MAY Website: Building Hours: Monday Thursday, 9am to 3pm

Transcription

1 MAY 2016 Website: Building Hours: Monday Thursday, 9am to 3pm Office Hours Monday Thursday, 9am to 3pm Saturday: Sunday: Worship Times: 5 pm Celebrate! Worship 8:45 am Traditional Worship 9:45 am Education Hr. 11 am Modern Worship Communion at all services Our Vision As a community of believers journeying with God together, we at Bethlehem are called to serve with love by growing a premier youth ministry; enlivening Christian discipleship through lifelong learning, care, and spiritual formation; fostering a vibrant and inspiring worship experience; utilizing our natural setting and location for faithful creation care and outdoor ministry; and opening our doors always to be a campus at the crossroads for the mission and ministry of Jesus Christ.

2 "Behold, I am making all things new Write, for these words are faithful and true." The above words come from the book of Revela4on, the 21 st chapter (verse 5 from the New American Standard Bible transla4on, to be exact.) They precede the text from a recent sermon And these words are all about beginnings. New life. Renewed life. As we look behind us at Lent, Easter and our second year of Keep Bethlehem Blooming, for example - and forward, we see much in the way of April showers bring May flowers. Leading up to this ar4cle, I told myself I would listen to the words of the above admoni4on from scripture: to behold, be made new, and write But instead I thought I would let the Spirit do the wri4ng, and the pictures do the talking. So here they are: Parker John... Celebra4ng the birth of Parker John Busekist, born Wednesday, April 20th, 2016 at 4:03 in the morning. 7lbs, 9oz of pure gi^ from a God who is good and boun4ful, in God s 4ming. Meredith and I do not take this miracle for granted, and pray always for new life for all of us at Bethlehem... In peace. Pr. Paul

3 Diaconal Ministry - exploring the intersections of our world & the church together, with the Trinity leading the way. Diaconal Minister Julia Nelson I will call to mind the deeds of the Lord; I will remember your wonders of old. Psalm 77:11 It is in the remembering the wonders of old we know where God has shown up in our lives. We also trust that God shows up each and every single day in a variety of ways. Yet, when asking many people where God has been in their week, we stumble over how to answer. While I believe that God shows up daily through each and every one of us, this month God shows up especially in the celebra4ons. May is my favorite month of the year! Spring finally has a chance to bloom & with that, we as a church have a chance to celebrate new pieces of the year. We celebrate Mother s Day as a day to acknowledge all those in our lives who have acted as a mother in one way or another, but especially those whom we call mom. We celebrate the end of the school year and therefore the end of another great Chris4an Educa4on year. (The last day of Sunday School is Sunday, May 15th & we celebrate with family game day.) This is also Pentecost Sunday, when we celebrate the presence of the Holy Spirit within & around us! We then come together on the last Sunday of the month on May 29th to recognize our gradua4ng high school students, new members, & have an all around Jubilee service! Do you feel the excitement?! This is of course is all mixed in with other annual or regular events such as the Spring Fling, Confirma4on class, Senior High Youth nights, & more! We remember the wonders of old and we look forward to the wonders of the month & beyond. All thanks to God for giving us reason to acknowledge God in our daily lives! Join us for these events in May! 5/4/16 Senior High Youth Night 5:30pm - 7:30pm for 9th -12th grade youth 5/8/16 Mother s Day! Worship at 8:45am & 11am (Come celebrate our bookkeeper Judy Conant s Qme with us in between services!) 5/11/16 & 5/25/16 ConfirmaQon Class 5:30pm - 7:15pm for 6th graders & older 5/15/16 ChrisQan EducaQon Family Game Day 9:45am - 10:45am 5/18/16 TWINs - Third Wednesday IntergeneraQonal Night 5:30pm - 7:15pm for ALL ages 5/27/16 BLUES - Bethlehem Lutheran Elementary Student Night 5:00pm - 7:00pm for all 3rd - 5th grade youth 5/29/16 GraduaQon RecogniQon & Jubilee Sunday - Worship at 10am followed by a

4 The linked image cannot be displayed. The file may have been moved, renamed, or deleted. Verify that the link points to the correct file and location. Dear Bethlehem Friends, I was thinking about the disciples the apostles recently. Those who were called from their nets and elsewhere by a local man who had a special gift and message. Soon they were walking those familiar paths of Galilee with new purpose-- with plenty of questions then the rough, dusty trails of Judea with growing amazement and even more questions. And then finally into Jerusalem to encounter shock, disappointment, fear, and profound amazement. They were an interesting bunch, each with their own strength and perspective, and each with their own personality. I wish we had more stories from this time. Who was the jokester? Whose eye noticed the ladies? Who was the scrounger who could always find a place to stay and a meal? What was it like when each initially caught Jesus eye as He encountered them? Imagine that look. Imagine those eyes the voice that touch. What did they feel that was different? What did they tell their families when they chose to travel with this prophet and healer? What did they imagine the future would bring? We know Jesus reached out to all-- tax collectors, prostitutes, and outside the Jewish faith and hierarchy. His arms were open wide and His message was for all. I wonder at it all. Jerusalem had its share of exotic visitors. Did Jesus encounter tall, ebony Nubians or exotic, roughhewn traders from Central Asia or pale, bearded river men from the Volga basin come down through the Black Sea? I love to imagine the unrecorded conversations of the disciples and Jesus and those they encountered. Now, imagine how Jesus calls to each of us; how our varied talents can be used by Him. How we can be confused and amazed by His unfailing love for us. Like all believers, we fall short. We take wrong turns. We do not take the care we should; express the thanks we should; reflect grace received as we should. But, thank God, our ultimate destination is secure. Jesus and the message of God s unconditional love; His loving sacrifice; and the new commandment to love one another means love. No exceptions. Love to all you disciples With you on the journey, Tom Rockne Council President

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6 The STAR Shines On Personnel Committee The Star Shines On is a series of ar4cles, hopefully monthly, that will feature a different commilee or group at Bethlehem, and focus of programs, goals, challenges and missions of the commilee or group. The featured Commilee for May, 2016 is The Personnel Commilee. A special thanks to Leonard Graf for assis4ng me with this ar4cle. The Personnel Commilee has many func4ons Provide job descrip4ons for all posi4ons. Adver4se for, interview and recommend to the Church council hiring of lay posi4ons. Works with other commilees, such as the Property Commilee for custodial posi4ons and Worship and Music when hiring choir directors, pianists, etc.... Ordained posi4ons are filled by call commilees Evaluates performance of current lay employees and making wage and salary recommenda4ons in connec4on with the Finance Commilee and synod guidelines. Serves as a support group for the pastors and other professional employees. The Personnel Commilee currently consists of Leonard Graf, Chair, and Marilyn Skay. I am told that Ellie Long and others have also been involved in the recent past. The Commilee meets on an as needed basis depending largely on turnover of Church employees. The Commilee has been ac4ve this year so far with the filling of administra4ve assistant, custodial and music posi4ons. Many thanks to the Personnel Commilee for all the hard work.

7 LUTHERAN SOCIAL SERVICES IS RENAMED SAMARITAS One of Michigan s largest social service and refugee resellement agencies says it s changing its name to reflect its broad, long running reach. Public events were held across the state to mark the launch. Officials say internal research revealed many people didn t seek the more than 80 year old organiza4on for work or services because they weren t Lutheran. Yet it has hired and served individuals of all faiths and ethnici4es. While the word Lutheran is dropped from the name, the group will remain a ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The official mission statement will be: Serving people as an expression of the love of Christ. A new logo is being designed. Keeping Bethlehem Blooming April was Keep Bethlehem Blooming month, but the projects con4nue. Thanks to those who have helped. If you want to join the KBB effort, you can contribute by pupng a check in an envelope labelled KBB and put it in the offering or bring it to the office. Complete results of the April campaign will be in the June Star. It looks good. Council has voted to go ahead with the hearing loop and shades for the Fellowship Hall and are exploring some other necessary items. Other projects will be chosen at the May mee4ng and will depend on available money at that 4me.

8 Join in an Open Mic this summer at Pre-Prelude You are welcome to perform at the Pre-Preludes this summer. You'll have 10 minutes before a service starts to give your special talent to God. Perhaps you're a good reader, or dancer, or sermonizer, or musician, or writer, and you want to honor God. Just let Billie Thompson know and you can give your talent in the Pre-Prelude 4me. For instance: you're a poet and you'd like someplace that is nonjudgmental to read your poetry: or you're a 9 year old pianist with just two songs you can really play; or you're a repressed actor with something great you want to read. Talk to Billie Thompson to make arrangements to give your talent during the Pre-Prelude. You can reach Billie through the church office at or by billie.thompson@bethlehemtc.org

9 Health Concerns Jeri Boike, Richard Fernholz, Karen Anderson, Carole & Bob Jahnke, Pat Smith, ChrisFan Stretlien, Carol Collins, MarFn Graf, Mary Ann Tanis, Imogene Gray, Dan Morley, Jon Perkins, Nikki Juntunen Manquen, Bob & Carole Jahnke Grand Traverse Pavilions: Lillian Couturier, Walter & Jenni Goff, Donna Scanlon French Manor: Martha LaVire, Helen Arnston Culver Meadows AFC: Janet Hinds Cherry Hill Haven: Paul Oppliger Southridge: Jo Haase Traverse Manor: Juanita Lautner, Jane Witkop Boardman Lake Glens: Ken and Ingie Thomas Hospital Visits: Please let the church office know if you are going into the hospital for a scheduled procedure or an emergency so Pastor Paul can visit you. BLC s PRAYER CHAIN is always seeking partners in prayer. More volunteers are needed for this crucial ministry. For more information or to set the Prayer Chain in motion, call Jan or jstretlen@gmail.net. Thanks to all who alended the April lunch, special thanks to Neal Kibby and Lee Russell for the program on our Mission Endowment program. The next XYZ potluck lunch will be on May 20 at noon. The program will be presented by Park Ranger Fred Tank of Power Island. Please join us to learn all about Henry Ford s former playground and more. Thank you to all who have alended our lunches this season, we will take the summer off and be back in September. Please let us know if you have any thoughts on programs for next year or how we can improve things and get more folks involved. Ques4ons and or comments can be directed to Jan or Butch at or etwaisanen@centurytel.net. The Worship Assembly & Sanctuary Prep team is looking for a few new members. Your commitment will be once a month, for 1-2 hours. Please contact Diane in the office if you d like to volunteer or get more informaqon.

10 Pianist needed for Saturdays, occasional Sundays and various special occasions. Please contact Billie Thompson or Sharon Weller at I would like to thank all the men and women that worked on the recent funeral luncheons, and also luncheons in the past. You may have been one of those people that worked on one, or both of them. You might have been someone who could only work a short time, help with the preparation, or the clean up. Possibly someone who had planned to do something else at the church, but stayed and worked on the luncheon. Whatever capacity you helped out, I was very happy to see you come through the door and help out, THANK YOU. It is a fellowship that could not be done without your helping hands. I am very grateful you were there and thankful for all of you. Thank you very much. God Bless You All. Sharon Stowe. Book/Supper Discussion Group meets from 5 to 7 pm on the 4 th Tuesday of the month in the Church Office & Conference Room. Join Us. If you have any questions, please contact Ellie Long at May 24 The Train to Crystal City by Jan Russell (non-fic4on) June 28 Lila by Marilyn Robinson July No Mee4ng Aug. 23 My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She s Sorry By Fredrik Backman

11 The Bethlehem Prayer Shawl Group has branched out and now we are now knitting and crocheting multiple items: shawls, knockers, neck scarves, baby hats, and lap robes. We ll be meeting on Tuesday mornings at 9am through June, resuming again in September. As always, we welcome new members. Now that we have added new projects we are searching for a new name for our group any suggestions? If you have any questions, or name suggestions, call Lee Miller at The 36 th Annual Traverse City Crop Hunger Walk isn t un4l October 9, but there will be a Recruiter s mee4ng on Monday, May 23 rd at Grace Episcopal Church at 7:00pm. If you would like to get involved, please call Shelly VanderMeulen at , or her at vanderdogs@charter.net. A big thank you to all who turned in Oleson s receipts. Bethlehem received a check in March from Oleson s for $ Please remember to con4nue to drop off your Oleson s receipts at church. The Monroe Small Group will NOT be sponsoring a Silent Auc4on with a Pancake Dinner & Breakfast this May. So if you cannot hang on to your treasures For another year, you will need to visit your favorite charity. Thank you for all of your past wonderful dona4ons!

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13 BLC Contacts Church Office Pastor Paul Busekist Julia Nelson Diane McWethy, Admin. Asst. Judy Conant, Bookkeeper Sharon Weller Billie Thompson Website Church Council Tom Rockne, President Phil Anderson, Vice President Judy Strickland, Secretary Mary Lou Deutsch, Treasurer Shelly McAllister, Financial Sec. Jan Stretlien, Chris4an Care Giving Dianne Blair, Chris4an Ed. Barbara Overdier, Evangelism Fellowship Danna Bugai, Finance Barbara Overdier, Membership Leonard Graf, Personnel Carl Lehto, Property Social Ministry Judy Strickland, Stewardship Barbara Oster, Worship and Music Bill Froehlich, Youth If you have an interest in serving on any of the above Commilees, Please contact the Commilee Chairperson(s).

14 Because of the many ac4vi4es here at BLC, this is only a par4al calendar. You can view the en4re calendar at hlp:// or call the office at for more informa4on