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B E T H E L S T A R
SEPTEMBER 2014
Newsletter
Inside this issue:
Pastor’s Message 2
Maturing 3
Midwest Food Bank
Seasoned Saints
Thank You Notes
4
Articles Deadline
Giving / Attendance
Milestones
Membership Updates
Wednesday AM Services
5
Adult Choir
Board/Committee Members
DivorceCare
Habitat for Humanity
Sounds of Praise
6
iDonate
LWML
Star Delivery Options
7
Asanti Group
Lutheran’s For Life
LWGP Diner Book
Root 2Six7
8
Bethel School
Connection Ministry
Pizza with the Pastors
9
Youth Ministry 10
Blood Pressure
Camp CILCA
Fall Brochure
Queenwood Vision Team
11
September Kingdom Helpers Insert
September Calendar Insert
Pastor Jeff Anderson Pastor Mark Anderson
Scott Brown The lists below indicate the individuals that have committed an entire school year to volunteering to help support the Bethel church staff in sharing God’s Word and encouraging your child in their Christian
education. There is a sign-up sheet located on the church library windows where we are still in need of HELPERS, and additional 3rd GRADE, KINDERGARTEN TEACHERS, and HELPERS IN PRESCHOOL. Any questions or concerns may be directed to Pastor Mark at 309-263-2417. We look forward to a new school term of growing our children in the ways of
Our Sunday School Coordinators are :
Kathy Mulvey [email protected] 309-251-9148 Angie Stock [email protected] 309-202-5622
Nico Drake [email protected] Cell: 217-766-6713 Home: 309-263-2025
Preschool Teachers: Sarah Osterman and Nico Drake
(Kayla Anderson will be available most Sundays to help.) Kindergarten Teachers: Christina Huthmann, Ingrid Huthmann, and OPEN
(We need one more kindergarten teacher.) 1st Grade Teacher: Linda Hall and Jen Schmidgall
2nd Grade Teachers: Mike and Kathy Mulvey and Jarrod and Angie Stock 3rd Grade Teachers: Emily Wegner and OPEN
(We need one more 3rd Grade teacher.)
4th Grade Teachers: Sharon Rumbold and Miki and Todd Farwell
KIC (5-6 Grade)
JUNIOR HIGH (7-8 Grade)
HIGH SCHOOL (9-12 Grade)
YOUNG ADULT (College +)
Scott Brown Scott Brown Scott Brown Scott Brown
Thomas Boelens Nicki Bailey Tammy Brown Renata Anderson
Lance Reiman Kevin Brennan Heidi Collins Auston Hobson
Kristi Ruxlow Miki Farwell Rich Curtis Kelly Hobson
Jeff/Reenie Hohulin April Gould Pam Lichtenstein
Deb Krupa Phil McMurtrey
Pam Lichtenstein Roberta McMurtrey
Cathi Michel Eric Osterman
Erin Patton Brian Weick
Church Off ice : 309 -263-2417 Church Website : ww.bethel lutheranmorton.com
Church Web Si te at www.blcmorton.org
School Off ice : 309 -266-6592 School Website : www.bethel lutheranschool .org
Page 2
Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23 [NIV]
In Have a Nice Doomsday,
author Nicholas Guyat searches
for the truth behind a startling sta-
tistic: 50 million Americans have
come to believe that the apoca-
lypse will take place in their life
time. They are convinced that any
day now, Jesus will return and
snatch the true believers away.
But in the meantime, these “true”
believers are not sitting around
waiting for that to happen. They
are getting involved in debates
over gay rights, U.S. foreign pol-
icy, and other social issues.
Some have called the book
bizarre, funny, and unsettling in
equal measure as Guyat attempts
to uncover the reason for the
apocalyptic obsessions at heart of
the people in the world’s only su-
per power. Some seem almost to
relish in the chaos around the
globe.
How about you? Where
do you stand on the times? How
easy are you sleeping these days?
As the students have gone
back to school in what seems to
be the middle of summer, there
are some unsettling events around
the world today. If you have been
paying attention you have seen or
heard about the Ferguson, Mis-
souri riots, the Gaza Strip events,
or the horrific events in modern
day Iraq. These are extremely un-
comfortable events.
Such events can cause fear
in people. These events can also
create a new measure of personal
interest in spiritual things. They
can feed a growing cynicism in a
skeptic’s heart for the people who
are suffering.
Wherever you might be
coming down on these horrible
events happening in our days,
there is another point of view. In
the book of Lamentations, the
prophet Jeremiah [the assumed
writer of the book] recounts horri-
ble events that had taken place in
his time period. There was the
wholesale devastations and
slaughter of kings (2:6, 4:20),
princes (1.6; 4:7-8), elders of the
people (1:19), priests (1:4, 19,
2:6), prophets (2:9, 20), and the
citizens (2:10-12, 3:48). There
were starving mothers (2:20) the
citizens of Judah dragged off to
exile (1:3, 18) and the elaborate
system of worship and sacrifice
ending (1:4, 10). It looked like the
end of things for the Jews.
In the midst of these
really bad times comes a little
glimpse of hope and encourage-
ment … every new morning
comes the mercy and compas-
sion of our faithful God. I won-
der how one keeps such a vision
in the midst of such awful times?
I wonder if any of those reading
these thoughts can conjure up that
type of vision when their personal
world seems to be fading?
As our students go back to
school it seems to be healthy that
we, as adults, reflect on the past
blessings God has bestowed upon
us every day, every moment, and
in every night. His great provi-
sions for us in all the areas of our
life are still real. His incredible
provision of a Savior who has
given to us in all the chaos of his-
tory the gift of life eternal in His
kingdom can remind us that He
truly does love us enough to save
us from an eternity of life under
horrible conditions.
When we do so, we can
help others still see the beauty of
life today. We might help by
showing others the kindness that
can come from people and the joy
of being a person of eternity dur-
ing that moment.
It can be very easy to get
to a point in our personal history
or our global history and honestly
ask, “When is this going to be
over?”or to spend so much to fig-
uring out times, dates, and signs
that we forget to live in the mo-
ment with all the blessings which
have been bestowed on us …
given to us … so we might also
say, “Yes, in the midst of these
days God is still providing for us
needed and incredible things!” In
seeing such things we, too, can
get involved in being the light in
our darkening days.
Page 3
MATURING ADULT CHRISTIAN EDUCATION
S u n d a y
9:30—10:30am
Breakfast Bible (Parish Hall)
Pastor Jeff and Pastor Mark
9/7 – Why Matthew 18 Does Work
for Church People
Life and Times in:
9/14 – Galatia
9/12– Colossae
9/28 – Thessalonica
First Place 4Health (Room 101)
First Place 4 Health will be start-
ing a new Bible study, “A Thank-
ful Heart", September 14. Read-
ers of this study will be encour-
aged by biblical examples of
men and women who were
able to thank God during ad-
versity and sorrow because they
remembered God’s promise to
be their Lord.
First Place 4 Health uses proven
techniques and more than 25
years of experience to be the
most complete Christ-centered
healthy living program. It has
helped thousands create bal-
ance in the four core areas of
their lives: emotional, spiritual,
mental and physical.
The study guide is 19.00. Please
contact Carolynsue Wolf, Rosa-
lie Westerfield or Mary Lou Nich-
ols with questions.
T u e s d a y
9:00—11:00 am
Ladies’ Bible Class (Room101)
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.
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
Love & Respect Marriage Study
(Room 201)
Begins September 24
Looking for a refresher in your
marriage? Do you just want to
better understand your spouse?
Maybe you just want to start
your marriage off on the right
foot. Whatever stage of your
relationship with your spouse
that you’re in, Love & Respect,
wr i tten by Dr. Emerson
Eggerichs, offers Biblical, practi-
cal, and often amusing princi-
ples to help in restoring, refresh-
ing, or reigniting love in your re-
lationship. This is a 6-week
study. Deadline for a guaran-
teed book and spot in this study
is September 17. Please call the
office to reserve your spot (263-
2417). There is a recommended
donation of $20 per couple to
cover books.
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
Thank you, Bethel Lutheran Church! Thanks so much for plans to move the stained glass window of Jesus in the old sanctuary to our new church! That window was donated by my Aunt Irma Bremer-Mooberry (now deceased) in memory of her husband, Robert Bremer, who died of a brain tumor in 1950 at the age of 44. She was left with 3 small children to raise and I’m not sure how she was even able to afford that window! She would be proud to know our church will continue to enjoy the beauty of that window that I looked up to as a child in the old sanctuary! Thanks so much!!!!!
Laura Schwandner
Our family would like to thank Pastor Jeff and
Pastor Mark for the visits to OSF after Ben's accident and during his surgery. We would also like to thank everyone in the Be-
thel family who prayed for Ben and our family. At this writing he has returned to work 3
weeks ago and is healing well. Also a special thanks to Ilona McDonough for driving out to Mackinaw to visit and encourage us and espe-
cially for the delicious meal she made. We all enjoyed it. All care, encouragement and
prayers meant a great deal and helped us through a very difficult time.
God Bless and Thanks again,
Todd, Andrea, and Ben Vetter
Shepherd’s Little Lambs of Kenya will be re-ceiving $1,700 from the door offering that was collected on the weekend of August 16/17.
Thank you for your generous hearts and giv-ing so willingly to this special need of provid-
ing clean water to these children.
Bethel angels make house call!!!
Last December I had extensive digging done
around some of my foundation to correct a struc-
tural problem. Then, of course, time had to be
allowed for the ground to settle. One beautiful
July morning, here appeared these helpers in
the form of Scott and Tammy Brown’s Small
Group (Bispings, Brennans, Browns, Collins,
McMurtrey, Rogers, Seggebruch, and Hair-
groves). These wise parents also invited their
very competent teenagers to help accomplish
this job. Suddenly a big task became very
workable and they seemed to also have a lot of
fun as they raked, placed edging, and spread 3
ton of rock. Of course, they began an ended
their work time with prayer! I was so impressed
with the happy attitude faces and shall always
remember their gift of kindness. As they packed
up to leave they were securing their plans for
lunch and swimming at the Brennan’s home.
What a system for a very special group!
In His Love!
Maxine Williamson
The Midwest Food Bank will be holding its 5th Annual Share the Blessings Dinner and Auction on Sat-urday, October 4, 2014. They are in need of a donation for Auction Support of quality items or funds to purchase items. If you would like to donate, please contact Dennis Stoller at [email protected] / 309-346-2096. If you would like to attend the event it will be held at the Morton Facility. Contact Marcia Kai-ser @ 309-645-2443. Tickets are $50each / $400 table. Auction items will soon be available for viewing at www.midwestfoodbank.org - Morton Division. Thanks for helping out the MWFB. The MWFB is a 501© organization. If you have any questions, please contact Scott Stidman at 309-266-6821.
Save Friday, September 26 for our Annual Weiner Roast at Robinson’s Farm on Allentown Road. Be there by 6:00pm. Everything is furnished. You need to bring a lawn chair to use down by the fire pit and $5 per person to cover the use of the building and cost of food. This year Jerry and Lynette Hoyum will entertain us with music and songs! Di-rections to get there and a sign up sheet will be posted on the bulletin board across from the drink-ing fountains at church before that date. There is only room for the first 30 people, so be sure to sign up before September 21st.
Page 5
BELOW YOU WILL FIND INFORMATION TO COMMUNICATE TO YOU THE GIVING AND WORSHIP TRENDS OF BETHEL LUTHERAN CHURCH FROM JULY 2013 TO JULY 2014 ...
AVERAGE OFFERING AVERAGE WORSHIP ATTENDANCE
July 2013 $14,744. July 2013 498
July 2014 $14,724. July 2014 472
07/30/2014 to 08/27/2014
MEMBERSHIP INS
Infant Baptism Sloane Elizabeth Aupperle
Austin William Kirn
Transfer Charles Walter Glick
MEMBERSHIP OUTS
Transferred to Glory Lynn Wollenschlager
Released to Church of Choice Matthew Kennell
BETHEL STAR ARTICLES DEADLINE
Please be reminded the article deadline for the October edition of the Bethel Star is Friday, September 19. Folders will meet at 8:15am on Friday, September 26 to assemble. 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
09/08 Ruth Clawitter 80 09/11 Doris Schulzki 84 09/15 Pat Owen 83 09/23 Hilda Hagemeier 83 09/27 Bob Reinken 85 09/28 Eleanor Meyer 87 09/29 Mary Ellen Brandt 88
Anniversaries 50+ Years
09/20 Ron and Barb Wahl 55 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 September 3, 10, 17, 24
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.
Page 6
2014 - 2015 CHURCH COUNCIL Pastor Jeff Anderson Pastor Mark Anderson Todd Bisping – Chairman Scott Brown – Staff Alan Hallberg – Staff John Jacob – Staff Tammy Curtis – Staff Julie Powell – Staff Jamie Burk – Secretary Todd Chaffer – Treasurer Frank Krebs – School Board Dan Wegner – Elder Board Dave Kinsinger – At-Large Todd Osing – At-Large Cindy Schmidgall – At-Large
FOUNDATION BOARD Pastor Jeff Anderson Rich Curtis – Chairman Gary Riggs – Treasurer Joshua Beenders – Elders Dave Cook – School Board John Hamer – At-Large Charles Moser – At-Large Joyce Ritterbusch – At-Large Al Rust – Properties Cindy Schmidgall – At-Large
Results of the Voters’ Meeting
Monday, June 9, 2014
ELDERS Pastor Jeff Anderson Pastor Mark Anderson Dan Wegner – Chairman Joshua Beenders LeRoy Compton Dennis Ewald Todd Farwell Bruce Johnson Alan Johnston John Lovell Ken Newman Mike Samp Stu Schmidgall David Sinn Jarrod Stock
SCHOOL BOARD John Jacob – Principal Renata Anderson – Assistant Principal Frank Krebs – Chairman Scott Russell - Vice-Chairman Dave Cook Jim Gibson Janice Kinsinger Pam Lichtenstein Brian Newman TRUSTEES Phil Zobrist Colin Burk Al Reiman
DivorceCare begins on Monday, Septem-
ber 8. This DVD and discussion group meets from 6:30-8:00pm through the 13-week series specially developed to help people heal in Christ. Please see our DC page at blcmorton.org under Get Connected. This group is open to Bethel members and the area community. Pre-registration is strongly advised by emailing or contacting the church [email protected] or 263-2417. Someone you know is dealing with divorce. Pick up a brochure and give it to them. Lead by Jeanette James 359-8222.
MINISTRY OPPORTUNITY
Sounds of Praise (Bethel’s bell choir) is in need of one ringer for the September 2014 - May 2015 ringing year. Prior music reading is helpful, even if it was piano or band lessons many years ago. Rehearsals are Thursday evenings, 5:15-6:30, and ministry of music during worship services is once per month. If you are interested in more information please contact Elaine Stien at 309-241-6003 as soon as possible. Our first September rehearsal for the bell choir is on Thursday, September 4th.
Bethel’s Adult Choir would like you to join us in this special ministry. Rehearsals are on Thursdays at 7:00pm in the sanctuary. Our regular rehearsals be-gin on October 9. If you have any questions regard-ing the choir or would like to join us, feel free to call Joe Nohl (266-7224) or Miki Farwell (263-8278). We will have a special pre-season rehearsal on Sun-day, September 7 at 7:40am to go through the song, “Jesus is My Lord” to sing in services that day.
YOU ARE INVITED!
Bethel congregation is cordially invited to attend the new Habitat for Humanity homeowner, Bianca Sassman's, Wall Raising Ceremony, to be held on Saturday, September 6th at 9:30am. The location of the ceremony will be at 111 North Norwood Place, East Peoria (by Eastside Cen-tre). The service will last approximately 1/2 hour and is a great opportunity to pray with Bianca and her family for a safe and successful build ahead.
Page 7
Where Do Your Mites Go More Mission Grants Funded – The Hope of Christ Shared
The Lutheran Women's Missionary League (LWML) announces more gifts given to fund the following Mission Grants. Praise God for His bountiful gifts and for the faithful prayers and mite giving of His children! Learn more about each grant at
http://lwml.org/missions/mission-grants
From the 2011-2013 biennium, the grant of $25,000 was sent to Exodus 2:6: Spiritual Care in Disasters – Texas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma. This marks the com-pletion of grants given from that biennium!
Second gift of $25,000 for Rebuilding Nord East Haiti Lutheran School. This grant will help to rebuild the Lutheran primary school in Haiti, meet current earth-quake standards, and serve the physical and spiritual needs of Haitian children. An additional $50,000 is still needed to complete this grant.
Second installment of $25,000 for I CAN – Serving At-Risk Children with Learning Needs. This grant will help to bring the love of Christ to children who are at- risk and have special learning needs through Lu-theran Special Education Ministries’ after-school and summer programs. An additional $54,000 is still needed to complete this grant. Third installment of $5,000 for Support for Lutheran Public Radio. This grant helps assure that the radio and internet show, “Issues, Etc.,” can continue to pro-claim the Gospel and provide a better understanding of contemporary social issues in a Christian context. An additional $25,000 remains to be given to complete this grant.
BETHEL STAR DELIVERY Options available:
E-Mail (Will receive when completed, usu-ally the last Friday of each month.)*
Bulk Snail Mail (Leaves the church on last Friday, then depends on your delivery site.)*
Pick up a copy in the church foyer next time you come to church (following the last Friday of the month.)*
*Holidays and Calendar Events sometime dictate a week earlier or later. This topic will be discussed in open forum the night of our next Voters’ meeting on Monday, September 8, 2014 at 7:00pm in the Parish Hall.
Communion is served the first and third weekends
of each month in all weekend services. Common
cup is made available.
PEORIA-PEKIN ZONE LWML FALL RALLY “Live Forgiven—Live Forgiving”
Thursday, September 25 at Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church, 908 Hanssler Place in Peoria. Registration Fee $15 by September 12 includes lunch. After that date, $20. Rally speaker is Dona Martin from Lutheran Church Charities. She is one of the co-directors of the Canine Comfort Dogs. Ingathering is non-perishable food items. Find complete list on the LWML bulletin board by the drinking fountains at church along with registration forms. Childcare provided by request.
Servant Event / 8:00am
Bring scissors to trim stamps. Registration and Refreshments / 8:30am-9:00am
Opening Devotion / 9:00am
Page 8
In the last year of following attendance trends through eBethel, we have discovered a void. Perhaps you don’t even need to look at the hard data to realize that the lowest attending age group at Bethel is the young professionals. Adults in their 20’s and 30’s, single or married, with children or without, are one of the most under reached groups in our church. In the life of a church, it is this generation that builds the future of a church body by raising their children to have a relationship with God and to be active participants in the church body. It is because of this void that Bethel has begun a committee of individuals within this age group to help start a targeted ministry to reach out to these young professionals. Root 2six7 is a ministry focused on engag-ing 20- and 30-somethings in authentic relationship with Jesus and the church through social interaction, small groups, and worship opportunities. The name Root2six7 is based on Colossians 2:6-7, “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankful-ness.”
The first ministry opportunity is a social gathering, Kickball and Cookout, at Oakwood Park on Sep-tember 26 at 5:30 pm. Meat and table service will be provided, but bring a dish to share. Since it is our goal to attract new people through these activities, please invite friends to join a kickball team. Teams will also be created at the event if necessary. Kids are welcome to attend and to play on the kickball teams. We are looking forward to a night of fun and to make connections with young professionals in our church and commu-nity. For more information, contact Pastor Mark at the church office.
Bethel Lutheran Church is bringing the Asante
Children's Choir to the Morton Pumpkin Festival!
The children will perform on Saturday, September
13 at 6:00 pm on the Entertainment Stage. We
will need to provide a meal for the children at
4:00pm here at the church. Please contact Julie
Powell in the church office if you are interested in
serving.
LWGP DINER BOOKS
The Lutheran Women of Greater Peoria is of-fering the Peoria Dining Tour Coupon Book again this year. They are available in the church office during regular business hours until Mon-day, December 15th. Coupons are valid until November 1, 2015. The cost is $30 with check made payable to LWGP. Ten dollars from each book will go equally to LWGP, the Lutheran Hill-side Village, and Lutheran Social Services of Illinois. There are over 200 valuable BUY-ONE — GET-ONE FREE COUPONS VALID AT LO-CAL AREA RESTAURANTS. There are 30 new restaurants this year and 105 restaurants total. These books make great birthday or Christmas gifts for family and friends.
When the disciples ask Jesus, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?", He put a child in their midst telling them to not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father. Respect for all Life is the reason we need to stand in silent prayerful witness in the Heart of Illinois Life Chain on Sunday, October 5 from 2:30pm to 3:30pm. There will be more than 1,700 locations participating in this event at the same time. This will be a powerful voice to God for Mercy on all His creations. Sometimes a silent witness is much more powerful than a vocal one. Join us in this important action for ALL OF LIFE! We will meet at the Metro Center in Peoria at the end of the chain. Unable to stand for the hour, bring a lawn chair. We pray to see you there.
Page 9
AMERICAN HERITAGE GIRLS TROOP IL6408 FAITH / SERVICE / FUN
Parent Informational Meeting and Girl Registration Tuesday, September 2 at 6:30pm
Bethel Lutheran Church 425 N. Missouri Avenue, Morton, Illinois
Parish Hall American Heritage Girls is a non-profit organization dedicated to building women of integrity through service to God, family, community, and country. This fun, educa-tional scouting program is available to girls in kindergarten – high school and a BRAND NEW troop is starting this fall at Bethel Lutheran School. Girls from all com-munities welcome!
Questions directed to Ruth Westbrook / Troop Coordinator E-mail: [email protected] Cell: 309-573-5040
WANTED: SCHOOL CUSTODIAN
We are looking for someone who would like to work at the school for 2-3 hours a day. The main duties include cleaning the lunchroom ta-bles and floors, emptying trash, stocking restrooms, light mainte-nance and other assigned projects. The position is paid by the hour. If you have any questions and/or would like to apply, please contact Alan at the church office 309-263-2417.
CONNECTION MINISTRY Involves Everyone
Begins September 6/7 weekend! You will begin seeing people in turquoise colored vests in the narthex and hallways before and after worship services and during coffee hour. They will be serv-ing to “Connect” people to Bethel. Initially, the fo-cus will be on visitors, but they may even be ap-proaching Bethel people they are not familiar with to “Connect” with them, also. Our goal is to make sure Bethel is welcoming, friendly, and a place to get connected to other people and opportunities to honor God. YOUR ROLE:
Is to provide support for this ministry by also being friendly and welcoming to all people, especially those who are unfamiliar. (A great opportunity is during the “Greeting of Peace” during each service).
To be mindful of those serving with the “blue vest” are on duty so a simple “hi” to your friends that are serving and not a conversa-tion is greatly appreciated.
Sunday, Oct. 5 following late service will be our first of 6 planned “Pizza with the Pastor” events this year. This is primarily for visitors, new members, newer mem-bers who are then able to sit down and visit with the Pastors. They will share with you and then answer questions you may have and of course share a meal together. To ensure there is enough Pizza, please call church office (263-2417) to R.S.V.P. by Wednesday, October 1
st.
Bethel Youth Ministry Page 10
It’s Time to Start thinking Ski Trip and Summer Mission Trips Believe it or not, it’s time to start thinking about participating in the annual youth ski trip (December 2014) and/or summer mission trips (summer 2015). These are the expensive events for Bethel youth ministry with the ski trip costing about $150 and mission trips from $500 to $1000. They are both expensive, but worthwhile. More information about both will be available soon. Meanwhile, decide whether or not you will commit to go, start saving money, and participate in Bethel youth fundraisers. The first fundraiser will be the Chili Lunch that will take place on Sunday, November 9. Mark your calendar and see Bethel youth director, Scott Brown, for more information.
Young Adult Ministry News It’s time to get updated addresses for young adults (18-23 year-olds) in to the church office. Bethel sends care packages throughout the year to our young adults, so it is important to have the right address. You can submit updates by calling the church office (263-2417), using the form on the church website (blcmorton.org), entering the information on e-Bethel, or sending it directly to youth director, Scott Brown, via his email – [email protected].
Junior High Bible Study from 9:30-10:30 on Sunday mornings in the youth room. See above for topics of discussion.
Confirmation class will take place from 7:00-8:30 on September 3, 17 & 24 in room 203 at church. No Confirmation
class on September 10 due to Pumpkin Festival.
KIC Parent Meeting September 3 KIC (Kids in Christ) is Bethel’s ministry for 5
th & 6
th graders. KIC includes weekly Bible study on Sunday mornings,
monthly fun nights, and a lock-in each year in March. A parent meeting outlining more details about KIC and how par-ents can get involved will be held at 7:00 PM on Wednesday, September 3 in the church sanctuary. Please contact Scott Brown at 309-231-4878 for more information.
Page 11
Bethel’s Monthly Blood
Pressure Screening
Blood pressure screenings are held immediately
following church services in the Church Library
on:
Saturday, September 13
7:00 pm
Sunday, September 14
9:00 am and 11:45 am
PROGRESS ON QUEENWOOD Rain, rain go away. The rainy weather in late July and Early August made it impossible to complete the parking lot before the start of school, but our faithful and re-sourceful church members have come up with a traffic-directing plan to make things as smooth as possible. It won’t be perfect, but with patience and good humor we’ll get past this obstacle with little fuss and be enjoying our expanded school parking lot by mid-September. Here are some other updates…
You will have noticed the “for sale” sign in front of the
current church property accompanied by a “we’re relo-cating” banner. It is a bittersweet step: exciting for the move, sad to leave a building with so many great memories. There have been inquiries about the prop-erty; some more promising than others. Please pray that we are able to sell and that the property would continue to be a blessing to the community.
All construction bids are in and have come in under
budget. Praise the Lord!
With construction comes bills. We have a sizeable
amount of cash from donations that will be used first, and the finance team is working on securing a loan, but it is important that donations continue to come in. Please faithfully continue to honor your pledges.
Updates will be fewer now as we are in the construction
stage. But continue to monitor the Highlights, Star,
church webpage and Facebook page as updates will be
posted when they are available. Also, feel free to stop
out at the Queenwood property to monitor the progress
for yourself. These are exciting times at Bethel. May we
continue to honor God by using the gifts He has given us
to do His work.
Fall Opportunity Brochure
Available at Welcome Center. Please
pick one up today to plan for all of the
great opportunities available from Sep-
tember thru November.
Annual Chicken Dinner & Auction Sunday - August 31, 2014
Join us for Camp CILCA's Annual Labor Day Weekend Chicken Fry & Auction on Sun-day, August 31, 2014. The meal begins at 11:30 a.m. and goes until 2:00 p.m. Tickets are available at the door. The price is $8.00 for adults and $5.00 for children aged 4-12. Chil-dren 3 & under are free. Trailer spaces, Cabins & Rooms are still available. Call or e-mail Camp CILCA to make your reservation. Please come for the great food, great fellowship time with other Camp CILCA friends, and show support for your Lutheran camp!
We will dedicate the two new cabins at 1:30 pm, followed by the annual auction.
Non-Profit Organization
U.S. Postage Paid
Morton, IL
Permit #50
Bethel Lutheran Ministries
425 N. Missouri Avenue
Morton, IL 61550
(Return Service Requested)
We Christians, particularly young Christians, can make an idol out of how we feel. Far too often we have an ob-session with emotionalism. Emotions are not bad. God created them in us. But when they begin to dictate our life, so much so that we want to feed them constantly, we make them into an idol. When it comes to finding satisfaction in Christ it can be hard to base it on our feelings. Is Jesus satisfying? Yes. Does He always feel satisfying? Not always. Is following Jesus going to always be accompanied with a great sense of felt satisfaction in Him? Sometimes, yes … but sometimes, no. In other words, if we only trust in Christ when we feel near to Him, then the reality is that there will be seasons in our life when we won’t be trust-ing Him, honoring Him, or seeing our need for Him, because our emotions and what we feel are inconsistent at best. So what does one do? He/she simply acknowledges that, although He is always near, we don’t always feel Him being near to us. Therefore, make it a habit of doing what He has told us to do …
Pray Be in His Word daily Meet with other Christians (especially a trusted friend) to have some
God talk time. Make it a habit of doing a random act of kindness. Sing a song of praise to Him.
What we often find when we don’t feel Him satisfying us, is we are the ones who have moved on, not Him. We are the ones who are dissatisfied with something else in our life of which we have asked Him for. Or at times, we just have spent too much effort on things which will eventually be asking more of us before it brings us satisfaction.
