A Newsletter Published By. Bethany Congregational Church. On Foxboro s Common Three Rockhill Street Foxboro, MA 02035

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1 A Newsletter Published By Bethany Congregational Church On Foxboro s Common Three Rockhill Street Foxboro, MA Volume 1 September, 2012 Number 1 Pastor Emeritus: Rev. R. Jack Whitehead Office Admin: Lynne Dombrowski Dir, Youth Ministries: Chris Kah Dir, Fellowship: Nancy Kaeser Office Manager: Glenda Haney Dir, Discipleship & Children's Mins: Deb Byron Treasurer: Penni Jenkins Dir, Nursery Care: Tracy Slater Dir, Music Ministries: Greg Woodsbie Minister to the Community: Rev. Gretchen Elmendorf Elders: Ellen Dean, Bruce Hainsworth, Pam McGuire, Angela Maynard, John Michelmore, Steve Randall, Julie Shorrock office@bethanychurch.org Telephone: On Facebook at Bethany Church Foxboro Office Hours: Monday Thursday 8:30-2:00; Friday 8:30 - noon Bethany Congregational Church seeks to be a compassionate, worshipping community that welcomes, equips and sends us out in Jesus name. Please use purchased 1 version to remove this message

2 Dear Bethany Friends, John 14: 16 speaks of Jesus promise of the Holy Spirit in our lives: And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever. Let s consider what the purpose of this gift of a helper is. It is not to help us in the conventional sense of the word earn more money, buy bigger houses, acquire more stuff. The gift of the Holy Spirit is to empower us to serve others, and in so doing, serve God. The Bible tells us the Spirit gives believers abilities to use for the common good. Serving others and ministry are interchangeable in scripture. How are you ministering here at Bethany? Do you need help figuring out your ministry fit that place where you can best use your Holy Spirit gifts and your interests and skills? On Tuesdays this fall Bethany is running two 6-week classes on discovering your spiritual gifts. Starting 9/25 and running through 10/30 there will be a morning class at 9:30 and an evening one at 7:00. I invite you to prayerfully consider joining one of these groups. We will be using Network, by the Willow Creek Association and Zondervan. Please let me know if you plan to join us, so I can order a workbook for you. If you have already taken the Network course in the past, but are interested in learning more about spiritual gifts, there are many resources on spiritual gifts for small groups to use. A small group of Network alums would be a wonderful thing this fall so let me know of your interest! Serving others - it s actually the only way we can serve God. Won t you see how He is calling you to serve? Yours in Christ, Deb Byron There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men. 1 Corinthians 12: 4-6 Due to the rising cost of postage, (even non-profit bulk mail has increased significantly); and the cost of processing a paper newsletter, beginning this fall, the Bethany Bell will not be mailed to every Bethany home. It will be posted on the Bethany website, bethanychurch.org, the last week of each month, for the following month. If you do not have access to the web, we ll be happy to mail you a copy, but you need to call Glenda in the Church Office at Thank you! Please use purchased 2 version to remove this message

3 We had a blast at VBS last month! Operation Overboard was a lot of fun, and more importantly, Bethany made a lasting difference in the lives of 120 kids! Long after their VBS pictures and craft projects have disappeared, there will still be a place in their hearts where God keeps whispering this chorus: So love who you see. I dare you, I dare you! Help those in need. I dare you, I dare you! Show you believe. I dare you, I dare you! We are so grateful for the help of so many volunteers all of you made the week possible. We counted about 80 people who contributed in some manner to VBS! To all those who taught the lessons; shepherded the children; made the music; worked video, sound, puppets and fun during the opening and closing assemblies; helped decorate; donated supplies; worked administratively behind the scenes; thrilled the older kids with a sleep-over; hosted the wrap-up luncheon; and cleaned up job well done! Deb and Nancy (And thank YOU, Deb and nancy, Elders Interim Search Update We know that this time of transition as we say 'good bye' to Pastor Paul can be a time filled with questions and uncertainty. The Elders in conjunction with Jim McKinney, Chair of the Diaconate, have been meeting and coordinating with the UCC to help make this transition as smooth as possible. We are pleased to let you know that we have been presented with several very qualified candidates for the Interim Pastor position. In the upcoming weeks we will be interviewing the candidates and selecting an Interim Pastor to shepherd us through this time. Please pray with us for the Holy Spirit to be alive in this process as we move forward into this next chapter of our life at Bethany Church. B E F O R E Steeple Repairs-Done! Thanks to the hard work of our wonderful Trustees, and the daring of The Burgess Company, our steeple looks fantastic! The wood panels on the outside of the spire were the original, 100+ year-old boards. They have been replaced with long-lasting PVC pieces that should last longer than any of us! The rest of the steeple (the lower parts) were all scraped, primed, and painted. Our iconic church building is back to looking great something we all can be proud of; but most especially, the Trustees! Thank you! A F T E R Back To Church Sunday September 9 TH! September 9 th is back to church Sunday and we are gearing up for fall Sunday school classes! Please be sure to register your children who are age 3 through entering 8 th grade by visiting the or obtaining a registration form at the church. The curriculum and resources we use on Sunday mornings will help your children s faith grow by leaps and bounds as they learn Bible stories and truths through a variety of activities, crafts, and games. Please use purchased 3 version to remove this message

4 All Church BBQ Sunday, September 16 th Popcorn and activities at 11:00 Lunch begins at 11:30 ABC AD EBF AB News From The Leadership Development Committee Upon Pastor Paul s departure, we wanted to give you an update of the Leadership Development Committee s role in the new Pastor search. Our committee is responsible for forming a Pastoral Search Committee. The Committee will represent a cross-section of Bethany members, and specifically we are focusing on: age, length of church membership (newer as well as more long-standing members), availability, worship-style preference (based on attendance at formal or informal service), and gender. The number of committee members will be in the range of six to nine people, and we are hoping to be able to present this committee to you within the next month or so. The Search Committee will then begin the process of seeking, reviewing, and interviewing prospective pastors. If you have any questions about the formation of the Search Committee, please feel free to contact one of us and we will be more than happy to talk to you about it. In the meantime, we welcome and thank you for your prayers and support during this process. In His Service, Lynn Burns, Chair (508) lburns@hotmail.com Jane Curtis (508) slugandjane@verizon.net Janet Fisher (508) jlbfisher@comcast.net Cindy Sullivan (508) rsa.structr@verizon.net Cheri Vanderpool (508) cmlvanderpool@yahoo.com Chris Hits the Ground Running! Chris Kah, Bethany s new Director of Youth Ministries, will be leading the Sunday school classes for the 6 th, 7 th and 8 th graders, using NOOMA, a series of short videos followed by discussion that explore our world from the perspective of Jesus. Jesus lived with the awareness that God is doing something, right here, right now, and anybody can be a part of it. He encouraged his listeners to search, to question, to wrestle with the implications of what he was saying and doing. He inspired, challenged, provoked, comforted, and invited people to be open to God s work in this world. Wherever he went, whatever he did, Jesus started discussions about what matters most, because for Jesus, God is always inviting us to open our eyes and join in. NOOMA is an invitation to search, question, and join the discussion something that this age group is naturally good at! But Other Sunday School Leaders Are Still Needed Can you help minister to Bethany s kids this fall? Our Sunday morning children s programs help children come to know, love, and serve God. We can pair you up with someone else so that your commitment is alternating Sundays. We guarantee you will have both fun and immense satisfaction as you pass along faith and hope to the next generation! Please let Deb Byron or Lorna Sullivan ( ) know if God is calling you to serve in this way. Please use purchased 4 version to remove this message

5 WATOTO Concert of Hope Bethany is hoping to host Watoto, the Ugandan children s choir on October 11! In order to have this awesome concert here, we need commitments from church families to be host homes by 9/15. A host home accommodates 2 children and an adult chaperone overnight after the concert Thursday evening and returns them to Bethany in the morning. The goal of each Concert of Hope is to raise awareness of the plight of 2 million children in Uganda left parentless as a result of war and AIDS. When Bethany hosted Watoto in 2008, we were incredibly blessed as an entire community by the experience and we are looking forward to being able to bring this blessing again to our local community. Please be in touch with Deb Byron by 9/15 if you can be a host family. News from Our Small Groups Wednesday Playtime at Bethany Playtime meets every Wednesday from 9:30-11:00 a.m. outdoors or in the gym, depending on the weather. Our gym has ride-on toys, bounce houses, balls, slides, and teeter-totters; if it s not too hot, we ll bring some of these out to play in our playground area! This is a great way for your child to meet new friends and for you to connect with other parents. No need to sign up; just come when you are able. For more information, contact Cheri Vanderpool at or cmlvanderpool@yahoo.com. Return from Exile Bible Study Join Bev Crocker on Wednesday mornings starting September 19 th for a Bible study covering the period when God s people returned from exile. Studies based on Malachi and Nehemiah are two of the resources we ll be using. All are welcome! Contact Bev Crocker at for more information. Spiritual Gifts Class Sign Up! This fall we will be offering classes to help you find out what your spiritual gifts are. Join us for 6 weeks starting Tuesday 9/25 if you have felt God s invitation to grow spiritually by learning more about those abilities the Holy Spirit gives each of us to be Christ s church. Deb Byron will lead a morning class at 9:30 on Tuesdays and Lynn Burns will lead an evening class at 7:00 on Tuesdays. Please be in touch with Deb or Lynn with any questions or to reserve a participant book. Forging Friends Group The 20's & 30's couples group, will be hosting a Murder Mystery Dinner on Saturday October 20th at 7pm. The guests are the characters and we all try to find out "who done it?" It will be a potluck meal and there is room for only 8 participants, 4 couples. If you are interested please contact Amy/Brandon Runge at bmr8503@hotmail.com or , no later than October 12th, as there is a limit on participants we encourage you to reply asap if you are interested. We are looking for adults to form a drama team here at Bethany. We need those who are good at acting, writing, tech, set & costume design etc. We are hoping to have a team of at least 10 people to create dramas based on biblical scripture to share with the congregation as the sermon. This group will meet monthly to create 2-3 dramas to be performed throughout the year. It is a great time for creativity, fellowship, spiritual growth and fun. Little Footsteps Preschool is now enrolling for Fall! We have just a couple openings in our Tuesday/ Thursday 3-year-old program, and a small waiting list for the Monday/Wednesday/ Friday Pre-K program. Please contact Nancy Kaeser at to schedule a visit and hear about our curriculum. Please use purchased 5 version to remove this message

6 Save the Dates! Crop Walk! This year s Annual Crop Walk to help the Attleboro Area Council of Churches and Church World Services end hunger locally and globally will be held on Sunday, October 21. More details will follow in September. Please contact Ellen Hawrylciw at or ehawrylciw@meditech.com for further information. Game Night! On Friday, October 26 th from 6-9 p.m., dust off those board games, break out the new deck of cards it s time for a night of games! Bring your favorite game to teach others, and learn some new ones as well. Up for a more physical night of game playing? We ll be running games in the gym. Everyone is welcome we re planning on everything from Candyland, to kickball, to cribbage! Refreshments will be served. Adult Fellowship Night Lords and Ladies, your presence is requested on Saturday, November 17 th from 6-8:30 p.m. for a night of hearty fare and jovial entertainment. Save the date! We re also looking for serfs willing to help plan the evening, and serving wenches for that night. Contact Nancy Kaeser for more information about Game Night or our Medieval Dinner, at kaeser@bethanychurch.org or (508) WORSHIP VOLUNTEERS Deacon of the Service Traditional Service 9/2 Dick Hobbs 9/9 Myron Rust 9/16 Mark Hawrylciw 9/23 Bill Hughes 9/30 Dave Fisher Contemporary Service 9/9 Dawn Medeiros 9/16 Deb Graham 9/23 Bev Kelly 9/30 Carol Fraser Service Readers Traditional Service 9/2 John Michelmore 9/9 Virginia Banian 9/16 Julie Cline 9/23 Heidi Hobbs 9/30 Dick Hobbs Contemporary Service 9/9 Michele Rogers 9/16 Bev Crocker 9/23 Sarah Murphy 9/30 June Carlsen Ushers 9/2 Lois & Bill Sullivan, Jody Hoyt, Bruce Hainsworth 9/9 Tom & Justin Garcia, Karen & Wally Sprague 9/16 Roland Demers, Dorothy Vosburgh, Michele & Scott Rogers 9/23 Denise & Mark Homer, Lynn & Dave Burns 9/30 Bev Kelly, Ann Conaty, Ellen Garber, Margie Wheeler Welcome Team 9/9 Beth & Jim Durham 9/16 ** 9/23 Deb Cormay 9/30 ** **We have an opening; could YOU help? The deadline for the next edition of The Bethany Bell is Friday, September 21st at 8:30 a.m. Material may be submitted by to haney@bethanychurch.org. Thanks! Would you like to be a greeter for the Welcome Center at the Contemporary Service? We are looking for a few more people to be part of this special ministry for the church. Please call Lynne in the Church Office at or at office@bethanychurch.org. Thank you!! Please use purchased 6 version to remove this message

7 Book of Life Chancel Flowers -July 1 st, given to the glory of God and in loving memory of Alice Janda, by Barbara Parker. -July 8 th, given to the glory of God and in loving memory of Michael McGinty by Cindy, Daniel, and David McGinty. -July 15 th, given to the glory of God and in loving memory of Anne and Walter Mertz by Debbie and Ted Mertz. -July 22 nd, given to the glory of God and in loving memory of George Conaty, Sr. by the Conaty family. -August 5 th, given to the glory of God and in loving memory of Richard Banian by his family. -August 26 th, given to the glory of God and in celebration of Marie Snow s 90 th birthday by the Vanderpool family. Marriages Ryan Lewis married Marie Bechler on June 28 th in Duns, Berwickshire, Scotland. Ryan is the son of Joyce and Rick Lewis. Kyle Lewis married Ameenah Lloyd on August 10 th in New Albany, IN. Kyle is also the son of Joyce and Rick Lewis. Births! We welcome Paige Walter who was born on June 29 th to Jaime and Bob Walter. Paige s grandparents are Ellen and Paul Dean. We welcome Lily Mae Sullivan who was born on July 8 th to Taylor White and Kyle Sullivan. Lily s grandparents are Lorna and Greg Sullivan. We welcome Robert James Blair who was born on July 11 th to Laurie Coe and David Blair. RJ s big sister is Ruby Blair. RJ was Congratulations to our new grooms and parents! Pack 70 Frisbee Fun Night For boys in grades 1-5 who are interested in making new friends, trying new things and learning about community. Our special guest Todd Brodeur is a 2-time world freestyle frisbee champion. He educates, motivates and entertains! Please join us on September 20 th, at the Burrell Elementary School (16 Morse St. Foxboro) from 7:00-8:00 pm. For more information on Pack 70 or Frisbee Fun Night, please contact Amy Spognardi or amyspog@comcast.net Q. What do they call pastors in Germany? A. German Shepherds. Q. What was the greatest female financier in the Bible? A. Pharaoh's daughter. She went down to the bank of the Nile and drew out a little prophet. Q. What kind of motor vehicles are in the Bible? A. Jehovah drove Adam and Eve out of the Garden in a Fury; David's Triumph was heard throughout the land; and a Honda, because the apostles were all in one Accord. College Correspondence Dear Dad, $chool i$ really great. I m making lot$ of friend$ and $tudying very hard. With all my $tuff, I $imply can t think of anything I need. $o if you d like, you can ju$t $end me a card, a$ I d love to hear from you. Love, Your $on Dear Son, I know that astronomy, economics baptized by Pastor Paul on Sunday, August and oceanography are enough to keep even 12 th. an honor student busy. Do NOt forget that the Please use purchased 7 version to remove this message

8 pursuit of knowledge is a NOble task, and you can never study enough. Love, Dad Please use purchased 8 version to remove this message