Immanuel Lutheran - Welcome to our church!

Service Times
Sunday - 8:00am and 10:30am
Thursday - 6:30pm

Search Our Site:

Upcoming Events

I Thank God For You

Pastors Thoughts

Posted: Apr 24, 2008

"We ought always to thank God for you, brothers, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love every one of you has for each other is increasing." 2 Thessolonians 1:3

Dear flock at Immanuel, in recent weeks we have seen a number of changes happening at our congregation. A called worker has accepted a divine call to serve the Lord in another ministry. This decision will result in another called worker leaving us at the end of a school year. The Church Council, through the Parish School Committee, is recommending we ask our Wisconsin Synod to assign one of our current teachers at our Lutheran Elementary School permanently. We have chosen not to fill the pastoral vacancy for an unknown period of time. We have accepted a lay member’s desire to help us with our church business plans in a new position of a Parish Administrator for a short period of time. These decisions have been made and are affecting our present and future ministries. With the Lord’s help these will be viewed as positive changes to assist our congregation’s mission to proclaim Christ, the crucified and risen Savior. More choices will need to be made in the future as we strive to work together as brothers and sisters in Christ to serve as God’s people in our family and surrounding community.

As your only spiritual shepherd at this time – under the guidance and support of your Chief Shepherd, Jesus Christ – I want to share with you a word of thanks for your prayers of support, your kind words, and your interest in helping me be the kind of shepherd you and most importantly, the Lord, wants me to be.

Some of you might recall that at a meeting on February 24^th, I acknowledged to the congregation of my weaknesses “to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ (Ephesians 4:12-13). Your support at that meeting, at the March 2^nd voters meeting, and at the Church Council’s March 11^th meeting indicated to me that free and full forgiveness has been offered for my shortcomings and to that I say, “Thank God! And I thank you for putting such faith and trust in one of your humble servants.

In my public confession on February 24^th, I indicated that I was seeking help by reading Christian literature and I shared the names of several books I had read. Also, I have relied upon the advice of several Christian men I know in our Wisconsin Synod. Most importantly, I have turned to the Scriptures even more to learn what our Lord God wants from me as one of his called servants.

Recently, I finished reading the book, The Perfect Pastor? (Understanding and Relating to the Life and Work of a Pastor). It tells a

wonderful story about a fictional pastor who learns through his home and church family of his own weaknesses and strengths. There are many insights suggested by the author, D. Tomas Owsley which I hope to implement in my ministry and within our congregation. If you would like to order a copy of this book or glance through it from time to time, contact me for more information.

As we move forward as a family, I would invite you to contact me in person [see my weekly schedule below], on the phone [748-2921 ext. 223] or by email [pastorjohnmelke@wels.net] as often as you wish to help keep communication flowing well.

We will be in need of some new leadership on the Church Council and Parish School Committee due to some terms expiring. I invite the men who are asked to serve through the Nominating Committee to prayerfully consider serving the Lord and our church and to contact me and/or other church leaders about these openings to understand what would be expected of you. I foresee exciting ministry taking place here at Immanuel and look forward to working closely with the leaders and all the members as we strive toward a better unity of purpose.

In closing, your love for the Lord and his called workers is exactly the kind of commitment Paul was speaking about in the text printed above from 2 Thessalonians chapter 1. May I, as your spiritual shepherd, along with the rest of the called workers, hired staff, and elected leaders, express this same commitment to you.

Serving the crucified and risen Christ

with you and for you – Pastor John Melke

RUNNING WILD

Is this year's Vacation Bible School led by Camp Phillip counselors here at Immanuel. It is based on Psalm 119:32, "I run in the path of your commands for you have set my heart free."

July 21-25, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. daily

For pre-registration, click for a PDF registration form and return to the church office as soon as possible.

Support Immanuel Lutheran School with its Scrip program!

Simply purchase gift cards from Immanuel and use them at your favorite local stores and Immanuel School gets 4-10% of the money. Contact Donna Goodman or Carey Hartwig for more info.

Get copy of the form at church or school or click here to get a PDF version you can print out, fill in and bring with you.

Have a BLAST! Big Lamb After School Time -- Afterschool fun and homework help in a safe environment at Immanuel till 5:30 PM. Cost is $3 per day. Call 748-2921 for details or click here to download the brochure.