The Jubilee Program May–August

The Jubilee Program

ROOM FOR HOPE

MAY – AUGUST

50 years of fellowship and vision

Immanuel Church in Stockholm celebrates its 50th birthday 2024! We want to celebrate that by looking back not just at what has shaped us but also looking forward to what lies ahead.

It was when four mission congregations, all formed in the 19th century, joined together in 1962 that plans for a new joint church took off. In 1974, the new Immanuel church was completed

and has been the congregation’s home ever since.

Those who built the church had a strong ‘pioneer spirit’. Old patterns and beloved church buildings were abandoned to begin something new. The aesthetically bold and well-thought-out Immanuel Church would provide space for worship, children’s and youth activities, diaconal work, concerts, conferen-

ces and other events. The congregation dared to invest in the future. We want to continue doing that in our own time.

The theme for our celebration during the anniversary year is ”Room for hope”. We live in a world where there are many challenges. War, climate crisis, mental illness and polarisation. It’s no wonder we feel discouraged at times in the face of all this. But based on Christian hope, Immanuel Church wants to be involved in conveying hope for a more just and loving world.

This year’s celebration began in February with a look back and ends this fall with a look forward. During the year we celebrate with church services, concerts, culture cafes, after work, talks and parties. We raise social issues. We read the Bible and explore the mystery of

faith. We examine the role of the church in the present and future in Stockholm.

Diversity, children and young people, the diaconate, our mission to the community, bring us together to seek a vision of the church of hope for the next 50 years. We want to be a church where all people, regardless of their life situation, can find hope and meaning for their lives and the world that God loves.

You are welcome to participate in our anniversary celebration!

CARIN DERNULF Senior Pastor

Church services

At Immanuel Church, services are celebrated every Sunday at 11 a.m. in three different languages – Swedish, English and Korean. In our calendar at immanuel. se there is more information about our services in each language fellowship. During the period 23(rd) June to 18(th) August, the Swedish services change to summer devotions at 11 a.m.. That is, a simpler type of service followed by church coffee. Services in Korean and English are celebrated as usual during this period.

CONCERTS

•A musical meeting place

For many people, music is a way to experience God’s presence. We want to offer all Stockholmers a quiet and beautiful place where you can experience music and share with others.

CULTURE CAFÉ

•Spiritual and existential questions

Our Culture Cafés are aimed at those who have an interest in society and a curiosity about spiritual and existential questions. The aim is to deepen our understanding of what is happening in society but also to provide inspiration and hope, based on Christian faith. The Café opens at 6 p.m. with a concert. Following that there will be an opportunity to have coffee followed by a discussion in more depth about a particular theme. We finish around 8.30 p.m.

LUNCH TOGETHER

•Our meeting place on Saturdays

On certain Saturdays throughout the year we share a free lunch together. You can see in the program below which days we are open. Lunch is served from 12 noon to 2 p.m.

BREAKFAST TOGETHER

•Everybody is welcome

A very warm welcome to share breakfast together at Immanuel church before the Sunday services at 11 a.m. You can see all dates in the calendar. We offer breakfast from 9 a.m. to 10.30 am. Open to everyone, completely free of charge.

teachers, all with music education qualifications. We offer lessons for all interest, or call the music office on 08-587 503 03 and we can tell

ARE YOU INTERESTED IN EXISTENTIAL QUESTIONS?

Immanuel Church offers conversation groups where we touch on areas within existential health such as: hope, meaning, faith, wonder, wholeness, harmony and inner strength. The course contains 6 mini-lectures and group discussions during the autumn. Do you want to know more?

Send a message to: helena. erkenborn@immanuelskyrkan.se Also keep an eye on our social media where we will post more information before the summer.

DID YOU KNOW THAT

Immanuel Church runs its very own music school! We have 15 teachers, all with music education qualifications. We offer lessons for all ages. Scan the QR code to see our wide selection and register your interest, or call the music office on 08-587 503 03 and we can tell you more.

CALENDAR

May

Fri 3rd 6 p.m.

Spring concert with the piano department at the music school. Meet all the pianists of the music school in a real musical treat of a concert. About 50 students fill the church room with exciting new and familiar old piano music! Coffee after the concert.

Sat 4th 1 p.m.

A children’s party together with members of the music school. Games, cake, trying out musical instruments, organ rehearsal with Björn Gäfvert, church tour. Singing session with Georg Riedel’s children’s songs.

Sun 5th at 11 a.m.

Church Service in English, in Congressen. We celebrate communion together.

Sun 5th at 1 p.m.

Workshop – Climate and environment issues, before the EU parliamentary elections on 9th June

Join us to discuss the questions that should be put to the candidates for the European Parliament at the meeting on May 29th, starting at 6 p.m. For more information about that question time session, see the special box.

Sun 5th 7 p.m.

Concert with the Immanuel Big Band and Viktoria Glans.

Sat 11th 12 noon

Lunch together (12 noon – 2pm)

Sun 12th 9.30 am

Breakfast together (9.30 a.m.–10.30 a.m.)

Welcome to our Culture Café on Wednesday 15(th) May at 6 p.m. with David Thurfjell. This will be an exciting evening about the search for meaning and many people’s experience of meaninglessness. Does that sound depressing? On the contrary! Hear David Thurfjell talk about how nature has become our spiritual gym, how faith can help us weather the storms of life, why we get so affected sometimes, and how we can think about spirituality. David Thurfjell is a professor of religious history who has written popular books about what the forest does to us, how we deal with life’s ups and downs and, not least, our ability to renew the world.

He is the author of well-known books such as ”Det gudlösa folket”, (The godless people), ”Granskogfolk” (Fir tree people) and most recently ”En lockton i ödemarken” (A lock tone in the wilderness).

David Thurfjell has a wide range of interests; he has also studied Shiite Islam and Roma Pentecostals. He is a priest’s child. There are missionaries in his family and he gave the Summer Talk this summer. There is a lot to talk about this evening! You must come and join us!

The conversation partner is Görel Byström Janarv, a theologian and journalist specialising in cultural projects, with a focus on existential questions and Sweden’s new religious map.

The music at the beginning is provided by the young guitar duo Lowe Jonsson and Samuel Edenvik, who play their own music. A warm welcome to a fibre-rich evening!

» On the search for meaning and the experience of meaninglessness «

CULTURE CAFÉ Wed 15(th) May at 6 p.m. with David Thurfjell & the guitar duo, Lowe Jonsson and Samuel Edenvik

Sun 12th 11 a.m.

Church Service in English, in Congressen

Wed 15th 6 p.m.

Culture Café

A concert for about 30 minutes with the guitar duo Lowe Jonsson and Samuel Edenvik followed by coffee and a conversation ”On meaning and meaninglessness”, between David Thurfjell and Görel Byström Janarv

Sun 19th 11 a.m.

Church Service in English, in Congressen. Today we celebrate Pentecost.

Wed 22nd 6 p.m.

Spring concert with the music school

A cavalcade of notes! We meet students of guitar, piano, voice and flute in a thrilling spring concert!

Sun 26th 11 a.m.

Church Service in English, in Congressen.

Sun 26th 4 p.m.

Concert ”Then choose life”

Candela, Peter Eriksson, Per Harling, Anders Andersson, Jan Eirestål, Jonas Gustafsson, Jan Sjönneby, Robin Taubert with band, strings and brass.

Sundays May 19th and 26th

Welcome to the reunion for Candela May 25th-26th!

– We want to meet, sing and have a party, says Peter Eriksson, who for many years was Candela’s choir director. Now he is one of those who invite you to this festive choir event where everyone who was part of what started as the Youth Choir in Immanuel Church and a few years later was named Candela, is invited to a homecoming/reunion weekend. This is especially fitting in the middle of Immanuel Church’s jubilee year!

What does the program look like?

– We rehearse and have a party on Saturday, sing in the service on Sunday at 11 a.m. and have a closing concert at 4 p.m. on Sunday, says Peter. He hopes that many people want to join.

The theme is “Then choose life” from

Candelas’ LP that came out in 1987 where Per Harling was responsible for lyrics and music. During this weekend’s “choir event”, they will also sing excerpts from the musicals that the choir did, including “The House on the Mountain” and “The Long Walk”.

Jan Eirestål, who was a youth pastor at the time, wrote the lyrics for both musicals and he will also participate during the weekend.

Over the years, hundreds of young people have participated in Candela and now it’s time to reunite and sing together again. Now as 60-70-year-olds! There will be many wonderful reunions and a weekend to remember forever.

Don’t forget to tell your friends!

www.immanuel.se/2024/candela

The Big Climate Question Time!

Welcome to Immanuel Church’s question time of candidates for the EU Parliament on climate and the environment. This is a unique opportunity to participate in and influence Europe’s climate policy by listening to and asking questions of the candidates for the EU Parliament.

The evening begins with a concert at 6 p.m., with Natalya Pasichnyk (piano) and Bernt Lysell and Patrik Swedrup (violin), Peter Eriksson (viola) and Erik Wahlgren (cello), playing R. Schumann’s piano quintet in E flat major. A perfect introduction to an evening filled with inspiration and conversation about one of the most pressing issues of our time.

After the concert, there is a coffee break before the hearing starts at 7 p.m. Then Staffan Laestadius from KTH will begin the hearing with a presentation of the state of research on climate change and the need for action. The

politicians will then be questioned by moderators Sten Stenbeck and Pia Björstrand, with ongoing comments from an expert panel consisting of, among others, Staffan Laestadius and Mattias Goldmann. Candidates from eight political parties will participate in the hearing and their names will be available on KlimatSverige’s website and in various social media.

The organisers, Immanuel Church in collaboration with organisations such as the Naturskyddsföreningen in Stockholm’s region and Klimataktion, are striving to make the event accessible to a wider audience by filming the hearing and broadcasting it on the co-organizers’ various YouTube channels. This is your chance to be involved and make a difference for the future of our planet. Come and participate in this important discussion about the climate and the environment!

Moderator Sten Stenbeck Moderator Pia Björstrand Bernt Lysell violin

Expert Mattias Goldmann Expert Staffan Laestadius Erik Wahlgren cello

Patrik Swedrup violin

Natalya Pasichnyk piano

Peter Eriksson viola

Tues 28th 6 p.m.

String evening with the music school. Here we meet the string family, violin, viola players and cellists in an intimate musical session. This marks the end of term and we anticipate a really beautiful time.

Wed 29th 6 p.m.

Culture café about Europe’s environmental and climate policy before the election on 9th June.

The evening begins with a 30-minute concert: R. Schumann’s Piano Quintet in E flat major. Natalya Pasichnyk, piano, Bernt Lysell and Patrik Swedrup, violin, Peter Eriksson, viola Erik Wahlgren, cello. For more info, see separate box!

Thurs 30th 6 p.m.

Song evening. Love, passion and drama! The music school’s singing students take you into the enchanted world of musicals and opera with famous duets.

June

Sun 2nd at 11 a.m.

Church Service in English, in Congressen. We celebrate communion together.

Thurs 6th 6 p.m.

National Day concert with Immanuel Nova under the direction of Rebecka Gustafsson, the Youth Choir under the direction of Therése Börjesson and others.

Sat 8th 12 noon

Lunch together (12 noon – 2pm)

Sun 9th 9.30 a.m.

Breakfast together (9.30 a.m.–10.30 a.m.)

BOOK CIRCLE We meet three times, starting on August 20(th), to discuss a highly topical book that provides an essential foundation for understanding what is happening now in Israel/Palestine. The theme of Peter Halldorf’s new book is how biblical Israel, the modern state of Israel and what the New Testament calls ”God’s Israel”, relate to each other. It takes the form of a travel diary, written during the author’s stays in Israel and Palestine in connection with the author’s study of the biblical prophets.

BOOK CIRCLE with Claes-Göran Ydrefors och Göran Gunner. We are reading Peter Halldorf’s new book “God’s Israel”

The reading of the Hebrew prophets in this book informs our attempt to understand the increasingly escalating conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. The way in which many in Christendom have categorically taken a stand for one or the other people has created such strong barriers that it has become difficult to have open and respectful conversations. What ways and approaches can contribute today to understanding and reconciliation? That question forms the leitmotif of the book. The first session in the series is on 20th August, with the second and third meetings on 3(rd) and 17(th) of September.

For questions and booking a seat;

cg.ydrefors@hotmail.com.

Maximum 10 seats. First come, first served.

Sun 9th 11 a.m.

There is NO service in English this Sunday

Sun 16th 11 a.m.

Church Service in English, in Congressen.

Sun 23rd 11 a.m.

Church Service in English, in Congressen.

Sun 30th 11 a.m.

Church Service in English, in Congressen.

July

Sun 4th 11 a.m.

Church Service in English, in Congressen. We celebrate communion together

Sun 11th 11 a.m.

Church Service in English, in Congressen.

Sun 18th 11 a.m.

Church Service in English, in Congressen.

Sun 25th 11 a.m.

Church Service in English, in Congressen.

August

Sun 4th 11 a.m.

Church Service in English, in Congressen. We celebrate communion together

Sun 11th 11 a.m.

Church Service in English, in Congressen.

Sun 18th 11 a.m.

Church Service in English, in Congressen.

Tues 20th 6 p.m.

Book circle start ”God’s Israel – in the footsteps of the prophets through disputed land” by Peter Halldorf. Interview leaders Claes-Göran Ydrefors and Göran Gunner. For more info see box.

Sun 25th 11 a.m.

Church Service in English, in Congressen.

Wed 28th 6 p.m.

Culture cafe ”Mothers and Fathers” begins with a short concert with Sebastian Mattebo, saxophone. After a coffee, there will be a conversation between Alexandra Pascalidou and Görel Byström Janarv. More info. next page.

Sat 31st 11 a.m.

Brunch for women You are warmly invited to a good brunch at the end of summer! An opportunity to meet both old and new friends. We listen to a seminar that touches us all about life and get a chance to reflect and let ourselves be inspired. More info to come. Participants: Charlotte Höglund and Carin Dernulf.

CARPENTRY COURSES

In collaboration with Bilda, we are offering carpentry courses. In carpentry you create something you yourself want –anything from chairs to block games – while you get help from our professional course leaders. You also get to learn all about how to use the different tools you need to work with wood. Details and booking: www.immanuel.se/ musik-kultur/snickeri

TEENAGERS’ EVENING for ages 13 and up. We meet every Friday from 6.30 p.m–10 p.m. We start the evening with coffee followed by activities and a devotional service. FREDA seeks to be a safe place in the middle of town where you as a teenager can meet new friends, have fun, hang out and have the opportunity to talk about life and faith. More info and contact; ellen.agren@ immanuelskyrkan.se

CULTURE CAFE Wed 28(th) August at 6 p.m. with Alexandra Pascalidou and Sebastian Mattebo

Welcome to a Culture Café with Alexandra Pascalidou about Mothers & Fathers! It begins with a half-hour concert by saxophonist Sebastian Mattebo.

In her book “Mammorna” (Mothers) Alexandra has met 20 mothers living in Sweden living in the poorest and most vulnerable areas, the so-called no-go-zones. From Rosengård to Rinkeby, from Kronogården to Kronoparken, from Hammarkullen to Gottsunda. Mothers who rarely get to speak. Who are woken up in the middle of the night by police who tell them that their child has been murdered. Mothers who have been forced to experience the worst a mother can experience.

Alexandra has a well-

known profile in Sweden with a long track record as presenter, lecturer and a multiple award-winning human rights fighter. She has recently been elected chairman of UN Women Sweden.

In 2021 came the dramatisation of the book “Mothers”, a performance for the National Theatre and City Theatre based on her acclaimed book “Mothers”.

A year ago, the book “Var är papporna?” (Where are the Fathers?)came out, in which she interviews a series of fathers about fatherhood, masculinity and much more. “A stroke of genius to give fathers a voice; the result is hair-raising, humorous, wise and at times terrible,” wrote a reviewer in SvD. Don’t miss this Culture Café

where Alexandra Pascalidou meets Görel Byström Janarv, theologian and journalist in a conversation about mothers & fathers.

Come along and take part in the concert, the conversations, the coffee and the fellowship!

Umeå-born jazz saxophonist Sebastian Mattebo is a versatile composer and improviser. For his music, he has received scholarships from both the Norwegian Artists’ Board and the Swedish Royal Academy of Music, and his saxophone playing has taken him all the way to Cape Town in the south and Longyearbyen in the north. Mattebo writes for and plays with a number of different ensembles. This time he comes to Immanuel Church with his quartet.

I want to be a volunteer – how does that work?

Welcome to Immanuel Church – whoever you are

lmmanuel church is a Christian community for people from all over the world. We are a congregation that invites you to worship in several languages and in many forms and traditions.

We value diversity and want our congregation to be characterised by warmth, love and respect. We strive for an environment where children and young people develop, where people receive support, where faith is allowed to grow. Everyone should be able to feel at home here.

This is where I belong - whoever I am, wherever I come from. In a community without borders, among believers from all over the world, in a community that matters, in a place where my faith can grow.

It’s super easy, you just have to be here and you’re part of Immanuel Church. And if you want to get involved in anything, you just need to scan the code below and email or call Åke Larsson, our HR manager and volunteer coordinator – then you can tell us how much you want to get involved. It can be anything from jumping in once a year when there is a lack of people, to you wanting to join a group regularly. You decide (and it is possible to change).

Welcome to our community!

We are included in the Churches at Pride

During week 31, Stockholm Pride takes place, where you meet employees and others from our church in church services and gatherings, in the Church’s tent in Pride Park and together with many others, in the churches at Pride’s section in the parade.

We want everyone who comes to Immanuel Church to feel welcome. If you have experience that the congregation does not reflect what we stand for, we would like to know!

www.immanuel.se/en/about-the-church/including

Contact and practical information

CONTACT

Every day between 10am and 7pm there is a deacon or pastor on standby. You can call 08-587 503 65 to book an appointment for a call and, in the event of an emergency, get help in getting the necessary help. If you don’t get an answer immediately, try again later. You can find contact information for Immanuel Church’s employees and the board here: immanuel.se/kontakt/

GIVE WHAT YOU HAVE

The congregation’s activities are driven by voluntary gifts and commitment. We all have different circumstances, but you can make a difference in your own way. Perhaps you can give your time, your commitment or your money – everything is important and strengthens the congregation!

DO YOU WANT TO GET INVOLVED?

Do you like fixing coffee, being a conversation leader, welcoming visitors to church or organising fun games for children and young people? Contact someone in the staff and we will help you find your place!

DO YOU WANT TO SUPPORT IMMANUEL CHURCH FINANCIALLY?

Your money can, for example, pay for free lunch for those in need, camp fees for young people who otherwise couldn’t go, and much, much more!

You can give to the church by Swish on this number 123 – 41 83 224

You can donate your church tax to the church here: equmeniakyrkan.se/ge-en-gava/kyrkoavgiften/

CONTACT DETAILS IMMANUEL CHURCH

Kungstensgatan 17, Stockholm, T-bana Rådmansgatan

www.immanuel.se

08-587 503 00

info@immanuelskyrkan.se

@immanuelskyrkan

@immanuelskyrkan stockholm

www.youtube.com/immanuelstockholm

IS THIS CONTEXT NEW TO YOU?

It can be difficult to know where or who to turn to.

Do you want us to contact you? Scan the Qr code below and fill in your details and we’ll be in touch. Absolutely unconditional, of course. Welcome