All Saints

Sunday, November 3rd

9:00 am

Craft Bazaar

Saturday, November 16th

9:00 am - 1:00 pm

Holy Yoga:

Tuesdays, 6:00-7:00pm

- Room 9/10

Holy Yoga:

Tuesdays, 9:00am - Social Hall

Heart Fire:

Wednesdays, 5:30 to 6:30pm.

Chancel Choir:

Wednesdays at 6:30pm

Men’s Bible Study

Thursdays, 8:08am

- Social Hall.

Grandparent support group:

1st

Thursday of the month.

November 7th

, 6:00-8:00pm

- Rooms 8/9/10

Mission & Ministry:

Pledge Sunday with Breakfast

November 10th

Mexican Train Dominoes:

2nd

Wednesday of the month.

November 13th

, 1:00pm - NCO

WELCA

3rd

Thursday of the month:

November 21st

, 10:00am-Noon

Stitch ‘n Knit:

4th

Wednesday of the month:

November 27th

, 1:00pm - NCO.

Bethlehem Star November, 2019

Bethlehem Star: November, 2019 p. 2

Earlier this week I attended the Bishop’s Fall Gathering. The presenter, Dr. Tod Bolsinger, lead us through a study of his book, “Canoeing the Mountains.” The premise is that the church today is similar to the Lewis and Clark expedition of the 1800’s. Lewis and Clark expected to find water and instead they found mountains and the church expects to minister to a culture in Christendom today when the societal culture is one of post Christendom. Meaning, today we live in culture where being Christian is but one religion among many in this country verses the 50’s and 60’s culture of Christianity being “The” religion in this country. In both Lewis and Clark’s expedition and today in the church we have to accept the loss of what we expected and instead regroup to the new reality. And loss hurts. We can deny it, get angry about it, bargain with God in hopes to restore the old familiar ways, be sad about it, but eventually we will need to accept the new paradigm we have in front of us. Bethlehem knows about loss. November 2009, ten years ago, Pastor Terry Pletkovich gave Bethlehem his two week notice. Two weeks later he walked out the door for the last time and Pastor Jerry Ebbinga walked in. Immediately change began to happen. Two worship services became one, music was changed to incorporate Pastor Jerry’s musical abilities, committees were stopped, council meetings altered, the preschool issues were addressed… And in April 2010 I joined Pastor Jerry at Bethlehem. Upon my arrival there was still hurt, anger and sadness present over the loss of Pastor Terry. But there was also hope, promise and an eagerness to get on with the future. Some people left the church and others joined the church. This is God’s church and God’s promises of love, care and compassion surfaced in the then new Mission Statement, “We are a home to share God’s love and grace.” So Bethlehem, here are some of the new ways we have shared God’s love and grace over the past ten years:

• The staff prays and sends out prayer cards to

congregational and preschool families

• Harvest of Hope was created and now teaches and

feeds many inside and outside our walls

• Stephen Ministry Leaders were trained and ministers

were installed in service to Bethlehem

• Heartfire began serving God through music in worship

and in outreach to assisted living centers

• The church/preschool relationship has grown and

flourished

• Bethlehem sent members to the Missional Leadership

Academy

• Bethlehem sent members to the Ventures in

Stewardship Conference

• The orchard was cleared in a joint effort with the

Mormon church and Catholic Church

• The position of worship assistant was created

• Bethlehem became a Deaconess field work and

internship site

• Bethlehem became a Tirosh and Cursillo Community

• Bethlehem hosted her first Ultraya

• The orchard/field was sold

• The mortgage was paid in full and burned in celebration

• The position of visitation pastor was again established

• The first social media position was established

• Weekly eblast are sent out

• A Vimeo account was set up and church wide events

are published

• A You Tube station, Ask Pastor Mom, will soon be

available

• Bible Studies to expand your faith

• I-Help became a fifth Friday addition to our missional

network

• Mosaic relationship has begun and is being nurtured

• The Seventh Day Adventist Church now shares our

worship space

• Bethlehem supports the Rio Salado Conference by

having the Dean

• Bethlehem supports the wider church in having a

church wide delegate

Bethlehem, we are facing a changing world. Over the past ten years we have proven we can and will change with the times. The one thing that will never change is who we serve and whose we are. As children of God, we will serve Christ’s mission, guided by the Holy Spirit. And all God’s children say, “Amen.”

FROM THE PUGH… 00

Bethlehem Star: November, 2019 p. 3

Bethlehem’s Web Site: blcmesa.org

Share it with your friends, neighbors, and families. Our website content user friendly on today’s newer technology of smart phones and tablets.

Our Weather Station which is mounted on the

pergola in the Community Garden reports the weather, real time, on line. On your computer go to weatherunderground.com. In the search window located at the top right of the screen, type in our weather station ID. KAZMESA121. You can view weather conditions real time and see graphs that report the history. Enjoy. The direct link on your computer is: http://www.wunderground.com/personal-weather-station/dashboard?ID=KAZMESA121

Vimeo: If you want to hear the sermon again or share it, recorded sermons and special events at Bethlehem are available to be watched and downloaded at Vimeo.com/blcmesa. Check out Preschool activities, Heart Fire activities, the latest wedding or baptism, and Pastor Chon’s sermon. The site supports HD quality videos and is not restricted by length or storage capacities (other than a maximum of 5 gig per week). If you record a video of a church-related function and would like it posted on our site, please contact the church office at 480-832-042.

WELCA

Annual Bake Sale

WELCA is having our annual bake sale on November 24th this year. Everyone in the congregation is welcome to share their baked goods (breads, candy, cookies, pies, etc.) If you aren't a baker, be sure to buy so your baking is done for not only Thanksgiving but Christmas as well. We do fundraisers so that we can provide food to Lutheran Social Services, support other local, national and international agencies, purchase Bibles for the kindergartner graduates, provide activities at Bethlehem, and so much more. Thank you for your continued support of the Women of the ELCA here at Bethlehem.

On December 6th Lutheran Social Service is

sponsoring a “New Shoes for Christmas

Shopping Day”, a no cost experience day for

Foster Parents and parents who are reuniting with their children after attending LSS Parent Coaching classes. WELCA is inviting you, our congregation, to participate in this gift to those in need by bringing comfortable shoes of any size, for any age person, baby to grandpa, or to contribute gift cards or dollars in an envelope for these children, parents, and care givers. I hope this sounds to you like a fun and necessary shopping day for them, for something which is so desperately needed by these families. Please place your shoe gift in the blue box in the narthex any time during November. On the First Sunday in Advent, December 1st, the gifts will be blessed and then picked up by Lutheran Social Services for the event. Thank you for this gift of Thanksgiving for God’s blessings of abundance in our lives.

Bethlehem Star: November, 2019 p. 4

On-going events:

Men of Song Rehearsals are Mondays from 7:00 to 9:30pm in the Social Hall beginning November 11th.

BLC Quilters The Quilters will begin meeting on November 5th and will continue meeting on Tuesday mornings until about the end of March. We meet from 9:00 to 12:00.

Holy Yoga: A Christ-centered yoga class on Tuesdays from 6:00-7:00 pm in Room 9/10. No experience needed. Can be done from chairs or the floor. Bring: yoga mat, comfortable clothes, water, & $5 suggested donation. Questions? Call Renaya VanDusen at 480-717-3477.

Mexican Train Dominoes 2nd Wednesday of the month November 13th at 1:00pm in the NCO.

Heart Fire is the church's band. If you play an

instrument, sing, or want to learn guitar, come join us. All levels of players are welcome. We lead worship on the 4th Sunday of each month. Rehearsals are Wednesdays from 5:30 to 6:30pm.

Choir Rehearsals

Wednesdays at 6:30pm.

Men’s Bible Study

Thursdays at 8:08am in the Social Hall.

Grandparent support group:

1st Thursday of the month: November 7th 6:00-8:00pm - Rooms 8/9/10

20/20 Group: Fridays from 9:30 - 11:00am in the Social Hall. Read the Bible in a year. If you can’t come every week, come when you can. -

I-Help: The 5th Friday of the month: November 29th

WELCA Every woman who worships at Bethlehem is a member of WELCA, and we welcome your presence at our monthly meetings on the 3rd Thursday of the month. WELCA meets from 10:00am to 12:00pm. Beverages and snacks will be furnished. A typical meeting includes fellowship, Bible study and a business meeting. Mark your calendar for Thursday, November 21st, at 10:00am. We hope to see you there!

The Bible studies are from Gather, the magazine of Women of the ELCA. Gather offers a mix of articles, theological reflections, devotions and stories of comfort and challenge that help readers grow in faith and engage in ministry and action. The devotional this month is No hard feelings? Session three Stewarding the Gift of Joy by Anna Madsen. If you have any questions or concerns, please the church office at 480-832-042.

Stitch ‘n Knit: 4th Wednesday of the month October 23rd at 1:00pm in the NCO. Bring your project of choice and join us for a couple of hours of camaraderie and quiet. Don’t have a project? Join us anyway. Questions? Just the church office at 480-832-042.

Prayer Shawl Ministry: Anyone who is making Prayer Shawls (or wants to learn how to make them) is encouraged to come to Church on the 4th Wednesday of every month from 1:00-3:00pm. This is when the Stitch & Knit Group meets and we enjoy getting together for fellowship with them.

If you have any questions, please call the church office at 480-832-042.

Bethlehem Star: November, 2019 p. 5

Did You Know:

If there is an emergency here at Bethlehem and it

becomes necessary to call for assistance, make the call from one of our land lines. Why, you may ask? Because our information will come up on the screen when the emergency operator answers the call. There will be no need to try and remember the address or location - the operator will already have it.

Newsletter Deadline: Articles must be received in the church office by Monday, November 18th to be included in the December Newsletter. However, there’s no need to wait until that deadline. Write your article up now while it’s fresh in your mind and send it in. It will be included in the following month’s newsletter. Receive the newsletter via email and save postage costs. Plus, it arrives in living color with occasional bonus items.

Media at Bethlehem: We’re always on the lookout for new ideas about how Bethlehem can use social media. Tell us yours. We want to share God's promises with all creation. Have a terrific idea?

Contact the church office at 480-832-042.

Sunday Bible Study 10:30 to 11:30 am

Dialogue on the Refugee Crisis

A Spark House Video Series November 3rd: A Network of Grace/Mosaic November 10th: Looking for Home/ Facing Our History November 17th: Where Do We Go From Here?

PowerPoint Pictures: Taken a really good picture lately? Want to share it on the PowerPoint overhead on Sunday? Email it to Laurel in the church office. Most of the pictures we use were taken by members, and we always enjoy receiving new ones. Thank you for sharing!

Face Book:

Check out Bethlehem’s Face Book page for updates on what’s happening here. Not on Face Book? Consider joining. Tell your friends, neighbors, family - spread the word to like Bethlehem Lutheran Church on Face Book and the Good News of the gospel! https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bethlehem-Lutheran-Church

Autumn

Bethlehem Star: November, 2019 p. 6

News from Noah's Ark

With our calendars turned to November, everyone is trying to figure out where did August, September, and October go? No kidding. Weren't we just setting up to welcome families to our school? We've had several amazing Garden Talks led by Jim and Ellie Thompson, Rich Johnson, and Erica Shelby, as well as weeks of readings by V.I.P. Readers, like Kathy Stasko, Ellie Thompson, and Darlene Sumpter. Now we are preparing for the holiday season. Thanksgiving food bags are being talked about and the Christmas program rehearsals are under way. We are also looking into a new program for our families to support through our Christmas Angel Tree. Lots going on. The Holy Spirit is everywhere in the Ark.

This Day

I may never see tomorrow; There's no written guarantee,

And things that happened yesterday belong to history.

I cannot predict the future, I cannot change the past,

I have just the present moment, I must treat it as my last.

I must use this moment wisely

for it soon will pass away, It will be lost forever, as part of yesterday.

I must exercise compassion, Help the fallen to their feet,

Be a friend unto the friendless, Make an empty life complete.

The unkind things I do today

may never be undone, And friendships that I fail to win

may nevermore be won. I may not have another chance

on bended knees to pray, And I thank God with a humble heart,

For giving me this day. Stay safe, healthy, happy, and full of grace. Ms. Jill

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A Special Thank You to Brian Myers of PM Pest

Control. He volunteers his time and services to Bethlehem and Noah’s Ark for free. PM Pest Control can handle all of your pest and weed control needs. Call 602-920-7032. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thank you Sparkletime Window Washing! They are

donating the cleaning of Bethlehem’s windows for free. Your windows can sparkle, too. Call 480-225-5141 and tell Bradley that you attend Bethlehem Lutheran Church. They will donate 10% of your window cleaning cost to Bethlehem. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bethlehem is part of the Amazon Smile program. Log on

to Amazon through smile.amazon.com and Amazon will donate 0.5% of the price of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases to Bethlehem.

Noah’s Ark is a part of Fry’s Community Rewards. The

next time you shop at Fry’s, stop by the front desk for details. Once you’re set up, the rewards are automatically applied each time you use your card.

Bethlehem Star: November, 2019 p. 7

Bethlehem Lutheran Church is a Stephen Ministry Congregation

Our congregation has experienced the loss of so many family members and friends since the beginning of this year. There is absolutely no way to get around the hurt we experience naturally. Attempting to resist the emotions of grief or trying to bury them can and will only defer them, but only temporarily. Those emotions will eventually need to be addressed and dealt with appropriately. Accept that you need to grieve. Experience the feelings provoked by your loss. Share your memories, joyous and sad. This can actually bring you comfort. The sooner you allow yourself to grieve, the sooner the healing begins. “...the Father of mercies and the God of all consolation, who consoles us in all our affliction, so that that we may be able to console those who are in any affliction with the consolation with which we are ourselves are consoled by God. For just as the sufferings of Christ are abundant for us, so also our consolation is abundant through Christ.” 2Cor. 1:3-5 As a Stephen Ministry congregation, please feel free to reach out to our Stephen Ministers for that extra layer of comfort, care, and love.

E-Blast: Sent from the church office every

Thursday via email. It allows you to get up to date information on what is happening at Bethlehem - delivered straight to your computer, phone, pad, or whatever wireless device you use. If you are not receiving it and want to, please contact the church office and let Laurel know. Laurel@BLCMesa.org or Ps46v1@blc.phxcoxmail.com

All Saints Sunday November 3rd

Everyone is invited to bring pictures of all their departed saints. We will place the pictures around the worship space and worship amidst a cloud of Saints. There will also be a candle lit in honor of those who have died this past year. Come be part of this special service.

Calling All Crafters Noah’s Ark Preschool & Kindergarten

Annual Craft Fair Saturday, November 16th

9:00am - 1:00pm

Contact: Arlene Jacobson 602-686-2400