BLC Weekly, Nov. 28
Hello Bethlehem,
Pastor Jacie’s official installation date is next Sunday, December 4th. Following worship, there will be a reception downstairs in the dining hall. We hope you will be able to attend and celebrate Pastor Jacie!
Following worship this Sunday we will also have Fair Trade Holiday Shopping in the narthex from 10:30am to noon. Stop by for textiles, holidays and home decor, and more, all from Fair Trade vendors!
Torchlight and Confirmation youth, along with youth from Messiah and Grace, will take part in an interactive experience to learn about the experiences of migrants coming to our country. A Migrant Journey will be held in our dining hall on Wednesday, December 14th beginning at 6:15pm. Parents and adults are also welcome to attend. Please email our Family Faith Formation Director, Anna Wencl, at annawencl@blcmankato.org, if you would like to attend.
Join us Sunday, December 18th for Gabe’s Angels: All in a Day’s Work, our 2022 children’s Christmas program! Join the event on Facebook for updates and reminders. We hope to see you there!
Christmas can be complex. We invite interested members to join Rev. Collette Broady Grund for Blue Christmas, a service all about holding space for grief in this holiday season. This special service will take place on Sunday, December 18th at 6:30pm at Grace Lutheran Church in Mankato and will also be available livestreamed on Facebook.
Bethlehem will host another blood drive with the American Red Cross on Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022 in Grounds for Joy. Our last drive was a huge success: we exceeded our goal of donating 29 units and donated a whopping 41 units! Nice work Bethlehem! We hope for another great turnout in December and still have many time slots available. Please sign up here to donate. Thank you!
SCAM ALERT: Please do not purchase gift cards or give money to anyone posing as one of the pastors online or via a text. This is a scam! The pastors, staff, and no one from the church, will ever solicit money or gift cards in this way. If you ever have any questions or concerns about this, contact the church directly.
Connections Shelter is open for the season! Bethlehem is signed up for the following weeks: Dec. 5, Jan. 23, Mar 20, May 22. There will be no morning shifts and only meal providers and servers are needed. Meals will be served daily from 5:45-7:30pm. Grocery donations will be needed for our weeks and a wish list will be sent out the weekend before the week starts. There is also an afternoon cleaning session once a week. Call or text Derek at 210-863-4202 for more info. You can sign up to prepare food and bring it to the shelter, sign up just to serve the meal, or do both. We serve up to 35 guests every evening. If that number changes, we will notify you beforehand. Sign up here for a meal shift.
There are still a couple days to give to Bethlehem's November Monthly Mission, Holy Grounds. A cornerstone ministry of Centenary UMC, Holy Grounds is an important resource in the community for food security and a place where all individuals are treated with respect and dignity. What a wonderful way to live out the gospel call to love our neighbors as ourselves!
There are many ways to help: through monetary donations, items such as underwear, tents, sleeping bags, and socks, as well as volunteering your time and talent. Items for donation can be dropped off in the donation bin in the Narthex. Our monetary goal for November is $1,500. Thank you, Bethlehem community, for your kindness and generosity!
Thank you Bethlehem for your faithful support of ELCA global missionaries and ministries. Our December Monthly Mission is God’s Global Barnyard. In this season of giving, we want to help fill hearts with joy, hope, love, and peace for Christmas. We believe that God is calling us into the world together and with generous, loving hands, we can make a difference. What do pigs, cows, goats, chickens and honeybees have in common? They are all part of God's Global Barnyard, a ministry to helps families who live in hunger and poverty around the world to become self-sufficient. These gifts keep on giving for years to come. Please consider "purchasing" an animal to support our Bethlehem mission. Our December goal is $8,000. Thank you for your prayers and generosity to this important mission.
