WOW! What a week it has been! Archie and I were lucky enough not to have lost power during Sandy. (My cousin Sandy called me and said she always hoped they would name a storm after her but she didn’t mean to be so destructive.) I pray those of you who had any hardships are back to normal or close.
Another whirlwind around here was our turkey supper. What activity going on all around the building. The best ever – they say. We are blessed to have so many people who work to make this a success – from selling tickets to planning and cooking to serving (upstairs and downstairs). Thanks for roasting turkeys or baking cakes. Thank to all those who made donations of goods for the supper. Thanks to those of you who helped out with the Sunday school bake sale as well.
But none of it could have taken place without the repairs to the floor in the fellowship hall. Thanks to all who checked out things in the crawl space and drew up plans for the repairs, moved things from closets, took up the old floor, put down the new floor, and cleaned up after the contractors were finished to get things back in order for the supper. I was like a hive of bees at work around here.
For those of you who aren’t able to physically get in there and do manual labor we thank you for your prayers and encouragement. For those of you who didn’t help because of time constraints we missed you. For those of you who didn’t even know this was happening we invite you to get plugged back in to what is happening in around Emmanuel. We need everyone working together for these projects and fundraisers.
This year we have three boys in our confirmation class. They are working hard to learn about our church, the Bible, what they believe and about what it means to be a Christian. We hope to be ready in the Spring for the big day of joining the church – Palm Sunday or Easter. Encourage Brad, Hunter, and Josh in their service and in their study. You saw all of them working hard at the supper.
It’s hard to imagine that Thanksgiving is right around the corner followed quickly by Advent. This Sunday our scripture is about the greatest commandment – to love God, quickly followed by loving our neighbor. We have much to be thankful for in our area in regards to the storm but let’s not forget our neighbors who have lost everything. Begin by praying for them and then follow up with whatever you can afford financially to help them out. We will be collecting for them during the month of November. Please give what you can but remember we at Emmanuel still need your regular offerings to take care of our own obligations.
God loves us all but at times like these God loves a cheerful giver. Give out of your love and caring for your neighbor.
Blessings,
