Pastor David Blair • James Hing, Organist & Zoom Master

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40 Day -- RED LETTER CHALLENGE begins Tuesday February 16

February 2021 is a month full of red-letter days! Chief among them is February 14, Valentine’s Day. This year it falls on a Sunday. It is a day to celebrate LOVE. Not only love be-tween sweethearts, husbands, and wives, between siblings, between par-ent and child, especially God’s love for his world in the person of Jesus, our Savior and Lord. Sunday February 14 will be the kick-off message for the 40-day RED LETTER CHALLENGE that we are beginning. It is a series of daily devotions around the theme of the words of Jesus. As James says, “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your-selves” (James 1:22). Each week’s readings revolve around one of five themes: BEING, FORGIVING, SERV-ING, GIVING and GOING. The first 5 daily devotions speak to each one of these major themes of the words of Jesus. Then, beginning on Sundays, each theme is explored in more

February 2021

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depth in each daily devotion. Our Red-Letter Challenge journey together begins with the first daily read-ing on Tuesday February 16. Workbooks have been received. We encour-age each person to have their own copy. Our Northwest District has subsi-dized the cost (bringing it down from $20 to $10 per workbook). We want as many people as possible to join with us in this challenge! They do not have to be a member of Bethlehem. If you have family, friends, or neigh-bors whom you think would be open to such a challenge/study, do get a copy for them. We are requesting a donation of $10 ($11.65 with ship-ping) if you are able. If not, we are requesting that others donate above that so that as many people as possible are able to participate. We can or-der more but that order would need to be made the first week of February. Copies of the workbook can be picked up during office hours Mon-day, Tuesday, and Thursdays. Weekly Zoom group meetings are being planned to share with each other how the challenge of Jesus’ words is working in our life and stories of spir-itual growth. Times planned are for Sundays 6:15 – 7 p.m. and Mondays 9 – 9:45 a.m. Zoom invites will be sent out. Participants will be requested to commit to participation in their group for the entire 40-day challenge. In this 40-day red letter challenge we will be joining many other LC-MS churches as well as 50 other Christian congregations throughout the world. I am excited to see the Holy Spirit work in each one of our hearts and lives through this challenge! We certainly do live in challenging times. In our world, our nation, our state, our congregation set to issue a Call for the next settled pastor and in our very own lives. What better way to meet these changing times than with the unchanging truth of Jesus’ very own words … including His promise, “I am with you always, to the very end” (Matthew 28:20).

Pastor David

Challenge continued from previous page

PANDEMIC FATIGUE

If you are experiencing excess stress due to COVID-19, call Washington Listens 833-681-0211 for support and resources. It is normal to feel apathy right now, and there are ways to cope. Website is coronavirus.wa.gov/wellbeing

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HAPPY ANNIVERSARY

Duett, Neal & Mary February 12, 1971 50 years

Downing, Frank & Betty February 18, 1956

65 years

Reynolds, Bud & Juanita February 18, 1956 65 years

FEBRUARY

We wish you continued happiness and God’s blessings!

Elliette Rogers February 1 Roman Sturgul February 2 Wanda Brooks February 4 Mark Humphrey February 5 William Jordanger February 6 Kerie McNeal February 6 Carolyn Warns February 6 Glen Koppelman February 10 Ruth Schroeder February 11 Marcy Hall February 12 Curtis Holcomb February 13 Randy Barger February 20 Alex Murphy February 20 Wayne Hough February 26 Alissa Shapsnikoff February 28

MILESTONE BIRTHDAYS: Wanda Brooks was born in 1920 and turns 101. She is our oldest member. William Jordanger celebrates 4 decades on Feb 6. Ruth Schroeder will be 90 on Feb 11 Alissa turns sweet 16 this month

“I would like to thank everyone for all the prayers and cards. It truly helped me through surgery & recovery. I really appreciate the support of my church family.” Tracy Brown

MESSAGE FROM GRETCHEN ENGUM

Gretchen’s daughter, Liz, reports that Gretchen is doing well at Arbor Vil-lage and has met a nice woman who walks with her, and they enjoy hav-ing coffee together. Gretchen does miss going to church and her friends at Bethlehem. Thank you for keeping their family in your prayers.

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We pray for God’s ongoing mercy to all. In particular, we pray for:

Those living & working in our Bethesda home David, Cindy & Rachel Blair Tracy Brown Harold Carlson Frank & Betty Downing Marcy Hall Mardelle Hammond Gary & Kay Hanno Carolyn Hough Jeanne-K Hughes Emma Humphrey Jenny Iles Joel & Karen Jackman Donna Kahn Glen Koppelman Pete & Hannelore Maas Debbie Porter Mason Bob Pankow Juanita Reynolds Ruth Schroeder

Karen Begalka’s brother Mark, friend Regina S. Tracy Brown’s sister Cory Jim & Sharon Buechler—his sister JoAnn, her brother James Gretchen Engum’s brother-in-law Teresa Feltmann’s sister Connie & family in Malden, Washington Jesse Hack’s dad Don Mardelle Hammond’s sister-in-law Barbara Jeanne-K Hughes’ sister Denice, son David, aunt Ruth, niece Paula LuAnne Humphrey’s brother James & family, sister Shari, friends Debbie & Chris, David B, Duane, and Joyce. Gary & Joanne Jordanger’s friend Joel Don & Dielda Kuhlmann– her sister Brenda, his sister-in-law Gail Pete & Hannelore Maas’ friend Bill Karen Marsyla’s friend Fran M. Pat Mortrud’s niece Donna M, neighbor Cathy B Ron Muller’s relative Shirley, sister Inge Hannelore Payne’s stepdaughter Becky, relatives June & Johanna and Susanna, friend Marge, son Patrick, brother Frank Debbie Porter’s friend Ada Linda Sheets’ daughter Corrie Dick & Ellen Taylor’s grandchildren Landon & Caroline, his cousins Bill & Eileen Carolyn Troseth’s sister Viola, sister-in-law Viona, friend Anita Carolyn Warn’s great granddaughter Masyn Kathy Zable’s aunt’s caregiver Carol, daughter Margo

We pray for the health and safe return home of our members and relatives serving our coun-try in the military: Austin Kahn (Air Force), Garrett Kahn (Air Force).

We pray for peace, love, safety, and comfort to our members who can’t attend church ser-vices: Pat Boydston, Wanda Brooks, Betty Cowan, Gretchen Engum, Elden Fischer, Jenny Iles, Evelyn Lundstrom-Weiss, Gerhard & Sabine Muller, Virginia Preston, Bud Reynolds, Fred Schroeder, Jean Shaw, Carolyn Warns, and David Willett.

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KATHY ZABLE April 25, 1943

— December 22, 2020

A GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT

Faith Russert, wife of Reverend Luther Russert, passed away on December 17, 2020 in Illinois at the age of 87. Rev Russert was Bethlehem’s pastor from 1956 to 1963. It was during their time with us that our current church building on Monroe Avenue was built. The Russerts were the first residents of our parsonage. She is remembered as a dedicated and faithful pastor’s daughter and wife with a kind and gentle spirit. She is survived by her children Luther (Kim), Paul (Dawn), Faith Ann (Jose), Daniel (Branka), and John (Tetiana), and many grandchildren and great grand-children. She is preceded in death by her husband in 2003. A celebration of life will be held at a later date.

Faith on her 2012 visit

to Bethlehem

Faith Russert June 7, 1933

- December 17, 2020

Faith & Pastor Luther Russert and children on their farewell

event at Bethle-hem in 1963.

“Serving God & Your Country”

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Heartfelt condolences to Cindy Blair on the passing of her beloved uncle. Here are Cindy’s words: My Uncle “Howdy” (Theodore Howard Ormbrek) died January 9th

here in Seattle at the age of 95. He was my mom’s older brother by 3 years. He and my mom’s parents, my grandparents, were Ted Ormbrek and Helga Jorgensen (she arrived at Ellis Island in 1920 from Nesna, Nor-way. My great grandparents were homesteaders in the Sammamish Val-ley. The extended family included musicians, especially fiddlers, and the Ormbrek barn in Woodinville was the site for many dances. My Uncle Howdy joined the navy at age 17. He served aboard the USS Mount Olympus in the Philippines. His ship was moored next to the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay where he was able to witness the surrender cere-mony on September 2, 1945. My Uncle Howdy married my Aunt Betty. Their 3 children were my cousins and we spent wonderful and fun times camping together and enjoying vis-iting at each other’s homes. My Uncle Howdy had a beautiful tenor voice and sang in the choir at Wedgewood Presbyterian Church. He was also active in the Norwegian Male Chorus for many years which incidentally was founded by his grand-father (my great-grandfather Gunnleik Ormbrek) in 1889. We enjoyed go-ing to the Norwegian May 17th Constitution Day Parade in Ballard and hearing his choir as well as getting together each year at the Sammamish Valley Pioneer Picnics held since the 1920’s. My Uncle Howdy had such a loving and gentle spirit filled with compassion for others. He lived out his faith by caring for people as well volunteering for many organizations. He was an amazing man of God and we all love him so much. I picture him now in heaven having a wonderful reunion with my mom!

the family of Bernice Swanson, who was a former member of Beth-lehem. She passed away on January 14, 2021 at the age of 87. She is survived by husband Ray, daughters Debbie (Dave), Dawn, Peggy (Lowell), 6 grandchildren, and 3 great grandchildren. Pastor David Blair will officiate at her funeral at Greenwood Memorial Park in Renton, Washington on January 28.

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LENT and HOLY WEEK WORSHIP - “Places of the Passion”

Our worship theme for the season of Lent this year is “Places of the Passion.” Each mid-week service and Holy Week we will look at a different place, a unique location in Jesus’ journey to the cross for our salvation. Join us begin-ning Ash Wednesday, February 17 at 7:00 p.m. for our first Lenten Zoom service. The next best thing to being there ourselves!

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THE GIDEONS AND THE MEANS OF GRACE

In confirmation class, we learned about the "Means of Grace." Let's review again what we learned so many years ago: What is meant by the Means of Grace?

By the Means of Grace are meant those things by which God offers and gives His gifts of forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation.

Which are the Means of Grace?

The Means of Grace are the Gospel of Christ in Word and Sacrament.

In the work of the Gideons, we can see the means of grace in action. In the back of the Testaments that they hand out there is a summary of Law (we are sinners and need forgiveness) and Gospel (Jesus died for our sins on the cross and was raised for our justification). The Holy Spirit has worked through those words, the words in the New Testa-ment, and the personal witness of Gideon mem-bers, to bring many to faith in Jesus.

Submitted by Brent Begalka

WEDNESDAY MORNING BIBLE STUDY February 3 & 10 at 9:30 am

Only 2 classes left as we study the book of Jonah: More than a Fish Tale!

“This class on Jonah is so educational. We learn about the life of Jonah and how it relates to others in the Bible and ourselves. I don’t think I’ve been in a group where the Seattle Mariners, the Andy Griffith show, the planet Mars, Martin Luther, rowing crews, Jesus, and the words synecdo-che and Hebraism are all mentioned,” a new student. Join us on Zoom, with a computer screen or on the phone.

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LIFE CYCLE SERIES Leader Don Kuhlmann

It was encouraging that half of our active members were able to partici-pate in the Zoomed Congregational Life Cycle Series. Each week, we watched a short video presentation and worked through questions and an-swers in small groups. For those interested in seeing the videos, they are available on our website at http://www.bethlehemlutheranrenton.org/links/ Rev. Paul Linnemann, President of the Northwest District, provided many inspiring thoughts on the subjects of church growth, church decline, church renewal, and legacy planning. I would like to thank Carl Stockamp for providing support and behind-the-scenes work on this series, Joel Jackman for his Zoom hosting skills, and the facilitators and note-takers who helped make each week run smoothly. A report was shared with council and at the January voters’ meeting. Summarizing the report, this was a very worthwhile investment of our time. We learned that congregations have a natural life cycle, just like humans do, just like companies do. While God’s Church is immortal, man’s congregations are not. It is never too early or too late to plan for what our neighbors will say about Bethlehem 5, 10, 20 or 50 years from now. We had the opportunity to look at ourselves from the perspective of a number of characteristics. We realize we are stewards of the gifts of God and are expected to use them. We generated a lot of good ideas. Our list of ‘things we could do’ is 7 feet long. Realistically we will start with 1 or 2 things from the top of the list — determining what we want Bethle-hem to be known for and engaging in outreach in our community. Carl’s report on page 26 offers more information about future plans. While the Life Cycle series is over, the work is just beginning!

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BAPTIZED By Dielda Kuhlmann Janet Lee, back when her name was Janet Moser, was baptized as an adult on January 13, 1980 at Bethlehem by Pastor Randy Grauer. Emma nee Kohls Humphrey was baptized on January 15, 1928 as an infant. Art Wolf was baptized on February 13, 1966. He shares, “I was baptized at Trinity

Lutheran Church. Pueblo, Colorado. My Grandma was there who was also one of my God Parents. I have been attached to that church literally all my life. I was baptized there, I was confirmed there, and I was married there. My mom and dad and brother had their funerals there. When I show a church background on Zoom, that is Trinity. If you can see the Baptismal Font, that is the one that I was baptized in.” Chenee’ Holcomb was almost 4 months old when she was baptized on February 17, 1985 at Bethlehem by Pastor Randy Grauer. Her uncle Curt was (and still is) her Godfather. Grandma Marlene Holcomb crocheted her christening gown, which Chenee’ still has. Uncle Curtis Holcomb shares, “She has become a very self-sufficient Christian woman, of which I am very proud.”

Grandpa Larry Holcomb holds baby Chenee’

Chenee’ Holcomb baptism ceremony February 17, 1985

Jessica Rogers was baptized on February 22, 1987 as an infant by Pastor Randy Grauer at Bethlehem.

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RAVE for Karen Begalka & Brenda & Alissa for making over 100 Valentine’s Day cards. They will be delivered by Ruth Ann Shimoi to various care facilities.

WHEN WERE YOU BAPTIZED?

All this year we are focusing on baptisms. We would love to share your baptism date and story. Please submit details, and they will be published in a future newsletter. If you have a photo, that would be wonderful.

Contact Dielda Kuhlmann Dielda@comcast.net

Ruth Schroeder celebrates her 90th birthday on February 11. A lot in the world has changed since 1931. In all that time, Ruth shares that the big-gest change in her life was when she met the Lord! He has seen her through a lot in life. Ruth was born in Billings, Mon-tana and also spent a few years in Denver. She moved to Seattle in the fall before President Roosevelt died, or 1944 for non-history buffs. With their facility in lock down, she expects her family will need to postpone her birthday party. If it works out, she will have had her 2nd COVID vaccination before her birthday.

Ruth Schroeder ringing our call to worship bell June 2019

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THE STORY BEHIND THE HYMN

Jesus Loves Even Me Written about 1870

Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. Romans 5:5 Philip Bliss was born in a Pennsylvania log cabin where his father led daily prayer and where music was the primary entertainment. As a re-sult, he found himself drawn to both the Lord Jesus and to music at an early age.

When he was ten, Philip sold vegetables door to door. Approaching an elegant home, he heard a sort of music he'd never heard before. Dropping his vegetables, he scaled the fence and slipped unseen into the parlor. A woman was playing something new and strange to Philip—a piano. He was enthralled. When she stopped, he exclaimed, "O lady, please play some more!"

Spinning on her stool, the alarmed woman saw the little urchin standing there. "Get out of here with your big, bare feet!" she cried. Philip beat a fast retreat, but the sounds of that piano stayed with him and deepened his desire to become a musician.

The next year, 11-year old Philip left home to work in lumber camps, earning nine dollars a month as assistant cook. Later he became a log cutter and sawmill worker, but he never lost his passion for music.

In 1859, he married Lucy Young. After working on her father’s farm and attending a nearby music school, he became an itinerant music teacher, making house calls on horseback. In 1864, he sold his first Gospel song to a publishing company and was drafted for service in the Union Army. He served briefly as the Civil War was coming to an end.

In 1870, Philip joined the staff of the First Congregational Church in Chicago. One evening, very weary, Philip found inner refreshment while meditating on Romans 5:5: "The love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit." Picking up pen and paper, he wrote: "I am so glad that my Father in heaven / tells of His love in the book He has given."

As he taught that song the next Sunday, perhaps his mind went back to that elegant parlor where he wasn't welcome, and to the strains of music that had defined his life.

Philip died at the age of 38 when he and his wife perished in a train accident in Ohio. They were en route to sing at an evangelistic service at Dwight L Moody’s Tabernacle. They were survived by two sons, ages four and one. Sources: Then Sings My Soul by Robert J Morgan, Wikimedia, Wikipedia, and hymnary.org Submitted by Joel & Karen Jackman

Philip P Bliss 1838-1876

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CONFIRMANDS meet after church every Sunday in Pastor’s office.

Office hours are Monday through Thursday

9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Sun Mon Tue Wed

1

Trustees Meeting

Time TBD

2

6 pm Elder Meeting

3 Office Closed

9:30 am Bible Class

with Pastor Blair-

7 FOOD BANK SUNDAY

10 Worship Service via Zoom

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9

10 Office Closed

9:30 am Bible Class

with Pastor Blair via

Zoom

14 Valentine’s Day

10 Worship Service via Zoom

Spread the Love. Invite someone

to Zoom church today to hear

about God’s love for them.

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9 am RED LETTER

KICK OFF via Zoom

6:15 pm RED

LETTER KICK OFF via

Zoom

16 Shrove Tuesday

RED LETTER

CHALLENGE DAY 1

17 Office Closed

RED LETTER DAY 2

7pm ASH WEDNESDAY

“Places of the Passion

The City of Jerusalem”

21 RED LETTER DAY 6

10 Worship Service via Zoom

11:45 Council meeting via Zoom

NEWSLETTER DEADLINE

6:15 pm RED LETTER SMALL

GROUP WEEK 2 via ZOOM

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RED LETTER DAY 7

9 am RED LETTER

SMALL GROUP

WEEK 2 via ZOOM

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RED LETTER DAY 8

24 Office Closed

RED LETTER DAY 9

7 pm Lenten Service

“Bethany”

28 RED LETTER DAY 13

10 Worship Service via Zoom

6:15 pm RED LETTER SMALL

GROUP WEEK 3 via ZOOM

OFFICE HOURS: Monday, Tuesday & Thursday

9 a.m. to 12 noon

Communion date to be determined. Elders are monitoring the weather forecast.

RED LETTER CHALLENGE—Get your workbook, read the appropriate devotion for each day on your own. Gather on Zoom Sunday evening or Monday morning for a weekly 45-minute group discussion session. The last reading is Day 40 which will be March 27, the Saturday before Palm Sunday.

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FEBRUARY 2021

Wed Thu Fri Sat

Office Closed 9:30 am Bible Class

with Pastor Blair-Zoom

4 Wanda Brooks turns

101 years old!!

7 pm New Purpose

5

6

Office Closed

9:30 am Bible Class

with Pastor Blair via

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7 pm New Purpose

12 13 Tentative date for matinee;

time to be decided. We are

showing FROZEN 2

Office Closed

RED LETTER DAY 2

7pm ASH WEDNESDAY

“Places of the Passion-The City of Jerusalem”

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RED LETTER DAY 3

3 pm Mary Martha - Zoom

7 pm New Purpose

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RED LETTER DAY 4

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RED LETTER DAY 5

Office Closed

RED LETTER DAY 9

7 pm Lenten Service

“Bethany”

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RED LETTER DAY 10

7 pm New Purpose

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RED LETTER DAY 11

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RED LETTER DAY 12

Pastor Blair email: Pastor@BethlehemLutheranRenton.org cell phone: 206-291-4237

BETHLEHEM LUTHERAN CHURCH

1024 Monroe Ave N.E., Renton, WA 98056

blessings@BethlehemLutheranRenton.org 425-255-9772 www.BethlehemLutheranRenton.org

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Let’s

ZUNDAY ZERVICES By Dielda Kuhlmann Zoom tips SING James advises us sing like a rock star, out loud to God. It’s to His Glory, not for human ears. READ along with the sermon. It may help you stay focused on the words. The sermon is emailed to you ahead of time, and is also available on the website every week. TURN OFF your cell phones and other devices that make noise. While you get to wear your slippers and sit in your comfortable chair, you are still technically at church. ENHANCE your appearance by using Zoom’s Touch up filter feature in set-tings. And light aimed at you from the front, rather than light coming from behind you, will make you more visible. Having the camera at the right height will help your whole face appear instead of just the top of your head. IF YOU HAVEN’T Zoomed but one to give it a try, contact Joel or Dielda, and they will help you practice before a Sunday morning. ZOOM HIGHLIGHTS The first Sunday after Christmas, December 27, was a good day to worship at Bethlehem. Pastor Blair was still suffering symptoms of COVID-19 so Art Wolf read the sermon in his place and Dick Taylor served as elder. We sang many Christmas hymns. Photo on upper right shows James Hing with his holiday-themed vir-tual background. Other backgrounds were Marjie Boydston’s snow globes and Janet Lee’s lighthouse on the beach photos they took themselves.

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There was a moving tribute to Kathy Zable who passed away on Decem-ber 22. This was the first Sunday since her death. Her daughter, Margo, was with us. December 27 was also the first Sunday that staff and residents of our Bethesda home joined us on Zoom. On January 3 we sang Christmas hymns. We had 2 opening hymns plus 2 postludes, and a lot of other songs with ancient words imparting mes-sages that are still important today. Pastor Blair was unable to read the sermon but he did type us a chat message during the zervice, “Thank you for your prayers. Looking forward to this new week and year!” Joel Jackman filled in for Pastor Blair, reading the sermon titled “The Good King’s Wisdom”. Dick Taylor served as elder. We learned that Linda Sheets was getting her first COVID vaccine later in the day. Karen & Brent Begalka had a brand new smart phone, and we were able to see them for the first time! Carl & Joni Stockamp had a lot of snow at their home. People from Arizona, Colorado, Texas, and Oregon also Zoomed with us, as well as several people living in care facilities.

January 10 was our 50th Zoom Zervice!! It was a great day to worship at Bethlehem. Pastor Blair was with us. His last Zoom was on Sunday, De-cember 13. Also Hannelore Maas was able to join us today after her battle with the coronavirus. We went international with this zervice and had all 6 members of the Halley Gentil family in Switzerland attending. And a former member, Debbie Dey and her husband Craig, joined us from Oregon. James,

brother of Sharon Buechler, was also on for the first time. Our total at-tendance was 82 souls, our second highest attendance in over a year. (We did have 90 on our Zoomed Easter Zervice.) There were so many special moments today begin-ning with the sung prelude Peace Prayer of St Fran-cis. And then we were treated to a hillbilly blue-grass toe-tapping, head-bopping version of “Wash, O God, Our Sons and Daughters” sung by Mark Kelly. Sharon Buechler was our first lay reader on Zoom. Sharon Buechler

Pastor Blair Returns

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Zoom Zervices continued from previous page

We installed our 2021 officers, and they were all able to give their verbal “I do’s”. During the announcements, president Carl Stockamp thanked James Hing for his 15 years of service at Bethlehem and presented him with a picture of a cake. James shared a quote by Stephen Hawking, “Remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Try to make sense of what you see and wonder about what makes the universe exist. Be curious. And however difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at. It matters that you don't just give up.”

On January 17, Brent Begalka was our lay reader. Pastor Blair’s sermon was “Speak for Your Servant Hears” based on 1 Samuel 3:10. Samuel had an open mind, a quiet time to listen, and he acted on what he heard. Just like we should. This was the Sunday we learned of the Red Letter Chal-lenge which the entire congregation gets to participate in during Lent. It’s an opportunity for us to read Jesus’ words with an open mind during a quiet time when we can listen, and heed the call to act on what we hear.

On January 24, we sang the Lord’s Prayer. Don Kuhlmann was our lay reader. Pastor Blair’s sermon was “Jonah and Jesus” based on the Third Chapter of Jonah. Jonah is also the subject of our current Bible Study. Those listening today just may have heard some of the answers to future questions…. Pastor Blair stepped off camera for a moment so we could see his entire virtual background. In big blue letters it read, BIG FISH.

During the announcements, Pastor & Cindy’s grandchild points excitedly to grandpa and gramma on the screen! If something in a zervice is especially meaningful or inspirational to you, please let newsletter editor

Dielda know, and it can be featured in a future edition.

Brent Begalka

Don Kuhlmann

Pastor’s Virtual Background

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31 MOVIES IN 1 AFTERNOON By Dielda Kuhlmann

In December we watched the Polar Express. For some of us, it was our first time seeing it. It’s an impressively made film with a good wholesome message, and an amazing amount of action.

In January, we watched trailers to 31 movies, spanning 80 years of film making. Genres included musical, biographical, comedy, thriller, western, drama, foreign lan-guage, science fiction, and Disney. It was nice to have the opportunity to talk about the significance and importance of each movie. In February, we will be Zooming the Disney animated movie Frozen 2. Exact date to be determined.

We know Jesus Christ is always present, and with faith that we will be together again, our everlasting candle has been kept lit during the pandemic and church closure.

KFUO Radio, a media ministry extension of LCMS congrega-tions, shares Christ for you anytime, anywhere on KFUO.org via worship services, Bible and theology studies, practical talk programs, and sacred music. You can find programs on de-mand at kfuo.org and wherever you get your podcasts!

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TREASURER’S REPORT As of December 31, 2020

Total Income $170,031.98 (95% of budget) Total Expense - 156,240.58 (87% of budget) Net Profit $ 13,791.40 Total Assets $ 99,350.56 Total Equity $ 26,127.85 (money not in a designated or memorial fund) We received Payroll Protection Loan of $19,459 which has been forgiven. This accounts for our net profit. We received $29,575 from the insurance company which has been designated for kitchen and basement repairs from the flood. That is why our Total Assets look especially high right now. Offerings in the plate for 2020 were almost identical as they were in 2019. Thank you for your continued financial donations throughout our Zoom phase.

—Kathy Logan, Treasurer

Prayer

Blessed Lord, we give You but Your own in all these gifts we bring to You this day and throughout this year. Fill our heart with a love of the Lord, a love of the Gospel and a love for our neighbors that will lead us to give of all of ourselves so that they may know the extravagant, radical love of God that comes in Jesus Christ!

Amen

Our annual Birthday Potluck, traditionally scheduled for February, is delayed this year. Not cancelled, as we all want to get older and eat cake! Mary Martha is working on Plan B which may involve tailgates or a nice-weather picnic. Stay tuned.

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Higher gifts. More excellent way. These sound like comparatives. They are, if you are talking about us. But these words that the Holy Spirit gives to Paul are not about us. They are only and always about what He desires us to have!

The Lord wants you to know that your simple gifts are in no way simplistic. They are glory! But not your glory. They are His glory. If you read the entire chapter of 1 Corinthians 12 you see some fantastic gifts being called lower gifts. Healing. Tongues. Interpretation. These are all fantastic if you were to have them. It is hard to see any way in which these are lesser gifts.

That is until you read what the Lord desires as a higher gift. 1 Corinthians 13 talks about it. The higher gift is love! There is no greater gift than love. Jesus talks about that in John 15:13 when He says that “greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friend.” This is the kind of love that we have been given. God loved the world so much that He gave us Jesus. Jesus loved us so much that He died and rose. There is no greater gift of love. Jesus says so!

And this greater love that God has given us in Jesus is an active love! It is given so that we can give it away. That is what our stewardship is all about. Giving freely of the greater love that we have been given!

The financial gifts we render are indeed lesser gifts. It doesn’t mean that they aren’t important or valuable. But they are lesser if they are not connected to love. The love they are connected to by the Holy Spirit is a love that comes from the Lord, through us, to others. We become a conduit of love that flows out to those who need it. This involves service. This involves activity. It also involves financial resources. When taken together, packaged in love, these simple gifts do amazing things! Let’s see together what the Lord will do with these simple gifts

“But earnestly desire the higher gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way” (1 Cor. 12:31)

No greater gift than love

Simple Gifts: A series of devotions on stewardship Lcms.org/stewardship submitted by Karen Begalka

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MARY MARTHA SOCIETY

We had our meeting on January 21 with Zoom again! It’s so wonderful that we are still able to see each other and chat for awhile, with all of us still smiling!!! Still going down the list of upcoming projects! Most of them labeled “to be determined” or “how can we still put this on safely and have a good time”! Birthday Potluck will probably be a double celebration – “Here we are seeing each other face to face AND sitting at our Decorated Birthday table!!! Well, that’s what keeps us going, and the brain turning! Just keep your chin up and keep smiling! God has a plan for us, even if we don’t know what it is right now! Quoting our wonderful Zoom Master, “KEEP LOOKING UP BECAUSE THAT’S WHERE IT’S HAPPENING RIGHT NOW!!” Carolyn Troseth, Secretary

Super Secretary Carolyn , taking notes for the meeting and herding 2 children

We say “hi” to Rylan at the meeting. Marjie found a great photo for her background!

Dielda smiles her way through the meeting. Never a dull moment with this group!

Karen Begalka joined us on her brand new phone WITH a camera

Marlene Holcomb enjoys a cheer-ful meeting.

Smiling Cathy Wooden!!

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February includes several significant events. Between “No Politics Day” on Feb. 1, and “Oscar Night” on Feb. 28, some standouts include Ground Hog Day, Super-bowl Sunday, milestone birthdays for Wanda Brooks and Ruth Schroeder, Valentine’s Day, Transfiguration of our Lord, Presidents’ Day, Shrove Tuesday (aka Mardi Gras/Fat Tuesday), Ash Wednesday and Lent. And that’s not all! It’s Black History Month, Spunky Old Broads Month and Creative Romance Month.

Speaking of Creative Romance - “LOVE” is a dominant theme all around us, with lots of hearts, cupids and Hallmark cards. In “normal” years, February includes our Sweetheart’s Breakfast and Birthday Potluck held around Valentine’s Day. The Bible refers to three types of “love:” “Eros Love” is based on physical attraction, the theme of many Valentine Cards; “Phileo Love,” or “brotherly love” describes friendly affection or community; and “Agape Love,” is the unconditional, sacrificial love that God shows. One example is found in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” In that vein, here’s a Valentine poem by Joanna Fuchs (www.poemsource.com).

God's Valentine Gift

God's Valentine gift of love to us Was not a bunch of flowers; It wasn't candy, or a book To while away the hours.

His gift was to become a man, So He could freely give

His sacrificial love for us, So you and I could live.

He gave us sweet salvation, and Instruction, good and true--

To love our friends and enemies And love our Savior, too.

So as we give our Valentines, Let's thank our Lord and King;

The reason we have love to give Is that He gave everything.

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KNOCK, KNOCK submitted by Cathy Wooden A nurse on the pediatric ward, before listening to the little ones’ chests, would plug the stethoscope into their ears and let them listen to their own heart. Their eyes would always light up with awe, but she never got a re-sponse equal to four-year old David’s comment. Gently she tucked the stethoscope into his ears and placed the disk over his heart. “Listen,”, she said. “What do you suppose that is?” He drew his eyebrows together in a puz-zled line and looked up as if lost in the mystery of the strange tap—tap-tapping deep in his chest. Then his face broken out in a wondrous grin and he asked, “Is that Jesus knocking?”

This tree is still standing after the sand beneath was washed out….. Why? Be-cause its roots are so deep. It reminds me of what our relationship with Jesus should be like. When the storms wash up against us, we will still stand because we are firmly planted. Lord, help us to keep grow-ing our roots deep in Your Word, Your Truth, and Your Love.

Submitted by Joanne Jordanger

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Game Night: New Years Eve 2020 Our first Zoom Game Night had a lot of people laugh-ing and learn-ing some new computer skills! On the right was our group practice for learning how to draw on a whiteboard with our finger or mouse. We successfully played a game of Pictionary while zooming. We also learned that drawing white snowballs on a whiteboard takes some creativity! We reminisced about the events of 2020 and watched a slide show of Bethlehem photos from the year. A positive part of meeting virtually is that we had participants (Debbie & Craig) from Oregon able to join us, and Michael was able to take say hi while on a break at work, and Pastor & Cindy, still recovering from COVID-19, managed to ring in the new year with us. We celebrated at 8 pm our time which just happens to be midnight in the Bermuda Triangle AND Happy Valley-Goose Bay in Canada. We saw a trop-ical fireworks show and toured around Happy Valley with its several feet of snow. It was a fun event. -Dielda Kuhlmann

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February is Red By Carl Stockamp, Congregational President

As many of you know, I am quite color blind. But even I know that red is the color for February. This February brings a special significance for the color as we begin our “Red Letter Challenge”. While I don’t know specific details about the challenge, I am looking forward to focusing on Jesus’ words as we experience the season of Lent. I do know that the challenge will give us an opportunity for personal reflection as well as integrating what we learn individually with messages during our Sunday morning worship services and small group discussions. I pray that you all will join me as we undertake the challenge. February also brings another important challenge as the Call Team prepares to inter-view pastoral candidates. God willing, this will start during the month of February. Currently there are eight candidates, representing a wide range of geographic loca-tions and ages. The names of these candidates were provided during last month’s Voters’ meeting. The team has been focusing on distributing responsibilities for the various aspects of the call process. Kathy Logan has joined Joel Jackman, Don Kuhlmann, Pat Eskam, Joanne Jordanger, Ron Muller, Dick Taylor and myself on the team. February also offers the opportunity for us to conclude the Life Cycle Study. I am thankful for the work Don Kuhlmann has done in leading the study. While the study itself may be completed, we will be doing work based on what we’ve learned. Two of the terms you’ll be hearing more about are “renewal” and “legacy”. Both of these terms are used when describing a typical church’s 75 year life cycle. While churches can be renewed, they should also be considering their legacy. I think it is worthwhile to look at the definitions of both of these terms. While “renewal” is a noun, the root word, “renew” is a verb. Webster defines “renew” as making something to be like new or to restore to existence. “Legacy” is defined as a gift received from an ances-tor or predecessor. I believe we have an opportunity to work on both our renewal and our legacy. We are blessed to have Art and Amber Wolf offer to help lead the renew-al path and Don Kuhlmann to lead the legacy path which will be known as “What does Bethlehem want to be known for”? Both of these paths will require work, but the history of Bethlehem Lutheran Church shows that with God’s help in providing dedi-cated people, we can succeed. As I said earlier, we are working on developing a communication to share our learnings during the Life Cycle Study. You’ll hear more about this in the coming months. Lastly, I pray that February brings the opportunity for many of you to get the Covid-19 vaccine. While the process for signing up for the vaccine has been chaotic, I pray that it will soon stabilize and hasten the day when we can worship together again in person. In the meantime, we can be thankful for the opportunity to maintain our rela-tionships with God and each other through virtual worship.

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GET YOUR COVID VACCINE! Wear a mask. Be kind. BRING IN BABY ITEMS which we will forward to Childhaven. Allergy-

free baby wipes, large diapers & pullups are requested, gently used bassinets. Questions? Talk to Ruth Ann or Marjie.

PARTICIPATE in the RED LETTER CHALLENGE. Get your book and

buy a copy for someone who can’t afford it. DONATE TO THE FOOD BANK. Drop off your items at church. Bruce

has been making regular delivers to the food bank. SHARE YOUR BAPTISM STORY. Send it to Dielda to be published in

a future newsletter. USE SMILE.AMAZON.COM if you’re ordering through Amazon. Set it

up one time so Bethlehem receives a donation every time you make an online purchase!

THRIVENT MEMBERS, this is the time of year you can donate your

Choice Dollars to the organization of your choice. Deadline is March 31. DONATE MITES. LWML has many worthwhile projects that are waiting

for funding. Bring your coins, dollar bills or checks to the office. HELP SENIORS GET THEIR VACCINES. If you are computer savvy,

please check with your elderly neighbors to help them make a vaccina-tion appointment online. Facilities that accept phone calls can have over a 2-hour on-hold wait time. Many facilities do not want to take phone call appointments, preferring the online system.

Our Mission Statement

Bethlehem Lutheran Church, empowered by the Holy Spirit, will encourage and inspire our brothers and sisters by prayer and service.

By the grace of God, we will reach out with God’s Word and show love and fellowship to all.

HOW CAN YOU HELP?

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Bethlehem Lutheran Church 1024 Monroe Ave N.E. Renton, WA 98056

February 2021

WE ARE PARTICIPATING IN THE

RED LETTER CHALLENGE Front page has details. See calendar for each day’s schedule. A goal of the Red Letter Challenge series is not just to make us better Christians, but that stronger in our faith, we will be the Lord’s instru-ment for the Holy Spirit to bring people in our lives into an eternal relationship with Jesus. Call the office or Pastor Blair if you have questions.