Immanuel House

November 2, 2011

Dear Pastors, Clerks, Mission Chairs, Deacons, Presbyterian Women and all other compassionate Presbyterians:

We are writing to you as the newly formed “Team Immanuel House,” to inform you of our formation as a team and how your church can be involved in the exciting process of our Presbytery purchasing a Refugee Transition House.

You may or may not know that one of the churches in our Presbytery, Immanuel, closed June 12, 2011. This congregation discerned God’s leading to designate the “legacy fund” of $200,000 toward the purchase of a house for refugee ministry, to be called the Immanuel House. This was one of those powerful God-moments. Up to that point, Sunnyvale Presbyterian Church had supported rent of the refugee transition house for several years from a special fund set aside for this purpose; that fund was exhausted in June 2011. So the need is great to purchase a house, and no longer be dependent on the ongoing need to raise rent money.

We invite your participation in this process. We are currently raising funds to add to the $200,000 toward this purchase. We also seek to raise awareness and participation in this ministry that has blessed so many. Our own Presbytery Executive, Rev. Joey Lee, came from China with his family as refugees, and has spoken often in our midst about the Presbyterian Church in Colorado that sponsored his family in coming to the U.S.

We would like to make a presentation to your church, inviting participation in the efforts to raise the remaining funds needed to purchase this Refugee Transition House. We have several who can come to your church to present a DVD and make a short presentation to your Session, Missions Committee, or entire congregation (at either a fellowship event or as part of your weekly worship service). One of us from the team will be contacting your church, to see if there is interest in considering this request and/or scheduling a visit. Our team consists of the Refugee Advocates on the staff of our Presbytery and former Immanuel Presbyterian Church members and interim pastor. We invite you to be looking in the Presbytery’s newsletter, “The Monarch Messenger,” for updates of our progress.

To contact Team Immanuel House:

Stephanie Lutz Allen - lutzallen@gmail.com
Melissa Kresa: kreisa@yahoo.com

Thank you for considering this request.

Team Immanuel House,

Melissa Kreisa, Elsa Amboy, Coleen Hausler, Jo & Gordy Apel, Donna Perry, Terri & Jerry Dias, and John & Stephanie Lutz Allen.