The Spirit of Bethlehem

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The Spirit of Bethlehem Bethlehem United Church of Christ 11608 Lax Chapel Rd.

and He said to him, "Follow Me!" And he got up and followed Him. Matthew 9:9 Are you called to service like Matthew? Are you driven to do something good in service to the Lord?

1 The Spirit of Bethlehem Bethlehem United Church of Christ Lax Chapel Rd. Kiel, WI (920) Randy s Ramblings October, 2017 Greetings Brothers and Sisters in Christ, As Jesus went on from there, He saw a man called Matthew, sitting in the tax collector's booth; and He said to him, "Follow Me!" And he got up and followed Him. Matthew 9:9 Are you called to service like Matthew? Are you driven to do something good in service to the Lord? Do you see those in need and sense an urging to get involved on their behalf? There s no doubt that scripture compels us to serve the poor, the oppressed and those in need. But what is Bethlehem willing to do? Fortunately, we DO have young people and others with a strong sense of mission. We recently heard report from Leah and Mekenzie about their summer experiences with the Appalachian Service Project. Listening to their stories, it was clear that they were touched by their glimpses into poverty and struggle that people face. They both confessed to being changed, and to having a new relationship with God and deepened faith. That s what mission does. When you come face to face with those you are serving, it changes you. Let s FOLLOW the lead of our young people and embark on real mission and service as a church! Thankfully Leah and Mekenzie have already committed to ASP next year, as have a few other young people. Rev. Johnston and I are also looking at other possible mission activities for the youth next summer. But don t wait for us! Create your own mission project and invite the rest of us to get involved. Let s get up and follow Leah, Mekenzie, Matthew and Jesus. Let s serve! In Christ s love, Randy Koppenhaver, Licensed Lay Minister randynmel5@gmail.com INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Pastor s Pages 1 Misc News 2 Consistory 3 Contact Info and Search Committee SS/Merry Christians/Youth Bethlehem Ladies/Scrip/Choir Prayers/Lectionary 7 Bethlehem News 8 Aug Building Fund 9 Oct Calendars 10 Articles for the Nov edition of the Spirit are due on Wed, Oct 18 th. Articles can be ed directly to me at bryanjeanty@gmail.com or leave articles in the mailbox in the church office. Thank You ~Bryan 1

2 LET S SAVE PAPER! In order to help the church reduce the amount of paper we go through please sign up to receive the Spirit electronically. You can do it by signing up in the fellowship hall or ing Bryan Jeanty at bryanjeanty@gmail.com. This is purely voluntary if you don t sign up you will still keep getting the printed copy of Spirit. Do you have someone in college or the military or away from home who would like to hear about the events of Bethlehem sign them up so they can receive the spirit electronically. If you are not able to worship with us on Sunday, you can send your giving envelope/check to the following address: Bethlehem UCC c/o Ginny Schultz Lax Chapel Rd. Kiel, WI Consistory: Elder /President: Gene Radder Elder : Bob Radder Elder: Traci Rabe Deacon: Ross Westphalen Deacon/Secretary: Natasha Verhultz Financial Secretary: Ginny Schultz Treasurer : Rick Rabe Mission Statement As Disciples of Christ, we are a loving, caring community of faith, called to witness to God s grace and glory. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, we commit to love, nurture, respect, encourage and challenge each other. Rooted in the tradition of our Christian ancestors, we live our faith through worship, fellowship, teaching and service to others. 2

3 Consistory Minutes September 12th, :30pm Bethlehem United Church Of Christ Rebecca Johnston Gene Radder Ross Westphalen (not in attendance) Randy Koppenhaver Bob Radder Natasha Verhulst (not in attendance) Traci Rabe (not in attendance) Rick Rabe Call to order Creating a Healthy Church Chapter 4 Discussion Monthly Reports Financial- Ginny Approved as given Treasurer- Rick Approved as given Secretary Report Approved as given Louie Bowe-In charge of Buildings and grounds Randy Koppenhaver Discussed confirmation retreat Pastor Rebecca Johnston Discussed confirmation retreat and getting to know the confirmands The youth group will do the Appalachian Project 6/23-6/30 October 7th is youth baking day so on October 8th the youth group will sell coffee and baked goods October 22nd confirmation to Chicago Old Business White Board is in Mueller vow renewal will take place October 1st New Business Non member wedding November 4th Discussion The Lord s Prayer Meeting adjourned Respectfully Submitted, Natasha Verhulst Deacon/Secretary Current church contacts: Primary Contact: Gene Radder Secondary Contact: Bob Radder

4 Bethlehem UCC - Search Committee The search committee will be inactive until January 1st. Linda Rabe Ryan Arnold Kerry Henning Lindy Riesterer Steve Voland Bob Radder Bethlehem UCC's Website is LIVE!!! The website is Check it out!!!!! Please use the address below to submit information, photos, etc. for the church website: Bethlehem United Church of Christ Lax Chapel Rd Kiel WI Phone: Worship Times: Sunday School begins at 8:00 a.m. Worship time is 9:30 a.m. Rev. Rebecca A. Johnston, Interim Pastor ( revbecky1124@gmail.com) Randy Koppenhaver, Licensed Lay Minister ( randynmel5@gmail.com 4

5 Sunday School Sunday School is off to a great start once again! We love seeing all the children again! As a reminder, Sunday School starts at 8:00 am and is finished at 9:15. The Sunday School wants to ensure updated information for each child. Please complete and return the forms relating to emergency contact information and release of photos. Also, on October 1, the 4K-2nd grade classes will be singing in church. On November 5, the upper classes will be performing during the church service. And, don t forget to peak at the Sunday School Bulletin Board to see what amazing things the students are doing! Merry Christians We would like to thank all those who were a part of Mission Fest Sunday on September 24 th. We especially thank Tom Lefeber for being our guest speaker. Hopefully you found his message inspirational. The annual Heifer Project Auction will be held on Sunday, October 15 th in the fellowship hall following the regular worship service. The next meeting for the Merry Christians is set for Thursday, October 5th at 6:30 pm. Kaye Radder Mission Fest Sunday Sunday, Oct 15th - Heifer Project International Auction Following the worship service you are invited participate in the annual Heifer Project auction in the fellowship hall. The proceeds from this auction will provide livestock to needy families throughout the world. You are encouraged to donate baked goods, crafts, children s items, etc. Questions ask the Merry Christians. Refreshments will be served. Youth Fellowship News Our next meeting is October 8. We will gather on the 7th at 9:00 AM to bake for a coffee hour the next morning. On the 8th we will have a coffee hour and after that we will travel to Howard s Grove for the CROP walk. Crop walk collection envelopes are available through Rev. Becky. Youth will be selling the fair trade products at church each Sunday. Please stop by and help support this mission of the group. Youth Fellowship will meet the second Sunday of every month. 5

6 Bethlehem Ladies The Bethlehem Ladies had their annual guest night on September 19 th. Thirty-five guest and members were present. After a light supper at 6:00 pm, Sue Gabsch and her husband related a very inspiring message to us about her near death experience while waiting for a liver transplant. She also quoted statistics of the number of people needing transplants, number of transplants performed and the importance of organ donors. A donation of $25 was given to Sue and $78 was collected for her to forward to transplant programs. Our next meeting will be on October 15 th at 8:30 am. Washing communion glasses on Oct. 1 will be Shirley, Heidi and Jeanette. Secretary, Shirley Henschel Scrip Fall is here and Christmas is within sight. Please keep scrip in mind for any fall projects or for early Christmas shopping. We have many retailers available, plus if we do not carry them. I can always order them for you. Remember the scrip program benefits the building fund. If you have any questions about the scrip program, please ask. We have many cash and carry cards which you can use during the week for your shopping needs. It is just like using cash, but the church benefits from the program. Give it a try and help the building fund! LINDA RABE SCRIP STATS: Sales Profit 8/20/17 $2, $ /28/17 $1, $ /03/17 $1, $ /10/17 $ $ /17/17 $2, $ Choir Choir Notes As many of you have noticed the choir has not been singing during service on Sundays as of yet. The reasoning behind this is that we have not had enough voices to do quality singing for the services. We are putting the question out there, that if you are interested in singing with the choir to let us know so that we can continue. We need to know so that we can make some decisions on the future of the choir here at Bethlehem. Thanks, Ross Westphalen Choir President 6

Prayer Concerns Those in our thoughts and prayers (Please check weekly Bethlehem Blurb for updated prayer concerns) Prayer Concerns: Samantha Meinert (Daughter of Jerry Wehrman) - Cancer Louie Bowe -

7 Prayer Concerns Those in our thoughts and prayers (Please check weekly Bethlehem Blurb for updated prayer concerns) Prayer Concerns: Samantha Meinert (Daughter of Jerry Wehrman) - Cancer Louie Bowe - recovery Marilyn Brickbauer - Cancer treatments Ken Behnke, treatment for leukemia Evelyn Schnell - recovering from recent hospitalization Those with unknown health issues. Those in the US who have been displaced or affected by natural disasters or wildfires. Pastor Johnston is deployed by the American Red Cross as a disaster relief volunteer. Bethlehem is honored to send Rev. Johnston on behalf of the congregation. She plans to maintain regular contact and keep the congregation updated on her activities. During this time, please contact Randy with any pastoral needs. Next week (10/1) during worship, Tom & Marie Mueller will renew their wedding vows in honor of their 25th anniversary. BUCC members are invited to a luncheon following at Millhome. Please sign up in the Fellowship Hall, so the Mueller s can provide a count to Millhome. Lectionary October 1, Exodus 17:1-7 and Psalm 78:1-4, 12-16; OR Ezekiel 18:1-4, and Psalm 25:1-9; Philippians 2:1-13; Matthew 21:23-32 October 8, Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, and Psalm 19; OR Isaiah 5:1-7 and Psalm 80:7-15; Philippians 3:4b-14; Matthew 21:33-46 October 15, Exodus 32:1-14 and Psalm 106:1-6, 19-23; OR Isaiah 25:1-9 and Psalm 23; Philippians 4:1-9; Matthew 22:1-14; October 22, Exodus 33:12-23 and Psalm 99; OR Isaiah 45:1-7 and Psalm 96:1-9, (10-13); 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10; Matthew 22:15-22 October 29, Deuteronomy 34:1-12 and Psalm 90:1-6, 13-17; OR Leviticus 19:1-2, and Psalm 1; 1 Thessalonians 2:1-8; Matthew 22:

Bethlehem News Crop Walk! The confirmation class has set a class goal of $1500 for the Crop Walk, which will be held on October 8. Please support our young people by donating to this worthy cause!

8 Bethlehem News Crop Walk! The confirmation class has set a class goal of $1500 for the Crop Walk, which will be held on October 8. Please support our young people by donating to this worthy cause! Monthly Mission Project - September's Jingle change will help support Our Church's Wider Mission Rev. Becky s office hours will be Tuesdays 9am Noon and Wednesdays 9 am -3 pm. If you need to contact her outside of those hours feel free to use her cell phone Randy is going to continue with us at his current status preaching once per month and co-leading in some of the programming. Aluminum Cans please place ONLY aluminum cans into your bags keep aluminum pans and other items separate. Please continue to save your aluminum cans and place them in the old garage next to the parsonage. If you remove the can tabs and place in a separate bag - these can go help support The Ronald McDonald House. Building Fund Bethlehem has been blessed with this new building we are in our 12 th year in building and our debt is continuing to go down. We ask that you prayerfully consider monthly donations to the building fund to help us retire this debt. We are now under $22,000 and would like to retire the fund as soon as possible. Mark on the outside on your envelope Building Fund. Thanks for your continued support to the building fund. Take time to introduce yourself to someone you don t know help them to get to know you and other people in the church. Please wear your name tags at church to help one another get to know you better Annual Banquet The annual United Church Men and Women Scholarship Banquet will be held Thursday evening, October 26 th at Lakeland University. Dan Krueger, lay minister at St. John s UCC Sheboygan, seminary student at Chicago Theological Seminary, and former scholarship recipient will be the guest speaker. Special music will be provided by St. John s musicians. The purpose of United Church Men and Women s annual banquet is to provide the men and women of our congregations a time of wonderful fellowship and good food, and to present a UCMW scholarship to a Lakeland University pre-seminary student, a current seminary student, and a post-seminary student. If you are interested in being a part of this evening, please contact Bob or Kaye Radder. Cost for the meal is $15 per person Advice from a pumpkin 8

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The Spirit of Bethlehem

The Spirit of Bethlehem Bethlehem United Church of Christ 11608 Lax Chapel Rd. Kiel, WI 53042 (920) 894-3332 Dear Members and Friends of Bethlehem UCC, As I write to you I am in Evanston for two weeks