Bethesda News March 2018

Transcription

1 ! Bethesda News March 2018 Bethesda Lutheran Church: a congregation of S.W.I.M South West Iowa Ministries, Western Iowa Synod, ELCA th St., Clarinda, IA :00 a.m. Sunday 10:00 a.m. Fellowship 10:00 a.m. Marietta Nelson Bittle ~ Phone: swiministries@gmail.com Ben McIntire ! From Pastor Marietta. This may sound a little weird, especially to cradle Lutherans, but confirmation is endlessly fascinating to me. Because when you say confirmation in a group of cradle Lutherans, you get a range of reactions. Some folks commence eye-rolling and remembering confirmation as something they had to do; and then some folks who tell stories of passionate teachers who brought alive for them the fascinating stories of the Bible and who instilled in them the Lutheran understanding of grace. Many times the more enthusiastic fans of confirmation recite these beautiful words from the Small Catechism Luther s explanation of the Third Article of the Apostle s Creed: I believe that I cannot by my own understanding of effort believe in Jesus Christ my Lord, or come to him. But, the Holy Spirit has called me through the Gospel, enlightened me with his gifts and sanctified and kept me in true faith. Those beautiful words are a powerful expression of the work of the Holy Spirit in us. But back to confirmation fascination. It fascinates me because each week I get to talk faith with teen-agers. Some argue that teenage brains aren t equipped to deal with topics that may require abstract thinking. It s true that scientific research tells us that until they are in their late teen years, many teen brains still think very concretely. As a mom of three older children, know this to be true, but I also know how formative confirmation can be to a developing brain. The sweet spot in this, I believe, is dwelling together in questions. I teach confirmation at Strand to four young people. We ve been working through the 10 Commandments and Bible stories. We re working toward the Apostle s Creed, the Lord s Prayer and Lutheran theology. This past Sunday, though, we took time for questions. We all wrote questions on notecards, put them in a hat and then took turns pulling them out. The person who pulled the question had to attempt an answer, and then the rest of us would chime to wrestle with it together. These were not small questions. Why are we here? Why does God allow evil to happen in the world? Why did Sabbath change from Saturday to Sunday? Should I believe everything right now, or does it take time? It was a wonderful hour of sharing and caring, honoring our questions and respecting answers. It ended with me telling the kids something that my first Lutheran pastor said to me 25 years ago: I am not going to ask you when you come to church here to check your brains at the door. The Lutheran church is a place to wonder together, to question, to wrestle, so bring your brains. I asked the kids to remember that someday when they go off into the world and are looking for a faith community. If you re asked to check your brain at the door, be careful. I think this is good advice for adults, too. Bring your brains to church, Bible study, fellowship, coffee duty, Sunday School, choir, circle, bell practice - whatever your role(s) might be. Let s wrestle with questions together, learn to listen to each other and come to understanding as a community. It feels like the world needs more of that right now. Peace Marietta

2 The March Lydia Circle will meet on Thursday, March 22nd at 2:30 p.m. with Miriam Hanson as hostess. Pastor Marietta will lead the Bible Study. A Sunday Brunch will be held at Bethesda on March 11th following the morning worship. The committee serving the brunch are Joni Sunderman, Debbie Wagoner, Diane Campbell, Sallie Lund and Nikki Carlson. Following the brunch Elaine Armstrong and Norma Thomsen will tell us about their recent trip to Paris. Everyone is invited to attend this special event. Thank You On behalf of Southwest Iowa Families Positive Family program and the families we serve, thank you for your generous support this holiday season. Because of your contribution, the Christmas Box Project for 2017 was a complete success! By participating in this project, we helped 155 children celebrate Christmas. These children and families are served in some way by our agency. The children served in our project reside in Page, Fremont, or Montgomery County. Many of our families faced hardships this season and as we matched families with donors, we tried to focus on the children to help bring them a bright and happy Christmas. Again, we thank you for your generosity and look forward to working with you again next year. Sincerely, Southwest Iowa Families Clarinda, IA. Thank You We are so grateful for your support of LSI in Because of your generosity hundreds of Iowa families had a happier holiday season and we are creating brighter futures. Thank you for being a shining light in your community! From our LSI family to yours, have a blessed new year! Lutheran Services in Iowa Waverly, Iowa February 1, 2018 To all at Bethesda Mike and I thank you for your love and support during our time together. You enriched our lives with your friendship from and fellowship in God. Thank you for the medallion and the picture of the children. Blessings to all. See you soon. PEACE, Mike and Gordon To my new friends at Bethesda LC, Thank you all for the beautiful hospitality I received during my visit last weekend. What a gift it was to worship with you, listen to your stories, and learn you all. We here at Wartburg are so very thankful for your ongoing ministry and commitment to serve as a teaching/learning congregation for and with Marietta. Continued Blessing to you all and for your ongoing ministry. Kris Stache A special thank you to Sallie Lund who updates, assembles, prints and distributes our Bethesda yearbook every year. We appreciate you hard work!!! Congratulations to Shelby, Landon and brother Lincoln Lewellen on the birth of twins, Everly and Truman born February 3, Proud grandparents are Robert and Robin Wright.

3 Lenten Services Schedule Worship 7:00 PM Wednesday, March 7 Wednesday, March 14 Wednesday, March 21 Thursday, March 29 Friday, March 30 Bethesda Strand Tabor Strand Bethesda **On the nights that the service is at Strand, soup will be served at 6 p.m. All are welcome. Carpool from Bethesda at 5:15 to Strand and 6:30 to Tabor SWIM Lenten service projects Offerings collected at Bethesda during Lenten services will go to the Clarinda Food Pantry. SWIM will also collect diapers and wipes during Lent for Southwest Iowa Families. SW Iowa Families gives these items to parents who bring their children in for appointments and other classes. They are in great need of them right now. Please bring your donations to the table in the Fellowship Hall near the photographs. We will also gladly accept your cash donations. We are collecting "noisy offering" during worship each week to help fund our kids' camp experiences this summer. We have four girls, Alisha Buttercase, Mariska Kirchert, Addy Resh and Maggie Carlson, going to Carol Joy Holling in Ashland, NE, this summer. Bring in your extra change! Mariska, Brody and Addy are learning to play handbells. Come and hear the Sunday school girls play the prelude on March 18th. Another generation of Bethesda musicians prepares to share their talents.

4 Morning 9:00 A.M. Sunday 10:15 A. M. Fellowship 10:00 A.M. Communion first and last Sunday of the month Preaching Schedule at Bethesda March Birthdays March 4 Pastor Ben McIntire 2 Greg Wallin March 11 Pastor Marietta Nelson Bittle 8 Robin Wright March 18 Pastor Ben McIntire 9 Margaret Johnson March 25 Pastor Marietta Nelson Bittle 11 Katie Wallin Buchholz 14 Christie Vanderholm 15 Lincoln Lewellen March Worship assistants 26 Laine Wright Greeters Brian & Laura Kirchert 31 David Jones Reader Mike Freed Communion Asst. Miriam Hanson Ushers Mike & Sheila Freed Dwight & Justin Sederburg Anniversaries Altar Guild Lynn Meier & Norma Thomsen 1 Mike & Sheila Freed Acolyte Maggie Carlson 25 Matt & Carla Erickson 27 Matt & Mary Fritz 30 Darwin & Miriam Hanson Fellowship Coffee Servers March 4 Brian & Laura Kirchert March 11 BRUNCH March 18 Daniel & Jackie Meier March 25 Jenny Buttercase & Connie Freed. Daylight Savings time begins March 11!! Upcoming Events March 7 7:00. p.m. Lenten Bethesda March 7 Council meeting following Lenten service March 11 WELCA brunch following morning worship March 14 7:00 p.m. Lenten Strand March 15 2:00 p.m. Lydia Circle with Miriam Hanson as Hostess March 21 7:00 p.m. Lenten Tabor March 29. 7:00 p.m. Maundy Thursday Strand March 30 7:00 p.m. Good Friday Bethesda March 26 March newsletter items are due. Send to Yvonne (johnsony@myfmtc.com) April 1. 9:00 a.m. EASTER

5 March is National Professional Social Work Month March is National Professional Social Work Month, a time to recognize social workers and thank them for all they do. At Lutheran Services in Iowa (LSI), we re grateful for our many social workers who have dedicated their lives to serving their communities! Maybe you ve never had a social worker involved in your life. Yet, whether you realize it or not, you ve had the benefit of their behind-the-scenes work in your community. Social workers help people help themselves in overcoming life s most difficult circumstances or managing challenges of everyday living: poverty, abuse, mental illness, depression, addiction, disability, and many other situations. Iowa wouldn t be the same without the patience, guidance, and empowerment that social workers provide. Happy National Professional Social Work Month! If you would like more information, please contact Deb Whitford, LSI s director of philanthropy and church relations, at or Deborah.Whitford@LSIowa.org. Our Mission: Lutheran Services in Iowa responds to the love of Jesus Christ through compassionate service. LSI is an affiliated social ministry partner of the Iowa congregations of the ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) and a member of LSA (Lutheran Services in America). We proudly serve people of all ages, abilities, religions, sexes, gender identities, national origins, ethnicities, races, and sexual orientations. Learn more at and A Home Full of Love Many of Cheryl s favorite memories involve raising her two children, watching them thrive, and counting the shoes in the doorway each night to see how many of her children s friends she would be making dinner for. As her children grew up, Cheryl knew there were more Iowa youth who needed a loving family and support system like hers. That s when her family began adopting. We were a welcoming family, and we really didn t want that journey to stop, Cheryl says. Since starting her journey as an adoptive parent 20 years ago, Cheryl has welcomed 19 adopted children into her family and her children range from ages 9 to 35. They come from different backgrounds and cultures, and Cheryl says it s been enriching to celebrate those differences in her home. Iowa has a great need for more foster and adoptive families like Cheryl s. She says it has been a learning experience to raise so many different children but together, her family has found lots of love and laughter along the way. People will say to us, God bless you that you ve done this. We don t see it that way, Cheryl says. We see it as how blessed and thankful we are to have a family that s so big.