Greetings all !
I’m looking forward to seeing you Sunday morning and engaging in what I think will be an important worship and message time in our “In a Nutshell” sermon series.
We’ll be taking a look at “Depression in a Nutshell,” using as our text Psalm 130. Depression is a current topic and one some of us in the church family wrestle with personally. I hope Sunday’s message will be a help to those struggling with depression and will help all of us be a help to those we know who do struggle.
Fall Ministry Excitement
Last night our Ministry Team Leaders met and finalized many of our plans for fall ministry at Emmanuel this year.
We’ll start the year off with a Kick-Off Sunday, September 7, and we hope you will be there to receive and give encouragement the “team” needs in order to go forward in ministry. Think of it like a football team’s huddle before running the play. We need you in the huddle ! … both for the worship service and for the carry-in dinner that will follow. Towards the end of that dinner, our elders and others will lead us in a short time of discussion to bring everyone up-to-date with what’s happening at Emmanuel and how you can plug in.
Here’s an advance look at fall ministry, based on our Ministry Team Leaders meeting last night —
New Things Going on at Emmanuel :
Lucas Schneider is giving a welcome and announcements on Sunday mornings.
Rachelle Hill is team leader for the Greeter Ministry.
Brian & Anna Azevedo are providing coordination and support for Sticky Groups.
Thank you to these new servant-leaders !
Some guidelines for communication at Emmanuel :
If you need to have something announced at Emmanuel, consider the following possibilities :
Make sure your announcement has been emailed to Rebecca by Thursday to go in the bulletin. The Sunday bulletin is for church-sponsored activities. Other ministry activities in the community being led by people from Emmanuel will be included in the bulletin only as space permits. Activities announced in the bulletin should be ones already approved by the Elder Board. Not all announcements in the bulletin will be announced verbally Sunday morning. Get in the habit of reading your bulletin and taking it home with you ! (Please do not ask Lucas to make an announcement for you. Your first step is to put your announcement in the bulletin.)
Contact Lee Pettijohn if you wish your event/announcement to be on the church website. Again, these should be announcements for activities reviewed and approved by Ministry Team Leaders and/or the Elder Board.
Let Tom know if you want information included in TMG.
Put your announcement on the church facebook page.
For any sort of announcement (birthday parties, community events, thank-you notes, wedding announcements, job needs, etc), take advantage of the bulletin board next to the conference room. That’s what it’s there for.
Occasionally, your ministry team may wish to make a special announcement involving slides and/or video. Make sure your video material has been given to the worship team leader and/or technical person at least one week in advance.
We would like to get in the habit of moving sign-up sheets off the back table in the auditorium and out into the He-Brews Café. Sherry Traub has provided space there where sign-up sheets for various activities can be more visible and accessible. If you have questions, ask Tom or Sherry.
Young People & Family Ministries
This year’s schedule for Seedling, Overflow, and JAM is much the same as last year’s — Seedling on 1st & 3rd Wednesdays, Overflow and JAM on 2nd & 4th Wednesdays. Some special event dates are also on the calendar.
Allison Roth will be joining Jeff this year as a leader for Overflow. JAM leaders will be the Heaneys, Boyers, and Aldriches.
If you love the Lord and love people, we need a couple of adults to show up toward the end of these Wednesday night youth meetings in order to interact with parents coming to pick up kids. If you’re interested, contact Jeff Roth or Lucas Schneider.
Ignite Groups (small-group ministry for young people) will be starting up again in September at various times and locations.
Also on Wednesday nights, … a new connection effort : During Seedling, one of our Sticky Groups will be organizing and offering a parenting course, “Making Kids Mind Without Losing Yours,” especially for new folks in our community who bring their children to Seedling. Please help us get the word out to folks you know who might benefit from a parenting course. More information coming.
Finances & Property :
As you know, finances are tight at the church right now, and giving is not up to projected levels for this year. As a result, if your ministry area anticipates purchases of $150 or more, please contact Rebecca in advance to make sure funds are available.
There is not an endless supply of Keurig cups in the He-Brews Café. We should be attentive to the idea that we want that area to be a good place for connecting with visitors. Parents, be attentive to your children’s use of that area and also know where your kids are in the building at all times, both on Sundays and during the week. Children should not be on the platform, behind the stage, in the sound booth, or getting supplies out of closets, etc.
If you anticipate raising extra funds for some special project or outreach this fall, you must receive approval from the Steward Committee in advance. Due to the condition of our general ministry fund, it may not be possible to approve all extra fundraising.
It was pointed out that giving to the building fund is behind what was originally pledged. Our Steward Committee and Elder Board will work on ways to bring the building fund and its needs to the attention of the church family.
Prison Ministry : Bob Shanks is our missionary to the correctional facility in Fulton … and beyond. At our meeting, Bob shared that the prison ministry is going well. Bob preaches about 30 Sundays out of the year to around 140 inmates in Fulton. He has a discipleship Bible Study every Thursday. He is grateful for the paperback Bibles the church has made available for inmates who are truly in a position of growing spiritually. Let’s be mindful to pray for this ministry.
Missions
God has provided funds for transportation to and from Chicago for the team going to serve there this month ! The Chicago team consists of Lee Pettijohn, Marlon Walker, Mary Owens, Larry Shoemaker, Julie Pettijohn, and Kaylyn Walker. They will be joining our missionaries, Tyrell & Rachel Shoemaker, for a backpack outreach to schoolchildren in the Chicago area.
A missions trip to the Caribbean is being planned for spring/summer 2015 to serve with Janet Snyder and Bev Huff, CEF missionaries there. Anyone who thinks they might have an interest in this trip should begin the process of applying for a passport. If you have questions, contact Catherine Mahoney.
Essence (Worship)
A Christmas Even Open House is being planned similar to last year’s – Scripture readings, music, cookies, fellowship.
Plans are being discussed for making fifth Sundays (August, November) a little different from our ordinary worship services. On August 31, there will be a prayer emphasis during the service.
Greeters : Our greeters are doing a great job welcoming and helping at the entrances to the church building. As a general rule, the greeters will keep the auditorium doors open on Sunday morning through the completion of the welcome & announcements. Thanks for coming to Sunday worship on time ! If you’re late, we also have five men who are currently serving as ushers and will help you find a seat if you need help. Those men are Alan Traub, Mike Horstmann, John Schramm, Larry Shoemaker, and Alex Grieshaber.
Ladies Monday Bible Study : The Ladies Monday evening Bible study will start up again in mid-September. More information will be coming soon, but for now you may want to know that the study will be “God’s Promises,” by Sheila Walsh. Monday evenings, 7-8:30 pm, from September 15 thru November 17. Sign-ups will begin August 24.
Sticky Groups : A dinner and discussion time among Sticky Group leaders is being planned by Brian and Anna Azevedo for later this fall.
Adult Studies Curriculum : In addition to the parenting course on 1st & 3rd Wednesday evenings, …
Traditional Sunday classes for adults at 9:00 a.m. will include a study in a book of the Bible led by David Kiser, and a topical class on the subject of “faith,” led by Scott Parker.
Jeff Roth will lead a new members class, “Discovering Christ & the Church 101,” beginning in September.
Pastors Prayer Time If you would like to join me for a short time of prayer each Tuesday at noon during the fall semester, please do so starting September 2. Anyone who has a heart for praying for Emmanuel, we’ll get together and pray at noon. Then, we’ll see what God does in response ! We did this during the original construction of our building several years ago. It was an enjoyable time that God blessed, I believe. Looking for a good name for that time. Any ideas ?
See you this Sunday !
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