rite of confirmation to be held on pentecost sunday, may 23

Rev. Ron Shifley Senior Pastor Office 979-793-6282 Pastoral Emergencies Home 979-652-4174 Cell 419-905-9844

Rev. George R. Kuebler Pastor Emeritus

Deanna Shifley Interim Youth Director Office 979-793-6283 Cell 567-242-4490 Email: [email protected]

Samantha Sebesta Leaps & Bounds Director Office 979-553-3357

Andrew Moses Organist

Debbie Palmer Church Office Manager

Church Office 979-793-6125 Fax Number 979-793-6199 Email [email protected] Mon-Fri 9:00 am -- 2:30 pm

Rite of Confirmation to be held on Pentecost Sunday, May 23

On Pentecost Sunday, May 23, 2021, four of our teens will celebrate the Rite of Confirmation and their first communion. This year’s 8th Grade Con-firmation Class consists of Madelyn Griffith, Natalie Rodgers, Claire Todd, and Micah Zatopek. Festivities on May 23 begin at 9:00 am with Confirma-tion Jeopardy Game in the Fellowship Hall. Parents and the whole congregation are invited to attend. Donuts and juice will be served to all in attendance. Confirmation Jeopardy is their final exam and will consist of a fun quiz over topics of Bible Trivia, Church History, Holidays, the Heidelberg Catechism, Christian Symbols, and Im-manuel Evangelical Church History. During the 10:15 am wor-ship service, the teens and their parents will participate in the Rite of Confirmation consisting of publicly pro-fessing Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, laying on of hands and celebration of the

2021 Confirmation Class: Claire Todd, Madelyn Griffith, Natalie Rodgers, and Micah Zatopek

Lord’s Supper. Families of our Confirmation Class should plan to stay after worship for Class pic-tures. The Confirmation Class will receive copies of the NIV Student Bible, Apostles Creed plaques and Heidelberg Catechism t-shirts as gifts from the church. The whole congregation is invited to stay after worship and celebrate with our Con-firmation Class and enjoy a piece of Pen-tecost cake as we celebrate Pentecost Sun-day and the Birthday of the Christian Church.

Memorial Day service set for IEC Cemetery

Our church will once again host a Memorial Day Observance on Monday, May 31 at 10:30 am at the Immanuel Evangelical Church Cemetery. Cub Scouts Pack #129 will take part in the service along with Pastor Ron and Bobby Zwahr who will read the list of veteran church members who are buried there. We’d like to invite the whole congregation to come out and share in this solemn time of honor and remembrance.

Pentecost is May 23 Pentecost, the Birthday of the Christian Church, will be observed on May 23. Every-one is asked to wear red. After worship the whole congregation is invited to eat some Pentecost cake in the Fellowship Hall.

Unleashing Pentecost Shortly after we were married, while serving a church in

Spencerville, Ohio, Deanna and I noticed that the church was

missing a set of altar cloths. The congregation had a set of

beautiful hand sewn altar cloths for almost every season of

the church year: Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter,

and Ordinary Time for summer going into Fall. Yet, for the

Sunday of Pentecost, there was just a simple plain red cloth

that was placed on the altar. While some might not think

much of this anomaly, since the red of Pentecost is only used

for one Sunday during the church year, I was beside myself.

Why? You might ask. I was upset because Pentecost should

be in the top three Christian holidays of the church year: right

up there with Christmas and Holy Week/Easter. The Day of

Pentecost is the Birthday of the Christian Church, when the

Holy Spirit descended upon Christ’s disciples and those filled

with the Spirit’s power began to unleash the Gospel of Jesus

Christ upon the world. The Spirit is the power of the church.

Without the fire of Christ’s Spirit burning in us, fueling us,

we lose our ability to live out the good news of our risen

Lord.

Many churches around the country, and the world for that

matter, spend little time celebrating Pentecost these days.

Some nondenominational churches that I know skip this

holiday all together. Since they’re not “liturgical” i.e. follow

the church year, Pentecost is simply not observed. In more

liturgical churches, like those of the Reformed, Lutheran,

Presbyterian, Methodist or Roman Catholic heritage,

Pentecost is observed, but oftentimes it is a minor

celebration. Thus, the simple red cloth that was used in Ohio.

With only a single Sunday use, there was no reason to sew a

more extravagant or artistic altar cloth set. One Sunday of

Pentecost red quite simply puts the power of the Holy Spirit

into a liturgical box, where if you miss attending church one

Sunday, you might miss the Holy Spirit all together.

Yet, when you read the story of Pentecost from Acts 2 you

find that what happened there is a God movement that could

not be contained.

“When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in

one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent

wind came and filled the whole house where they were

sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that

separated and came to rest of each of them. All of them were

filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other

languages as the Spirit enabled them.

Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from

every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a

crowd came together in

bewilderment, because

each one heard their own

language being spoken…

Those who accepted

[Peter’s] message were

baptized, and about three

thousand were added to

their number that day.” (Acts 2:1-6, 41)

Luke, the author of Acts, uses phrases like “blowing of a

violent wind” and “tongues of fire” to describe the Holy

Spirit’s descent upon the Apostles. These phrases try to

convey the Holy Spirit as something that cannot be

contained, domesticated, or boxed in. The Holy Spirit comes

like a wildfire and the Spirit brings “bewilderment” to the

crowd ultimately causing 3,000 people to put their faith in

Jesus Christ on that day. This is a story of the Church that

simply cannot be contained! So why do we try to contain the

power of Pentecost? That’s a good question.

When Deanna and I envisioned a new altar cloth set for the

Ohio church we dreamed of images that unleashed the Spirit

as wind and tongues of fire, flowing, blowing around the

disciples. A snap shot of part of that alar set is pictured

below. It pictured the Spirit as uncontainable, as He really is!

My prayer for y’all here in Needville , Texas, is that we

experience the Day of Pentecost as a day that thrills the soul.

I pray that our Pentecost worship, and imagery, lets the Spirit

out of the box. We need to unleash the wind and fire of the

Spirit in worship so that Christ’s Spirit can truly captivate

and empower our hearts and lives.

The day of Pentecost deserves to be a day of thrilling

celebration! What the Spirit did that day changed the world.

In fact, it still can, if we let the Spirit blow and ignite where it

will in our lives and in our church. Come, Holy Spirit, come!

IEC Committee Updates

Bell Choir rehearsals resumed after Easter, every Wednesday evening from 5:30-6:00 pm and every other Sunday evening from 6:00-6:30 pm on nights we host the Sunday Youth Night. We will have Bell Choir rehearsals on May 5 and 12 The Bell Choir will next perform on Sunday, May 16.

Bell Choir rehearsals continue

Adult Bible

Class

Sundays 9:00 am

[in the Library]

Members of the Fellow-ship Committee en-joyed a time of fellow-ship at Graces’ in Hou-ston on April 19. Good food and good fellow-ship was had by all.

Brotherhood Committee

Fellowship Committee is hosting Cinco de Mayo lunch!

Sunday, May 2

Brotherhood will cook beef & chicken fajitas.

Fellowship Committee will provide side dishes.

Congregation is asked to provide desserts.

Pinata will be provided for the children!!

Come & enjoy the fellowship, food & fun!!!

ANNUAL BROTHERHOOD EASTER BBQ SALE……...

GOD IS SO GRACIOUS AND GOOD.

THANK YOU! The Men’s Brotherhood would like to express their most sincere and heartfelt thanks to those who purchased BBQ at our annual Easter cook out. Because of your participa-tion it was a great success. God Bless each and everyone of you, and as always we cherish your blessings, support and participation.

Mark Paweleck

Fellowship Committee

****************************************************************************************************************

The Consistory has approved $500 for May to Youth With A Mission (Andy

Cavendar) . Our congregation helps out and provides assistance locally by sup-

porting our local pantries. Below is information for the Necessities Pantry and

Food Pantry.

~~MISSION OUTREACH NEWS~~

FOOD PANTRY ITEMS NEEDED

Flour Sugar Cooking Oil Spam Bottled Juice

NECESSITIES PANTRY ITEMS NEEDED

Diapers (children and adult) Shampoo Soap

FOOD PANTRY REQUEST –

The Food Pantry is seeking the help of someone

to be responsible for transferring boxes from

Lowe’s grocery store to the pantry room. This

would need to be done in advance of the second

and fourth Wednesdays. If you are interested in

taking on this job, please contact either Corlis

Delling or Sandra Zacek.

MISSION TRIP to Mashulaville, Mississippi June 6-12, 2021

ITEMS THAT WOULD BLESS THE MISSION

TOILET PAPER PAPER TOWELS DISPOSABLE MASKS VOLLEYBALLS DODGEBALLS CRAFT ITEMS FOR YOUNGER KIDS CAKE & DESSERT MIXES FOR ELDERLY MEALS BLANKETS Please bring donations to Deanna’s office

It’s finally here! Next month we are heading on our mission trip. Though our initial plans to go to the Robin’s Nest in Jamaica didn’t work out, we know that God has a bigger plan. We are so excited to be able to stay domestically and serve the Mashulaville community, the Choctaw Christian Church and the reservation at Crystal Ridge. Please keep our team (Deanna Shifley, David Altreche, Emma Altreche, David Dick, Deanna Dick, Deven Dick, Clint Legendre, Tayah Legendre, Rylan Legendre, Mikayla Mikeska, JoAnn Morton, Becky Oberhoff, Bruce Oberhoff, Natalie Rodgers Madalyn We-ber, and Debby Wendt) in your prayers that the Lord may use us as His hands and feet to minister to ones who are in need.

News from the Lily Pad

May 2021

WOW! Can you believe its May already? We will start the month with Skins and Skulls with Mrs. Debbie!

The kids will love getting to touch and see all the different types of animal skins.

This year our Trike A Thon is honoring John Doggett. Our students will peddle their little hearts out to raise a awesome amount for this wonderful family!

Muffins with Mom is finally happening! A momma favorite for sure! Such a great way to start your day!

To wrap up this great year we will celebrate with a Splash Day!

Water slide, Chic Fil A and lots of fun to end the year. The end of year pro-gram and PreK Graduation will just be the icing on the cake!

Thank you to everyone that helped make this year one of the very best!

As always, we are so blessed to be able to have such a full calendar of wonder-ful events! Thank You to our Board Members for always lending a helping and guiding hand as well as our Leap Frog Parents, we would not be here without

you all!

Our May Memory Verse is: God has great plans for me. Jeremiah 29:11

Leaping for Education—Bound by Christ

IEC YOUTH

Deanna Shifley, Interim Youth Director Email: [email protected]

Cell: 567-242-4490 Office: 979-793-6283

Sunday Evening Youth

May 16, June 13 & 27, July 11

4:00—6:00 pm

Wednesday Evening

6:00—8:00 pm

Supper provided

YOUTH RETREAT

TO PALACIOUS APRIL 30-MAY 2

Music Camp Registration Forms Available in church lobby and at

www.immanuelevangelicalchurch.org Registration Deadline is May 15th

June 21-25 9:00 am -2:00 pm

Musical Performance

Friday, June 25 6:30 pm

Children’s Sunday School May’s Story:

“Pentecost: Wind, Fire, Faith” Sundays at 9:00 am

The whole congregation is invited to cheer on our 8th Grade Confirmation Class on Sunday, May 23 at 9:00 am in the Fellowship Hall. Refreshments of donuts, juice, milk and fresh fruit will be served to everyone in attendance. Confirmation Jeopardy is a fun final exam for the Confirmation Class quizzing them on Bible trivia, holidays, church history, the Heidelberg Cate-chism, and more. Come, share in the fun!

Graduation Sunday May 9

during worship

Con

gra

tula

tions C

lass of 2

02

1

Jack Weston Bishop is the son of Chad and Carol Bishop. He will be attending Texas A&M University in College Station in the fall majoring in aerospace engineering

Isaac Cavallin, son of Carl and Heather Cavallin, is graduating from home school. He plans to attend the HVAC program in Wharton in the near future.

Emma Altreche is the daughter of David and Carrie Altreche. This fall she will be attending Baylor Uni-versity majoring in Pre-Med.

Also graduating are: Skylar Finley Cole McClellan (No information submitted)

Mikayla Anne Mikeska 2021 Needville High School Graduate and plans to attend WCJC to start Business courses and then transfer to a major University.

Reese Fredrickson is the son of Ike and Kim Fredrickson. Reese has re-ceived baseball offers from Ranger College and Texas Wesleyan. He is currently weighing his options. He will be studying construction science.

Tayah Legendre 2021 Needville High School Gradu-ate and plans on studying nursing.

Christopher Smith is the son of Ad-am and Crystal Smith, and the grand-son of Mike and Shirley Richter. Christ will be attending Buena Vista Univer-sity in Iowa, where he will be studying history to become a teacher/coach.

Craig Elster Todd Graduated from Texas A&M December 18,2020 Bachelor of science in Ag leadership. He is currently employed with Transova in Bryan Texas. He has been a member of IEC his whole life. He recently married Lauren and they Joined the Methodist church in Franklin, Texas.

SUN MON TUES WED THUR FRI SAT 1

Youth Retreat

2 3 4 5 6 National Day of Prayer

7 8

Adult / Children-Sunday School 9am Family Worship/Communion 10:15am Cinco de Mayo Lunch following worship

Leaps & Bounds 8:30-2:30pm

Children’s Fellowship 4:00-5:30pm Bell Choir 5:30-6:00 pm Youth Fellowship 600-8:00pm Confirmation Class 7:00-8:00pm

Leaps & Bounds (Trike A Thon) 8:30-2:30pm Christian Education

6:30 pm

Sr. Citizens 11:30 am

9 Mother’s Day 10 11 12 13 Ascension Day 14 15

Adult / Children-Sunday School 9am

Family Worship/Perfect Attendance 10:15am Graduation Sunday Jr. & Sr. High Youth 4:00-6:00 pm Bell Choir 6:00-6:30

Leaps & Bounds 8:30-2:30pm Fellowship Comm 2:00 pm Leaps & Bounds Board 7:00 pm

Food Pantry 9:30-12:00pm Children’s Fellowship 4:00-5:30pm Bell Choir 5:30-6:00 pm Youth Fellowship 600-8:00pm Confirmation Class 7:00-8:00pm

Leaps & Bounds (Muffins with Mom) 8:30-2:30pm Cub Scouts Den Mtg 6:30-7:30 pm Worship & Evangelism 6:30 pm


Deadline for Music Camp Registration

16 17 18 19 20 21 22

Adult / Children-Sunday School 9am Worship 10:15am

Cub Scouts Committee Mtg 6:30 pm

Leaps & Bounds 8:30-2:30pm Leaps & Bounds Program 6:30 pm Brotherhood 6:30 pm

Youth Fellowship 600-8:00pm Confirmation Class 7:00-8:00pm

Leaps & Bounds (Last Day of Class) 8:30-2:30pm NMA Clergy 3:30 pm Consistory 7:00 pm

Sr. Citizens 11:30 am Women’s Guild 2:00 pm

23 Pentecost Sunday 24 25 26 27 28 29

Confirmation Jeopardy/Breakfast 9:00 am Worship/ABC Celebration/Communion/Rite of Confirmation 10:15am Jr. & Sr. High Youth 4:00-6:00 pm

Food Pantry 9:30-12:00pm Youth Fellowship 6:00-8:00pm

Cub Scouts Meeting 6:30 pm


30

Adult / Children-Sunday School 9am Worship 10:15am

31 Memorial Day Memorial Day Service at IEC Cemetery 10:30 am

Page 10

May 2021

Acts 2:1-4

“When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house… They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.

All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit…”

PRAYER LIST P.U.S.H. = Pray Until Something Happens!

*Devan Bolch *Stephanie McElroy

*Wyatt Lynn (Wheaton) Blase *Donna Britt

*Dick Burlingame *Waldo Burlingame

*Tamara, Bryce, Addyson Graves *Adriane Gray

*Wyatt Jordan *Shirley Kosnei

Verna Dell McGuire *Sandra Muegge *Mark Paweleck *Peggy Raesner

*W. Lee “Dub” Schmidt *Olivia Tiemann

*Adelia Tucker *Curtis Walzel

*Terry Williams *Mary Zwahr

All members with COVID

WORSHIP ATTENDANCE April 01 (Maundy Thursday) 121 April 11 106 April 02 (Good Friday) 181 April 18 131 April 04 (Easter) 193 April 25 110

1 Mark Wendt 2 Bernice Schmidt Kelly Arrington 3 David Altreche 5 Melissa Holik 6 Steven Diehl 7 Craig Todd 8 Kalien Gorka 9 Brent Wuthrich 10 Allene Zwahr Lovalee Horak Theresa Schultz 12 Johnathon Morton

15 Art Klawitter Marc Gadway Nancy Tielke 17 Adeline LaRoche 18 Corey Kelly 20 Ludvik Novak 22 Laura Casassa

Madison Holik

23 Kimberly Grimmett

24 Tony Novosad 26 Brooke Wuthrich 29 Debby Wendt Mary Zwahr 31 Harvey Mager

May Birthdays

MAY ANNIVERSARIES 4 KEITH & ERIN WLECZYK 7 CLARENCE & ERNA THIELEMANN 13 DENIS & GINA LAROCHE 15 ART & PAM KLAWITTER 16 DARREL & GINNY KRAMER 17 CLIFTON & MELISSA HOLIK STEVE & TINA HOLIK JIM & PAM SULLIVAN 22 DAVID & SHAWN THIELEMANN 23 CHARLES & LINDA OBERRENDER 30 TOMMY & DEBBY WENDT 31 MATTHEW & DANA MORTON

May Anniversaries

PRAYER LIST GUIDELINES

*It is an honor and privilege to pray for the needs of those on our prayer list. I have not been following the 6 week rule. Prayer requests will be listed for a maximum of six weeks. If prayer is still needed and wanted, the name may be resubmitted to the church office for another six weeks. Thank you for your assistance in this matter. We look forward to sharing in both your concerns and your joys! Will be starting this week as week one for all that are on this prayer list.

IMMANUEL EVANGELICAL CHURCH 979-793-6125 E-mail address—[email protected] P.O. BOX 505 9018 CHURCH STREET NEEDVILLE, TEXAS 77461-0505 www.immanuelevangelicalchurch.org Find us on Facebook @ Immanuel Evangelical Church Needville Texas

Want to join our church

family?

Have you been attending Immanuel for awhile and feel the nudge to grow deeper with us? We’d love to have you as a member of our church family. How is that done? Simply contact Pastor Ron or Debbie in the Church Office, and we would be happy to share more about our church family, our ministries, and how you can have a deeper part in what God is doing through us within the Needville community and around the world.

Scenes from Holy Week

rite of confirmation to be held on pentecost sunday, may 23

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