on the lookout! Thank you to everyone for your support and prayers as we prepare to attend next summer. ALSO.. Our casseroles are selling fast on the Sundays they are available. We will continue selling them twice a month through March as a fundraising project. Watch the church calendar for the specific dates the casseroles will be offered. Casseroles will be $20-$25 with all money going to support the group heading to the 2019 NYG. You may see the casseroles offered and purchase one (first come, first served) in the FLC before Bible Class. Thank you for your support! SCHEDULE FOR DECEMBER & JANUARY December 12 th is a craft night as we prepare for Christmas Caroling on December 19 th. December 19 th dinner/pizza party will be at 5:30 and we will leave 5:50 for Festus Manor. 627 Westwood Drive South. Please consider joining us and carpooling kids. Children can be picked up from Festus Manor or at 6:45at the FLC. Contact Debbie Sevier 573-535-1268 Midweek will then resume again on January 9 th with review and Canteen Buck redemption. We are looking for volunteers to supply a meal on Wednesday. January is wide open. It is important to find volunteers if we want to keep offering a meal before Midweek. Thank you for the opportunity to serve your children at Midweek.
SPECIAL DATES December 2 First Sunday of Advent Voters Meeting @ 11:45am December 4 Daycare Christmas Program @ 6:30pm December 8 Reason for the Season @ 6:00pm December 9 Second Sunday of Advent December 16 Third Sunday of Advent Children s Christmas Program @ 6:00pm December 21 First Day of Winter December 23 Fourth Sunday of Advent December 24 Christmas Eve (See below) December 25 Christmas Day (See below) December 31 New Year s Eve/Watch Night Dallas Denise Westmoreland Born September 28, 2018 Baptized November 18, 2018 Daughter of Donnie & Ashley Westmoreland Wednesday Advent Services @ 10:00 AM & 7:00 PM December 5, 12 and 19 Sunday, December 16 8:00 & 10:30 AM Communion Service 6:00 PM Children s Christmas Program Service Monday, December 24 6:00 PM Family Service of lessons & carols, 10:00 PM Candlelight Communion Service Sunday, December 25 10:00 AM Communion Service FOR OCTOBER: MIDWEEK CLASS: Riley Boyer, Mercie Daniel, Kensi French, Cole Parker, Cruz Mier, Ella Waltman, Blake Gordon, Ali Waltman, Ed Carver, Grace Waltman, Naomi Shemwell, Dane Carver, Ethan French, Taylor Habsieger, Randi Vernon, Matt Waltman, Kannon French FOR OCTOBER: Ella Bradley Joey Bradley Luke Bradley Thomas Bradley Way to go Bradley Family!! PERFECT ATTENDANCE FOR OCTOBER: Jake Brown, Lindy French, Aubrey Gordon, Gunnar Hosay, Damon Khoury, Carter Krodinger, Nicholas Palos Charlotte Ruble, Ian Ruble, Nicole Sansoucie, Mason Wehlermann