Our Mission
By sharing God's love as revealed in Jesus Christ, we are freed to live faithfully, witness boldly and serve joyfully.
Emmanuel Lutheran Episcopal Church is a Federated - Interdenominational Church, fully Lutheran and fully Episcopal, as approved by the Episcopal Diocese of Maine in the Episcopal Church of the USA and the New England Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America in 2018.
Sunday Worship at Emmanuel begins at 9:00 am and is available in-person at 209 Eastern Avenue (Rt. 17), Augusta, Maine 04330. Online options include FaceBook Live on Emmanuel's FB page or Livestream or recorded on Youtube. See our “Worship” tab for information about special services offered at Emmanuel throughout the church year.
Doing God's work outside the walls of the church to help those in need in the Greater Augusta community is important to Emmanuel. A variety of opportunities to serve within the church are also available. Check out our "Serve" tab for more information.
Meet Emmanuel’s staff and leaders:
The Rev. Suzanne Colburn, Priest in Charge
The Rev. Suzanne Colburn, an ordained Episcopal Priest since 1998, is the current part-time Priest-in-Charge at Emmanuel Lutheran Episcopal Church in the City of Augusta. Suzanne came to Emmanuel in 2017 after working in The Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts for most of her career. Suzanne continues to enjoy the creative and academic challenges of serving in a Federated Lutheran-Episcopal parish. Suzanne began her combined call of street and parish ministry in Boston where her love of Bach Cantatas and liturgical music began. When not at Emmanuel, Suzanne can be found heading to the airport for an adventure with friends or family.
Al Cook, Sexton
Al Cook has been the custodian at Emmanuel since 2018 and is most grateful for the job and the incredible kindness of everyone at Emmanuel and its Bridging the Gap outreach ministries. He and his wife Donna are also parishioners at Emmanuel.
Edie Emerson, Pianist
Edie Emerson joined Emmanual as a regular pianist in 2015 and has enjoyed using her talents for service music, special music, accompanying instrumentalists and vocalists, and choral selections. Although classically trained, she takes great pleasure in multiple genres of music, including, jazz, pop, and soul. Her practical experience in playing at church began at the age of twelve when she played hymns weekly for a local congregation in Connecticut. Ultimately, her mission and calling at Emmanual has been to use music to connect us to God through the working of the Holy Spirit.
Melinda Kimball, Choir Director
Melinda Kimball graduated from the University of NH with a degree in music education and has worked for twenty-seven years as a music teacher in NH and ME. She has taught both instrumental and choral music to students of all ages and has been teaching 5th and 6th grade band in Augusta for the past eight years. She has been a choir director in Kittery and Hallowell, Me and is currently the choir director at Emmanuel Lutheran Episcopal Church. Melinda is extremely passionate about music and thoroughly enjoys working with the amazing choir members at Emmanuel. She welcomes anyone interested to come join and give it a try! When she’s not teaching or directing musical ensembles she enjoys spending time at home puttering on projects, out in nature, hanging out with her wife (or partner if you think that’s too bold) Lisa and their wonderful pets.
Betty Balderston, President
Betty Balderston currently serves as the President of Emmanuel’s Leadership Team. In that role, she provides leadership and support for a variety of church administration issues. Betty is a graduate of the Lutheran School of Lay Ministry and serves as a Worship Leader and is involved in many aspects of the life of the church. In her personal time, Betty and her husband Lloyd enjoy camping, hiking and kayaking.
Liz Burgess, Vice President
Liz Burgess, Emmanuel Lutheran Episcopal member since our federation.
She serves on the Leadership Team as Vice President and on Finance, Executive and Communication committee. Liz serves on the Women of the ELCA Executive Board (2016 to present. )
Bobbi-Jo Burdin, Treasurer and Outreach
She is serving as the Treasurer and Outreach Committee chair on Emmanuel's Leadership Team.
Heidi Chadbourne, Property
Heidi Chadbourne has attended Emmanuel for seven years. She serves on the Property Committee, recycling and Farmington Elementary School outreach. Heidi works locally for the Maine Department of Agriculture.
Ave Chuprevich, Education and Formation
She is the chairperson for education and has enjoyed working with the committee on several Zoom bible study offerings over the past two years. She was also a volunteer at Bridging the Gap and feels passionate about the work being done there. Service to others is at the core of our mission here at Emmanuel. On a personal note she enjoys walking, reading, kayaking and spending time with her grandchildren.
Connie McDonald, Finance
Connie was a life-long Episcopalian, but with the merging of the two churches, she is so pleased to be fully Episocpal and fully Lutheran. We, together with the Holy Spirit, have created a friendly, caring and vibrant new church. she serves on the leadership Team and is the Chair of the Finance Committee.
Robert Wing, Acolyte Director
Robert's current duties at Emmanuel are director of acolytes, on the worship committee, on the leadership committee, and recently filling in as a worship assistant. He is also a greeter of new people.
