Congregation and friends celebrate Emmanuel’s 135th Anniversary
Emmanuel’s Congregation and Friends exceeded the Campaign Goal to reach “125 Reasons Why We Love, Like, and Enjoy Emmanuel.” We received 135 Reasons! This is a testament from the Congregation about Emmanuel’s spirit– a spirit that should be carried on for future generations. Many of the reasons pay tribute to the past, supply the flavor of Emmanuel right now, and point us to the future.
With inclusiveness in mind, the Communications Committee decided to anonymously feature the first 125 Reasons and to include the subsequent 10 Reasons in this 125th Anniversary Celebration. We felt that each submitted reason was original, creative, special, and reflective of Emmanuel. We hope that the spirit of Emmanuel is carried on for future generations!
135 Reasons We Love, Like, and Enjoy Emmanuel
1. Emmanuel does a lot of work to support food banks in the community.
2. Emmanuel welcomes people from all backgrounds into its doors.
3. I love the way the sanctuary is decorated during various holiday seasons (Christmas/Easter).
4. The people. We are a warm, loving, supportive group.
5. How much I’ve learned (discussion group).
6. Emmanuel’s astonishing beauty outside and inside.
7. Being part of a church that helps so many causes.
8. The chance to feel part of the church, and use some of my talents.
9. Emmanuel has my heart.
10. Emmanuel women shine in raising money; the men cook great dinners. A reversal of typical gender roles.
11. Potlucks and picnics offer a wide variety of delicious + nutritious food.
12. The preacher, Rev. Dr. Ken Gill, tells great stories drawn from wisdom all around the globe.
13. Senior worker-bee members from 70 to 90 buzzing around making all kinds of sweet honey.
14. The Dungeon— seriously, ask someone. Better yet, visit!.
15. Young and old having fun and learning to love each other more.
16. A “wild west” sound and sight system keeping an overstimulated crew trying and learning.
17. An Interim Governance Arrangement that asks a lot delivers a lot, and leaves plenty of room for fun and surprises.
18. Pastor Judy with a special heart for those of us struggling to keep going strong.
19. A whirlwind Marilyn who is off the charts in creating memorable, delightful, and impactful world-class events on a shoestring.
20. Watching and loving the children as they go about being kids, growing up, and giving back so much more than we can give them.
21. A grounded, dedicated, focused Moderator who shepherds us through “thick and thin”.
22. A magical Peace Lounge once adorned with portraits of recent-day saints now moving into glory with new, gentle colors and forms that can take us into the future.
23. Emmanuel – God with us on Hope Street – it seems so right.
24. Beautiful church, beautiful people.
25. Emmanuel members are like family.
26. Our spiritual growth is inseparable from our life at Emmanuel.
27. Longtime friends who have moved away but were once members of EBC.
28. Our first introduction to New Jersey from Cleveland was a recommendation that we find Emmanuel Baptist Church in Ridgewood. That was 43 years ago.
29. Membership at Emmanuel and faith journey are inseparable.
30. Friendships with former members continue to enrich our lives.
31. like Pastor Gill and the people.
32. Good food.
33. Welcoming and inclusive.
34. I like to just sit and look at the stained glass windows.
35. good mix of music- hymns and more modern.
36. Love given by Church members.
37. Mission work (especially fighting hunger).
38. Openness to all who enter.
39. Open to there being many paths to God.
40. That all brings something special to the table of life.
41. Spiritually moving, open-minded, worship style and moments of silence.
42. Mission opportunities and commitment.
43. Plans to invite others to discover God’s love.
44. Efforts to expand outreach to others and improve communication.
45. Sense of community and support for each other.
46. Meaningful, relevant preaching.
47. Friendly/sincere/authentic people.
48. Beautiful sanctuary (especially the large stained-glass windows and the woodwork).
49. “Dungeon” (room underneath the Sanctuary) personalized for the church youth.
50. Rich historical heritage yet has a modern outlook.
51. Good worship music.
52. Modern, high-quality sound system for the Sanctuary.
53. ADA-compliant (ramps and elevator).
54. Hearing assistance available for the Sunday service.
55. Fun events: Pasta dinners, Oktoberfest, Italian Festival.
56. Weekly coffee hour.
57. Participation in meaningful local events (pet blessing, CROP walk, etc).
58. Membership in meaningful organizations.
59. Church services are streamed – available for real-time participation and/or for review at a later time.
60. Helpful and efficient office staff.
61. Ample parking.
62. I love Emmanuel because we have a new exciting tradition of blessing the animals and those adopting new ones from Ridgewood Veterinary Hospital.
63. I love Emmanuel because we can have a first-class Oktoberfest meal even without beer, cooked by men, and served raise funds for the the really good Shepherd Mission in Paterson.
64. I love Emmanuel because our Women of Emmanuel and Men’s Fellowship serve a low-cost Pasta Dinner once a month for anyone in the community with no strings attached.
65. I love Emmanuel because we support the Martin Luther King Celebration each year with our brothers and sisters in Ridgewood including our sister church, Mt. Bethel Baptist Church.
66. I love Emmanuel because Connie, the wife of our outstanding Pastor, designed and helped the children paint a mural on a whole long wall by the elevator that says “Emmanuel – God With Us” and “Celebrating 125 Years” and is decorated with bright colored flowers.
67. I love Emmanuel because when the spirit moves him, Artistic and Musical Director, John Giresi can play great, rip-roaring gospel music on the piano with authentic soul!.
68. I love Emmanuel because Suanne Aitchison reads Sacred Space every morning for her prayers and loves it.
69. I love Emmanuel because of the wonderful Davila Family with Annie, Napoleon, Andres, David, and Christopher— and that they share all their friends and relatives with us!.
70. I love the fact that I have friends who are willing to drive me back and forth from church now that I don’t drive.
71. I enjoy Pastor Gill’s sermons.
72. I enjoy singing the traditional hymns that have so much meaning for me.
73. I love our special music segments.
74. I enjoy our coffee hours after church.
75. I’ve been attending Emmanuel for 55 years now and from day one the people of this church have been the most friendly and welcoming I have ever experienced!.
76. Multiply Ways of Sharing Information, including E-Happenings and Expectations.
77. Margarite’s famous brownies.
78. Renovated Peace Lounge.
79. Marek – our Sexton – good guy.
80. New hallway mural.
81. New website – coming soon to a computer near you!.
82. Having attended Baptist Churches on the East and West Coasts and in Michigan and Ohio, Jo Ann and I revel in our experiences at Emmanuel during the 1978-1983 time frame. We count those days and the friends we developed as highlights of our lives.
83. We regard Bill Clark who first greeted us as we entered the Ridgewood doors as the epitome of how to greet and welcome visitors to a new beginning. It was a second and third visit, and beyond, that cemented our five years at EBC and the continuation of the friendships we developed.
84. Baptists are a caring group, no better exemplified than at Emmanuel. What Jo Ann learned at the Church in leading the 1980 EMBARC (Emmanuel Beautification and Restoration Committee) renovation helped EBC and her pedigree to be used in Cleveland.
85. And, as a bonus when we moved to Cleveland, we learned that Pastor Gil Hellwig was ministering in our Shaker Heights area, a plus to us as we moved to different climes.
86. The warmth we felt at Emmanuel has lasted through the years, anchored by the pleasant and follow-up greetings of Bill Clark. He made greeting a personal attribute that helped us understand that people in different ways can make a congregation thrive.
87. Bill’s greeting, attributable to the EBC spirit, lives to this day with us.
88. You can be creative.
89. Opportunities for study.
90. Opportunities for service to the wider community.
91. Meaningful sermons.
92. Worship.
93. Our name: “Emmanuel”.
94. Our caring congregation.
95. Our social justice efforts–past and present.
96. Our welcoming spirit.
97. Our openness to others, their traditions, and their ideas.
98. Its members, are a collection of people from many different backgrounds and circumstances who, for the most part, have managed to blend into a vibrant, caring fellowship.
99. It’s history, e.g. one of the earliest churches to host an AA meeting; a leader in accepting and welcoming Nisei into membership and choir despite the angry member (allegedly, the biggest contributor) who rejected this person who had been released from a detention camp in the West; took a leadership role in the community relating to and supporting “PWA” (“Persons With AIDS) by creating a monthly dinner for PWAs and their “significant others;” creating outreach to Japanese wives in North Jersey and expanding to include South Korean, etc.
100. Maintaining a strong music program.
101. Self-consciously endeavoring to be what its name is: “Emmanuel” (“God-with-us”).
102. Readily making the building available to community groups, e.g. Scouts, AA, Homestead School, etc.
103. I always enjoy visiting Emmanuel. We go back a long way, since 1966. That tells you something!.
104. People are friendly, no matter what, considering I moved away from Ridgewood in 2002!.
105. They are kind and sympathetic when you have family issues. People even wrote to me when my husband passed away, though they had maybe only met him once, on one of our visits “home”.
106. It is a beautiful church and an excellent example of Gothic architecture.
107. I love that the chapel near the sanctuary is now open for meditation. It’s a great place to go if you need a quiet space to spiritually reflect.
108. I love that we have a prayer list so we can pray for those going through a variety of issues, either in the congregation or on a larger scale locally or globally.
109. I like the beautiful sounding and looking organ in the sanctuary.
110. I like that we provide worship services online to those who cannot attend in person.
111. I like that folks can call in by phone to listen to the service if they cannot get to church.
112. Our annual art show, is organized by our force-of-nature, Marilyn Clark.
113. The Ladies of the Fair Lawn Bridge Club love your Oktoberfest and Italian dinners. We also feel your congregation is very friendly and welcoming.
114. We are a congregation that has the courage to face our need to change and to try to do something about it.
115. Emmanuel’s history of activism.
116. The amazing sound of the organ.
117. Light streaming through the stained glass.
118. Memories of Christmas and Easter music performances.
119. The care and love from friends who feel like family.
120. candlelight finishing the Christmas Eve service.
121. One reason I love Emmanuel: it has a great church staff.
122. I love Ethel’s piano in the sanctuary.
123. I love that the shut-in phone line is live.
124. I love Holmstead School is part of our community.
125. I love that I was Baptized outside at the Harriman Church picnic.
126. I love our Church at the Corner of Hope Street.
127. Emmanuel has a beautiful little Chapel where one can be alone to meditate and pray.
128. In times of need, Emmanuel is a refuge where our Emmanuel extended family reaches out with love and prayer.
129. Missions near and far are a priority.
130. Love the warm greetings each week.
131. Love the intimate atmosphere where everyone knows each other.
132. Feel the connection to a rich history when sitting in the sanctuary.
133. Emmanuel is family – my own family is the best and right after that comes my Emmanuel family!.
134. Over the years Emmanuel has helped many of my neighbors and friends when they had no place to go. I am very thankful for this “no questions asked” outreach.
135. I feel at peace and close to God when at an Emmanuel worship service.