Immanuel Lutheran Church (LCMS) in Lima, Ohio Reopens for in-person Masses in June 2020!

Happy Easter, Ascension Day, Feast of Pentecost, and Holy Trinity Sunday!

Since I decided to only have this website and shutdown ohiobookmart.com, I decided to make ads for Immanuel Lutheran Church (LCMS), where I'm an active member, as blog posts. Once you've read this blog post, please feel free to read the other blog posts and to visit the other pages.

About: Immanuel Lutheran Church (LCMS) is a conservative and Confessional Lutheran congregation in The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS). We celebrate Holy Communion every Sunday and for most major holy days. We believe, teach, and confess, that Jesus died to save every single person from death, Hell, the grave, Satan, Satan's demons, Original Sin from Adam and Eve, and their own personal sins. We believe, teach, and confess, that there are only two Sacraments and those two Sacraments are Holy Baptism and Holy Communion. We believe, teach, and confess the Holy Trinity to be the One True God. Yahweh, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are the Holy Trinity. We believe, teach, and confess, that Jesus won our Salvation on the True Cross. We believe, teach, and confess, that Holy Baptism aka Water Baptism saves the baptized, that Yahweh adopts the baptized as His children in Holy Baptism, that the baptized are connected to Jesus' Death, Burial, and Resurrection in Holy Baptism, and the Holy Spirit lives inside of the baptized from the point of Holy Baptism onward, while He is ever present and present everywhere. We believe, teach, and confess, that Holy Communion is not merely a symbol of Jesus' Death on the True Cross, but rather Holy Communion is the literal Body and Blood of Jesus, while it remains bread and wine.

Address: 2120 Lakewood Avenue Lima, Ohio 45805

Contact Information: 

• Church Office Phone Number: (419) 222-2541
• Office e-mail: immanuel@wcoil.com
• Church Website: http://www2.wcoil.com/~immanuel/

Bible Verse of the Month:

June 2020 Events:

• Sunday Masses 10 AM in June 2020

1. Easter Sunday aka Resurrection Sunday: Observed (June 7, 2020)             
2. Ascension Day: Observed (June 14, 2020)
3. The Feast of Pentecost: Observed (June 21, 2020)
4. Holy Trinity Sunday: Observed (March 22, 2020)

• Sunday Morning Bible Study is sadly still cancelled for a while due to the Corona Virus situation, but we are very blessed in-person Sunday Masses.
• Sunday Morning Masses at Immanuel Lutheran Church (LCMS) in Lima, Ohio resume Sunday June 7, 2020 and on our first Sunday back to in-person Sunday Masses we shall celebrate Resurrection Sunday aka Easter Sunday, since we sadly did not get to celebrate it in-person in April 2020. Our pastor, Reverend Michael Phillips, will continue to download services to our YouTube channel, "Immanuel Lutheran Church - Lima, OH," for those, who are ill or who fear getting ill from the Corona Virus or anything else for that matter, to watch at home.  

• Sunday Morning Bible Studies 9 AM Every Sunday in June 2020 (Cancelled until further notice sadly)           

• Wednesday Night Bible Studies 6:30 PM (Cancelled until further notice sadly)                                         

Immanuel Lutheran Church's Response to the Corona Virus and Reopening Protocols:

• What Immanuel Lutheran Church is doing to hold in-person Masses safely: 

1. Our pastor, Reverend Michael Phillips, will wear a face mask during the Mass.            
2. You are free in Christ to chose, whether you are going to wear a face mask inside of our church building or not, but you are not free in Christ to be mean to people, because they're doing something different than you.
3. Our church building is being sanitized to keep worshippers safe during the Mass.
4. Hand sanitizer will be available at the church for your use inside of our church building and you are encouraged to bring your own hand sanitizer or hand washing wipes.
5. Restrooms will be opened for you to use, while you are worshipping at Immanuel before, during, and after the Mass.
6. Some pews will not available to sit in during the Mass to promote social distancing.
7. Hymnals and other commonly touched surfaces in Immanuel will be sanitized and they will be made available for your use during the Mass along with order of worship folders and bulletins. Please take a hymnal from the back shelf of the sanctuary before the beginning of the Mass and then please leave your hymnal on seat cushion of the pew for an usher to collect at the end of Mass. I personally own my own copy of our hymnal, Lutheran Service Book, and you can purchase your own copy by clicking on the link at the bottom of the blog post.
8. Sunrise Easter Breakfast is cancelled and there shall be no coffee, donuts, or juice served at Immanuel for a while due to the Corona Virus.
9. Hand shaking is highly discouraged due to the Corona Virus and conversations before and after the Mass should be had outside of the church building.
10. Voluntary offerings are to be placed in the plates, which shall not be passed around as usual for a while due to the Corona Virus and which shall be laying on the shelf in the back of the sanctuary.
11. I hate to say this, but please do not kneel at the kneelers in front of the Altar during Holy Communion. :'(
12. If you are sick, then please stay home and watch the service video(s), which Reverend Phillips is posting on YouTube.
13. If you attend in-person Mass at Immanuel and you find out, that you have the Corona Virus or that you were around someone, who has it, then you must call the church office immediately and let us know. Everyone must be informed according to current church and state health protocols.
14. If you want to say mean things to people before, during, or after the Mass to people, because they are wearing a face mask and you are not or because you are wearing one and they are not, then please stay home and watch the service video on YouTube. You are welcome, but your negativity is not.
15. I personally plan on sitting in the abandoned choir loft aka nave during our in-person Masses at Immanuel for a while, unless someone insists, that I sit with them, because I want to get as many people to come to our in-person Masses as possible and I want people to feel safe. I work in a grocery store and a factory in addition running my two businesses, Ohio Irish Lutheran Press (OIL Press) and Ohio Book Mart and More (OBM&M), so I come in contact with hundreds of people every week and I love coming in contact with hundreds of people every week. However, I would rather worship six feet or more away from people and have them feel safe than have them stay home.   

Corona Virus Confession: I believe, that I personally had the Corona Virus back during the First and Second Sundays of Advent 2019. I went to Sunday Morning Bible Study, Sunday Mass, and Wednesday Night Bible Study during those first two weeks of Advent, but I personally practiced social distancing, before social distancing became a common thing. I own my own copy of the hymnal Lutheran Service Book, which we use in The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS), and The Lutheran Study Bible, which we use in The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS). Both me socially distancing myself and using my own hymnal and Study Bible saved a lot of lives and I am not ashamed of going to Immanuel for our services, when I had the Corona Virus, but our world is a radically different now-a-days. A lot has changed between December 2019 and now, so, if I catch the Corona Virus again, then I will stay home to protect everyone. Social distancing and both owning and using your own personal copies of worship materials do actually work to save lives, but we need to be nice to people and now we must stay home, when we are sick. Both the grocery store and factory are taking my temperature before each shift and my temperature is legal, healthy, and safe.  

Thank you and Happy Easter, Ascension Day, Feast of Pentecost, and Holy Trinity Sunday!

James W. O'Flannery, President and Founder of Ohio Irish Lutheran Press (OIL Press)

 https://www.cph.org/p-98-Lutheran-Service-Book-Pew-Edition.aspx