Who We Are
Emmanuel is a medium sized United Methodist Church in Laurel, Maryland. Rev. Stephanie Vader is our pastor. We do what churches do everywhere -- worship God with all the energy and joy we can muster, seek deeper faith in Jesus Christ, try to serve God in others, welcome those who come through our doors. We do that to the best of our ability, pouring our love of scripture, prayer, the sacraments, the sermon, music and the arts and each other into powerful worship, inviting people of all ages to join us as we study and share and question our faith, giving our resources and talent to the life and work of this place.
One belongs to Emmanuel's community by participation; We invite you to come to a service, try an outreach activity, join an adult education class, join the choir or band, but most of all, we invite you to be open to the wild possibility that God loves you and created you for a purpose and that you might discover that here with us. As you become more familiar with the goings-on around the parish, you will find many ways to become actively involved in the life of this community.
You can begin by exploring this site. Choose a worship service to attend or read a recent sermon. Check out current events on the This Week at Emmanuel link. Find out about the small groups and activities that keep us going. Meet the staff. Check out our most recent Newsletter. See how we are living out our Christian faith through Outreach. If you're having trouble finding what you're looking for, check out the site index.
The purpose of Emmanuel is to know that God is with us, in all ages and stages.
Interested in becoming a member of Emmanuel? Sign up to attend one of our upcoming New Members classes. If you want some information, or would like to talk with somebody about Emmanuel's role in your contiuing faith journey, you can fill out our online guest card, or fill out a yellow guest card found in the pews during worship. Also, attend worship and meet fellow worshippers at Together At Ten, held every Sunday at 10:00 AM in Fellowship Hall between services. You can also take a look around the site at the various groups and ministries our church has to offer, and contact the person listed if you are interested in participating.