[Bethany Lutheran Church] Bethany November 2012 Newsletter and Calendar

This announcement is from Bethany Lutheran Church

Bethany November 2012 Newsletter and Calendar

The Bethany November 2012 newsletter and calendar are now available for reading on MemberConnect.   A link to the newsletter is on the home page of our MemberConnect site. Simply click on the link and you will be able to read the newsletter WITHOUT logging in.    However, we still encourage you to log in and check out the calendar and other areas of MemberConnect!   Paper copies of the newsletter are also available at the Information Desk in the Gathering Area.

[ MemberId=815575 OrgId=1184 GroupId=37121 ]

[Bethany Lutheran Church] Wednesday Words for October 31, 2012

Wednesday Words for October 31, 2012
from Pastor Carrie Smith

Thoughts for the Day:

“Be not afraid!” – Jesus.

“I more fear what is within me than what comes from without.” – Martin Luther

Have a Happy Halloween – and a Blessed Reformation Day!

***

In our prayers: Mike Bagby at the death of his aunt; Cole Gaffney, complications from Crohn’s; John Michaels; Larry Kohn; Gary Summers; the east coast as it recovers from Superstorm Sandy; Pastor Tolzmann, Ron & Pat Henning, Cheryl Reimer and others who are traveling as a group to France today; Robert Smith who travels to Jerusalem today; and all others whose travel plans have been disrupted by the storm.

Fall Back! Don’t forget: On Sunday morning you should turn your clocks back one hour. “Get me to the church on time!”

Tonight at Bethany: No Confirmation, no worship. Enjoy the spooky evening with your family and neighbors!

Sunday at Bethany: This is All Saints Sunday, and we will be joined by special musicians to help celebrate those who have gone before us. The Bethany Vision Dancers will also be performing during the choir anthem. I will be preaching and the newly ordained Pastor Paul will preside at the table.

Come a bit early to worship to light a candle in honor of a loved one during the prelude. Worship will begin with the Litany of the Saints, an ancient chanted hymn which names the saints from Abraham and Sarah to Mary, mother of our Lord. The names of Bethany community members who have died in the past year will be read aloud, and there will be a time for you to also speak the names of others you are remembering this day.

7:45 am worshippers, we will meet in Luther Hall for worship.

 

A great Reformation Day sermon from Pastor Nadia Bolz-Weber: Why the Gospel is more Wizard of Oz-y than the Law

“Sounds of Faith” this Sunday:  Sunday, November 4th at 5:30 pm, at First Congregational . Church, 461 Pierson Street, CLSome of Chicago's most recognizable performers in sacred music, chant and recitation will offer Jewish cantillation, Qurânic recitation, and Christian hymnody at his special interfaith concert.  Donations will be accepted at the door.  $20 donations are suggested for adults, $15 for students. This event is co-sponsored by and for the benefit of FaithBridge and The Harran Foundation.

***

This Week’s Texts: All Saints Day

Isaiah 25:6-9
6On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines, of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear. 7And he will destroy on this mountain the shroud that is cast over all peoples, the sheet that is spread over all nations; he will swallow up death forever. 8Then the Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces, and the disgrace of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken. 9It will be said on that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, so that he might save us. This is the Lord for whom we have waited; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.

Psalm 24 (Message Version)
God claims Earth and everything in it,
   God claims World and all who live on it.
He built it on Ocean foundations,
   laid it out on River girders.
Who can climb Mount God?
   Who can scale the holy north-face?
Only the clean-handed,
   only the pure-hearted;
Men who won’t cheat,
   women who won’t seduce.
God is at their side;
   with God’s help they make it.
This, Jacob, is what happens
   to God-seekers, God-questers.
Wake up, you sleepyhead city!
Wake up, you sleepyhead people!
   King-Glory is ready to enter.
Who is this King-Glory?
   God, armed
   and battle-ready.
Wake up, you sleepyhead city!
Wake up, you sleepyhead people!
   King-Glory is ready to enter.
Who is this King-Glory?
   God-of-the-Angel-Armies:
   he is King-Glory.

Revelation 21:1-6a
21Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them as their God; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; 4he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away.” 5And the one who was seated on the throne said, “See, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.” 6Then he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.

John 11:32-44
32When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” 33When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. 34He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” 35Jesus began to weep. 36So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” 37But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?” 38Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. 39Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead four days.” 40Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” 41So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upward and said, “Father, I thank you for having heard me. 42I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me.” 43When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

Peace,
+ Pastor Carrie Smith
carrie.smith@bethanylc.com

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Carrie Smith

[Bethany Lutheran Church] Holy Scripture & a Prayer for the "Frankenstorm"

Jesus said: "Take heart; I am here. Be not afraid." 

(Matthew 14:27)

 

Psalm 46 (psalm for Reformation Sunday)

God is our refuge and strength,
  a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change,
  though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea;
though its waters roar and foam,
  though the mountains tremble with its tumult. Selah

Isaiah 43
But now thus says the Lord,
  he who created you, O Jacob,
  he who formed you, O Israel:
Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
  I have called you by name, you are mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
  and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
  and the flame shall not consume you.

Mark 4: Jesus Stills a Storm
On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, ‘Let us go across to the other side.’ And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. A great gale arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, ‘Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?’ He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, ‘Peace! Be still!’ Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. He said to them, ‘Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?’ And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, ‘Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?’

Let us pray:

God, you still the storms and are a very present help in trouble. We pray for all those suffering the effects of Hurricane Sandy. Bring comfort to the afflicted and strength to those who come to their aid. Lord in your mercy. Amen. 

 

Pastor Carrie Smith

Bethany Lutheran Church, ELCA

carrie.smith@bethanylc.com 

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Carrie Smith

[Bethany Lutheran Church] Bethany News: Youth event cancelled

Dear Bethany members,

Just a quick note to let you know that the Youth Trick-or-Treating event has been cancelled! 

Peace,

Pr. Carrie

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Carrie Smith

[Bethany Lutheran Church] Wednesday Words for October 24, 2012

Wednesday Words for October 24, 2012
from Pastor Carrie Smith

Thought for the Day:
“A Christian is a perfectly free lord of all, subject to none. A Christian is a perfectly dutiful servant of all, subject of all, subject to all.”

- Martin Luther, “The Freedom of a Christian”

***

In our prayers: John Michaels (who was just moved to The Springs), Larry Kohn, Gary Summers, June Ouart, Pastor Paul at the death of his grandmother, and preschool teacher Bridget Dudgeon at the death of her mother.

Tonight at Bethany: NO WORSHIP tonight or next week due to scheduling issues and Halloween festivities.

This Sunday at Bethany: What a huge festival day! This is Reformation Sunday, the day we honor our heritage as Christians in the Lutheran tradition. We might even have a guest appearance by Martin Luther himself! And then, at 10:45 am, we are honored to be celebrating the confirmation of 22 young people. We give thanks to God for their faith, and for their families who have supported them. At this worship service you will witness the laying on of hands as we pray for the gifts of the Holy Spirit to empower these young men and women in their lives of faith.

Special music will be offered by the Bethany Choir at 9 am and by high school students Randy Luken and Bryce Sova at 10:45 am.

Pastor Paul’s ordination will take place on Sunday at 4 pm in Rockford. Printed directions are available at the information desk at church, and are attached in PDF format to this email. I hope to see many of you there!

Did you know the world will celebrate 500 years of the Reformation in 2017? Learn more about the “Luther Decade” leading up to this date at this interesting website: The Luther Decade

Hey High School Youth and Families! Come and join us at the Nobbe household on Friday, October 26th and help us raise canned goods for the food pantry by Trick-or-Treating!  Come dressed in your Halloween costume as we start with some hotdogs over the fire, after which we will go door-to-door collecting non-perishable food items that we can donate to local charities.  When we are finished trick-or-treating, we will have a bonfire at the Nobbe household with s’more roasting, cider, games, and time to just hang out with one another.
The Nobbe's address is: 3407 Royal Woods Dr., Crystal Lake, IL 60014

All Saints Day is coming soon! On Sunday, November 4th, come to Bethany to light a candle in memory of a loved one and to experience a festive worship experience. We’ll be joined by the Bethany choir and some guest brass musicians. The names of Bethany community members who have died this year will be read, and you will have the opportunity to name other friends and family as well. This is a great time to reach out to a neighbor or friend and invite them to church, especially if you know they are grieving this year.

***
This week’s texts: Reformation Day

Jeremiah 31:31-34
31The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. 32It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt—a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says the Lord. 33But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, “Know the Lord,” for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.

Psalm: This week’s Psalm 46 is the basis for Martin Luther’s famous hymn, “A Mighty Fortress is Our God”. Here is a beautiful version of this Lutheran favorite: A Mighty Fortress

Romans 3:19-28
19Now we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. 20For “no human being will be justified in his sight” by deeds prescribed by the law, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin. 21But now, apart from law, the righteousness of God has been disclosed, and is attested by the law and the prophets, 22the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction, 23since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; 24they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood, effective through faith. He did this to show his righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over the sins previously committed; 26it was to prove at the present time that he himself is righteous and that he justifies the one who has faith in Jesus. 27Then what becomes of boasting? It is excluded. By what law? By that of works? No, but by the law of faith. 28For we hold that a person is justified by faith apart from works prescribed by the law.

John 8:31-36
31Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; 32and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” 33They answered him, “We are descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean by saying, ‘You will be made free’?” 34Jesus answered them, “Very truly, I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. 35The slave does not have a permanent place in the household; the son has a place there forever. 36So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.

Peace,
+ Pastor Carrie Smith
carrie.smith@bethanylc.com 

Attachments:

Directions to Pr. Paul's Ordination.pdf

This email sent by:

Carrie Smith

[Bethany Lutheran Church] BETHANY: Wednesday Worship Update & Prayers

 

Dear Bethany sisters and brothers,

First, our prayers are with Pastor Paul Cannon and his family at the passing of his grandmother, Martha. Pr. Paul will be traveling to North Dakota this week for her funeral, and will be back in time for his ordination on Sunday.

We also pray for our preschool teacher, Bridget Dudgeon, at the passing of her mother, Peggy. Bridget will be traveling sometime soon to England for a service in honor of her mother.

May God grant Martha and Peggy rest eternal.

 

Pr. Paul's absence this week necessitates a change in our Wednesday schedule. There will be no worship this Wednesday, October 24th.

Confirmation students, there will be one class only this week, from 5-7:15 pm. This will be a movie night, and we'll be watching the movie "Luther" in honor of Reformation Day. Dinner will be served as usual.

Confirmation Class of 2012: Our meeting will still happen at 7:30 pm this Wednesday, October 24, in the sanctuary.

October 31 (Halloween): No confirmation class, no worship, due to a number of families who say they have other family activities.

Peace,

Pastor Carrie Smith

carrie.smith@Bethanylc.com 

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Carrie Smith

[Bethany Lutheran Church] Wednesday Words for October 17, 2012

Wednesday Words for October 17, 2012
from Pastor Carrie Smith

2 Thoughts for the Day:

We can do no great things, only small things with great love.  
~Mother Teresa

Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better.  It's not.
~Dr. Seuss

In our prayers: Gary Summers, John Michaels (who had a procedure Monday), June Ouart (who had cataract surgery Monday), Larry Kohn (beginning cancer treatments), the George Pauls family at the death of Anthony (a friend of the Gaffney family), the Hallberg family at the death of Lox, Betty Klehfoth (eye infection).

Sunday at Bethany: Worship at 7:45 am, 9 am, and 10:45 am. The confirmation students will be providing the Child’s Word this week! Pastor Paul will be preaching and presiding at all three services.

Sunday at 4 pm: Come to the next Bethany Arts Series concert, a fantastic piano duo recital! As always, there is no admission to this great musical opportunity.

Pastoral Emergencies: Robert and I will in California from Friday-Sunday, where Robert will be presiding at the wedding of his best high school friend. For pastoral emergencies, please contact the office or Pastor Paul at (815)404-7248.

Sojourners Magazine: Several Bethany members responded saying they would like to join in a bulk subscription to Sojourners Magazine: Faith in Action for Social Justice. 
There is still time to join in! Regular price for one year, one person is $39.95. We can save a lot by having our magazines shipped to the church all together:
2 to 5 $17.95
6 to 9 $15.95
10 to 25 $13.95
26 to 50 $11.95
51 to 99 $9.95
100 or more $7.95
Shoot me an email, or sign up at church on Sunday at the information desk!

Important dates for your calendar:
Confirmation 2012: Rehearsal on Wednesday, October 24th at 7:30 pm, sanctuary.
Sunday, October 28:
7:45 am and 9 am: Reformation Day Worship
10:45 am: Affirmation of Baptism (Confirmation) for 22 young people

4 pm: Pastor Paul Cannon’s ordination into the ministry of word and sacrament, at Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd in Rockford (1829 N. Rockton Avenue)

“Red Letter Revolution: What if Jesus really meant what he said?” This new book was just released by Christian authors Tony Campolo and Shane Claiborne. My copy is still fresh on my desk—can’t wait to read it!

“Red Letter Revolution is about politics, but it's fresh. It's about theology, but it's real. It's about economics, but it's interesting. It's about Jesus, who longs to transform the world despite the embarrassing things His followers have done in His name. For conservatives and progressives, skeptics and believers, Red Letter Revolution undertakes the world-shaping mission to understand how Jesus' words could change everything—if we'd only give them a chance.”  You can learn more about it here:  Red Letter Christians

***
This Week’s Texts: 21st Sunday after Pentecost

Isaiah 53:4-12
4Surely he has borne our infirmities and carried our diseases; yet we accounted him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted. 5But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed. 6All we like sheep have gone astray; we have all turned to our own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. 8By a perversion of justice he was taken away. Who could have imagined his future? For he was cut off from the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people. 9They made his grave with the wicked and his tomb with the rich, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth. 10Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him with pain. When you make his life an offering for sin, he shall see his offspring, and shall prolong his days; through him the will of the Lord shall prosper. 11Out of his anguish he shall see light; he shall find satisfaction through his knowledge. The righteous one, my servant, shall make many righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. 12Therefore I will allot him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he poured out himself to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

Psalm 91:9-16
Yes, because God’s your refuge,
   the High God your very own home,
Evil can’t get close to you,
   harm can’t get through the door.
He ordered his angels
   to guard you wherever you go.
If you stumble, they’ll catch you;
   their job is to keep you from falling.
You’ll walk unharmed among lions and snakes,
   and kick young lions and serpents from the path.
“If you’ll hold on to me for dear life,” says God,
   “I’ll get you out of any trouble.
I’ll give you the best of care
   if you’ll only get to know and trust me.
Call me and I’ll answer, be at your side in bad times;
   I’ll rescue you, then throw you a party.
I’ll give you a long life,
   give you a long drink of salvation!”

Hebrews 5:1-10
5Every high priest chosen from among mortals is put in charge of things pertaining to God on their behalf, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. 2He is able to deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is subject to weakness; 3and because of this he must offer sacrifice for his own sins as well as for those of the people. 4And one does not presume to take this honor, but takes it only when called by God, just as Aaron was. 5So also Christ did not glorify himself in becoming a high priest, but was appointed by the one who said to him, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you”; 6as he says also in another place, “You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek.” 7In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. 8Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered; 9and having been made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him, 10having been designated by God a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.

Mark 10:35-45
35James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came forward to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” 36And he said to them, “What is it you want me to do for you?” 37And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” 38But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” 39They replied, “We are able.” Then Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will drink; and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized; 40but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.”
41When the ten heard this, they began to be angry with James and John. 42So Jesus called them and said to them, “You know that among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. 43But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, 44and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. 45For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.”

Peace,
+ Pastor Carrie Smith
carrie.smith@bethanylc.com

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Carrie Smith

[Bethany Lutheran Church] Bethany Member Loxandra "Lox" Hallberg

This announcement is from Bethany Lutheran Church

Bethany Member Loxandra "Lox" Hallberg

Dear Bethany Sisters and Brothers,   Today we mourn the passing of Bethany member, Loxandra Hallberg, age 80.  Lox passed away on Wednesday, October 10, 2012.  At this time, we have no information on any services being planned.   Please keep the Hallberg family in your prayers.     May God grant Lox eternal rest and peace.

[ MemberId=815575 OrgId=1184 GroupId=37121 ]

[Bethany Lutheran Church] Wednesday Words for October 10

Wednesday Words for October 10, 2012
from Pastor Carrie Smith

Thought for the Day: A Prayer for When I Cry in Church
Oh, Lord, here we go again.
I’m not sure what these tears are about
But I know you know.
Thank you for cracking open my hard heart.
Now let seep in through the crack
Whatever it is you want to give me:
Words, or music, or promises, or insight, or good news.
God, I’m not sure what these tears are about,
But I want to ask that you help them do their work.
Help me to not dry these tears too soon,
Or harden my heart again right away.
Keep me tear-streaked and soft-hearted
For as long as you—or I—need. Amen.

-Quinn Caldwell, from “A Book of (Un)Common Prayers”
***

In our prayers: Larry Kohn, prostate cancer and undergoing treatments; Gary Summers, who had a stem cell transplant on Tuesday; John Michaels, experiencing fatigue and undergoing tests; the Bethany PADS site, which began a new year of ministry on Sunday.

This Sunday at Bethany: We will be blessed with a sermon from Pastor Rafael Malpica-Padilla, who is the Executive Director of Global Mission for the ELCA, and is also a member of Bethany! We’ll also hear music from our fantastic Bell Canto bell choir, and a little bird told me our illustrious organist has been practicing some Bach!

It’s wonderful to have our Global Mission Director with us this Sunday, as we will be celebrating the anniversary of Bethany’s global partnerships in Tanzania. You can learn more about the ELCA’s work in Tanzania here:
ELCA Global Mission in Tanzania

And you can read about Bethany's missionary family in Tanzania, the Stubbs, here: www.stubbsmission.info

Where do you go to church? A new study has been released which says that 1 in 5 adult Americans consider themselves to be religiously unaffiliated:

Pew Study

Young Couple looking to get connected? The new young couple’s group will meet at the Hoekstra’s home – 6903 Inverway Dr., Lakewood – at 7 pm on Sat., Oct. 27th. Please bring a snack to share and ideas of topical studies that interest you.  Childcare will not be provided, so if planning to attend couple’s need to find their own childcare.  Please contact Jeanna Hoekstra at sjhoekstra@live.com or 815-459-0154 if you have any questions or to RSVP. The more, the merrier!

Help us rid your trash of trash! Bring the following items which will be reused for a better purpose through My Nihilo and Terra Cycle

Cereal bags - wiped clean and free of cereal
Cookie packages -wiped clean and free of crumbs
Writing instruments -old and used
Heavy colored plastic bags - ie; from gap, bath and body, etc. 
Heavier packaging plastic used to wrap around products ie; plastic around paper towel or water bottle cases.
Pop tabs
Fasteners: buckles, buttons, & telephone cords

These are items you normally throw out in the trash on a daily basis - why not take one extra step and bring them to Luther Hall this Sunday?

Save the dates! Sunday, October 21 at 4 pm is the next Bethany Arts Series Concert (free admission!) and then Sunday, October 28 at 4 pm is Pr. Paul’s ordination into the ministry of word and sacrament in Rockford.

This Week’s Texts: 20th Sunday after Pentecost

Amos 5:6-7, 10-15
6Seek the Lord and live, or he will break out against the house of Joseph like fire, and it will devour Bethel, with no one to quench it. 7Ah, you that turn justice to wormwood, and bring righteousness to the ground! 10They hate the one who reproves in the gate, and they abhor the one who speaks the truth. 11Therefore because you trample on the poor and take from them levies of grain, you have built houses of hewn stone, but you shall not live in them; you have planted pleasant vineyards, but you shall not drink their wine. 12For I know how many are your transgressions, and how great are your sins— you who afflict the righteous, who take a bribe, and push aside the needy in the gate. 13Therefore the prudent will keep silent in such a time; for it is an evil time. 14Seek good and not evil, that you may live; and so the Lord, the God of hosts, will be with you, just as you have said. 15Hate evil and love good, and establish justice in the gate; it may be that the Lord, the God of hosts, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.

Psalm 90:12-17 (Message Version)
12-17 Oh! Teach us to live well!
   Teach us to live wisely and well!
Come back, God—how long do we have to wait?—
   and treat your servants with kindness for a change.
Surprise us with love at daybreak;
   then we’ll skip and dance all the day long.
Make up for the bad times with some good times;
   we’ve seen enough evil to last a lifetime.
Let your servants see what you’re best at—
   the ways you rule and bless your children.
And let the loveliness of our Lord, our God, rest on us,
   confirming the work that we do.
   Oh, yes. Affirm the work that we do!

Hebrews 4:12-16
12Indeed, the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13And before him no creature is hidden, but all are naked and laid bare to the eyes of the one to whom we must render an account. 14Since, then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. 15For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. 16Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Mark 10:17-31
17As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 18Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. 19You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; You shall not defraud; Honor your father and mother.’” 20He said to him, “Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth.” 21Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, “You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” 22When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions.
23Then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” 24And the disciples were perplexed at these words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! 25It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” 26They were greatly astounded and said to one another, “Then who can be saved?” 27Jesus looked at them and said, “For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible.”
28Peter began to say to him, “Look, we have left everything and followed you.” 29Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields, for my sake and for the sake of the good news, 30who will not receive a hundredfold now in this age—houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life. 31But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.”

Peace,
+ Pastor Carrie Smith
carrie.smith@bethanylc.com

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Carrie Smith

[Bethany Lutheran Church] Wednesday Wprds for October 3, 2012

Wednesday Words for October 3, 2012

From Pastor Carrie Smith

Thought for the Day:

(Based on Mark 10:13-16)

Can't tell you how good I felt when Jesus touched my child.
I pressed through to make it here. Pressed through hunger and thirst and hardship.
Pressed through worries and doubts and fears.
Pressed through people and problems.
And then… just when I got close enough to hear him talking, the church folks said,
“Move back and shut that child up, Jesus is busy."
But Jesus told them to move back and be quiet, because he was busy blessing my child.

By the Rev. Dr. Kwasi Kena

 

***

In our prayers: John Michaels, experiencing fatigue; Larry Kohn, health issues; Gary Summers, continuing cancer treatments; PADS volunteers and clients as they open for the season on Sunday night.

Tonight at Bethany: Confirmation classes at 4:45 and 7:30; Confirmation meal at 5:45 pm; Worship at 6:30 pm.

Bethany choirs are always looking for new members! Sonshine Singers meet at 5 pm; the Drum Ministry meets at 6 pm; and the Bethany Adult Choir is from 7:30-9 pm.

Sunday at Bethany: Worship is at 7:45 am, 9 am, and 10:45 am.

We will be blessed by the music of the Bethany Choir at 9 am and Sonshine Singers at 10:45 am.

Then, come back at 4 pm for the blessing of the animals! All pets are allowed—even stuffed ones! We’ll meet on the lawn in front of the church.

Support LSSI! You can help support LSSI’s new project, the Gable Point Senior Housing Complex, which is having its ground-breaking ceremony on Thursday, October 11^th at 2 pm. Location is 401 Commonwealth Drive, right here in Crystal Lake. Please join me!

The CROP Walk was a great success! Thanks to all the Bethany members who showed up to take a step against hunger in our community.

Thanks be to God: the African Children’s Choir packed the pews on Sunday! It was a joyful night of music and dance, and to make it even better, we raised over $5,600 for the choir and its schools in Africa. What a wonderful tribute to Jody Leahy. (There’s already talk of bringing them back for next year!)

The next Bethany Arts Series Concert is Sunday, October 21, 2012 at 4:00 p.m. The husband and wife duo-piano team of Redekopp and Edwards perform a delightful concert of works from Bach to Gershwin and   beyond.  In addition to performing together at one piano, each pianist will also perform solo pieces, including works by Chopin and Brahms. Please come!

In honor of Columbus Day (and because school is not in session), the office will be closed on Monday, October 8^th.

And, since it is Columbus Day on Monday, here is a prayer from the Native American Ministries Office of the Episcopal Church:

CREATOR, we give you thanks for all you are and all you bring to us for our visit within your creation. In Jesus, you place the Gospel in the Center of this Sacred Circle through which all of creation is related. You show us the way to live a generous and compassionate life. Give us your strength to live together with respect and commitment as we grow in your spirit, for you are God, now and forever. AMEN.

This Week’s Texts: 19^th Sunday after Pentecost 

Genesis 22:18-24

¹⁸Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper as his partner.” ¹⁹So out of the ground the Lord God formed every animal of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. ²⁰The man gave names to all cattle, and to the birds of the air, and to every animal of the field; but for the man there was not found a helper as his partner.

²¹So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then he took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. ²²And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. ²³Then the man said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; this one shall be called Woman, for out of Man this one was taken.” ²⁴Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and clings to his wife, and they become one flesh.

Psalm 8 (Message Version) 

8 God, brilliant Lord, yours is a household name.

² Nursing infants gurgle choruses about you;
    toddlers shout the songs that drown out enemy talk,
    and silence atheist babble.

^3-4 I look up at your macro-skies, dark and enormous, your handmade sky-jewelry,
Moon and stars mounted in their settings.
    Then I look at my micro-self and wonder,
Why do you bother with us? Why take a second look our way?

^5-8 Yet we’ve so narrowly missed being gods, bright with Eden’s dawn light.
You put us in charge of your handcrafted world,
    repeated to us your Genesis-charge,
Made us lords of sheep and cattle, even animals out in the wild,
Birds flying and fish swimming, whales singing in the ocean deeps.

⁹ God, brilliant Lord, your name echoes around the world.

Hebrews 1:1-4, 2:5-12

1Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, ²but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created the worlds. ³He is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being, and he sustains all things by his powerful word. When he had made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, ⁴having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

⁵Now God did not subject the coming world, about which we are speaking, to angels. ⁶But someone has testified somewhere, “What are human beings that you are mindful of them, or mortals, that you care for them? ⁷You have made them for a little while lower than the angels; you have crowned them with glory and honor, ⁸subjecting all things under their feet.” Now in subjecting all things to them, God left nothing outside their control. As it is, we do not yet see everything in subjection to them, ⁹but we do see Jesus, who for a little while was made lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.

¹⁰It was fitting that God, for whom and through whom all things exist, in bringing many children to glory, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through sufferings. ¹¹For the one who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one Father. For this reason Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters, ¹²saying, “I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters, in the midst of the congregation I will praise you.”

Mark 10:2-16

²Some Pharisees came, and to test him they asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” ³He answered them, “What did Moses command you?” ⁴They said, “Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of dismissal and to divorce her.” ⁵But Jesus said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart he wrote this commandment for you. ⁶But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ ⁷‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, ⁸and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. ⁹Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”

¹⁰Then in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter. ¹¹He said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; ¹²and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”

¹³People were bringing little children to him in order that he might touch them; and the disciples spoke sternly to them. ¹⁴But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. ¹⁵Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.” ¹⁶And he took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them.

Peace,

+Pastor Carrie B. Smith

Carrie.smith@Bethanylc.com

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Carrie Smith