newsletter #4 2026

Both the Jews who speak Hebrew and the Iranians who speak Persian speak of peace with their lips. However, the land they step upon is filled with the sounds of artillery shells, screams, and wailing instead of peace. Our daily lives are much the same. We always wish for peace for one another, but illness constantly threatens our well-being, and a silent outcry for survival continues in our workplaces. Among these, the most fundamental anxiety comes from the fear of death—not only my own death but also the fear of the immense loss of losing someone I love.

This news of fear reaches Jesus. It is the news that Lazarus, whom the Lord loves, has fallen ill and is dying. The name of the village where Lazarus lived, “Bethany,” literally means “House of the Poor.” In fact, Bethany was a place where the poor, alienated from the city due to “unclean” diseases such as leprosy, lived together. They lived a life of welcoming the poor and the sick, sharing their lives with them. Jesus deeply loved such people, and He stayed not in the temple filled with religious dignity and hypocrisy, but in the field of sharing where He cared for the sick and served food.

Regarding Lazarus’s illness, Jesus declares, “It is an illness to reveal God’s glory.” Faith is the power to imagine the story beyond death, rather than a reality that ends in death. A person who is certain of God’s steadfast love toward them looks toward the reversal God will accomplish even in the midst of hardship. God works not by removing our hardships, but by showing the power of life breaking through even death and helplessness. Desperate situations and our weaknesses can also become tools for the glory of God.

In her grief, Martha says, “If the Lord had been here.” We often regret various points in our past. We long for a non-existent present, thinking that if the past had been just a little different, our current self and future would have changed. However, Jesus invites us into the future, saying, “Your brother will rise again.” He shows that the resurrection is not an event of the distant future, but a power that awakens my despair today.

In front of the tomb, the Lord who cried out “Lazarus, come out!” commands toward the resurrected Lazarus: “Unbind him, and let him go.” This amazing story of the dead Lazarus coming back to life ends with Jesus’s command, “Unbind him, and let him go.” This is because our practice of freeing those bound by the chains of death is more important than the miracle itself. It is because we have the mission to unbind and let go of those who are still bound in a state where they cannot see, speak, or walk.

A passage from Human Acts by the Nobel Prize-winning author Han Kang comes to mind: “Because I couldn’t give you a funeral after you died, my life became a funeral.” In contrast to our lips proclaiming the resurrection, the world is still deeply shrouded in stories of funerals that could not be held and lives that have become funerals. The present created by the past robs us of hope, saying that things have reached an irreversible point. However, we seek hope in the footsteps of Jesus—in the steps of Him who overcame death and rose again.

Encouraging the person next to us, understanding and forgiving, laughing and grieving together, and not forcing one’s own rightness—all of these are the great works of love that can bring much of humanity out of the tomb today. Please do not forget that it is not the narrow logic of those with power, but our ordinary lives filled with love that become the driving force that sustains this world.

Kun Mi Lee
Pastor in the Korean Fellowship

The documents for the meeting are available on our website under the member pages. If you need help logging in or have forgotten your password, please contact Alice Forss at alice.forss@immanuelskyrkan.se.

In preparation for the annual meeting, there will be a discussion forum on April 19
at 13:15, after the services.

Topics for discussion include:
•The congregation’s finances in 2025 and the 2026 budget
•Proposal for expanded social housing
•Proposal for more small meeting rooms
•Proposal for a printed calendar

Voting cards are collected in Paus, outside Congressen, between 12:15 and 13:10. Please note that the voting card is personal and can only be picked up by yourself. You need to be a member and have a voting card to attend the annual meeting.

For those who have pre-ordered lunch (There will be a vegetarian pasta dish!), it can be collected in Paus after the service. Remember to bring your lunch ticket. We are extending the deadline to purchase a lunch ticket to this Sunday, April 12.

Program

SANCTUARY (upstairs)

• Immanuel Nova and Drottningholms Baroque Ensemble ”Then Svenska Messan” by J H Roman.
• Vox Immanuel  Light in the Night 
• Immanuel Brass “Moments with Shelley – Prometheus”
• Björn Gäfvert, “Nocturnorgel” bedtime music.

WALDENSTRÖMSSALEN

• Immanuel Music School From Renaissance to Today
• Youth Choir “All we want is love”
• Immanuel International Choir, “Harmonies of the World”.

• Immanuel Gospel, “Faith and Joy!”
• Immanuel Big Band with trombonist Vincent Nilsson

HBJ

• Frida Öhrn “From Then to Now”
• Two Me ”I Will Tell You Everything” 
• Viktoria Glans “Soulful Songs” 
• Sebastian Mattebo och David Stener Pingis

More info och times can be found here https://www.immanuel.se/en/2026/kulturnatt-stockholm-in-immanuel-church/ 

Join the project choir for three Wednesday rehearsals, leading up to a performance at the Swedish Fellowship service on May 10.

Rehearsals
Wednesdays at19.00–20.30 in Waldenströmssalen
April 22
April 29
May 6

Worship Service
Sunday, May 10 at 11.00

Genre: Pop/Folk
Choir Director: Åsa Bosdotter
Registration: by April 15

For each theme, there will be a theologian, an expert, and someone who shares thoughts and perspectives based on their own experiences. Each speaker has 11 minutes. This part of the program will be streamed on YouTube. The discussion will be in Swedish.

After the three presentations, there will be an opportunity for conversation and refreshments. The evening will end at 20:30.

Wednesday, April 22 at 19:00 – English translation will be available for this event.

3 x Democracy – Fellow Human Beings

When the wor(l)d shifts

• Theology: Christian Mölk
•  Facts: Erika Ershammar
• Experience: Patrick Amofah

Wednesday, April 29 at 19:00

3 x Democracy – Creation

Environment and sustainability for God’s sake

•  Theology: Petra Carlsson Redell
• Facts: Sten Stenbeck
• Experience: Evelina Rosell

Wednesday, May 6 at 19:00

3 x Democracy – Children & Youth

A child perspective as a compass

• Theology: Carin Dernulf
• Facts: Tomas Aronson Ylipää
• Experience: Sid Kellert

Detailed action plans outlining how the goals will be implemented in practice are being developed by the staff group. The plan has been prepared in several stages to ensure its relevance and broad support. The process is led by the board’s ministry committee, consisting of Johan Sahlén, Lynda Eneh, Ola Billinger, and Zu-Sung Park. The board has also discussed the goals on several occasions and has held multiple conversations with the senior pastor and the operations manager to incorporate their perspectives.

The goals have then been further refined in collaboration with, among others, the conveners of the three Councils, as well as the lead pastors of the three worshipping fellowships—Esther Kazen, Hugh Doyle, and Kun Mi Lee. The goals will be presented to the congregation on
May 31, when there will also be an opportunity for discussion in connection with the services.
A decision on the new plan will be made at the congregational meeting on June 14.

/Ministry committee

To make this possible, we rely on a team of dedicated volunteers, supported by our Food and Events Coordinator and a few hourly staff. Together, you ensure that each gathering, big or small, feels welcoming and well cared for.

We are currently looking for more volunteers. If you would like to be part of this important ministry of hospitality and community, you are warmly invited to express your interest.

There is also an opportunity for hourly employment in the kitchen. This role is flexible; you can accept or decline shifts as they are offered which helps ensure we can support all events where food and refreshments are served. To ensure that we can always manage events where food is served, there is also the opportunity for hourly employment in the kitchen. An hourly position means that you can accept or decline shifts when asked.

For more information, please contact:

Ulrica Carnell, Food service & Event coordinator
ulrica.carnell@immanuelskyrkan.se eller 08-587 503 05.

Åke Larsson, HR
ake.larsson@immanuelskyrkan.se 08-587 50 331

If you are interested in applying for an hourly position please email: ake.larsson@immanuelskyrkan.se senast den 19 april 2026