May 15th, 2024 | Newsletter

• Reading for the Coming Week

  First reading o Acts 2:1-21 or Ezekiel 37:1-14 

  Psalm o Psalm 104:24-34, 35b

  Second reading o Romans 8:22-27 or Acts 2:1-21

  Gospel o John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15

• Litergist's Schedule

  Litergical readers and schedule notes

  Date Pulpit Liturgist Notes

  5.19.24 Herring Diana B.

  5.26.24 Herring Terry D

  6.2.24 Herring Sandra Communion

  6.9.24 Herring Marilyn

  6.16.24 Herring

  6.23.24 Herring Barb

  6.30.24 Herring Darrell

  7.7.24 Herring Communion

  7.14.24 Herring Karen

  7.21.24 Herring

  7.28.24 Herring

  1. Thanks to all the liturgy volunteers!!!

  2. It is so nice to be able to give Pastor Jane and John advance notice of the liturgist schedule, it helps them so much in their service planning.

  3. We have 3 slots in May left to fill. Won’t you give it a try? – its fun, allows you to stretch yourself a little, helps interact with scripture in a different way and connect with God from a new perspective.

  4. If you wish to volunteer, please send an email to: epcbusiness9770@gmail.com or call 615-473-3510.

• The Joy Offering

  The amount collected for the Christmas Joy offering was $325.00. The mission committee thanks you for your generosity.

• Prayer & Praise

  Matthew 26:41 (NIV)

  41 Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.

  Quotes about prayer:

  “It is not enough to begin to pray, nor to pray aright; nor is it enough to continue for a time to pray; but we must patiently, believingly, continue in prayer until we obtain an answer; and further we have not only to continue in prayer unto the end, but we have also to believe that God does hear us, and will answer our prayers. Most frequently we fail in not continuing in prayer until the blessing is obtained, and in not expecting the blessing. ~~ George Mueller Prayer is a gift from God, like life itself. Come join us some Wednesday evening from 6:00-7:00 pm (or so) to have both individual and group conversations with the Creator of the universe (how utterly cool is that!). It doesn’t have to be a long- term commitment, we enjoy visitors. We talk to God about a lot of things, focusing on the prayers of our congregation and our community, but including prayers for the world and everything in it. We rejoice in the fellowship and the relational connection with God, and share the gift of prayer with you all.

  EPC prayer group Missions:

• Missions

  Red Cross :

  May 31, 2024 (Friday) Time: noon – 5:00 PM

  We need donors for the Blood Drive being held at EPC.

   As of 5/12/24 we have 10 donors signed up.

   We must meet a minimum of 22 donors by May 21. If that number is not met, the Red Cross will cancel our blood drive.

   Please forward the Blood Drive information (see attached flyer) to all of your contacts in the Nashville area.

  To sign up as a blood donor simply do the following:

   Copy the website listed below into your browser https://www.redcrossblood.org/give.html/donation-time

   Key in zip code: EPC19

   Click on : “Emmanuel Presbyterian Church” then

   Choose your time slot

  Maple Village:

  *If anyone wants to start the season with a flower delivery, I can easily get you started.

  *We have plenty of decorated glass jars to use as vases left from last year.

  AND just so you know

   There are 2 garden plots available.

   If anybody wants one, speak to me on Sunday.

   It’s prime time to plant for summer crops, get started today!

   I have not been able to check on the gardens at all this week and will not be around until Sunday morning. If you have the ability to do some watering, all the little sprouts would be so happy.

  We could still use the following: *Old pieces of pool noodles

  * Plastic bottles, any size, with or without caps *Plastic gallon milk jugs, with or without caps

  * Empty large coffee containers -----------------

  Pentecost Special Offering:

  This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed

   This Sunday is the last week that the Pentecost Special Offering will be collected.

   $180 has been given this year so far compared with $444.17 that we collected last year.

   40% of the Pentecost offering stays with EPC to be used to help offset the costs of sending

  our youth to the Montreat Youth Conference, so please give generously.

  The Montreat Youth Conference will be taking place June 9 -15; Teddy, Jefferson and Annalease are all set to go this year. The chaperones will be Scott Huie and Barbara Halverstadt. EPC applied for, and was granted, conference scholarships for all 3 youth and EPC will be picking up any costs for housing and food during the week.

  43rd Annual Gateway to Higher Education Scholarship:

   Scholarship will launch this month

   Invitations to apply will be sent to EPC members by the end of May

   Applications and essays are due by the June 30th

   Evaluations will be due by July 20th

   Awarding of the Scholarship will be done immediately after services on July 28th

• Finance

  Financial Support for Missions:

  Call it what you will, for a small church we are involved in many different local ministries, missions or outreach programs.

  Funding for these giving programs come from various places, one of these places is you!

  If you would like to donate additional funds for a specific program, checks can be made to the following ongoing missions of EPC.

  Community Garden

  Gateway to Higher Education Scholarship Crossroads Campus

  Maple Village

  Special Music Ministry events

  Oasis

  Please note on the memo line which mission your check is meant to support.

  Financial Support for EPC:

  If you are not able to attend worship service and still wish show your support for Emmanuel Presbyterian Church, you can contribute in the following ways:

   Online–send an electronic payment, your bank can help you set this up if you have questions.

   By Mail – our mailing address is EPC, 9770 Hwy 96, Nashville, TN 37221

   Through EPC’s website www.epcnashville.com or www.epcnashville.org Simply click on the “GIVE” button, then the “donate” button, to donate via PayPal or debit/credit card. This can be a one-time donation or can be set up as a monthly donation.

• Fellowship

  Join us for fellowship and a fresh cup of coffee around the kitchen window after service! Thanks to the following for their offering: 

  May 19 – Claire

  If you would like to sign up, there is a list on the table next to the entrance/exit door from the sanctuary. Please pick a date that works for you. Sign up and if you remember, it is helpful to let me (Faith) know. The 3rd Annual Ice Cream Social and Pot Luck will be taking place on June 9 under the pavilion. We will partner again with the Center for Health and Wellness and invite the residents of the center to enjoy our lunch offerings, ice cream and southern hospitality. Please bring your best pot luck sides and salads. For the newbies of the church, this has turned into a hard-core competition for the best tasting home-made ice cream. It is a competition complete with both underhanded and the overly obvious cheating, all in good sport. Plan to come hungry!

• Communication

  Welcome Visitors! We are excited to call your attention to, and encourage you, to visit our upgraded website! Go to www.epcnashville.com or www.epcnashville.org for all your questions. Cut and paste one of these sites in your browser. If you can’t find your answers there, try the options below:

  janemherring@gmail.com - Reach out to Pastor Jane on her church phone (call/text) 615- 818-9727 or email at about what it means to be baptized, to be confirmed in the church (if you have already been baptized), to join the church or any other questions you might have.

  epcnashville@gmail.com - General EPC email can be sent to this site (be aware that multiple people have access to this email account).

  epcbusiness9770@gmail.com - If you ever have any questions about anything dealing with EPC’s finances or other business topics, email your question or request here.

  janemherring@gmail.com - Email announcements for the Sunday bulletin here.

  frhanchey@gmail.com - Email Information or corrections for the weekly newsletter here.

  frhanchey@gmail.com – Send questions about the outdoor gardens or children’s education/programming here.

• Calendar

  Ongoing:

  Worship Committee Mtg every 2nd Sunday after service

  Mission/Fellowship Committee Mtg every 3rd Sunday 9:30 am (19th)

  Session Mtg every 3rd Monday (20th)

  2nd Thursday of each month (except for December) - Rug Hookers meet 10 am – 2 pm.

  Upcoming:

   June 9: Ice Cream Social and Pot Luck lunch

   June 9-15: Montreat Youth Conference

   June 30: Scholarship applications and essays are due

   July 20: Evaluations are due

   July 28: Awarding of the Scholarship immediately after service

• Christian Education

  Coming up soon, take part in conversation about uniting the Bodies of Christ:

  As a follow up to a previous meeting, there will be a conversation with Adam Buzard, who is part of the Operation Andrew Group. This will be hosted by the 2nd Presbyterian Church on April 18th from 9-11 am. as he works to fulfill the mission of uniting the bodies of Christ as they partner with local churches. 2nd Pres is located at 3511 Belmont Blvd and the conversation will center around “The State of Nashville”. It is open to anyone (pastors, elders, church volunteers) interested in knowing what others think of our church. The event is this scheduled for tomorrow.

  ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ NaCoMe Camp Opportunity:

  Reach out to Jane if you have questions about this. It is coming up soon. I’m sorry I don’t have any more details at this time.

  Inquirers of all ages:

   Please reach out to Pastor Jane about what it means to be baptized, to be confirmed in the church (if you have already been baptized) or to join the church.

• Children's Education

  • The children, big and small, (all those under 18!) are invited to participate in a special practice time for something being planned on Palm Sunday. If possible, I need parents to allow their children to come to the kid’s classroom when Jane finishes her sermon, sometime during the offertory til the end of church. Thank you.

  • At Emmanuel we offer a “kid’s message” during the early part of the worship service, followed by a “children’s church” in the kid’s classroom for those up to 10 years old or still in elementary school. The message is a short story that usually has some sort of lesson related to it and in children’s church we usually discuss the story in more depth and follow it with a craft or activity that helps the story (and the lesson!) sink in.

  • A nursery is available for those under 3.

  • We offer a “chat time ” in a safe space for those over 10 who want some time to share what is on their mind.

  • We always have two adults with the children and their safety and education is our top priority.

  ***********************************

• Building & Grounds

  Garden Needs

  *Old pieces of pool noodles

  * Plastic bottles, any size, with or without caps *Plastic gallon milk jugs, with or without caps

  * Empty large coffee containers -----------------

  AND just so you know...

   There are 2 garden plots available.

   If anybody wants one, speak to me on Sunday.

   Even little Ms Ellie planted 4 potato plants last Sunday. It’s not hard.

  To those of you (children and youth) who do have gardens, please remember to check on them when you are at church on Sundays. They most likely need watering, may need a little weeding, and could use your help guiding your vertical plants up their trellis. These gardens are your responsibility, I will love your plant babies several times during the week. I will help you with what you need on Sundays, but if you are there, you need to water and weed every time.

• Slate Of Elders

  Class of 2024

  Ginia Wood, Fellowship and Mission

  John Denton, Building and Grounds

  Class of 2025

  Greg Burlison, Personnel

  John Sevier, Director of Music

  Class of 2026

  Theresa Denton, Worship and Polity & Procedure

  Jan Russell