Author: End User

Emmaus Lutheran Church
1224 Laurel Street
Indianapolis, IN 46203

May/June 2025
The Emmaus Companion
Bi-Monthly Newsletter

Parish Planning Meeting
March 11, 2025
Present- Jeff Frownfelter, Carol Chandler, Norm and JoAnn Riemer, Tim Birtchman, Robert Carey, Dave Dungan and Pastor Doug Irmer
Not Present- Jerry Campbell, Gary Strakis
Opened with Devotion by Doug Irmer
Last months minutes read and approved
Treasurer Report
We are in the black. All bills have been paid
Have a contract with David Keiser of Keiser Engineer. He got us $2500 of the $5000 needed to apply for the grants.
Previous Month PPC voted to approve matching funds for the engineering company to perform a survey of the building . This will enable Emmaus to work with the firm to apply for grants to improve our facility. The matching grant was received and Emmaus will supply the other half of the funding for the survey. Emmaus will continue to work with the engineering firm on future projects to improve the facility.
Elders Report
The Elders met Tues Feb 4. Present: All Elders & Rev Irmer
Discussed: Shut-in calls, The elders discussed pages 30 to 60 of the book “About Our Liturgy” by David Kind. (involving meaning, history & practice of Lutheran liturgy). The Call Committee is still wanting prospective pastor inputs from members to send to the Indiana District, Fort Wayne.
(The Call Committee members are: the Elders, Joseph Taylor, Morgan Chandler & Barbara Campbell with Gary Strakis as Chairman.)
Fellowship Board
We have begun our Lenten Dinners. The Board of Fellowship hosted the Ash Wednesday dinner. Outreach has volunteered to do the March 12th meal (Soup). Morgan Chandler has offered to do a meal to help raise money for LHSI prom on March 19th (mexican), and Derek will do his famous lasagna on March 26th. We still have spots available if you would like to help.
Once again, we are planning on hosting the Easter Breakfast.
We will have a dinner on March 16th.
Property Report
Gary has neatly repaired the drywall around the conference room breaker box.
Tim insulated the teller window in the school office. It’s warmer now.
Jake’s floor waxing in the bathrooms and gym looks very fine.
Heat in the sanctuary and gym is working well.
Gerald and Scott put up 3 crosses for Lent and Easter season.
The old school building & 1982 complex have made it through the winter so far.
Thanks to Tim’s hose work the church boiler room is dry.
Chardon (chemical company) is happy with the water conductivity in the church heat loop.
Gary to paint the conference room.
Outreach Board
Those in attendance were Sandy Duncan, JoAnn Riemer, and Tresa Strakis. Katie Arritt is recuperating from a recent hospital visit. Robert Carey couldn’t attend because he was busy at the Pantry. Kenny Colton and Betty Foster were excused.
We began with a devotion and an opening prayer. Then we did a recap of the EVERYBODY’S Birthday Party that was held on Sunday, February 16, 2025. We were pleased that on the cold, snowy day we had 29 people from Emmaus Church in attendance. Our delicious spaghetti dinner was prepared by the Fellowship Board, and Pastor Irmer and his wife Carol were there. We did a “candy jar guessing game,” and the winners of the two jars of candy were Addison Lee and Morgan Chandler. For the “White Elephant gift exchange,” Sandy Duncan gave each guest a number to use while they were eating. Starting with #1, each guest chose a gift and unwrapped it. As we went through the numbers, when you unwrapped your gift you had the option of keeping what you had or swapping with what someone else had gotten. This was a very enjoyable activity

and brought many smiles and laughter. After these activities we gathered around the huge birthday cake provided by Katie Arritt and sang “Happy Birthday to Everyone.” Pastor Irmer got to blow out the birthday candles before we ate our birthday cake and enjoyed Katie’s homemade punch. Several board members gave Katie some money to help cover the cost of purchasing the cake and her supplies to make the punch. We next spent some time discussing a few of our ideas for CHURCH GROWTH. A lot of ideas have been presented, but we focused on just one at this time–a neighborhood mailing for Easter and how we might do this and pay for it. We also talked about placing a banner outside advertising our Easter service.
We then discussed the menu for our LENTEN DINNER. We are doing the second dinner on March 12 and we plan to serve three different soups with salad and dessert + drinks. The
free-will offering collected at this meal will go towards the Easter Egg Hunt.
We spent a little time talking about the EGG STUFFING DAY, which will be on Wednesday, April 9 starting about 9:30 in the morning and lasting until we are done. We usually serve a snack to the participants who help with this task. There will be a sign-up sheet available soon to get helpers.
We went over the main details of the EASTER EGG HUNT which is scheduled for Saturday, April 12 at 11 a.m. JoAnn has applied for and received $250 Thrivent money to pay for this event. Starting on Sunday, March 9 an we are asking for donations of plastic eggs and Easter candy. Then on the following Sunday, the 16th we will have out the sheets asking for volunteers for egg-stuffing day on the Wednesday before the hunt, April 9 and help on the day of the egg hunt. The Egg Hunt will feature our usual menu, and we plan to offer 3 crafts, a game with prizes, and cookie decorating. Families sign up on registration sheets as they come in and the kids go on the hunt in 4 different age groups. We are planning to send follow-up post cards to the participants to thank them for coming.
We spent a little time making sure that we have the SUNDAY FELLOWSHIP time taken care of for all the Sundays.
Call Committee
We continue to meet on the 3rd Tuesday of the month. Pastor Mierow has been providing agenda and direction for the call process.
Selected to call chair: Gary and secretary: Morgan
Committee consists of elders, Barb Campbell, Morgan Chandler, and Joseph Taylor. A warm welcome to our much needed 3 new members.
Last meeting we reviewed the congregational self study remarks, Morgan will compile a summary of the information collected. Also part of the discussion was to request Pastor candidates for call. So far, six names have been submitted from the congregation and sent to Pastor Mierow and the district for consideration and approval. Pastor Mierow recommended we continue to request candidates from the congregation until 3/18/25 at which time we will meet again. The district president will add approximately six more candidates for the call committee to review. From this combined list the call committee will share with the congregation 1, 2, or 3 candidates that fit best with our review of the congregation self study and vote to proceed with the call process to 1 candidate. We agreed to wait on the actual call to a candidate until the Lent season is over in respect to the candidate’s obligation to their current congregation.
Agenda for the next meeting has not yet been set but we plan to continue the review of congregational remarks, share current candidate list, compile summary of additional surveys, and review the spiritual merit of the shared responses.
These notes are not fully inclusive of previous meetings and are my personal interpretation of meeting discussion. I’m sure that the other call committee understanding may not fully align, but wanted to share with the PPC from my POV.
Pantry Report
We served 307 households, 1139 individuals, and had 32 returnees in the 12 days that we were open.
New Business
No new business
Respectfully submitted,
Carol Chandler

Parish Planning Meeting
April 8, 2025
Present- Jeff Frownfelter, Jerry Campbell, Carol Chandler, Robert Carey, Norm and JoAnn Riemer, Tim Birtchman, Dave Duncan, Pastor Irmer
Open with devotion
Read and approved last months minutes
Treasurer
All bills are paid and we are in the black.
Gary Strakis and Pastor Irmer will be attending the yearly convention in June.
Working on getting automatic payments
Working on reinstating our non-exempt tax situation
Food pantry grant submitted for $25,617.
We have to fix the electrical with the pantry to keep the insurance. The endowment will pay ½ and the food pantry (endowment) 1/2 . A motion to repair immediately was made by Tim Birtchman and Dave Dunce second and all were in favor.
Fellowship
Lenten dinners have been well attended. We are so thankful for all the volunteers who stepped up to prepare a meal. Easter Breakfast will be from 8:30am-9:30am on Easter morning.
Elders
The Elders met Tues Apr 1. Present: All Elders & Rev Irmer
Discussed: Shut-in calls; The elders discussed pages 60-90 of the book “About Our Liturgy” by David Kind.; (involving meaning, history & practice of Lutheran liturgy) ;
The Call Committee is waiting for pastor information from Indiana District, Fort Wayne
Outreach Board .
Robert gave us a PANTRY REPORT. It’s mostly just the usual handing out of food and other items. It’s a constant job to get donations. Kenny Colton has been helping at the Pantry for 30+ years, and was presented an award for his service in church on Sunday, March 30th.
We spent a little time discussing CHURCH GROWTH. We know we can’t do a bulk mailing to the neighborhood, and it was suggested that door hangers to advertise Easter services/our church might be a good alternative. Some of these have now been printed, and we have a few volunteers willing to distribute them—time yet to be determined. We had also talked about having a banner to advertise our Easter service. Tresa suggested using a “Yard Card” for this purpose and will be looking into it for us.
We spent a lot of time making sure things were set to go for the EASTER EGG HUNT which is coming up on April 12 at 11 a.m. We will pay for this event with $250 Thrivent Money + Free will offerings and other donations of $162 for a total of $412. Board members were given an update of what’s been done so far. People from the congregation are doing a great job of signing up to help for both the HUNT and EGG STUFFING DAY on April 9. We are planning to send follow-up post cards to the families who attended our hunt. We discussed the logistics of how we would do this, the design of the postcard, and who was going to purchase the stamps.
Our next order of business was to talk about the SUNDAY FELLOWSHIP time. We are missing a couple of our regular helpers due to illness, etc. That means there are only three board members to do this job. So we could really use some help. We did fill in a couple of the upcoming Sundays.
We closed our meeting in prayer.
Properties
TIm Birtchman and Jack (grandson) cleaned up the basement under the sanctuary.
After the recent storms, everything has reset and is working properly.
Pantry
313 families and 1166 individuals and 8 families returned within the month.
New Business
Step in Step Out - requested to use our facilities for in need children. We need to check with Jerry in reference to the insurance issue. Will meet with their director to get a better idea of their intentions for our building before we make a commitment.
Voters meeting June 1, 2025
Closed with prayer.
Respectfully submitted,
Carol Chandler

SUMMER OFFICE HOURS
During the summer, Carol will be working in the office on Wednesday. I will be working from home on Tuesdays as well. If you have any questions or need to contact me I can be reached at:
emmauschurchindy@gmail.com

ANNUAL MEETING
Sunday, June 1st
Immediately following church there will be a lite lunch provided by the Board of Fellowship.
This meeting we will be discussing the budget, and church issues.

Monthly Game Night
Reserve the first Friday of the month as Monthly Game Night! We will meet on Friday, May 2nd and June 6th. We begin at 6:00pm and would love to see some new faces!

AFTER CHURCH FELLOWSHIPS
Love the weekly after church fellowships? Thinking about how you love the treats? Thinking about how you would love to help out and bring treats one week to be a part of the fun? Well you are lucky, YOU can be a part of this! Volunteer to bring the treats one week. You can bring homemade or store bought snacks for everyone to enjoy. When you sign up, you will be responsible for that one week and suppling enough for 30 people. THANK YOU

Metal Recycling Event – May 3 Lutheran High School is hosting a Metal Recycling Event in the parking lot on Saturday, May 3 from 9 am - noon. ALL items containing any metal (including electronics) are welcome. Proceeds will help benefit the Boys Volleyball Program. Many thanks to our business partner - Hanna's Wrecker, Parts & Recycling for sponsoring this event.
LHS Spring Music Concert – May 10 All are invited to the Spring Music Concert taking place in the Ruth Lilly Auditorium on May 10 at 6:00 pm.
Commencement – Sunday, May 18 Lutheran High School’s 47th Baccalaureate and Commencement for the Class of 2025 will be held on Sunday, May 18 at 2:00 pm in the Indiana Farm Bureau Gymnasium. All are welcome to attend; doors will open at 1:30 pm.
Registration is OPEN! – LHS Golf Outing – June 1 The LHS Golf Outing will return to Martinsville Golf Club on June 1 (12:00 pm check-in with lunch and 2:00 pm tee off). Register at lhsi.org.
LHS Summer Sports Camps – June 2025 LHS will offer Summer Sports Camps in various sports during June for boys and girls who are in or have just completed grade school. For information and to register, visit lhsi.org

Emmaus Pantry News
Thank you again to all our volunteers who unselfishly give of their time to support the Emmaus Food Pantry.
Robert Carey happily reports that many of our clients accepted their invitation to join us for the egg hunt April 12. Numerous Emmaus school students came and all had a good time in Christian fellowship.
As warmer weather approaches, please consider bringing in bottled water, packets of powdered flavoring or kids drinks to help our clients stay hydrated.
If you grow your own fruits and veggies, you may wish to plant an extra row or two to donate. Thank you for supporting Emmaus’ mission to our community

CONTACT INFORMATION
Phone: 317-632-1486
Fax: 317-632-2620
Email:emmausindy@gmail.com
emmauschurchindy@gmail.com
Website: elcindy.org

PARISH PLANNING MEETINGS are held the 2nd Tuesday of every month (May 13) at 6pm. The business of the church is conducted at these meetings and any church member is welcome to attend, to ask questions, express concerns, make comments, ect. Please let the Church office know the day before that you will be attending.

ELDER MEMBERS
Members in need of ministry care or with
spiritual concerns should call one of the
Elders:
Tim Birtchman 317-788-0021
Dave Duncan 317-783-3726
Scotty Jett 317-490-9742
Norm Riemer 317-862-4344
Jeff Frownfelter 812-929-2495
Gary Strakis 317-332-0937

Senior’s Bible Study Class
Wednesday mornings @ 9:30 a.m. We look forward to our new study. Now would be a great time to join us. Anyone who is free on Wednesday at that time would be welcome to join our lively discussion as we learn more about our Christian walk with Jesus. Norm Riemer is the leader of this group.

Adult Sunday School
We meet every Sunday at 8:45am in the conference room during the Sunday School hour. Come join our group led by Robert Carey from 8:45am-9:45am

From the Call Committee -
We submitted the congregation candidate list to synod this past month. Pastor Stuckwisch will review our list and verify the candidates are available to receive a possible call from Emmaus and will also add to our list those pastors that would best fulfill our shepherding needs. The full list of candidates will be available for the congregation to review. From the full list the Call Committee team will select a sub-list with cooperation from the congregation during a meeting to then proceed with interviews and a call to a perspective candidate. Please continue to pray with and for the Call Committee!

Thursday Night Bible Study
7pm—8pm

May Birthdays
Susan Russell 5/1 Anita Roesener 5/14
Kyle Perry 5/5 Mike Klinge 5/21
Pastor Doug Irmer 5/6 Betty Foster 5/25
Gerald Roesener 5/9 Matthew Alter 5/26
Ken Massey 5/14

MAY 2025 SCHEDULE
5/4 Jerry Roesener 5/4 Norm Riemer
5/11 Tim Birtchman 5/11 Garald Evans
5/18 Bob Groth 5/18 Jerry Campbell
5/25 Jeff Frownfelter 5/25 Dave Duncan
5/4 Tim Birtchman 5/4 Jeff Frownfelter
5/11 Andrea Campbell 5/11 Horst Hildebrandt 5/18 Bob Groth 5/18 Jerry Roesener 5/25 Norm Riemer 5/25 Carol Chandler
5/4 Norm & JoAnn Riemer
Cantwell 5/11 B Whitsit/D Herndon
5/18 R Cantwell/B Smith
5/25 Jeff & Karla Frownfelter

June Birthdays
Betty Whitsit 6/5 Kristie Corn 6/22 Donald Quinette 6/9 Charlene Foullois 6/22
Susie Doescher 6/13 Alyssa Muhlhauser 6/24 Addison Lee 6/13 Steve Strakis 6/24
Morgan Chandler 6/19 Carol Chandler 6/26

JUNE 2025 SCHEDULE
6/1 Jerry Roesener 6/1 Norm Riemer
6/8 Tim Birtchman 6/8 Garald Evans
6/15 Bob Groth 6/15 Jerry Campbell
6/22 Jeff Frownfelter 6/22 Dave Duncan
6/29 Jerry Roesener 6/29 Norm Riemer
6/1 Robert Carey 6/1 Bob Groth
6/8 Bob Groth 6/8 Jeff Frownfelter
6/15 Pat O’Connor 6/15 Horst Hildebrandt
6/22 Tim Birtchman 6/22 Jerry Roesener
6/29 Andrea Campbel 6/29 Carol Chandler
6/1 Norm & JoAnn Riemer
6/8 D Herndon/B Whitsit
Birtchman 6/15 R Cantwell/B Smith
6/22 Jeff & Karla Frownfelter 6/29 Nom & JoAnn Riemer

LOOKING FOR HELP IN THE COMING YEAR
Emmaus will have the annual JUNE voters meeting. This is where your board chairpersons give you an update on what has been done by your fellow church members over the last year. Our boards have some opportunities for service and we are reaching out to anyone who would be interested in being on a board or simply helping a board during some of their events. Helping a board could be as simple as showing up at an event to help, or being a board member, or maybe even being the head of a board at some point. Boards meet once per month.
Take a look at the list below, add your name and circle the board in which you are interested in helping then fold in half and place it in the offering plate. It is a great way to serve your church, fellow church members. All work is done to benefit the Lord and serve his will.
NAME: __________________________________________________________________________
FACILITIES BOARD - we really need help with this one and are looking for someone who could take on a leading role. This person typically works with our list of contractors to make sure necessary work on the buildings gets done and organizes work days.
BOARD OF ELDERS - They discuss policy, services, communication and relations with members and work with the pastor to see that doctrine is followed.
SCHOOL BOARD - All matters involving the school, policy, hiring, enrollment.
SPIRITUAL WELL-BEING - This board oversees Bible studies and oversees activities such as VBS and prayer services.
FELLOWSHIP BOARD - You know this group as the one responsible for the after service meals, Lent and Advent dinners.
OUTREACH BOARD - Responsible for the community outreach events such as Easter Egg Hunt, Christmas, Oktoberfest and other events put on for the school families and community as well as some after or during school activities and giveaways.

This institution is an equal opportunity provider