Happenings November 8, 2019

One of the trends in worship which I have resisted is the omission of a Confession of Sin.  It seems folks don’t like admitting they are wrong, sinful, or broken.  The trend now, for a number of years, has been to entertain, praise and just feel good.  I know I am a pastoral dinosaur in many ways, but I just can’t let go of a Time of Confession and Assurance -- a time of humbling oneself in worship.  It seems I am not alone.  I share with you now, some thoughts from Maren Tirabassi.  Ms. Tirabassi is a United Church of Christ pastor who serves churches in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. She is the author of 20 books and a former poet laureate of Portsmouth, NH.

Morning Prayer, November 7, 2019

I am four out of five months through two short-term interims (a sabbatical and a paternity leave) in amazing and wonderful churches. But neither of them have a weekly prayer of confession in their liturgy and I miss it. I never thought I would miss finding every week a new, simple, short way to phrase what it is in our contemporary lives to fall short, to miss the mark ... to en-debt, trespass, sin, break the heart of God, shrivel just a little our own ... but I do.

Prayer of Confession

Gentle God, we confess this morning

to ourselves, one another and to you,

that we do not live as you call us.

We orbit around our own concerns,

rather than the needs of others;

we focus on safe possessions,

rather than scary possibilities;

we are Sabbath-starved and prayer-poor

when these things could actually give us

more time and more energy.

Make us new this day

by re-shaping us in the image of love, giving,

and new openness to others. Amen

Assurance of Grace

Before even the mountains were brought forth, God’s compassion is. We are forgiven. God’s forgiveness steers us through our false turnings on the twisting and dangerous roads of our climbing day. Thanks be to God.

Pastor Dale

Scripture

   Job 19:23-27a

   2 Thessalonians 2:1-5 and 13-17

   Luke 20:27-38

THIS SUNDAY’S LEADERSHIP TEAM:

Presiding:  The Rev. Dale Krotee

Music Director and Organist: J. Curtis White

Immanuel Church Chancel Choir

Pianist:   Lynne Breil, Tina Lyte        

Acolyte:  Andrew Albert

Ushers:  Robin Burton, Lynn Lyons, Brady Lyons Kathy Kelly

Nursery Staff:  Stephanie Carmine

Nursery Assistant: Tammy Luthy

Sound System:  Jack Breil, Keith Malkus, Tom Wilkison

This Week at Immanuel:  (Office hours  M-F, 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.)

   Sunday     9:00am                  Sunday School

                    9:15-11:30am         Nursery Care

                    10:00am                 Worship 

                    11:00am                 Fellowship in the Narthex 

                    11:30am                 Planning for 2020                  

   Monday     6:30pm                  Church Council    

   Tuesday    12-1 pm                 Bible Study     

                     12:30pm                Dorchester General Hospital Aux. luncheon

   Thursday    6:30pm                 Choir Practice

TRUNK OR TREAT:  Christian Education Board would like to thank all who participated in the Trunk or Treat this year. We had about 130 treaters and it turned out to be a wonderful evening. We hope to see your Trunk next year!

BIBLE STUDY:  We will be discussing the book “Faith Is The Answer, But What Are The Questions?” by James Moore.  Come join us for soup

and study starting Tuesday, September 10 – December 17, 2019 from 2noon to 1pm. Please RSVP Donna Campbell 443-521-0112 or luth4502@gmail.com or Claudia McDonald 410-463-4055 or mcgingermud@aol.com.

PRE-PAID FUEL 2019-2020: This is just a reminder that cold weather is just around the corner and the need to keep our church building warm this winter

is always a challenge.   Getting help with this expense via our pre-paid fuel account is a big help in meeting our financial obligations.  Our goal this year

is $10,000.  Can you help?

DONATIONS:  To those who continue to meet their pledges throughout the year and offer monetary help when needed, thank you!   Now, the bad news

is that we are falling very short in our donations and the general fund is suffering.  We are having to borrow money from other accounts to meet our obligations.  Now, we find that we will need to dig a new well and we don’t have the cost figures for that at this time, but it won’t be cheap.  We have to pay mortgages,

utilities, payroll, insurances, Federal & State withholding taxes just to name a few of the monthly obligations.  Please give what you can when you can so that we are not continuing to run in the RED.

FINANCIAL SECRETARY:  Sandy Dodson will be retiring from this position at the end of 2020.  We are seeking someone, hopefully from the congregation, to fill this vacancy.  For job description, contact the office.

PLANNING FOR 2019:  All committees – mark your calendar for Sunday, November 11    following the worship service at 11:30am. There will be a meeting in the Fellowship Hall to plan events for 2020.  This is the time that the various committees and individuals come together to make plans for the next year.  We are asking for your input.   If you would like to "schedule/plan an organized” fundraiser for the Church, please come to the meeting.  If you have a fundraiser idea, come to the meeting.  This will help in avoiding conflicts with scheduling during the

HOLIDAY BAZAAR:  The Holiday Bazaar is the “last fund raiser” of the year and it will be held on November 23rd—the Saturday prior to Thanksgiving. This has been one of our largest fund raisers and many people in the community come to enjoy all our food, bake table, and items we have for sale.  We will need volunteers to help as well as bakers.  Sign-up sheet is available in the Narthex.

COMMUNITY THANKSGIVING SERVICE: Tuesday, Nov. 26th at 6:00pm at Waugh Chapel United Methodist Church, 425 High Street, Cambridge, MD.

LADIES PRAYER BREAKFAST:  November 16 at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church at 8am.  Betsy Malkus will be delivering the message.

Janice Haller, Church Secretary