Volume 5, Number 17                                     Sixth Sunday of Easter                                      April 27, 2008

Report from Our New Wardens

One of us paddled a canoe for more than 10,000 miles; one pulled a little sister from the freezing water when the ice fractured; another grew up on a farm; more than one is skilled with a rifle.  These are a sampling of tidbits about the new vestry members that we shared with one another on a recent sunny Saturday afternoon retreat.  We gathered to make plans for the coming year and to take stock of Immanuel Church, Highlands.

There was a collective sense of hope, anticipation, excitement and a lot of laughter.  We also talked about our journeys of faith and our love for Immanuel.  We look ahead to the calling of a new Rector with great expectation.  At the same time we recognize that Immanuel is more than the rector or the vestry, and that we must take action even while we await our new Rector.    

There was also profound concern expressed that our church family is need of healing and reconciliation in order for Immanuel to be able to move in the direction God is leading us.  To that end we choose this theme:

Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.                          Ephesians 4:31-32

Often the decision to be positive and to love and forgive is an intellectual and spiritual choice – and a profound act of obedience.  The vestry, as part of its commitment to move forward in love with careful deliberation has decided to withdraw the proposed amendments to the parish bylaws which were presented at the annual meeting.   We commit ourselves to an ongoing review of those ministries that provide an avenue for God’s blessings upon Immanuel and how we can better support them.  We also pledge to do our best to keep you informed of our progress. We ask the parish to join us in constant prayer for our parish family and all that lies ahead on our journey together.  It is an honor to serve the Lord through you.   

Craig Folkert, Senior Warden, and Laurie Hay, Junior Warden

Last Minute Reminder: Our parish work day is Saturday, April 26, 8:30 a.m. until noon.  All of you are invited.  We’ll clean inside the building and outside; please bring your own tools and equipment.  (Some of the tasks: general weeding, clean out open window pits, tidy up the Memorial Garden, thoroughly clean the nursery, clean and deodorize refrigerators, dust woodwork/pews/floors/ceiling fans.)  Please spend as much time with us as you can that morning.  A light lunch will be served by noon.  Coffee will be available for anyone who wishes to take a break.  This isn't just a time to get our church spruced up, but also an opportunity for fellowship.

                                                                                    Joe Stoeckle, Property

Special Music this Sunday: Christina von Duyke will offer special music for violin at the beginning and end of this Sunday’s 10:30 Eucharist.  She will be performing J. S. Bach’s “Air on the G String,” and a lively sonata by the English composer John Stanley (who was a contemporary of Handel).  Christina is a graduate student in violin performance at the University of Delaware, and has been attending Immanuel since last fall.

                                                                                    Jack Burnam

THIS WEEK AT IMMANUEL: 

Sun     27      Sixth Sunday of Easter

                      8:00 am        Holy Eucharist in Chapel

                      9:30 am        Sunday School Classes

                    10:30 am        Sung Eucharist, followed by Coffee Hour downstairs

Mon - Fri      7:30 am        Morning Prayer will not be read at Immanuel, April 21 - 30

Tue     29       6:30 pm        Search Team (Parlor)

                      6:30 pm        Choristers (Music Room)

                      7:00 pm        Al Anon (Common Room)

Wed   30       6:30 pm        Quiet Prayer (Common Room)

                      7:30 pm        Healing Service (Chapel)

Thu    5/1       7:30 am        Morning Prayer resumes

                      6:15 pm        Ascension Day: Festival Eucharist and Ethnic Pot Luck Dinner

Sat     5/3     12:00             Al Anon (Common Room)

COMING SOON (save these dates):

Sun    5/4       4:00 pm        Evensong for Ascensiontide, sung by all Immanuel Highlands Choirs

Sat   5/10     10:00 am        Pentecost Service Rehearsal (Nave), to noon

                      1:00 pm        Sunday School Corridor (“Sistine Chapel”) Painting, to 5 pm

Sun  5/11 Pentecost
                      9:15 am        Pentecost Service Rehearsal (Nave), to 10:15 am
                    10:30 am        Sung Eucharist with a new liturgy for Pentecost
                                              followed by a party downstairs, with a special cake

The Ascension Day Festival Eucharist starts at 6:15 p.m. Thursday, May 1, with a great Ethnic Pot Luck Dinner to follow.  The Junior and Senior High Sunday School classes invite everyone to attend the parish supper following the Ascension Day Eucharist.  Plan to bring a favorite ethnic dish to contribute to this multi-cultural themed meal.  Beverages will be provided.  See the bulletin board to sign up to bring your favorite ethnic dish (salad, main dish, or dessert), and come to enjoy balloons, food, and fun!  Don’t forget to bring your family, friends, and neighbors to experience this amazing event!  It will be a fun night of worship and fellowship and we hope to see you there.  If you have any questions, please see Eve English (Jr. High Sunday School) or Melanie Smarzda (Sr. High Sunday School).

                                                The Students and Teachers of the Jr. and Sr. High School Sunday School Classes

Many kudos to our youth for stepping in as hosts of our Ascension Day Ethnic Pot Luck Dinner.   

                                                                                    Laurie Hay, for Vestry and the Fellowship Subcommittee

Choral Evensong next Sunday, May 4, at 4 pm, features the full Immanuel choirs singing Charles Stanford’s beloved Evening Service in C, and Gerald Finzi’s thrilling anthem, “God is gone up with a triumphant shout,” in celebration of the Ascension of our Lord.  Jack Burnam will play organ music in the grand Anglican tradition by Frank Bridge and Herbert Howells.  Evensong (sung Evening Prayer) is a distinctively Anglican service, employing the traditional (“Rite I”) language of the Book of Common Prayer, quite different in style from our Sunday morning liturgy.  Much of the service is sung by the choir, offering fellow worshippers a contemplative setting in which to listen—in scripture, in music and in silence—for God’s voice. Child care is provided, and a beautiful reception follows the service.  Don’t miss this opportunity for inspiring worship and enjoyable fellowship—and invite a friend to join you.  This will be the final Evensong of the current season.

                                                                                    Jack Burnam

Boerger Fund:  As of April 22, 2008, we have another $71, giving us $1671 of our goal of about $3000 for the Boerger’s airfare.  We’ve helped for the 15 years of translating.  It’s time to help them to finish the last step.

                                                                                    Sue Welles, Outreach

To Leaders/Secretaries of All Ministries: For the audit, I need copies of minutes from Vestry, Finance, and any other committee meeting held during 2007.  Please send it as soon as it is possible for you to pull it together.  Send computer copies to accounting@immanuel-highlands.org or put paper copies into my mail slot (marked Business Office).  Also, since this is a requirement, we may want to make sure we are getting copies of the minutes for 2008 – so we don’t have to backtrack next year.  Thank you.

                                                                                   Susan Wilson, Accountant, Immanuel Church Highlands

The Katrina Mission Project invites you to join them next year for our third annual Katrina Mission trip to New Orleans in March, 2009.  Please contact Vicki Anthos if you are interested.

                                                                                    Vicki Anthos

Our Celebration of Pentecost, May 11, will include:

·        Festival Eucharist at the 10:30 service, using a new Pentecost Liturgy by Simon Jeynes, incorporating Immanuelites of all ages in the key roles – and parts for the congregation (the congregation’s lines do not require prior rehearsal).

·        Baptism of a young child.

·        Festivities continuing downstairs after the service at a Pentecost coffee hour party with a special cake.

                                                                                    Kay Wack and Kathleen Kelley

Spring is heading our way! With an early Easter and a mild winter, spring flowers will soon be among our blessings.  You are invited to share those floral blessings with the women who live in Friendship House transitional housing through the Mother's Day Garden project.  This is a simple way of honoring your own mother or another person who offers nurture and support while contributing to the beauty and peacefulness of transitional housing.

Your contribution to Friendship House (marked Mother's Day Garden) will be used to enhance gardens and yards at Friendship House facilities, and the person you decide to honor will receive a beautiful floral card for Mother's Day (May 11 this year).  You will be listed as the donor, but the amount of your contribution does not appear on the card; a gift of any amount is honored.

Please see the poster for more information and to pick up a donor card on the foyer table.  Thank you for honoring important people in your life with a gift that helps once-homeless women find the joy of sharing and gardening.

                                                                                    Sue Welles, Outreach

Upcoming: do you know your New Testament books?  Coming to a service near you is soon the great New Testament quiz, brought by the Grade 4/5 class.  Bone up while you can!

                                                                                    Simon Jeynes, Christian Education

Desserts with Bach:  Immanuel musicians are proud to present an evening of Bach and his contemporaries.  Saturday, June 14, from 7:00 to 9:00, we invite you to join us to hear piano, violin, cello, recorder, and voice playing/singing Bach and his friends.  Entry fee is a plate of desserts (finger food).  There will be a thank offering in favor of St. Luke's parish, New Orleans.  This is a great opportunity to bring musical non-church-going friends and introduce them to our wonderful community.

                                                                                    Simon Jeynes and Jack Burnam

Dear Parishioners and friends,

Look for a sermon link separately (I’ll send it via the parish email list).

                                                                                   Best, Thom

Fr. Thom may be reached at his church phone, 302-658-7326 Ext. 14, during his normal office hours Tuesday-Thursday, 9:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. He works from home on Fridays. Please feel free to call him on his cell phone 302-229-8449 or write to thomjensen@gmail.com at any time other than church office hours, if a need arises.

Articles from The Net - A Weekly Newsletter For Delaware's Episcopal Clergy

The summer camping season at Camp Arrowhead is just around the corner.  This Sunday afternoon, April 27^th, Camp Arrowhead is sponsoring an Open House.  It will be a good opportunity to learn more about Camp Arrowhead and its outstanding ministry to young people.  There are still openings for the summer camp sessions.  And, there are a few opportunities remaining for summer employment.  To learn more and to download a brochure you can visit the Camp Arrowhead website at www.camparrowhead.net .

Church of the Ascension Yard Sale – Saturday, May 10^th

Proceeds of the sale will be used to help offset the medical expenses of one of our youngest church members.   Sale will be held Saturday May 10, 2008, 10AM-2PM, 3717 Philadelphia Pike (at the intersection of Darley Road) Donations welcomed!  Tables are available for $25.  For more information call (302) 762-6734 or (302) 798-6683.

Grace Church Flea Market – Saturday, May 10^th

Grace Church is sponsoring a Flea Market with Antique Car Show; there will be crafts and food.  Rent a space for $15.  For more information call 302-658-3251.

Strengthening Stepfamilies – Wednesday, May 14^th

The Delaware/Delmarva Healthy Marriage Coalition and Catholic Charities Diocese of Wilmington are sponsoring a program on Strengthening Stepfamilies:  A Developmental Approach.  Surveys of clergy and religious counselors indicate that support for blended families, that is, couples on second marriages and bringing children from first marriages, is a difficult task.  We are presenting a program featuring one of the country's true experts on the subject.  The conference is May 14 in Bear, DE.  For more information contact DECCF at 302-225-1040 or DECCF@aol.com

Combined Service at Prince George’s Chapel, Dagsboro – Sunday, May 18^th

St. Martin's-in-the-Field, Selbyville and St. Mark's, Millsboro, will be worshipping together on May 18 at historic Prince George's Chapel in Dagsboro at 10:00 AM.  The Rev. David Archibald, who serves both congregations will conduct the service and be the Celebrant at the Eucharist.  Built in 1755, Prince George's Chapel had its beginning as an Anglican chapel-of-ease, serving the northern outlying area of Worcester Parish, Maryland.  Following the American Revolution, it became an independent parish church in the Diocese of Delaware.  The State of Delaware was deeded the property in 1967 and it has been restored and reopened as a museum.  For further information, please contact Ed Burton at 732-9370 or at imaterp@verizon.net.

Caregiver Series Offered by Visiting Nurse Association (VNA)

Christiana Care’s Visiting Nurse Association now offers valuable education through a Caregiver Education Series to assist those serving as caregivers. Whether you are caring for a spouse, parent, other relative or friend, you can benefit from this educational series led by experienced VNA professionals.  The Caregiver Education Series is also ideal for a wide variety of health care professionals, community leaders and others in contact with caregivers.  For dates, times and locations of VNA’s Caregiver Education Series or to register, visit www.christianacare.org/vnacaregivers.

Items from the website of the Diocese of Delaware:

Choral Evensong, Sunday, April 27, 5:00 p.m., at St. Paul’s Church, Chestnut Hill, 22 E. Chestnut Hill Avenue, Philadelphia. Cathedral Choir School of Delaware. Details: 654-6279.

National Day of Interfaith Inclusive Prayer, Thursday, May 1. Click here for details of the resolution recently passed at our diocesan convention for a day of prayer.

Wilmington Garden Day, May 3. The 61st Annual Wilmington Garden Day is a self-guided tour of 22 distinctive private homes and gardens. Garden Day supports St. Michael’s School and Nursery’s Tuition Assistance Program and is sponsored by four Episcopal churches.