Emmauel welcomes everyone to participate in parish life. Our faith extends beyond Sunday worship into fellowship, deep friendships, and meaningful support of one another. Whether you are seeking a place to connect, looking to deepen your spiritual journey, or wanting to put your faith into action, there is a place for you here.

New groups and new opportunities are created on a regular basis. If you don’t see something that appeals to you below, please let the Clergy or Vestry know!

Christian Formation: Christian Formation is a lifelong journey. At Emmanuel, we seek to grow in understanding the basis of our faith as individuals and as an Episcopal community. Past programs have included the development of Celtic Christianity and the evolution of Christian worship through the ages. We have gathered to read aloud the Gospel of Mark and explore how we live our faith at work. We have met to discuss how better to live our faith in responding to the problem of poverty on both a local and national level. We are inaugurating a film series to explore aspects of Christian life.

Emmanuel also has regular Christian formation activities based on specific interests:

• Centering Prayer: Each week the church is open for contemplative prayer to foster deep, silent communion with God.

• Bible Study: A group meets weekly to study one of the books of the Bible in greater depth.

In all these programs we seek to provide an environment for personal growth in our faith journeys.

Parish Social dinner/meals: We occasionally gather for family friendly meals to celebrate holidays, including a Valentine’s day movie and lasagna feast. We host dinners to welcome newcomers, and, we naturally have a pancake supper every year on Shrove Tuesday.

Emmanuel offers many other opportunities to participate, including acolytes, lectors, usher, eucharist ministers and visitors, flower guild, altar guild, choir, pastoral care, building and grounds, kitchen krew and knitting circle. If you are interested in any of these activities, please contact Jeff in the office.

Emmanuel hosts the home office of the Retreat House, a ministry begun by the Episcopal Diocese of Easton in 2014 to share God’s abundant love in the world by holding a sacred, compassionate and inclusive space. In 2022, it began operating as an independent non-profit organization and offers spiritual direction, retreats at center in Galena, and community circles locally and online.