B E T H E L S T A R

JANUARY 2015

Newsletter

Inside this issue: Pastor’s Message 2

Maturing 3

Advent Devotions

Poinsettias

Thank You Notes

4

Articles Deadline

Giving / Attendance

Milestones

Membership Updates

Wednesday AM Services

5

Amateur Photographer

Database Update

Lutherans for Life

Men’s Basketball

Transition Luncheon

6

Bethel School

Pancake Breakfast / Open House

Sausage Orders

7

Blood Pressure Screenings

Root 2six7 Event

Queenwood Update

Seasoned Saints

8

Bethel School

Bethel Preschool

9

Youth Ministry 10

Women’s Opportunities 11

January Calendar

Go to church website listed be-

low. Click on Calendar

Click on View Bethel’s

Calendar

Click on event for details

January Kingdom Helpers

Church Off ice : 309 -263-2417 Church Website : www.blcmorton.org

School Off ice : 309 -266-6592 School Website : www.bethel lutheranschool .org

“Prayer in the Midst of Change”

January Prayer Event

Change occurs in our lives daily and we as a congregation

will experience many changes in 2015. As we begin this year,

we hope to keep our focus on God whose love and grace

and mercy does NOT change and that begins with prayer.

Beginning January 4 a daily e-mail prayer list will be

sent to anyone who signs up to receive it. Each day

there will be 3-5 prayers that you will receive to in-

clude with your prayers. This, of course, can be done

on your own time and where you choose. It is “Your

conversation with God”. Coordinator is Linda Bisping.

To Receive Daily E-mail Prayer List

Sign up at Welcome Center or Call Church Office

309-263-2417

To Submit a Prayer Request

Complete Prayer Request form on Bethel’s website

www.blcmorton.org

or in Church Office

Page 2

I the Lord do not change. So you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed. Malachi 3:6

We all have changes in our lives. From day

to day we need God to help us get through what-

ever may come our way. Some days we may be

shouting, "Praise God!" while other times we may

be crying out, "I need a miracle!" Whatever the day

may bring, changes will come and we need our

changeless God to empower us to handle them.

As I was sitting in church recently I was

thinking about all the changes that might be hap-

pening in Bethel’s life this upcoming year. Not

only are there huge changes that are taking place in

your life, but in our church as well. This was most

likely the last Christmas we celebrate together at

the Missouri Campus. In this upcoming year we

will celebrate our last Easter at the Missouri Cam-

pus. We are planning to move to the Queenwood

Campus, so for the first time in Bethel’s history we

will not be near Jackson Street. How will we emo-

tionally handle this change?

This year provides us a wonderful opportu-

nity to reflect not only on the countless blessings

God has provided for people at 425 n. Missouri

Avenue, but also looking at the adventure of bless-

ings yet to come. Here is an acronym for the word

changes: Christ, Has, A, New, Gift, Each, Second.

We can look at each new day and even

each second as an opportunity for us to see God‘s

blessings in our lives! Each moment contains a gift

from God if we want to look for it. It can be in a

smile from someone at work, an encouraging word

from a friend, God's Word speaking to our hearts,

or a pat on the back from our bosses. The list is

endless. Let's not overlook the obvious ones like a

promotion, good report cards from our children, a

Sunday school child who calls us his or her hero, an

unexpected financial blessing, a whole week with-

out something breaking in the house, and good

health.

There is another unexpected opportunity to

grow this year as we change addresses from a fa-

miliar place we feel should never change to a new

place that holds the unfamiliar. We have the oppor-

tunity to reflect on where we put our focus on re-

ceiving God’s blessings. There can be a sense that a

church is to be the place where God meets His peo-

ple. It is there His Word and Sacraments are dis-

tributed. And while our lives change, while our

country changes, while even the address for our

church changes … God does not change.

In Malachi 3:6 God says, "For I am the

Lord, I change not." Isn't that comforting? With all

the changes, there is one thing that cannot change --

GOD. His mercy is ours wherever we hold worship

to Him, so His Word might continue to be the

means that convicts us, guides us, equips us. and

forgives us. The address might change, but God’s

ministry to us does not.

So, instead of getting so comfortable with

the place and the surroundings, we once again can

renew our focus on Him to whom we can find ref-

uge holding on to Him as He always holds on to us.

Page 3

MATURING ADULT CHRISTIAN EDUCATION

S u n d a y

9:30—10:30am

Breakfast Bible (Parish Hall)

Pastor Mark

1/4 “Following Jesus”

1/11 “Loving and Honoring Your

Spouse”

1/18 “Loving Your Children”

1/25 “Loving without Lording”

Alternative Adult Study (Room203)

John & Sheila Lovell

“How We got the Bible”

Bethel Basics Class (Room202)

January 4, 11, 18, 26 Pastor Jeff

A 4 week class everyone should

attend at least once. Basic Lu-

theran doctrine, Bethel’s 3M Dis-

cipleship discussed. Require-

ment for becoming a member.

Please call church office # 263-

2417 to register.

First Place 4Health (Room 101)

“A Thankful Heart", Readers of

this study will be encouraged by

biblical examples of men and

women who were able to thank

God during adversity and sor-

row because they remembered

God’s promise to be their Lord.

Please contact Carolynsue

Wolf, Rosalie Westerfield or Mary

Lou Nichols with questions.

T u e s d a y

9:00—11:00 am

Ladies’ Bible Class (Room101)

“Living Beyond Myself” by Beth Moore

Babysitting provided. We have

women from all stages of life at-

tend. Please call Church office

(#263-2417) to reserve a book

and how many children need a

babysitter.

10:00—11:00am

Revelation (Room 102)

Pastor Jeff

Living Way Bible Study of the

book of Revelation. You can join

at any time.

W e d n e s d a y

6:00—7:00 am

Bethel Brother’s Bible Study (Room 101)

Led by John Lovell & Phil Zobrist

7:00—8:30 pm

Real Life Discipleship (Room 202)

Pastor Jeff / Todd Osing

Begins Wednesday, January 7th.

This is a ten week class that will

have the first 6 classes prior to

lent and finish with the last 4

classes after Easter, same night,

same time,. To register, please

contact church office

# 263-2417.

F r i d a y

6:30am

Men’s Bible Study

T.G.I.F. (Room 101)

Men’s class that meets each

week. Led by Ken Newman. A

great way to meet other men

and grow in God’s word.

Complimentary Devotion

Books

“Portals of Prayer” and

"Living the Gospel Life” are

available at the Welcome

Center. Please pick one up.

These are a great way to be-

gin a daily devotion.

Page 4

A special “thank you” to all who participated in the Nativity Walk held here at Bethel on Friday, December 5. Over 300 Nativity sets were dis-played, a live Nativity, and a beautiful musical worship service were enjoyed by all who at-tended. Delicious Christmas cookies were served to several hundred people. It is such a joy to see a celebration of the REAL reason for Christmas! Happy Birthday, Jesus! “A Seasoned Heart” … Bethel Quilters would like to thank and honor Eileen Huber for her years of generous donations to the quilters of beautifully embroidered quilt tops. She used and shared her God-given talent to bless many people near and far. The sale of those finished quilts benefited our church and school. Thank you, Eileen.

Bethel Quilters Thank you to Bethel Youth, Bethel School, Thrivent Financial, and all the individuals that have been so generous to collect or donate food or monies for our Bethel Food Pantry throughout this past year, and especially through the holi-days. Thank you to those who have taken of their time to purchase, stock, and distribute the food as needed. It takes many hands and tal-ents to make this ministry successful and such a blessing to the recipients. We look forward to working hand-in-hand in 2015.

Gary Abts /Food Pantry Coordinator Jennifer Walsh / Assistant

Thank you so much for raking my lawn. I sure do appreciate it! The cookies were great!

Fritz Knapp

Dear Friends .. Just a quick letter to share with you some of the great things of our collecting the OCC Shoeboxes for children all over the world.. We are happy to report that at the Good-field Church we collected 1,102 of your great shoeboxes! Last year we had 1,028 so we added a few more. Thank you so much! They were placed in 65 large cartons. Our cartons were dropped off at Northwoods Church in Peo-ria. The grand total of shoeboxes for our Peoria area is 23,761! The shoeboxes will go to the countries of Tanzania, Uganda, India, Belize, Trinidad, and Tobago. Please remember to pray for those working to get the boxes to the chil-dren and for the children who receives the shoe-boxes and their families. Thank you for your part and may you blessed during the season of praise!

Sarah Osterman / Bethel Coordinator Earl and Phyllis Troyer Local Collection Team

Dear Sharon Aubuchon and Friends of Bethel … Thank you so much for the banner in memory of Dick’s name. Many thanks for the photo. I shared it with my family on Thanksgiving Day and it was appreciated by all. God’s Blessings!

Irene Kaps

Thank you for all you do for us and all the nice food baskets. God Bless you all! Hope every-one has a nice Christmas! Sincerely,

Buddy and Rose Farris Thank you for being a vital part of the ministry of Living Alternatives Pregnancy Resource Center. This year is our first full calendar year in Taze-well County and we have SO much to celebrate! Thank you again for the many ways in which you have blessed this ministry! Our hearts are over-flowing with gratitude for your generosity and for your prayerful support.

Angie Stark, Director A BIG thank you to Mrs. Mutschink for all her time, love, and dedication as she altered our cheer leading skirts. Mrs. Mutschink, your love and dedication to all you serve just can never be measured. Also, thank you, Wilma Reiman, for arranging this great event to take place. We promise we will make you proud of us as we cheer for Bethel Lutheran School.

Kiara Clauser and Isabella Jones

Page 5

BELOW YOU WILL FIND INFORMATION TO COMMUNICATE TO YOU THE GIVING AND WORSHIP TRENDS OF BETHEL LUTHERAN CHURCH FROM AUGUST 2013 TO SEPTEMBER 2014 ...

AVERAGE OFFERING AVERAGE WORSHIP ATTENDANCE

November 2013 $14,585. November 2013 541

November 2014 $13,862. November 2014 514

12/11/2014 to 12/15/2014

MEMBERSHIP INS

Child Baptism Jerelyn Marie Joos Julia Christine Joos

Infant Baptism

William Steven Johnson

MEMBERSHIP OUTS NONE

BETHEL STAR ARTICLES DEADLINE

Please be reminded the article deadline for the Febru-ary edition of the Bethel Star is Friday, January 23 Folders will meet at 8:15am on Friday, January 30 to assemble due to the holiday schedule. Extra copies are made available in the church foyer and can also be accessed on our church website at www.blcmorton.org Go to multimedia then file downloads. Highlights are posted there each week, also.

REJOICING MILESTONES

Birthdays 80+ Years

01/01 Fritz Knapp 87 01/03 Pearl Bruns 99 01/10 Viola Mutschink 92 01/10 Hazel Stansbury 85 01/13 Ann Tindall 86 01/21 Ilona McDonough 81 01/25 Joretta Schulze 83

Anniversaries 50+ Years

NONE A complete list of member birthdays with addresses is

outside the church office. Stop by and take a copy.

MIDWEEK TRADITIONAL HYMNAL SERVICES ON

WEDNESDAYS January 7, 14, 21 and 28

The E-Church – You can listen to Pastor

Jeff’s or Pastor Mark’s sermons again anytime you want on Bethel’s website. Just go to:

www.blcmorton.org 1. Right side of page click MEDIA 2. Left side of page click LAUNCH MEDIA PLAYER 3. Highlight message you want 4. Click on DOWNLOAD AUDIO 5. Click on OPEN 6. Sit back and listen This is a great way to receive the word of God if you aren’t able to be in the pews. Help spread the word to college students, business travel-ers, the homebound, and those that might be looking for a church home.

Communion is served the first and third weekends

of each month in all weekend services. Common

cup is made available.

Page 6

Guys college-age and up basketball at Bethel School on Queenwood in Morton

Sunday nights from 7:00-9:00pm Any questions?

Amateur Photographer Opportunity Looking for several people willing to snap quick pictures of individuals of Bethel to upload to eBethel data base. All you need is a camera or a phone that takes pictures. We will have 5 week-ends in early 2015 we will host these events. Ide-ally, we will have several photographers at each event. If you can serve 1 time or all of them, please contact church office(263-2417) or Tammy Curtis (264-8534) with your name and contact informa-tion.

Event Dates (before and after services): January 24 & 25 January 31 & February 1 March 7 & 8 March 21 & 22

Update the Database It is time for us to update the church’s data base. We want to make sure we have every-one’s correct address, telephone, email ect. ect. January 9 & 10 will be the first weekend to do this. It will be done after each worship service. We will get a quick snapshot of each adult and review the information we currently have in ACS with you. IF you already have a picture in e-Bethel, or if you do not want your picture in e-Bethel, you are able to simply go to your profile page and any place there is a picture of a pencil, you are able to update that information if needed.

January is PENNIES FOR LIFE collection. We are asking you to donate a penny for each year God has given to you. These funds are used to purchase and share LIFE (all stages) materials with churches and schools. Did you know that Lutherans For Life (LFL) serves many, many aged or ailing Lutherans who wait to see Jesus when death closes their eyes. A large portion of our materials help these folks and their family members deal with many end-of-life questions that arise for all of us - pain and suffering, advance directive, discontinuing treatment, whether or not to start a feeding tube, etc. LFL speaks up for those not yet born who cannot speak for themselves, it also speaks for those at the other end of life, who may not

be able to speak for themselves as well. From one end to the other, your gifts will help us apply the Good News of a Savior conceived and born because of God's great love for life at all stages of development. We will be collecting your gifts on Saturday, January17 and Sunday, January 18. We will be offering a small thank you gift for your donation. Start saving your change!

Transition Luncheon

Have you moved recently, planning to move, down-sizing? If so, then we invite you to attend the lunch-eon, Friday, January 30, 2015 at noon at church. Tara Wellenreiter will provide information on “Transitions” and how to keep them positive. Lunch will be provided.

Please RSVP to church office (#263-2417) by Monday, January 26.

Page 7

B E T H E L L U T H E R A N S C H O O L

325 E. Queenwood in Morton

WELCOMES YOU!

PANCAKE SAUSAGE BREAKFAST AND OPEN HOUSE

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2015

7:30 A.M. - 1:00 P.M.

Bring the Family and Enjoy!

Tickets - Advance and At Door

Tickets will be available in Church Office the middle of January.

Adults $ 7.50

Children (3 to 12) $ 4.50

Family Ticket (per household) $ 26.00

FOR MORE TICKET INFORMATION CALL:

BETHEL LUTHERAN SCHOOL @ 309-266-6592

BETHEL LUTHERAN CHURCH @ 309-263-2417

PORK SAUSAGE ORDERS Order and payment are due by Wednesday, January 28, 2015

To order sausage, please fill out the form below. Money is to be included with order and sausage can be picked up at the school on Sunday, February 8, 2015 during the Pancake Breakfast / Open House hours of 7 :00am – 1:00pm.

NAME:________________________________________________CONTACT #:_________________

ADDRESS:_______________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________

$4.50 / LB ___________# BULK ___________# LINK Sausage will be packaged in 1 lb. packages.

Any questions may be directed to: Meridith Deverman @ 309.696.8687

Return completed order form along with check made payable to Bethel Lutheran School to the school or church office by Wednesday, January 28, 2015.

Thank you for your support!

Page 8

Bethel’s Monthly Blood

Pressure Screening

Blood pressure screenings are held immediately

following church services in the Church Library

on:

Saturday, January 10

7:00 pm

Sunday, January 11

If you have been out to our Queenwood property lately you can’t

help but notice all the progress being made on our new church build-

ing. A lot of steel has been put up over the past several weeks giving

one a clear impression of what the building will look like. Here are

some updates…

Steel studs and girders. As mentioned above a lot of metal has been put up

outlining the building and giving one a visual sense of its size and scope. Even in

the cold weather the workers have been busy every day, utilizing a large crane to

move metal beams in place and riveting them together by hand.

Hardened room and school addition. The three new school/multipurpose

rooms, including a hardened room for a tornado shelter, are coming along nicely.

The cinder block walls are up, the cement ceiling on the hardened room is in

place, and door frames and doors have been installed.

Telecommunications. Our business manager, Al Hallburg, has been research-

ing telecommunications companies so we can unify our school and church phone

and internet services when we are on the same campus.

Interior Design team report. The interior design team continues to meet and

make some hard decisions about colors, styles, etc. Currently they are working

on pews and report that they will be padded on both the seat and back.

Building team report. The building team has been busy monitoring the con-

struction progress. Recently a hard decision was made that will save the church

money, but will slightly delay the project. The steel for the sanctuary is going to

be delivered later than anticipated, therefore the QVT decided to hold off on

pouring the concrete floor for the building until the steel is in place. This will

delay the project about a month, but will ensure the best quality concrete pour

and save the church about $50K in heating for the exposed concrete. The antici-

pated finish date for the project is now mid-September. Even with this setback

the team is pleased with the overall progress and quality of the project.

Finance team report. Over $2 million has been received for the project so far.

Thank you to all donors. Please continue to honor pledges as the projected

overall cost of the project is $8.5 million. If you have not made a pledge and

would like to, please contact Al Hallburg at the church office (309-263-2417). If

you would like to simply make a donation, this can be done by using your regular

offering envelope and marking the amount on the Vision for Christ line and put-

ting it in the offering plate during worship, doing the same with a plane enve-

lope, mailing a donation to the church (425 N. Missouri Ave. Morton, IL 61550),

or stopping by the church office during regular business hours.

In the midst of this building project it is important that we maintain

our focus on our vision and mission and the reason we are doing this

in the first place. The people of Bethel are making and maturing dis-

ciples of Jesus Christ so they can do the ministry of glorifying God,

nurturing the redeemed and reaching the lost with the love of Jesus.

It is our hope that by building this new structure and combining our

school and church ministries on the Queenwood campus we will be

able to do this more effectively and be a brighter light of hope in a

darkening world. May this be so in Jesus’ name.

We are invited to visit Mrs. Wyzard’s 4th Grade Class on Thursday, January 29th. Please try to come and observe Bethel School in action. It is fun to interact with the children. Be at the school by 1:00pm. Please be sure to sign-up on the bulletin board by the drinking fountains at church so Mrs. Wyzard will know how many will be in attendance.

Root 2six7 Event

(20/30 Ministry)

Root 2six7, a ministry of Bethel for those in their

twenties and thirties, is hosting a gathering at

Red Rock in Morton on January 31. This “come

as you are” event will begin around 7pm. We

will have access to the ropes course and rock

wall. The cost will be $12/person at the door,

which pays for food and fun. Look for more in-

formation to come. Invite your friends and come

hang out with us at Red Rock! We’ll see you

there!

Page 9

I am writing this the week before Christmas break and, as usual, the excitement level is growing every day among the students … and teachers … and principal! There is excitement in the anticipation of two weeks off, as well as the excitement from the stress level of trying to get everything accomplished before break. I pray, though, at our school the greatest excitement of all is in celebrating the birth of our Savior. As a Christian school it is our greatest joy to share this news with others through our words and our ac-tions. At the elementary level we are involved in many outreach projects, from cards for shut-ins and veterans, to our chapel offerings, to monthly projects such as Midwest Food Bank. Of course, our 8th graders have the opportunity to touch many lives through their Making a Difference Projects. We had several opportunities for touching lives dur-ing the last two months. Our focus for November and December chapel offerings was Operation Christmas Child in conjunction with church efforts. All told, we gathered together 165 gift boxes and $474 in chapel offerings to help fund Operation Christmas Child. Additionally, we held a canned food drive at our Thanksgiving chapel to help stock the Bethel Food Pantry.

The preschool once again had their annual Christ-mas programs. As always it was a pleasure to hear the true meaning of Christmas through the voices of the children. I can see where people would look at this as a cute event to come see their children per-form, but the message of Christ comes through loud and clear. Also, it’s not too early to look ahead to other big events coming up. Registration is also right around the corner with registration for returning students starting on Thursday, January 29. Registration for Bethel Church member families begins on Monday, February 9. Looking a little farther ahead, our annual Pancake Breakfast and Open House is coming up on Sunday, February 8. This is always a great time to get to-gether and welcome the community to our school. So make your plans now. We look forward to seeing you there! As always, thank you for your support of our school, and we wish you God’s Blessings!

John Jacob / Principal

As we enter this new year, we’ll prepare to celebrate the Epiphany

with an adventure of following stars to find Baby Jesus. We’ll ex-

perience some of the same anticipation and excitement as that of

the three kings. Then we’ll settle into our Winter Unit with a spe-

cial selection of books and extended activities coordinated with

each book’s theme. Don’t you wish you could join us in the fun?

Bethel Youth Ministry Page 10

Time to Serve! Bethel Youth Mission Trips. Bethel youth ministries is planning three mission trips for the summer of 2015. These include…

UKANDU Chicago. Brian Weick will be heading up this trip in July to help Lutheran churches, schools and charities with mission work in the Chicago area.

Sharing God’s Love in Buffalo, NY. Scott Brown will be leading this trip in July to help veterans in Buffalo with home repairs.

CALMS in Guatemala. Terry Johnson will lead this trip in June to build two homes for poor families in a remote village in Guatemala.

Information meetings for these trips will take place after the 10:45 AM worship services on January 11 and February 1 in room 101 at church. Attend a meeting to hear more about the trips, ask questions and get registration material.

January Youth Topics

Come get some help. Sunday mornings and

Wednesday nights.

Bethel Church Hoops Bethel has two high school teams this year. They play Sunday afternoons against other local church teams in the Lutheran Sports Association league (LSA). There are two important events coming up to be aware of:

The annual alumni game will take place on February 15 at Bethel Lutheran School. Come and see the old guys take on this year’s players.

The LSA State Tournament will be on February 27 & 28 and will be hosted by Christ Lutheran in Peoria and at Bethel Lutheran School. This will be a great opportunity to come and cheer on our teams.

Please see the church website or talk to Scott brown for more information about the schedule and locations of games.

Young Adult Care Packages The high school kids will be putting care pack-ages together four our young adults on Wednesday, January 14. Donations are needed and can be left in the church kitchen starting on Sunday, January 11th. Good items to donate are individually wrapped snack foods, Ramen noodles, cup ‘o soup, candy bars, packs of gum, etc. Besides the goodies, each box is also packed with a devotion book and note from the congregation. Bethel typi-cally sends out about 60 packages three times a year.

January KIC Night— Topsy-Turvey Night 5th & 6th graders, wear your clothes back-wards and come have some fun at KIC from 7:00-8:30 PM on January 7. Topic for the night will be Our Crazy God. Call Scott Brown at the church office for more info.

Page 11

UNLEASH YOUR SUPERPOWER! No, not the get-it-all-done, have-it-all-together. Remember, none of us are perfect! It’s time to EMBRACE and UNLEASH the superpower within you that makes YOU, uniquely YOU! When you attend a 2015 Hearts at Home Conference, you'll be joining thousands of other moms just like you who are ready to embrace and discover the super-powers that truly make each of you a superhero to your families.

National Conference March 13-14, 2015

Normal, Illinois Featuring Dr. Gary Chapman and Lysa Terkeurst To register go to:

www.HeartsatHome.org

Brochure posted on bulletin board by drinking fountains at church.

Non-Profit Organization

U.S. Postage Paid

Morton, IL

Permit #50

Bethel Lutheran Ministries

425 N. Missouri Avenue

Morton, IL 61550

(Return Service Requested)

All-Church Study

It’s that time of year again! We have just finished up with Christmas, but it’s already time to be think-ing about Lent, and of course, the all-church study. Lent begins early this year, so now is the time to start thinking about getting into a small group if you’re not already part of one. This is a wonderful opportunity to meet other people who are part of Bethel and to grow in your faith along-side your peers. Below are some important dates to keep in mind as we approach the kick-off of Lent and the all-church study.

January 18, 2015

Small Group Leader Luncheon

January 24/25, 2015

Book Sales Begin

February 21/22, 2015

All-Church Study Begins

We would like to once again offer Lenten Suppers during Lent to the church family by having Small Groups or groups of individuals volunteer to take a Wednesday and prepare a menu of your choosing. A freewill offering will be collected to help cover ex-penses for the meal. The following are the dates that we will schedule for volunteers to take for preparing Lenten meals. Call the church office for the one your group would like to plan, prepare, serve, and clean-up:

February 25 March 4, 11, 18 and 25

Serving from 5:00 – 6:00pm

First come – first served for night preference. When you reserve your evening, please give us your menu so it can be posted for our Bethel Family to know what will be served. This always proves to be a fun time for all those who step up to the task and serve their fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. (On the dates that are not reserved there will not be a meal served. We will print weekly in Highlights or go to blcmorton.org for planned menu.

FREEWILL OFFERING WILL BE COLLECTED