Inside Immanuel Weekly

"WE SHARE GOD'S GIFT OF LOVE WITH ALL"

Sunday, April 11, 2021

8:30am - Immanuel Sanctuary *

10:30am - Immanuel Sanctuary *

*The in-person services have limited seating.

To make reservations, please contact the church office at

208-344-3011 or parishadmin@ilcboise.org.

Video Worship Will Be Available Saturday Afternoon/Evening On Immanuel's YouTube Channel

Almighty God, with joy we celebrate the day of our Lord’s resurrection. By the grace of Christ among us, enable us to show the power of the resurrection in all that we say and do, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Dear Disciples of Jesus at Immanuel Lutheran,

Our Easter celebration continues right up to the 50th Day, the Day of Pentecost on May 23. There is not one but seven Sundays OF Easter. So I will say it again, “Alleluia, Christ is risen!” On this coming 2nd Sunday of Easter, we will hear a story about the risen Jesus appearing to his fearful disciples locked up behind closed doors on Easter night. One of them was missing—Thomas. But Thomas WAS present a week later when Jesus comes back for an encore. There is a lot going on in this Gospel story. You might want to read it in advance—John 20:19-31—and dwell in it for a while.

For me, among other things, the story challenges me with where I am living and am going to live in the future. Do you and I have TWO homes? What does that second home look like? What happens there? Why would we call it a “home?” Why would we want to “live” there? Those are some of the questions I am wrestling with as I prepare to lead worship on Sunday—on-line and in-person.

This is my last column as you “interim worship leader” in advance of our Interim Pastor arriving this week. It has been a an honor and a privilege to lead you in worship since Pastor Gretchen retired on March 1. I will re-join you in those pew chairs next Sunday morning.

Yes, in-person worship will continue at 8:30 and 10:30am each Sunday as well as our on-line service which gets posted some time on Saturday. “See” you in some way this weekend.

Blessings,

Jim Grunow, “retired pastor” and your partner in the Gospel

President's Message by Barb Schmidt

Dear Immanuel Friends and Family,

Alleluia, Christ is risen! Wishing everyone a blessed Easter Season in this busy month of April.

Sunday, April 11th will be Jim Grunow’s final Sunday as our “pre-interim” Pastor. Please join me in saying THANK YOU to Pastor Jim for all of the wonderful worship services provided, helping us return to in-person services, and maintaining stability in our congregation as we begin our transition journey to a new chapter for Immanuel Lutheran Church. We celebrate Jim’s continued fellowship as our brother in Christ.

8:30am and 10:30am in-person services in the Immanuel Sanctuary this Sunday will look different as we try out a new seating process, but be assured that our safety practices of hand hygiene, 6-foot distancing and masks remain in place. Reservations are required, but specific seats will not be preassigned so that there is more choice where you sit in the sanctuary. Call the office to register for either service. 208-344-3011.

On Tuesday, April 13th from 3:00pm to 7:00pm, we are hosting a COVID-19 vaccine clinic by St. Als. This is the “one and done” shot from Johnson & Johnson. If you have not had your vaccine yet and would like to sign up, please give the office a call to set up a reservation time. There is no charge for the vaccine.

Sunday April 18th we will welcome our new Interim Pastor Paul Olsen as he leads us in worship both online and in person. I have attached his biography for your information and we will be organizing a virtual meet and greet for him in the near future. Click HERE for link to bio.

Until next time…

God’s Peace

Barb Schmidt, President

An Opportunity To Help In A Significant Way!

Some of you may remember that when the Betoubam family came to the United States several years ago, their adult daughter and baby were to accompany them.

There was a huge mix up in Cameroon and daughter Christelle and her little one were blocked from coming as refugees.

Since that time, they have suffered hardships that are unimaginable. Current levels of violence in Cameroon have escalated and the family has ongoing medical challenges, particularly the baby.

The New American Ministry team at Immanuel agrees that we would like to provide ongoing financial support to help them through this period. Funds would be used for medical care, nutrition, and possible housing.

If you would like to support our efforts, your donations may be directed to the NAM team. Make your checks out to “Immanuel Lutheran Church” and earmark them for the New Americans Ministry Team. We know these resources will be hugely impactful, and we deeply appreciate your support.

Ellen Anderson, Jo Stensaas, and Jim Grunow

Co-Coordinators of the New Americans Ministry Team

A Few More Furnishings Needed For Interim Pastor Paul

A big thank you to those who have helped

to furnish Pastor Paul’s apartment!

Pastor Paul will be arriving in Boise on April 15th. There are still a few items that we could use to help make his apartment a home. If you are able to provide any of the items, please call the church office at 208-344-3011 or email parishadmin@ilcboise.org before bringing them to the church so we make sure we don’t duplicate items.

Kitchen: Pots and Pans, Dishes, Silverware, Serving/cooking utensils

Other: TV trays

Boise's Beautiful Churches

Immanuel Lutheran Church:

Thank you for your contribution to our April edition of Boise Lifestyle. The magazine is starting to appear in mailboxes now, and the digital link is below. The “Boise’s Beautiful Churches” story begins on page 20, and feedback has been wonderful!

Thank you again for the information and photographs you provided for this special story about the extraordinary architecture of your church. Digital link: https://citylifestyle.com/boise/issues/2021-04

Best regards,

Kimber Patterson

Editorial Coordinator

Boise & Meridian Lifestyle

kimber.patterson@lifestylepubs.com

Food Fellowship Help Needed

The Food Fellowship Team is looking for volunteers to help with Food Fellowship laundry. Additionally, the team can use your help preparing desserts. Easily packaged desserts like cookies or bars without frosting are needed. We ask that you provide 60 servings four 9 x 13, nine 8X8, or 120 cookies. Sign up on ivolunteer at the Immanuel website for either laundry or desserts.

Volunteers are also needed to join the Food Fellowship Monday Morning Food Pickup Team. Each volunteer is assigned one Monday each month to pick up food from local restaurants/coffee shops. On a typical pick-up morning, it is necessary to 1) grab the food bags from the Church, 2) drive to locations (Starbucks) and pick up donated food, 3) return to Church, sort, count and refrigerate food, 4) text Cindy food count by location and lastly, return food bags to kitchen. Food is distributed to Food Fellowship guests. To volunteer contact Jerry Healy at 208-859-0162.

Children & Youth Update by Mary Riedl

Youth Space Update

We are going to be putting together our downstairs youth spaces soon. Please let me know if you have input about what you’d like to see/avoid in those spaces. I will be meeting with the lower level task force soon!

This summer, I will also be asking for some volunteers when it comes time to finish putting things away and organizing! It’s a big task, but I’ll buy pizza and root beer for all of the volunteers who come to help!

Youth Gathering-4/11-6:00pm, Kristin Armstrong Park! 500 S Walnut St, Boise

Come celebrate Easter, and share your Lent Challenge results with the youth from St. Michael's! We will meet at 6:00pm and enjoy S’mores and fun!

Children's Choir

We are working on the song “Is He Worthy” for a week in Easter. If you’re interested in joining us in song, please let me know so that I can get you the instructions and practice track!

Acolyte Scheduling

We need acolytes for Easter Season! Please contact me to set up a time when your children can come record lighting the candles for our online service. We will not be having acolytes for our in-person service at this time, but we will be evaluating that as we move into summer.

Camp Sign-Up

Luther Heights is open for youth camp this summer! https://lutherheights.org/ We encourage all kids to try to attend camp if possible. If you’d like your kids to attend but need financial, transportation, or other assistance, please contact me or Luther Heights so we can see what we can do!

Save the Date: June 6-9 - Mission Trip to Boise!

Join St. Michaels to have a mission trip to Boise. More information will be coming soon.

4/11 - Video and Classroom opens

4/18 - Small Group meets at 7pm Via Zoom

4/25 - Small Group meets at 7pm Via Zoom

5/2 - 1:00 Hope Lutheran. In person picnic!!

Join the ILC Youth Connect Facebook Group and the

ILC Child & Youth YouTube Channel

to stay connected!

Giving Options

Online GIVING

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.

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.

Birthdays

Robyn C – 4/11

Keith J – 4/11

B.J. K – 4/11

Greg S – 4/12

Tamara R – 4/14

Levi I – 4/16

Important Items of Interest

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. Please find a link to the request form HERE.

Christ in Our Home devotionals for April/May/June 2021 are available. 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.