From Pastor Gary

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
St. Paul encourages us to be imitators of Christ. When I first hear the word “imitate” I think back to my childhood when we would imitate others to get on their nerves or to make them angry. We would repeat everything the other person would say. And this would go on until the ...

In Lutheran tradition, burning palm branches symbolizes the transition from the joyous celebration of Palm Sunday, where people welcomed Jesus triumphantly, to the somber reflection of Ash Wednesday, where the ashes from those burned palms are used as a reminder of human mortality and the need for repentance, highlighting the fickleness of human devotion and the contrast between praise and betrayal; essentially ...

Then suddenly a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve
years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his cloak, for she said to
herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be made well.”
Matthew 9:20-21
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
As children in a back seat of a car you have one time or another ...

After listening to the king, they (the Wise Men) went on their way. And
behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it
came to rest over the place where the child was. When they saw the star,
they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.”
Matthew 2:9-10
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
The definition of Epiphany is (1) January ...

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
Christmas is a magical time of year and as one year ends and another begins it brings back many
memories. I want to share with you a remembrance/poem from one of the members of Immanuel: Childhood Christmas Memories It is Christmas Eve and we are sitting together in church.
It is time to light the candles.
It’s so ...

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“And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man also
will acknowledge before the angels of God; but whoever denies me before others
will be denied before the angels of God”
(Luke 12:8-9) Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
As we begin the Advent Season two things come to mind: the Nativity of Christ at Christmas ...

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.”
– (Matthew 13:45-46) Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ, As the church year comes to an end and the lessons are geared towards the end of times, we also ...