The last day for Sunday School will be May 22. Special thanks to all our wonderful Sunday School teachers who gave of their time and talents for our youth this year.
They are: Molee Enko, Rhonda Gassen, Ellen Parson, Brenda Kumm, Kathy Boehmer, Jill Oakleaf, Lisa Hansen, Kate Conrad, Kristi Velicer, Derek Gummier and Patti Winkler.
Thanks, too, to Ellen Wilcox who led Alleulia for the first and second grade classes.
Time to roll up your sleeves and get the job done at Immanuel!
A spring work day is set for 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, May 21, with lunch provided.
Items on the to-do list include a range of tasks, some of which require more energy than skill.
Here’s what’s planned:
Sign up on the bulletin board if you’re interested in lending a hand.
Easter Sunday at Immanuel begins with an Easter Vigil service at 6 a.m. The candlelit service moves us from outside darkness around a bonfire to Easter light inside. A continental breakfast follows.
Festival worship is offered at 8:15 a.m. and includes Holy Communion and the return of the alleluias.
The Magnificent Easter Breakfast will be served by Immanuel’s youth starting at 8 a.m.
Festival worship at 10:30 a.m. begins with a ceremonial re-dressing of the altar, hearkening back to the somber Maundy Thursday service when the altar was stripped. The alleluias return, and Immanuel Brass provide a thundering reminder of the triumph of Christ over death.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
Grace and peace to you this Easter season. Now the green blade rises. Love lives again! This favorite hymn, ELW 379, will be the hymn of the day on the Third Sunday of Easter, May 8. Our choir director, Linda Martin has brought this anthem to our worship planning, and it will be glorious, with the Joy Choir, Immanuel Choir, Immanuel Brass, organ, and congregation singing God’s praises and announcing the resurrection hope that we’ve been harboring.
While outdoors, the grass is rising new and the leaves on the trees are unfurling, reminding us of resurrection from death and darkness to new life and light. The longer daylight hours serve as a reminder of God’s light shining in our lives. And what about that wind: it is another image for the Holy Spirit moving in our lives.
Ministry is blooming at Immanuel. We enter the season of Easter. We move out from introspection and reflection on the psalms during the season of Lent to service and singing, “Jesus is risen, Alleluia!”
The season of Easter will take us to Pentecost on June 12 when four young people will affirm their baptism in the rite of confirmation: Nam Ahrens, Stella Atzenweiler, Parker Winkler and Simon Hogan.
Hope abounds between these festivals of Jesus’ resurrection and the Holy Spirit’s coming. There are many opportunities for newness.
It’s been a year since we began our discernment process around where God is calling us as a congregation, and the draft of the plan is finished, thanks to the dedication and hard work of the Vision for Ministry Task Force. The final task of this team is to host opportunities for the congregation to hear more about this plan before it is voted on at a special congregation meeting in June.
Another thing to look forward to in 2011 is the return of the intern (formerly vicar) program. A generous gift by the estate of Arla Baird has provided the opportunity to train future pastors at Immanuel through the intern program for two years beginning in the fall of 2011. As mentioned elsewhere, our intern is Micah Sievenpiper from the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago.
More newness and light is reflected in the Oromo ministry development at Immanuel. Melaku Tizazu received a scholarship from the Leaders for Mission Fund of the ELCA in 2010. The ministry is growing with worship on Sunday mornings and evenings as well as Bible studies throughout the week. Melaku’s online ministry continues to flourish, and he is progressing nicely in his TEEM studies. He will be at Luther Seminary at the beginning of June for another class.
Conversations with others this month continue the ground work for being a more welcoming congregation. A meeting about the Reconciled in Christ movement is planned for 7 p.m. Thursday, May 12, at church. With churchwide policy changing to welcome lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgendered persons, Immanuel is continuing to increase our own hospitality, pastoral care and rituals. We are situated in a diverse neighborhood and community, and we are called to invite our neighbors to worship with us. You can sign up individually to be an RIC Lutheran. Brochures will be available in the church following the May 12 meeting or you can go online to lcna.org to sign up.
A key piece of hospitality at Immanuel is the greeting you receive when you call or walk through the doors. The personnel committee is working to hire a part-time secretary to share the position with Vivian Gilbreth. Until then, Tom Gear is serving as an interim secretary. Having two part-time secretaries will provide additional hospitality to those who touch Immanuel throughout the business week. Descriptions of the position are available at church or on www.npconnect.org.
In my own professional development and opportunities, I have been named by Communities Creating Opportunity (CCO) to PICO’s Clergy Leadership Council which will provide a training for clergy in New Orleans in November.
This month we bid farewell to Tim Hager as our outreach coordinator. Tim has lived in the parsonage this year while working at Kaw Prairie Church and with us. We appreciate his willingness to help with community service, building upkeep and security and overall humble service. We wish him well as he moves to Lenexa and to work full time at Kaw Prairie Church as their full time youth director. Immanuel has been a strong partner in his formation for this ministry.
May Jesus’ Easter Resurrection be a reality in your life. Daily we experience little deaths and little births, endings and new beginnings. May this season be filled with more hope than despair, with more joy than sorrow, and with the peace, love, and understanding that comes from God alone. Now the green blade rises. Christ will come again! Alleluia!
In Christ’s love,
Pastor Jennifer Thomas
Immanuel offers two Good Friday services today. The midday service at 12:15 p.m. is the Liturgy of the Cross, a simple service of readings, prayers and songs.
The evening service at 7 p.m. is the Adoration of the Cross, a reflective service of shadows, strings, silence and the words of salvation. Child care is provided.
In addition, the sanctuary will be open for prayer from 2 to 5 p.m.
Thursday, April 21, is Maundy Thursday, marking the start of the Triduum, or Three Days, which span the end of Lent and Easter Sunday.
Immanuel will offer two services today.
Midday worship with Holy Communion begins at 12:15 p.m.
Evening worship, also with Holy Communion, begins at 7 p.m. The Joy Choir, Immanuel’s choir for students in third grade and older, will sing and be worship leaders.
The evening service includes First Communion for five Immanuel youngsters.
It will conclude with a ceremonial stripping of the altar, and silent departure from the sanctuary.
Child care is available.
If you were one of the Immanuel members who identified spiritual growth as a priority during the visioning process, you’ll want to mark Saturday, Sept. 24 on your calendar.
That’s the date for a prayer retreat with Sister Constance Krstolic, OSB. The theme is “Living Gratefully.” The retreat is sponsored by Immanuel’s prayer team.
The retreat runs from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at First Lutheran Church, 6400 State Line Road, Mission Hills. It begins with fellowship at 9 a.m., and also will include an opportunity to walk a portable labyrinth.
Cost is $20 per person and covers refreshments, the speaker and materials.
Sister Connie travels throughout the Midwest and beyond each year, conducting dozens of retreats. Her topics range from “Celebration of Life’s Journey” to “Balancing Your ‘Act’ in Life” to “Gratitude Takes Nothing for Granted.”
She holds bachelors and masters degrees in religious studies, is a spiritual director and holds a number of positions at Mount St. Scholastica in Atchison, Kan.
Watch for more information about the retreat in upcoming newsletters.