BETHEL LUTHERAN CHURCH, 5232 Irvine Avenue NW, Bemidji, MN November 22, 2015 Election Results. Bethel Church Council: (for a 3 year term)

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1 December 2015 BETHEL BEACON BETHEL LUTHERAN CHURCH, 5232 Irvine Avenue NW, Bemidji, MN Bethel Lutheran Church 5232 Irvine Avenue NW, Bemidji, MN Church Office bethelbemidji.org Bethel Child Care Center Rev. Mark Kindem Pastor Home Phone # pastorkindem@hotmail.com Patti VanCamp Office Admin./Fin. Manager adminsec@bethelbemidji.org Randell McKain Youth Director Abe Hanson Custodian PRAYER CHAIN - Day - Barb Evening - Judy S U N D A Y W O R S H I P 9:00 AM Worship Service 10:00 AM Fellowship Hour In 1952, the play Waiting for Godot was first performed. Audiences complained that it made no sense, and it didn t. Two men, waiting for a man named Godot: Not knowing who Godot is, what he looks like, what to do if he shows up, or what to do in the meantime! We begin a new year in the church with Advent: a season of waiting and preparation. Our waiting is not senseless and futile. We know for whom we wait! It s Jesus, the promised Messiah. We also know what to do while we wait; we make the most of the time we have. May the promise of the Lord s coming help us prepare a way for him. May there be room at the Inn in our hearts for Jesus. O dearest Jesus, Holy Child, prepare a bed, soft, undefiled. A holy shrine within my heart, that you and I may never part. - Martin Luther Pastor Mark Kindem November 22, 2015 Election Results Bethel Church Council: (for a 3 year term) Char Espe Paul Martinson Sally McIntyre Vi Suther Bethel Church Council: (for a 2 year term) Art Reistad Bethel Foundation: (for a 3 year term) Bernice Beck Barb Brown Congratulations to each one of you!

2 Page 2 Thanksgiving BETHE L LUTHERA N CHURCH Council On November 26 we celebrated Thanksgiving Day. Have you taken President the time to count all the things for which you are thankful? On several occasions, I have tried to prepare a list of those blessings and have given up each time because there is no end to the list. It seems that each one brought to mind brings several more along with it. Let me illustrate. Begin with the major blessing we have received from God: The Gift of His only Son, Jesus, who bore the penalty for our sins. Stemming from this first blessing comes a myriad of others: 1. Freedom to worship without fear - U.S. Constitution 2. Gift of the Holy Spirit - Luke 24:49 3. The call of God to respond to the Spirit - Matthew 6:65 4. God s love, grace and Mercy. 5. God s Word (the Bible and the incarnate Word become flesh, Jesus) - John 1:1-2,14 6. The gift of communion - Matt. 26:26-29, John 6:51 7. The gift of a wife who had a strong faith. 8. Support, encouragement and examples of faith from family, friends and especially the Bethel congregation. 9. The gift of music for worship services. 10. The gift of the Word from the pulpit. 11. Work and services performed by members of this congregation which benefit all of us and the community as a whole. 12. The ability and desire to give of resources, time and talents to benefit the congregation and community. 13. Physical and mental health to be able to be a part of the Bethel congregation. We could continue the list but it becomes obvious that our blessings are uncountable. These 13 listed above stemmed from that first recognized blessing the gift of God s only Son. With whatever blessing we begin, we will find a comparable list of blessings that arise out of our recognition of the first one. The total number of blessings we enjoy is indeed without number. In 1 Thessalonians 5:18, Paul writes: Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the Will of God in Christ Jesus for you. We may not always be thankful for what is happening at the moment but we can certainly be thankful, at all times, for all the blessings which are ours. I am especially thankful for the love and faith, for 55 years, of my wife, Jan, and the support of everyone at Bethel. Thank God for all of you and THANK YOU. May you all have a happy and thankful Thanksgiving Day. Kirt Dreyer Congregational President

3 BETHE L LUTHERA N CHURCH Page 3 Christmas Music Service 9:00 A.M. Amen, Come, Lord Jesus! An Advent Devotional Booklet Based on Year II of the LBW Lectionary for members and friends of the North American Lutheran Church By : The Rev. Dr. David M. Wendel Sunday, December 20th followed with a Potluck Dinner To view or print a copy just go to the front page of Bethels website and click on one of the 2 links shown there. Wednesday, December 02 Wednesday, December 09 Wednesday, December 16 Potluck lunch will be served after each service! 12 noon 12 noon 12 noon Christmas Eve Thursday, December 24th 4:00 p.m. with communion

4 Page 4 Birthdays 03 Edgar Espe 07 Gail Pederson 11 Jaimie Matthew Wood 12 Marlene Bergstrom 14 Arthur Reistad 17 Lennard Bergstrom 19 Betty Olsen 22 Andler Powell 23 Libby Hargesheimer 27 Dolores Johnson 30 Alex Powell ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 6:30-8:00 p.m. December 2nd ~ 9th ~ 16th 23rd & 30th NO CLASS BETHE L LUTHERA N CHURCH 5:45-7:00 p.m. D E C E M B E R 2nd ~ 9th ~ 16th 23rd & 30th NO CLASS 4 Knute & Lucille Naastad Dick & Marilyn Zeman Harold & Linda Schramm Duane and Elaine Christensen Raymond and Barbara Brown 1960 Wed., December 02 6:30 pm - Cranium Connection: The Words of the Bible Wed., December 09 6:30 pm - Cranium Connection: Christmas Party Wed., December 16 6:30 pm - FUN NIGHT: Ruttgers Wed., December 23 6:30 pm - No Youth Group Christmas Break Wed., December 30 6:30 pm - Fun Night: Pre New Year s Event at the Church Weekend/Special Events! Concordia Xmas (4 th ) Winter Formal (5 th ) Xmas Concert in Grand Forks (6 th )

5 BETHE L LUTHERA N CHURCH Page 5 Council Highlights November 10, A Fund Drive will be undertaken to replenish the Capital Account and possible other projects. The Capital Account is used for repairs and improvements to the church property (repairs to furnaces, etc.). The Capital Account was used, along with a Bond and some of the Bazaar profits to pay for the new septic system. A committee is being formed to organize this Fund Drive. If you are interested in serving, please contact Ray Brown or Pastor Kindem. 2. The council voted unanimously to move the United States Flag and the Christian Flag from the narthex to the front of the sanctuary. BCCC Christmas Program You are invited to see and hear the children s praises as they present Behold That Star! Tuesday, Dec. 15th at 7 :00 PM in the sanctuary. Your 2016 Daily Texts are available in the church narthex!

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7 BETHE L LUTHERA N CHURCH Page 7 Church in Mission Thank you Char Espe, Pa y Gabriel and Nancy Streigh ff for volunteering during the transi on period. Bemidji Community Food Shelf Up coming events for the Bemidji Community Food Shelf: December 2 nd - Bethel s Day at the Food Shelf; December 12 th Glen Tidings Cel c music, Christmas concert at the Chief Theatre. Tickets are $20 and $5 of each cket sold goes to the Food Shelf. Thanks to our volunteers for sharing their me to serve 78 families on November 4 th. Our volunteers included - Libby Hargesheimer, Shirley Worth, Irene Beck, Karen Tank, Char Espe, Alice Sadek, and Dee Teigland. During the month of October, 3,271 individuals were served for a total of 63,668 pounds of food. Churches United Thank you for the many contribu ons to Churches United. A special thank you to the quil ng group for their dona on of quilts. Items of need con nue to be tooth brushes, tooth paste, laundry soap, gently used towels, wash cloths, sheets and blankets. Churches United will discon nue distribu ng clothing and furniture to families as there are many organiza ons and churches in the Bemidji area that provide these services free or at a very low cost. During the month of October, clients were assisted with vouchers for food, clothing, transporta on, laundry, medical, and u li es for a total of $3,107. Good news! Churches United has hired a new Execu ve Director, Jennifer Junke. Jennifer was born and raised in Bemidji, and is a graduate of BHS. Jennifer has two BS degrees from BSU and brings with her extensive experience and knowledge. Jennifer also brings a passion for helping those in need. An informa onal Board mee ng was held on November 12 th with member churches to discuss proposed changes in by-laws, employee procedures, and the Execu ve Director job descrip on. The mee ng also included a ques on and answer informa on session regarding policies and overall opera on. Anita Spangler, Representative to the Food Shelf and Churches United CHURCH IN MISSIONS We are coming into two very important mes in the church life and our own. Your mission commi ee is adding/asking you to help with a project for Christmas that we have to have done by Dec. 13th. It is called TUBS OF LOVE. I know some of you may remember that we did it some years ago and we are now going to do it and get into our calendar again. This, a me of sharing the love of the Lord for everyone and doing so for the less fortunate is one way we can extend this love. From now un l Dec. 13th, there will be green and red tubs (totes) that will serve as Christmas Baskets. You can see a list of what is needed for each tub and can mark or take a whole list to fill one tub. The lists tell about the family size, ages of children and special needs. If you or a family, or organiza on within the church want to do a whole tub, please let someone on the commi ee (that will be standing nearby) know what you are doing. Simply do what is needed and return the tub/gi s to the church on or before Dec.13th. The office will be able to take it and mark it as returned. If you want to donate a perishable item such as ham or turkey or fresh foods you can purchase a gi card and include it in the tub. An extra gi of any kind you want to give that is not on the list is acceptable. Have ques ons you can ask/call me, Nancy , or Karen Tank at church on Sundays. Our commi ee and I hope all of you had a very Happy Thanksgiving with family and friends and are looking forward to a very loving- the- Lord Christmas and looking forward to a good new year in 2016! Karen, Ida, Bernice, Sally, Lorrane, Alice, Char, Anita, Pastor Mark, and Nancy Nancy Streigh ff, Chairman, Church in Society

8 Bethel Lutheran Church 5232 Irvine Avenue NW Bemidji, MN Return Service Requested Nonprofit Organization U.S. Postage Paid Bemidji MN Permit No. 60 BETHEL BEACON Monthly Publication - Volume # Issue # 12 DECEMBER How about taking the family to Bible Mt. Carmel Bible Camp Camp next summer? Mt. Carmel is located on Lake Carlos north of Alexandria, MN, and is set up for families, couples, or singles of all ages to enjoy a great week of Christian fellowship, bible study, and recreation. Pastor and Mrs. Kindem will be attending the week of June 26 to July 1 and would like you to join them at camp this summer. There are family style cabins, or campsites for your tent or camper. It s a fun week the kids spend the morning in the youth programs, so the adults are free to listen to the morning bible study leaders. Then of course there s plenty of lake time and relaxing fun. If you are interested in going, please contact Pastor Mark or Miriam Kindem.