October 27th, 2018

From the Congregational Chairman

Dear Brothers & Sisters in Christ, October 2018 will be over shortly. A lot was accomplished behind the scenes this month including starting the new Confirmation Class, starting a visual-aids based Adult Bible Study, putting up new lights in the Sunday School, installing a drainage pump that should help eliminate freezing of our main drain to the septic tank and setting a record for families served by the Food Pantry (19). A lot of other things got quietly done as well, as always happens at our little church.  Our new Outreach Committee has kicked off their program with a Halloween based effort based out of Dave & Patti's house. We will be handing out hot chocolate & large chocolate bars with Immanuel's information on the sleeve. Since this newsletter is going out a week before the event, I cannot say it was a rousing success – but I suspect that it will be! Please see Ken, Jen, April or the Pastor if you would like to help. Dress appropriately for the day. November is the month of Thanksgiving. We should take a moment each day to give thanks for all that has been given to us. We, the American people, are blessed by riches beyond any one else in history. We, as Christian people, have eternal life to look forward to, which is a blessing beyond any other. So, I urge you all to take a lesson from Pastor Matt. Every time you pray, start with, “Thank you, Lord for this day & all the blessings you have showered upon us...” and then ask for whatever you want. For although we are allowed & instructed to petition the Lord with prayer, how often do we ever give thanks?  We have not yet discussed a Thanksgiving feast at Immanuel where we share fellowship and break bread together. This was a great tradition in the past but has seemed to have fallen by the wayside lately. I personally, am saddened that we don't seem to do this anymore, as I really enjoy eating! Let's try to talk among ourselves & get something organized for later in the month, shall we? A big pot luck feed is always a hit & seems to bring out some of the folks that we don't see too often.  There will be a quarterly Voter's Meeting on November 4th, 2018 following Fellowship. It shouldn't take too long, but there will be a few items of importance that will need to be dealt with then. Of paramount importance is the nomination committee. This august body is generally composed of outgoing church officers. This coming year we will be losing Larry, among others, but we will have Dave H. and Ken available after their 1 year mandatory break. (Yes, boys, I AM throwing you both under the bus!) Please consider serving as an Elder, Trustee, Treasurer, Secretary or in whatever capacity the Spirit moves you. We should have an exciting year ahead, with paving of the parking lots, outreach & other large projects coming up. We can use some good people to provide guidance & oversight to accomplish God's plans here at Immanuel. Why not YOU? Many of you are still working on projects around the church from the list on the board. We appreciate all your hard work! If you need anything, please feel free to contact myself or Property Manager Dave G. We'll see to it that you get what you need. And thanks to all of you who take the time to beautify God's house here at Immanuel. That's pretty much it. I hope that you are all enjoying the Lord's many blessings this beautiful autumn, especially the colorful leaves & (lately) NO MORE RAIN! Thank the Lord and praise His name in all that you do, every day! In Christ's Service & yours, Glenn