Welcome to Immanuel Lutheran Church

Welcome to Immanuel Lutheran Church
                            11th April 2021
                        What’s on your breath?
Scripture
Read John 20:19–31
Reflection
You can tell a lot about a person by how their breath smells, can’t you?
What they’ve eaten, whether they’ve cleaned their teeth. Are they
coffee drinkers, or have they recently consumed Doritos? To get a sense
of what’s on their breath, you have to get close. Really, uncomfortably
close.
After Jesus rose from the dead, the disciples huddled in a room won-
dering about the resurrection sighting of their Lord. They were afraid
of the Jews, and perhaps even afraid that Jesus would return only as a
ghost. The disciples felt surprised when Jesus made an appearance in
their midst.
First, Jesus calmed them down – “Peace be with you”. Then he proved
his resurrected reality: the physical, holes in his hands and feet, and
the reality of being alive, breath. Only living things breathe.
But what does his ‘breath’ smell like? What is the aroma of his words?
Peace. Sending. Forgiveness.
The first words of the risen Saviour are of freedom from fear. Go on
your way, faithful ones. Share the good news that no-one has to be
afraid ever again. Death no longer has the final say. I’m sending you in-
to a world gripped by the virus of fear, which replicates so easily in the
cultured medium of a death-denying society. I’m sending you into this
infected society to vaccinate it through forgiveness. Eradicating this
fear will be a long, drawn-out process, and some will resist it, but true
life comes from it.
Just as Jesus gave the disciples peace and purpose through his words,
so he gives you peace and purpose. What does your breath smell like?
                                          Reid Matthias (LCA Devotions)
Prayer
   Holy Spirit, let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart
       be a reflection of your peace and forgiveness in my life. Amen.

WE PRAY
                                  11th April 2021
Dear Lord, we pray:
†   Thanks and praise to you for the attention and the wisdom of the medical
    teams watching over our sisters in Christ, Barb Schild (RAH) and Margaret
    Mitchell (QEH). Please restore both to full earthly health and strength, and
    give their families peace and strength during this time of uncertainty.
†   Wave upon wave of your peace and strength on the family and friends of Lou-
    is Fischer. Please bring to Aprilya the cooperation and expertise she needs to
    arrange the funeral service for Louis.
†   Thanks and praise to you for the unanimous acceptance of Gideon’s Youth
    Testaments by Year 7s at Immanuel College on Thursday.
†   Thanks and praise to you for your blessing and protection over the Dawn Ser-
    vice on Easter morning, and all our Holy Week services.
†   Thanks and praise to you for the formation of the team who will present the
    Torch program to young men incarcerated at Adelaide Youth Training Centre
    on April 19-21. Please continue to prepare the hearts of the team and partic-
    ipants.
Guide us, Lord, as we pray for:
†   The leaders you have appointed over our country: Prime Minister Scott Morri-
    son, State Premier Steven Marshall, and all our local government leaders.
†   The leaders you have appointed over our church nationally (LCA Bishop John
    Henderson, Assistant Bishop Andrew Pfeiffer, and the College of Bishops), and
    locally (District Bishop, David Altus, and Assistant Bishop for Mission, Stephen
    Schultz).
†   The Pastoral Care Workers you have called to serve in our region. In particu-
    lar, we pray for St Leonards Primary School as they seek a new PCW. We
    praise you for the foundations that have been laid by previous PCWs.
†   The pastors and parishes, principals, and schools of the LCA in our South
    West Metro zone. This week we pray for Immanuel Lutheran Church and Pas-
    tor Greg Page, and Immanuel Primary School and Immanuel College and their
    Principals Bec Clements and Kevin Richardson. May you bless these leaders
    and the school communities with a refreshing break over the next two
    weeks.
†   ILC’s collaboration with the Glandore/Underdale congregation.
†   The chaplains you have called to serve in the universities, prisons, and hospi-
    tals around our state.
†   The sick, the frail and the distressed in our congregation. We pray for Avis R,
    Barb K and her sister Rae, Barb S, Jason W, Margaret M, and their carers.

Torch program – prayers required
A Kairos Prison Ministry program, Torch Adelaide #5, a 3-day program for young offenders,
will be held from Monday April 19th to Wednesday 21st April at the Adelaide Youth Training
Centre - Kurlana Tapa (AYTCKT).
Please pray for the upcoming program:
. for the selection of the boys and young men who will benefit most to be the participants on
the program;
. for the boys and young men who are selected to attend, that God will be preparing their
hearts and minds for participating in the program;
. for the team members, particularly the Leader of the program, Scott, as the team makes
final preparations for the program;
. for the staff at AYTCKT who will be involved, and for all staff who will be impacted by the
Torch program taking place;
. for the Chaplain at AYTCKT, Jess, who plays a significant role in the lead-up to the program
and during it;
. for the one-on-one mentoring that follows on from the 3-day program.
Please sign up to fill the ½ hour slots on the prayer vigil that runs throughout the 3 days
of the Torch program:
To “sign up” go to https://signup.com/go/QHOrwJh and register for a ½ hour timeslot on
the Prayer Vigil Sign-up Sheet. Surnames are not necessary, just Christian names and the ini-
tial of your surname and where you’re from (e.g. John C, Adelaide). Note that to see a whole
day, you need to click on “show more spots”.
During your timeslot perhaps pray for the boys participating in the Torch program; that
they will be open to and experience God's love and grace. Please also pray for the team that
are presenting the program; that they will be given, wisdom, compassion and love, remem-
bering the Kairos motto: "listen, listen, love, love".
Please encourage your friends and their churches to also register for the prayer vigil. For
those registering from overseas (which is particularly helpful to fill time slots during the
night in Australia), note that Adelaide time in April will be GMT +9:30.
Thanks and blessings
Scott
Leader, Torch Adelaide #5

                    Jason Wandel: Request for financial assistance
Some of you will remember Jason and know that he has been battling leukaemia for around 18
months. He has set up a GoFundMe for financial assistance for his chemotherapy treatment,
and has asked me to share the details with the ILC family.
You can find further details at gf.me/u/znd87q.
                                      ILC NAME TAGS
Members who would like to purchase replacement name tags ($10 each) are asked to contact
Ann Goodwin on 8357 1755 or agoodwin@immanuel.sa.edu.au

                            Memorial Service for Carol McHugh
                               11:00am Saturday 29th May 2021
Please mark your diary
When our dear sister in Christ, Carol, was suddenly called home last year our state was still
under the heavy restrictions of the COVID-19 lockdown.
While we were able to hold a funeral for Carol, attendance was limited to immediate family,
and many of you who would have liked to pay your last respects were unable to do so.
We will, therefore, hold a memorial service for Carol on the anniversary of her funeral – a cel-
ebration fitting of the vibrant, loving and gifted woman she was.
Further details will follow as they become available.

Pastor Greg Page                                             Chris Schutz—Nurture Team Leader
Email: gpage@immanuel.sa.edu.au                                    christine.r.schutz@gmail.com
Phone: 0413 584 978                                                          Phone: 0439 899 590

Ann Goodwin - ILC Office Administrator
Email: agoodwin@immanuel.sa.edu.au
Phone: 8375 1755

                                         COMING UP
    Sunday 11 April                9:30am Worship with Holy Communion—Holy Baptism
                                          of Annabel Elayna Salisbury
    Thursday 15 April              9:00am Prayer Group in Prayer Chapel

    Sunday 18 April                9:30am Worship without Communion

                                VOLUNTEERS/LEADERS WANTED
    Is there anyone within our congregation willing to put up their hand to progress a catering
    committee for future needs of the congregation?
    If you are interested in the planning, development and success of this endeavour please con-
    tact Glenda Schomburgk 0409710063 or g.schomburgk1@gmail.com

    FRIENDS OF LUTHERAN ARCHIVES (FoLA)
    An outdoor gathering at Ebenezer SA, 21 March 1921: a milestone in the story of Luther-
    ans in Australia.
    Battered by years of oppression, Lutherans in Australia emerged from World War I feeling dis-
    credited, defenceless and disunited, but also with the conviction that God had been with
    them in their adversity and was now calling them to overcome their internal differences and
    seek to become one church under the Southern Cross, united in faith and life and mis-
    sion. This presentation explores the story of the formation of the United Evangelical Lutheran
    Church in Australia 100 hundred years ago, focussing in particular on major factors leading to
    the union of 1921 that was a major milestone on the long path to the eventual union of almost
    all Australian Lutherans in one church body in 1966.

                             THIS WEEK’S BIBLE READINGS
          Acts 4:32-35              The believers share their possessions
          Psalm 133
          1 John 1:1 - 2:2          We have life and light through Jesus

          John 20:19-31             Thomas sees the risen Christ and believes