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Immanuel News & Notes (Advent 1)

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THIS WEEK AT IMMANUEL

Sunday (11/29)

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

Wednesday

  • 9:30 am—TAMA Meeting
  • 12:30 pm—Catechism Class
  • 7:00 pm—Advent Midweek Service

Saturday

  • 3:30 pm—Individual Confession and Absolution
  • 5:30 pm—Divine Service without Holy Communion

Sunday (12/6)

  • 7:30 am—Divine Service of the Word (On-Line Video)
  • 9:00 am—Divine Service without Holy Communion
  • 10:30 am—Adult Bible Class & Sunday School
  • 5:00 pm—Church-wide Live Nativity (Ervin Park)

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); 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); Misti Post (niece of Sue Rothe); Cary & Beth Rahn; Joan Rahn; Aurelia Tuegal (grandmother of Bethany Campbell); Emma Silver; Ocil Slone (grandfather of Josh & Jake Dyer); Joy Stenger; Carolyn Stremming (sister-in-law of Arleigh Jones); Brian Walker (uncle of Bryce Reifsteck); Lynn & Jane Whitson (parents of Mark Whitson).

SEMINARY STUDENT: Gunnar Campbell; Logan Smith.

DEACONESS STUDENT: Emily McLean.

MISSIONARIES: The Naumann Family; The McDermott Family, Julie Lutz

HOMEBOUND: Bernita Ashwill; Leonard Boerngen; Jim Harbaugh; Janet Pollock; Ruth Rentschler; Ruth Sims; Irene Wattjes.

MILITARY: Carl Crawford; Josh Dyer; Jeremy Gordon; Jack Leonard; Jake Lindgren; Raymond Longtin; Joey Pollock; Blake Stokes; Ruben Wilson.

THE ANNOUNCEMENTS

NEXT WEEK’S READINGS . . . Malachi 4:1–6; Romans 15:4–13; Luke 21:25–36.

ABOUT THIS WEEK’S READINGS . . . The new Church Year begins by focusing on the humble coming of our Lord. “Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey” (Matt. 21:5). Even as He was born in a lowly manger, so Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a beast of burden. For He bears the sin of the world. He is the Son of David riding to His enthronement on the cross, where He shows Himself to be “The LORD is our Righteousness” (Jer. 23:5–6). Our Lord still comes in great humility to deliver His righteousness to us in the Word and Sacraments. Before receiving Christ’s body and blood, we also sing, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” (Matt. 21:9) And as we receive the Sacrament, we set our hearts on His return in glory, for “our salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed” (Rom. 13:11).

THOUGHTS ABOUT STEWARDSHIP . . . Jeremiah 23:6 “And this is the name by which he will be called: ‘The LORD is our righteousness.’” Jesus is our righteousness, our justification, our all. In Jesus we are forgiven and free. This knowledge sets us free to live as children of the Heavenly Father without fear. Freed from the supposed need to justify ourselves, good works can be done by us for the right reason: to thank God and to serve our neighbor.

REMINDER: ANGEL TREE . . . offering envelopes are due Sunday, December 6. An envelope designated for Angel Tree has been placed in your mailbox. You can give cash or a check, payable to Immanuel. Use the envelope to return your gift in the offering on December 6. Or you may return it to the church office. Thank you for your generosity in helping area children receive a few gifts under the Christmas Tree.

REMINDER: IMMANUEL BOARDS MEET . . . on Monday, December 14. If you have not done so already, please submit your 2020 budget request to the church office as soon as possible following your board meeting.

THE SUNDAY SCHOOL CHRISTMAS SERVICE . . . will be Sunday, December 13. The service is at 6:00 pm, followed by refreshments hosted by the Board of Education. Join us for a Christmas Service where our children will remind us of the real reason for the season with all your favorite Christmas hymns and then food and fellowship.

POINSETTIA ORDER FORMS . . . are included in this weekend’s bulletins. Please complete and return them by Sunday, December 13. Poinsettias are $14.00 this year and can be taken and enjoyed at home immediately following the Christmas Day service.

ADVENT BIBLE CHALLENGE . . . This Advent the Board of Christian Education is sponsoring a challenge to get through the Book of John by Christmas Eve. There are twenty-one chapters in the Book of John, so if you read one chapter a day, you will have read all the recorded events of our Lord’s birth, life, ministry, death, and resurrection. Take home a schedule and put your name on the sign-up sheet in the Narthex. Those who finish will receive a prize. For more information, contact Pastor or a member of the Board of Christian Education. Let’s delve into God’s Word during the season we anticipate that Word becoming flesh to dwell among us.

PASTOR WILL BE AWAY . . . the weekend following Thanksgiving (Saturday, November 28–Sunday, November 29). Gunnar Campbell will be serving in pastor’s absence. There will be no Holy Communion that weekend since Gunnar is not yet ordained. He will also be leading Bible Class.

CHURCH-WIDE LIVE NATIVITY IN TUSCOLA . . . Immanuel will participate in a church-wide live nativity to be held in Ervin Park on Sunday, December 6, 2020, from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm. More details are coming soon.

CHRISTMAS DECORATING . . . Saturday, December 5, 9:00 am. Advent is almost upon us, and that means the Christmas season is near! With it come the sights, the sounds, and the fellowship that unite Christians as we anticipate the birth of our Savior. Come on December 5 to help put up the Christmas trees and decorations. Mark your calendars.

UPCOMING SPECIAL SERVICES AND EVENTS

  •      Sunday, November 29            10:20 am       Sunday School Christmas Service practice
  •      Wednesday, December 2          7:00 pm       Advent Midweek Service
  •      Saturday, December 5              9:00 am       Immanuel Christmas Decorating
  •      Sunday, December 6                 5:00 pm       Church-wide Live Nativity (Ervin Park)
  •      Wednesday, December 9          7:00 pm       Advent Midweek Service
  •      Sunday, December 13            10:20 am       Sunday School Christmas Service practice
  •      Wednesday, December 16        7:00 pm       Advent Midweek Service
  •      Sunday, December 20            10:20 am       Sunday School Christmas Service practice
  •                                                        6:00 pm       Sunday School Christmas Service
  •      Monday, December 21             7:30 pm       Voter’s Budget Meeting
  •      Thursday, December 24            7:00 pm       Christmas Eve Service with Communion
  •      Friday, December 25                9:00 am       Christmas Day Service with Communion
  •      Thursday, December 31           7:00 pm       New Year’s Eve Evening Prayer

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


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