Christmas Eve Service & Pageant with Candlelight Saturday, 12/24 at 7:00pm Join us on Christmas Eve for worship with Bethany's unique tradition of presenting the Christmas story through pageant on this holy night. We will also sing Silent Night by Candlelight
Christmas Day - Nativity of our Lord with Holy Communion
Sunday, 12/25 at 11:00am
It is not often we get the opportunity to come together as the body of Christ to worship Him on Christmas morning - the day so many of our carols refer to. Come as you are, or put on your Christmas best! Either way, be sure to take advantage of this rare chance to worship our Lord on the celebration of his coming among us!
Christmas Lessons & Carols Service
Sunday, 1/1/2017 at 11:00am
Join us for a traditional service of Seven Lessons & Carols as we hear about salvation history (and have another opportunity to sing some Christmas carols!) on the 2nd Sunday of Christmas
Thanks to everyone who helped - either shopping for presents or decorating the (giant!) Chrismon tree! The Walmart photo challenge this year was to get pictures of members of our group shopping without them knowing. The results were pretty funny, if not always flattering, so we won't be posting them on the internet!
Shoppers
Didn't get a picture of decorators, but here's the result of their work!
Community Christmas & Open House
We had a great time making ornaments, listening to music, decorating the outdoor tree & enjoying fellowship & refreshments!
What: Hanging of the Greens & Decorate Chrismon Tree & Shop for Christmas gifts for the families we adopted, then wrap presents and enjoy Christmas cookies! (See pics from last year)
Operation Christmas Child Shoebox Packing at Samaritan's Purse
When: Wednesday, December 14, 7-10pm
What: Pack the shoeboxes into big packages that are sent all over the world (See pics from last year)
Community Christmas & Open House
When: Sunday, December 18, 3:30pm
What: Meet your neighbors at a community Christmas get-together that will feature:
making Christmas ornaments
singing Christmas carols, accompanied by Mary Greene & the Grubbs
lighting and decorating outdoor community Christmas tree
food & fellowship
Christmas Eve Service & Pageant
When: Saturday, December 24, 7pm
What: Bethany's tradition of sharing the Christmas story through pageant, with candlelight
Christmas Day Service
When: Sunday, December 25, 11:00am
What: Celebrate the Nativity of our Lord with Holy Communion
Join us during the 10am Sunday School hour to make an Advent wreath for home use! Bring:
- an Advent wreath form, if you have one (if you don't we'll have some extras)
- evergreen clippings to share, if you have some (if you don't, we'll have plenty)
Also...
Participate in ELCA Good Gifts program
Give a family in need a hand-up by purchasing chicks, honey bees, a pig, a goat, or other types of gifts to help them succeed. Give for the sake of giving - OR - give in honor of someone on your Christmas list, instead of buying them something they don't need. Gifts are represented as ornaments on our Good Gifts tree, found in the Narthex. You may participate anytime through Christmas Day.
And...
Purchase a Poinsettia
in honor or in memory of someone to help decorate our space for the season. A sign-up will be in the Narthex Nov. 27 & Dec. 4. Poinsettias may be taken home after worship on Christmas Day or Jan. 1.
Light breakfast at 9:30am, Workshop begins at 10:00am
Pictured: Our new urn pall (donated by Lois and Charlie Walker) and urn stand (made by Leroy Coffey - see stewardship definition below!) that are available to be used for funerals with cremated remains.
At this workshop, we will learn about the beauty and significance of the funeral service itself, some things to consider when planning for your funeral, and other end-of-life matters.
Then you will have the chance to begin making plans for your funeral, if you are ready.
You will also have the opportunity to fill out paperwork for the church to make your burial wishes known (where you want to be buried, or if you want to reserve a spot in the Columbarium).
There will be information to take home, as well as forms that will greatly help your family and loved ones at the time of your death.
Whatever your age, you will be doing your loved ones a favor by starting to think and plan for these things. This is especially true if you are young and have never thought or talked much about these things. It will truly be a gift to your family.
"Stewardship" is defined on Wikipedia as "an ethic that embodies the responsible planning and management of resources."
Recently, we've been wanting to make better use of our space, and take better care of the things we have, in this case, our banners - all of which have been hand-made. We have dreams of making more banners in the future, but just didn't have the space to store them.
A quick search on the internet showed that someone has invented a very nifty and space-efficient storage system for church banners, but the price was out of reach for a congregation this size.
BUT, we have MANY resources here, other than money!
With only a picture, a rough diagram, and verbal description to go by, thanks to the faithful stewards of Bethany, we now have the simply beautiful and functional storage system for our banners that we needed - at no cost to the church! Check it out:
Bars swing out for easy access
Bars swing flat against the wall for maximum space efficiency - with no wrinkles!
A huge thank you to Cody Townsend for making this piece,
to our boys over at Triplett and Coffey Welding for donating the materials,
and to the History Committee for the idea and design!
We have a wealth of resources! We are richly blessed.
We'll be spending a lot of time in the Gospel of Luke from now through the end of the church year - the end of November.
Why not dive a little deeper?
Pastors and Lay Leaders from all over the NC Synod worked together to write an online Bible Study on the Gospel of Luke. It's designed to be used this summer. You'll be reading a Chapter of Luke each day, and there is a short devotional to go along with it.
Want
to spend a family night out but want something simple?
Join us at Bethany
Lutheran Church for a FREE showing of a fun movie and a spaghetti dinner - tonight, Friday, May 20.
The dinner begins at5:30pm at Bethany Lutheran Church
with the movie starting at 6pm.
Get to know the Green Valley and Todd Community! This event is hosted by
Bethany Lutheran, Bethelview UMC, Blackburn’s Chapel UMC, and the Blackburn House.
Pastor Laura will be doing a Sermon Series on the readings from the Book of Acts - the book that is the sequel to the Gospels and describes how the early church got started and spread.
Theologian Jaroslav Pelikan described the book of the Acts of the Apostles this way:
“Acts is a book of … action…:
conspiracy and intrigue and ambush, hostile confrontations and fierce conflicts
sometimes to the death, rioting lynch mobs and personal violence…, incessant
travel on an Odysseus-like scale all over the Mediterranean world, complete
with shipwreck and venomous serpents,… followed in at least two instances by a
successful jailbreak…, famine and earthquake, crime and punishment…”
- from his Introduction to Acts (Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible)
We wave palm branches and shout "Blessed is the King!" before we read of his crucifixion.
Taize Contemplative Service
March 20 - 6:00pm
This service uses music from the monastic community in Taize, France, and inspires deep reverence through meditative music and Scripture reading, and will help center our hearts for the rest of Holy Week
Maundy Thursday
March 24 - 7:00pm
On the night in which he was betrayed, Jesus gave a new commandment: Love one another.
Good Friday
March 25 - 7:00pm
We extinguish candles in a Tenebrae service of readings, contemplating the death Jesus, the Light of the World
Easter
March 27
Sunrise Service
7:30am
The story of Holy Week and Easter morning will be told through Pageant and song
Easter Egg Hunt
8:10am
Easter Breakfast
8:30am
Flower the Cross
anytime before 10:00am
Bring flowers to put in the cross (see photo above) anytime between the Sunrise Service and the Holy Communion service.
Want
to spend a family night out but want something simple?
Join us at Bethany
Lutheran Church for a FREE showing of a fun movie and a spaghetti dinner.
The dinner begins at5:30pm at Bethany Lutheran Church
with the movie starting at 6pm.
Get to know the Green Valley and Todd Community! This event is hosted by
Bethany Lutheran, Bethelview UMC, Blackburn’s Chapel UMC, and the Blackburn House.
as we enjoy sugar and fat before the fasting of Lent begins!
If you didn't know...Bethany has a unique pancake tradition. In addition to traditional pancakes, as pictured above, Bethany also serves (savory) buckwheat pancakes with sausage gravy - a tradition from the time when the Winebargers used to bring fresh-milled buckwheat flour from their mill.
***Update: It's snowing! We are still planning to eat pancakes for those who are able to come. But use your discretion! Pancakes aren't worth your safety!
Then join us again for the beginning of Lent for
...Ash Wednesday Holy Communion with Imposition of Ashes Service
This service sets the tone for the season of Lent, as we receive the ashes from Palm Sunday's palm branches in the form of a cross on our foreheads, reminding us of our mortality, our fickleness, and our need for the Savior.
It’s game time! While you are cheering on your team and celebrating with family and friends - let’s help tackle hunger together.
From kickoff to final whistle of the 50th Super Bowl, Team Carolina
and Team Denver will seek to outdo one another for the sake of the
gospel. The fans that donate the most through their team page to ELCA
World Hunger by midnight central time on February 7 will help their
synod(s) take home the title of ELCA World Hunger Champion — regardless
of the outcome of the football game.
God richly provides for our daily bread – the earth can produce
enough to feed everyone. And yet 870 million people – that’s one out of
nine people in our world today – are hungry. Through our efforts, we are
part of creatively and courageously working toward a just world where
all are fed.
Check back on this page and follow up on social media for
up-to-the-minute updates on game day. Thank you so much for your support
- every gift truly matters.
- See more at: http://support.elca.org/site/TR?px=1034869&fr_id=1140&pg=personal#sthash.U9egYg6z.dpuf
It’s game time! While you are cheering on your team and celebrating with family and friends - let’s help tackle hunger together.
From kickoff to final whistle of the 50th Super Bowl, Team Carolina
and Team Denver will seek to outdo one another for the sake of the
gospel. The fans that donate the most through their team page to ELCA
World Hunger by midnight central time on February 7 will help their
synod(s) take home the title of ELCA World Hunger Champion — regardless
of the outcome of the football game.
God richly provides for our daily bread – the earth can produce
enough to feed everyone. And yet 870 million people – that’s one out of
nine people in our world today – are hungry. Through our efforts, we are
part of creatively and courageously working toward a just world where
all are fed.
Check back on this page and follow up on social media for
up-to-the-minute updates on game day. Thank you so much for your support
- every gift truly matters.
- See more at: http://support.elca.org/site/TR?px=1034869&fr_id=1140&pg=personal#sthash.U9egYg6z.dpuf
There is a long-standing tradition in the ELCA that the home Synods of the two teams that play in the Super Bowl engage in a friendly competition during the game to see who can raise the most money for ELCA World Hunger.
Since the Carolina Panthers are shared by two states and Synods, NC & SC Synod will join forces against the Colorado Rocky Mountain Synod.
Check out the video below to see the bishops of NC & SC issue a fun challenge!
How it works:
Anytime between now and the final whistle of the game,
If you are on social media, use #ELCABigGame and #TeamCarolina
To see updates as to how each "team" is doing, under "Join Team's Team" on the right side of the page, click "ELCA World Hunger Big Game Challenge"
Let the games begin!
Keep pounding!
It’s game time! While you are cheering on your team and celebrating with family and friends - let’s help tackle hunger together.
From kickoff to final whistle of the 50th Super Bowl, Team Carolina
and Team Denver will seek to outdo one another for the sake of the
gospel. The fans that donate the most through their team page to ELCA
World Hunger by midnight central time on February 7 will help their
synod(s) take home the title of ELCA World Hunger Champion — regardless
of the outcome of the football game.
God richly provides for our daily bread – the earth can produce
enough to feed everyone. And yet 870 million people – that’s one out of
nine people in our world today – are hungry. Through our efforts, we are
part of creatively and courageously working toward a just world where
all are fed.
Check back on this page and follow up on social media for
up-to-the-minute updates on game day. Thank you so much for your support
- every gift truly matters.
- See more at: http://support.elca.org/site/TR?px=1034869&fr_id=1140&pg=personal#sthash.U9egYg6z.dpuf
