A Note From Pastor Bill. I believe that this congregation delights in giving to those projects and ministries that touch our hearts.

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1 THE BETHEL BEACON NOVEMBER 2014 BILL SWITZER, Pastor Sunday 9 am Worship 10:00 am BETHEL UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST 2400 CENTRAL AVE. NEBRASKA CITY, NE Church Telephone #: (402) betheluccurch1887@gmail.com Website: Find us on A Note From Pastor Bill I believe that this congregation delights in giving to those projects and ministries that touch our hearts. From now until November 16, 2014, the Stewardship Committee is asking all of us to contemplate and cogitate and plan and imagine what it means to be part of Bethel UCC in Nebraska City, Nebraska. It is time to insure that the work and ministry of Bethel UCC will continue to prosper and grow. A famous theologian writes that it is the purpose of the church to increase the love of God and neighbor. We increase the love of God and neighbor by our participation in the various ministries of Bethel; we are challenged to feel what it means to be a member of this church in all its forms and functions: To transform lives in our work and worship through a positive and engaging relationship with God as God is made known to us in Jesus Christ; To teach the important values of the Christian faith in various ways such as modeling the love of God and providing education for people of all ages; To work together to assist those in need through our own congregation as well as Friends of Faith and other local, national and international ministries; To participate in the work of justice by influencing the structures of society in favor of those who cannot care for themselves. In this issue of the Beacon there is a request for your financial support for On November 16, 2014, during 10:00 a.m. Worship, monetary commitments will be dedicated to the work and ministry of Bethel UCC for the upcoming year. I believe that Bethel United Church of Christ delights in giving and can provide for the future of this church. Pastor Bill

2 OUR MISSION STATEMENT We covenant one with another to seek and respond to the Word and Will of God. We propose to walk together in the ways of the Lord, made known to us in His word the Holy Bible. We hold it to be the mission of the Church to witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ in all the world, while worshipping God, and striving for truth, justice and peace. As did our fathers, we depend on the Holy Spirit to lead and empower us. We pray for the coming of the Kingdom of God, and we look with faith toward the triumph of righteousness and eternal life. Our annual Thanksgiving dinner will be Sunday, November 16th following worship. Turkey, potatoes & gravy, stuffing, and drinks will be provided by our 3 councils/boards. Please bring your own table service and a side dish or dessert to share. CHURCH WOMEN UNITED WORLD COMMUITY DAY Date: Friday, November 7, 2014 Time: 1:30 pm Place: St. Mary s Episcopal Church in Nebr. City Contact person: Andrea Cullin BETHEL UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST Monthly Statement By Christine Parkyn-Luther September 2014 Balance Current Expenses/Income.. (3,275.73) Missionary Fund OCWM Improvement Fund , Capital Project Fund , Organ Maintenance Fund... 2, Elevator Fund , Other... 7, Total $ 52, A more detailed report has been posted on the church bulletin board. Copies will be made available upon request.

3 IN OUR PRAYERS IN OCTOBER: Lorraine Cooper, Justin Williams, James Griepenstroh, Alberta Kuehn, Betty Blankenship, Logan Drabek, Don Grundman, Mason Wieckhorst, Ella Mathisen, the family and friends of Allen Schreiner, the family and friends of Kenneth Keller, and all who struggle with chronic illness, those confined to their homes & to long term care facilities. Please remember that your 2015 pledge sheets are due on Sunday, November 16, SEARCH COMMITTEE UPDATE The Search Committee is working hard on the completion of our church s profile. Thank you to everyone who participated in filling out our questions. We will try to include an update in every Beacon as to how things are progressing, so stay tuned! Thank you to Harold & Gladys Huss who helped assemble the September edition of the Bethel Beacon. Friends of Faith Thrift Store is looking for volunteers. If anyone is interested, please call Cindy Weible at Spiritual Council is looking for volunteers to light the advent wreath for the 4 Sundays of Advent, Christmas Eve, and Christmas day. If anyone is interested, please give the office a call. Please let the office know if a member of our congregation has been put in the hospital so visits can be arranged. Otherwise, due to privacy laws, we will have no way of knowing. Thank you! DECEMBER EVENTS 12/7: Advent Recital at St. Mary s Church 6 pm 8 pm 12/9: Women s Fellowship Holiday lunch at Noon (Location to be announced) 12/14: Sunday school Christmas program during worship Report from the Nominating Committee & Election of officers for 2015 following worship 12/21: No Sunday school 12/24: Christmas Eve service at 7 pm with communion Our hay rack ride day was Oct. 12th and what a fun day it was! A BIG thank you goes out to Greg & Barb Stukenholtz for furnishing the hay rack rides and the bounce house. We appreciate them taking the time out of their busy season for us. Thank you to the Board of Christian Ed. for providing the brownies and ice cream too! Thank you to everyone who brightened our sanctuary with flowers, and who sponsored bulletins during the month of October. 12/25: Christmas morning service at 10 am with communion 12/28: No Sunday school

4 STEWARDSHIP COMMITTEE UPDATE There has been a lot of discussion in Bethel s Stewardship Committee. Really! Meeting on October 19, 2014, Bethel s Stewardship Committee is committed to making sure the entire congregation knows of and thinks about the financial support needed for Our congregation passed a budget for 2015 in the amount of $148,190. This is an increase of 14% over last year s budget. In other words, to meet the increase in expenses and balance the budget, 14% more or $18,683 is required. Enclosed you will find a request for each member to prayerfully consider his or her contribution to the work of Bethel UCC for FOR ALL WEATHER RELATED CANCELLATIONS AT BETHEL UCC, PLEASE LISTEN TO KNCY OR CHECK THE CHURCH CHRISTMAS MISSION PROJECT FOR 2014 Each year one of our Christmas projects is to donate to Every Child s Hope Evangelical Children s Home. They have a Christmas Store that the children can choose gifts from that they give to their friends and families. It is these items that they are asking UCC congregations to donate. A list of the items needed is on the following page, and posted on the bulletin board in church. Your donations will need to be turned in to the office by Wednesday, November 19th, 2014, unwrapped.

5 NOMINATING COMMITTEE REPORT The members of the 2014 Nominating Committee, Burt Weible, Peggy Johnson, Jen Hamilton, Janice Dawson, and Larry Bando, will nominate, at the church s Annual Election Meeting on December 14, 2014, the following individuals for election to the offices as indicated: Church Council Jen Hamilton Peggy Johnson David Carpenter Spiritual Council Dennis Marshall Larry Bando LaVonda Bando Pastor-Parish Relations Council Kathy Clymens Janice Dawson Burt Weible Board of Christian Education Nancy Hunt Christine Parkyn-Luther Dan Hamilton Delegates: Nebraska Conference Lonnie Horstmann Carol Biere Sara Horstmann Alt: Dean Biere Buck Hammers Heartland Association Gladys Huss Harold Huss Alt: Virginia Miller The Nominating Committee expresses its appreciation for the involvement of all those who have agreed to serve. It is the dedication of the persons who accepted these positions that will keep our church going forward in the years to come. May God Bless You and Guide You..

6 BEACON MINUTES The minutes for the Board of Chirstian Ed., Spiritual Council, and Church Council are not included in this month s issue of the Beacon. Traditionally, the minutes of the previous month s meetings were included. It is a dilemma. How can council members receive the minutes of the previous meeting while at the same time doing our best to insure that individual members of the councils are not targeted for unsolicited or phishing by publically publishing names in the Beacon? The further dilemma is that the church office has been chasing minutes so they can be part of the Beacon which has been an adventure. Bethel s web-site has the capability of making minutes available to all of the councils via the use of a password. See, bethelucchurch.com where minutes can be downloaded using a password. Please call the office for the password. Then, on the Web-site click on the Info Center tab, scroll down to the specific minutes, enter the password, and the minutes will be available to you. If each council s minute taker could submit the previous month s minutes to the church office at least 1 week prior to the next meeting either in Word (doc version) or in pdf format, then the necessary computer work can be accomplished. If the minutes are ed in Word, the document will be converted to a pdf format for positing to the web-site. If there are no minutes for the last meeting of the particular council listed, it probably means that the minutes have not been submitted to the office for download. Or, it could mean G I G O. Pastor Bill

7 BEST WISHES TO THOSE CELEBRATING THEIR BIRTHDAYS & WEDDING ANNIVERSARIES IN NOVEMBER Carol Beccard 1st Jamie Horstmann 1st Dylan Vock 1st Brenda Wieckhorst 1st Jim Wozny 2nd Christine Rivett 5th Molly Hermann 10th Kassi Holman 10th Hailey Herzog 11th Zoie Mills 12th Betty Joe Adkins 14th Braiden Moyer 16th Keston Holman 20th Jane Vock 22nd Stephen Luther 25th Ben DeVorss 26th Michael Mills 26th Dylan Holman 27th Connie Jensen 29th Bonnie Wurtele 29th LOOKING AHEAD ~DECEMBER~ Tues. 2nd: Spiritual Council mtg. 6 pm Board of Christian Education mtg. 7 pm Wed. 3rd: Hand bell practice 5:45 pm Sun. 7th: Communion/Food Pantry Advent St. Mary s Church 6pm 8pm Tues. 9th: Women s Fellowship Holiday Noon Church Council meeting 7 pm Sun. 14th: Sunday school Christmas Program Nominating Committee report/election of Officers Tues. 16th: Ministerial Association Soul Reflections 9 am Sun. 21st: No Sunday school/ Baptism of Erika Rowh Mon. 22nd: Meals on Wheels 11 am Wed. 24th: Christmas Eve 7pm w/communion Thurs. 25th: Christmas Day 10 am with Communion/ Office closed Sun. 28th: No Sunday school Mon. 29th: Meals on Wheels 11 am Wed. 31st: New Year s Eve ANNIVERSARIES Leslie & Janice Dawson ~ Nov. 3, 1989 ~ Bill & Katheryn Walters ~ Nov. 9, 1963 ~ Jim & Rev. Charlene Wozny ~ Nov. 22, 1972 ~ *Choir practice on Wednesdays at 7 pm*

8 SCHEDULED TO SERVE NOVEMBER 2014 LAY LEADERS Nov. 2 Nov. 9 Nov. 16 Nov. 23 Nov. 30 Dean Griepenstroh Sue Griepenstroh Bill Carroll Adelene Vock Sarah Bando GREETERS Nov. 2 Nov. 9 Nov. 16 Nov. 23 Nov. 30 Janice Dawson Dean & Sue Derek & Jessica Harold & Gladys Larry & Tracy Sharon Kotas Griepenstroh Ferguson Huss Wieckhorst USHERS Nov. 2 Nov. 9 Nov. 16 Nov. 23 Nov. 30 Dec. 7 Burt & Cindy Weible Janice Dawson, Pauline Peterson Jamie Horstmann, Sara Horstmann Frank & Pam Malzer Bill Carroll, John Carroll Dennis & Carol Marshall SOUND SYSTEM Nov. 2 Nov. 9 Nov. 16 Nov. 23 Nov. 30 Dec. 7 Burt Weible Harold Huss Dennis Marshall ACOLYTES Nov. 2 Nov. 9 Nov. 16 Nov. 23 Nov. 30 Matthew Merritt Christian Tietz Quintin Holman Mason Wieckhorst Jason Stukenholtz Brianna Johnson Madisen Tietz Keston Holman Nick Brown Andrew Stukenholtz CD MINISTRY ~ Janice Dawson COOKIE FELOWSHP ~ Sandy Ried & Suzy Briley Bethel United Church of Christ 2400 Central Avenue Nebraska City, NE RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED NON-PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE PAID NEBRASKA CITY, NE NOVEMBER 2014