God is with us in Word and Sacrament

Immanuel News & Notes (Christmas 2)

News & Notes Banner


THIS WEEK AT IMMANUEL

Sunday (1/3)

  • 7:30 am—Divine Service of the Word (On-Line Video)
  • 9:00 am—Divine Service with Holy Communion
  • 10:30 am—Bible Class and Sunday School

Wednesday

  • 12:30 pm—No Catechism Class
  • 7:00 pm—No Bible History Class

Saturday

  • 9:00 am—Take Christmas Decorations Down
  • 3:30 pm—Individual Confession and Absolution
  • 5:30 pm—Divine Service with Holy Communion

Sunday (1/10)

  • 7:30 am—Divine Service of the Word (On-Line Video)
  • 9:00 am—Divine Service with Holy Communion
  • 10:30 am—Bible Class and Sunday School
  • 11:15 am—Church Council Meeting
  • 12:30 pm—Catechism Class

IN OUR PRAYERS

HEALTH CONCERNS: Bernita Ashwill; Connie Bruns (cousin of Mary Appleby); Lynn Corrie (friend of Arleigh Jones); Ellie Crawford (daughter of Laran Crawford); Whitney Czerwonka; Lynn Davis (cousin of Mark Whitson); Cindy Ekstrom; Theresa Fields; Darrell Ford; Lisa Hall (sister of Holly Wikoff); Rick Hardesty (family of the Hoels); Forrest Harvey (son of John Harvey); Kim Hausman (friend of Ann Carroll); Deanna Henningsen (sister-in-law of Jerry & Joyce Alexander); Mary Miller (friend of David Holzrichter); Kimberly Mulvany (daughter of Pastor Doug Meyer); Mary Negangard (grandmother of Bryce Reifsteck); Dennis Pickett (friend of Ann Carroll); Tim Pollock; Misti Post (niece of Sue Rothe); Cary & Beth Rahn; Joan Rahn; Aurelia Tuegal (grandmother of Bethany Campbell); Emma Silver; Dave Slaughter; Ocil Slone (grandfather of Josh & Jake Dyer); Joy Stenger; Carolyn Stremming (sister-in-law of Arleigh Jones); Jim & Doris Threet (sister & brother-in-law of Roger & Wanda Long) Brian Walker (uncle of Bryce Reifsteck); Lynn & Jane Whitson (parents of Mark Whitson).

SEMINARY STUDENT: Gunnar Campbell; Logan Smith.

DEACONESS STUDENT: Emily McLean.

MISSIONARIES: Rev. Dr. Edward and Monica Naumann; Rev. Ryan and Emily McDermott; Julie Lutz. 

HOMEBOUND: Bernita Ashwill; Leonard Boerngen; Janet Pollock; Ruth Rentschler.

MILITARY: Carl Crawford; Jeremy Gordon; Jack Leonard; Jake Lindgren; Raymond Longtin; Joey Pollock; Chase Reifsteck; Blake Stokes; Paige Stokes; Scott Walter; Ruben Wilson.

THE ANNOUNCEMENTS

NEXT WEEK’S READINGS . . . 1 Kings 8:6–13; Romans 12:1–5; Luke 2:41–52.

ABOUT THIS WEEK’S READINGS . . . Israel and all his family went and dwelt in Egypt (Gen. 46:17). God made a great nation of him there, but that nation would prove unfaithful to the Lord. Therefore, the New Israel came. In fleeing the murderous Herod, our young Lord goes to Egypt (Matt. 2:1323), that the prophecy might be fulfilled, Out of Egypt I called my Son(Hos. 11:1). Jesus brings to perfection what old Israel could not. He is the faithful Israel, the embodiment of the people of God. He offers His perfect and holy life in place of our own. He submits Himself to persecution and suffering in order to save us. Therefore, we should not think it strange when we who are in Christ experience trials because of the faith (1 Pet. 4:1219). Rather, we rejoice to share in Christs sufferings, knowing that we will also share in His glory.

THOUGHTS ABOUT STEWARDSHIP . . . Genesis 46:6 “They also took their livestock and their goods, which they had gained in the land of Canaan . . .” Look at all the temporal blessings that God gave to Jacob! We have also been greatly blessed to live in a land of freedom and prosperity. Shouldn’t that make us thankful and generous?

THE 2020 CHURCH OFFICERS . . . will be installed today, Sunday, January 3, during the 9:00 am Divine Service. If you are a newly-elected officer, please plan to attend. A reception will be held in the Fellowship Hall following the Divine Service to say thank you to outgoing, current, and in-coming officers. Their hard work and dedication are to be commended!

THE JANUARY CALENDAR . . . with birthdays and anniversaries is available on the table across from members’ mailboxes.

POINSETTIAS . . . If you did not get your poinsettia after the Christmas Day Divine Service, you will find it in the kitchen on the counter.

PASTOR WILL BE AWAY . . . Monday, January 4, through Wednesday, January 6, to visit family for Christmas. In case of emergency, you may contact Pastor on his mobile phone, or one of the Elders: Jack Appleby, John Harvey, Bryce Reifsteck, Josh Whitson.

WE WILL BE TAKING DOWN . . . the Christmas decorations on Saturday, January 9, 9:00 am.

THE JANUARY CALENDAR . . . with birthdays and anniversaries is available on the table across from members’ mailboxes.

HOLY COMMUNION . . . The offer still stands, during the pandemic, that if you desire the Holy Communion, you can make an appointment with Pastor to receive the Lord’s Supper either at church or in your home until services resume.

SERVICES ONLINE . . . A copy of the service bulletin, which includes all the responses and the hymns, is available at Immanuel’s website under the Sermons tab by clicking on the button labeled PDF. This video option will continue to be made available until our usual service times resume. You can access these online services in three places:

  1. On Immanuel’s Facebook page
  2. On Immanuel’s Website under the Sermons tab
  3. On Immanuel’s YouTube channel

CHANGES IN MANDATED REPORTER LAW . . . The state of Illinois recently made significant changes to the mandated reporter law. By law, any person affiliated with the church who, in their role, comes into contact with children, either in a paid position or as a volunteer, is now a mandated reporter. Mandated reporters are required to call the DCFS Hotline when they have reasonable cause to believe that a child known to them in their professional or official capacity may be an abused or neglected child. As such, s/he must undergo training within three months of first serving. This is only a training session not a background check. This new law would include the following at Immanuel: all Sunday School teachers, VBS volunteers, youth group chaperones, and those on Altar Guild who work with the Jr. Altar Guild. To that end, we ask that those individuals in the groups listed, follow THIS LINK to take the online training. This training takes roughly 60 minutes to complete. Upon completion of the training, a certificate is awarded which will need to be printed off and a copy be given to Pastor to keep on file. For those who are unable to access this online training at home, time will be available for you to complete this in the church office. Please find time to complete the online training as soon as possible. While we understand that this may be a burden for some, please know that we are willing to help you get the necessary training so that we as a church are compliant with this new law. If you have any questions or concerns, please talk with one of the members of the Board of Christian Education or Pastor. Thank you!


PRAYER REQUESTS


0 Comments

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.