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EXPECTATIONS

Emmanuel is a growing,

welcoming, caring

community, celebrating the

rich diversity of God’s

Creation, treasuring our

common humanity and

following the way of Christ’s

love, justice and mercy in

today’s world..

The Ministry at Emmanuel

Ministers

All Who Love & Serve God

Senior Minister

Pastor Kenneth Gill

IN THIS ISSUE

Table of Contents

Welcome……….……………….1

Pastor’s Message………..…...2

Congratulatory...……….……..3

Church Ministries…………..4-9

News/Celebration..………10-13 Calendar……………………....14 Sunday Worship 10:30 am All are Welcome!

www.emmanuelridgewood.org https://facebook.com/emmanuelridgewood Twitter.com/emmanuel07450

Monthly Newsletter December 2017

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“Let the Waiting Begin” We are now beginning the season of Advent, the coming of messi-ah Jesus into our world 2,000 years ago and our personal prepara-tion to receive the spirit of Christ into our lives today. The world into which Jesus was born was a dark one. Despite the romantic embellishment of our Christmas story, the Christ child was born in a bed of dirty straw and animal feces and his people suffered under the heavy hand of the empire. The Jewish people whose fortunes had been dashed so many times, waited hesitantly for a messiah to inaugurate a new world or-der of peace and justice. It would not be an exaggeration to say that Jesus was born in the wilderness. Many, if not all of us, go through “wilderness” times in our lives. There are times when we may feel bereft of hope, alone and even spiritually bankrupt. During Christmas these feelings of loneliness, despair and emotional pain seem to be magnified in our lives. The beauty of Christmas is that in the midst of the wilderness there often come little glimpses of hope and renewal that remind us that all is not lost and that eventual-ly the darkness gives way to the light. I recently read a poignant testimonial which re-minded me of this advent reality: “This trip back was a sort of spiritual pilgrimage. A landscape of grief and disappointment had made my life flat and joyless. God seemed as cold and remote as the mountains we were driving through. My throat was too dry for prayer. I was hoping this trip would help take away some of the sad longing I felt. We were riding on a lonely stretch of road with no gas stations or stores and not even another car. The road has been gradually ascending for several miles, and my ears were popping. The tundra spread out for miles. Nameless mountains rose up in the distance. The trees had disappeared-winters were too cold and the winds too fierce for them to live. It hadn’t been so lonely to me when I was younger. I was raised on Davey Crockett and Wagon Train and Little House on the Prairie, and I loved stoking the stove with split logs and sitting by the light of the kerosene lamp, It was novel to plug in the oil pan heater on the Jeep every night so the motor oil wouldn’t turn to Jell-O.

Thoughts from Pastor Gill

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Life seemed all opportunity; I could be a waitress or a college professor or a poet. My grandparents, my parent and my sister were all alive. I imagined I’d have a big family that would sit around a long table at Thanksgivings. Now my mother had been gone ten years. My dad, sister, aunts, uncles and many friends were dead too. I had regrets. I never became a waitress, poet or college professor. I left Alaska and ended up in a middle –sized city in Iowa. I didn’t have a big family, and my children lived far away. The past year my husband and I had eaten Thanksgiving dinner at a Perkins restaurant. Suddenly I saw a small spruce tree. From our vehicle it looked about two feet high. I don’t know how the tree got there or how it had managed to survive, but there it was, a spike of green in an arctic desert. I stared at it, turning in my seat to keep it in sight. Then a clump of four or five trees appeared, clinging together in what must have been a warmer spot of ground. An old spruce shoulder leaned sideways onto a hearty tree as if the old one was putting its head on the younger one’s shoulder. A few miles further on, several families of black spruce stood close together as if

posing for a family picture. Now the evergreens filled the slopes with a deep green-

descendants of other spruce and fir trees. I felt a hopeful quickening. I was

surrounded by kinfolks. I took a breath and inhaled a prayer.”

Excerpt from The Christian Century, Nov. 2017

As we enter the season of Advent, let the waiting begin with anticipation and any

measure of hope we can muster up. Let us look for those little signs of new life and

new light, even in the midst of our pain, brokenness and disappointment……

even in our wilderness times.

All Are Invited to:

Pastor Ken & Connie’s

Open House at the Parsonage.

Immediately following morning service.

Sunday, December 31

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REV. ARTURO LEWIS CALLED TO SERVE EMMANUEL AS ASSOCIATE MINISTER

Rev. Arturo Lewis, has accepted a call to serve Emmanuel in Ridgewood as Associate Minister

from January 1, 2018.

Rev. Lewis is:

An ordained American Baptist Minister

Princeton Theological Seminary graduate

President of Art Lewis Ministries and Celebration Education (non-profit)-inspirational speaker and life coach for schools and faith-based agencies

Adjunct Professor of Diversity Studies at Passaic County Community College and William Paterson University where he is also an Academic Advisor

A long-time Ridgewood resident

Pastor Arturo is also the proud father of Demetrius Lewis, Ph.D., Assistant Professor,

Goizueta Business School at Emory University.

His main responsibilities will be developing youth and young adult programs and preaching. Rev. Lewis joins Senior Minister, Rev. Dr. Kenneth Gill; Pastoral Associate, Rev. Judith Wheeler and Artistic and Music Director, John Giresi, a terrific support staff and a welcoming congregation.

On November 26, Rev. Arturo Lewis preached at Emmanuel on the topic, “Come Unto Me”. You may view the Worship Service at emmanuelridgewood.org and then click on SERMONS. He was joined by his son, Demetrius P. Lewis, Ph.D., Assistant Professor at the Goizueta Business School at Emory University and several of his friends who worshipped with us.

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From the Communications Director December 2017

Please see several projects, events, publicity, and social media underway at Emmanuel.

Publicized Events (June 2017-September 2017):

** Publicized Events (October 2017):

** Please note that each event requires pre-event and post-event publicity depending on event needs. Publicity

includes but is not limited to internal communication, press release, website slider and updates, Facebook

event and posts, social media updates, program, flyers, and media outreach.

Monthly Peace and Justice Forums- October 17th

Monthly Community Pasta Dinners- October 17th, November 29th

Uncoupling Support Group- September through December

CROP Walk- October 15th

Oktoberfest- October 21st

Hurricane Relief Concert- November 4th

Emmanuel Events Featured in the News (October 2017-Present):

Monthly Community Pasta Dinners

Monthly Peace and Justice Forums

Pet Blessing Event in collaboration with Ridgewood Veterinary Hospital's Adopt a Pet Day (Note: Video and Arti-

cle Featured on NorthJersey.com)

Uncoupling Support Group

Emmanuel press releases have been featured on the Ridgewood Chamber of Commerce website (Note: See Ridge-

wood Chamber of Commerce website).

Social Media:

A new church Meetup.com account was created for the Uncoupling Support Group. The Uncoupling Support

Group Meetup has about 182 members in it.

A new email address, socialmedia@emmanuelridgewood.org, was created to link all of the church's social media.

Social Media has been updated as needed.

As of this report, here are the social media statistics:

Facebook: Emmanuel’s Facebook profile has 215 fr iends in compar ison to only 1 fr iend pr ior to my hir ing.

Emmanuel’s Facebook Page has 144 likes.

Twitter: Emmanuel' s Twitter page has 24 Followers. If you are on Twitter , please follow the church at

https://twitter.com/Emmanuel07450

YouTube: Emmanuel's YouTube page has 13 Subscr ibers. Follow the church's Live Stream at

www.TinyURL.com/EmmanuelStream

Website: Website (www.emmanuelr idgewood.org) has been updated as needed. Members Only Section as

well as several pages throughout the website have Church Facility Rental Forms and Wedding Forms. New email

addresses for office staff have been established. New online prayer request form available on website.

Advertisements: Ridgewood Football Schedule Posters are cur rently running from August 2017-November

2017.

Business Cards: Business cards with church logo and contact information were designed, created, and

ordered for the church. The purpose of this church business card is so that congregation members can invite friends,

acquaintances, and anyone that they know to visit or attend events at the church.

COMMUNICATIONS O

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During the month of December, we will sponsor two projects that involve giving

gifts. One is the alternate gift giving program which involves buying items like pigs,

chickens , rice, School supplies, etc for people in third world countries and doing it in honor

of family members or friends to whom you sent a gift certificate. This is done through ABC

missionaries. Brochures explaining this will be available on each Sunday in December.

The other project involves support for the young people who live at Covenant

House. We will collect donations through Sunday, December 10. Covenant House serves

the needs of homeless youth , with a network of shelters across North America and Latin

America. Over 51,000 homeless young people are served each year. They are the largest

privately funded charity in the Americas providing loving care and vital services to homeless,

abandoned, abused, trafficked and exploited youth. They have programs that are designed

to provide support and a path for achieving independence. Following is the list of items

needed, it is also posted on the Mission board.

THANK YOU FOR HELPING HOMELESS YOUTH

MISSIONS …………..at home and around the world

YOUTH REWARDS/INCENTIVES Gift cards to these stores…

ShopRite and Stop and Shop

McDonalds

Rite Aid

Walmart

Dunkin Donuts

Target

Subway

EDUCATION/VOCATION NEEDS: Gift Cards from Staples/Office Max or NEW:

Backpacks/Duffel bags

Notebooks, pens, pencils

Batteries

Rain gear, umbrellas, ponchos

HYGIENE AND HAIR CARE

PRODUCTS

Toothpaste and toothbrushes

Soap, lotion and body wash

Shampoo and conditioner

Deodorant

African-American hair care Prod-ucts CLOTHING*: Gift Cards from Walmart/Target/ Payless/ Burlington Coat Factory/ Visa/Mastercard/ American Express or NEW:

Young Men/Women

Undergarments (bras, panties,

stockings, casual and dress socks, boxers)

Tee shirts, dress shirts,

sweaters, hoodies, robes

Hats, gloves, scarves

Sweatpants, jeans, dress

slacks, skirts

Shower shoes

Over-sized bath towels

Belts (men/women)

Moms

Maternity shirts

Maternity pants

Slippers, robes, shower shoes

Plastic baby bottle sets

Please send NEW clothing

only. All sizes of clothing and

shoes are needed – X-Small

through XXXL.

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All are invited to join

in the 9:15 class

each Sunday

this Advent Season

for Biblical reflection

and discussion

as we focus on

incarnating God’s love

in our world!

Bible in the Contemporary World

with the Pastor

December Bible study will be held on

Dec. 12th at 7:00 pm-8:30 pm in the Peace

lounge.

Monday, Dec. 11, 2017 at 7:30

All are invited to join the Prayer Group each month and pray together for mutual concerns.

Breathing Under Water: Spirituality

and the Twelve Steps, Richard Rohr.

Step Two: Desperate Desiring, “Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.”

Women of Emmanuel are taking the holiday luncheon to SHARE this year. It will be held at their Cottage Street address on Tuesday, December 12th. As the seniors are becoming more fragile and they hesitate coming to the church.

Out to Lunch has been rescheduled to Tuesday, June 5

th,

from June 12th.

WE Executive Committee will meet Wednesday, February 7 at 9:30 a.m., followed by a joint meeting with Cultures and Friend-ships International at 10:30 a.m., to which all women are invited.

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CULTURES AND FRIENSHIP INTERNATIONAL

The Holiday Luncheon will be held on Wednesday, December 13 See Pastor Judy to reserve a place with friends of Chinese, Japanese, Polish, Indian, Haitian, Irish, Italian, and English heritage!

WOMEN’S REFLECTION GROUP Join us on December 10

th in the Peace Lounge

at 7 as we meet for Biblical reflection and mutual support during this Advent Season as we prepare our hearts for Christmas. We are using the devotional book, Sacred Space.

COMMUNITY PASTA DINNER is scheduled for Jan. 16 at 6 p.m. Please come and bring friends. It is nice to know attendance ahead of time in order to plan accordingly, so please call either the church office, 201-444-7300, or Marilyn, 201-391-4720.

PEACE AND JUSTICE FORUM Will meet next on Jan. 16 at 7 pm.

READERS’CHOICE will meet Friday, January 26th at 6:30 p.m. at

the home of Sharon Brockway to discuss The Wright Brothers by

David McCullough. Please call Sharon to tell her you are attending

and what you will be bringing. Thank you to Audrey Cocheo for

MEN’S FELLOWSHIP All Men and Women of the congregation are cordially invited to help decorate our beautiful sanctuary for the Christmas season. Please join us at EBC on Wednesday, December 13, beginning at 2:30 pm. Come when you can! Looking forward to our Italian Festival on April 28, 2018!

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Congregants’ Corner

Do you have an idea, thought or topic that you would like to share in our monthly newsletter? If so please send your submissions for Expectations to the church office at office@emmanuelridgewood.org

The Brown Bag Discussion Group Monday at 12:00 pm

Join us for a stimulating discussion on books ranging from

religion & culture, theology, politics and current affairs. Bring a lunch. All are welcome.

Now Reading: The Meaning of Human Existence by E.O. Wilson

Pledge Income 10/31/17 Current Year Last Year Anticipated, based on pledges: $ 66,144.77 Received: $ 75,566.59 Ahead/(Shortfall): $ 6,422.42 $ 5,023.99

If you have glasses that you have outgrown your prescription, please consider donating them.

Box is located in Library.

ESL COMMUNITY OUTREACH PROGRAM English language learners are invited to join our multicultural circle of learning and practice speaking, reading, and writing skills in a small group setting.

Wednesday evenings at 7:30

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It is time for the MITTEN TREE!!!

Unwrapped gifts of clothing, toys and books for children between the ages of

birth and 13 years of age are welcomed!

THE DEADLINE FOR GIFTS IS SUNDAY, DECEMBER 10TH

Gifts will be delivered to the Bergen County Office for

Children in Hackensack.

All are invited to join the Emmanuel Christmas Carolers

and bring Christmas cheer to the home-bound. We will

meet in the church parking lot at

3:00 pm on Sunday, December 17, and carpool.

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THE UNCOUPLING GROUP CONTINUES

The "Uncoupling" group will continue on the second and fourth Thursday of the month from 7:30- 9:00 pm. The purpose of the group is to create a supportive environment for anyone who is going through a relationship breakup, a separation or divorce, Persons can RSVP by calling the church office at 201 444-7300 or by registering on line through the “Meet Up” website. The next dates are Nov. 30th, Dec. 14 & 28th. Comments from group members… “Thanks again Pastor Ken & Tracy. I get a lot out of these Un-coupling Group but most of all I feel bonded, safe, secure & calmer when I'm amongst such caring friends. The readings, tapes, music, & singing bowls helps me. I know now I may just come out on the other side one of these years. My hope is this Uncoupling Group will continue for the rest of the year & beyond.” “This was my first meeting and I can't say enough good things about how it went. I came into the meeting feeling confused and in limbo about the long time separation from my husband, but left being able to see clearly for the first time. I ordered the book and can't wait to start reading it. I give thanks to God for sending this group my way.”

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THE GIFT OF SONG

We are trying to get some of our congregants involved in offering a special song or musical solo during the service on a monthly basis. If you have the ability and desire to

offer this gift please contact our musical director, John Giresi @ 201 906-3713 about your availability. It will be your responsibility to provide the required music and to rehearse with John in advance of the performance. Please give John adequate lead time so he can schedule you in to his advance planning.

Many thanks goes to Sami for decorating the beautiful table

as you enter from the parking lot. It is so nicely done and

always reflects the seasons!! Take a look!!

A heartfelt thanks to an anonymous donor who contributed a truck load of onions, carrots and potato to the Center for Food Action. In addition Emmanuel collected four frozen turkeys, and 14 bags of groceries, which were also delivered to CFA to help fill Thanksgiving baskets for

hungry people in our area. Thanks to all who contributed.

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INVITATION TO JOIN PASTOR GILL USING A DAILY MEDITATION

THREE SPECIAL INVITATIONS TO A SPRING WITHIN US

#1. USE THE BOOK: JOIN PASTOR KEN, along with Connie Buckler-Gill, Pastor Judy and Don Wheeler,

Don & Dorcas Diaz-Shaner, Nancy Shaver and six others using Richard Rohr’s daily thoughts called A Spring

Within Us: A Book of Daily Meditations. The books are available for $10- a 50% REDUCED incentive price on

Sunday morning after the church service and the church office.

The upcoming readings are: Each new week begins on Monday

*WEEK 5, November 27- December 3 – Very exciting weeks on “Levels of Spiritual Development” - Jesus as a

model of an “evolved” person.

*WEEK 6, December 4- 10: “Levels of Spiritual Development pt2- 9 levels.

*WEEK 7, December 11-17: “In the Beginning”- Christ and Creation- Genesis 1 and John 1

*WEEK 8, December 18-24: “Your True Self”- God’s Grace

*WEEK 9, December 25-31: “Leaving the Garden of Eden” Genesis 2-3

*WEEK 10 January 1-7: “The First Half of Life” - Role of Scripture

#2 IN YOUR EMAIL IN-BOX DAILY OR ONCE A WEEK; A SPRING WITHIN US Sign up to receive Fr. Richard’s free messages in your email Inbox every day or at the end of each week. To sign up, click above or cut and paste this into your web browser: https://cac.org/sign-up/ After you receive your first email, you can listen to an 8 minute introduction to the Daily Meditations by Richard Rohr. . Click above or cut and paste this into your web browser: https://cac.org/sign-up/ Carol Krzeminski started out reading the meditations on-line, but now she is considering switching to the book because most of us are us-ing the book. The on-line Meditations are the 2017 version of the book. ***STRONG RECOMMENDATION – If you want to understand the path forward we are taking at Emmanuel, you can gain insight from reading the on-line meditations for this week. We are a part of the Emerging Church movement. You may sign-up above and do the reading for this week on the Emerging Church: *Sunday, Nov. 26, The Great Emergence *Monday, Nov. 27, A New Reformation (terrific) https://cac.org/a-new-reformation-2017-11-27/ *Tuesday, Nov. 28, A Great Convergence (terrific) https://cac.org/a-great-convergence-2017-11-28/ …and so on, through Saturday. If you don’t sign up, you may find this week’s meditations on the Center for Action and Contemplation’s Facebook page.

#3 A Special Gathering for those using Richard Rohr’s Daily Meditations in A SPRING WITHIN OR On-line OR on Facebook at the invitation of Don and Dorcas (also known as Rev. Dr. Donald Shaner and Rev. Dorcas Diaz-Shaner) at their home in Wanaque, NJ early in 2018. This is a great opportunity for us to enjoy each-others company and discuss our readings. Details to follow.

****Please remember to pray for each other, Emmanuel and the broader world community.

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December Birthday 1-Tina Hayes

11-Rev. Dorcas Diaz-Shaner 13-Irene Campbell

14-Florence Degelman 15– Pastor Kelly Grimsley

18-Sami Belford 20-Fay Reid

30-Hope Ehman-Osborne

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Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 6:30 pm & 8 pm AA

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3 Covenant

House Gift Giving Mitten Tree/Communion 9:15 Adult Sunday School 10:30 Family Wor-

4 CH Gift

Giving continues

12 Noon- Discussion Group

5 CH Gift

Giving continues

6 CH Gift Giving continues

7:30 pm ESL 8:30 pm AA

7 CH Gift Giving Ends

8 6:30 pm & 8 pm AA

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10 Mitten Tree

ends/Alternative Gifts 9:15 Adult Sunday School 10:30 Family Worship 7 pm Women’s Grp

11 12 Noon- Discussion Group 7:30 pm Prayer Group

12 We/SHARE Luncheon 7 pm Bible Study

13 10:30 am CFI 2:30 pm Deco-rate Sanctuary 7:30 pm ESL 8:30 pm AA

14 7:30 pm “Uncoupling” Group

15 6:30 pm & 8 pm AA

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17 Special Visitor 9:15 Adult Sunday School 10:30 Family Worship 3 pm Caroling

18 12 Noon- Discussion Group

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20 Holmstead 10:30 am CFI 7:30 pm ESL 8:30 pm AA

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22 6:30 pm & 8 pm AA

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24 9:15 Adult

Sunday School 10:30 Family Worship 7 pm Christmas Eve Service

25 26

27 7:30 pm ESL 8:30 pm AA

28 7:30 pm “Uncoupling” Group

29 6:30 pm & 8 pm AA

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31 Pastors Open House

Monthly Food Collection 9:15 Adult Sunday School 10:30 am Family Worship

1 2

3 4

5 6:30 pm & 8 pm AA

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December 2017