This Sunday!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!  This Sunday will be very special. Not only will we be sharing Holy Communion, but we will also be dedicating (Baptizing) Caden Keller into the Christian Faith. Caden's parents, Aubrey and Jimmy Keller have asked our church to do this very special ceremony! What an honor. PCF will be leading worship this Sunday.

This Sunday is the second Sunday of Advent and we will be talking about Love. We will welcome Caden Keller into the Christian family, and we will all share in Communion. 

Are you stuck? Are you sad? Broken? Lonely? Discouraged? I can tell you that no matter what your circumstances, there is Hope with Jesus! There is Love with Jesus! There is Peace with Jesus!

It is true, you don't have to go to church to know Jesus. But, Jesus lives inside of the people who know Him. And, if you can find a church with people who know Him, you will have an opportunity to be surrounded by people filled with the living Jesus and His Love, His Peace, and His Hope. That is how He works on this earth, through believers. It's your call. Why don't you come into a fellowship of people who know and love Jesus? We are here for you! 

Praise Community Fellowship and Immanuel Methodist, two churches under one roof acting as one family with the mission of becoming the Hope, the Love, the Joy, and the Peace of Jesus to all those we meet.  You are welcome here!  Service is 8:45AM Sunday morning. Located at 800 North Main Street Edwardsville.

Announcements:

There are still some names available from the Beverly Farm Tree. We are trying to provide Christmas gifts for 50 Beverly farm residents who have no immediate family. You can learn more about Beverly farm, a residential home for the mentally and physically challenged, here. Beverly Farm

If you know of a family with needs, please contact pastor kent or pastor jackie.
The church office phone number is 618-656-4648.

See you Sunday! Love pastor kent and pastor jackie

Advent, What's The Big Deal?

So what is the big deal about Advent? 
Where can I find it in the bible?

If you were brought up in the church, you probably know that Advent is the time when the church gets it's Christmas decorations, the children's choirs begin to get ready for the annual Christmas concert, and the musicians and choirs start playing Christmas songs at the services. 

You won't be able to go to any place in the bible and read about Advent because Advent is a church made tradition. The church came up with Advent to celebrate the coming of Jesus. Like any tradition, it is only as good as those who participate in it understand it. The tradition for most Christian churches consists of the four Sunday's before Christmas and it ends on Christmas eve. 

I think many people actually participate in Advent more than they realize, even if they do not really understand what Advent is all about. Advent is a time of reflection and anticipation. At Christmas time, many people find themselves reflecting about life and family more than any other time during the year. This time of reflection can be very depressing for some if they feel that the best times of their life have already past. Looking back at life is a good thing if we can learn from it and/or receive joy by remembering the good times. But, if reflecting on the past brings sorrow, grief, regrets, and depression, that is a sure sign that your life is short on "HOPE!"  

So, "What is The Big Deal About Advent?" It is the season of Hope! Jesus answered all the longings, all the sorrow, all the fears of all people for all time who have lost hope. Life is good everyday "IF" you have Hope! 

This Sunday we will begin the season of Hope! Pastor Jackie will be leading the worship! If you need a boost in the Hope department of your life, come and join us. Advent is the season of Hope! 

Our services are held at 8:45am and we are located at 800 North Main St. Edwardsville.

Praise Community Fellowship and Immanuel Methodist church. Two congregations meeting as one Hopeful family. All are welcome.

Announcement:  This Sunday at 2:00pm all are invited to the annual church decorating party. Meet at the church!

See you soon. Love, pastor kent and pastor jackie.

Thank You

Just want to thank everyone who volunteered yesterday for all their help and enthusiasm. It was a joy serving others with all the volunteers from Immanuel Methodist and Praise Community Fellowship. Also, a very special thank you to Mark and Denise Reeder, owners of DK's Market in Hamel Illinois, for preparing the 16 delicious turkeys and all the fixings for the very successful Thanksgiving dinner yesterday at church. If you haven't tried one of their smoked turkeys you are missing it!  They are located at 225 W. State Street, Hamel, Il. (618)-633-2828. 

This was so much fun, I think we need to do more of these projects. 

This coming Sunday pastor Jackie will be leading the service.  Service is at 8:45AM and we are located at 800 North Main Street Edwardsville.

This Sunday don't forget to grab a name from the angel tree and/or a name  off the Beverly Farm tree. The angel tree has local families with needs listed and the Beverly Farm tree has a resident from Beverly Farm with no immediate family who also has a wish list attached. 

If you want more Joy in your life, "Get Involved!" Let us all become doers of the word!

Happy Holidays to all and hope to see you soon.

Sincerely, Pastor kent

Amazing Day

We served approximately 125 meals today. It was a fun wonderful day! Immanuel Methodist and Praise Community Fellowship...We Did It!

Last Minute Request.... Two Volunteers Needed!

Tomorrow we need two volunteers to help pull turkey off the bone at church. No previous experience necessary! We are meeting at 3:00 to get this important process done before Sunday. Mark Reeder will be bringing the cooked turkeys right after cooking them because it will be easier to debone the turkeys while they are still warm.

If you can help us out please call me. I need two people. I'm guessing it will take about an hour and a half. 3:00 till about 4:30.

Thank you.  Kent  618-334-3575.

Here is What is Happening at "The Church!"

This Sunday there is no worship service because we will be busy "being" the church by serving a free thanksgiving dinner to all who come to us. This Sunday starting at 8:00am we will be gathering in the kitchen located in the lower level of the church to start preparing for our guests to arrive about 12:00 noon. We can use your help! Come for as long as you want or for as short as you want, we will have a job for you. We plan on serving from 12:00 noon until 2:30 or 3:00. If you can bake a pie or desert or purchase a desert to bring and drop off that would be wonderful! Hope to see a big turn out Sunday to help with this great project!

Beverly Farm Christmas Wish Lists will also arrive this Sunday. There are paper ornaments with names of 50 residents of Beverly Farm with their personal wish list attached.  If you want to participate in this ministry, choose your ornaments and wrap your gifts and then place the gifts in plastic garbage bag with the paper ornament attached to the outside. This will help us get the gifts to Beverly Farm easier. You will have 2 weeks to shop and get your gifts ready. We hope to have all the gifts ready to be delivered by Sunday, December 11th!

There is a "Kids" night out this Friday at the church from 5:30-8:30 pm. Children will have a meal together, play fun games, do crafts and other activities. The evening will end with a movie and popcorn. If you would like to have a child participate please RSVP by calling the church office at 618-656-4648. If you would like to volunteer to help with this ministry on Friday it would be greatly appreciated. You can volunteer for an hour or the evening. This has become a great outreach ministry and more and more children are enjoying this event. 

Pastor Jackie and I know this is an extremely busy time of year for most of you. We don't want church to be an added stress, but a blessing. We want people to come to church to receive joy, comfort, a meal, love, help, friendship, and HOPE! This is a season of hope. We want Immanuel Methodist and Praise Community Fellowship to be a blessing in your life. If things are just too crazy for you to participate or help at this time, no worries. We want you and your family to experience PEACE, JOY and LOVE this season and all year! 

Sincerely, pastor kent

When The Church Isn't

When the church isn't for the Broken, the Poor, the Hungry, the Suffering, the Messed Up, the Wacked Out, and the Hard to Be Around, then the church isn't for Jesus and what He taught and stands for.  This Sunday our church will be cooking and serving others a Free Thanksgiving dinner starting at 12:00 noon in the church basement. 

Come be part of a serving family. Praise Community Fellowship and Immanuel Methodist working side by side to serve others. This Sunday there will be no service. We will be busy "Being the church!"

We will begin around 7:00AM. We are accepting deserts! All other food is provided. Hope to see you this Sunday, not for formal worship, but serving in the kitchen. Let the mission begin. What a great way to start the Holidays!

Galatians 5:13

13 You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.

See you Sunday. Love, pastor kent