Dear friends in Christ at Immanuel:

In the survey that our 152 of our members completed last spring, in part to help our Synod leaders decide if it would be a useful tool to help other congregations, our "stewardship profile" landed us in the highest percentile rankings when compared with other congregations that had taken the survey. The positive response to the statement "My church does a good job providing me with the information that enables me to give joyfully to the work of the church." landed us in the 99th percentile. We also scored unusually high for agreement with the statement "On the whole, I am in favor of having an annual stewardship appeal."

 

That's very good to know, because we are again about to have one. During October, you will receive a couple of letters and there will be a few Temple Talks sharing information that will help you and encourage you to submit an Estimate of Giving (pledge) card in worship on Reformation/Commitment Sunday, October 27. For those who have been around Immanuel for very long, it will all be familiar, including the encouragement to base your giving decision on what you have received and what portion seems right to share in thanksgiving for God's blessings in your life, instead of giving to meet the budget needs of the church. Along with that will be a suggestion that you commit to grow each year in giving as an expression of your desire to grow in trusting God as a disciple of Jesus.

 

In the survey, when you were asked what influences your decision-making about your giving to the church, the most important by far was "My personal faith and understanding of being generous in supporting God's work in the world." Not too far behind that was "The effectiveness of our church's ministry in making a real difference in my life and in the lives of others."

 

Results like that caused Bishop Hazelwood to schedule a Synod on-line "Webinar" on October 9, with me as his guest, so that other congregations can hear about the way we talk about and practice giving. When he asked me to do this, I told him that I claim no creative credit for what we do, just consistent use of solidly biblical stewardship materials like "Consecration Sunday" and clear information about current giving patterns and trends, alongside honest talk about how difficult and important is the discipline of giving to a life of faith.

 

So far this year (through 9/15), our 141 pledged givers have contributed a total of $217,878, right on target toward their annual pledge of $318,000. That commitment followed an appeal last fall to restore funding for Outreach and Capital needs that had been cut in previous years and resulted in a 10% increase in pledged giving and 10 pledges more than the year before. This fall's appeal will be more like "keep growing" and discovering the joy and confident faith that grows with our giving.  And then we'll say thanks, because your giving not only makes a real difference in your life, but it helps us together to make a real difference in the lives of others.   

Looking for a rainy-day project?  Several sets of materials and directions to stitch up back-pack style bags for LWR School Kits are available in the volunteer office.  See Jen in the office or call Barbara Olson for help.

Women's Circle will meet next on Monday, October 7 at 9:30a.  Valeda & Barbara will host.  Hope to see you then.

All Immanuel Seniors (and anyone else who'd like to join them for lunch) are invited to a "Fall Treats" pot-luck lunch on Thursday, October 10 at noon in the gym. What's your favorite fall main dish? Salad? Dessert? Bring it along and share in the sampling. Coffee and apple cider will be provided. If you'd like to come a little early and help set-up and decorate the tables in the gym for our fall theme, let Pastor Dan know.

On Friday, October 11th, the Christ Lutheran Senior Group will be traveling to the Higgins Armory Museum located at 100 Barber Avenue, Worcester, and you are welcome to join. We will meet at church on Friday, October 11th at 1:00pm to drive to the Higgins Armory. We will carpool to make it easy for everyone. Senior admission is $10.00 per person. We are hoping that every senior can join us. It should be a very interesting exhibit and fun for all. Come join us!  

Our first confirmation class of the year is on Friday, October 11, 6:30-9:00 p.m. at Christ Lutheran Church, and Saturday, October 12, 9:00-11:00 a.m. at Immanuel. (Confirmation students are expected to be at both sessions.) If you haven't had the opportunity to attend the confirmation meeting on September 29, please check in with Pastor Aaron about class requirements soon.

Anyone interested in knowing more about membership at Immanuel is invited to two attend two Sunday morning class sessions with Pastor Dan this October. The sessions will be held in Room #1 in Lawson Hall during the Sunday School hour (10:00 - 10:45am) on Sundays, October 13 and 20. We will welcome new members into the congregation in worship on Reformation / Commitment Sunday, October 27.

As it turns out, October is a really difficult month to schedule. Because of conflicts the Men's Ministry will meet on Saturday the 19th. Rather than a work day it is time to relax, (eat of course), and discuss what we've accomplished and how we'd like to continue. If it is good weather I'd like to meet off-site and enjoy autumn in New England. Please join us even if it is your first time with the Men's Ministry - bring a friend. We'll have plenty of coffee and several breakfast dishes, so just show up. Watch the church bulletin and further e-mails for location. Time will still be 7:00 to 10:00 a.m. 

The Jolly Beggars (Greg Wilfrid, Jeff DesRosier, Dave Uhl, Chris Vece, and Matt Torcellini) bring the rich tradition of Celtic folk music and storytelling to modern day audiences. Based out of Hartford, CT, their traditional songs and musical arrangements have exposed many to the joys of Celtic music. They tell traditional stories from Irish folklore and intersperse their musical arrangements with traditional reels and jigs. Characterized by their tight harmonies and use of guitars, mandolin, tin whistles, octave mandolin, mandola, tenor banjo, double bass, bodhran, spoons, and more, The Jolly Beggars have quickly built a solid following and continue to spread their music around the east coast. The band performs music that is largely Celtic in origin (Irish and Scottish), with some pieces coming from an extension of that music in other cultures.

 

The Jolly Beggars return to Immanuel on October 19 for their fourth annual Benefit Concert for the Holden CROP Hunger Walk. A $10/person donation is requested at the door (children are welcome can bring a canned or non-perishable food item as their donation). Come early for a pot-luck supper at 6:00pm if you want.  Please bring a main dish, salad or dessert to share (sign-up sheet is posted in Lawson Hall). To find out more about The Jolly Beggars or to listen to their music, go to  www.thejollybeggarsmusic.com.  

HOLDEN'S CROP HUNGER WALK CELEBRATES 35 YEARS ON OCTOBER 20

Join us in celebrating our 35th year together with the Holden area churches walking to end hunger on October 20. Church World Services CWS/CROP Hunger walks support communities both locally and globally bringing food water, tools,safe schools and more. In times of severe weather devastating communities right here at home, to helping the poorest residents of small foreign villages build sand dams to provide drinking water and assisting with housing and provision for sanitary living conditions in refugee camps. CWS is there for immediate relief and stays for the long haul to help people build up and sustain lives wherever the needs is. Our local Food Pantries receive 25% of our walk's income as well.

 

Consider walking with us from Immanuel to St Francis and back. Bring your friends, bring your dog (canines welcome!) and share your giving spirit. After the walk a light meal will be served as we enjoy the music by the band "Hit the Bus" and share time with fellow walkers.

 

If you cannot walk, please sponsor a walker, bake some goodies or perhaps drive the van to help others along the route. Recruiters will be in Lawson Hall each Sunday between services.  Stop by our table and sign up! Kathy Mills, Joan Orton, Diana Provencher and our new helper Lori Rabeler would love to see you!  To sign up or donate online click here.

 

Registration begins at 1 pm in the gym. Check out the displays from previous walks and do activities with the Girl Scouts while waiting.  Walkers leave at 1:30 pm after the blessing. Pray for sunshine!

In our worship this October, we will be celebrating how God's love comes down to us, lives in us, and flows out from us to our neighbors and world. How we manage and channel that spiritual flow is our stewardship of life, and how we manage and channel the income and assets of our lives in spending, saving and sharing is our financial stewardship.

 

On Sunday, October 27, we will share in the annual discipline of completing an Estimate of Giving Card for 2014, planning in advance the portion of life's blessings that we will share with our church in the coming year. Most of those who contribute regularly to this church complete a pledge card (141 households last year). It is a practice and discipline that helps us be consistent and to grow year-to-year in giving, and that also helps our congregation's leaders plan expenditures that we can be confident will be funded by our gifts.

 

Every active member household will be receiving a letter early in October introducing this year's pledge campaign and encouraging your participation. A second letter will be sent in the middle of the month with a 2014 Estimate of Giving (pledge) card enclosed, along with some helpful information about our recent patterns of giving. How you respond to this appeal will determine whether later this fall, our planning for 2014 can be creative and mission-driven or whether it will be a discussion of what we might need to cut from our budget. Either way, the congregation will get the final say on adopting a spending plan for 2014 at the Annual Meeting in January.  

"What Do I Say?"

 

Beginning on September 29, Adult Sunday School offers "What Do I Say?" classes, a journey to help us all help others.  Come learn how to recognize when a person is hurting and the importance of:  listening to others, gaining trust and confidentiality, and how to respond to those in need. We will practice becoming better listeners as a key to improving communication.

 

This course is being led by Stephen Leaders Elaine MacNutt, Jane English and Diana Provencher during the learning hour, and it runs for 5 weeks. Please join us in Room 2 at 10:00a this Sunday. 

During this 85th Anniversary season at Immanuel, it is time to update you on the progress of our church's Organ Improvement Fund. We are fast approaching the 35th anniversary of our instrument and we have made a respectable beginning towards raising the funds required for the work of updating its console.

 

The congregation may recall that within the past few years, some uncontrollable mishaps with the electronics of the organ have occurred during the time of our worship services. Fortunately, our organ maintenance people were able to fix these problems by finding the necessary components on the back of a shelf somewhere. However, it was mentioned at the time that these replacement parts no longer exist and a major updating of our console's electronic components needs to be made in the near future or the mishaps will reoccur. Also, due to consistent use over these past years, the keyboards on the organ have worn down and need to be replaced.

 

Since this work is inevitable, our congregation established an Organ Improvement Fund to receive gifts toward this renovation of our instrument, and to continue afterward to provide for the care and maintenance of the pipe organ.  

 

The cost of the electronic upgrade and new keyboards will be approximately $80,000. We have now received just over $12,000 towards this goal. Thanks to all of you, we have made great progress, but we still have a long way to go. This past summer the organ has started to show signs of the need to make these electronic updates sooner rather than later. At times, the pedal notes will stop playing and this past Sunday the pistons actually reprogrammed themselves during our Sunday morning service. So far, I have been able to work around these problems, but they are an indication that the organ is beginning to become unpredictable.

 

We therefore are beginning to think of ways that the needed electronic upgrade can be accomplished in the coming year, perhaps as soon as the summer of 2014. This will require an effort to solicit some major gifts, matching grants and perhaps borrowing from members along with the current fundraising events. Our "Arts at Immanuel" series will be continuing this season with some special holiday services during the time of Advent and a concert by the Merrimack Valley Ringers in the spring. Have you tried our "Yoga Gold" classes on Tuesday afternoons (1:30 - 2:30)?  Have you purchased your Cat's Meow keepsake of Immanuel Lutheran Church?

 

A plan to complete the funding of this project will be presented to the Council this month, with the hope that a final proposal can be brought to the Annual Meeting of the congregation in January. Meanwhile, if you would like to contribute toward the Organ Improvement Fund, simply make your check payable to Immanuel Lutheran Church and clearly mark in the memo line that it is to be given for this purpose. Please also watch for future concerts and activities that will help us with this important organ project and do not hesitate to speak with me if you have any further questions.

 

Thank you for your help and continued support,

Claire Paquette, Music Director

Plan ahead!  Our next turn to assist with Interfaith Hospitality Network on June Street in Worcester is November 17-24.  Our responsibilities include providing evening hosts (5:30p-7:30p), overnight hosts (7:30p-7:00a), and grocery store gift cards or monetary donations so the residents can purchase food for their meals. A sign up sheet for the host responsibilities will be posted in Lawson Hall lobby in November. Grocery store gift cards and monetary donations can be brought to the church office before November 15th. If you have any questions, please contact Mary Jane Rasku, 508-829-9310. Thank you for supporting this outreach ministry.

Missing Dismas Farm?  Get used to it! Sad for us, good for the farm, they don't need any meals to be provided until the day after Thanksgiving. December is also covered until after Christmas. If you would like to visit with the residents and provide a meal on Black Friday, November 29, get in touch with Gail Raney (home phone 978-355-2120 or text her cell 928-925-8219) so she can contact Dismas and join you. Otherwise we'll see what we can do in December or January.

Here are our ILC members at the Christian Youth Conference in Ocean Park, Maine:  Brian Lindberg, Tom Lindberg, Andrew Langhill, Dave Cranson, CJ Ward, Katherine Lindberg, Jenn Ross, Elise Cranson, and little Evangeline!

During coffee hour on Sunday, September 22, we celebrated Pastor Dan and his 35 years of service, 16 of them here at Immanuel. 

Since Pastor Aaron only gets to share worship with the 11:00 crowd once a month, he's decided to add some time to visit with him after worship the second Sunday of each month. So please join him for "Cookies and Conversation" in Lawson Hall at noon on  

October 13.  

Also, our first overnight mission stay of the year is coming up on November 2. Please mark your calendars and plan to join us!

Cost is $5 a class.  No prior experience necessary.

This month we would like to thank:

Immanuel is now hosting AA meetings for our community on Sunday nights at 7:00p.  Kindly honor the program participants as they gather to heal life's wounds and help one another.

Princeton: Lillian Twarog

      

Phillipston: Peg Amons

    

Holden: Frank Gustafson; Everett & Barbara Hultquist; Anja Kasparson; Phyllis Krumbiegel; Gunny Wall 

 

Rutland: Bob & Nancy Hendrickson

Doris Carlson

Coleman House

112 W Main Street

Northboro, MA 01532

 

Helen Davis

Holden Rehab. & Nurs. Center

32 Mayo Dr.

Holden, MA 01520

 

Arnold Gaskin

Eisenberg Assisted Living/Rm 302

629 Salisbury St.

Worcester, MA 01606

 

Penny Roy                

Odd Fellows Home

104 Randolph Road

Worcester, MA 01606  

Fall outdoor cleanup day

at Immanuel 

SATURDAY, NOV. 2

8:00a

 

Youth Mission Stay

SATURDAY, NOV. 2-3

10:00a 

 

Host IHN in Worcester 

NOV. 17 - NOV. 24 

 

Thanksgiving Eve Service

 WEDNESDAY, NOV. 27

7:00p