Bethany Evangelical Lutheran Church 2515 Madison Ave. Burlington, Iowa

Phone: (319) 752-3621 www.bethanyburlington.org

Pastor’s Cell: (360) 623-2184

Bethany Lutheran Church Mission Statement

Reaching out in Worship, Fellowship, Learning, and Love - We Are God’s People.

Our Staff

Rev. Paul Hermansen, Pastor Cory Byrne, Choir Director/Organist

Sue Hermansen, Admin. Asst. Michelle Huppenbauer, Financial Sec’y and Custodian

Volume 60 Issues 7 and 8 July-August, 2020

SAFE WORSHIP AT BETHANY

People have come up with many different expressions to describe the

times we are living in. The word that comes to mind for me is “unusual.” While I

am very grateful that our parking lot worship is well received, I truly miss what

we are used to. Our last time of “usual” worship was March 15. We have been

given the go-ahead by our governor to worship again inside, with restrictions. We

have also resumed our 11:00 a.m. Hope service with a format very similar to our

“usual” way of worshipping. The attendance at the Hope service has been very

encouraging.

I am processing what going back inside for our 9:00 a.m. worship will look

like. It will be very “unusual,” which is why I am staying with our parking lot ex-

perience for now. Yes, there are some who do not like it. But it is the best for

Bethany at this point. Speaking of our parking lot format, the church council ap-

proved giving us a little more freedom. Starting on June 28 we can go outside of

our cars. We need to maintain social distancing; wearing masks is also a good

idea. You may now sit on the grass on blankets or lawn chairs. Be sure to bring a

battery operated radio to hear the service. One of our members asked if they

could “tailgate.” That is acceptable so long as they social distance. That person

also asked if they could cook their own breakfast. I replied, “Why not.” Just so

we keep everyone safe.

More than ever none of us know what the future will bring. However, I al-

ways believe God is in our future. We cannot forget that God wants us to wor-

ship Him! Thank you for your patience during this time and your continued loy-

alty to Bethany. God is going to bring good out of our unusual journey. We cer-

tainly need Him more than ever.

JULY AND AUGUST ACTIVITIES

The Des Moines County Retired School Personnel, the Retired Nurses and Boy Scout Troop

#25 will not be meeting for the foreseeable future.

In early March one of our

members volunteered to call

people in our congregation

who are isolated during the

shut down for the virus.

Those people are very grateful to know they

are cared about. We have folks in our lives we

can stay in touch with. If you would like to

become one of our callers, please let me

know.

YOUNG HOUSE FAMI-

LY SERVICES

Young House Family

Services currently have

15 people, ranging from

ages 18-23, who are “aging out” of the

Childhood Welfare Program. These

young people will be setting up their

first homes and are in need of basic hy-

giene and household items. They are on

their own for various reasons. The need

will be ongoing. Suggested items are

body wash, bath towels and washcloths,

shampoo, feminine hygiene products,

hand soap, toothbrushes/toothpaste,

laundry detergent and laundry baskets,

and toilet paper. It was noted that not

many cook but a few kitchen items

would be appreciated: dish soap, kitchen

towels and dishrags, paper towels and

cleaning products.

Walmart gift cards were also suggested.

They can fill in food, clothes and other

essential items. We will also, of course,

accept monetary donations.

You can bring the items to Sunday wor-

ship or the office Monday through

Thursday, 9:00 a.m. to noon.

Thank you for your support of this nec-

essary ministry.

Every three years our ELCA

hosts a major national youth

gathering for approximately

30,000 attendees. The next

event is to take place in Minneapolis from June

20 to July 3. However, as we all know, the coro-

navirus has put a hold on many things. I have

been in contact with Amanda to learn the status

of this gathering. Right now everything is on

hold. Amanda will relay any decisions regarding

the possible cancellation of the event.

LUTHERAN CHURCH OF HOPE

Following our governor’s approval to reo-

pen our churches for worship, the council

approved hosting our Hope service again.

We will follow all guidelines including no

singing, masks, social distancing, and no in-

teraction. “Hope” to see you there!

The Cluster 8 meeting of the WELCA will be Oc-

tober 24, 2020, at First Lutheran Church in

Keokuk. Refreshments will be served at 9:00

a.m., followed by a meeting, the speaker, and

lunch. The cluster meeting will be over by 1:00

p.m.

The speaker will be Erika Wolfe. She will relate

her family’s flight from Russian occupied east-

ern Germany. Her father, a Wehrmacht soldier

who died on the Russian front in 1944, wrote

many letters to her mother which have been

translated and published.

There is a $6.00 charge for lunch and an offer-

ing will be taken. RSVP to Anne Pietscher at 319

-795-9114 by October 17.

DAILY DEVOTIONALS AND LIVING LUTHERAN MAGAZINE AVAILABLE

One of the things we automatically do

when coming to church on Sunday is pick

up the many excellent devotionals we

have on hand. Our new quarterly Lutheran

devotional, Christ in Our Home, for July-

September is available in large and regular

print. July copies of our Living Lutheran

are here as well. These, and other spiritual

reading items, are waiting for you to stop

by and pick up. The office is open on Mon-

day-Thursday from 9:00 a.m. to Noon.

VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL

Due to the virus many things need to be ad-

justed in our daily routines. One of those is

our 2020 VBS. The dates and times are still

the same, August 3-7. What is different this

year is that this will be the first ever virtual

on-line VBS. It will be different but it will still

be great. The theme is the Old Testament.

Carlene Woodside has graciously volunteered

to be Bethany’s coordinator. It will be vital

for us to get the word out to as many as pos-

sible. If you have any questions or can help,

please contact Carlene.

Zion United Church of

Christ is requesting

items for their food

pantry. The items for

July are Tuna Helper

and tuna, chicken noo-

dle soup, boxed potatoes, peanut butter and

jelly.

Again, Bethany has such a sense of reaching

beyond itself and helping those in need.

These items may be brought on Sunday

morning or to the office Monday through

Thursday, 9:00 a.m. to noon.

PARKING LOT SERVICE CONTINUES

We have all heard by now that our governor

said we can go back inside for worship with

conditions. Our Hope service resumed on May

31 and is going well. Then, in late June, we

saw the number of confirmed cases rise

again. We even made the difficult decision to

postpone Mike Miller’s funeral. To be totally

candid, I am very nervous about resuming

our 9:00 a.m. service indoors right now. The

Hope service is alright because we are only a

few. We have been very fortunate to have

good weather for our parking lot experience. I

would welcome a team of planners through

our Church Life Committee to work together

on all that will be required to return inside

for our 9:00 a.m. service.

One of the biggest jobs

at Bethany is keeping

our lawn mowed. We al-

so have fewer volunteers

this year. If you would

be willing to serve,

please call Jan Creighton at 759-8508. It is

greatly appreciated.

MIKE MILLER LOVED BETHANY

On the afternoon of June 23 Mike Miller died

of a heart attack while at home. Sharyn found

him shortly after his death.

There are many things that stand out in Mike’s

character. Mike had an exceptional way of

communicating with us. He cared deeply about

Bethany members. When someone had not

been at church for awhile, he would call them

to see how they were and if they wanted to

share anything. Mike frequently invited people

to Bethany. When we started our parking lot

service Mike went on the radio multiple times

to say how much he enjoyed it and encour-

aged people to check it out. Mike had a special

way of encouraging people and making them

feel valued. Mike loved Bible study and applied

Christ’s teachings to his life. Bethany was truly

blessed by Mike’s passion for our church.

As I reflect on what a blessing Mike was I do

not want to undervalue the other members of

Bethany. Bethany is a congregation of great

people who love God. What stands out about

Mike is that he really promoted Bethany to

everyone. In order for congregations to be via-

ble and sustainable they have to have the kind

of witness about the church that Mike had for

Bethany. Without this kind of zealous enthusi-

asm for Bethany we will slowly fade away. If

Mike had one wish for us it would be that we

reach out to others and share our Bethany ex-

perience. After you have invited people to

Bethany I would love for you to contact me

and share what that was like. May Bethany

continue to be a beacon of light for all.

NEW PARSONAGE LAND-

SCAPING

No one is sure the last time

the parsonage had any

landscaping done. A few

weeks ago several volun-

teers tore out everything

in front to make room for new planting.

Bev Sherbondy got the ball rolling. She and

Mark Rosenberg were awarded a grant

from the city to go towards improvements

to the homes of our neighborhood. We look

forward to seeing the completion of this

project.

NEW CUSTODIAN

In June, 2019, Scott Teater became our new

custodian. Recently Scott was hired to a full

position elsewhere. We appreciate Scott’s

faithful service and wish him the best. Tak-

ing Scott’s place is Michelle Huppenbauer.

Michelle stepped in several years ago when

we were between custodians. We are very for-

tunate to have Michelle as she knows all the

responsibilities of the job. Please welcome

Michelle in accepting this position.

NEW PHONE LIST

We would like to print a

new phone and address

list for Bethany. If your

phone number or address has changed

since our last directory in 2017, please call

or email the office. If you would like to add

a cell number or email address, also pro-

vide that. The plan is to have a new list

available for hand out before fall. Thank

you.

LAMENTING AN ALTERED EXISTENCE One of the things I appreciate about reading the history of Israel is that the people of God nev-er hesitated to express how they felt when going through hard times. A word they frequently used is “lament.” In fact there is a book in the Old Testament called Lamentations. For over three and a half months we have been unable to enjoy a regular “existence.” It has certainly been far worse for some than others. If you still have an income and have stayed virus-free, you are very blessed. Nevertheless, when life as we know it is altered, we will experience ab-normal stress. I was talking recently with a friend who is active at another congregation. He asked me if I thought the church would survive what we are going through. The only thing I could say was that I sure hope so. Another word for lamenting is grieving. Leaders of the church are reminding us that it is im-portant to give ourselves permission to grieve when we go through a painful journey. Even God grieved when His Son was crucified. Jesus grieved for people when they did not recognize who He was and why He came. I must confess that I am less familiar with the process of grieving than I could be. I was raised to believe that I should always be happy, no matter what my circumstances. Maybe that is why health experts tell us we need to give ourselves permission to grieve. Perhaps some of us mistaken-ly believe that grieving shows a lack of faith in God. But, in reality, our unwillingness to grieve may keep us from moving on with our lives. I am certainly willing and ready to move on from the virus. But, until the virus is ready to let us move on, we will need to be patient and trust in God. Yes, the church may suffer. But we have God’s permission to grieve not being able to have worship as we know it. We may grieve not being able to enjoy potlucks, ice cream socials, and fellowship after church. And in the midst of this “altered existence,” we are called to remember that God is with us. We can remember God in the words of scripture. The 23rd Psalm reminds us that, even though we walk through the valley of darkness, His rod and staff comfort us! Thank you for hanging in there. We need each other more than ever before. Thank you for be-ing motivated to help the less fortunate among us. Thank you for your faithful offerings so Betha-ny may continue to do the work of God. Thank you for sharing the love of Jesus with people who are struggling in their own lament. Thank you for telling people about our parking lot service. The amazing thing about giving ourselves permission to grieve is that we will experience God in our grieving. In Genesis 6 it states that even God grieved. We will eventually bounce back. How that will look and when that will be is still to be determined. May God’s peace and presence abide in us on this challenging journey. In Christ, Pastor Paul

. . . a long time passed, . . . and all the house

of Israel lamented after the Lord.

1 Samuel 7:2

1—Paul Hermansen; Jim Martin-

dale

2—Carol Steenberg; Warren

Tharp

3—Sydney Cox; Savanna Jackson;

Katelyn Drake

6—Sandra Sandy

8—Amy Bloomer; Debbie Hoxie;

Jackie Marion

9—Todd Morehead

13—Pamela Schwerin; Vanette

Wooldridge

14—Brody Johnson

15—Jenna Miller

16—Claus Benninghoven

19—Stephen Reichelt

25—Carol Dodge

26—Jeff Engle

28—Kathy Beach

30—Melissa Hopp; Bonnie Rosen-

berg; William Ward, Jr.

15—Warren & Elva Schultz

16—Claus & Eleanore Benning-

hoven

28—Jim & Sharon Martindale

Head Usher: Bill Taylor

July Lead Usher: Jeff Engle Ushers 5— 12— 19— 26—

Communion Assistants 5—Sue Swanson; Teresa Morehead; Dan Harken 12—Steve & Sue Rogers; Amy Unglaub 19—Sue Hermansen; Mark Rosenberg; Mike Hopp 26—Todd chelf; Jim & Sha-ron Martindale

Children’s Sermons 5— 12— 19— 26—

THIS SCHEDULE OF LAY LEADERS IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE DUE TO THE GOVERNOR’S SHUT DOWN. PLEASE CHECK BETHANY’S FACEBOOK PAGE FOR UP-DATES OR CALL THE OF-FICE.

Acolytes 5—Aaron Morehead 12—Benjamin Chelf 19—Mason Fritz; Eli Wallace 26—David King

Lector 5—Shelley Wallace 12—Kim Engle 19—Jessica King 26—Sue Hermansen

Greeters 5—Sharon Martindale 12—Dan & Ruth Harken 19—Marlys McClurg; Vanette Wooldridge 26—Bob Sogard; Arnhild Zaiser

Missionary Support 5— 12— 19— 26—

Flowers 5—Sue Hermansen 12—Lynda Johnson 19—Marlys McClurg; Vanette Wooldridge 26—Dan & Julie Wischmeier

Altar Guild Marlys McClurg; Ann Zaiser; Donna Edgington; Marilyn Ward

July 2020 Lay Leaders

3—Bill Taylor

4—Gary Coleman; Jane Ward

5—Joan Dawes

6—Tara Rosenberg; Abbey Tim-

berlake

7—Ron Kastner

8—Erin Mafra

9—Susanne Adam

12—Laurenn Beach; Addison

Shepherd

14—Dorothy Hopson; Tim Ru-

berg

15—Randy Tharp

16—Jeffrey Peterson

18—Steven Rogers

20—Nancy Mower

21—Robert Roy

22—Lila Janssen

23—Justin Ward

26—Barbara West

28—Tyler Bloomer; Brenda Kast-

ner; Bailee Morris

6—Todd & Teresa Morehead

10—John & Michelle Schoof, Jr.

11—Bill & Marilyn Ward

21—Paul & Sue Hermansen

Head Usher: Bill Taylor

August Lead Usher: Bob Hoxie Ushers 2— 9— 16— 23— 30—

Communion Assistants 2—Bill Mundt; Shelley Wal-lace; Julie Wischmeier 9—Rachel Lindeen; Jeff & Kim Engle 16—Julie Chubb; Dan Hark-en; Amy Unglaub 23—Jessica King; Sue Swan-son; Mike Hop 30—Scott & Jan Creighton; Sue Hermansen

Children’s Sermons 2— 9— 16— 23— 30—

THIS SCHEDULE OF LAY LEADERS IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE DUE TO THE GOVERNOR’S SHUT DOWN. PLEASE CHECK BETHANY’S FACEBOOK PAGE FOR UP-DATES OR CALL THE OF-FICE.

Acolytes 2—Aaron Morehead 9—Benjamin Chelf 16—Mason Fritz; Eli Wallace 23—David King 30—

Lector 2—Carlene Woodside 9—Dan Harken 16—Bill Mundt 23—Rachel Lindeen 30—Melissa Hopp

Greeters 2—Dan & Julie Wischmeier 9—Lynda Johnson 16—Ginny Mesecher; Sue Hermansen 23—Scott & Jan Creighton 30—Jackie & Julie Chubb

Missionary Support 2— 9— 16— 23— 30—

Flowers 2— 9— 16— 23—Paul & Sue Hermansen 30—

Altar Guild Marlys McClurg; Kathy Beach; Jackie Marion; Ginny Mesecher

August 2020 Lay Leaders

The meetings for July and August that have been scheduled as of the publishing of this newsletter are listed below. Watch the bulletins for any date and time changes or addi-tional meetings scheduled. WELCA TBA Outreach Committee Tuesday, July 14 and August 11, 5:30 p.m. Finance Committee TBA Church Life Committee TBA Property Committee TBA Executive Committee Tuesday, July 14 and August 11, 6:30 p.m. Church Council Sunday, July 19 and August16, 10:15 a.m. Men’s Breakfast TBA

FINANCIAL UPDATE

JUNE ATTENDANCE

June 7 65 June 14 59 June 21 66 June 28 70

JUNE GIVING

June 7 $ 3,668.80 June 14 1,087.00 June 21 1,901.00 June 28 2,844.00 Total $ 9,500.80

PLEASE NOTE The deadline to submit information for the

monthly Chimes is the 25th of the month. You’re welcome to email your submissions, leave a note on the desk in the office, or call the church office.

ALSO!

Because of Federal Privacy laws, if you or a

member of your family are hospitalized and

would like the Pastor to visit, you must contact

the church and let us know.

If you change your mailing

address, please let the office know

ASAP. For every returned piece of mail

returned for an incorrect address, we

Thank you for your generosity and

faithful trust in God to provide your

needs! God believes in you and has a

great future planned for Bethany.