MONDAY, MAY 18, 2020
Dear fellow members of Immanuel Ev. Lutheran Church,
Pastor Aaron and the Elders have met to discuss and review options for resuming in-person church activities. We will remain closed during the month of May. If the Covid-19 pandemic subsides, and Gov. Pritzker and the state government decide to open things up, we may be looking, at that time, for the first day we will be back in our sanctuary.
We will be following all CDC and state and local guidelines. We will also coordinate our efforts to be in line with the best practices recommended by the Missouri Synod and Northern Illinois District. Given the demographics of our congregation, the health, safety, and well-being of our members will be of primary importance. We will be adhering to social distancing practices, wearing masks, and other measures. We will minimize use of the lobby as a gathering place. We are currently working through a number of ideas / guidelines as we plan for worship and having communion in our sanctuary.
While we treasure the Lord’s Supper and rightly emphasize it as an integral, vital element in our life together as a Christian community, there is no direct biblical mandate regarding how often we are to receive communion. As our hearts long for the community of God’s people at Immanuel to be reunited face-to-face to enjoy the sweetness of Jesus’ sacrifice, given to us in bread and wine, our prayer is that God would produce in all of us a firm and unwavering faith in the promises of forgiveness and life those elements convey, and a hunger for a deeper relationship with God and others. May God grant us patience and trust in Him as we wait expectantly for that time.
We will keep you informed of our decisions as we move forward through this pandemic.
We ask that you continue to be patient as we continue to quarantine at home during this time. Go to immanuelmokena.org/faithathome, if you have an internet connection, to watch and listen to Pastor Aaron’s vlogs and the weekly Services in which so many of our members have participated by reading, leading prayers, or using their musical talents to augment the Service. Keep the faith. Stay in contact with your fellow members and help each other stay strong.
Yours in Christ,
Pastor Aaron, Jerry Vrshek, Bruce Bechtel,
Jim Bubeck, Marty Olsen & Nick Whittier
