The Bethlehem Star

The Bethlehem Star
Volume 10, Issue 5 May 2011

Synod to Meet in Assembly

The Southeastern Iowa Synod will meet in Annual Assembly on May 20 – 21 in Coralville. Voting members from Bethlehem are Pastor Keith Larson and Associate in Ministry Barb Tobiason, Tim Thiede, and Deanne Bennett.

Each spring, synods gather in assembly to uplift and celebrate ministries and address issues facing the leaders, congregations, and agencies within the synod. At the 2011 Synod Assembly, voting members will conduct official business of the synod - approve compensation guidelines, adopt a budget, address resolutions, and elect members to Synod Council.

The Assembly is this synod’s highest legislative authority. But it is so much more. It is a cherished time when church members gather from across the synod around the means of grace, to reconnect with friends, meet new ones, and share what it means to be the body of Christ. There will be opportunity to spend time in biblical reflection and gather with folks from other congregations in small group discussion, as well as participate in a variety of forums with topics related to the church’s life together.

Lost Nation Vacation Bible School
June 6 – 10
At Union Presbyterian
Call the office:
• to register students,
• to volunteer to teach or assist,
• bring treats,
• if you have questions

Wartburg Seminary Graduation
Sunday, May 15
3:00 p.m.
St. Joseph the Worker Roman Catholic Church
60 South Algona Street, Dubuque
Reception at Wartburg Seminary following
333 Wartburg Place
(maps on the board)

Former Intern at Bethlehem and St. Mark’s, Matt Masko will be graduating from Wartburg Seminary on May 15. He has been assigned to Upstate New York Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Matt’s wife, Meganne graduates the same weekend with a Ph.D. in speech therapy.

Greetings may be sent to: Matt Masko; 1955 Pulpit Rock Lane; Dubuque, Iowa 52003.

People! Look Up!

“People, Look East” is an Advent hymn in Evangelical Lutheran Worship. However, if you haven’t noticed, next time you come into the church building, “look up”. Several ceiling tile were seriously damaged and stained when snow blew in during the “Blizzard of 2011” and were temporarily replaced. A few “new” tiles immediately showed the wear, tear, and grime of the rest of the narthex ceiling tiles. All were replaced. Likewise, the water stains on the ceiling of the nave have been covered over and parts of the ceiling repainted. Special thanks to John Alden for his fine work.

College Scholarships
Scholarship applications for all Bethlehem college students are available in the church office. All students enrolled in the 2011 - 2012 school term must complete an application and return it to the office on or before August 1, 2011. Students must be confirmed members of Bethlehem and must maintain academic eligibility. Scholarship money will be sent directly to your college at the beginning of each semester.

Note to those who will be high school seniors in August – if you anticipate that you might graduate early and begin college early, you should apply for a scholarship before August 1, 2011.

Spring Cleaning?
Local families – one new to the community – need some of the following items:

Single bed youth bed bedding for youth bed
Lounge or living room chairs washer dryer
Call the office if you have any of these items you might need to be rid of.

Baptisms and New Members Highlight Easter Worship

5 children were baptized and 3 adults were received as new members during worship on Easter day. Brendon, Teddy and Madilyn Koch, children of Amanda and Dean Koch were baptized and Amanda was received as a new member by transfer from First Lutheran, Maquoketa. Dalton and Dillon Bickford, children of Katie and Zach Bauer and Cory Bickford were baptized and Katie and Zach were received by Affirmation of Baptism.

Council Highlights

Bethlehem Congregation Council met for its regular meeting on April 12. In business the Council:
• opened bids for lawn mowing and awarded the contract for mowing to Mackenzie Petersen;
• accepted John Alden’s estimate and gave approval for replacing ceiling tile in narthex
• reviewed results from the financial sustainability survey, especially with regards to the option of looking into finding a third congregation with which to yoke. Pastor explained that yoking is best achieved when a need to do so is perceived by all parties simultaneously and there do not seem to be any other congregations looking for yoking at this time, except possibly Ascension, Goose Lake. Such a yoking would present quite a few challenges, particularly in light the retirement of AIM Barb in the upcoming future;
• decided to meet on Tuesday, May 17 so several Council members can attend a stewardship resource event on May 10 at 6:30 at St. John Lutheran, Grand Mound (Bliedhorn);
• heard the following Treasurer’s report:
Balance 2/28/11 $18,056.91
March Income 5470.02
March Expenses 9836.98
Balance 3/31/11 $13,689.95

Member Giving Needed Monthly $6000.00
Amount Received in March $5470.00
March Shortfall $ 530.00
Shortfall to Date – 2011 $2478.00

Worship Assistants

Greeters: Elenor Bentrott, Darlene Christiansen
Ushers: Diana Ihns, Clay Ketchum
Lectors
1- Jone Paarmann
8- Ellen Pithan
15- Pat Hendrickson
22- Emma Thiede
29- Tim Thiede

Communion Servers:
1- Tim Thiede, Deanne Bennett
15- Pat Hendrickson, Corynn Bennett

Acolytes:
1- Halie Gruenwald
15- Hannah Gruenwald
29- Courtney Current

Altar Care: Corynn and Deanne Bennett
Bread Maker: Connie Kleppe
Tellers: Brent Ihns, Connie Kleppe

Fellowship Servers:
1 - Joyce Feuss, Kathy Duffey, Donna Dosland
8- No Fellowship Mother’s Day
15- Elenor Bentrott, Lola Berner, Pat Hendrickson
22 - Diana Ihns, Becky Petersen, Corynn Bennett
29 - Connie Kleppe, Joan Kleppe, Lynda
Humphreys, Cyndi Hartley

BWELCA Hilites

12 woman from SE IA Synod took a van trip to LWR and Global Health Warehouses in Minneapolis MN. Deanne Bennett from Bethlehem was one of the adventurers. Will display pictures when possible.

Thank you to everyone who was instrumental in putting together, packing and delivering quilts and layettes. They were safely delivered to Cedar Rapids on April 16.

Upcoming Events:

Guys and Dolls: Monday May 2 at 11:00 a.m. with Eve as hostess.

Tuesday May 3: BWELCA Bible Study Leaders at 5:00 p.m. Followed by BWELCA Board meeting at 6:00 p.m.

Community Coffee, Thursday June 16 at 9 AM.
Ice Cream Social, Sunday June 26

Anyone interested in helping with Vacation Bible School in any way can contact Susan Drury
at 678-2152. (June 6 – 10 at UPC)

The People of God: Unity in the Midst of Diversity
Witnessing and Evangelism
May Circle Meetings
Eve – Thursday, May 12 at 7:00 p.m.
Hostess: Ann Bomia Leader: Rochelle Busch
Bethlehem - Saturday, May 14 at 9:00 a.m.
in the conference room
Diana Ihns (hostess & leader)
All women are invited to attend!

Barb’s Newsletter Message

This year, in our confirmation class, we have had some very conscientious sermon note-takers. They have been especially good at asking the tough questions. I thought all of you would find their questions interesting. They are questions we all ask at one time or another. The answers are mine, similar to how I answered them for the confirmands.

1. When do we become God’s family?
We become a child of God immediately. Jeremiah wrote, “Now the word of the Lord came to me saying, ‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you, (Jeremiah 1:4-5).’” As Christians, we are baptized into Christ and become members of the family of believers, but we are God’s children from birth.

2. Why doesn’t God answer all prayers?
This question was asked by almost every confirmation student. Jesus tells us all that God wants us to pray and that God promises to listen to our prayers. God knows our concerns; prayer validates those concerns. It may not seem like God answers prayer, particularly when we have specific requests, and God’s answers to our prayers are not exactly what we ask for. God knows the big picture and how we fit into the scheme of things. God answers prayer in the way God sees best in the long run, for all concerned.

3. Will the world end in 2012?
There is a lot of speculation about this right now, because we are nearing that time. I don’t know all the background for this, but it seems the Mayan’s had a sophisticated calendar system, and it ends in 2012. Perhaps, for them, they couldn’t imagine life going on that long. There have always been folks trying to predict the end times. The earliest Christians thought that when Jesus spoke of the end-times, it would be within their life-time. We now understand Jesus’ words differently because that didn’t happen. There were those that thought the new millennium would be the end. We are still here. The truth is we don’t know when the end-times will be. The best thing is not to worry about the end time over which is entirely in God’s hands, and to focus on living our lives as God would have us live, fully, each day.

4. Why did God name his son, Jesus?
When God’s angel came to Joseph to announce Jesus’ conception, Matthew tell us, “She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from all their sins,” (Matthew 1:21). Joseph did name him Jesus, and Jesus did become the savior of the world.

Thanks to the confirmands for making us all think about our faith and why we believe as we do.


May Birthdays

3 Stella Franck, Claire Dosland
6 Scott Doll
8 Emily Horst
9 Chad Christiansen
11 Bryant Barnett
13 Joan Von Sprecken
14 Charlie Horst, TJ Benke
15 Betty Hainstock
16 Dylan Rickels, Katie Snyder
17 Mikayla Dosland
19 Marlene Hicks
20 Marlene Feuss, Kody Franck
24 Ron Adrian, Connie Kleppe, Olivia Coates
25 Pat Hendrickson
26 Pauline Schoop, Nathanial Dosland
28 Cary Gruenwald

May Anniversaries

11 Kari and Kory Rigg
26 Lola and Richard DeMoss
27 Kathy and Dennis Hute
28 Lisa and Tom Gruenwald


Pastor Keith Larson
Office Phone 678-2301
Home Phone 563-652-2599
Anywhere, anytime 563-447-0652
pastor@bethlehem.mylutheran.org

Pastoral Associate Barb Tobiason
Office Phone 826-2761
Home Phone 563-487-2116
AIM@bethlehem.mylutheran.org


Office Secretary Deanne Bennett
Church Phone 678-2301
secretary@bethlehem.mylutheran.org

Parish Nurse Carm Schneider
Office Hours 9:00 a.m. -10:30 a.m. Tues
Phone 678-2302

Sunday Schedule
Worship 9:00 a.m.
Fellowship 10:00 a.m..

Office Hours
Pastor Keith is in the office most mornings
Monday – Thursday 9:30 a.m. – Noon
and Saturday 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
If you need to enter the church and do not have a key, always call ahead to be certain he or someone is here.