Bethel Lutheran Church March 2018 Volume 4, Issue 3 Where Grace Abounds The Chimes Lent Experience On Wednesday s 6 pm Soup Supper 7 pm Holden Evening Worship 5:30 pm Choir Practice Holy Week March 30 - Combined Maundy Thursday/Good Friday @ 6 pm Baked Potato Bar Easter Cantata April 1 - Easter Sunday 7:30 am Breakfast 8:30 & 11 am Easter Service 9:45 am Easter Egg Hunt 1
BETHEL STAFF Dave Pederson Pastor pastorbethelwindsor@gmail.com Gary Schmidt Director of Music gschmidtmusic@gmail.com Shavonne Felix Youth Director shavonnebethelwindsor@gmail.com Mandy Toms Children s Ministry Director mandybethelwindsor@gmail.com Steve Camp Church Administrator stevebethelwindsor@gmail.com Renae Kamerzell Custodian renae@mikesdrivingacademy.com Ken Streeb Organist kenstreeb47@gmail.com Ruth Winder Wedding Coordinator rwinder@associationonline.com A message from Pastor Dave Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Matthew 6:10 Free Will I often hear, Well, you know God has given us free will. Free will is highly over-rated. If we believe the Bible, our free will is highly influenced by the Devil and from Adam. Do you really trust those two influences in your life. The Bible says that we are sinners, highly influenced if not totally overcome by sin. So, what is the deal with wanting free will and why are we so impressed by thinking we have it? We have changed the free will we have gotten from God into our own will. True free will desires nothing of it s own. It only cares for the will of God, and so it remains free, clinging to nothing. Luther When Jesus says the above line from the Lord s Prayer, we pray against our ourselves and for the will of God. Let my will not be governed by my will but by God s will. Let God s will be done. Self-will is the deepest and mightiest evil in the world, and there is nothing we love more than our own will. (Luther, Sermons on the Lord s Prayer) Pray that free-will becomes God s will in this life and on this earth. AMEN! VOLUNTEER SCHEDULE The volunteer schedule is available online at bethelwindsor.com. If you need a printed copy please let Steve know. 686.2863 Thank you to everyone who helps make every Sunday special. 2
OWL s (Older, Wiser, Lutherans) The next meeting of the OWLS will be Friday, March 16th. Please note change of date. We will meet at the church at 9:15 to carpool to the Model Railroad Museum in Greeley. Admission is $10, and we will enjoy a guided tour. Afterward, we will have lunch nearby. Please let me know if you'd like to join us. Any?, call Cathy at 303-514-5989. Congratulations and Best Wishes to...everyone celebrating a Birthday or Anniversary in March. May God continue to bless you. Keep the aluminum coming in Please, keep taking your used aluminum to Morey s Glass. We have an ongoing account there. We will continue this fundraiser for future youth projects. MOPS and MOMS Next welcomes all moms! Ranging from those who are pregnant, moms with babies, foster moms, adopting moms and moms of kiddos already in school! Join us from 9:30 11:30 every other Thursday. Meeting cost is $5/mom and child care is provided! Upcoming Meeting Dates: March 8 th & 22 nd, April 5 th & 19 th, May 3 rd Contact Mandy Toms with any questions. Join Us! Lutheran Campus Ministry NEWS from Lutheran Campus Ministry Every week we offer students food for their bodies, minds and spirits. Your gifts provide support for young adults as they explore their faith and discover God s calling for their lives. Don t forget that Thrivent members can designate Thrivent Choice Dollars to Lutheran Campus Ministry. Go to www.thrivent.com and sign in to your account to direct your choice dollars. To learn about all the ways you can support campus ministry please contact Pastor Deb Abbott at Lutheran Episcopal Campus Ministry at University of Northern Colorado at pastor@lecmgreeley.org or for Lutheran Campus Ministry at Colorado State University contact Pastor Paul Judson at pastor@lcmcsu.org. Pastor Deb Abbott Lutheran Episcopal Campus Ministry at UNC 1844 11th Ave Greeley, CO 80631 970-817-4407 www.lecmgreeley.org www.facebook.com/unclutherans CHIX WITH STIX Chix with Stix meets every month on the 1st Tuesday at 9 a.m. If you like to crochet or knit come see what Chix with Stix is all about. All are welcome. For more info, please call Karlene Schneider (970) 686-2381 or Diana Templefeld at (970) 686-1028. Easter Egg Race and Resurrection Activity for children of all ages! Be sure to bring a basket! A children s activity will begin at approximately 9:45 in the court yard. (If weather is poor, we will meet in the front of the sanctuary). Following our activity we will head out to the east side of the church for the great egg race! **If you are interested in being an extra set of hands during the activity, please see Mandy Toms. Thank you! 3 3
Children s Ministry Is this you??? You LOVE Bethel! You LOVE your Bethel family and you KNOW how important it is to share the love of Jesus with our youngest generation. Problem is.. you don t know how. Or maybe you do, but you feel like you don t have the time or the skills. I promise you, there is a place for you! Next to Jesus, our children are our most precious gift! There are so many opportunities for us to share His love with them, we just need to be willing! Check out some of the ways in which you can share HIS love with our children here at Bethel: Volunteer once or twice a quarter to help with Sunday School, Volunteer to hold and care for babies and toddlers/pre-schoolers during MOPS meetings, help with VBS (numerous behind the scene opportunities available!), join in the fun at Bethel Family events such as Game Night, Easter Sunday Activities. Offer your services to help prep for Sunday School, VBS or special events. Pray for the children at Bethel, their Sunday School and their families. It cannot be emphasized enough how important it is that our children build relationships with Jesus and YOU! Please see Mandy Toms if you can donate your time or talents to our Children s Ministry! mandybethelwindsor@gmail.com or 970-686-2863 ext. 4 Vacation Bible School is just around the corner! Volunteers are needed behind the scenes in the weeks leading up to the big event as well as during the week of VBS! VBS truly is a team effort! Bethel s VBS is known as one of the best (if not THE Best!) offered! It is an opportunity for us as a church family to reach out to children and their families that may not have a home church! We need help in the following areas Decorations and scene design prep work and set up Prep work with craft items, planning, etc. Team Leaders and Co-Leaders (Lead groups of kiddos from one activity to another) Activity leaders for: Snack, crafts, games, drama, Bible lesson Registration check-in (on first day only) Merchandise Table (at the end of each day, 11:30-12:15) June 4 th -8 th 9:00 a.m. Noon. Please contact Mandy Toms for any questions or to sign up to help! mandybethelwindsor@gmail.com or 970-686-2863 ext. 4 OUR NEXT VOLUNTEER MEETING: MARCH 18 TH AT 10:15 a.m. down stairs in the music room. 4
Youth & Family Ministry Calendar Contact Shavonne, shavonnebethelwindsor@gmail.com 970 397-9383 Wed, Feb 21-Mar 21, Youth serve as Worship Assistants each Lenten Wed 7:00 Wed, Feb 21-Mar 21, 5:30-6:30 Choir Rehearsal, 6:00-7:00 Soup Supper, 7:00-7:30 Worship, 7:30-8:00 Confirmation Group Sun, Mar 4, 9:40-11:45 Houston Team required meeting: devotions, updates, and team building, 6 th and 7 th graders join upstairs for devotions & a project Suns, Mar 11, 18, 24, 9:40 Regular Youth Group in the downstairs Youth Room March, Early bird registration/discount for Sky Ranch week, Jun 17-22, incoming 6 th -9 th grade campers, and we need several HS assistants/mentors for the week March, Watch for spring Combined Area Youth Worship & Lock-in date Youth Thanks & Update of Houston Gathering Wow! The ELCA Youth Gathering starts in 125 days, as I write this! After attending the Youth Ministry Annual Conference Extravaganza in Houston in preparation, I am so excited for our kids to go and experience the Gathering and all Houston has to offer! The theme that we, with 30,000 youth and caring adults will share in is seen on the logo, This (the Grace of Jesus Christ) Changes Everything! We will all be in Mass Worship each night in NRG Stadium where the Houston Texans play football. Our three main days break the attendees into three rotations: a service day, an interactive day at the NRG Arena, and a Synod Day where we will be with the youth/leaders of the Rocky Mountain Synod doing Bible studies, discussion and praising God together. On Sunday, we have worship and celebrate the Lord s Supper, again in the company of 30,000 Christians! We are also making exciting plans for congregation time with touring the Johnson Space Center, seeing the Gulf from Kemah Boardwalk, touring Houston museums, and attending an Astros Baseball game. It is sinking in how soon we go, as we have been assigned our Gathering hotel and have purchased our air travel. None of this bonding journey preparing for Houston, and the ultimate experience at the Gathering, would be possible without you! We give thanks for every one of you who says a prayer for us, buys a ticket for a dinner or event, donates food, time, and funds to give to our youth and ministry. Our hope is to keep the journey going once we return with new enthusiasm and energy in Christ! We will be doing a dinner and presentation on a Sunday evening in August for all of our faith family supporters. Again you make us feel so blessed and so loved! Visit and Support One of Our Campus Ministries, LECM in Greeley, Sunday, March 18 Sunday, Mar 18, Bethel youth (8 th -12 th grades & parents) and any Bethel congregation members, have a neat opportunity to be in community with area college students of faith! We will be providing dinner at LECM, Lutheran Episcopal Campus Ministry, which serves UNC and Aims students in Greeley. Enjoy dinner together, meet and share with college youth, ask questions, and have casual worship. (Houston attendees, this is another chance to get credits for the Gathering in providing & attending). It would be great if we could bring a few things on their house Wish List, along with dinner: paper towels, dishwashing liquid/dish soap, Keurig K-cups, powdered lemonade mix, 30 gal trash bags, gallon ziplock bags, quart ziplock bags, disposable food containers, toilet paper, and toilet bowl cleaner! Call Shavonne with questions, 970 397-9383. 5
Hands in Praise God continues to keep the choir surprised and excited about our outreach ministry. We never know what He has in mind as we sing His praises. We are looking forward to being a part of the Weld County Fair Cowboy Church Service on Sunday, July 29, at Island Grove Regional Park. The service will feature Justin Todd Herod, the 2017 Country Music Christian Artist of the Year. We are grateful that Pastor Shorty Huffman of "In His Reins Cowboy Ministries" of Kersey has included the choir, sight unseen. Please CLIP this ad for the service and put it on your refrigerator. Everyone is invited to attend. You don't have to wear a cowboy hat either. But don't be late as we are the "Call to Worship" at 7:55am sharp. March 18th we will be performing at First United Methodist Church, 503 Walnut Street, our neighboring church, at the 8:45am and 10:30 services. You can go to Bethel's 8:30am service and then bop over to First United Methodist for their 10:30am service. You are just as welcome there as they would be at Bethel. April 1, Easter, at Bethel Lutheran Church we will introduce the song we are learning and practicing right now. It is a powerful song with a powerful message, "Broken and Spilled Out" by Steve Green. The Praise Sheet with the lyrics is already posted on the webpage. For a current list of upcoming performances visit the Hands in Praise page under the ministries tab on the church website, www.bethelwindsor.com. Save the November 11th, 6:30pm date for the 2nd Annual Concert of the choir with Gary Schmidt. "Hands In Praise" is an American Sign Language Christian Choir sponsored by Bethel Lutheran Church. We welcome anyone that would like to join and membership is made up of members of various churches in Northern Colorado. Experience is not needed. If interested, contact Elaine Mainwaring, Director 970-686-5319 or use the submit form on the webpage. Practices are Thursdays at 6:00pm at the Bethel Lutheran Church Sanctuary. 6
March Calendar 7
Bethel Lutheran Church 328 Walnut St Windsor, CO 80550 NON-PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE PAID WINDSOR, CO 80550 PERMIT NO. 3 Phone: 970-686-2863 E-mail: stevebethelwindsor@gmail.com www.bethelwindsor.com On Good Friday, March 30, the Bethel Choir will perform the Easter Cantata Come to the Cross and Remember. There will be a combined Maundy Thursday/Good Friday Service beginning at 6:00 pm in the Fellowship Hall. A baked potato bar will be available. The service will then move to the Sanctuary for the cantata. 8