Immanuel Monthly News Notes

In this issue, I’m reprinting a newsletter article from nearly 20 years ago because I believe it still teaches important spiritual truths about our finances. Please receive

it with that spirit.

Pastor Prohl

*****

LYDIA SCHULTZ BEQUEST GIVEN TO IMMANUEL

In [August, 1994], we received from the estate of Lydia Schultz, a gift of $50,000. The end of this article details how the voters determined to allocate these funds,

but first, who was Lydia Schultz?

Lydia was given the gift of earthly life on March 15, 1916 and on February 17, 1994, the gift of Eternal Life at the age of 77. A lifelong Lutheran, Lydia was a member

of Immanuel since at least 1942. Lydia was a gracious and sensitive person of faith who worshipped and attended Holy Communion regularly all her years. As I

visited her during her final days, her faith shone through the darkness of her illness. There was not a trace of fear, but a rock solid confidence that she was and

always would be safe in the arms of her Good Shepherd.

The truth of the matter is that while Lydia was personally loved and known by her Savior, she was essentially unknown by most of her fellow members at Immanuel.

The beauty of this story is that even though she was relatively unknown by us, she considered us family. Her gift from her estate clearly indicates that. The persons

she knelt next to while confessing her sins, those to her left and right at the communion table, those in front and in back of her singing God’s praises – those people

were her family. Her family was you and it was to you, God’s people, and to the mission of Christ’s church that this gift was given. What do we need to remember

and what can we learn from a gift like this?

The first truth is that our ongoing weekly stewardship is not replaced by such a gift, but must continue. Weekly giving was part of Lydia’s life leading up to this final

gift. Our weekly gifts are our intentional and grateful response to what God has given us. We give because He first gave to us. Our regular giving does not fluctuate

according to how great the need is that week; instead it is a consistent giving back to God portion of what He has given us.

The majority of the funds from the Lydia Schultz estate have been applied to special needs of the congregation that most likely would be long delayed or remain

unfunded from the regular offerings. The ongoing mission opportunities that our budget represents still require our weekly gifts.

A second important truth is that the privilege of being givers to God is a daily blessing we have now and a blessing we also have through our wills and estates.

Lydia Schultz saw that opportunity and used it. There are a remarkable number of options we have when we (continued on back)

write our wills. They can include out and out gifts from the estate to Synod or District ministries, to one of our Universities or Seminaries or to Immanuel itself.

There are also “trust agreements.” A “trust” provides the donor with income during his or her lifetime and can provide income for loved ones for up to another twenty

years. After that time, money remaining in the trust is given to the ministry the donor has specified. There are many options and your Pastors or the District office

will be glad to help connect you to appropriate financial estate planners.

Lydia Schultz expressed her thankfulness to God for His grace and forgiveness and love. She expressed it throughout her life in her worship and in her stewardship

and she expressed it at her death through this gift. To God be the glory.

On September 12, 1994, the Voters determined to allocate the $50,000 gift from Lydia Schultz estate in the following manner:

DISTRICT & SYNOD MISSIONS $5,000 This is over and above our budget commitment GRACE LUTHERAN SCHOOL in Chicago 1,000 This school is on the front line of Missions THE TRUSTEES 11,000 This is for Luther Hall tuckpointing which has been accomplished, for serious plumbing repairs, and replacement of the floor tile between the front pews and the altar. This tile has suffered water damage. WEEKDAY SCHOOL 500 For new materials. EVANGELISM COMMUNITY MAILINGS 6,000 CONTEMPORARY SERVICE EQUIPMENT & MATERIALS 5,000 Including a keyboard COMPUTERS & OFFICE EQUIPMENT 5,500 Computers for Pastor Hufford and & Ms. Boersma, a printer, a scanner and a fax machine to allow our staff to make the best use of their time. EDUCATION & YOUTH AV EQUIPMENT 2,000 2 TV/VCR units in cabinets for the 2nd floor and lower level. COPY MACHINE 4,000 The total cost will be much higher but this is seed money for this known need. IMMANUEL LUTHERAN PRESCHOOL 10,000 This money is for start-up costs including architectural drawings for our preschool.

***** October 31st and November 1st, 2015 is All Saints weekend; that time when we recall those Saints of God who have helped build our faith and the foundation of God’s church. May the Holy Spirit fueled example of Lydia Schultz and countless other saints serve to inspire and direct you as well.

Inside this issue:

Thanksgiving Worship Services

Handbell Choir Open house

Feed My Starving Children “Lighten Your Pockets” campaign

Boards & Ministries 2

Social Ministry 3

Music Notes 3

Youth Ministries 4

Vital Statistics 5

Stephen’s Ministry 6

FMSC 7

November 2015

2016 Flower Chart The new 2016 altar flower chart will soon be posted November 1st in the hallway by the Grove Street entrance. When it’s available, please write your name and phone number next to the date(s) on which you would like to sponsor the altar flowers. The price remains at $50.00. A member of the Altar Guild will contact you the week before for your altar flower "dedication". Help Needed To Set Up Immanuel's Christmas Trees We'll be setting up our Christmas trees in the Sanctuary on Saturday, November 28th. Many hands will make the job easier. If you can help, please meet at church at 9:00 a.m. that morning. Thank you! College Addresses Needed! Do you have a child attending college away from home? If you do, please drop off or email their address to the church office at ilcdg@ilcdg.org! Thank you! College Care Packages and Addresses You still have a day or two to help the Immanuel’s high school teens, who will be sending out “care packages” to Immanuel’s college students on Sunday night, November 1st. If you would like to donate some prepackaged snacks or treats, it will really help them fill their care packages to the top! These donations can be marked “IYC Care Packages” and left on the counter in the church kitchen. Further, if you haven’t turned in your student’s mailing address, send it to the church office right away! Thanks for your participation and partnership in this service project!

November Knit Nite November's Knit Nite will be held on Tuesday, November 10th from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. and everyone is welcome; those who want to learn and those who are experienced knitters. We have yarn and supplies for your projects and are willing to teach you something new! You can also bring your own supplies or projects to show and work on. We are presently making shawls, hats, scarfs, gloves, blankets, baby sweater sets and many other items. You can also work at home and drop off your completed items to the church office. Special Dates & Events to Remember: November 7th & 8th - First Sunday of the Month Food Collection. Watch the weekly bulletins for items needed! Sunday, November 8th - Feed My Starving Children "Lighten Your Pockets" collection and packing event (November 14th) sign up. November 21st & 22nd - Consecration Weekend Saturday December 5- Immanuel Service of Lessons and Carols led by Immanuel's choirs, to be held at 5:30.

LADIES AID

It’s a new season for Immanuel’s Ladies Aid and we would like to include YOU!

Ladies Aid is a group of women who provide service to the church and to missions.

We will meet at 10:00 a.m. on November 5 and work on projects until 11:45 a.m. when

we our joined by one of our pastors who shares the Word of God with us in a lesson.

At noon we will enjoy lunch including coffee and dessert! It is fellowship at its best!

At 1:00 p.m. we will have a program and ideas will be shared.

We’d love for you to join us on November 5 and hope to see you there!

News & Events at Immanuel

T H A N K S G I V I N G W O R S H I P

S E R V I C E S

Please remember that we will have worship services on both Thanksgiving Eve (November

25) at 7:00 pm AND Thanksgiving Day (November 26) at 10:00 am, both with Holy Communion. Please join with family, friends and neighbors to give thanks for all of God's

gifts to us.

GOLDEN GEMS

November 12th at 11:30 a.m.

Lunch provided!

Topic: "A Pastor's Journey" The story of Rev. Hans Dumpys

WOMEN’S SERVICE GUILD

The next meeting of Immanuel's Service Guild will be on Monday, November 23rd at 7:30 p.m. All women of the congregation are invited to attend!

Boards & Ministries

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DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME ENDS

Don't forget to set your clocks back one hour (fall back) on Saturday

night, October 31st before going to sleep. Daylight Savings Time ends at

2:00am on Sunday the 1st.

Be Fashionable. . .Support IYC

Next year is a big year for Immanuel Youth for Christ (IYC). In 2016, we will be going to workcamp in Pennsylvania and the LCMS National Youth Gathering in New Orleans.

This means we need to raise a lot of money to accommodate the large number of youth that will be attending both. We have some

great news for you because you can support IYC and do some Christmas shopping at the

same time. Snap to It Fashionable Fundraising will be here on Saturday,

November 14 between 10:00 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. for you to browse a variety of amazing jewelry. Snap Jewels are unique because you can take a piece of jewelry and simply make it new by putting in different snaps.

Whether it’s a ring, bracelet, necklace (these are a few of the available items), you can

change the look “in a snap”. Here’s the best part: 35% of all proceeds from the sale will

go directly to IYC! To see some of the Snap Jewel options, you can find “Snap to It

Fashionable Fundraising” on Facebook. The event will be set up in the church basement. We hope to see you there. If you have any questions, you can call Lori Wrzesinski at

(630) 915-2961 or e-mail her at lwrzesinski@ilcdg.org.

Immanuel

Handbell Choir

Open House Monday November 2

6pm-7:30pm In the choir loft

Every wonder:

How to play a handbell?

What’s it like to play in a handbell choir?

If you would enjoy playing in the Immanuel handbell choir?

What a typical handbell rehearsal is like?

All are welcome (7th grade and above) to join us for this fun and informative open house to find out more about playing handbells. Everyone in attendance will get hands on experience trying out handbells, while shadowing one of our current handbell choir members through a regular rehearsal. No experience necessary, however, the ability to read notes is valuable.

Immanuel Festival Choir

Starting in November!

All are welcome! Would you like to sing in a choir at Immanuel but not sure you have the time? This choir may be for you! The Festival Choir is open for all those who love to sing in a choir- 7th grade and up!! This choir will meet for a short 5 week season, and sing at special and festival services this fall/winter. The Immanuel Festival Choir is made up of members of our Chancel Choir, joined by anyone who likes to sing, and would like to be a part of a group with a shorter time commitment. Can’t make all the practices or all of the special services? Don’t let that stop you from joining us! Simply talk to Festival Choir Director, Ellen Prohl, about your schedule. The festival choir will meet for 5 rehearsals in the choir room: Wed November 4-7:30 Wed November 11- 7:30 Wed November 18- 7:30 Wed November 25- 7:30 Wed December 2- 7:30 We will sing at these special services:

Thanksgiving Day- Thursday November 26th at 10am Immanuel Service of Lessons and Carols (Christmas Concert) - Saturday Dec 5th at 5:30 Christmas Eve- Thursday December 24th at 10pm Christmas Day- Friday December 25th at 10am We hope you will join us! If you have questions, Please contact Ellen Prohl, (630) 251-0795 or eprohl@ilcdg.org 3

Music Notes

Coffee Filters for Teen Girls Teen girls from 6th through 12th grade are invited to join the lively conversation happening every Wednesday evening from 6-7pm at Peet’s in downtown DG. Janet Justus, Kim Walter and Shandra Bowlin partner to guide the discussion along with our Concordia fieldworkers. Join them for faith and life discussions among friends! High School Youth Serving in November Saturday, Nov 14th, the IYC and their friends will be manning the Saturday evening shift at Feed My Starving Children in Aurora. They will be meeting at church at 5:45pm, packing meals from 7-9 and then enjoying a snack together on the way back home. Contact Tom at church or by email to register your spot! Teen Leaders-in-Training This high school leadership group meets every month on the 3rd Sunday at 5pm at church. They are committed to developing and using the gifts God has given them to serve inside at Immanuel and outside in the community. Interested teens should contact Tom Lithio for more information. Sunday Morning Teen Bible Study This is a new opportunity for high school teens to enjoy good company, conversation and teaching with Mrs Crowe in the youth room. All high schoolers are welcome every Sunday at 9am! IYC Fall Retreat All high school teens and their friends have been invited to register for the Fall Retreat at Walcamp, which will begin at 8am on Saturday, Nov 7 and end about 1:30pm on Sunday, Nov 8. This overnight retreat is going to be a fabulous time of faith building and bonding. Call Tom to register at 630-968-3112 x 106. Immanuel Youth for Christ in November IYC is high school ministry at Immanuel, with activities every week. Sunday mornings is time to dig into God’s Word and faith issues at 9am in the youth room. Sunday evenings it’s IYC Night at 7pm unless there are special weekend events happening. In November, IYC Nights will be on November 22 and 29. Check the IYC website (see below) for the themes and final details of these Sunday night gatherings. Workcamp Earlybird Window is Closing Fast! Immanuel’s high school and college students and their friends will be traveling to Imperial, PA from July 30- August 6 next summer for the West Allegheny Workcamp. It’s a “hands on” expression of God’s love to the residents of that community and it will be a tremendous faith-building experience for the Workcampers themselves. Immanuel has reserved 70 spots for our crew, and earlybird pricing is set to end on October 28 th, so save some $$ and act now! Registrations can be cancelled with a full refund until May 1, 2016. IYC News and Events at Your Fingertips! Anytime you want to know what’s happening in high school ministry at Immanuel, visit the IYC Update website. You will get the past, present and future in living color, with current event posts and links to upcoming events, photo galleries and the master IYC calendar. Just type iycupdate.blogspot.com into your web browser and hit enter!

Confirmation Ministry Confirmation Family Service Event Immanuel’s Confirmation families are joining forces fighting hunger by working the morning shift at Feed My Starving Children on November 14th. They will meet at the Aurora facility (555 Exchange Ct) for the 9am packing shift, saving lives through their hard work! Faith-n-Friends Bible Time 7th and 8th graders meet on the upper level every Sunday morning at 9am to grow in faith and friendship, diving into the faith issues and topics of middle school. Sweet treats are the weekly bonus for making the effort to get up early and grow in faith!

IYC Fall Retreat All high school teens and their friends have been invited to register for the Fall Retreat at Walcamp, which will begin at 8am on Saturday, Nov 7 and end about 1:30pm on Sunday, Nov 8. This overnight retreat is going to be a fabulous time of faith building and bonding. Call Tom to register at 630-968-3112 x 106. Immanuel Youth for Christ in November IYC is high school ministry at Immanuel, with activities every week. Sunday mornings is time to dig into God’s Word and faith issues at 9am in the youth room. Sunday evenings it’s IYC Night at 7pm unless there are special weekend events happening. In November, IYC Nights will be on November 22 and 29. Check the IYC website (see below) for the themes and final details of these Sunday night gatherings. Workcamp Earlybird Window is Closing Fast! Immanuel’s high school and college students and their friends will be traveling to Imperial, PA from July 30- August 6 next summer for the West Allegheny Workcamp. It’s a “hands on” expression of God’s love to the residents of that community and it will be a tremendous faith-building experience for the Workcampers themselves. Immanuel has reserved 70 spots for our crew, and earlybird pricing is set to end on October 28 th, so save some $$ and act now! Registrations can be cancelled with a full refund until May 1, 2016. IYC News and Events at Your Fingertips! Anytime you want to know what’s happening in high school ministry at Immanuel, visit the IYC Update website. You will get the past, present and future in living color, with current event posts and links to upcoming events, photo galleries and the master IYC calendar. Just type iycupdate.blogspot.com into your web browser and hit enter!

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Baptisms

Andrew David Schooley, September 13, 2015

Isabel Grace Niewald, September 13, 2015

Randy Leigh Johnson, September 19, 2015

Charlotte Winter Funk, September 27, 2015

2015 Confirmation Class

Robert Barnett (Ephesians 2:8-9)

Kirk Hoffman (John 14:27)

Drew Beilfuss (Jeremiah 29:11)

Vanessa Kamman (Psalm 46:1)

Daniel Biggio (John 8:31-32)

Jenna Kriz (Joshua 1:9)

Abigail Carlson (John 3:16)

David Mansfield (1 Corinthians 16:13-14)

Peter Crowe (Romans 1:16)

Kristina Pietrzak (Psalm 27:1)

Nicholas Eshghy (John 8:12)

Paige Reichert (Psalm 55:22)

Taylor Fingerhut (John 10:27-28)

Thomas Rutter (Hebrews 13:5)

Madilyn Fross (John 14:6)

Cosette Thompson (Revelation 2:10)

Alexander Grzbek (John 15:5)

Lindsay Wydra (Psalm 23:1)

Weddings

Matthew Lau and Melodi Riss, October 10, 2015

Jordan Lehman and Cindy Endebak, October 3, 2015

Guy Lewis and Joy Garrison, October 16, 2015

Vital Statistics

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Asleep in Jesus

Ron Rader, August 20th, 2015

Stephen Ministries

November 2015 from the desk of Steve Herner

He’s got the whole world in His hands. So the words from a well-known song tell us.

And we can express this confidence in Him by praising God in our happy moments; seeking God in our difficult

moments; worshipping God in our quiet moments; trusting God in our painful moments; and thanking God

every moment. This is the month of the Thanksgiving holiday. A day of gathering and sharing and giving thanks for all that we have

received during the past year. It is a joyful time for most of us and a somewhat sad for others. Regardless of what our

situation may be there is always the knowledge that “He’s got the whole world in His hands” for which we can and should

give thanks.

As I was recovering from a serious heart operation the Stephen Ministers gave me a book of daily readings from the life of Christ by John MacArthur. One of the questions he asks on a specific day is; “Are you ever in danger of limiting the power, sovereignty, and yes, even the goodness of God?”

First I think of “peace”. This is not the peace between peoples and nations that usually comes to

mind when we hear or read that word. This is a peace within our own person that can calm us no matter what we are encountering.

Second, as I write the first answer, I think of the “trust” that the “peace” I mentioned above

requires. Without this “trust” I can have no “peace”. Many are the times (more often than I want) that I start my life situation encounters with words like “God, are You there?”. I should be starting the encounter with words like “Okay, Partner here we go? Or “I know You are with me so let’s get on with it”, or “You have the answer “. As I grow in Christ I am getting a bit better at this.

Third and possibly the most important is “gratitude”. Before looking for the answer to the current

situation, it is good for me to recall His presence and partnership in past situations. No one else is more reliable; no one else weighs the pros and cons of partnering in a given situation; no one else stays in your life regardless of consequences; no one else is like Jesus.

As I conclude this brief set of thoughts I come to the conclusion that He’s got the whole world in His hands.

One of the challenges as we encounter stress and/or crisis is to keep God involved. At Immanuel we are blessed with a

group of dedicated brothers and sisters who are ready to journey with you in your stress and/or that life sets before you.

These individuals will be a reliable companion who will listen and not judges. They will pray for you and, if you desire,

with you in the midst of all that is happening. They will honor you confidentiality and encourage you to move forward in

your situation at your pace and not their pace. Time is not their measurement. Your resolution of the situation is their

measurement. They are living evidence that>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

He’s got the whole world in His hands. If you need a Stephen Minister please contact one of the pastors at 630-968-3112 or Flora Allgaier at 630-969-7689,

Beth Spilky at 630-541-3623 or Steve Herner at 630-515-1951.

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“I’m starving!!!!”

How many times have you heard that phrase? From your kids, your friends, co-workers, your spouse? Is it true?

No. Of course not. We may be hungry, but when you really think about it, starving is another matter entirely. The

dictionary defines starving as this: to die or perish from lack of food or nourishment. Hunger is simply a lack of

food in the stomach. Quite different when you think about it. There are very few of us that have ever experienced

what it feels like to be starving. In fact, I’m willing to bet the opposite is true-most of us probably overeat on a

regular basis. Can you imagine opening your refrigerator at dinnertime and finding it empty? Your pantry empty?

Can you imagine your child crying, wanting to get fed, and have NOTHING to give him or her? The ugly truth is

that this happens around the world every day. Children are starving to death.

We can help. We should help. Every one of us. It’s that simple. As Christians, we are all called to serve. “For we

are what [God] has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our

way of life.” (Ephesians 2:10)

How can you help? As a member of one of Immanuel’s family, we are asking everyone to please join the Women

of Faith Prayer Warriors in our service project for the Christian nonprofit hunger relief organization, Feed My

Starving Children. FMSC is an amazing organization that prepares and distributes meals to children in more than

70 countries around the world. FMSC has a permanent packing site in Aurora, Illinois where volunteers hand-pack

these life-saving meals to be distributed around the world. On Saturday, November 14, 2015 we are asking for

volunteers to be a part of this effort. You can help in a few different ways: 1) Join us!!! Volunteer for a shift at the Aurora site on Saturday November 14, 2015. The following shifts will be

available---9:00am - 11:00am (90 spots) and 7:00pm - 9:00pm (90 spots). Volunteer as a family or bring your

friends along, everyone is welcome. You can register by calling Lori Wrzesinski at 630-915-2961, or going to

www.fmsc.org. When at the website, you can click on “Volunteer Registration”. Then, click on the “Permanent

Site” icon. This will bring you to a screen that has a “Join Existing Group/Family” reservation. Once you click

on here, you can do a search with the name “Immanuel Lutheran Church”, location “Aurora’, date “November

2015”. Then, you just click on which shift you want to join and input the requested information. We also will be

holding onsite registration at Immanuel, some time in the months of September and October. Dates are to be

determined so keep your eyes open for announcements in the church bulletin.

2) Donate money. We have a goal to raise at least $2000 for FMSC. Financial donations allow FMSC to purchase

ingredients for the meals. Each meal only costs 22 cents to produce! Donations of all amounts go a long way.

92% of total contributions go directly to the feeding program. Our “Lighten Your Pockets” campaign will be

held on the 2nd Saturday and Sunday of each month from September through November.

3) Pray for us and FMSC’s ministry.

Hopefully, you’re thinking that you’d like to help. Awesome. Now, check your calendar. Yes…. as you’ll see, our

event is taking place just before Thanksgiving. We know that everyone will be busy this time of the year. But, are

you really too busy to help? Please sit for a few minutes and think about what you’ll be doing on Thanksgiving

Day-EATING!!!!! Eating too much turkey, too much stuffing, too much dessert, basically too much of everything.

Consider these sobering statistics. The world has more than 850 million hungry people-that is the entire population

of the United States, multiplied by almost 3. Every day 18,000 children die from starvation. That is just wrong.

When you really think about it, we have so much to be thankful for. It’s time to give to those who don’t.

“…From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required; and from the one to whom much has

been entrusted, even more will be demanded.” (Luke 12:41-48)

Please join us. To learn more about Feed My Starving Children, visit www.fmsc.org or call 763-504-2919.