BLC Weekly, April 10

Hello Bethlehem, 

We hope you had a blessed Easter. Thank you to all of our wonderful musicians and volunteers who made our Easter service bright and wonderful. 

Spring is in the air! As you begin spring cleaning and garden planning, we invite you to participate in our Seed Exchange and Book Exchange, taking place in Grounds for Joy! Bring in your seed packets and gently read books and exchange them for new finds. 

Bethlehem’s Community Garden plots are available for the season and going fast! Contact the office at blchurch@blcmankato.com or call (507) 388-2925 to reserve yours. 

NightLIGHT, Torchlight and Confirmation will resume this Wednesday, following a 5pm beef sandwich supper and 6:15pm worship. LIGHT will resume on Sunday. 

Bethlehem Youth are putting on a Flamingo Flocking Fundraiser to raise money for their Montana trip this summer! For $25 you can have a flock of 12 fabulous yard ornament flamingos visit a friend’s yard. For $10, you can buy anti-flamingo insurance, which will keep the birds from flying to your house. You can do it to celebrate a birthday or anniversary, or just because! The flamingo migration will begin in May, fill out this form to sign up! 

The annual application for Endowment Fund Scholarships is now open! Current college undergraduates and high school seniors can apply online or pick up an application in the office. Scholarship applications are due May 1.

Bethlehem Evening-Weekend Janitor Opening

Part-time evening-weekend janitor position is open for application by BLC members. Visit our website to see accompanying job description & checklist of duties for details of position responsibilities, and to download an application. 

Sunday morning responsibilities (1-2 times per month) = 3.5 hours

Special event responsibilities (events vary each month) = Hours vary

Hourly salary to be determined based on qualifications & experience.

Position to start August 1, 2023.

Questions should be directed to Bob Ihrig at (507) 388-1953.

Complete application and return to Bethlehem office Personnel mailbox or email robert.ihrig1@gmail.com for Bob Ihrig by Friday, April 28.

Our April Monthly Mission is the Cruz Family. Sponsored by the newly formed WELCOME Team, a partnership of five area churches, this Nicaraguan family arrived in Minnesota in December and has since been working to learn the English language, earn their GED’s, adapt to Minnesota climate and culture, seek and obtain viable employment and settle into a community. You can support this family with a one-time gift, or stop by and fill out a form to commit to a monthly gift of $10, $25, or $50 for a period of one year. If you would like to support the family with a gift of time or other resources, contact Pastor Jacie. Thank you for your prayers and support of this monthly mission!

Save the date! The ALS Walk is coming up on April 29 at Spring Lake Park. Check in begins at 8:30am, walk starts at 10am. 

The postponed Kato Sleep Out will take place this Friday, April 14. We have met our $3,500 goal but still have two more goals to accomplish:

•Win the Top Team Trophy for most Sleep-Out dollar donations. We can make history by winning the first-ever Sleep-Out trophy. Bragging rights are at stake. Go Team Bethlehem!

•Raise even more money to keep the Connections Ministry active and working in our community. The word is that every dollar is needed to offset rising costs resulting from more clients using shelter resources this year and to cover the costs of staff who are on the front-line making a real difference in the lives of many. Every dollar counts! Talk to your friends and encourage their donations! Bob Ihrig will happily accept such donations on behalf of Connections. The more we can deliver on April 14, the better. We will announce our final total that day. Stay tuned for more good news!

How to give to the Kato Sleep-Out:

•CASH

•CHECKS (Payable to Connections Ministry)

(Put your cash or check in an envelope with your name and give it to Bob Ihrig at church during the next two weeks. We want to add your name and donation to our team.)

•ONLINE  https://www.connectionsshelter.org/kato-sleep-out-2023

(Designate Kato Sleep-Out with your donation. Email Bob Ihrig at

robert.ihrig1@gmail.com with your name & donation total so we can add it to our team record)

Thank you for your support!

A note from Crossroads Campus Ministry: Thank you to Bethlehem Lutheran Church for providing Lunch for-a-Buck at Crossroads Campus Ministry on Tuesday, April 4. Jan Blaisdell and Kathryn Sargent prepared and served a delicious lunch of chicken tetrazzini, pasta with creamed spinach sauce, Italian bread and homemade cake to 33 hungry lunch goers on this chilly spring day. They also collected $30.16 in donations that will help us fund the continued purchase of the lettuce salad, beverages and table supplies for future lunches. Students really look forward to these weekly hot lunches to help them get through the day. For some, it's their only meal of the day. Thank you for your generosity and ongoing support of the students and our ministry at Crossroads.

Crossroads Campus Ministry