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The Immanuel
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With God, We Welcome All, Live by Faith, and Serve Our Neighbors.
www.immanuelmeriden.org
RETURN SERVICES
Immanuel Ev. Lutheran Church
164 Hanover Street
Meriden, CT 06451
(203) 238-1248
December 2014
Visitor
Volume 52 #12
Looking Back While Also Looking Forward
Do you ever spend time reflecting on the previous year? As you
approach the end of one year and the beginning of another,
do you ever find yourself going over the accomplishments, the
successes, and even the failures of the previous year? I often
find myself doing this as the year draws to a close. I try and take
a step back and take an objective look at the past year. I think
about what I’ve done, what I’m proud of, the lessons I’ve
learned, and what I’ve achieved both personally and professionally. I do this in part so I don’t forget what has happened, so
that I don’t let the year pass without appreciating all that has
happened. I also do this because I think by looking back and
reflecting on where we have been we often have a clearer vision for the future. For example if you look back and remember
doing things that brought you great joy, you may want to do
those things again or do something similar in hopes of experiencing more joy. At the same time, if you look back and remember things that you didn’t enjoy, or even the things that
you may have failed at, you can learn from those experiences
and possibly make changes as you move forward. As we enter
the month of December, and quickly approach the end of the
year, I find myself beginning to reflect on the past year and so I
thought that this might be a good time to reflect on where we
have been as a community.
As I prepared this article I looked back through my calendar,
my journal, and my notes and came up with a short list of things
worth noting from our past year together. I thought back to
earlier this year as we gathered for our annual meeting where
we reflected together on the past year, 2013, and made plans
for 2014. Shortly after that meeting we had a new member’s
brunch attended by some new and some long-time members
of our community where we spoke about what it means to be
a Lutheran in today’s world. Later that winter we continued a
successful practice from the previous year and met once a
week during the season of lent for dinner church. Also during
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the late winter, just before spring, our confirmation class traveled to camp Calumet for a confirmation retreat. In April we
celebrated Holy Week together including our very first Easter
Vigil, a service that still brings a smile to my face when I think of
it, and one that I hope to repeat this coming year. In the month
of June we received our new members who had joined us for
the new members brunch back in February (one misstep this
year was my failure to schedule the reception of new members
earlier in the year). Over the summer we continued a favorite
tradition here at Immanuel our "Sunday in the Park” worship service. This fall has seen several wonderful moments in the life of
our community including our annual hot dog roast, the confirmation of five of our young people, and the celebration of our
125th anniversary. In addition to these moments there have
been many other notable moments in the life of the community
including baptisms, the births of several children, and the funerals of some beloved members. Overall I think it’s has been a
wonderful year and we still have one more month to go.
As we reflect on the past year, however, it is always important
not to get stuck on where we have been, but to turn our attention to where we are going. I think that the season of Advent,
which we have just begun, has a lot to teach us here. The season of Advent is a season focused on looking back while at the
same time looking forward. As many of you are already aware,
Advent is the season that precedes Christmas and for that reason is often filled with great excitement as we ready ourselves,
our families, and our homes for the celebration of the birth of
our savior Jesus Christ. The season of Advent is also, however, a
season of looking forward. It is that time when we reflect not just
on the first advent (arrival) of Christ, but on his second as well,
the one that is yet to come. It is a season where we are filled
with hope as we are reminded that God is still at work in this
world, that God is with us each and every day, and that one
day Christ will return putting to a final end the powers of sin and
death once and for all. It is from this season of Advent that I believe we can learn that just as it is important to look back and
reflect on where we have been, it is even more important that
we set our eyes on the horizon, on what comes next, on the
work that God is continuing to do in this world and how we
might be a part of it.
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December
Harriet Doehr
Jason Kronenberger
Catherine Brooder
Erwin Ndwiga
Heather Lavoie
Daniel Luft
Brandon Mroczka
Oahn Tran
Ronald Harris
Emily McKenzie
David Chasse’
Ronald Gordon
Shelby Korb
Patricia Brooks
Denia Campbell
12/3
12/3
12/4
12/4
12/5
12/6
12/6
12/7
12/9
12/10
12/11
12/14
12/14
12/16
12/16
Shana Schneider-Joseph 12/18
Marilyn Kronenberger 12/20
Stephanie Pasinski
12/20
Kaylin Campbell
12/21
Ruth Schleicher
12/22
Meghan Tomassetti
12/23
Xavier Dargon
12/24
Douglas Gardner
12/24
Brianna Cotrona
12/25
Elaine Gehrke
12/25
Carol Kania
12/25
Helen Bober
12/26
Harriet Barry
12/27
Jerry Gianakos
12/28
Georgene Pekar
12/28
Audrey Bartlem
12/29
Carlos Rivera
12/29
December
Michael & Robin Coon
Richard & Juliette Hodge
David & Janet Holznagel
Mark & Georgene Pekar
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12/13
12/23
12/25
12/30
What constitutes a Good Gift?
This year the Sunday Church School is participating in the Good Gifts campaign which is sponsored by the ELCA. Good Gifts goes beyond our regular congregational offering to support the ministries of the ELCA that mean
the most to us and our loved ones. Together, we can do more than we could
ever do alone: grow the church, fight hunger and transform lives. Please
join us on December 7th for the Good Gifts kick off event during fellowship.
There will be information tables, a craft, and food that will represent the
Good Gifts. We hope to see you there!Please see Amy Daniele for any questions you may have.
So may we look back over this year and be filled with joy and
peace, reflecting on the ways God has been present with us.
May we be inspired by the challenges that we have faced and
overcome, and the lessons that we have learned, and may
those lessons inspire us as we look forward and start the next
chapter in our journey together.
May the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with
each of you this Advent season.
Pastor Chris
MASTER CALENDAR
If you’d like to request a date, leave a note in the administrators
box, send an email to office@immanuelmeriden.org or call in via
phone. When the date is approved, it will be added to the calendar. If a date appears on the calendar that was not previously approved, it will not be honored. Thanks.
**~Save the Dates~Save the Dates~**
Dec 2: Pub Theology at Bertie’ Black’s House
Dec. 9:
Evening Bible Study
Dec. 14:
Adult SCS
Dec. 20: All Committee Meeting @ 6:30 (SATURDAY)
Dec. 21: Church Decorating at 4pm
Dec. 28: Lessons & Carols Service
Please see bulletin boards for flyers , updates and more
activities happening in your community!
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REMINDER: Please notify the church office either by calling (203) 238
-1248 or with a note placed in the offering plate when a family member
is/will be hospitalized so the the church can provide appropriate care
and prayers for you and your family member. Thank you for your
help.
January Visitor Articles are due to the church office by
Sunday, Dec. 21, 2014. Please e-mail your contributions to
office@immanuelmeriden.org or drop it off to the office
during office hours.
Early submissions are extremely appreciated!
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Shareé Campbell, Administrator:
(203) 238-1248
office@immanuelmeriden.org
Chris McKinstry, Pastor:
(315) 720-4204
pastor@immanuelmeriden.org
OFFICE HOURS
9am-1pm Monday-Friday
Thank you to the congregation and friends for saving the Campbell’s Labels
for Education and Box Tops for Education. I know you’ll rack them up this
Summer. Save them and drop them in the envelope on the bulletin board,
outside Augustana Hall. This is a project that Ruth Tozier, started many years
ago.
Thanks for supporting!
My Dear Friends,
I’d like to extend my congratulations to each and every one of you, for
helping to make Immanuel’s 125th Anniversary a complete success. I
am so happy and grateful to so many of you for all your hard work to
make this celebration so great. I must acknowledge Martin’s Messengers for all their work, from making the invitations, to helping set up
and clean up. Thanks to my dear friend, June Barton, for walking every step with me and pulling me down when I started to fly. I am truly
blessed to call her my friend. To Cindy McCarthy who did a fantastic
job with all the memorabilia that came in. I’m sure we all agree that
Paul’s Catering did a deliciously wonderful job with the food. He also
was a wealth of information to me on how to do many things. To Jim
Dionne, who took loads of pictures which will soon be posted so you
can purchase as many as you want for $1.00 a piece, with proceeds
going to our anniversary funds. Thanks to Linda and Jerry
Gianakos for the lovely altar flowers. Of course it was great to see and
hear Pastor Beaver (and Sally), Pastor Beckwith and our tall Bishop
Hazlewood. Although we missed Andrea, it was great having Bill
Hively at the organ and skillfully guiding our choir. To our youth who
were standing by to help wherever needed.
I pray I haven’t left anyone out who had a significant role in
our celebration. There were so many of you who lent your voices of
encouragement and pieces of advice. I just want to say thank you,
thank-you, thank you to the entire Immanuel Congregation.
God’s blessings to you all and love each and every one of you.
Jan Sprude
CAMP CALUMET-Summer 2015 Resident Camp
Information is now available on the Camp Calumet website
for many 2015 camping opportunities including residence
camp.
Add a week at Calumet to your Christmas list!
There is a link to Calumet’s website on Immanuel’s website
under “partners in ministry”, immanuelmeriden.org
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Immanuel’s Cradle Roll Ministry
begins either at birth or at the time a child is baptized. Each month a
newsletter is sent or given to the parents to support them in their central role in the faith formation of their child.
Why does Immanuel seek to support baptismal families….
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To help young children grow in faith from an early age
To connect our church community to families for support and encouragement
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To provide fun and easy ideas for bringing faith into everyday life of
infants and their families
If you are interested in being a part of this ministry, please speak with
Jan Sprude or Kim Freeman, the Christian Education co-chairs.
~Martin’s Messengers~
I just wanted to give a quick word of thanks to all my wonderful ladies who worked so hard to help make our 125th Anniversary celebration a wonderful and beautiful event. You all worked very hard and it
showed. We are in the process of learning something new but I’ll
share more about that later. We will be taking off a little time around
the holidays to rest and catch up on other things.
With much love and many blessings, Jan Sprude
Remember, we have an email address! If
you’d like prayer or a card sent to someone,
please email
office@immanuelmeriden.org
and we’ll get back to you!~
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Sunday Church School Scribbler
As December begins, we find ourselves already in the Season of Advent, the 4 weeks before the Christmas Season.
During Advent the Christian Church prepares to both celebrate the birth of our Savior and ponder Jesus’ return. The
color of this season is blue; let’s try to wear something blue all 4 Sundays of Advent! We count the days
with Advent wreaths and calendars. Each SCS family will
receive an Advent calendar on November 30th.
Upcoming SCS lesson…
12/7
12/14
12/21
12/28
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A Ruler from Bethlehem (Micah 5:2-5)
Angels Visit (Luke 1:26-38)
Mary Visits Elizabeth (Luke 2:39-58)
No SCS-Worship begins at 9:45 am
Jesus is Born (Luke 2:1-20)
Adult Forum December 14th!
Pastor Chris and Father Michael will lead the adult forum 12/14, during the SCS hour. Grab a cup of coffee and gather in Augustana
Hall for conversation centered on faith.
Look for information about the Live Nativity and the ELCA
Barnyard Project elsewhere in this Visitor-both of these activities involve Sunday Church School students!
Please accompany children to the drinking fountain and restrooms
during worship. Families are reminded that the parking lot entrance
door remain unlocked during worship.
Should winter weather strike on a Sunday and SCS be cancelled, families
will receive a call from the SCS staff by 8 am that Sunday morning. The
phone numbers we will be using are the ones from the registration contracts-if your number has changed-let Kim Freeman know. If you Okayed
receiving texts, you may be contacted that way instead. Most times SCS is
cancelled, worship continues. Enjoy a bit longer to sleep or get some shoveling done and then come to worship. Always use your better judgment to
keep your family safe.
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There will be no SCS class time on December 28th; however worship begins at 9:45am that day. Keep celebrating Christmas as a family and invite
your friends to join you!
We end the month of December in the Season of Christmas.
In the Christian Church, Christmas is not just one day, it is a
season of 12 days; the twelve days of Christmas! It seems
fitting for us to celebrate the birthday of our Savior for more
than a day. Find special ways for your family to celebrate
Christmas all season long. In January, we celebrate the
coming of the magi who visit the toddler Jesus on Epiphany.
Living Nativity and Advent
Gathering
Saturday, Dec. 13th
4-6pm
*live Nativity &children’s craft*
*guitar music & carol sing*
*soup and sandwich*
See you in worship!
Please join Immanuel, All Saints and neighborhood friends in a
Kim Freeman, SCS coordinator
Acolyte Training
If your son or daughter is interested in serving as an acolyte, we are looking
to run a brief training class in December or January for acolyte training.
This is an easy way to earn service hours while also filling an important role
during our worship services. For more information, please contact Frank
Daniele.
Frank Daniele
Worship & Music Committee Chair
Church Decorating
The Worship & Music Committee would like to invite all members of the
congregation to join us in decorating the church. It is scheduled for Sunday,
December 21st at 4:00. It usually takes between 1 and 1 ½ hours depending
on the turnout. Confirmands will be able to earn service time.
Frank Daniele
Worship & Music Committee Chair
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gathering to slow down the holiday busyness remembering that the
birth of Jesus is the heart of Christmas.
Committee night in December will be Thursday, December
20th. Committee night is when most of Immanuel’s standing committees meet to plan the ministry of Immanuel. It is an opportunity for everyone to find an area of ministry best suited to one’s God
given gifts and talents. Do you have a knack with numbers-sit in
on Finance, wonder how the lessons and hymns are selected for
Sunday-sit in on Worship and Music, feel you are a people person
and/or enjoy sharing the Good News that Jesus brings-check out
Outreach and/or Christian Education. Find the area of ministry God
is call you to participate in.
The pot luck dinner begins at 6:30pm, meetings begin at 7pm. The
December 20th pot luck meal could be an especially festive time of
fellowship and food as we prepare to celebrate the birth of our
Savior Jesus Christ. Bring a favorite dish to share!
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