Emmanuel Episcopal Church

09/04/2026

The Outreach Committee met last Sunday afternoon to chart the course of our efforts to support the community for the upcoming year. One of the goals of the committee, and it is one I share, is to bring us into closer relationship with the community. The mission of the church is found not just in making sure people have resources (although that is a wonderful thing), but also in building relationships with the people of the community we are called to serve. I am thankful for those of us who are engaged in that service .

To that end, several parishioners met with the principal of Bel Air Elementary School to see if there are ways in which we can support kids in need. She suggested that we could help in the following ways:

Provide fresh clothing to the school, so that the school can provide clothing to kids dealing with an accident or spill. This work is taking place through the Thrift Shop.
Collect school supplies for kids who cannot afford them, particularly when the school runs short in January and February.
Consider the possibility of paying off kids' lunch debt.

We are also continuing our presence in the community by operating the Thrift Shop, which both provides either low- or no-cost clothing and items to those in need in the community and raises money for the church. The Thrift Shop needs volunteers to help on Friday and Saturday mornings.

The church will take part in a number of drives throughout the year and will continue our relationship with Habitat for Humanity.

I am so thankful for the work of the committee in discerning community needs, for the members who have been a part of the committee for a long time, and for those members who are newly joining the committee.

09/03/2026

The Church was struck by lightning last night. All is well and safe, except that a power surge has damaged the organ. We are working with our organ builder and church insurance to get it fixed and to update our systems so this does not happen again.

In the meantime, we will enjoy some lovely piano music. To give us time to fix the organ, the Organ recital has been delayed to 10/18.

09/03/2026

Morning Prayer 9-3

09/02/2026

09/02/2026

Morning Prayer Sept 2

09/01/2026

From the Pastoral Turtle

I have responded to the call to help put together the new shed. Despite how it looks, I was a great help! I promise

08/30/2026

Join us for our live broadcast

08/29/2026

Last week I promised an update on some of the building repairs going on, and I gave a little bit of an update on those last Sunday. This update is current as of Wednesday morning, when I put the Trumpet together.

A parishioner had donated a replacement for the shed that sits right outside the parish hall, next to the parking pad. The roof of the shed had failed, and the shed in general was in a state of disrepair. Ed Yoakum, Pete Schlehr, Dave McGraw, and others tore down the old shed this week and are hoping to install the new vinyl shed on Saturday morning.

The Vestry approved a quote of $27,006.60 to install five mini-split systems in the Rectory to provide the building with proper A.C, and mini-splits are the least expensive way to do that. About $12,000 of this will come from the remaining funds set aside for the Rectory Renovation, and the rest will need to be drawn from reserves. This was approved by the Vestry so that the Rectory can be maintained at a safe and habitable temperature. It will be installed as soon as the company has space for us in their schedule.

We have so far received two quotes to repair the front wall of the sanctuary. The repair of the roof's flashing will make up less than a third of the cost of the repair. The rest of the repair involves setting up scaffolding and repairing the damage to the plaster. We always seek to get three quotes on major projects, and so, between that and the need to time the work well, it will be a while before you hear the next update on this project.

08/29/2026

One of the things Canon Randy (Our Diocese's Canon for Mission) talked about when he was here was the idea of focusing our outreach on a few key areas where our service work can take place, coordinated through the community. With our new outreach initiatives, that is going to be our focus: doing a few focused things that the community needs, and we know that they need because they told us. These initiatives will be the focus of this Sunday's Outreach Committee meeting, which will take place at 1:00 P.M. in the Parlor.
The work of the church does not stop at the church walls, but rather we are ministers to our community and, through our service, show the love of God. Many thanks to those in our congregation who are already doing this work.

08/27/2026

The Program Year is Kicking Off!

This Sunday: Outreach Committee at 1:00 P.M.; next Sunday: join us for Breakfast at 9:00 A.M.

9/13: Start of Sunday School, Blessing of the Backpacks, and Adult Forum Resumes.

9/20: Sundae Sunday (New Date)