About Immanuel Lutheran Church

Our Sunday morning schedule (beginning September 12, 2010) :

• 9:15 AM: Sunday School and Adult Forum.
  
  
• 10:30 AM: Morning Worship Service with Eucharist (Communion)
  Liturgy, Music, and Preaching of the Word. Child care is provided
  
  
• Coffee and Fellowship Hour: In the Fellowship hall, following the later service.
  

SUMMER Sunday morning schedule (June 13, 2010 through Labor Day) :

• 9:30 AM: Summer church service with the Eucharist (Communion)
  
  
• Coffee and Fellowship Hour: In the Parish Hall, following the morning service.
  

Immanuel's Staff

• The Rev. Randy Wilburn, Interim Pastor
• Matthew Cron, Organist
• Anne Weaver, Choir Director
• Kristen Wickline, Church Office, Click here to mail the church office  

Committee contacts

• Adult Learning / Formation: Coordinator - Ruth Rinard, Beverly Sunderland
• Altar Guild - Dorothy Urch, Donna Tattar, Dorothy Bachtold
• Building Use, Dave Carlson
• Campus Ministry, Dave Carlson
• Daytimers: Social Actiities for those retired, Faith Sweigert.
• Ecumenical-Interfaith: Donna Griffin
• Fellowship: Plan Social Events / Welcome Newcomers, Chair - Chris Nelson
• Finance: Chair - Randy Dettmers
• Property: Skip Spaulding
• Social Concerns: Chairs - Julie Brigham Grette and Roger Grette
• Stewardship: Jon Niedzielski
• Sunday School and Youth: Chair - Kathy Niedzielski
• Sunday Confirmation: Teachers - Ann Donnelly and Kathy Niedzielski
• Worship: Chair - Mary Carlson
• Senior Choir: Director - Anne Weaver
• Musicians, Soloists, Special Music: Coordinator - Matthew Cron
• Web Site - Bob Weaver
• Worship Leaders (Readers, Ushers, Greeters, acolytes and Altar Guild) - Yvonne Nicholson

Congregation Council:

• Randy Dettmers, President
• Nat Larson, Treasurer
• Ruth Rinard , Secretary
• Jon Niedzielski, Stewardship
• Tony Butterfield, Stewardship
• Jack Stebbins, Worship
• Dottie Meyer, Renaissance School
• Cathy Helgoe, Education
• Jim Bodmer
• Cheryl Smith
• Anne Rylestone
• Lisa Rickard Martin
• The Rev. Randy Wilburn , Interim Pastor

Others serving on committees include:

Call Committee

• Cheryl Smith
• Randall Bausor
• Marvin Daehler
• Alan Dallmann
• Yvonne Nicholson
• Ruth Rinard, Chair

The Interim Steering Committee (which will become the Mutual Ministry Committee when the new pastor comes)

• Skip Spaulding, Chair
• Tom Zoeller
• Abby Dallman
• Andrew Donnelly
• Evie Simkins
• Lois Smith
  

The Capital Appeal Team

• Ron Archer
• Tony Butterfield
• Julie Brigham Grette
• Liz Larson
• Bob Weaver
• Tom Zoeller

The Strategic Planning - Vision Team:

• Jerry Clark
• Audrey Smith
• Cathy Helgoe
• Julie Chalfant (de Bruyn Kops)
• Harry Seelig
• Schwick von Goeler

Our past:

Founded in 1962 as a mission church to the colleges in the area, the fledgling congregation met in the Odd Fellows Hall in downtown Amherst for three years. In 1965, our main building was completed. The well-known theologian, the Rev. Dr. Martin E. Marty was preacher for the dedication service of our sanctuary. Dr. Marty has delivered the sermon here several times since then. He is the founder of the Institute for Advanced Study of Religion (now the Martin Marty Center) at the University of Chicago where he has been professor of religious history for over 35 years.

Another well-known theologian who had close ties to our congregation and preached here on a number of occasions is the Rev. Dr. Krister Stendahl, the late father of our third pastor. Dr. Stendahl was Dean and Professor of Divinity at Harvard Divinity School and later was consecrated as the Lutheran Bishop of Stockholm, Sweden. He is now Professor of Divinity Emeritus at Harvard.

In 1995, the Fellowship Hall section was added to the original building. This building features, in addition to a large fellowship hall, the Pastor's office, a meeting lounge, kitchen, a number of classrooms upstairs and the LAOS Interfaith Religious Bookshop (also upstairs).

Immanuel has been served by four pastors: founding pastor Richard E. Koenig, who served from 1962 until 1978; Paul F. Bosch, 1979-1982; John K. Stendahl, 1983-1995; and Louis (Rudy) Beyer, 1997-2008. We have also had able pastoral leadership from several people during interim periods, including, Karl Donfried, Lyle Larson, and our current Interim Pastor, Randall K.Wilburn. Our congregation has been richly blessed by the service of all of these dedicated and faithful pastors.

• Immanuel is located at 867 North Pleasant Street, Amherst, MA 01002--just north of the University of Massachusetts' School of Education.
• Church phone: 413-549-0322
• Church FAX: 413-549-1916