The ILC Story

Immanuel was begun by a small number of German Lutherans meeting in Alice, Texas homes in 1913. Our first pastor was Rev. A. Kluge. The current church building, pictured above, was built in 1956 under the leadership of Pastor H.C. Gold. Immanuel has always been a "Purpose Driven Church" focused on the five purposes of worship, fellowship with other believers, education, service to others and sharing Christ with the world and our community.

WORSHIP

Our worship service has always been built around the preaching of the Word and the Sacraments (Baptism and Communion). We have a strong music program with a pipe organ, junior and senior choral choirs and a brass choir for special occasions. We have several guest soloists throughout the year, have a new children's bell choir,and hope to begin worship with contemporary music soon. See "Job Opportunities."

Immanuel believes in God's power to heal and to bless us today, just as He did in the early church. In the early 1990's Pastor Fox instituted annual blessings and healing services. Healing services are held on 5th Sundays, after our regular service. Annual blessings include a family blessing on Christmas Eve and a community blessing of teachers in August.  Recently added are blessings for veterans, children starting school, and house blessings.

FELLOWSHIP

Pastor Fox began a monthly fellowship for seniors, which our current pastor, Rev. Kathleen Kasper has continued.

Our men's and women's groups meet monthly for fellowship, and we have recently begun to offer occasional Fellowship Trips to nearby places of interest. We have annual women's retreats and a strong church camp program in the Texas hill country.

EDUCATION

We currently have one adult education class on Sunday morning, Children's Church in the summer during the worship service (during the sermon time), and Confirmation classes for 7th-9th grade students during the school year.

SERVICE

We have many ministries in which people can explore and exercise their spiritual gifts.

From creative writing to music to technology, there is a place at Immanuel to exercise the gifts and talents God gave you!

MISSIONS

Through the Women of the Church organization, our "Quilting Ladies" make and send out quilts around the world through Lutheran World Relief.  Also, health kits and school kits are gathered each year for Lutheran World Relief. We support local relief agencies with our time and money as well. Our weekly radio program, begun in 1976 and funded by memorial funds from Dale Koerth, continues to broadcast our services to the unchurched and homebound.