Bethlehem Lutheran Church

Good morning! This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad. We will use this church page to stream the service from our garage this morning at 10:30 am and will try and get a recording of the service out on our YouTube channel later in the day.

Getting ready for worship in our garage tomorrow morning at 10:30 am (it is a really big garage). We'll celebrate over 150 years of ministry on this Labor Day weekend with worship, cupcakes, and plenty of opportunities to enjoy the greater gift of community. Parking is available in Mel Trotter's lot immediately to the north of our building, our own outdoor lot, and the street.

Not so sure they were sipping beer, but this amazing depiction of the trinity highlights the beauty of doing life together. We'll gather for the first "Pub Theology" of the season at Cheers on Plainfield, September 29 at 6 pm. The goal of these gatherings is to connect and create community. Relationships are at the core of our faith and relationships are important to us at Bethlehem. Please mark the date and contact Pastor Karsten if you have any questions.

Our next book group starts on September 17 at 7 pm. Zoom, Zoom. We anticipate good conversations from this book from local author, Jeff Munroe. All are always welcome as we do life togeher from various backgrounds, churches, and geographic locations. Please obtain a book and let Pastor Karsten know you'd like the Zoom link.

Pizza and Salad Sundays return on September 8, immediately after the service at 10:30 am. Join us as we do life together as a body of Christ.

In nearly 151 years of ministry, Bethlehem Church has worshiped in at least 5 different spaces. Organized in the Newberg house, these Swedish immigrants eventually centered our ministries in four other locations, including our current location, 250 Commerce SW. The church isn't a building though buildings often help center the focus of ministry. We are now centered in Heartside, which brings a vibrant energy and beautiful diversity. We'll worship in our first-floor garage this Sunday because the door opens wide and we'll have an opportunity to be more physically connected to our neighbors, which is always good. Please join us on this Labor Day weekend as share good news, learn from our neighbors, and enjoy cupcakes to mark a transition into the fall. Again, the church isn't confined to space and yet space helps define our ministry. Feel free to join us this Sunday at 10:30 am. We love visitors and enjoy sharing the wider grace of communion with everyone. Bethlehem is an open and affirming congregation of the ELCA that cares deeply about everyone's unique journey of faith.
This picture is from three years ago, when we spent time worshiping as a body of Christ in this space because of Covid.

Here is Matt, one of our pastoral musicians, playing the cello in our garage three years ago. We'll again worship in our parking garage (with cake following!) this coming Sunday, September 1, at 10:30 am. Matt may or may not play this piece this coming week, but we will certainly worship through music, singing, word, sacrament, prayer, and what has become a wonderfully long passing of the peace!

Matt Playing the Cello in the Garage Sneak Preview of Worship this Sunday in our Church Garage

Next Sunday is the Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost (and also Labor Day weekend). We will worship in our parking garage next to Commerce Avenue at our normal 10:30 am time. We'll enjoy cake following worship and looking forward to engaging our wonderful Heartside neighborhood. The garage door will be fully open! The last time we worshiped in the garage was during the middle of the pandemic where we celebrated Pentecost in 2021 (the picture is from that service). The Spirit was moving then and now. Parking will be available in our outdoor lot, on the street, and in the Mel Trotter lot immediately north of our facility. The acoustics are a lot of fun in this space.

TRAUMA AND FAITH
This Sunday after worship we'll gather for PART II of our discussion on trauma and faith. The Rev. Izzy Voskuil Rhodes will again lead the discussion. Izzy is an ordained minister and trained social worker who is employed at Network180 as the director of clinical management.

We are planning our next Zoom, Zoom book group. Starting September 17, we'll navigate through local author Jeff Munroe's newer book on sharing stories of grief, sadness, and pain. Please find a book and let Pastor Karsten know if you'd like to join this Zoom discussion. All are warmly welcome! We'll meet each Tuesday evening, from 7 pm - 8 pm, for about 7 weeks.

We have openings in our intergenerational center's preschool rooms and senior wing. The BIC is a ministry of the church where multiple generations grow, learn, and care for one another in a loving, safe environment. Learn more through the BIC website: www.bethlehemintergenerationalcenter.org.
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For specifics involving tuition, hours and the like, please contact Lainie in the early childhood wing and/or Caleb in the senior wing. The BIC's telephone number is 616-456-7509.

This Sunday after worship we'll gather to discuss the impact of trauma upon our faith (and how we engage faith). The Rev. Izzy Voskuil Rhodes will lead the discussion. Izzy is an ordained minister and trained social worker who is employed at Network180 as the director of clinical management.

Summer is quickly moving towards fall and the start of another school year! Please know that we have openings for our preschool rooms (Purple and Red Rooms) for children ages 2 1/2 to 5 years old. We would love to show off our wonderful program and have potential participants meet our amazing team. Please call our director, Lainie, to set up a tour and/or learn more about our program. Feel free to share this information to others that you know who might be looking at childcare options for this coming year.

Our Senior Wing is an integral part of our church's intergenerational center. We have openings for loved ones looking for care and socialization. The Senior Wing offers adult day services for individuals in need of up to one person assistance. Please call our director, Caleb, to set up a tour or learn more about our program. Please also free to share this with others who might be looking for adult day services within the context of a nurturing community. The children's wing of our center has been serving the community for over 50 years and also has openings for our preschool. Bethlehem is located in the heart and soul of downtown's historic Heartside neighborhood.

Join us after worship this Sunday for leadership updates involving our finances and discernment team. We'll also enjoy any leftover cookies from Saturday's Open House.

Trauma and Faith
Join us after worship on July 28 for a discussion on the basics of trauma, a framework for trauma recovery, and how spirituality can be a source of resilience in trauma work. Izzy Rhodes will facilitate this post-worship engagement time (20-30 minutes). Izzy works at Network180 and is an ordained minister and social worker.
These post-worship discussions will continue on August 25 we'll discuss the difficult topic of forgiveness vs. reconciliation. All questions are welcome as we do life and faith together.