Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, February 22. Emmaus offers a time of quiet contemplation and Holy Communion Ash Wednesday at noon.

Emmaus will serve a meatless supper that night. There will be a bilingual Ash Wednesday service at 7:00 p.m. which will include the imposition of ashes and communion.

In preparation for Ash Wednesday, our middle school kids burned their written confessions together with last year's palm branches.

Wednesday Schedule

• February 22, Ash Wednesday: Noon - time of prayer and reflection with imposition of ashes and Holy Communion
  5:30 p.m.: Wednesday Camp
  6:00 p.m.: Dinner in Fellowship Hall
  7:00 p.m.: Bilingual Ash Wednesday worship
• February 29 and following Wednesdays: 7:00 p.m.: "Together We Pray" time of centering, prayer and meditation

Outreach For Hope, the arm of our synod that provides funding for our outreach ministry at Emmaus, as well as generous support for Neighborhood Camp, is again offering the opportunity to help support ministry to and with people in poverty.

During this Lenten season, we are encouraged to give a dollar a day for 40 days. Remember others as you generously share, filling Lenten banks or envelopes as you are able. You decide what daily amount is right for you -- 50 cents, a dollar, or even five dollars a day.

Gifts received will be used to support 21 congregations and ministries in the Greater Milwaukee Synod. Your gift directly touches lives right here in southeast Wisconsin! Thank you for your generosity!

• Jan. 29: Chris Chan-A-Sue
• Feb. 5: Amy Haman
• Feb. 12: Ron Jensen
• Feb. 19: Cindi Larsen
• Feb. 26: Jenn Haman
• Mar. 4: Melissa Lemke

by Kathy Christensen

In the past we have been receiving postcards reminding us of upcoming responsibilities as ushers, communion assistants, readers, etc. In order to cut back on this expense, Paul will now e-mail those reminders to those for whom he has addresses. Please make sure he has your current e-mail address in order to make this a smooth transition to the cyber world.

In another effort to cut expenses, after the end of 2011, we will no longer have altar flowers from the florist every Sunday. Currently one arrangement costs $20. In order to help with our finances, if you want to memorialize or honor a person or event, consider giving a donation instead. Anyone wishing to place flowers from their garden or purchased independently is welcome to do so. Vases for cut flowers are located in the sacristy east of the altar. Be sure to inform the church office of the reason for your gift.

Serving as a communion assistant is a privilege and an opportunity to share God’s love. If you would like to participate as a communion assistant for an occasional Sunday worship service, please contact Kathy Christensen. My home phone is 909-4799.

Ongoing discussions over the past year have led to the decision to move ahead with the proposed set of triptychs for chancel area of the church. The triptychs are being created by Mark Falaschi and will house religious symbols and art meaningful particularly to the Latino community. They will allow for the possibility of having their doors open or closed, depending upon the occasion and the desires of the worshiping community. Special donations designated for the construction of the triptychs have been made and will cover the entire cost of building and installing them.

Falaschi, who crafted the freestanding altar and the wood paneling behind the cross in the front of the church, is creating the triptychs to match them in design and style. They will be dedicated in June during one of the Spanish-speaking noon services.

Thanks to a generous donation from Bea Helding, a “loop system” to enhance the transmission of sound in our sanctuary has now been installed.

The loop, installed July 15 and 16, encircles the nave of the church, and is connected to our sound system. The magnetic field around the wire channels sound waves into the sound system, which sends a signal which can be picked up on any hearing aid device.

Normally, a hearing aid “listens” with its microphone, then amplifies every sound it picks up. But with a telecoil used as the input source instead of the microphone, the hearing aid can “hear” a magnetic signal which represents sound. The major advantage of a using a telecoil is that one can turn off one’s normal hearing aid microphone, and thus limit the sound to that magnetic signal.