Emmanuel Photo Albums –
Camp Blacktop! – June 2019 – On June 8th, Emmanuel EC Church hosted its Bethlehem community with a special block party that had an outdoor and camping theme! FREE hot dogs, bounce house, crafts, music, & prize drawings were all part of the day! The fun included: Twin Pines Camp (Stroudsburg) with camp-like crafts and activities; Live wildlife and solar oven demonstrations by the Wildlands Conservancy (Emmaus); Archery by Centershot Ministries (Lenhartsville); and Nature projects by Lehigh Valley Business Group. A variety of community organizations had information tables as well.
Click here to see pictures from this community event…
Campfire Church – Spring 2019 & Fall 2018 – A special family event first held in the fall of 2018 and again in the spring 2019 was Campfire Church! Over multiple Sunday evenings, families joined us for an hour of fun that included “critter hunts,” action songs, stories of God from the Bible, crafts, and other fun all around our indoor campfire.
Click here to see pictures from each week…
Christmas Eve Candlelight Services (2018 & 2017) – A tradition at Emmanuel as part of our celebration each year of the gift of Jesus Christ to the world is our Christmas Eve Candlelight service. This celebration includes Christmas carols (both old and new), a devotional message, and a reminder of the true light of Christ that displaces the darkness, fear, and hopelessness of our world and lives. Click here to see pictures from this special service…
“His light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not been able to overcome it. He is the true light that gives light to everyone… And, to all who receive him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God, children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.”
Runners’ World Half-Marathon 2018 – Returning for our 5th year, Emmanuel once again “took it to the streets” on Oct 21st, 2018 and blessed our community by providing water and Gatorade sports drink to the runners of this half marathon! And, our sound system filled the air with uplifting music as well to encourage the runners along!
Click here to see pictures of this event (2018 RW Half-Marathon)…
Also available, pictures of the 2017 event…
Pictures from the 2016 event…
SummerFest 2018 – Emmanuel once again opened its doors (and hearts) to our Bethlehem community and hosted a night of fun to celebrate the unofficial end of summer! There were games, prizes, snacks, live music, and hotdogs! Free clothing was available from our clothing room, through our partnership with Lehigh Valley Business Group. And FREE HAIRCUTS were once again provided courtesy of Simplicity Hair Salon (Bethlehem). Bethlehem’s Mounted Police and Fire Department returned for the fun, as did the Seeing Eye puppy raisers from Northampton & Lehigh Counties! New to the event this year was the Bethlehem Health Bureau with their “glitterbug station” to teach kids proper handwashing. Click here to see pictures of the event.
Click to visit websites for:
The Seeing Eye Organization…
Simplicity Hair Salon… (Simplicity Hair Salon 35 E Elizabeth Ave Bethlehem, PA 18018)
William Penn Elementary School Christmas Party 2017 – To bless our neighbors in this Christmas season, Emmanuel invited families from nearby William Penn Elementary School to be our special guests at a Christmas party on December 17th! Gifts, games, snacks, crafts, and family portraits were all part of the fun! “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son…” May we live daily, not just at Christmas, in such a way that our friends and neighbors experience God’s love for them regularly! Click here to see pictures of this event…
Project Keep-Warm 2017 – One of the many ways through which Emmanuel meets the needs all around us is through our Mustard Seed Clothing Ministry. Each month, we invite our community to come for a free dinner, a spiritual devotional, and free clothing! We recently extended the impact of this ministry even further through a partnership with Lehigh Valley Business Group who uses our room to meet additional needs through referrals of more than 50 Lehigh Valley agencies. Through our partnership with them, our December 2017 dinner and clothing night (12/13) became a special blessing to more than 100 neighborhood families! In addition to our normal community dinner and clothing distribution, HUNDREDS of winter coats (364 to be exact), gloves and other winter needs were distributed that night to keep our community warm through the winter.
Click here to see pictures of the event… — or — Click here for more info on LVBG…
2017 International Students’ Christmas Dinner – Once again in December, the international students studying at Lehigh University from around the world came to Emmanuel as our guests for an evening of Christmas fun! The evening began with a visit to the Edgeboro Moravian Christmas “Putz” where students were presented the Christmas story through this miniature-scale display. (Click here for more info on the Edgeboro putz.) Everyone came over to Emmanuel then for dinner and fun which included learning to sing some traditional Christmas carols. A visit to nearby Kirkland Village gave students an opportunity to bless some of Bethlehem’s senior residents with their newly-learned songs before heading out into the surrounding area for a tour of Bethlehem and it’s seasonal lights. Click here to see pictures of the event.
(Pictures from our 2016 event with them are available here…)
HarvestFest 2017 – Emmanuel EC Church once again hosted our Bethlehem community for a FREE “Harvest Fest” on Saturday October 7th 2017 from 10 am – 12:30 pm. Kids of all ages enjoyed a variety of games, crafts, pumpkin decorating, snacks, and Bible stories! The fun started with a visit to our outdoor, “mini pumpkin patch” where each child selected their own pumpkin. Family pictures were then taken at our harvest-themed photo station! And drawings were held through the morning for gift cards to local stores.
Click here to see pictures of the event…
SummerFest & Movie Night 2017 – Emmanuel once again opened its doors (and hearts) to our Bethlehem community and hosted a night of fun to celebrate the unofficial end of summer! There were games, prizes, snacks, and live music. Free clothing was available from our Mustard Seed clothing ministry. And FREE HAIRCUTS were provided courtesy of Simplicity Hair Salon (Bethlehem). This year, Bethlehem’s Mounted Police and Fire Department also joined us for the fun, along with Seeing Eye puppy raisers from Northampton & Lehigh Counties! The evening ended with an outdoor movie: Disney’s Pete’s Dragon! Click here to see pictures of the event.
Click to visit websites for:
The Seeing Eye Organization…
Simplicity Hair Salon… (Simplicity Hair Salon 35 E Elizabeth Ave Bethlehem, PA 18018)
Spring 2017 Baptismal Service – The life we live as followers of Jesus is powerfully illustrated in 2 object lessons given by Him: Baptism illustrates our entry into the new life we receive when we are adopted into the family of God. This occurs as we choose to no longer live for ourselves but to instead, turn and go in a different direction, walking in loving obedience to God. Communion symbolizes our continuing connection to God as we live in covenant relationship to Him, being nourished by the food He provides. Jesus’ command in Matthew 28 & Mark 16 was that we would go, help others understand Who GOD is, who WE are apart from God, and how we can be adopted by Him: “Go, make disciples and baptize them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.” On April 30th, Emmanuel rejoiced as 5 people chose to publicly declare their devotion to Jesus by being baptized as He commanded. Click here to see pictures from the event.
Spring-Fling Easter Celebration & Egg Hunt – In April, Emmanuel hosted our community for a celebration of the true meaning of Easter! It was a morning of fun, crafts, snacks, & Bible stories for children up to 12 years old. And, there were A LOT OF EGGS! Parents were invited to join their children as they visited a variety of interactive stations or, to take some “adult time” to watch one or more video segments from “The Easter Experience.” Click here to see pictures of this event.
Christmas with The Nehemiah Wall Ministry – As part celebrating God’s gift of salvation to us through Jesus, Emmanuel once again hosted the clients and staff of The Nehemiah Wall ministry for a Christmas luncheon. This was our 2nd year celebrating Christmas with this ministry to women! Emmanuel setup an “Angel Tree” with gift requests from the women and gave them a gift shower as part of the day! Click here to see pictures of the event!
(Pictures from our 2015 event with them also available – Click here…)
2016 International Students’ Christmas Dinner – In December, over 50 students studying at Lehigh University from around the world came to Emmanuel as our guests for an evening of Christmas fun! The evening began with a visit to the Edgeboro Moravian Christmas “Putz” where students were presented the Christmas story through this miniature-scale display. (Click here for more info on the Edgeboro putz.) Everyone came over to Emmanuel then for dinner and fun which included learning to sing some traditional Christmas carols. A visit to nearby Moravian House gave students an opportunity to bless some of Bethlehem’s senior residents with their newly-learned songs before heading out into the surrounding area for a tour of Bethlehem and it’s seasonal lights. Click here to see pictures of the event.
(Pictures from our 2015 event with them are available here…)
2016 SummerFest & Movie Night –
As summer neared its “unofficial close” and schools prepared to reopen, Emmanuel opened its doors (and hearts) to the community and hosted a night of fun to celebrate! The evening included games, prizes, crafts, snacks, live music – and the highlight of the evening, an outdoor movie: Disney’s ZOOTOPIA! Click here to see pictures of the event.
2016 Bike Rodeo & Community Information Fair –
Emmanuel brought back its “Bike Rodeo” this year in partnership with the Bethlehem Health Bureau and the Coalition for Appropriate Transportation (CAT). Bicyclists from kindergarten through 8th grade were invited to come and learn bike-safety skills, get free basic maintenance on their bikes, and receive free helmets. This year we also added a “Community Information Fair” with a variety of community organizations joining us to provide information about their agency to those that attended.
Click here to see pictures of the event.
2016 Easter Egg Hunt – On Wednesday March 23rd, Emmanuel’s “Indoor Easter Egg Hunt” returned to bring our community an evening of fun, crafts, & snacks! And of course, EGGS! Pastor Rick opened the evening with a story of Jesus’ death and resurrection illustrated using 2 regular candles and 1 “special” candle! The regular candles represented the 2 thieves with whom Jesus was killed. The kids quickly understood the message that Jesus died that day just as the thieves did BUT, but HE “came back to life!” just as the special candle did when lit back up all by itself! Click here to see pictures from the evening.
ECC-Liberia National Conference – Pastor Rick was part of the Evangelical Congregational Church USA’s delegation to the ECC-Liberia’s national conference, held in January 2016. The trip included the dedication of a 4-wheel-drive truck which Emmanuel (and many others) helped to purchase. STAY TUNED FOR THE FULL PHOTO ALBUM COMING SOON!
Click here to read the blog from the trip…
International Students’ Christmas Dinner 2015 – In December, over 50 students studying at Lehigh University from around the world came to Emmanuel as our guests for an evening of Christmas fun! The evening began with a visit to the Edgeboro Moravian Christmas “Putz” where students were presented the Christmas story through their miniature-scale display. (Click here for more info on the Edgeboro putz.) Everyone came over to Emmanuel then for dinner and fun which included learning to sing some traditional Christmas carols. A visit to nearby Moravian House gave students an opportunity to bless some of Bethlehem’s senior residents with their newly-learned songs before heading out into the surrounding area for a tour of Bethlehem and it’s seasonal lights. Click here to see pictures of the event.
Community Thanksgiving Dinner 2015 – Emmanuel opened its doors once again to our community by hosting a FREE “Thanksgiving Dinner” on Weds November 18th. The evening included a visit to our “Mustard Seed Clothing Ministry” for those in need of clothing. A brief Thanksgiving message was shared as part of the evening. Click here to see pictures of the event!
Harvest Fest 2015 – On Friday October 23rd, Emmanuel hosted a FREE “Harvest Fest” for our community. Children from kindergarten through 8th grade attended with their families and got free pumpkins from our “mini pumpkin patch,” played games, got their faces (and arms!) painted, and decorated pumpkins! Lots of refreshments and desserts were provided through the night! A “harvest themed” photo area with hay bales and corn stalks was setup for families to have their photo taken. And everyone got to take a print with them right away!!! Frames were provided as well – and lots of options for decorating them! AND – Free drawings were held throughout the evening for gift cards to local stores.
Click here to see pictures of the event!
Runners’ World Half-Marathon 2015 – Emmanuel once again “took it to the streets” and blessed our community by providing water and Ultima sports drink to 3000+ runners! Our Praise Team provided praise music as well to encourage them as they ran! Click here to see pictures of the event!
Kid’s Bike Rodeo – August 2015 – Emmanuel partnered with the Bethlehem Health Bureau and the Coalition for Appropriate Transportation (CAT) to host a FREE Kid’s Bike Rodeo with on Saturday August 22nd. Bicyclists from kindergarten through 8th grade learned safety skills and received free helmets and minor tune-ups. Bethlehem “bike-mounted” police officer and EMS joined us to help lead the kids through the course. Crafts, face-painting, and popcorn were all part of the fun! IT WAS A GREAT DAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD!!
Back-to-School Celebration – August 2015 – As summer neared its “unofficial close” and schools prepared to reopen, Emmanuel helped the families of our neighborhood squeeze in one more fun event! We invited our neighbors to come out for an evening of games, crafts, snacks, and ice cream! Kid’s could then exchange the tickets they won at the games for a variety of school supplies. Our Youth Group painted nails for the girls as well. And, in addition to all the fun activities, FREE clothing, shoes, and books were provided for each child!
Block Party – 2015 – May 16th – Emmanuel took its love for God and others outside the church building by hosting a FREE block party for our community!
Runners World Half-Marathon – 2014 – October, 2014 – Emmanuel blessed our community by providing water to 3000+ runners! Our Praise Team provided praise music as well to encourage them as they ran!
Safe Halloween – 2014 – October, 2014 – No TRICKS… only TREATS as Emmanuel provides candy, baked goodies, coffee, and refreshments — PLUS FELLOWSHIP — to our neighbors during “trick or treat” in Bethlehem.
