Announcements
Weekly Announcements
March 2, 2025
Immanuel invites you to join us for a Choral Music Concert this Tuesday, March 4. We will host the Walther Choirs from Walther Christian Academy in Melrose Park, Illinois as they spread joy through song.
This talented group of students have hit the road for a week-long tour of Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Illinois. They are beginning with us at Immanuel, where they will share the gift of music, faith, and fellowship with us and our community.
Their concert will be held at 7:00pm on Tuesday, March 4 in Immanuel’s Sanctuary. Share the Facebook event, and invite your friends!
Special thanks to all our members who volunteered to host the students, and our members who volunteered to provide breakfast for the group.
Share the event on Facebook: www.facebook.com/share/18v15fWngm/
Series for Lent
We are excited to be worshipping in our new sanctuary and looking forward to the Lenten Journey from Ash Wednesday to Good Friday. Our series for Lent is titled Savior, Servant, Friend. Lent provides us with a perfect chance to explore the extraordinary attributes of our Savior, Servant, Friend, who is Jesus, and marvel at the blessings we receive from his suffering, death and resurrection.
We encourage you to take a devotional booklet home with you from the information booth (the red wall) and commit to 40 days of being in God’s Word and devotion.
Lenten Meals
Our Winter Eph4 sessions ended last week. This Wednesday, March 5, we will move our Wednesday activities to our church site as we celebrate Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent. Our first weekly Lenten Meal will be sponsored by Immanuel’s Youth Group, who will be serving chicken noodle soup! This meal will begin at 5pm in the Mission Center. Ash Wednesday worship will start at 6pm in the Sanctuary, including the imposition of ashes and holy communion.
The Red Letter Challenge
Join Pastor Tim and Pastor Bryce in a new adult Bible Study starting this Sunday: The Red Letter Challenge. This study will meet in the Cyprus Room between worship services.
In Red Letter Challenge, you will be introduced, through the words of Jesus, to the five main targets of being a disciple: Being, Forgiving, Serving, Giving, and Going.
If you are tired of checking religious boxes, if you know that you were made for something more, and if you want to make a greater difference in this world, Red Letter Challenge is for you! Get ready to unite around the words of Jesus and be challenged to put His words into practice for 40 days.
Guest Readers
Are you interested in reading a book to the Kindergarten class at Immanuel Lutheran School? We would love to have you as a guest reader! Members who are interested in reading may contact Teacher Laura Kester by email, or may express by stopping by the red wall.
lkester@immanuelrapids.com
Drive for Homeless Hygiene Supplies
The Family Radio Network’s annual “Help for the Homeless” hygiene drive collects new, personal care items and cleaning products for area crisis agencies which include The Family Center. The goal of Help for the Homeless is to provide a year’s worth of supplies to each agency. Donations will remain here in Rapids, and are shared between The Family Center, Hannah Center, and FOCUS Food Pantry.
Please bring your donations to the collection box in the church entry, or the box located in the school office. Boxes will be available through March 16.
Most urgent needs include: soaps (laundry, dish, soft, shower gel, 2-in-1 shampoo); trash bags (shelters especially need these for bedrooms); diapers (sizes 3-6 and Pull-Ups); deodorant (unscented); wet wipes; toilet paper; paper towels; disposable razors; Tampons and maxi pads
Wheelchairs available
As we settle into our new church home, we continue to take steps to ensure we are meeting the needs of those with accessibility challenges. With that in mind, we have moved our wheelchairs to the entry area for the use of anyone who needs them on site. If you would like wheelchair assistance from your car or the canopy to your seat, please let us know.
Pavers
This is the final week to submit your order for the May/June placement of pavers in the Immanuel Lutheran Church and School Memorial Garden. If you would like to purchase a paver, please complete your form and submit it to the Church office by this Friday, March 7, to meet the deadline for our first placement this spring. Forms are available at the red wall or on the Church Center app.
We look forward to creating this place of reflection and remembrance this spring.
News and Notes
• Immanuel will work with Harmann Studios in late April and May to create a new pictorial directory for our church. Learn more about it in the newsletter and at the display by the red wall.
• Immanuel’s Youth will again hold their annual Palm Sunday Brunch on April 13 in the Mission Center. Watch for further details.
• Our True North VBS at Immanuel will take place in early June. This year, the VBS will take place during weekday mornings. Interested in helping out? Express interest in helping Nic Cass and the team through the form below.
immanuelrapids.churchcenter.com/
people/forms/916284
Thank you
Thank you to everyone who worked so hard to make last weekend’s Open House and Dedication events such a success! It was a great step in re-introducing a re-imagined Immanuel to the community.
As you know, Immanuel had announced that offerings from the event would go toward the completion of our office area. Those offerings, together with other online donations and envelopes for this offering would be matched up to $25,000.
We are pleased to announce that your generous donations of $20,055 has been matched. Through the first week of the collection, we have received a total of $40,110! If you would like to donate toward this project and receive a dollar-for-dollar match, we continue to have special offering envelopes available by the red wall. If you would like to give online toward this Office Buildout, you may now do so through Church Center using the link below by choosing “Office Buildout” as your fund.
Building Tidbits
First up: As many of you know, the pews from our old building were repurposed into some beautiful items in our new building. The pews had three main parts. The backs and arms of the pews – while oak – were not very usable. The seats, however, were made from solid butternut boards. Many of those beautiful boards were cleaned and repurposed by Dean Schoenick. He turned them into the 10 beautiful tabletops you see in the Gathering Space. The underside of the pews became the top of the tables (after getting off the gum you stuck there 50 years ago!). The curved seat of the pew …
… is still visible on the bottoms of the tabletops. Dean added some costume table legs, added sealant, and produced the awesome tables for us to use. Thanks, Dean!
The pew wood was also used to make the wayfinding signs you see around the building, including the room signs. These boards were made and engraved by school parent Jeremy Rakowski. Thanks, Jeremy!
Bonus item: You may have noticed a set of floor-to-ceiling cabinets between the water fountain (bubbler!) and the Kids Zone. Those cabinets will be a place to store items for youth and kids activities. But it will also be a place where we will have items on hand for all ages to use for pull-out activities. For adults, we have some playing cards. For youth, we will have some board games. For kids, there may be bins with coloring supplies or other activities. We are just starting to fill the space with fun supplies. Have an idea or two for fun items to include? Pass them along to Pastor Bryce or Nic Cass!