Immanuel Lutheran Church

501 E. Creswell AvenueGreenwood, SC 29646Phone: (864)223-0590

www.ilcgreenwood.com

Sunday School: 9:00 am Worship: 10 am

11:00 am Worship isbroadcast on

92.9 WZLA FM

Office Hours Monday- Thursday8:30 am - 3:30 pmClosed on Friday

Pastor Rev. Rusty Kehl

Parish Music Director Emily Wallace

Office Administrator Michael Talbert

michael.ilcgreenwood@gmail.com

Ministries Facilitator Lindsey Peralta

Parish Sexton George Beveridge

Nursery Staff Linda Beveridge

Congregational President Bob Koch

Pastor Emeritus Rev. R. Earl McCombs, Jr.

MISSION STATEMENT

By the grace of God, we are disciplesgrowing in faith,

serving our community and connecting others to

Christ.

RALLY DAY IS COMING SOON!

That’s right, it’s Rally Day and you are invited to join us for a catered meal in the Fellow Center following the Sunday service on September 8th. There will be presentations on the various ministries of your church along with music and community as we kick off another year. If you are going to join us please call the office and let us know.

-Pastor Rusty

IMMANUEL’S MESSENGERVOLUME 65 PAGE 1 SEPTEMBER 2019

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FROM THE DESK OF PASTOR RUSTY

RelevantWhen we receive information, and a lot of it; we are challenged to discern what is relevant to us and what is not. We have to sift through the weight of the information and pick out what is going to affect my life and process that information. This can be overwhelming as we struggle with, and worry about, the prospect that we have missed some special and necessary piece of our life puzzle. And yes, we will miss and overlook issues that are essential to us. 

One of the challenges in preparing a sermon is discerning what is it that is being said and what it is that needs to be heard from the text, because there are often many different positions and perspectives to the text. I have at times had epiphanies while reading the Gospel lesson on Sunday morning and thought, “How did I miss that?”, and then wrestled with how I was going to alter my sermon to get in this critical perspective. The Spirit can be a harsh companion at times when showing us the relevancy of things.

One of the challenges for us in dealing with the Gospel is that Jesus confronts us with so much information and wisdom that we sometimes feel that we are left to decide and judge for ourselves what it is that is relevant to us. Well, that becomes troubling when we leave it to our own brokenness to decide what is relevant to us. But in reality, there is much comfort in this knowledge where we discern how the Gospel applies to our life. But the harsh reality is that all of the Gospel applies to our life, every word, not just the parts that we want to apply. Honestly, we deceive ourselves when we selectively decide how we want the Gospel to change us, or decide what needs to be changed. In this we assign our own righteousness. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is relevant, all of it. It is this gospel that guides us and pulls us into a human form that the Divine desires for the world to bear witness, where we reflect the glory of God. 

God’s Peace,

Pastor Rusty

Rev. Rusty Kehl Pastor, Immanuel Lutheran Church

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THE LEARNING PAGE!

September Bible Study Schedule Tuesday 9/3, 1:30 pm - Bible StudyTuesday 9/10, 1:30 pm - Bible Study

Tuesday 9/17, 1:30 pm - No Bible StudyTuesday 9/24, 1:30 pm - Bible Study

Thursday 9/5, 6:15 pm - Bible StudyThursday 9/12, 6:15 pm - Bible StudyThursday 9/19, 6:15 pm - Bible StudyThursday 9/26, 6:15 pm - Bible Study

Pickle Jar Starting September 8th, during the Children’s Sermon, we will be encouraging children to bring some change forward with them to put in the Pickle Jar. This does two things; it starts an education process of giving to the ministries of the church for other people that find themselves in a pickle. Also, with these funds, during Gifts of Hope Campaign during Advent, we will let the kids help to decide how it is that we might spend some of the Pickle Jar money as they are educated to recognize that compassion and outreach is a global engagement and that there are children struggling all over the world.Blessing of the Backpacks We will be blessing the backpacks of our youth as they head off to school for the year on September 8th during worship.Coming Soon We will be looking for volunteers to help with paint prep work at Kinard Manor. This will involve rolling out paper to protect the floors and caulking and patching. And yes, then we paint. Please stay tuned for the date!Bible Study Our next Bible study will be on Paul’s letter to the Romans. Stay tuned for the dates and times.WELCA There will be no Circle Meetings during the month of September. The Foothills Conference will meet at St. Mathias, Easley at 10:00 AM on Saturday, September 28th. A sign-up sheet will be on the WELCA Bulletin Board.

FROM THE ORGAN BENCH

Emily Wallace, Music Director

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ON OUR WAY REJOICING Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say “Rejoice.” The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. Philippians 4: 4, 5b-6

Greetings, friends! One of the things that I love about our congregation is the joyous sound of God’s children praising Him with song! What a glorious experience! The way this singing is supposed to work (and it does very much here) is that the organist invites the congregation to sing with the introduction. Sometimes it can be simple, and sometimes it can be fancy, but the idea is that the introduction is an invitation to sing. As the congregation joins in, and as the hymn progresses, the congregation and the organist inspire each other until the last verse, which ends in a glorious way. But not always. Some hymns are more thoughtful and muted. Sometimes the road we travel is hard, and glorious singing is not in our hearts. But we sing anyway, using music as a prayer to lift up to God. As we travel this worship journey together, it is my sincere hope that our song brings you into a closer fellowship with God and enables you to “make your requests known to God.”

On August 18, we began a new journey to learn a new musical setting of The Eucharist. Not all at once, mind you, but in increments that are easier to absorb. During the Prelude, the choir will introduce one or two components, and we’ll sing those, and follow with the parts from a familiar setting. We’ll do this for a couple of weeks until everyone has a chance to get used to it, and then we’ll introduce another component. Gradually as we progress toward the end of September, we will have learned the new setting. This new setting is a delightful one, written by Marty Haugen, the composer who wrote “Holden Evening Prayer” that we’ve come to enjoy at our Lenten services. Marty Haugen was born in 1950 in Minnesota, raised in the Lutheran Church (ALC at the time) and graduated from Luther College. He wrote the text and music to our Hymn of the Month, “Gather Us In.” I invite you to turn to ELW 532 the next time you come to worship and read the text. The text is a wonderful description of what worship is and how worship energizes us for the journey.

Rehearsals began on August 14. Our handbell group could use some folks who are willing to substitute. Every once in a while people need to be away, and sometimes it’s hard to rehearse with folks missing. If you’ve ever rung, but stopped because you needed a break or needed not to be tied up with rehearsal every week, it would be wonderful if you could help us out as a substitute here and there. Our chancel choir could use a few sopranos, too. Send me an email at pedalstomper1685@gmail.com or call me at 864-344-9429.

Have a favorite hymn you’d like to sing? Write the hymn number and your name on a piece of paper and leave it on top of the organ at the end or beginning of the worship service. I’ll put it in to the schedule and let you know what Sunday we’ll sing it, so you’ll be sure not to miss it!

Shalom,Emily Wallace

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How was Guatemala 2019? Happy with Little by Cullen Vandegrift

I went to Guatemala in June and had an absolute blast! It was easily one of the best trips I’ve ever been on and I’ve hiked through the New Mexico wilderness and spent a week scuba diving in Florida. We flew into Guatemala City, got on our bus and as we rode through the city, the first thing I noticed was the smells. All the car fumes and trash laying around smelled horrible. I like the smell of old cars, but I couldn’t handle this! We got to our hotel in Antigua and it was a nice hotel but the first night I fell off my top bunk. That’s when I thought “oh man what have I gotten myself into?” The next morning we went to the school. When we arrived, we were swarmed by kids hugging us. I was expecting they would be full of self-pity but no, they had big smiles on their faces as they clung to my legs. I was amazed at how accepting and trusting they were. They were half my size. I could’ve easily punted them down the street, but they just hugged and hugged. It was very heartwarming. After the team worked a long day in the medical clinic where I helped fit people for reading glasses, Pastor Erika took us on a walk to see some of the kid’s houses. I knew they were going to be bad, but I wasn’t expecting straight up tin roofs that didn’t even cover the whole room, uneven dirt floors and wet clothes draped everywhere possible to dry. It was sad to me, but they didn’t seem to mind their living conditions and were proud to show them to us. Another day we ran a medical clinic in a nearby Mayan village where the people are mostly tenant farmers, again living in shacks. The same thing happened. They were very happy. It was eye opening to see people happy with so little and not even seem to think of what they are missing. It was a great experience in my opinion. I definitely look forward to next year. I’d also appreciate your help making sure these kids get to go to school next year cause the only way I see their lives can improve is by them getting an education. All you have to do is text ‘Donate’ to 864-252-2392, then decide how much to give and how often when you get a link back to the website. Cullen.

Note from Lynn: Next year’s trip is Friday, June 5 - Saturday, June 13, 2020. We have a number of folks from a congregation in Boone NC ready to submit their deposits for that trip. In order to tell them how many spots remain, if you’re interested in going, please let me know asap and submit your deposit so I don’t accept more people than I have spots for. Thanks!

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Community trash pickup will take place Saturday, September 7th at 9:30am. Meet at the church. All supplies provided. No experience necessary. Contact David Rosenbaum at dr_scarolina@yahoo.com if you are available to assist.

Volunteers needed to prepare bag lunch meals on Sunday, September 8th at 8:30am.  Meet in the church kitchen.  All supplies provided. No experience necessary. Contact David Rosenbaum at dr_scarolina@yahoo.com if you are available to assist.

Thanks,David Rosenbaum

ATTENTION: all women of Immanuel! School has started for another year, gardens are almost finished, leaves are changing colors and so it seems this year will soon be gone. A new year is around the corner and at this time, you are invited to join the WELCA Group for fellowship, Bible Study and service projects at Immanuel and statewide for the new year. At present, we have 2 circles: Beulah Baker at 7pm and Ella Julian at 3pm. Please consider joining. Contact Barbara Davis at (864)222-9261 or Carolyn Mooney at (864)229-1919 for information or questions.

Brenda’s Gift My sister, Brenda Moore; willed her handicapped ramp van to the church. Since the church already has the upkeep of two other vans, they don’t need a third. However, there might be someone in the congregation who does have a need for a handicapped ramp van. If you are that someone, call Sandi Wanto at (864)344-7802 for more information. It is a 2000 Dodge Grand Caravan and it has 90,000 miles on it.

Submitted by Sandie Wanto

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Prayers and CaresIn our prayers, we remember…

In our prayers we remember… Those in need of healing: Dee Dee Kehl, Earl McCombs, Coraline Johnson, Dot Hershey, Jack Lenning, John Leemhuis, Lois Kuntz, Fred McDowell, Melvin Mooney, Carolyn Mooney, Irene Price, Dillon Hensley, Bob Waller, Brenda Sherrill, Katie & Colby Lanford, Annalisa Sherrill, Jim Hartley, Diane Pitts, Ricky Arnold, all persecuted Christians, Martin Slater, Terry Robinson, Holly, Cynthia, Peggy Shrefler, Fred Frantz, Hannah Coker, Paula Cousins, Alycia Haas, Natalie Byers Fisher, Michael Gagné, Beth Giese, Axel Auburn, Laura Sears, Charlie Mackin, Kerry Cooper, Jeanette Cain, Morgan Gagné, Bill Weeks, Jeff Geiger, Joe Keane, Jill Allawos, Lesa Sayles, Mattie Hackett, Danny Tommie, Amber Lyne Davis, Hayne Boozer, Matt Frick & Family, Kathy Meyers.

Those in the military: Chase Robinson, Daniel Darling, Devin Rosenbaum

Those with long term needs: • At home: Bob Waller • At NHC: Martha McCombs, Room 358 • At Wesley Commons Health Care Center: Ingrid Ware, Corine Klein

September Birthdays & Anniversaries

As the summer passes quickly, we look forward to the fall. Changing of the leaves, cooler temperatures, football games, all part of the changes that are coming. From a work standpoint, the fall also brings to mind planning efforts for the next year. Church committees are looking at what they want to do in 2020 and what money is needed. Yes, we are back into budgeting again. Seems like we just did that! If you have ideas that need to be considered by the committees, don’t hesitate to contact a committee member or a church council member to discuss them. As in the past we will be guided by our mission: By the grace of God, we are disciples growing in faith, serving our community, and connecting others to Christ. As long as we always keep the mission in mind, we will stay on the right path. Thanks to all of you for your support over the past year!

Yours in Christ,

Bob Koch

Bob Koch, Council President

Birthdays Harriet Counts - 9/2

Lois Kuntz - 9/4Ashley Thomas - 9/5Corine Klein - 9/7

Katalin Bartz - 9/10Clay “C.J.” Kobe - 9/12

JoAn Crowder, Dee Dee Kehl - 9/14Reed Monson - 9/15

Anne Haynes, David Krumwiede - 9/16Mark Cooper - 9/18Millie Amick - 9/20Tracey Kobe - 9/25

Joseph Engram - 9/29

Anniversaries Gary & Angela Benjamin - 9/9

Clay & Tracey Kobe - 9/14Jesus & Lois Martinez - 9/18

Michael & Cami Hohenwarter - 9/19David & Anne Gilman - 9/20

John & Elizabeth Still, Jr. - 9/25Matthew & Elizabeth Cutshall - 9/27

Randy & Jessie Estep - 9/29

MARK YOUR SEPTEMBER 2019 CALENDAR

Pastor’s Message - Page 2

The Learning Page - Page 3

Music Ministry - Page 4

Mission Page - Page 5

Announcements - Pages 6 & 7