A special celebratory church service was held Sunday morning at Immanuel Lutheran Church, Jamestown. The congregation joined with sister churches Immanuel Lutheran, Pleasant Grove, and Trinity Lutheran, Clarks Fork, in celebration of the 25th anniversary of the reopening of the Jamestown church.
The 10:30 a.m. worship service was led by Pastor Luther Herman, with prelude and hymn accompanyment by his wife Monica on the keyboard. Dr. Peter Kurowski, pastor of St. Paul's Lutheran, California, served as guest speaker.
The hymns for the day leaned heavily towards those including at least one verse with the church's name - Immanuel or Emmanuel, which means "God With Us" including "Oh, Come, Oh Come, Emmanuel," and one which the first verse sang ended with "Oh, come to us, Abide with us, our Lord Immanuel."
After opening with "Three cheers for 25 years," Pastor Kurowski based his message on Matt. 1:23, speaking of the importance of the use of "Immanuel" translated as "God With Us."
"This was the fulfillment of a spectacular promise made 600 years before," he said. The actual name is used only four times in the Bible, three times in Isaiah, pointing to Christ, and once in Matthew, announcing the fulfillment.
He pointed out that Immanuel, however spelled, is the third most common name of Lutheran churches, with only Trinity and St. Paul's more frequently found. Speaking of the earthly life of Jesus, Kurowski discussed the prophecies of the birth, the angel appearing to Mary, and then Joseph, His baptism by John, the three years of teaching, and the death on the cross, at which time the Temple curtain split. President Thomas Jefferson thought the Sermon on the Mount was so important that he had it printed, at government expense, to get the message out to the people of what he considered the foundation of freedom in the United States.
The service ended with the congregation singing "Our God, our Help in ages past, Our Hope for years to come, Be Thou our Guard while troubles last, And our eternal Home!"
The service, which was attended by about 40 people, was followed by a carry-in meal. Normal attendance is a dozen or less.
The Jamestown church dates from 1856 and closed in 1976. In 1989, a Tri-Parish was formed and in 1991, the reformed congregation rejoined the Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod. Pastor Herman, who resides in Boonville, has served the three churches for 15 years. It is a 15 minute drive between each of the three congregations. Services are Jamestown, 8 a.m.; Pleasant Grove, 9:30 a.m.; and Clarks Fork, 11 a.m.