Featured in this Issue...
Calendar Pg. 2
Missions Soup
Luncheon Pg. 2
Cancellation Info Pg. 3
Women’s Book Club Pg.4
Movie Night Pg. 4
March 2009
The Bethlehem
Message from the Pastor
For my article this month, I would like to expand
on a point I make in my 2008 annual report. At a recent
congregational meeting, we voted to spend close to
$5,000 to make needed repairs around our stained glass
window in the front of the sanctuary. This window is
known as the “Sower Window.” It is so named because
it is a depiction of someone standing in a field sowing
(scattering) seed out of their hand. The window is im-
portant to us, hopefully for more reasons than its sup-
posed value. Hopefully it is dear to us because of its
message spoken through the image each time we gather
together to worship. The theme for Bethlehem’s 100th
anniversary celebration was “One Hundred Years of
Sowing God’s Word.” The inspiration for the theme
came from the window as you might imagine. Accord-
ing to the 100th anniversary booklet, the window was
installed when the church was built in 1901.
So there is certainly a long history and signifi-
cance to the window. We should seek to do all we can
to make sure it doesn’t get damaged or fall out! But
shouldn’t we as a church do more than this? Are we not
called to an ever bigger goal, an even larger and more
Word
important mission? I believe we are and the window
reminds us of that fact. To quote the anniversary book-
let, “The window serves as a constant reminder of our
need to both receive God’s Word and to spread the Gos-
pel to those around us.” That my friends is the starting
point for our mission as a church. We are reminded of
this each time we gather together to worship the Lord.
Many improvements have been made to our ex-
isting building this year. Many thanks to Bill Stafinski
for all his hard work—and feeding my voracious appe-
tite with hotdogs from Coney Island and other great hot
dogs joints throughout this area. But my prayer for
Bethlehem for this coming year is that we would focus
not simply on ourselves and/or our building, as impor-
tant as that may be. Our real mission is not simply to
minister to ourselves but to minister to those in our
neighborhood who are not part of a church and who do
not yet know the good news of the gospel. We exist in a
large sense for those who are not yet a part of this fel-
lowship. Sometimes we forget that—that we exist not
only for ourselves. Too often we are concerned only
about ourselves—those of us who are already here—and
we forget about our calling to bring others into the fold.
(Continued on pg. 4)
 March 2009
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 Worship 2 3 Youth Group 4 Soup Supper 6pm 5 Bible Study 6 NA Meeting 7 Veritas Mtg.
10:30am 7-8:30pm Lenten Service @ 7pm 6:30pm Veritas 9am to 1pm
St. Catherine 7pm Mtg. 6-8:30pm

8 Worship 9 Veritas Team 10 Church Board 11 Soup Supper 12 Bible Study 13 NA Meeting 14
10:30am Meeting 7pm Meeting 7pm 6pm Lenten Service 7pm 6:30pm
@ Quinsig United
Youth Group Methodist 7pm
7-8:30pm

15 Worship 16 17 Youth Group 18 Soup Supper 19 Bible Study 20 NA Meeting 21

10:30am 7-8:30pm 6pm 7pm 6:30pm
Congregational Lenten Service @
Annual Mtg. after PRC Meeting 7pm Bethlehem 7pm
service
22 Worship 23 24 Youth Group 25 Soup Supper 26 NO BIBLE 27 NA Meeting 28
10:30am 7-8:30pm 6pm Lenten STUDY 6:30pm
Service @ Emanuel
Lutheran 7pm

29 Worship 30 31 Youth Group

10:30am Mis- 7-8:30pm
sions Soup Lunch-
eon 11:30am

Missions News
Here is the schedule of our upcoming Ecu-
menical Lenten Soup Supper and worship Missions Soup Luncheon
services. Soup Supper is at 6pm and wor-
ship is at 7pm.
Sunday, March 29th following the morning
Wednesday, March 4th at St. Catherine of Sweden worship service.
with Rev. Gloria Connery preaching

All are welcome to attend this free lunch. Denise

Wednesday, March 11 at Quinsig United Methodist
McGinley will be cooking the soup for us as usual.
with Deacon Jim Denning preaching

Wednesday, March18th at Bethlehem with Father

George Ridick preaching

Wednesday, March 25th at Emanuel Lutheran with

Rev. Wendell Luke preaching

Wednesday, April 1st at Sacred Heart of Jesus (596

Cambridge St.) with Pastor Dave preaching

Page 2
 Birthdays and Anniversaries
April Birthdays

March Birthdays Steven Koller 4/2

Martha Connor 4/3
Stephanie Stockwell 4/4
Dayna Girourd 3/9 Doris Anderson 4/08
Kenneth Olson 3/12 Joy Monopoli 4/09
Trevor LaVallee 3/14 Jeffrey Stafinski 4/09
Sarah Strozina 3/15 Hannah Zoulias 4/11
Robert Elbe Sr. 3/16 Russell Lindquist 4/12
Eleanor Smith 3/19 Bethany Johnson 4/13
Marjorie Thyden 3/23 Steven Nordstrom 4/17
Amy Malo 3/2 Karin Jacobson 4/18
Esther Elbe 3/29 Kasey Remington 4/19
Paul Faler 3/30 David Pope 4/21
Steven Pope 4/21
Avery Shepard 4/23
March Anniversaries Thomas Johnson 4/24
Sarah Stafinski 4/26
Barbara & William Ruzika 3/3 Marjorie Anderson 4/30

April Anniversaries

Paul & Lucyann Swenson 4/30

Cancellation Information
As you know, we have had some bad weather this winter
season and have had to cancel worship services several
times this winter season. We usually decide to cancel on
Sunday mornings and the decision is made by 8am.
Cancellation information can be found numerous places.
It will be on the radio: WTAG am 580 and on their web-
site, www.wtag.com. It will also be found on television
on Channel 5 WCVB and on their website,
www.thebostonchannel.com. Finally, cancellation info
can also be found on the main page of the church web-
site, www.bethlehemcc.org.
Bethlehem Covenant Annual Meeting
Part 2 of our annual meeting will be held on Sunday,
March 15th following the morning worship service.
This will be a time to go over the annual reports from
each committee and review the finances, investments,
etc. Copies of the report have been made and if you did
not pick one up at church, they will be mailed to you.
We would ask you to look over the reports prior to the
meeting and come with any questions, comments or con-
cerns on the 15th. Please make every effort to be at this
important meeting of our congregation.

Page 3
The following is an updated list of our church mem-
bers and friends who unable to attend church on a Movie Night
regular basis. Let us remember them in our
thoughts and prayers and with a note. Please let the
pastor know if you are aware of others who should
“Lars and the Real Girl”
be on this list.
Paul Faler Saturday, March 14th
Mr. Lee Randall 321 Massasoit Rd.
10 Hall Street Worcester, MA 01604 We will meet at church for pizza
Webster, MA 01570
508-943-0847 Mrs. Dagny Johnson
at 5:30pm and start the movie around 6pm.
Life Care Center of Auburn
Mrs. Doris Anderson In this comedy, Lars Lindstrom is an awkwardly shy young man
14 Masonic Circle
667 Washington Street #225 in a small northern town who finally brings home the girl of his
Auburn, MA 01501
Auburn, MA 01501 dreams to his brother and sister-in
508-832-5239 Mrs. Claire Poirier -law's home. The only problem is
63 Hudson Avenue that she's not real - she's a blow-
Mrs. Lillian Ekstrom Grafton, MA 01519 up doll Lars ordered off the inter-
Notre Dame Du Lac 508-839-0364 net. But what Lars has in mind is
555 Plantation Street Apt. 327
a deep, meaningful relationship.
Worcester, MA 01608 Mrs. Lydia Anderson
Whitney Place His sister-in-law is worried for him,
Mr. Carl & Mrs. Esther Werme P.O. Box 935 his brother thinks he's nuts, but
24 Briarwood Circle 85 Beaumont Dr. Apt. 10 eventually the entire town goes
Worcester, MA01606 Northbridge, MA 01534 along with his delusion in support
508-856-7232 of this sweet natured boy that
they've always loved.
Mildred Carlson
669 Washington St. Apt. 105 The movie is rated PG-13 and is
Auburn, MA 01501 106 minutes.

Women’s Book Club Message from the Pastor… (Continued)

We are spending $5,000 to fix our Sower stained

Tues. March 10th
at 7pm to discuss
Lucy Grealey’s Autobiography of a Face
In a strikingly candid and beautifully written memoir,
Lucy Grealy describes how at age nine she was diag-
nosed with a potentially terminal cancer. When she re-
turned to school with a third of her jaw removed, she
faced the cruel taunts of classmates at her disfigured
face.
Grealy tells her story of great suffering and remarkable
strength without sentimentality and with considerable
wit. She captures with unique insight what it is like as a
child and young adult to be torn between two warring
impulses: to feel that more than anything else we want
to be loved for who we are, while wishing desperately
and secretly to be perfect.
glass window, which is ok, but I pray it doesn’t end
there. If we are not a church that acts out the imagery of
that story; if we are not a church that goes out and sows
the seed of God’s Word into our community, then shame
on us. We have then neglected our calling and have
turned inward on ourselves and it will not be long until
we shrivel up spiritually—and numerically. I pray this is
not the case but that we will have a mission and vision
and a spiritual hunger that will propel us into our com-
munity and into God’s Word and into more vital minis-
try here at Bethlehem. May we be known as the church
that not only looks good, but as the church that does
good—a churches that makes changes to its building but
also a church that changes lives. May God bless us—
and He will—when we step out in faith and not just go
to church but we actually are the church.
God bless,
Pastor Dave

Page 4
 Heading to
Church for
Money Advice
(CNN) -- Jennifer Pedley
had very little interest
when her husband, Ken,
suggested three years ago
that they enroll in the Fi-
nancial Peace University
program their church in Brighton, Michigan, was offering.
The couple signed up to learn how to reduce their debt and get
on a budget. Partway through the course, a light came on for
her, Pedley said.
"I started to see the changes it was making not only in our
money but in our relationship," she recalled. "It was unbe-
lievable, but 80 percent of personal finance is personal. There
is so much related to communicating about money and com-
municating about life." Now Pedley is facilitating the course
at 2/42 Community Church, where many in the area depend
on the auto industry for their livelihood and are struggling
with a deepening recession.
Throughout the country, places of worship are not just offer-
ing prayers for the improvement of their members' finances.
They are offering help in the form of classes, seminars and
workshops. Programs that teach debt elimination, financial
literacy and money management are gaining popularity
among the faithful who are seeking some stability in the midst
of uncertain times.
Lynnette Khalfani-Cox is a personal finance expert and author
who has launched the Zero Debt Tour, a financial literacy ini-
tiative designed to teach people how to better budget, manage
credit and debt wisely, and save money. Khalfani-Cox, who
provides the program free for churches, said she is hearing
from places of worship, both big and small, nationwide who
want to offer resources to their members. "In faith-based
communities, if you ask pastors across the country, many will
tell you that attendance is up; however donations are down,"
said Khalfani-Cox, who is known as the Money Coach.
"People are turning to the church for help, whether it's help
making their mortgage payment, putting in a prayer request,
assistance in finding a job or just getting practical, day-to-day
strategies for managing debt."
Jeff Foy, manager of training and evaluation for the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Employment Resource Ser-
vices, said traffic has increased to the church's Providentliving
Web site, which offers resources on family finances and em-
ployment assistance. It's very difficult to reach someone spiri-
tually if they are struggling temporally, Foy said, and some
have had to sacrifice time with family and church to pay the
bills. "We see a lot of our members perhaps that wouldn't or-
dinarily be working on a Sunday that are working on a Sunday
instead of attending some of their meetings," he said.
The Rev. Steve O'Dell of 2/42 Community Church said he be-
lieves that people have a desire to give more of their time and
money but just don't have the means. That's why programs
that help get them on track financially are beneficial, he said.
"A lot of people are imprisoned by debt," said O'Dell, whose
church has expanded the number of Financial Peace Univer-
sity sessions to meet the growing need. "If people are in place
where they are not going further and further into debt and all
of their money isn't going into paying off debt, then financially
they are freed up to give to things they would like to give to,"
he added. "Whether that's the church or charitable organiza-
tions or places that reach out to people in times of need."
Joel Schwartz is director of the Moving from Debt to Assets
program, which was founded in 2005 by the Greater Boston
Interfaith Organization. It offers sessions on finances, a peer
support group and private sessions with a financial counselor.
Schwartz said that since its inception, Moving from Debt to
Assets has graduated more than 400 participants and now has
half of its groups run in languages other than English. What
makes his program and others like it so effective is that they
are offered through organizations that have a relationship
with those participating, Schwartz said. "It's embedded in
institutions that are part of the fabric of people's lives," he
said. "This creates a lot of opportunity for reinforcement.
People who see each other every Sunday can say, 'How are you
doing paying down those credit card debts? I know you are
working hard on that.' "
Programs like Financial Peace University and Crown Finan-
cial Ministries, which have components that speak directly to
biblical principles about money, have been seen as integral to
the ministry. At Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia,
a stewardship workshop series based on Crown Financial
Ministries "Road to Financial Freedom offers topics like
"Who's in Control?" which covers God's responsibilities versus
those of the believer, and "A Slave to the Lender," about living
debt-free. Kevin Stacia teaches stewardship at Ebenezer and
said that with everyone from the wealthy to the disadvantaged
being affected by the economy, it makes sense for churches to
offer such programs. "We always want members of the
church and our community to be grounded in how God wants
us to manage the things he has entrusted us with," Stacia said.
"We want to give people an avenue to get knowledge and un-
derstanding."
Cheryl Spiva has attended the series and said education is the
key. Spiva retired at 45 from her position as senior vice presi-
dent of sales for the southeast division of the investment
group Charles Schwab and said financial education programs
can be empowering. "Often, people don't really know what to
do with their money," she said. "If you give them tools, they
become more confident and they make better choices." Jenni-
fer Pedley said she and her husband have benefited from
learning how to manage their money more effectively. They
have paid off a car and their credit cards and are well on their
way to being debt-free. Pedley said they are also much better
off in the current economy than had they not taken the course.
'When we took [the course], people had questions like, 'How
do I budget vacations and going out to dinner?' " she said.
"Now it's, 'How can I pay my mortgage and save my house?'
"And despite her initial resistance, Pedley said, she views it as
a learning and growing experience. "I never realized how
practical the Bible is about money," she said. "It just makes so
much sense."
Page 5
The Bethlehem
Word

Bethlehem Covenant Church

46 Greenwood Street
P.O. Box 70629
Worcester, MA 01607
(508) 752—1459
www.bethlehemcc.org