Weekly Word | December 22, 2023 | Issue 122

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The Church office will be closed between Christmas and New Year’s!

Messages will be checked, so call the office and leave a message, or call the emergency number as noted on the answering machine.

Remember to bring in your Reverse Advent Calendar bag with food for the last time this Sunday!

Drop your food off in the boxes provided and then take your bag home to fill one more time! The food will be gathered and dropped off at the Food Bank. This is a wonderful way to observe the season of Advent, by answering Jesus’ call to feed the hungry! We have already dropped off 115 bags of groceries to the food bank, plus the 55 bags delivered from our regular 1^st Sunday food drive.

You won’t want to miss worship on Sunday, December 31, at 11am! We will have a wonderful First Sunday in Christmas combined service full of Christmas carol singing, followed by a brunch to celebrate the retirement of our organist, Cathy Namock.

Please note the special time, a chance to sleep in on New Year’s Eve!

Giving Envelopes for 2024 are ready for pick up in the Narthex! Remember to not use them until after the first of the year. Offerings must be received in the church office by 10:00am on Friday, December 29, to be counted as 2023 giving. Sunday morning 12/31 offering will be received and dropped off at the bank on that day.

The next Interfaith meal is Friday, January 12, served in the Fellowship Hall as well as curbside pick-up.

If you are a Thrivent Financial member, you are entitled to 2 Thrivent Community Action Cards annually for service in your community. Please consider using one to support the Interfaith Meal or other ministries at Emmanuel. Contact Mary in the church office to help!

December Mission Outreach

Arizona Crisis Team

Click on the picture to visit their website.

ACT is a non-profit organization that provides emotional, practical and resource assistance to citizens who have been impacted by any type of crisis—24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The purpose of providing crisis intervention is to allow the victim to begin regaining the control that was lost because of their victimization. These services are free of charge and offered with dignity and respect for individual and cultural differences.

Jean and Gary Kiser report that the Angel Tree, providing Christmas gifts and meals to 3 families from our local school, Mountain View Elementary (10 children in all) is complete. The families picked up their gifts and meals on Thursday.

Looking for a volunteer opportunity?

The Prescott Valley Food Bank needs to replace two volunteers who have retired this year. Workers are needed for one or two days a month for a three hour shift. Contact Karen Loebig at loebig@comcast.net for more information!

Our tradition at Emmanuel is to decorate the Sanctuary for Christmas Eve with poinsettias brought in by members of the congregation. Bring your live or artificial plants to the church by Friday, December 22, and turn in your form (found in your Sunday bulletin or in the church office) that lets us know who the flowers are in honor or memory of. If you still want to contribute, bring your poinsettia with you to the 10am worship service on Sunday; the decorating of the sanctuary will happen after the morning service.

Small Groups Schedule

The Grief Group meets on the second and fourth Thursdays of the month in the nursery at 1:00pm. Chaplains from Good Samaritan Hospice are facilitating. The Grief Support Group is not meeting on 12/28, and will resume on January 11.

The Tuesday 10am Women’s Bible study is finishing reading The Moment of Lift by Melinda Gates (about how empowering women changes the world). They will be taking a few weeks off in the first part of January and will start up again soon. Contact Pr. Tricia for more information.

The last Tuesday of the month Bible study gathers at the new Prescott home of Karen and Bruce Lamb at 9:30am. The group isn’t meeting in December; the next study will be January 30. Call Karen at 928-910-6377 for details and directions!

The Wednesday 10am Lectionary Study group led by Hal Vogelaar and Larry Gordon meets in the Fellowship Hall. This group studies the scripture texts for the coming Sunday. The group will not be meeting on Wednesday, December 27.

The Thursday evening Bible Study meets at the Rebholz’ home. Gathering at 6:30pm for dessert (always amazing by Carole), the study starts at 7:00pm.

The Thursday 3:00pm Chino Valley Bible Study meets the 1^st and 3^rd Thursday of the month. Give Keith Namock a call at 928-800-1599 for details and directions.

Nominate Church Leaders

The Nominating Committee is working to create a slate of people to fill the open leadership positions for the church council and assorted committees, to be elected at the ELC Annual Meeting at the end of January. Nomination forms are on the information table in the narthex and can be left in the gold box there, in the offering plate, or in the church office. Nominations are anonymous, and of course it is always appropriate to nominate yourself!

COVID News

Covid-19 is on the rise, and we have had cases in our congregation, as well as the flu and RSV. The current CDC guidelines recommend that folks wear a mask at indoor gatherings if you are at high risk of illness or are protecting a loved one who is. Stay home if you are feeling unwell and consider taking a covid at home test.

Each household is eligible for up to 8 free at-home test kits; click Read More or call 1-800-232-0233.

Get Four Free At-⁠Home COVID-⁠19 Tests This Fall

Every home in the U.S. is eligible to order an additional 4 free at-⁠home tests beginning November 20. If you did not order tests this fall, you may place two orders for a total of 8 tests.

Border Immersion Rescheduled

Concerned about our southern border? Become an informed citizen, learning firsthand about some of the challenges at the border by joining us for a border immersion experience. Over February 23-25, 10 people from Emmanuel will have an opportunity to go to the border and see the challenges that exist there.

We will drive to Tucson on Friday; Saturday Pr. Mateo and Annette Chavez will drive us to Nogales, Mexico (valid passport required!) where we will visit La Casa de la Misericordia, which is a shelter that houses refugees and asylees while they wait for permission to legally enter the country. Sunday, we will worship at San Juan Bautista Lutheran Church in Tucson, then return home. If interested, contact Janice Zimbelman at imacoffeebean99@gmail.com for more information.

Did you know? Some facts about refugees

Click Read More to learn more about refugees from the Inclusivity Team

The council is collecting donations for church staff end of the year gifts. The money collected will be divided between our office manager, media specialist, organist, handbell director, custodian, bookkeeper, and nursery assistant.

There is a collection box on the information table in the narthex; please note on the envelope and your check that it is for staff gifts.

Janice Zimbelman's Mint Brownies

Many thanks to Janice for sharing her brownies at the Dinner for Eight's Progressive Dinner last week, and her grandmother's recipe here with us now! Click to get the PDF.

Around the Synod

Grand Canyon Synod News: 12/22/2023

Spirited Advent:

My Soul Magnifies the Lord!

with Sheri Brown

The online weekly gathering and the daily devotions both began Sunday, December 3, but there’s still time to sign up!

Please note, there will be no Tuesday 12/26 email as the staff is on vacation.

Community Events of Interest

St. Luke’s Episcopal Church has invited us to help with their “Don’t Spend Christmas Alone” Christmas dinner on Christmas Day. This will be their forty-second year of offering a free meal to anyone in the quad city area. There are lots of volunteer opportunities to cook, serve, entertain, pick-up and drop off, clean up and more! See Pr. Tricia for more information.

The celebration of Kwanzaa starts on Tuesday, December 26, 2023, and ends on Monday, January 1, 2024. Although the holiday of Kwanzaa was made for African Americans, it celebrates values that all humans should embrace, such as creativity, unity, purpose, and faith. Click below to Read More!

Kwanzaa is a time for families and communities to come together to remember the past and to celebrate African American culture.

The Prescott Peacebuilders are planning their Movies with Meaning series for January-April 2024. Our first film will be “Disturbing the Peace”. It will be shown on January 7th at the Prescott Library at 1:30. This film follows former enemy combatants-Israeli soldiers from elite units and Palestinian fighters, many of whom served years in prison-who have joined together to challenge the status quo and say "enough". This 90-minute film reveals their transformational journeys: from soldiers committed to armed battle to nonviolent peace activists leading to the creation of Combatants for Peace. While based in the Middle East, “Disturbing the Peace” evokes universal themes relevant to us all and inspires us to become active participants in the creation of our world.

Life In 3D ~ those wonderful siblings sing, “O, Holy Night”. Gives me chills!

A magical picture of Watson Lake, taken by Darnell Renee.

Celebrating this Week

Happy Birthday!

Shelby Tate, December 24

Michael Leigh, December 26

If this list needs to be altered, please click here to let the church office know

Combined Worship: December 24, 2023

Here is the link to our 10am December 24 Combined Worship scheduled livestream.

You will receive the Worship email Sunday one hour before the service starts (so that it'll be higher up in your Inbox around the start of worship).

We will be singing two of our Contemporary Worship songs: "Glory (Let There be Peace)" and "Table of Grace". Click the links to take a listen to these beautiful worship songs!