VBS heading off on a Rolling River Rampage!
|
|
Rolling River Rampage is the title of this year's Vacation Bible School program starting Monday, June 18, and going all week through Friday, June 22, encouraging young people to "experience the ride of a lifetime with God." Along the river, children will discover that life with God is an adventure full of wonder and surprise, and that they can trust God to be with them through anything.
Emmanuel's Vacation Bible School is a bit different than VBS programs of years ago. Knowing that many parents work and could not bring their children to a day program, Emmanuel's VBS is in the evening. And it's intergenerational! Many years, we have nearly as many teen, adult and senior volunteers as kids!
VBS begins at 5:30 p.m. each evening with a kid-friendly meal for participants and volunteers. VBS activities, like games, crafts, drama, storytelling, songs and snacks will happen from 6-8 p.m. nightly.
Here's the Registration Link, to sign up your children, or for adult volunteers if you have not signed up yet. Certain age groups fill up fast!
This is a good time to invite your child's best friend and parents to come and have fun with us.
It takes a lot of volunteers to run VBS: set-up help on Sunday, June 17 at 11:30 a.m. and take-down volunteers on Sunday, June 24 at 11:30 a.m.. VBS takes over the whole building from Sunday to Sunday!
Then during the week, volunteers are needed lead groups, crafts, recreation, help in the kitchen, be actors or puppeteers, work in the multimedia booth, greet and register participants and more.
For updated information about what volunteer positions still are needed, contact Adam Bissell (adamwbissell@yahoo.com), Beth Parknowitz (beth.parknowitz@gmail.com) or Bee Sena (text to 602-363-2261).
|
|
Emmanuel Save the Date List
- Saturday evening service, Saturday, June 16, 5 p.m.
- Vacation Bible School, Monday through Friday, June 18-22
- Pool Party for VBS volunteers and students, Saturday, June 23, 5p.m.
- Interfaith Meal at Emmanuel, Friday, July 13, 11 a.m.
- Congregation Picnic, Sunday, July 29, Mountain Valley Park
|
|
S
P
R
I
N
G
F
L
I
N
G
! Sunshine, games, food and families
|
|
Reflections from Pastor Sarah
Pentecost: a time of growing together
|
|
In this long, Green season of Pentecost, we have the opportunity to grow together in the power of the Holy Spirit. We will be host to our neighbors at Spring Fling, share Bible storytime at VBS, and learn about Boundaries for healthy church life! We will elect a new Synodical Bishop and leaders.
Please help prepare the way for healthy life together by praying for courage as we seek God's will for our beloved community. We continue to pray together by asking the Holy Spirit to intercede for us and in us! Grace and peace to our leaders in faith!
|
|
Saturday Evening Worship this Saturday, June 16, 5 p.m.
|
ELCA congregations and Lutheran social service organizations are addressing the opioid crisis and other challenges of addiction by raising awareness of stigmatization, hosting support groups, providing educational programs to the community and ministering to addicts.
This Saturday, come to worship at 5 p.m. to pray for those facing addictions, and for the families and community members who have been affected by these challenges.
This healing service will feature time for prayer and lighting candles for those who need to be surrounded by our faith community's care and concern. For more about this topic, to prepare your heart and mind for Saturday's worship,
click here to read the recent article in Living Lutheran.
|
|
 |
GCS Assembly electing Bishop, June 14-16
This year's Synod Assembly is being held June 14-16 at Resurrection Lutheran Church, Oro Valley, AZ.
At the top of the Assembly's To-Do List is the election of the Grand Canyon Synod's new Bishop, a six-year position that shepherds the congregations and leadership of the Synod.
The Bishop will be chosen by ecclesiastical balloting, up to five ballots to allow the Holy Spirit to guide representatives of congregations and leaders to the one person who will help set direction in these days of changing how we do church together.
Representing Emmanuel Lutheran will be Karen and Gary Coe, and Pastor Sarah Isakson. Others attending from Emmanuel as visitors will be Janet Santiago (Synod Council member), and Keith and Cathy Namock, Kat Harley-Mays and Gail Kenny.
They also will vote on assembly resolutions on topics such as common sense gun laws and creating a vision team for the Grand Canyon Synod for the coming years.
Please pray for Karen, Gary and Pastor Sarah, and everyone attending the Synod Assembly, as they gather together with rostered leaders and lay leaders from around the Grand Canyon, and seek to follow the Holy Spirit's leading.
|
|
|
|
A thank you for our gifts from Only A Child group
To our friends
at Emmanuel Lutheran:
Building and sustaining a donor base remains challenging for Only A Child.
The two primary fundraising obstacles relate to our location outside the U.S. and the relatively small number of youths that we serve. In addition, the recent occurrence of an unusually large number of natural disasters in a concentrated period of time adversely affected charitable organizations, including us.
Understandably, many people focused their charitable giving in response to the great hardship resulting from the disasters.
Even so, we were faced with making changes to our program on a structural level, eliminating services we have offered since opening a home, nearly 2 decades ago. But the Lord saw our need and responded by putting it in your hearts and in the hearts of others to reach out to us with kindness and generosity, ensuring that we will be able to continue to function at full capacity at this time. My gratitude to you, to others and to our gracious God is sincere and deep at this time.
On behalf of everyone at Only A Child I humbly say thank you for continuing to care. May God bless you many times over for the kindness you have shown us.
Sincerely,
George Ledger
|
|
|
|
Congrats to the Class of 2018
|
Faith Formation Assistant Adam Bissell congratulates Emmanuel's 2018 high school graduates Miranda Roush and Carson Sena on Graduate Recognition Sunday, May 20. Best wishes to both of them as they pursue their post-high school plans. We're expecting great things from both of you, Miranda and Carson!
|
|
|
Congratulations to Confirmands Annie and Arizona!
|
|
Annie Martin's faith statement
Over these two years, I’ve learned many things. The first is knowledge of the Bible and Christianity. I know the passages better because I have read them in the Bible. I also know the stories, and the sequence that they happen in the Bible. That shows me how the story all fits
together.
The second thing I’ve learned is about friendship. I’ve made friends with many different people, younger and older. I’ve been in confirmation with students from many different schools, who I never would have met otherwise. I have become friends with Maddie, Brayden, Arizona,
Anika, Ruthie, Tawnya, Malia, and Caleb. I’ve had the chance to get to know Mary Watts, who was a great mentor, as well as Adam and the other adults who have helped us.
Confirmation also had good food. We ate a lot of pizza, which made everyone happy.
Back to the important thing we learn in confirmation. I’ve learned a whole lot about God. I’ve read more of the Bible in these past two years than in my whole life. I have learned that I can find my own path between science and the Bible. What I do believe in is the Big Bang. I also
believe that Jesus was a nice man who died on the cross for us. Yes, and I also believe in the afterlife and heaven.
My favorite verse in the Bible is “Speak for those who cannot speak for themselves for the rights of all who are destitute (Proverbs 31;9). It shows that we should always stand up for what we believe in. We have a voice and the Bible says we should use it. I have stood up for what I
believe in many times over the last two years of confirmation.
I marched in the Martin Luther King March, The Women’s March, and marched at the Arizona state capitol in the Red for Ed
march. These are causes I believe in. I used my voice.
|
|
Arizona Swinney's faith statement
"For God sent his son into the world not to condemn it, but that the world through him might be saved."
John 3:17
Who is God to me? He is my Savior. He gave me the life I needed; for example, he has provided me with two amazing church families.
I go to Salvation Army 6 days a week. The people there have helped me find my many talents that God has given me. Things such as singing, playing instruments, acting and so forth.
Along with the Salvation Army, I spend most of my Wednesday nights at Emmanuel Lutheran with my friends at Confirmation. Confirmation has helped my grow in my relationship with God. Because of these amazing people in my life, I have learned God loves me for the way I am, and that he will always forgive me if I ask him to.
I believe that God is a forgiving person who gives infinite second chances and loves us very much.
Sunday School's out
for the summer!
A huge thank you to all of the people who taught our youth in Sunday School this year.
What a gift to our youth to teach them about God's story, how God worked through the people of the Bible, and continues to work in our people today.
There will be
no
Sunday School
June
and
July
. Hope to see all of our Sunday School friends at Vacation Bible School June 18th-22nd.
Sunday School resumes August 5th.
|
|
Project Aware is Emmanuel's June Outreach
|
Our June Outreach Organization is Project Aware. A budgeted amount of money, plus designated contributions will go to Project Aware.
The mission of Project Aware is to provide an opportunity for the homeless to improve their lives and progress to self-sufficiency and independent living.
Project Aware does this by:
• Providing temporary shelter, affordable housing and services to help the homeless achieve and maintain residential stability
• Increasing public awareness and understanding of the problem of homelessness
• Advocating for the homeless, many of whom have little or no voice in the decisions that affect their lives
Project Aware, Inc. was established in 1992 as a non-profit organization in Prescott, Arizona. It was organized by a group of community leaders who were increasingly concerned about the plight of homeless men, particularly military veterans who were literally left out in the cold when no room was available at the local Veteran’s Administration domiciliary. Nearly three decades later, the organization operates a 13-bed temporary shelter, and manages 14 permanent apartment rentals set aside for formally homeless, very low-income veterans.
How can you help? Besides donating money or helping build houses, Habitat needs volunteers for other committees. And if you shop at the Habitat for Humanity Restore 1061 Commerce Drive, Prescott, you support the work of building affordable homes for people who need them,
|
|
Many places to serve within the Body of Christ
When you gather with family, it's a natural response to bring a dish for dinner, set the table, wash the dishes and participate in welcoming others. It's no different for the Emmanuel faith family. It takes many hands, hearts and gifts to prepare for and do worship, serve others, teach children, care for our property and nearby areas, and more.
Here are some of the places Emmanuel needs assistance now and in the near future, and the contact people. Either reach out to them, call them from the number in your church directory, drop a note from the friendship register into the offering plate, or call the church office to be connected to them:
- First service altar (communion) prep: Kathy Austin.
- Second service altar prep: Bonnie Cain.
- Ushers and greeters: Jim Lundquist
- Multimedia operators: Kimberly Robinson-Goats
- Fellowship volunteers: Carole Rebholz
- Stewardship volunteers: Brian Bucholtz
- Welcoming Ministry: Bee Sena
- Emmanuel Interfaith Meal food prep and meal servers: Mary Jensen
- Landscape crew: Dana Diller or sign up on the table at church.
- Nursery volunteers: Stop into the nursery.
- Vacation Bible School, June 18-22. If you are still hoping to help with VBS, see the article in this newsletter and talk to Adam Bissell, Beth Parknowitz or Bee Sena.
|
|
Emmanuel June Celebrations
Birthdays
|
|
June 1 Gavin Worthington
June 2 Charles Lynch
June 3 Michael Beno
June 4 Clara Johnson
June 5 Susan Renaud
June 6 Ronald Mayer
June 6 Kaila Woolley
June 7 Nancy Meyer
June 7 Al Peterson
June 11 Bette Gelhaus
|
|
June 14 Lucas Widner
June 16 Donald Watts
June 17 Barbie Harlib
June 18 Adam Bissell
June 18 Deanna McDaniel
June 19 Ella Beauchamp
June 22 Nance Busboom
June 26 Ronald Nimocks
June 29 Pauline Roush
June 30 Mitzi Edwards
|
|
Anniversaries
June 1, Bob & Lori Frey, 44 years
June 1, Leland & Sharon Warne, 60 years
June 2, Paul & Tracy Hewelt, 28 years
June 4, Paul & Marlena Berry, 24 years
June 7, Ted & Sally Becker, 49 years
June 7, Donald & Peggy Dansby, 31 years
June 7, Carolyn & John Wade, 38 years
June 12, Carl & Shirley Spinti, 58 years
June 14, Merrill (Keith) and Cathy Namock, 54 years
June 14, Ronald & Nancy Nimocks, 66 years
June 14, Shelby & Carol Tate, 59 years
June 15, Annette & Cliff Thomson, 10 years
June 16, Timothy (Bear) and Jennifer Johnson, 17 years
June 18, Scott & Wendy Woolley, 23 years
June 19, Stanley & Dwan Walters, 69 years
June 20, Polly & Ron Orbin, 48 years
June 20, James & Karen Roush, 20 years
June 22, A.E. & Donna Morgan, 34 years
June 25, Michael and Marsha Beno, 13 years
June 27, Bruce & Karen Lamb, 54 years
If we missed or made a mistake on anyone's birthday or anniversary, our apologies. Please contact the church office to make sure our list is correct.
|
|
How shall we pray?
Regularly, our newsletter will feature some topics for your prayers.
Take time to share your own concerns with God. Consider prayer as a two-way conversation and allow God to speak to your heart, as well.
Take time to pray for:
- Our Call Committee and future pastor.
- Pastor Sarah Isakson, and Karen and Gary Coe (Emmanuel's Synod Assembly representatives), and the future bishop of the Grand Canyon Synod to be elected at the Synod Assembly June 14-16 in Tucson.
- Our prayer list in Sunday's worship folder.
- Our adopted school, Liberty Traditional School -- its teachers, staff and students.
- Our monthly outreach, Project Aware, its staff and volunteers, clients, and all those in need of shelter and community services.
- Emmanuel high school graduates Miranda Roush and Carson Sena, and college graduate and former long-time member Alex Anderson, who has left for Egypt and will start his two-year fellowship at the American University in Cairo.
- Our Vacation Bible School teachers/staff, Sunday school teachers, confirmation leaders, Bible and book study leaders, who make the word of God come alive to youth and adults.
- And those people who haven't found Emmanuel yet -- maybe your neighbor, your co-worker, your friend or family member. Invite them so they can hear the good news of Jesus Christ as we worship and join together to serve.
|
|
Five Emmanuel diakonia
™
students end 2017-18 year
The
diakonia
™ program is a two-year process of spiritual formation and theological education. The program is intended to provide much more in-depth training for future lay leaders.
Gary and Karen Coe, Kat Harley-Mays, Keith Namock and Gail Kenny are
diakonia
™ students from Emmanuel, joining about 50 other students across Arizona and southern Nevada.
The primary sites are located in Phoenix, the East Valley, Tucson and Las Vegas, with Emmanuel’s group taking their classes via web conference with students from Tucson.
During 2017-18, first -year classes were Introduction to the New Testament, Church History – the First 400 Years, Practical Ministry I – Biblical Images of the Life of the Church, Lutheran Creeds and Confessions, Practical Ministry II – Visitation, and the Daily Life of a Christian.
|
|
What's happening? Emmanuel's calendar is online
|
|
Emmanuel's calendar is the source to find out about special events, Bible/book studies, meetings, youth events and more.
|
|
|
Did you know Emmanuel Lutheran is on Facebook?
Click the Facebook logo, "like" our page and share it!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
