Immanuel Lutheran Events
Gingerbread & Mindekirken (SALT)
Psalms, Rev. Dr. Karl Jacobson
Braver Angels
January 15, 2022Depolarizing Conversations about Race
Saturday, January 15, 9 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. - Zoom
Depolarizing Conversations About Race is a new skills workshop for difficult but necessary conversations between White Americans about race and public policy.
It seeks to improve the culture of conversations about race and provide a constructive alternative to the polarized and judgmental exchanges that dominate our current discourse.
Created by a diverse group of Braver Angels leaders, this new workshop helps White participants develop more skills for listening to others and expressing their own views on race in ways that lead to more productive conversations across differences.
While this workshop is primarily intended for White audiences, Americans of all races are welcome to participate.
The lead moderater for this workshop is Jeff Thiemann, a Lutheran pastor and he is the President/CEO of Portico Benefit Services (an ELCA organization).
Free but registration is required. To register go to: Depolarizing Conversations about Race
The Need
Conversations between White people about race are often dysfunctional and judgmental, descending into “Just listen to me explain racism to you” and “Don’t call me a racist!”
The vast majority of White people are firmly against racism as they define it, but they battle over what it means—for example, systemic versus personal—and about whether racism is mostly an evil of the past versus an ongoing scourge. They split over framing our country’s history as fundamentally compromised by racism versus its ideals still standing to light the way forward.
When it comes to policy solutions, many White people have trouble sustaining conversations on issues such as affirmative action, police reform, reparations, and removing statues. Conversations flare up and shut down, relationships become strained, and a national path forward on race becomes harder to envision.
We need to change the culture of conversations about race and public policy among White Americans, finding alternatives to the polarized and judgmental nature of these exchanges.
Why a Workshop Aimed at White People?
While people of any racial identity can participate, the workshop is intended primarily for self-identified White people who:
- Want to communicate more constructively about race and public policy
- Believe in the equal worth and dignity of persons of all races
- Are concerned about our nation’s problems with race and wants to see progress
If You Take This Workshop, You Will Be:
- Better at listening to people who have differing views on race and public policy, so they feel heard.
- More skilled in expressing views in a way that the other person can hear you.
- More able to find common ground when it is present.
Registration
- Register for Depolarizing Conversations about Race
- After registering, people will receive the Zoom link and other information.
- There is no cost for the workshop, however we invite people to consider becoming members of Braver Angels.
Questions?
Contact Ruth Lunde at lundeworld@yahoo.com
back to top »Habitat for Humanity
January 08, 2022Volunteer for a Habitat for Humanity Project
Saturday, January 8, Chaska
Volunteers needed: on the construction team, or to bring lunch or take photos? No experience required. Minimum age 16 for construction volunteers. You can help make a positive impact on equity in homeownership in our community. Come join us and help make the dream of home ownership a reality. Not only do we build a home, we build community, putting our faith into action.
To sign up please contact Ruth Lunde at lundeworld@yahoo.com or Lynn Swanson at 952.974.1689.
Work on an Immanuel Habitat Team
Following are a few notes for the day:
- Volunteers should dress appropriately for work on site: dress in layers with clothing that can get dirty and wear closed toe & heel shoes.
- Immanuel volunteers will provide lunch.
- The minimum volunteer age is 16. For 16 or 17-year-old volunteers, one adult for every four youth.
- Please consider carpooling as parking is limited.
We truly appreciate your commitment to helping Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity provide decent and affordable homes for families!
Thank you!
Immanuel's Habitat & Immanuel Builds Coordinators:
Lynn Swanson (952.974.1689) & Ruth Lunde (lundeworld@yahoo.com 651.261.2584)
back to top »Gingerbread & Mindekirken (SALT)
December 02, 2021
Norway House Gingerbread Wonderland & Mindekirken
Thursday, December 2, 8:45 a.m.
Immanuel's SALT (Seniors) invites you to an opportunity to get into the spirit of Christmas. Come join us in this fun adventure.
Norway House is where the signature holiday traditional Gingerbread Wonderland will return to the gallery for the 7th year. You will recognize familiar landmarks and buildings of the Twin Cities in this display. Max Stevenson will give our group a history of the project.
Mindekirken, Norwegian Lutheran Memorial Church tour. The tour there will be given by Pastor Gunnar Kristiansen. The church was started in 1922 when Norwegian immigrants, wanting to worship in their own native language, founded the church.
Details:
We will meet at the church at 8:45 a.m. to carpool to the Norway House located at 913 E. Franklin in Minneapolis (Cost for this portion of the morning will be $5).- Masks will be required.
- We will stop for coffee at the café and then proceed next door to Mindekirken, the Norwegian Lutheran Memorial Church at 924 E. 21st.
- Please sign up online or with MaryKay in the church office at marykay@immanuel.us so we will know how many to count on for carpooling.
Refugee Sponsorship Meeting
December 05, 2021Information Meeting
Sunday, December 5, 10 - 10:30 a.m.
Learn about the opportunity for our congregation to walk alongside and support a refugee family that will be resettling in our community:
- In-person: Fellowship Hall, or
- Join via Zoom: Join Zoom Meeting. Meeting ID: 827 9908 6381 Passcode: 783147
More info: Circle of Welcome | Lutheran Immigration & Refugee Service
If you can't attend but would like to stay informed please contact Gena or submit the form: Interest Meeting.
back to top »Psalms, Rev. Dr. Karl Jacobson
December 08, 2021
Psalms: The Bible's Songbook
Rev. Dr. Karl Jacobson
Wednesday, December 8, 6:30 p.m.
In-person and via Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85863389670?pwd=dFNvaU13QjltQnlqeEVTbzdiOWgxQT09 Meeting ID: 858 6338 9670 Passcode: 820261
Biography
The Rev. Dr. Karl Jacobson (M.Div., Luther Seminary; Th.D., Providence) serves as Senior Pastor at Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd in Minneapolis, Minn. Prior to that, he was Assistant Professor of Religion at Augsburg College.
Jacobson is contributing author to Crazy Talk: A Not-So-Stuffy Dictionary of Theological Terms (Augsburg Fortress, second edition 2017) and Crazy Book: A Not-So-Stuffy Dictionary of Biblical Terms (Augsburg Fortress, second edition, 2019), Invitation to the Psalms: A Reader’s Guide for Discovery and Engagement (Baker Academic, March 2013), commentary on the Book of Numbers in the Fortress Commentary on the Bible: Old Testament and Apocrypha (Fortress, 2014), as well as commentary on selected psalms in The Lectionary Commentary: The Psalm and Hymn Responses for Worship and Preaching, (Eerdmans, 2009), and study notes for Obadiah and Joel in the Lutheran Study Bible, and blogs about the Bible and popular culture at https://bibpopcult.wordpress.com/.
Recent publications include his doctoral dissertation, Memories of Asaph: Mnemohistory and the Psalms of Asaph (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, June 2017), and an essay in honor of Fred Gaiser, “‘God has put a šîr hadaš in my mouth…’ What Is New About the ‘New Song’?” (Word and World Supplement Series 7 [2017]; 74-85).
Karl is married to the Rev. Angela Fairbanks Jacobson, and they share five children: Thursday, Sam, Nora, Lucy, and Claire.
back to top »Blood Drive
December 01, 2021
Wednesday, December 1, 2 - 6 p.m.
To register:
- Please go to MBC - HeroHub website for this drive as soon as possible to sign-up.
- Enter our Sponsor Code: 0409 (and expand the date range to include Dec. 1).
There are options to make either a standard whole blood or double red cell donation. We are not going to have the option to recruit at church, so it is critical that we get people to sign-up for this drive on-line. Due to Covid there will be additional precautions taken to encourage safety for the donors and the MBC staff, including allowing only one donation at a time.
There is an urgent need for blood donations, now more than ever. We need to do all we can to fill this drive. Please sign-up now, and encourage others to participate as well.
Should you need to change or cancel your appointment, please make your change on the Memorial Blood Centers' website and also let me know. This will allow us to work to backfill any open appointment times.
Thank you again, for your generous gift of blood that saves lives. Please contact me with any questions you have about this blood drive.
Jane Evangelista, BloodDrive@Immanuel.us
You can help by encouraging your family, friends, co-workers, and neighbors to donate as well. Our blood drive at Immanuel is open to all, including non-members.
Thank you again, for your generous gift of blood which saves lives every day.
back to top »Masks required indoors
COVID Protocol Update
Masks Required Indoors
Immanuel’s Reopening Task Force continues to meet on a regular basis to chart our best course thoughtfully and carefully through the Covid pandemic. At our latest meeting we looked at the latest data on transmission and positivity rates, as well CDC and Minnesota Department of Health recommendations, for our area. This latest spike of the virus has not relented yet and is placing severe strain on hospitals. There is also concern that transmission rates could rise with kids being back at school, many of whom are too young to have received the vaccine.
Until both transmission and positivity rates return to safer levels, we are again requiring masks to be worn by everyone while inside the church building.
The Immanuel Staff will be leading this push in keeping others safe and healthy, the exception being when worship and Confirmation leaders are distanced from others while leading. The Reopening Task Force will be weekly monitoring transmission and positivity rates and will adjust our Covid protocol as conditions change. We have appreciated the understanding and patience of all during this time of pandemic as we continually adjust our practices to the changing conditions of the virus. Thank you again for helping Immanuel keep everyone safe and healthy, and hopefully shortening the duration of this pandemic.
I would also ask that you keep our Reopening Task Force in your prayers. It has been a challenge to sort through an abundance of data, differing recommendations, and rapidly changing conditions, all with the goal of making the most healthy and helpful recommendations for Immanuel’s Covid policies. I am grateful for the wisdom, diligence, and faithfulness each member of the task force has brought to this work. While we know that there are no perfect answers to how we meet the changing challenges of Covid, we will continue to do our best in keeping each other and our community safe while ministering to one another’s needs.
Again, thank you for your patience and understanding in this continuingly difficult and rapidly changing pandemic. May God guide us through this time to a new day.
Blessings,
Pastor Paul
back to top »
Sunday Worship: 9 & 10:30am
November 28, 2021
Join us for Livestreamed or In-Person Worship
Until both transmission and positivity rates return to safer levels masks are to be worn by everyone while inside the church building.