New Year and New Church Envelopes Each year

when we get new envelopes each family is assigned a new envelope number. So when using your 2018 envelopes, please put your name and the amount of your giving on

the envelope. This makes our financial secretary’s job easier. If you have not picked up your 2018 envelopes, they can be found in the church office. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Save the date for VBS! Vacation Bible School will

be JULY 16 - 20. (JULY is correct) If you have questions contact: Kylie Brazda (kbrazda3030@yahoo.com) or Jeremy and Andrea Little (jclittle23@gmail.com). ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Preschool Board has an opening for a new Board

Member beginning January 1 for a 2 year term. The Preschool Board is responsible for the overall operation of Bethel Preschool including developing policy, recruitment and fundraising. Any Bethel member interested, please contact Kathy DeLassus at delaser43@comcast.net. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Cleaning Help Need a little extra help with

cleaning? Roberto and Berty, the cleaning people for Bethel, are back in town. They are available for any housekeeping you might need done. If you are interested in their services, contact Karen Leicht, Disciple Care

Coordinator, at karen@bethelgurnee.org. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Support for JJ Jones' Basketball Team Bethel member JJ Jones teaches at LEARN Charter School in North Chicago. He also coaches their boys basketball program. A couple of years ago Bethel came alongside JJ to support the kids in wanting a basketball team when they were raising funds. JJ is hoping some of us will be able to support this effort again. If you can help, go to: https://gogetfunding.com/thunderbird-basketball/ . ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Sunday School Happy New Year from your Sunday

School superintendents and staff!! ~ Diane and Kylie Reminder: No Sunday School today. Classes resume next week!

BETHEL BUZZ

Bethel Website: www.bethelgurnee.org Office: 847-244-9647 Preschool: 847-244-9672 Email: office@bethelgurnee.org

Pastor Ben Squires Cell: 224-419-5519 / pastor@bethelgurnee.org

Katrina Johns - Equipping Coordinator Direct line: 224-623-0800 / katrina@bethelgurnee.org

Karen Leicht - Disciple Care Coordinator karen@bethelgurnee.org Lisa Schwarz - Office Secretary lisa@bethelgurnee.org

Donna Stutzman - Preschool Director preschool@bethelgurnee.org

Sunday Morning Adult Bible Study Adult Bible Study will be starting Jan. 7—Mar. 18 from 9:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. with Pastor Squires. What does it mean to have a spiritual conversation? One of the goals of Bethel is to encourage one another to

have spiritual conversations with people in our day-to-day lives—family, friends, neighbors, coworkers, schoolmates, etc. But what does it mean to have a spiritual conversation? How do we even start? We went through “The Arts of Spiritual Conversation” back in 2016, and the result was groundbreaking for many participants. To realize that God can use us with these basic friendship skills as a way to encourage others in the Gospel. We’re going back to review and learn even more. Jump in with us on Sundays to learn “The Arts”. We start with an short introduction video each week, and then we split up into small discussion tables hosted by folks from the congregation. You can join at any time and experience where God may be leading you. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ When Helping Hurts Tuesdays, Jan. 9 - Feb. 13,

6:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. We love our neighbors and we want to help people who are struggling in poverty. What kind of help is truly helpful? Together we will think about how to love and empower our neighbors who are living in poverty, by the power of Christ. This is a 6-week video-based study. There is no required reading. We’ve offered this several times at Bethel, and people tell me they hope everyone will take it because it is so perspective-changing. Register online at www.livingjustly.us/register/ or find a form on the Hub. I hope you can join us! ~ Susan Squires (susan@livingjustly.us) ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ATTENTION all you 60 Somethings It’s time to get

your game on in January. Game Day is Tuesday, January 23 at 9:30 a.m. Mark your calendars. Find more details in the January Big Buzz. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

5110 GRAND AVENUE, GURNEE, IL 60031 DECEMBER 31, 2017

Games 4 Gurnee Warren Township High

School Future Business Leaders of America's Community Service Committee is sponsoring a game and toy collection drive called "Games 4 Gurnee". The collection box will be out TODAY through Sunday, January 6 by the Hub. New or gently used games and toys are being collected to donate to the Gurnee Park District, Woodland Dist. 50, Kinder Care, and Sunrise Assisted Living. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

P.A.D.S.— The P.A.D.S. donation basket will be located on

the back of The Hub. Items needed are travel size personal hygiene items such as shampoo, soap, toothpaste, etc.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

C.O.O.L. Food donation ideas: Rice, pasta, dried beans,

cereal, soup, canned vegetables, canned fruit, tomato sauce, spaghetti sauce, beverages, peanut butter, pork and beans, canned meats, tuna, macaroni and cheese, toiletries and paper goods. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Love INC Job Opening Love INC is actively recruiting for a

Program Manager position (formerly known as Gap Ministry Coordinator). This role leads and manages the Gap and other ministries with our partner churches. This position is full time (40 hours/

week), with a competitive hourly rate. Call Carl ’Spark’ Ball at 847-782-8630 for more information or see the bulletin board outside the church office. Interested parties are invited to apply by Friday, January 19. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Youth Group Gift Card Fundraiser Order

forms are available on the Hub and on the YFM bulletin board. The deadline for orders will be next Sunday, January 8. Check and completed form can be put in the black registration box on the Hub or turned into the office. This is a Bethel YFM monthly fundraiser. This gift card program will allow you to support the Youth while shopping for your everyday needs. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Portals of Prayer for January - March are on the Hub.

Worship Schedule Sunday 8:00 a.m. & 10:45 a.m.

Communion 1st, 3rd, 5th Sunday

Office Hours Monday, Tuesday & Thursday

9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. Wednesday & Friday

9:00 a.m.—12:00 p.m.

Last Week’s Attendance Sunday 10:00 a.m. - 196

Altar Flowers 2018 Sign-up The altar

flower sign up for 2018 is in the back of church. Cost for an arrangement is $25. This can be put in the offering in either the yellow "Special Offering for Altar Guild" envelope in the front of your envelope box or in a generic envelope and clearly mark it "Altar Guild". Altar flowers are a nice way to honor or remember someone or given to the glory of God. Your flowers may be taken home after the late service or if you wish, we can deliver them to someone such as a shut in or who is sick. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

This Week’s Calendar

Monday, January 1

Church Office Closed

Tuesday, January 2

4:00 p.m.—Staff Meeting (offsite)

Wednesday, January 3

9:30 a.m. - Women’s Bible Study

10:30 a.m. - Taking Down Christmas Trees

Thursday, January 4

7:30 p.m. - Adult Vocal Choir

Friday, January 5

Pastor’s Day Off

Saturday, January 6

Pastor’s Day Off

Sunday, January 7

8:00 a.m.—Communion in Gym

9:00 a.m. - Fellowship

9:30 a.m. - Sunday School & Bible Study

10:45 a.m. - Communion in Sanctuary _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Church Office Hours this Week Tuesday & Thursday - 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

Wednesday - 1:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. Note: In the next few weeks, please call ahead if you need to get into the building because our normal office hours may vary.

Serving Next Week

Scripture Readings: Isaiah 60:1–6 Psalm 72:1–11 Matthew 2:1–12

8:00 a.m. 10:45 a.m.

Elder: JJ Jones OPEN Comm/Asst. Elder: OPEN OPEN Acolytes: Ashley Plapp, Lily Freehling Annika Chudy, Ruth Ziegler Ushers: OPEN, OPEN John Schultz, Lance Rasmussen

Lay Readers: Ted & Margie Tatgenhorst Suzanne Fowler, Shari Hoppe

Greeters: The Plapp Family, Ted & Margie Tatgenhorst

Suzanne Fowler, The Chudy Family

Fellowship: Don & Joanne Heidlauf Jan. Altar Guild: Kathy Schwartz Sheila Bunnell

Jan. Counters: Monte Stoltzman Bill & Kathy Schwartz