Bethany News

December

Tidbits and Tidings

I dont recall what store it was in, but a few
days ago I saw a small sign noting Advent
calendars in the bin below the sign.
I
immediately thought, Wow, thats pretty
impressive, a secular retail store promoting
the Christian season of Advent and Gods
coming to the earth as one of us, to save us
from our brokenness.
However, not so fastpermit me to back up
for just a moment. The season of Advent
has been celebrated since soon after the
origin of the early Church. Andjust as the
season of Lent, celebrated properly,
prepares us for the miracle celebration of
Easter, the season of Advent, again
celebrated faithfully, readies us to receive on
Christmas Day not just a baby, but God, in
human form, who is the Lord of our lives.
Back to the calendarsGiven that Advent
has always been a Christian word to denote
Gods coming, the Advent calendar
originated in the 19th centurythe 1800s
as another tool to help Christians keep their
focus on the true reason for the season
highlighting the themes of Hope, Peace, Joy
and Love as the calendar counted down to
Christmas. Thus I naturally expected to pick
up a Christian themed Advent Calendar.
I should have known better. These days,
there are Advent calendars with every
theme imaginable, including Star Wars, the
Presidents family, Hello Kitty and almost
countless other themes.
Each of these

simply counts down the days until Getting

Presents Dayor as we Christians rightly
call it, CHRIST-mas.
Given the ungodly state of the globe today,
and thus the chance that the Lord just might
end the world soon on His own, or perhaps
let us blow it up ourselves, we would do
well to take seriously His promise to return
and honor the true meaning of this season
by counting down the days of an authentic
Advent calendar.
O Come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord.
I hope to see you at worship.

Pastor Scott

Soup, Bread & Devotions

Let every heart prepare Him room, wrote
Isaac Watts, in one of his classicsJoy to
the World. One important way that we
witness to those around us that we are not
enslaved to our personal schedules,
holiday shopping, or any other selfinterest, however positive it may be, is by
taking every opportunity to gather together
in the Lords name and to hear His Word.
This Advent season we have three
Wednesdays to share soup, bread, and
devotions.
Those dates and times are
Wednesdays, December, 3, 10, and 17, at
5:30 p.m.
for soup and breadand
devotions at 6:15 or so.

JESUS IS THE REASON FOR THE SEASON

Come! Come! This Holiday Season to be a part of Jesus family!
And she gave birth to her first born son and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes, and laid Him in a
manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

Luke 2:7
If you havent joined us for a while, you may be missing out. Barb Topham and Pastor
planned a wonderful Halloween party for the youth. Everyone who attended had a
wonderful time.
The first Sunday in December WELCA will be hosting coffee and doughnuts before church
at 9:45 a.m. This will be a time for your morning coffee and socializing before the service.
If it goes well it will continue each Sunday in December.
Advent soup suppers will begin on December 3rd. There will only be three of them this
year, so plan to attend each one. The first supper will be your choice of clam chowder or
minestrone, served with rolls and dessert. Another wonderful gathering time, with an
Advent service to follow.
Plan your December schedule around Our Lord and Savior, and await his arrival by joining
the Christmas Eve candlelight service on the 24th.
Let this be a special Christmas season for you and yours as we celebrate the birth of Jesus
all month long at Bethany.
For to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord and this will be a sign
for you: You will find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and laying in a manger.

Luke 2:11-12

Christmas Giving Tree

Take a tag, or two, buy the Christmas wish, wrap & return them to the
tree with tag attached by December 12th, or SOONER!
If you dont want to shop, monetary donations are welcome. If this is
your choice, please give directly to Vi or Betty.
Thank you all for your generosity.



By the time this newsletter hits the waves

Thanksgiving will be past and I will be ready
to start the preparations for the celebration
of the birth of our Lord. Like many folks
nowadays, I am bothered by the
commercialism and the rush of the
seasons.
As Christians, we need to help
folks remember the reason for the season
even as we listen to carols on the radio, deck
the halls, and shop the sales for just the
right gift!
At Bethany, we do that year-round through:
Making and shipping quilts to Lutheran
World Relief
Cooking and serving at Community
Meals
Volunteering at local senior centers
and other locations through our area
Donating to the ongoing food barrel
that we attempt to keep full
throughout the year
Our Giving Tree (Please remember to
take a tag or 2 and return wrapped
gifts by Dec. 14)
Monetary donations to local service
groups
Cookie packing and sharing with
assisted living facilities, shut ins,
college kids, service members, and
long distant friends and family (This
year we prepared plates and or boxes
for 15 recipients)
Countless individual acts of kindness
that I could never begin to list
Thank you ALL for everything you do to
make Bethany the small but mi ghty
congregation it has been for so many years!
(We will be 108 years old in January 2015!)
That said we can always use more helping
hands!!
Before long, we will move from
CHRIST-mas to the New Year.
Please
consider making one of YOUR resolutions to
help out more at church. No matter what
your talents are, we can always put them to
good use! PLEASE consider signing up 1-4
weeks in advance to enhance everyones
worship experience by:

Greeting:
Arrive 15-20 minutes early to
greet folks and hand out bulletins. Introduce
yourself to visitors and provide them with a
gift bag. Encourage visitors to sign the guest
register or prepare a pew card with contact
information so Pastor can follow up.
Ushering:
Collect offering, assist during
communion by ushering folks forward to be
served
Flowers on the altar: Provide fresh or silk
floral arrangements or potted plants for the
altar during our morning worship. No rules
except one very historical guideline: That
the flowers are no taller than the beautiful
gold cross that graces our altar.
Reading the Lessons: The lesson sheets
are available in advance for practicing. So
what if you mispronounce a big word or
name? Probably no one else knows how to
pronounce it either!
Coffee Hour: Bake or buy your most
favorite snacks and make a couple pots of
coffee to serve after worship. It does not
have to be fancy, and can range from cheese
& crackers to fruits & vegetables, cakes,
cookies, pizza or even hot dogs!
Altar preparation: Setting up communion
for worship and occasionally changing of the
altar paraments (beautiful altar covering)
and candles.
This one is a little more
involved but there are folks that can show
you the ropes!
Worship Assistant: Assist the Pastor with
serving communion.
This can involve
pouring wine at the altar rail during
traditional communion or holding the chalice
during Intinction.
Counting the Offering: Count and record
the offering and take it to the bank. Again,
this one is a little more involved, but if you
are willing to learn, we are willing to teach!
(cont. on following page)

Welca (continued)
Story on December 12 at 7:00 PM.
Please come and bring a friend and a
snack to share.

(cont. from previous page)

Cleaning the church: Sign up on a weekly

or monthly basis to clean. This can involve
a myriad of tasks from light cleaning
(vacuum & empty trash to make the church
presentable) to deep top to bottom cleaning.
Most of the ladies and even some of the guys
can give you the run down on where the
vacuum cleaners & extension cords are!
Choir: We are preparing a few simple and
familiar songs for the Christmas Eve 9:00 PM
Worship. We can always use extra voices
and the only requirement is to Make a Joyful
Noise!
Practice will follow the weekly
Advent Soup, Supper and Services beginning
December 3.
We normally reconvene to
prepare for Easter, but if enough folks are
willing we could always do some special
music throughout the year.
Other upcoming and ongoing activities
include:

December 3, 10, 17: Weekly Soup

Suppers Please sign up to bring a
pot of soup, a loaf of bread or some
rolls, and/or a dessert & stay for the
service.
December 7:
For the month of
December, WELCA will host a PreWorship Coffee Klatch.
If you
have a friend you have been waiting to
invite to church, this would give them
a chance to get acquainted before
worship. OR, if YOU havent been in a
while, please join us to get REacquainted! And, stay after church for
our normal coffee hour if you have the
time!
Coffee will be ready by 9:45
AM giving you about a half hour of
visit time prior to the start of the
service.
We will be sharing the
basement with the Sunday School as
they prepare for their program on
December 21. If successful, we will
continue the new coffee klatch into the
New Year!
December 12: Movie Night This
months movie will be The Nativity

December 14, 21, 24: Congregation

may bring poinsettias to help with
decorating the altar during this
blessed season

December 24: Traditional

Christmas Eve Service Service
starts at 9:00PM. Lets fill the church
with family and friends!!

January 11 & 25, 2015: Quilt Show

Planning Meetings during Coffee
Hour in the Church basement.
All
WELCOME!!!!!!!!

When I sat down to write this, I didnt have

my meeting minutes handy and was afraid I
wouldnt have much to write about. Guess I
was wrong And, its not really a WELCA
specific report, but it is difficult to separate
WELCA from BETHANY and vice versa!
Again, my heartfelt THANKS to ALL of you
that work together to keep Bethany
plugging along in Harolds favorite words.
May this holiday season be the very happiest
and brightest ever for you and your family.
And, if things are not perfect just let it go
and shake it off and look for the bright
spots!
And, dont forget to thank God for
the thorns you have experienced that make
you stronger and better able to praise God
for the many blessings you have! (Want to
know more about thorns? Ask Pastor for a
recap of the Thanksgiving Eve Eve Service!)
Sincerely,
Nancy Conner,
WELCA Secretary

Bethany Lutheran Church

Council Minutes November 11, 2014
Present: Pastor Scott, Jerrie Cate, Barb Topham, Bill Grogg,
Pam Heimuller, Shannon Fitzgibbons & Ron Peterson.
6:35pm - Council was called to order. Pastor read passages
about Bumps in Time. People mark life by markers such as
anniversaries, birthdays, etc. There are family bumps and
individual bumps. God does not wait for markers to celebrate
life. So gather memories and thank God for each day. Eternal
life through Jesus Christ is the ultimate treasure of life, so
mark each day.
Pastor Report:
1.

Thanked everyone for taking part in church tasks. Declan

has been especially helpful volunteering to fold bulletins,
put things away, acolyte, and do whatever is asked of him.

2.

Thanksgiving eve-eve service will be the Tuesday before

on 11/25/13 at 6:30pm.

3.

Advent Soup Suppers will be three Wednesdays,

December, 3rd, 10th, &17th from 5:30pm with devotions at
6:15pm. Advent skits will be the three Sundays in
December. The Childrens Program is Sunday, December
21st. It called Christmas Hang-up about ornaments
confused by the newest one in the box, a Hula girl. They
wonder what she has to do with Christmas. We need at
least five speaking parts and others to participate. Cost for
it is about $18.

4.

Confirmation study hall is ongoing during Sunday school

with kids doing independent study of worksheets provided
to them which teaches how to reflect on lessons and look
things up.

5.

Angela Sera & Randy Boatfield attended church and wish

to be married at Bethany on September 5, 2015. Chris
Parsons came by and had a good visit with Pastor. Pastor
did some grief counseling with Barb T. since her fathers
death. Clarence & Carolyn Kuhn were apparently moved
to another care facility. Mark & Shelly were called to
locate them.

6.

Pastor has not completed his Portico insurance registration

quite yet, but will work doing so soon.

Minutes: Read and approved as presented.

Financial Report: October 2014Income: $6,780.81 &
Expenses: $7,152.04 with a Deficit: $371.23. There was
discussion on $40 charge under Bank Services. It was
determined this was for the purchase of checks for Bethany.
Committee Reports:
Building & Property The Narthex leak is being looked at by
a roof company for an estimate to repair or replace it. The cost
will be paid by a benevolent member. Apparently the flashing
was installed incorrectly which allows for rain to run inside
the wall instead of outside the wall of the church. Jerrie C. will

change the furnace filter. Barb T. asked what it would take to

stop water from coming through the wall into the basement.
Jerrie C. & Ron P. agreed the solution is to put hydraulic
cement on all the walls. Two of the walls already have it. This
the only way to stop ground water seepage from coming in.
Christian Education- We are assigning parts for the Christmas
Program. Sunday school added two children, Baylee &
Gilligan Cate.
Attendance has been sporadic this Fall. There are two
confirmation students.
Evangelism Shannon F. is making more welcome bags for
visitors, since we are out.
Barb T. said WELCA is packing cookie boxes and trays on
November 16th to be delivered to soldiers, students, shut-ins
and staff of care facilities. Names and addresses need to go to
Nancy Conner.
Stewardship The financial report needs clarification that EScrip is NOT Scrip. Scrip has a balance of $423.71 with
$1,687.30 deposited the last Scrip Sunday. Discussion ensued
among Council about using Scrip funds to cover any deficit in
the general fund. It was decided to wait until Decembers
deposit to give Scrip more time to accumulate and see where
finances stand.
Old Business:
Bethany Bells: Barb T. relayed the Memorial Committee has
not met yet due to the death of Barbs Dad.
Back Speakers: The Memorial Committee has been asked to
consider purchasing speakers for the back of the church. Jerrie
C. suggested the front speakers be moved to the back and new
more esthetic speakers be purchased for the front of the
church.
Bethany Brochures: New brochures with a newer layout and
pictures are being ordered and printed by PGE. We hope to
have them ready to handout by Christmas Eve service.
New Business:
Update Bethanys Website: Pam H. got feedback from a friend
who visited Bethanys website. She hoped to see photos
showing the inside of the church and any events listed on the
website. The only pictures were a bunch of kids playing
games. She suggested there be photos showing the interior,
such as the altar and stained glass windows, the outside, as
well as a history of the church, current events and services be
posted on the website. Rod Redpath needs to be contacted to
update the website.
Light on the Lectern: Shannon T. asked about a light for the
lectern. There is one, but for some reason it is not there. This
needs to be checked as we go into the Advent season and will
be holding more evening services.
Council closed with the Lords Prayer at 8:14pm.

Pam Heimuller
Council Secretary

December Birthdays

Christmas Program is ADORABLE with a

TERRIFIC MESSAGE All we need are KIDS!!!!
Sunday School starts at 9:00 and the next
three Sundays are dedicated to practicing the
program.
There are lessons interwoven in the script of
the skit as the children take what they
learned home with them.

The program is called Christmas Hang-

ups about ornaments confused by the

newest one in the box, a Hula girl. They
wonder what she has to do with
Christmas. We need at least five
speaking parts and others to participate.
The new and traditional songs are
meaningful and festive.
Sunday School will work in nicely with the
new WELCA pre-service Fellowship
Time!!
Children worship in the large area near the
piano from 9 until 9:45 then move into
classes at the other end of the
basement. Classes will be sectioned off
and the adults can have the former
chapel space for their fellowship
gathering.
Respectfully submitted,
Barb Topham and Pam Heimuller

1
2
13
16
18
20
27
28

Sarah Smith
Kelsey Mollenhour
Florence Kost
Deanna Grogg
Scott Parsons
Diane Cate
Howard Larson
Scotty Redpath
Shannon McDowall

December Anniversaries

1
11
20
30

Gary & Sandy Nelson

Mark & Christina Parsons
Shelley & Rod Redpath
David & Virginia Erickson

Christmas Eve Worship

Our Bethany Christmas Eve
Candlelight worship service will on
Wednesday evening, December 24th
at 9 p.m. The choir will be singing
and so will the children. Be sure to
come early to get yourself a seat.
We wouldnt want there to be no
room in the inn.

FAMILY MOVIE NIGHT

December 12th
7:00 p.m. to 9:ish p.m.

The Nativity Story

Bethany Quilters Thank You

Our group sends Thanks to all who responded to our
request for clean, flat sheets. This is an ongoing need
so please spread the word to help keep us in business.
Also, in addition to sheets, if you have extra cotton
material you can spare, we can use it.
Remember!
You dont have be an expert quilter to participate.
All are welcome.
For more information contact Vi Brown: 503-312-1133

CHRISTMAS HANG-UPS
If the ornaments hanging on our living room Christmas trees or the figurines in our nativity sets perhaps
on a fireplace mantle could talk, what would they say? What could they teach us?....and not just about
the first Christmas, but about Gods message for today that echoes down the hallways of time? Well,
do come and hear their story at our childrens Christmas program on Sunday morning, December 21 at
10:25 a.m. and invite a friend, too!

Greeting Cards
The Ross Dickinson greeting card fundraiser
supports the ministries at Bethany Lutheran Church
with the proceeds from selling the greeting cards
with pictures of Bethany. There are prints of the
Christ in Gethsemane altar painting on the cards
with an explanation on the back. You can order
them or buy copies already available downstairs in
the Fellowship Hall for $4.00 a piece or 4 for $15.
They are made with special ink that will not fade so
you can even frame these lovely 4x6 cards.
Different photos of Bethany will be available in the
future as this fund raising effort continues.

2014 WELCA Circles

These Circles have been formed in an effort to organize the efforts of willing and faithful servants at
Bethany. The main focus of the Circles would be to organize and serve at special events at Bethany,
specifically weddings and funerals.
However, based on the size and scope of an event, it may be necessary to call on other Circle
members to assist, or to recruit help within the congregation from ladies not yet assigned to a specific
Circle.
In addition, Circles may host special celebrations such as baptisms or confirmations.

To join a Circle or ask Questions:

Diane Cate, Nancy Conner, or Val Lauter

Magdalene Circle

Mary Circle

Eve Circle

December January
June July

February March
August September

April May
October November

Barb Topham, Leader Valerie Lauter, Leader

(503) 366-1973
(503) 397-4131

Vi Brown, Leader
(503) 312-1133

Chris Mollenhour
(503) 543-6003

Jean DeLonais
(503) 397-3876

Virginia Erickson
(503) 397-6289

Deanna Grogg
(503) 543-6256

Diane Cate
(503) 396-6742

Betty Blankenship
503-312-1125

Shelly Redpath
(503) 543-7016

Nancy Conner
(503) 397-6316

Sandy Nastrom
(503) 397-5997

Christina Parsons
(503) 366-9045

Mary Newell
Dickinson
(503) 397-6831

Pam Heimuller
(503) 369-1634

Tracey Barker
(503) 397-3488

Amy Miller
(503) 366-1258

Pat Lange
(503) 397-3237

Mary Trapp
(503) 369-1625

Shannon Fitzgibbons
(503) 260-4966

Kathryn Frank
(503) 543-3009

9:00 AM Sunday School

9:45 AM Coffee Klatch
10:30 AM Sunday Service

9:00 AM Sunday School

9:45 AM Coffee Klatch
10:30 AM Kids Program

9:00 AM Sunday School

9:45 AM Coffee Klatch
10:30 AM Sunday Service
11:30 AM SCRIP delivered

9:00 AM Sunday School

9:45 AM Coffee Klatch
10:30 AM Sunday Service
11:30 AM SCRIP purchase

9:00 AM Sunday School

10:30 AM Sunday Service

1st Sunday in Advent

Sunday

28

21

14

30

Monday

December 2014

29

22

15

5:00 PM Christian Ed.

6:30 PM Church Council

Tuesday

30

23

16

2
3

31

24
7:00 PM Choir
9:00 PM Christmas Eve Service

17
5:30 PM Advent Soup Supper
6:30 PM Devotions
7:00 PM Choir

10
5:30 PM Advent Soup Supper
6:30 PM Devotions
7:00 PM Choir

5:30 PM Advent Soup Supper

6:30 PM Devotions
7:00 PM Choir

Wednesday

New Years Day

Christmas Day

9:00 AM Quilting
9:00 AM MELCA Coffee

9:00 AM MELCA Coffee

9:00 AM Quilting

9:00 AM MELCA Coffee

9:00 AM Quilting

Thursday

25

18

11

4
5

Saturday

26

19

12
7:00 PM Family Movie Night

27

20

13

Page 1/1

TBA - Install &

Decorate Tree

Friday