Week of May 16 eNews -- Emmanuel Lutheran Church

Emmanuel Lutheran Church eNews

Seventh Sunday of Easter

Week of May 16, 2021

This week at Emmanuel...

May 15: Worship @ 5pm
May 16: Worship @ 8:30am and 10am
May 17: Dorcas Quilters @ 9am
May 18 @ 10am: Torah Tuesdays w/Donna Batchelor
May 20 @ 10am: Thursdays Together
Signup is now open for Altar Flowers and Eternal Candle dedication for May-July of 2021 through the links below or contact the church office.

Thank you to Donna Batchelor, Deacon Scott Pinkerton and Pastor Dave Hess for filling in while Pastor Hall was on vacation.

A Message from your President and Executive Council

Reopening Plans for Emmanuel Lutheran Campus Facilities

May 2021

The Executive Committee (EC) of Emmanuel continues to monitor the state of C-19 in our community on a weekly basis. As the nation, Florida, and in particular, Sarasota County, becomes vaccinated from this pandemic we are anxious to return to our normal campus facilities usage and ministry operations. Our Guideline for Reopening Roadmap currently is at Stage 2, with all facilities closed except the Sanctuary (25% capacity, masks, social distancing) and extremely limited use of a couple of Rowe Hall rooms.

As CDC guidelines have been relaxed for small group gatherings, non-mask wearing outdoors, resumption of sports and other larger outdoor gatherings where people are fully vaccinated, we anticipate also advancing our Reopening guidelines to Stage 3 on May 27th.

What does this mean? Stage 3 provides for the reopening of all campus facilities, with a 50% capacity limit and appropriate social distancing, where the participants are comfortable and C-19 prevention safe. The decision to re-opening a ministry, using campus facilities, will rest with the Committee Chair (not the EC) in consultation with our Parish Nurse, Barb Spenks. With appropriate facilities cleaning procedures and adherence to current CDC guidelines, we anticipate many of our ministries will be able to resume operations this summer. Facebook and Emmanuel website weekly worship services on the internet will continue, Christian Education presentations and ZOOM get-togethers will also continue, serving those not able to be present in-person or still concerned about contracting the virus. Worship and Music, led by Council Member, Mike Anderson, and the EC, will be introducing additional guidelines for summer Sanctuary services as CDC guidelines are revised for larger indoor gatherings.

Thank you all for your patience with our campus closure over the past 15 months. We continually pray that we are faithfully guided to strike the right balance between keeping our congregants safe and continuing to do God’s Work with Our Hands during this unprecedented time in the life of Emmanuel Lutheran.

I am looking forward to welcoming you back in-person soon.

Gordon Storey, Emmanuel Council President

We need pictures please...

If you have a group or any activity at Emmanuel, please take some pictures and send them to the office at info@emmanuel-elca.org. We would like to put current activities on our website for others to see and explore!

Attention!!!

All meetings, whether in-person or via zoom, need to be scheduled through the office. It's a good idea to check on availability before you tell your members. This goes for both the office area, church building, Narthex collections, etc. Thanks.

Our Constitution specifies: “This congregation shall have an Endowment Fund. The purpose of the Endowment Fund is to provide for ministry beyond the operational budget of this Congregation.”

What is an endowment fund? An Endowment Fund is a legal structure for managing financial investments for a specific purpose according to the will of its founders and donors. Our Endowment Fund allows the Congregation to make a long term commitment to our Church’s ministries. As our Endowment Fund appreciates from investment growth we can use this money without taking from the Capital allowing us to support ministries not included in our annual Budget.

If you have questions about donating or including an Emmanuel Endowment Fund in your estate plans please contact the Treasurer.

Blessings,

Chuck Koons, Church Treasurer

Christian Education has many upcoming events planned:

Torah Tuesdays are currently taking place in the sanctuary and online. In-person, the group meets at 10 a.m. on Tuesdays, and all classes are accessible at your own convenience online. Register on the website for in-person attendance.
Confirmation is continuing until the end of May.
VBS is currently planned for June 21-25 led by Nick Sperry.
In Sept. 2021, Kathy Anderson will lead a study on James.
Once Emmanuel is fully opened again for in-person events, we will offer an adult forum with different topics being explored.

Christian Ed is hoping to add new members to the committee. Our next meeting is May 19 at 9:30 a.m. via Zoom. If you have an interest in our committee, please email us at emmchristianed@gmail.com

The South County Food Pantry cart will be in the Narthex this month to accept donations. Please only bring items when you come to worship. Donations during the week may be dropped off at the Pantry located at 121 Warfield Ave, Venice, 9am to 12noon weekdays.

As we plan for more activities at Emmanuel, we are in need of Blood Pressure Volunteers. Contact Barb at parishnurse@emmanuel-elca.org.

Barb's Medical Minute

Here’s a few tips:

Believe it or not hearing, a birdsong for 7 to 10 minutes at a time is good for lifting your mood.
If you are taking Vitamin D, you only need 200 IU a day. As an older adult, if you are taking 1000 IU a day or more a study showed there is no benefit, and it even hiked the risk of serious falls with the increased dose.
If your fresh fruit spoils before you get around to eating it, try dried or canned. Buy canned in water, not syrup, and dried fruit without added sugars—it’s just as healthy!

Good to know!

Upcoming Events and Opportunities:

Dorcas will begin the summer schedule by meeting every other Monday at 9am starting this week, May 17. We continue to need sheets of any color, flat or fitted. Thank you to everyone who continues to support our mission. Jackie

Explore Centering Prayer to enrich your prayer life. Birdie Clark leads this group for those new to Centering Prayer as well as those who have perhaps practiced before on Fridays at 9:30am. All are welcome!

Please email or phone Birdie if you are interested or have questions at birdieclark48@aol.com or 941.488.4360.

Join via Zoom on Fridays at 9:30am

See the Torah Tuesday Video Showcase - Click Here

Join via Zoom this Thursday @ 10am

Embark on an epic quest through hidden ruins, ancient caves, and dense jungles. At Treasured VBS, kids dig into action-packed, faith-filled adventures. They’ll discover God’s greatest treasure isn’t diamonds, gems, or gold–it's them! Click the button below to view an introduction video and for online registration for both kids and volunteers.

In Our Prayers...

Walter Anderson (Mike's father), Dottie Bradley, Jack Eagon, Jon Fusselman and Ninan Mathew.

The friends and families of George Hawkins and Darold Sage who passed to the church triumphant last week.

The best source for up-to-date information about our members is by using the mobile directory. To receive the link and password for this, email info@emmanuel-elca.org.

If you do not have access to this directory, a new printed copy of our membership information is available at the table in the Narthex.

May thru July Now Available!

July sign-ups are now available. Click the links below to reserve your date to remember or honor a loved one or a special event by sponsoring the Altar Flowers or Eternal Candle for April-June. Please submit your dedication with payment no later than 2 weeks prior to your reserved date. If you have any questions or are unable to sign-up online, contact the office.

Altar Flowers May-July

Eternal Candle May-July

Registration Information

You may also register for this coming weekend as well as next weekend through our website www.emmanuel-elca.org.
When you register for worship and find your preferred service is full, you might want to check another service.
If you need to edit or cancel your registration, use the links provided in the email confirmation you received when registering.

Remember these guidelines when coming to worship:

6 feet social distancing requirements - do not crowd pews.
Remember to wear a mask with nose and mouth covered and use the hand sanitizer available in the narthex or pews.
Limited seating is available in the balcony. Please wait for an usher to escort you. The seats in the back of the sanctuary should only be used when the pews are "full".
Please do not stop and visit in the narthex or inside the sanctuary.
Wait for the ushers to dismiss your row. They start at the back of the sanctuary. For everyone’s safety and proper distancing, follow the ushers instructions.

Reminder: Please wear your Name Badges when attending worship so we know who you are while wearing your face masks!!! Also, please silence your cell phone out of consideration for all worshippers.

Readings for This Week

May 16

Seventh Sunday of Easter

Acts 1:15-17,21-26

Psalm 1

I John 5:9-13

John 17:6-19

May 23

Day of Pentecost

Acts 2:1-21

Psalm 104:24-34,35b

Romans 8:22-27

John 15:26-27;16:4b-15

For your information...

Want to know more about some of the items in eNews? When viewing the eNews online or on your mobile device and you see the pointing finger when running your mouse over a graphic or text, you will be able to link to more information such as a flyer, website, etc. Try it with the top picture of the church!!

Previous copies of the eNews may be viewed by clicking here.

Devotional/worship: Sunday Worship is posted after 8:30am to the website and the 10am service is live-streamed on FaceBook. Thursdays Together with Pastor Hall is accessible through the Zoom link above. All previous worship services are also available through our website by clicking on the Vimeo logo in the upper left corner of the posted video on the website.

Check out Emmanuel's website on the Events page to view upcoming events, Sunday's announcement PowerPoint, and pictures of recent activities as available.