[Bethany Lutheran Church] WednesdayWord and Bethany Weekly Newsletter

Wednesday Words for June 25, 2014

From Interim Senior Pastor Len Hoffmann

 

Scroll down to find the link to your Bethany Weekly Newsletter!

 

Thought for the Day:

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

2 Timothy 4:7

***

This Week: Register for VBS on the Bethany website (use the Sunday School registration link). If you desire your child(ren) to have a VBS t-Shirt please register TODAY.

Volunteers needed for the July 11 Middle School Lock-in. See details in the Bethany Weekly. Contact Pastor Paul if you are able to help.

Sunday at Bethany: As I mentioned last Sunday we have entered the green season of Ordinary Time, or Sunday’s after Pentecost.  However, every once and a while a festival shows up on a Sunday in the green season and so the color and emphasis is changed.

This Sunday we celebrate two great figures of the early church, Peter and Paul, who represent the spread of the gospel to both Jews and Gentiles and according to tradition, were martyred on this date. The witness of Peter and Paul inspires us as we seek ways to faithfully proclaim the gospel in our contemporary context. The color of the day is red.

What we hear in this week’s readings is that these apostles were called upon to take risks for the sake of proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Saints Peter and Paul may not have been risk takers to the point of putting their own lives in jeopardy, but trusting in Jesus they were committed to sharing the Christ with all those they encountered. This commitment led to their martyrdom (the Greek word for witness).

As you ponder the readings below ask yourself, “What are you personally called to risk and what is Bethany congregation called to risk in order to share the Good News of Jesus with whomever we encounter?”

Pastor Len

Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles

Prayer of the Day

Almighty God, we praise you that your blessed apostles Peter and Paul glorified you by their martyrdoms. Grant that your church throughout the world may always be instructed by their teaching and example, be knit together in unity by your Spirit, and ever stand firm upon the one foundation who is Jesus Christ our Lord, for he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

FIRST READING         Acts 12:1-11

King Herod had James killed and had Peter put in prison, under heavy guard. In what Peter first believes is only a vision, an angel leads him past unseeing guards, out of the prison, and to freedom.

About that time King Herod laid violent hands upon some who belonged to the church. ²He had James, the brother of John, killed with the sword. ³After he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. (This was during the festival of Unleavened Bread.) ⁴When he had seized him, he put him in prison and handed him over to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending to bring him out to the people after the Passover. ⁵While Peter was kept in prison, the church prayed fervently to God for him.
⁶The very night before Herod was going to bring him out, Peter, bound with two chains, was sleeping between two soldiers, while guards in front of the door were keeping watch over the prison. ⁷Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He tapped Peter on the side and woke him, saying, "Get up quickly." And the chains fell off his wrists. ⁸The angel said to him, "Fasten your belt and put on your sandals." He did so. Then he said to him, "Wrap your cloak around you and follow me." ⁹Peter went out and followed him; he did not realize that what was happening with the angel's help was real; he thought he was seeing a vision. ¹⁰After they had passed the first and the second guard, they came before the iron gate leading into the city. It opened for them of its own accord, and they went outside and walked along a lane, when suddenly the angel left him. ¹¹Then Peter came to himself and said, "Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hands of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting."

 

SECOND READING     2 Tim. 4:6-8, 17-19  

Paul has faithfully persevered in the mission the Lord had given to him. Near life's end he rests in the promise of eternal life, confident that the Lord who has rescued him in the past will bring him into the heavenly kingdom.

⁶As for me, I am already being poured out as a libation, and the time of my departure has come. ⁷I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. ⁸From now on there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
¹⁷But the Lord stood by me and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion's mouth. ¹⁸The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and save me for his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

GOSPEL           John 21:15-19

Jesus invites Simon Peter to declare his love for him three times, in a manner reminiscent of the three times that Peter earlier denied Christ. Jesus commissions him to feed his sheep and predicts that he will die as a martyr for God.

¹⁵When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my lambs." ¹⁶A second time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Tend my sheep." ¹⁷He said to him the third time, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, "Do you love me?" And he said to him, "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep. ¹⁸Very truly, I tell you, when you were younger, you used to fasten your own belt and to go wherever you wished. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go." ¹⁹(He said this to indicate the kind of death by which he would glorify God.) After this he said to him, "Follow me."

 

 

 

Attachments:

Bethany Weekly 6-25-14.pdf

This email sent by:

Leonard Hoffmann

[Bethany Lutheran Church] Bethany Wednesday Words and Newsletter

Wednesday Words for June 18, 2014

From Interim Senior Pastor Len Hoffmann

 

Scroll down to find the link to your Bethany Weekly Newsletter!

 

Thought for the Day:

And even the hairs of your head are counted.

So do not be afraid; your are of more value than many sparrows.

Matthew 10:30-31

 ***

Confirmation Campers will be sent off with a special blessing this Sunday.

This Week: Register for VBS on the Bethany Website (use the Sunday School Registration Link). If you desire to have your child(ren) have a VBS T-Shirt please register by June 25.

Sunday at Bethany: This is my first Sunday with you as your interim senior pastor. I have already received a warm welcome from the staff and council and from some of you. I look forward to meeting many of you this Sunday at worship and coffee hour. Please feel free to introduce yourself and don’t hesitate to remind me of your name over the next weeks..

As I shared with the council, although my official title is interim senior pastor, I believe a more appropriate title is transitional pastor. I have been a pastor for 39 years in November and nearly all of my ministry settings have involved some form of transition or another. Transitions provide both opportunities and challenges. Some transitions are joyful (birth of a child; graduation; a new job). Some transitions are sorrowful (the progression of a chronic disease; the sale of the family home; the death of a beloved). Some transitions are both joyful and sorrowful. One thing that is common to all transitions is that it brings anxiety and fear. What will come next? How will the transition benefit me, my family, my friends, or will it? Our Gospel reading reminds us that we are not to be afraid and during communion distribution on Sunday we will sing “Have No Fear Little Flock”. The reason is that we have been called, claimed and sent by the risen Christ who holds the present and future.

My primary goal as your transitional pastor is to preach and teach among you. I will work with the council to be as transparent as possible and I will seek to involve all who wish to be engaged in preparing the ground for the next pastoral leader. My hope and prayer for all of you during this in-between time is this: for you to faithfully worship and learn, and  to practice hospitality, service, and stewardship. Parents it is my hope and prayer that you will keep the vows made at baptism where you promised to faithfully bring your children to the services of God’s house, teach them the Lord’s Prayer, the Creed, the Ten Commandments, place in their hands the Holy Scriptures and provide for their instruction in the Christian faith. All of us working together will keep Bethany’s mission strong in Gathering People Together for Renewal and Service in Christ’s Name.

Pastor Len

This Week’s Texts: Lectionary 12
Proper 7
Second Sunday after Pentecost

Prayer of The Day

Teach us, good Lord God,
to serve you as you deserve,
to give and not to count the cost,
to fight and not to heed the wounds,
to toil and not to seek for rest,
to labor and not to ask for reward,
except that of knowing that we do your will,
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.

FIRST READING         Jeremiah 20:7-13

 Jeremiah accuses God of forcing him into a ministry that brings him only contempt and persecution. Yet Jeremiah is confident that God will be a strong protector against his enemies and commits his life into God's hands.

⁷O LORD, you have enticed me,
and I was enticed;
you have overpowered me,
and you have prevailed.
I have become a laughingstock all day long;
everyone mocks me.
⁸For whenever I speak, I must cry out,
I must shout, "Violence and destruction!"
For the word of the LORD has become for me
a reproach and derision all day long.
⁹If I say, "I will not mention him,
or speak any more in his name,"
then within me there is something like a burning fire
shut up in my bones;
I am weary with holding it in,
and I cannot.
¹⁰For I hear many whispering:
"Terror is all around!
Denounce him! Let us denounce him!"
All my close friends
are watching for me to stumble.
"Perhaps he can be enticed,
and we can prevail against him,
and take our revenge on him."
¹¹But the LORD is with me like a dread warrior;
therefore my persecutors will stumble,
and they will not prevail.
They will be greatly shamed,
for they will not succeed.
Their eternal dishonor
will never be forgotten.
¹²O LORD of hosts, you test the righteous,
you see the heart and the mind;
let me see your retribution upon them,
for to you I have committed my cause.
¹³Sing to the LORD;
praise the LORD!
For he has delivered the life of the needy
from the hands of evildoers.

SECOND READING     Romans6:1b-11  

In baptism we were incorporated into the reality of Christ's death. Our lives in the present are marked and shaped by his crucifixion, just as our lives in the future will be marked and shaped by his resurrection.

^bShould we continue in sin in order that grace may abound? ²By no means! How can we who died to sin go on living in it? ³Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? ⁴Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.
⁵For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. ⁶We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin. ⁷For whoever has died is freed from sin. ⁸But if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. ⁹We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. ¹⁰The death he died, he died to sin, once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. ¹¹So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

 

GOSPEL           Matthew 10: 24-39

Jesus warns his disciples that their ministry in his name will meet with opposition, requiring absolute trust in God and an unswerving commitment to their Lord.

²⁴A disciple is not above the teacher, nor a slave above the master; ²⁵it is enough for the disciple to be like the teacher, and the slave like the master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household!
²⁶So have no fear of them; for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known. ²⁷What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops. ²⁸Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. ²⁹Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. ³⁰And even the hairs of your head are all counted. ³¹So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.
³²Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven; ³³but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven.
³⁴Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.
³⁵For I have come to set a man against his father,
and a daughter against her mother,
and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
³⁶and one's foes will be members of one's own household.
³⁷Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; ³⁸and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. ³⁹Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.

 

Attachments:

Bethany Weekly 6-18-14.pdf

This email sent by:

Len Hoffmann

[Bethany Lutheran Church] Bethany Potluck & New Odyssey Concert

This event reminder is from Bethany Lutheran Church

Bethany Potluck & New Odyssey Concert(View Online)
What:	Social
When:	Tue, Jun 24, 2014, 6:00p
Where:	Main Beach, CL
RSVP:	Click here to indicate if you will attend or not
Bethany Potluck Crystal Lake Main Beach Tuesday, June 24 Potluck - by 6 pm Concert - 7 pm Bring: a dish to contribute (meat, potatoes, salad or dessert), drink, your own table service, and a chair for viewing the concert. There is a new group this year, "New Odyssey" (3 guys, 30 instruments). They play all types of music from the 1940s on, suitable for any age group. Look for the Bethany sign by the picnic tables to the right of the path near the Band Shelter. RSVP to Liz Tollefsen at tedtolle@aol.com.

To subscribe to the "Bethany Lutheran Church" calendar (which provides all events and automatic updating), copy and paste this URL into any calendar program that supports the iCal format: https://BethanyLC.ctsMemberConnect.net/webcal.ics?groupId=37121

To import this one event into your calendar program, use this link: https://f1.ctsmemberconnect.net/garoupdb/icsfiles/occur-9578537.ics.

[ MemberId=815575 OrgId=1184 GroupId=37121 EventId=690100 OccurId=9578537 ]

[Bethany Lutheran Church] Jeanette Odean Funeral and Visitation

Dear Bethany Family,

Bethany member, Jeanette Odean, age 84, died Sunday, June 15th, 2014. 

Please keep Jeanette's husband Bill and the entire Odean family in your prayers.

The visitation will be held at Bethany Lutheran Church on Thursday, June 19th from 4-9pm.

The funeral service will be held at Bethany Lutheran Church on Friday, June 20th, 2014 at 11am with a short visitation beginning at 10am.

All are invited to a luncheon at church following the funeral.

Jeanette, who taught Sunday School for many years at Bethany, will be remembered for her warmth, her love of children, and of course, teaching all the kids "This Little Light of Mine."

All are invited to celebrate Jeanette's light that still shines brightly with all the saints in heaven.

Peace,

Pr. Paul Cannon

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Paul Cannon

[Bethany Lutheran Church] Wednesday Words & Bethany Newsletter for June 11, 2014

Wednesday Words for June 11, 2014

From Pastor Carrie Smith

 

Scroll down to find the link to your Bethany Weekly Newsletter!

 

Thought for the Day:

Finally, brothers and sisters, farewell. 

Put things in order, encourage one another,

agree with one another, live in peace;

and the God of love and peace will be with you.

2 Corinthians 13:11

***

Tonight at Bethany: Wow! It’s a sure sign of summer when there is exactly ONE THING on the church calendar on a Wednesday. There’s a VBS planning session from 7:00-8:30 p.m. Come one, come all! J

Friday and Saturday: This is Synod Assembly weekend for the Northern Illinois Synod. You can read more about what your delegates will be doing here:

Synod Assembly

Sunday at Bethany: Yes, it’s true—my last Sunday as Sr. Pastor at Bethany has arrived. I can hardly believe it’s true. I want to say THANK YOU to all for the lovely reception last Sunday in my honor. It was overwhelming to hear of the things you appreciated about my ministry here, especially in light of the short time I am able to stay. I’m especially thankful for the thoughtful gifts (gift cards, quilt, a very generous check, and one of my favorite wines!) Your hugs, tears, kind words and blessings are even more meaningful. Words cannot adequately express how loved I feel. Thank you, thank you.

We’re not going to end our time together in tears, however! I’m so pleased that my last Sunday will include three baptisms. This feels so appropriate and hopeful! Together with the Sowka, Ramsbottom, and Goodman families, we will look to the future as we baptize Evan, Evan, and Avery! Even though we are grieving, we know that we are held in the hands of a loving God, who watches over our going out and our coming in, from this time forth and forevermore.

Last summer we sang many of your “favorite hymns”. Guess whose favorites we’re singing this Sunday? Here’s a hint: Her name rhymes with Fairy Myth. J

We’ll be singing “Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty”, “Come Join the Dance of Trinity”, “The King of Love My Shepherd Is” (my all-time favorite!), “Taste and See”, and we’ll exit singing “Lift high the cross, the love of Christ proclaim, till all the world adore his sacred name.” I can’t think of a better sending song, as we all go out into the world as part of God’s mission.

 

This Week’s Texts: Holy Trinity Sunday

Prayer of the Day

God of heaven and earth,

before the foundation of the universe and the beginning of time

you are the triune God:

Author of creation, eternal Word of salvation, life-giving Spirit of wisdom.

Guide us to all truth by your Spirit,

that we may proclaim all that Christ has revealed

and rejoice in the glory he shares with us.

Glory and praise to you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,

now and forever. Amen.

 

 

FIRST READING           Genesis 1:1—2:4a

This first creation story reached its current form during the crisis of the Babylonian exile of the people of Israel. God, not their captors' god Marduk, was responsible for their existence. God created women and men as rulers over creation, to preserve and protect it. God also rested on the seventh day, hallowing that day forever as the Sabbath.

 

Chapter 1

In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, 2the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. 3Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. 4And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. 5God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.

6And God said, "Let there be a dome in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters." 7So God made the dome and separated the waters that were under the dome from the waters that were above the dome. And it was so. 8God called the dome Sky. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.

9And God said, "Let the waters under the sky be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear." And it was so. 10God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good. 11Then God said, "Let the earth put forth vegetation: plants yielding seed, and fruit trees of every kind on earth that bear fruit with the seed in it." And it was so. 12The earth brought forth vegetation: plants yielding seed of every kind, and trees of every kind bearing fruit with the seed in it. And God saw that it was good. 13And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.

14And God said, "Let there be lights in the dome of the sky to separate the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years, 15and let them be lights in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth." And it was so. 16God made the two great lights — the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night — and the stars. 17God set them in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth, 18to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.

20And God said, "Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the dome of the sky." 21So God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, of every kind, with which the waters swarm, and every winged bird of every kind. And God saw that it was good. 22God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth." 23And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.

24And God said, "Let the earth bring forth living creatures of every kind: cattle and creeping things and wild animals of the earth of every kind." And it was so. 25God made the wild animals of the earth of every kind, and the cattle of every kind, and everything that creeps upon the ground of every kind. And God saw that it was good.

26Then God said, "Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth."

27So God created humankind in his image,

in the image of God he created them;

male and female he created them.

28God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth." 29God said, "See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. 30And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food." And it was so. 31God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

Chapter 2

Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all their multitude. 2And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had done. 3So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all the work that he had done in creation.

4These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created.

 

 

PSALM Psalm 8

Lord, our Lord,

    how majestic is your name in all the earth!

You have set your glory

    in the heavens.

Through the praise of children and infants

    you have established a stronghold against your enemies,

    to silence the foe and the avenger.

When I consider your heavens,

    the work of your fingers,

the moon and the stars,

    which you have set in place,

what is mankind that you are mindful of them,

    human beings that you care for them?[c]

You have made them[d] a little lower than the angels[e]

    and crowned them[f] with glory and honor.

You made them rulers over the works of your hands;

    you put everything under their[g] feet:

all flocks and herds,

    and the animals of the wild,

the birds in the sky,

    and the fish in the sea,

    all that swim the paths of the seas.

Lord, our Lord,

    how majestic is your name in all the earth!

 

SECOND READING     2 Corinthians 13:11–13

Paul closes a challenging letter to the Corinthians with an appeal to Christian fellowship grounded in the triune harmony of Christ's grace, God's love, the Spirit's partnership.

 

11Finally, brothers and sisters, farewell. Put things in order, listen to my appeal, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. 12Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet you.

13The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.

 

GOSPEL           Matthew 28:16–20

After his resurrection, Jesus summons his remaining disciples and commissions them to baptize and teach all nations in the name of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

16Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

 

Peace,

Pastor Carrie 

Attachments:

Bethany Weekly 6-11-14.pdf

This email sent by:

Carrie Smith

[Bethany Lutheran Church] Call Process Update

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

As we enter into Pastor Carrie's last week with us here at Bethany, I wanted to share with you some news regarding our interim pastor and our call process. The Northern Illinois Synod has matched us with Pastor Len Hoffmann to be our interim senior pastor for the duration of this vacancy. His first day at Bethany will be Monday, June 16. He brings much experience with various aspects of the church, most recently as Vice President for Mission Support at Wartburg Seminary. Prior to that he worked with the ELCA Foundation and served Trinity Lutheran in Rockford. He and his wife Cathy currently live in Loves Park.

 

You may also be aware that Pastor Paul's call to Bethany is co-terminus with that of the senior pastor. Constitutionally, that means that Pastor Paul was required to turn in his letter of resignation at our last council meeting. The council immediately moved to table that letter until such time as a new senior pastor is installed and a decision is made upon future staffing. We are hopeful that Pastor Paul will be with us for quite some time.

 

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

 

Joel Thoreson

President, Bethany Church Council

 

This email sent by:

Joel Thoreson

[Bethany Lutheran Church] Bethany Potluck & New Odyssey Concert

This event reminder is from Bethany Lutheran Church

Bethany Potluck & New Odyssey Concert(View Online)
What:	Social
When:	Tue, Jun 24, 2014, 6:00p
Where:	Main Beach, CL
RSVP:	Click here to indicate if you will attend or not

To subscribe to the "Bethany Lutheran Church" calendar (which provides all events and automatic updating), copy and paste this URL into any calendar program that supports the iCal format: https://BethanyLC.ctsMemberConnect.net/webcal.ics?groupId=37121

To import this one event into your calendar program, use this link: https://f1.ctsmemberconnect.net/garoupdb/icsfiles/occur-9578537.ics.

[ MemberId=815575 OrgId=1184 GroupId=37121 EventId=690100 OccurId=9578537 ]

[Bethany Lutheran Church] Wednesday words & Bethany Newsletter for June 4, 2014

Wednesday Words for June 4, 2014

From Pastor Carrie Smith

 

Scroll down………….your Bethany Newsletter is attached at the link below!

 

Thought for the Day:

“The Holy Spirit is a very political bird—one which doesn’t stop for border guards.

The authoritative lines are crossed.

Indeed in Pentecost those lines are blown right off the spiritual map.”

   Bill Wylie Kellerman

***

Theology on Tap! Tomorrow night at 7:30 pm meet at the “upper room” of Duke’s Alehouse and Kitchen for beer and Bible talk. Beverages optional.

Sunday at Bethany: The Day of Pentecost is here! Wear red (or another fiery color) in honor of the tongues of fire which rested upon the disciples’ heads on the day of Pentecost.

What a joy it will be to witness the baptisms of these brothers and sisters on Sunday:

8:30 a.m.: Alyssa Fure

10:30 a.m.: Eli Everett Crizer, Peyton Thomas Dycha, Mason Davis Hegg,

Kaylee Ann Jarrard, and Tristan Teague

Our wonderful artists and musicians have been working hard to prepare for a beautiful celebration of the Holy Spirit! The Visual Arts Team has swathed the sanctuary in red; the Vision Dancers will be blowing down the aisles like the breath of God; the Drum Ministry will encourage our singing with rhythm; and the Adult Choir will lift up their voices in song! Come and worship with us!

Pentecost signals the start of a new church season, which means we’ll begin singing a new musical setting of the liturgy. Get ready to have a Latin feel in worship this summer, as we will be singing Setting 7 from our hymnal. Setting 7 includes verses in Spanish as well as English, so if you are a Spanish speaker, please sing loud and proud!

Thank you again to all who helped with the annual garage sale! I’m pleased to report we netted $2400, which will go toward the church deficit. We also saw lots of paper brought in for shredding. Added together, last year’s shred plus this year’s shred equal the weight of an ELEPHANT! Wow!

 

This Week’s Texts: Day of Pentecost

PRAYER OF THE DAY

O God, on this day you open the hearts of your faithful people

by sending into us your Holy Spirit.

Direct us by the light of that Spirit,

that we may have a right judgment in all things

and rejoice at all times in your peace,

through Jesus Christ, your Son and our Lord,

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and forever. Amen.

 

FIRST READING           Acts 2:1–21

Pentecost was a Jewish harvest festival that marked the fiftieth day after Passover. Luke portrays the Holy Spirit being poured out upon the disciples before the gathered and astonished people assembled in Jerusalem for the festival. Filled with the Spirit, the disciples were able to witness to the power of Christ's resurrection.

 

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 2And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. 4All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.

5Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. 6And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. 7Amazed and astonished, they asked, "Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? 9Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 11Cretans and Arabs — in our own languages we hear them speaking about God's deeds of power." 12All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, "What does this mean?" 13But others sneered and said, "They are filled with new wine."

14But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, "Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. 15Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o'clock in the morning. 16No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:

17'In the last days it will be, God declares,

that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,

and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,

and your young men shall see visions,

and your old men shall dream dreams.

18Even upon my slaves, both men and women,

in those days I will pour out my Spirit;and they shall prophesy.

19And I will show portents in the heaven above

and signs on the earth below,blood, and fire, and smoky mist.

20The sun shall be turned to darkness

and the moon to blood,before the coming of the Lord's great and glorious day.

21Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.'

 

SECOND READING      1 Corinthians 12:3b–13

Paul is helping the Corinthians understand the relationship between our God-given unity and Spirit-created diversity. The Spirit creates the unity of faith and gives all Christians diverse gifts for the common benefit of all. We need one another's diverse spiritual gifts, because the same Spirit has given them to each person for the common good.

 

3bAnd no one can say "Jesus is Lord" except by the Holy Spirit. 4Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; 6and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. 7To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.

12For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 13For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body — Jews or Greeks, slaves or free — and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.

 

 

GOSPEL           John 20:19–23

The risen Jesus appears to his disciples, offering them a benediction, a commission, and the gift of the Holy Spirit.

 

19When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." 20After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." 22When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. 23If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."

 

Peace,

Pastor Carrie Smith

Carrie.smith@bethanylc.com

Attachments:

Bethany Weekly 6-4-14.pdf

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Carrie Smith

[Bethany Lutheran Church] Pastor Carrie's Farewell Coffee

This event reminder is from Bethany Lutheran Church

Pastor Carrie's Farewell Coffee(View Online)
What:	Church-Wide
When:	Sun, Jun 8, 2014, 9:30a - 10:30a
Where:	Luther Hall
RSVP:	Click here to indicate if you will attend or not
You are invited to a Farewell Reception for Pastors Carrie and Robert Smith As you are aware, Pastor Carrie has resigned her call with us at Bethany.  Her husband Robert’s position with the ELCA Global Mission is being relocated to Jerusalem beginning in late July 2014.  Pastor Carrie and the boys will be relocating with him.  She has accepted a call to serve as Pastor of the English speaking congregation of Redeemer Lutheran Church in Jerusalem and as Assistant to Bishop Manib Younan.  Pastor Carrie and her family are taking only 10 bags with them and leaving many of their family remembrances behind.  We will be giving the Smith family a monetary gift as an expression of our appreciation. If you would like to participate, please put your contribution (payable to “Bethany Lutheran Church”) in an envelope marked “Carrie” and place it in the Sunday’s offering or mail it to the church office.  All envelopes should be returned to the church office by Wednesday, June 4, 2014.    Pastor Carrie’s last day of service will be June 15.  To celebrate Pastor Carrie’s leadership with us, we ask that you join us for a continental breakfast between services on June 8.  To help us plan for the reception, please click this link http://vols.pt/tfSUGG to "volunteer spot" and sign up for any of the opportunities listed.   To help us with the planning, please RSVP above and indicate in the note section how many will be attending.  Thank you! See you on the June 8 as we share our thanks for the ministry of Pastors Carrie and Robert Smith and say good-bye to the Smith family.  On behalf of the Congregation Council, Joel Thoreson, Council President

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