Emanuel Lutheran Church

January 2019

Enlightener

Sunday School and Adult Forum 10 a.m.

Sunday Worship Service 11 a.m.

Interim Pastor Warren Geier

(906) 485-4218 or (906) 362-4217(cell)

pastor@bethanyishpeming.org

Emanuel Lutheran Church: 906-942-7245

emanuel@tds.net www.be-Lutheran.org

Emanuel Lutheran Church of Skandia

125th Anniversary ~ Sunday, August 25, 2019

1950-1959 ~ The ladies of the church worked long and hard to raise funds for the

general operating expenses of the church, for costs involved with the building of a

parish hall, and for the purchase of several new items. They held strawberry

socials, smorgasbord suppers, a ham supper, bazaars, rummage sales and sold

candy. In 1953, they gave toward the purchase of a new oil furnace and in 1954,

they helped purchase a new Estey electric organ. Other property improvements

included a new well and pump in 1956, a new cross, vases, candelabra and

collection plates were purchased for the altar in 1956. Also in 1956, a new

entrance door for the church was built.

Council Members

Sandi Ruotsi

Mary Lou Behrens

Jolene Kokko

Betsy Koski

Jane Sims

Jesse Kainulainen

Christian Education

Betsy Koski ~ Confirmation

Leah Kainulainen , Karen Maki ~

Sunday School

Sandi Ruotsi ~ Adult Forum

Office

Jolene Kokko ~ Office

Assistant

Interim Pastor Warren Geier

(906) 485-4218

Email: Pastor@bethanyishpeming.org

Committee Leaders

Sandi Ruotsi ~ Council

President

Barb Bach ~ Stewardship

Sarah Kimball ~ Outreach

Betsy Koski ~ Christian

Education

Betsy Koski ~ 125th

Anniversary Committee

Leah Kainulainen ~ Youth

Mission

Jane Sims ~ Worship &

Music

Roger Kimball ~ Building

& Property

Pam Bahrman~ Cemetery

Business Manager

The deadline for getting infor-

mation for the February

Enlightener is Sunday,

January 23.

Emanuel Lutheran Church has both a

Face Book Page and website! Catch

up on upcoming and past events, our

monthly calendar and Enlightener

newsletters at:

www.be-lutheran.org

Congregational Leadership

Sunday Worship Service is at 11: 00 AM

with Sunday School and Adult Forum at 10:00 AM

through February.

Date Acolyte Ushers Lector

01/06 Hailey Ridolphi Sandi Ruotsi & Donna Oliver Betsy Koski

01/13 Luke Kainulainen Dale Weingartner & Richard Cooke Patti Bergdahl

01/20 Tiffany Ridolphi Jesse & Leah Kainulainen Sarah Kimball

01/27 Hailey Ridolphi Bahrman Family Sally Weingartner

January Worship Leaders

January 6 Pastor Chrys Levesque Hendrick January 13 Mrs. Virginia Paulson January 20 Pastor Warren Geier January 27 Mrs. Virginia Paulson

January 1—Mark Arnett

January 9–Bettie Ahola

January 12-Angie Kremer

January 13-Judy Berglund

January 14– Tim Peiffer

January 29–Todd Maki

January 30-Melody Tremble

Happy Anniversary

January 1 –Sid & Mary Heetland

January 11 –Vernon & Elsie

Haglund

Birthday Blessings

~ Thanks to Those Who Serve~

The sign up sheet for sponsoring monthly bulletins

during 2019 is on the kitchen counter in the fellowship

hall. Cost is $25. Please note on the sheet if you are

sponsoring bulletins in memory or honor of others.

Thank you for helping with our worship ministry!

In early January Bishop Katherine Finegan will meet with the

councils of Bethany and Emanuel to present the name of a possible

Licensed Lay Minister to serve the two congregations. This is a

different process than what you have experienced in the past with

the call of a pastor and I want to explain the difference as I under-

stand it.

The major difference is that a Licensed Lay Minister is appointed by

the bishop with approval of the church council(s). While each

church has a call committee, the call committee is not involved in

this process. Because it is an appointment of the bishop, a congre-

gational vote is not required.

The appointment would be for one year, subject to renewal at that

time.

The person appointed would be authorized to perform the functions

of an ordained minister including presiding at Holy Communion.

Such an appointment would not preclude the possibility of calling an

ordained person in the future. In some cases, an LLM works toward

ordination.

Specifics of the appointment (hours, financial compensation, etc.)

would be negotiated according to synod recommendations.

Pastor’s Reflections

Pastor Doug Norquist (Synod Missioner for Licensed Lay Ministers)

would be the synod’s representative in support and evaluation of

the individual appointed.

An experienced pastor would be assigned as a mentor.

The reason Bishop Katherine is pursuing this option for you is that

due to the shortage of candidates for ordination coming out of

seminary, it is unlikely that she would have such a candidate for you

in the next year. In the meantime, if things work out, you would

have someone dedicated to Bethany and Emanuel and thus available

for visits, pastoral care and congregational planning in addition to

leading worship.

At the time of the meeting Bishop Katherine will be prepared to

address any questions or concerns you may have. In the meantime,

keep the situation in your prayers.

~Pastor Warren Geier

Thank You for Supporting our New Roof!

A GoFundMe campaign has been set up online for our new roof! Please share it

with your friends and family via face book, twitter and email. You can do a search

on the website www.gofundme.com with the words “Skandia, MI” or you can use

the following link:

gofundme.com/h7rdwp-new-roof-for-church

As of December 30 we have raised $2125 thru GoFundMe!

The Joint Council Meeting with Bethany is scheduled for Wednesday,

January 9, 6 p.m. at Emanuel Lutheran Church.

December Council Highlights

~ Many thanks to the confirmation class for helping to decorate the Christmas

tree this year.

~ Pastor Geier shared the possibility of Licensed Lay Minister for Emanuel and

Bethany soon. Bishop Finegan will give the complete package that would be

offered based on their qualifications and our needs. Since it is very unlikely we

will be getting an ordained pastor for the next year, this option would be

beneficial for us. The next step is for the councils of both churches to meet with

Bishop Finegan to answer our questions, then meeting with the candidate.

~Betsy Koski has offered to be the Treasurer and Jane Sims the Financial Secretary

beginning in 2019.

~The Annual Meeting is Sunday, January 20. A potluck will be held previous to the

meeting. Pastor Geier will lead worship and attend the meeting. There are two

council position openings, along with 3 different people to be on the 2019

nominating committee, 3 people for next year’s auditing committee, and 2 voting

members for the Synod Assembly which is held in May at the Bay Community

College in Escanaba.

~The January local benevolence was designated to the Salvation Army’s Heating

Assistance Program.

~ The next council meeting was not set for January due to our Annual Meeting and

pending the results of the joint council meeting with Bethany of Negaunee for a

licensed lay minister candidate possibility.

~ Both the Financial Secretary and Treasurer’s reports were reviewed and found

in order.

Both the December Council meeting minutes (pending council’s approval) and

financial reports are posted on the bulletin board in the Fellowship Hall and

sanctuary entries.

Digital Newsletter

Would you like to receive the Enlightener via email instead of the mail?

Please send and email to the office: emanuel@tds.net and request your

Enlightener to be emailed . Thank You!

December 9, 2018

Dear ELCA Great Lakes Northern Synod and Fortune Lake Lutheran Camp Association Member Congregations, Friends and Supporters of FLLC:

On behalf of the Board of Directors of Fortune Lake Lutheran Camp I would like to announce and introduce our new Camp Director, Amanda Rasner.

With firsthand knowledge of the rich history at Fortune Lake Lutheran Camp, and a wealth of experience serving the ministry itself, Amanda is ready to lead where the Holy Spirit is calling! Amanda has a B.S. in Health Fitness for Preventative and Rehabilitative Programs, minors in Outdoor Recreation and Psychology all from Central Michigan University. She is also a Certified Youth Minister from Wartburg Seminary Center for Youth Ministry and a Lay School Graduate of the ELCA Northwest Synod of WI.

Fortune Lake Lutheran Camp has built a solid foundation for faith formation and camp has impacted a lot of important decisions in Amanda’s life. Shaped by the influence of camp, Amanda is a passionate, diligent, natural leader who has a positive influence on all she has worked with. There was one common thread in all of her references: Amanda has a great gift of compassion while empowering others and moves mountains to complete tasks. No job is too small or unim-portant; no task is too overwhelming.

Amanda’s resume although impressive, does not even begin to describe her passion for Fortune Lake Lutheran Camp. Her experience at Fortune Lake includes: camper, summer staff, youth recruiter, volunteer, Bible Study Leader, summer staff trainer, camper parent, committee chairperson, family camper, Board Member, and Board President. Amanda met her husband, Pastor DJ Ras-ner , on summer staff at camp and together, as a couple, they have continued to share their love of camp with their 4 children (Dietrich, Solomon, Reuben and Evie).

We welcome Amanda and her family as they begin this new season of their lives. Amanda will begin her call to Fortune Lake Lutheran Camp as Camp Director in January 2019. Fortune Lake Lutheran Camp has a bright future! Join us as we lift Amanda in prayer and celebrate the gifts that she brings to the Ministry of Fortune Lake.

Grace and Peace, Julie Penrose Board President

Outreach Update~

During December’s meeting we reviewed our annual bazaar, brainstormed ideas

for improvements and shared ideas for crafts for next year. Can you help us?

With the after Christmas sales in progress, we need:

wreath ribbon (especially red, plaid & burlap) & artificial red berries,

natural looking artificial greens (or even artificial trees that we can take

apart) for centerpiece decorating,

if you have used calendars that have pictures of nature, we use them for

framed crafts,

picture frames and mat boards, especially larger frames,

candles; tapers, votives and small tea lights,

Christmas fabric for table runners, aprons, and quilts,

bird houses, or easy birdhouse plans to construct.

Thank you to those that gave Christmas gifts to children from the Angel Tree!

Our next Outreach meeting will be Wednesday, January 16, 10 a.m. at Emanuel.

You are always welcome to join us!

~Sarah Kimball

Twenty food baskets went to families along with gifts for their

younger children on December 20 for Christmas! THANK YOU for

your donations of money, to Thrivent for their Action Grant of $250,

to the Skandia Lioness for a $50 donation, to the Bahrman Farm for

the potatoes, to Jilbert’s Dairy for their donation of milk, to Super

One Foods for their overall discount and card-

board totes and to our volunteers that shopped,

sorted and did some deliveries. We could not

have done this without your support of

Emanuel and our fundraisers, thank you!

~Annual Meettng~

Please plan on attending our Annual Meeting,

Sunday, January 20 with a potluck lunch beforehand.

Please have all committee annual reports to the office

by January 6. Thank You!

Your Annual Report will be available to pick up on

January 13.

Open 2019 Council Positions

Please prayerfully consider using your time and talents to serve on the

congregation’s council in 2019. The council meets once a month at

Emanuel and twice a year with Bethany’s council. Please talk to any-

one on the nominating committee; Sarah Kimball, Jolene Kokko &

Sherry Robinson, or any current council member if you have any ques-

tions or would like to join this ministry. We have two open positions.

Can you help with the Christmas tree and trim-

mings removal? Many hands will make light work

of removing the ornaments, lights, garlands, tree &

vacuuming afterwards Sunday, January 6 following

our worship service. Thank you for helping!

With our winter season now here, if inclement weather

ever causes our Sunday Worship services to be

cancelled, we will have a message on our phone

reflecting the cancellation, 942-7245. Please call if

roads are questionable before traveling. During the

week (Wednesdays & Fridays) if the winter weather causes school can-

cellations or if road conditions are questionable, the church office may

be closed until conditions improve.

January 2019

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1

New Year’s

Day

2

Office Hours

10 am-2pm

3

Confirmation

5 PM

4

Office Hours

10 am-2pm

5

6 Sunday

School &

Adult Forum

10AM

Worship with

Holy Com-

munion 11 AM

7

AA-7 PM

8

Quilting at

Toni’s

9:30 AM

9

Office Hours

10 am-2pm

Joint Council

Mtg. 6 PM at

Emanuel

10

Confirmation

5 PM

11

Office Hours

10 am-2pm

12

13 Sunday

School &

Adult Forum

10AM

Worship

11AM

14

AA-7 PM

15

Quilting at

Toni’s

9:30 AM

16

Office Hours

10 am-2pm

Outreach

Mtg. 10 AM

17

Confirmation

5 PM

18

Office Hours

10 am-2pm

19

20 Sunday

School &

Adult Forum

10AM

Worship with

Holy Com-

munion 11 AM

Annual Meet-

ing/Potluck

21

AA-7 PM

22

Quilting at

Toni’s

9:30 AM

23

Office Hours

10 am-2pm

24

Confirmation

5 PM

25

Office Hours

10 am-2pm

26

27 Sunday

School &

Adult Forum

10AM

Worship

11AM

28

AA-7 PM

29

Quilting at

Toni’s

9:30 AM

30

Office Hours

10 am-2pm

31

Confirmation

5 PM

A Big “Thank You” to All that Helped during our

Christmas Season at Emanuel!

We all enjoyed the Children’s Christmas program “The

New Star” as we heard about the First Christmas and

sang many favorite Christmas hymns. Thank you for all of

the time practicing and preparing for the program; Luke,

Saima, Jesse & Leah Kainulainen, Emma, John & Karen

Maki, Allie & Jane Sims, and Betsy Koski.

Thank you for the donations to purchase the

beautiful poinsettias and to Betsy Koski for

preparing and adorning the sanctuary for

our Christmas Eve candlelight service.

Luke Kainulainen, Saima Kainulainen, Emma Maki, John Maki, Allie Sims

Quilting for Lutheran World Relief is resuming for January at

Toni Peterson’s home, 214 Maple Grove Road, on Tuesdays at

9 :30 a.m. All are invited to join; you need no quilting experi-

ence! We always are in need of used flat sheets and thread.

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