UPDATE
“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.”
Isaiah 43: 2
Dear Friends,
I hope this note finds you all in a place of safety and comfort. We have been through so much with the storms this year. As we prepared for the second storm, Milton, I realized I must evacuate my residence. I began to pull my important paperwork – birth certificate, passport, insurance, and ran across some old pictures of my parents together, and then a card from the Congregation of Marians. It had in bold letters The Sacred Heart of Jesus glowing on the front imprinted with “JESUS” - the Power of the Holy Name of Jesus. I evacuated to a safer place out east at Ave Maria and kept my card with Jesus next to me for a sense of calm and reassuring comfort. I found as the card says, that the habit of simply repeating our Lord’s name, JESUS is the one essential thing we can do repeatedly each day - to create peace – once we do, it can be an immense treasure in our hands for the rest of our lives!
I’m excited for the new church year with our many celebrations and ministries, and opportunities for fellowship!
Julie
SURVIVING THE HOLIDAYS:
Surviving the Holidays is an event focusing on how to get through the Holidays after a loss, how to schedule or not schedule your participation in holiday events and has a devotional and check lists to help. We also share ideas which have helped all of us in recent holidays, to create new traditions, and continue our prayer practices and fellowship. www.griefshare.org
Wednesday, November 20th – 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM
Wednesday, December 4th – 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM
GriefShare Meetings:
Wednesday, October 23rd – 1:00 PM– 2:30 PM in the Chapel
Wednesday, November 6th – 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM in the Chapel
Our group will then start fresh in January with Sessions 1-13 again to honor all new guests and members to participate in our group.
GRIEF GROUP:
GriefShare is a 13 week Christ centered, Biblically based grief recovery program. It operates in 25,000 churches across the world and is the Number 1 grief program in the world offered only by churches. People with various losses from children, parents, spouses, siblings, grandparents, friends meet weekly over 13 weeks to talk about the emotions, strife, life changes, and creating new tools for creating space for grief and experiencing more healing. Each week a separate topic is covered like "Is this Normal", "Grief and Household", "Grief and Friendships", "Anger" and "Guilt". GriefShare only addresses the loss of human life, not homes, jobs, pets, relationships, etc. There is a workbook required that is available only through the group at the first meeting. There is no cost for those that wish to participate.
HOSPITALITY TEAM VOLUNTEERS:
We are always looking for new hospitality coffee hour volunteers, especially at this time of blended worship in our Family Life Center. We are busy having fun in the kitchen, before and after worship, getting ready to provide warm fellowship to all those in our midst! You can help at any time between 8AM (set-up) and 9:45-10:45 AM (serving). I’m happy to work with your schedule. Thank you to ALL of you for always asking if you can help as well as being committed to your scheduled Sundays to bring a treat in for our coffee hour – you are amazing bakers, and honestly the most reliable and KIND people I have ever met! I am honored and blessed to know you!
STEPHEN MINISTRY:
Our Stephen Ministers continue every day all year, to comfort our members and friends. We are always available to talk to and provide Christian care to you either at your home, or at a place of your choice, even our Chapel here. Emmanuel Lutheran Church was chosen to be a pilot study group for the amazing “Book of Empathy” study guide. Their goal is to help businesses (as well as churches) learn to use more empathy in all areas of their lives and to gather feedback for refining this research ahead of its official release.