Located at the intersection of Church Road and Cottage Hill Road, just 4 miles South of Compton, Illinois, Immanuel Lutheran Church is a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Founded in 1864 by German and Dutch farming immigrants to America, our church has experienced a number of historical and structural changes, yet remains steadfast in our faith. Throughout the years, 17 pastors and associates have led the congregation, 7 active ministry groups serve the community, and 4 diverse youth groups engage our children in spiritual, as well as, communal activities. There is something for everyone who wants to participate in our “Family Friendly Church.” Connect to our web site, come to our services, and join in worship!
Strange and Unique Times- from Pastor JeffAugust 13, 2020 In-Person Worship Suspended On Thursday evening, the Heart of Illinois Lutheran Parish councils made the decision to suspend in-person worship through Labor Day. Though we have carefully followed our protocol, which does outline the safest practices, it is the external factors that motivated the decision to move on the side of caution. There were three key data points that brought the decision about: • The spike in cases in Mendota has caused the city to ask businesses to cut back to phase 3 practices (as outlined in the Restore Illinois Plan) • Mendota schools choosing to open only on-line until after Labor Day when they will reevaluate (if schools aren’t comfortable meeting in person, why should we?) • In addition, there have been seven confirmed cases in the Paw Paw zip code when previously there weren’t any. So, to assure the safety of our members, and to make sure HOILP is not party to carrying the virus toward Lee and Shabbona, the councils have decided to be extra cautious and took the undesired but necessary action of suspending our in-person worship again. “Don’t get me wrong,” said one council member, “I really want to come back to worship in the church. But this disease is deadly. I don’t want anybody to die. We can worship at home with our videos in order to be safe.” Pastor Jeff and the many volunteers will continue to produce the worship videos. We will continue to work our ministries such as Bountiful Garden, NICE support and volunteering, WELCA school supply collection (which is just about complete) and so on. “We need to remember that church is not closed,” said Pastor Jeff. “For safety purposes we have suspended our in-person worship services, but the business of following Jesus still goes forth. We will still proclaim the gospel, feed the hungry, comfort the grieving, and fight for justice.” The councils are planning to meet jointly the week after Labor Day and will evaluate the situation then. This is specific response to the context in northern LaSalle and southern Lee Counties. When the situation changes, because we already have used it, we have practices and procedures in place to safely gather again. In the meantime, we worship over the airwaves and thank God daily for our modern technology that allows us to keep in touch with one another so easily. |
We depend on the generous donations of our members to keep our doors of worship open. Please take a moment and support our small church with a kind donation. ![]() Prefer coffee over tea?
Join us for Thursday Morning Coffee at 9:00 a.m. instead of or in addition to Tuesday Tea Time for a chance to check in, chat about whatever is on your mind, and close with devotions and prayer. (Provide your own coffee or beverage of choice.) https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83723658977 *Note Zoom may require you to download before viewing. |