November 2024

Monthly Message from the pastor

  • Ezra 3 Update: Connection, Ideas and Next Steps
On Tuesday, Oct 22, the Emmanuel Design Team met with the other church cohorts (Lidgerwood, Spirit Lake, Korean Presbyterian and Reardon). We began at the Korean Presbyterian Church and moved in the afternoon to Lidgerwood Presbyterian Church. We toured these two church buildings, hearing stories of history and God’s faithfulness, and shared about what the Spirit is bringing up for us as we start to seriously consider an idea to propose for the grant. These connections are so lifegiving, especially as we notice similar themes, hopes and struggles in our small (but mighty) congregations.
Stage & Fellowship Hall IdeaWe have identified the Stage and Fellowship Hall as spaces to explore with our grant money. Could we clean up and update the stage to provide a practice space for a dance or theatre group? Might the Fellowship Hall offer community space for forums, meetings or conferences? I’m sure you have more ideas to add, and we welcome your thoughts! So, what happens next?Next Steps1. Read the Partners for Sacred Places report (copies in the Fellowship Hall) to see how community members see our property and its potential. 2. Come to Mission Possible after church on Nov 10, a game that helps us imagine possibilities and gets our creative juices flowing. 3. Pray! The Spirit is among us and is eager to guide our community in this process.

october 2024

Monthly Message from the pastor

  • Ezra 3 Update:
  • What is OUR faithfulness in this neighborhood?

  • Dr. Chanequa Walker-Barnes says that “Healthy boundaries allow us to meet our own needs while being in relationship with other people” (Sacred Self-Care, 90). This is also true for organizations and institutions, like the
  • local church. Part of our Ezra 3 discernment process is identifying who we are and who we are not.

  • Emmanuel is a community that cares deeply about and for its beautiful building, values traditional and authentic worship, and has a long-standing reputation for serving the community in creative, dependable ways.
  • Emmanuel is not a church with limitless resources, nor is it a community that can meet all the needs that surround our property. These boundaries are important for us to name as we consider how to walk in OUR faithfulness and not in someone else’s.

  • This month, Dana Dabek from Partners for Sacred Places toured our building and hosted a conversation with a handful of neighborhood leaders about the needs in our community and the unique ways in which our space
  • could meet some of those needs (with proper boundaries in mind). We wondered together about a community gathering space for local businesses or theatre groups.

  • What ideas do you have?
  • What is Emmanuel’s faithfulness in this neighborhood?
  • Write your ideas down on the “Ezra 3 Parking Lot” poster in the Fellowship Hall.

September 2024

Monthly Message from the pastor

  • My Messenger articles for the next several months will be updates on what our Design Team is discovering from the Ezra 3 Project. Please reach out if you have questions! We want to keep everyone in the loop as we move forward. Through our I-Spy and Storytelling events, along with interviews with longtime neighborhood leaders and residents, we have discovered shared observations and experiences. People value outreach and long for effective ways to improve the loves and business of people in this community. Emmanuel is seen as an essential, long-standing presence in this "mini-city" neighborhood that shares boundaries with West Central, Audubon and Emerson Garfield. Community members desire to increase connection with other churches as well as with businesses. While we are still in process, two categories came up often in our conversations. I've listed them below with the reasons why we are excited about exploring them further.
  • 1. Outreach to small businesses/organizations
  • • Safer neighborhood
  • • Improved quality of life
  • • Presence & Storytelling

  • 2. Building Use - Shared Space
  • • We are already doing this, and it is bearing fruit
  • • Extra revenue
  • • Relationships
  • • Affirms the history and work of those who have gone before (as shared in our storytelling event). we are here because of what they have done. It is our responsibility to continue the mission of EPC.

August 2024

Monthly Message from the pastor

  • We all have decisions to make, some simple and others layered with complexity and confusion. As Christians, we do not discern next steps in a vacuum. We have the
  • presence of the Holy Spirit as well as our siblings in Christ to help light the way before us.

  • The prophet Jeremiah spoke these words from God to the Israelites during a time of
  • distress, words that apply to us as well:

  • “Thus says the LORD: Stand at the crossroads, and look, and ask for the ancient
  • paths, where the good way lies; and walk in it and find rest for your souls” (Jeremiah
  • 6:16).

  • When facing a hard choice, look and ask for the good way. Pay attention to where Jesus’ goodness is leading, pray for the Spirit to show you the way, read the scriptures,
  • and ask for wisdom from trusted Christian friends.
  • Then, walk in the good way. Make a move in the direction that God revealed, trusting in the Spirit’s power and guidance to sustain you.

  • Faithful discernment will lead you to peace, so now you can find rest. With the decision
  • made, settle into the place God prepared.

July 2024

Monthly Message from the pastor

  • We have occupied the corner of Chelan and Cannon for 115 years. I wonder what the neighborhood was like back in 1909. While we only have bits and pieces of historical record to give us clues about what life was like around here when the charter members of Emmanuel Presbyterian Church broke ground over a century ago, we can learn a lot about what is outside our doors today by simply walking around and observing our community.

  • As Part of the Ezra 3 Cohort journey, we are invited to do just that! The Design Team invites you to join us as we take a stroll around our streets, noticing and engaging in some conversation with our neighbors. We plan to gather before church on Sunday, July 21st at 9:30 a.m. We will then walk around in smaller groups, take some notes, and come back together to share what we have discovered. I will host one group that remains at the church building, for those who prefer not to walk.

  • As it so happens, July 21st is also our Annual Sundae Sunday! So...replenish your energy from the neighborhood walk with delicious ice cream!

June 2024

Monthly Message from the pastor

  • Creation Stations Youth Fair
  • Despite the Fall-like weather this past week, summer is approaching! We all remember what it was like as a kid to look forward to long days in the
  • sun without the responsibility of school. And…kids need activities to fill these long days.
  • This year, we are offering an event on June 27 from 4-7 pm, where kids (with an accompanying adult) can participate in a variety of activities like
  • crafts, games and planting at booths hosted by local organizations that we love and trust.
  • What can you do to help?
  • We will need volunteers to help set up and take down tables and chairs, help with food, and be present to welcome neighbor friends. Watch for sign-ups soon.
  • In the coming weeks, you will receive a flyer that you are invited to distribute to kids and parents that you know would LOVE to come join in the fun!
  • PRAY! God is on the move in our church and surrounding neighborhood. You can participate by praying for the Spirit to lead us well and for kids to experience Jesus’ wide-open love for them.