Inside Immanuel Weekly
"WE SHARE GOD'S GIFT OF LOVE WITH ALL"
September 27, 2020
Worship Online Through Immanuel's
(Click on the above link to access)
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Dear disciples of Jesus at Immanuel Lutheran,
“One does not live by bread alone,” Jesus reminds us. While our bodies need food and drink to survive, our spirits also need sustenance. Beauty, as experienced in the natural world of creation, as well as the beauty of music, poetry and dance make us alive. Yet beauty can even emerge out of great despair. Think of the moving spirituals sung by African American slaves. Even brokenness can lead to beauty when it draws us to God. Giving us resilience. Moving us to protect and care for the world and all created beings. Grounding us in our faith in the One who transforms despair into hope and brings new life out of death.
Your partner in ministry,
Pastor Gretchen
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President's Message & Feedback Questionnaire |
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For President Les Gieselman's
message from September 22nd
OR
To take complete the
questionnaire directly,
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New Devotionals Are Available |
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The October/November/December Devotionals have arrived! We have both the small books and large print. If you would like one, you can stop by church during business hours, call the office at 208-344-3011 or email parishadmin@ilcboise.org and we will arrange to get you a copy.
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Is a Grief Support Group Right for You? by Barbara Cordon |
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Barbara Harrison Condon
Grief and Bereavement Practitioner
Pet Loss Grief Specialist, Certified in Death and Grief Studies, Retired Evangelical Lutheran Church in America pastor - barbarajhc@gmail.com
Your spouse or life partner has died. It may have been four to six months ago or two to four years ago. You don’t feel like you have grieved this significant loss well or you have already attended a grief support group but still find yourself wanting more support.
The “Understanding Your Grief” Support Group may be what you are looking for.
We will be working through the book “Understanding Your Grief: Ten Essential Touchstones for Finding Hope and Healing Your Heart” by Dr. Alan Wolfelt. This format gives us a balance of helpful information concerning the ‘how’s’ and ‘whys’ to grieving the loss of a spouse or life partner as well as sufficient time to ‘tell your story’. Part of the healing process of grieving is to teach other people about your loved one. This support group will be a safe place for you to do that.
The group will be a ‘closed’ support group meaning that once we have begun no one new will be allowed to join. This provides us the consistency that we need to build trusting relationships with each other. The group will meet together via Zoom for twelve weeks for 90 minutes per week. Our current schedule has us meeting from 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm on Thursdays. If there is enough interest an evening support group can also be arranged. Although no one new will be able to join once the group has begun meeting, if, after a couple of sessions, you decide this group is not for you, you may quit the group.
The group size will be limited to eight participants plus two co-facilitators. The small size guarantees enough time each week for people to share. We will decide a starting date once we have five participants signed up. We are hoping to begin in mid to late October. There is no cost other than purchasing your own books.
If this support group sounds like something you would like to be a part of please call Barbara Condon at 208-270-1658 for a brief interview. We just want to make sure that this group is the right place for you.
Once you are signed up you will need to purchase the book along with the accompanying Journal. We will give you several options of where to purchase them. Together the cost is around $30.00.
Due to COVID-19 we are meeting via Zoom. The benefit to this medium is you do not have to live in the Boise, ID area to participate. In our last group we had someone from Walla Walla, WA and someone from Swan Valley, MT. We found that our online support group bonded together as well as our in-person support before it.
Do you know someone who may benefit from this group? If so, please pass this information along to her/him. Not sure how to use Zoom? Talk to Barbara. She can help you figure out if you have the necessary equipment (a computer with a web camera, a tablet or a smart phone) and how to download the free Zoom application.
Lastly, we are also considering offering a Divorce Support Group and a Suicide Support Group. If you or someone you know would be interested in either of those please call Barbara. We can consider offering those when we have enough people who are interested.
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In April, a request for members interested in helping us to personally connect with the members of the congregation was made. The mission of the group was to build and maintain congregational relationships. Fourteen faithful individuals stepped up to help us with this thought to be short term endeavor. As we begin our 6th month of this mission, we would like to highlight for you, in the next several weeks, the members of this team.
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In the spotlight today is Becky Langhus
Becky has been a member of Immanuel since 1976, shortly after moving to Boise. She is married to Peter and has a son Gunnar, a daughter Andrea, and four grown grandchildren.
Becky enjoys traveling, walking, hiking, gardening, cooking, playing bridge, Mah Jongg, and golf. She belongs to antique study group, book club and garden club.
Becky has been staying home more and has talked more frequently with her out of state siblings and friends. She has had lots of time to tackle home maintenance projects, cleaning out and throwing away.
Becky has met other church members at the Zoom meetings & learned from their experiences in contacting church members. She says that everyone that has responded to her outreach has been so grateful and appreciative of the communication from Immanuel. Helping others makes her feel better and this was one small way that she could help Immanuel.
Thanks Becky!
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Linden House Update 9/25/2020 by Les Gieselman |
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This week’s article continues the series of chronological presentations of the important meetings, discussions, and reports regarding Linden House, from April 2020 through September 2020.
(April 20, 2020) Church Council Meeting:
- Linden House Update – Les Gieselman
- Process is on hold until Idaho Stay at Home order is lifted. LEAP is still interested in the opportunity and is flexible. Consider preparing written communications to Congregation that we have been looking at the utilization of this property.
- Discussed sign in front of the Linden House.
(May 18, 2020) Church Council Meeting:
- Linden House Update – Les Gieselman
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Started first round of communication via Inside Immanuel Weekly to raise awareness and educate the congregation about Linden House.
(June 15, 2020) Church Council Meeting:
- Linden House Update – Les Gieselman
- Discussed weekly articles on Linden House. We have received positive feedback so far.
(July 20, 2020) Church Council Meeting:
- Linden House Update – Les Gieselman
- Continued sharing information on Linden House through the weekly ILC Newsletter. Council suggested including this information on the ILC website.
(August 17, 2020) Church Council Meeting:
- Linden House Update – Les Gieselman
- Continued updates on Linden House have been published and nearing the point where Council will need to discuss how to gather ILC community feedback on next steps.
(September 21, 2020) Church Council Meeting:
- Linden House Update – Les Gieselman
- Information update article series should be completed this week.
- Discussed Zoom meeting sessions to answer questions and process to present to the Congregation for a vote.
- Carolyn Korn will summarize Linden House updates, post on ILC website and send printed copy to those without technology.
- Council suggested Linden House communications provide invitation to reach out to Les Gieselman with questions.
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The Linden House Update series is now complete. I hope you have a better understanding about the history of Linden House and the important role it has played and continues to play in our community. I encourage you to begin thinking how we can make the best possible future use of this historic and valuable Immanuel property.
So what’s next? First, Carolyn Korn, Parish Administrator, will combine all the Linden House Update articles into one place on the Immanuel website. That will allow you to review that information at your leisure. Details about how to access that information will be provided in early October.
The next step will be to provide several Linden House Information Sessions (online via Zoom) for you to ask questions, voice your concerns, and obtain feedback from me and others. I will notify you when those information sessions have been scheduled, likely starting in mid-October.
And finally, the congregation will vote on their preferred option for the best possible future use of Linden House. This will occur either at the Annual Congregational Meeting in January or at a Special Congregational Meeting, should that be necessary.
If you have specific questions or concerns about Linden House that cannot wait until the information sessions in October, please feel free to contact me.
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Respectfully,
Les Gieselman, President
Immanuel Lutheran Church
208-861-1370 (cell phone)
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Update From Worship & Music |
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The Worship and Music Committee, our church body responsible for making all decisions concerning how we conduct our worship services, met in January and made plans for Lent, Holy Week and Easter. Then the pandemic hit and all of those plans were put on hold. The most recent meeting was in early September where the committee discussed the contents of our online services. That discussion centered on creating a balance of the options for the service contents. Various options were offered and you may see some changes in our online service offerings.
The committee encourages members to offer their comments to us on all things "worship." The committee is also seeking to expand the participation in committee deliberations, so... if there are those who wish to serve on the committee, let me or Pastor know.
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Lutheran Disaster Response |
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Lutheran Disaster Response is engaging with at least three Lutheran social services agencies and five synods to assess the situation and determine the best ways to respond to the terrible wildfires in the west. They expect immediate needs may include food and other necessities, as well as emotional and spiritual care for those who have been traumatized.
What you can do:
Pray: Please pray for the communities that lie in the paths of wildfires in the western United States. May God's healing presence give them peace and hope in their time of need. Pray that God will deliver comfort to those who mourn and strength to those working diligently to contain the fires and care for affected communities.
Give: Your gifts will support wildfire survivors. Gifts to "U.S. Wildfires" will be used in full (100%) to assist those affected by wildfires until the response is complete. Or make a general donation to Lutheran Disaster Response so we can respond to disasters whenever and wherever they strike. (Click on the links to access information and giving.)
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Donate your gently-used, plastic toys that can be easily cleaned. Toys will benefit Idaho Wednesday's Child, supporting foster and adoptive children and families. Let's show them some love.
Bring your toy donations to:
Dept of Health & Welfare
1720 Westgate Drive, Suite D
Boise ID 83704
Monday-Friday, 8am-5pm
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One of our congregation, Julie Bryan, is in need of our help. She is looking for a new, affordable place to live. Once she finds that, she is asking for our help in getting her moved sometime towards the end of this month.
Julie is also looking for a caregiver who can help her 10 to 26 hours per week. This person will help her with housework, grocery shopping, helping her organize and schedule appointments as well as some minimal personal care. She is mobile but has a Traumatic Brain Injury which causes her to need this help. The caregiver would be paid between $10 to $15 per hour by Medicaid. If you have questions, please reach out to Julie at 208-385-9254.
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Gifts of Assistance - COVID-19 Relief Program Update |
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Thanks to the generous gifts from several Immanuel members, we have received $6,500 to support the COVID-19 Relief Program. We invite anyone who is experiencing hardship due to the pandemic to request monetary and/or task assistance from your Immanuel congregational family. As we stated in the introduction of this program: we may not all be in the same boat, but we are all in the same storm. Please find a link to the request form HERE. |
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Children & Youth Ministry by Mary Riedl |
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Chalk the Church - September 27th
Click on the buttons below to view a video message from Mary Riedl, Children and Youth Leader on "Chalk the Church" and to sign-up for the event!
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Last Sunday's Worship Service
is available on
Please click on the link above to view
the worship service
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This online devotional was created by ELCA leaders and pastors from the Treasure Valley. Access it at tvprays.org. You may simply visit the site daily or sign up to receive it in your email inbox. Regular contributors from Immanuel include Barb Condon, Heidi Gainan, Susan Rowe, Kathryn Baerwald, and Pastor Gretchen.
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Thank you to those who are continuing to support Immanuel financially. We realize some of you may be struggling financially right now and are unable to give. Your Immanuel family understands and prays that you can continue to take care of your family. If you are able, please contribute online through the church website by clicking on the "Online GIVING" button. |
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You may also give via U.S. mail, or place your envelope in the mail drop slot to the right of the glass double doors we use to enter the Thomas Chapel, Library, Office area and Hospitality Room. Or you can scan this barcode-like QR code image with a smartphone's QR decoder, it will instantly connect you to the mobile version of the Immanuel web page. It provides a quick and easy way to access the web page.
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Birthdays & Anniversaries |
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BARBARA C – September 30
KATHYN P - October 1
RAELYN H - October 3
BRUCE & JANET O – September 27, 32 Years
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Important Items of Interest |
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Powerful Tools For Caregivers is a 6-part workshop series designed to help family caregivers find balance while caring for a loved one. Click HERE for additional information.
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Food Fellowship Team needs your help preparing desserts. We need summer friendly desserts like cookies or bars without frosting. We will happily wrap them up for serving. With our increased number of guests, we ask that you provide 60 servings four 9 x 13, nine 8X8, or 120 cookies.Sign up on ivolunteer at the Immanuel website.
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Instant Church Directory - To log into the Online Member Directory click on the link: members.instantchurchdirectory.com/. Let's use the directory to reach out and check in with one another while we are physically apart.
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Immanuel's prayer chain offers each of you an opportunity to stay connected to others in our congregation through the power of prayer. Please feel free to contact us by emailing prayers@ilcboise.org and share any prayer requests you may have.
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PayingForSeniorCare.com is to help the elderly and their families fully understand the cost of long term care and the programs that can provide financial support. We have an online database of tools, references, and articles that cover topics like available care options, and free resources that are available in Boise.
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Inside Immanuel Weekly is published/emailed every Friday (occasionally on Thursday.)
The deadline for submitting articles is Wednesday by 5pm.
Saturday September 26
4:00pm, Baptism, Courtyard
Sunday September 27
Sunday Worship, via YouTube
9:30am, Coffee Hour, via Zoom (click HERE for link- ID: 878 3832 6700 - Password: 876800)
10:00am-12:00pm, Chalk the Church, Augustana Steps
7:00pm, Confirmation via Zoom.
Monday September 28
9:30am, Quilt & Comfort Ministry, Quilting Room
11:00am, COVID-19 Task Force Meeting, via Zoom
Tuesday September 29
10:30am, Bible Study, via Zoom
11am-1pm, Silent Contemplation & Prayer, Augustana (call for an appointment)
5:00pm, Stewardship Committee Meeting, via Zoom
5:00pm, Food Fellowship, Immanuel Courtyard
Wednesday September 30
11am-1pm, Silent Contemplation & Prayer, Immanuel (call for an appointment)
3:45pm, Endowment Committee Meeting, via Zoom
6:45-8:00pm, I'm Still Here Book Discussion, via Zoom
Friday October 1
1:15-2:30pm, I'm Still Here Book Discussion, via Zoom
Sunday October October 4
Sunday Worship, via YouTube
9:30am, Coffee Hour, via Zoom (click HERE for link- ID: 878 3832 6700 - Password: 876800)
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