BLC Weekly, December 11
Hello Bethlehem,
It’s beginning to sound a lot like Christmas! We hope you enjoyed the Choir and Ensembles program yesterday, as well as the Christmas Hymn Sing after worship! Bethlehem also hosted Musicorum and the Minnesota Riverbend Brass Choir this weekend for their Christmas concerts. Join us next Sunday for the Children’s Christmas Program with the Praise Band!
This Week
Ecumen Pathstone Christmas Bows are up in the narthex! Just find the little tree and tag a tag. Return gifts to the office by December 13th for pickup. Thank you!
Join us for supper this Wednesday before 6:15pm worship! This week we are serving hamburger goulash at 5:00pm.
This month
Our December Monthly Mission is God’s Global Barnyard! This program of ELCA World Hunger helps purchase animals for people dealing with food scarcity and poverty. The goal is long-term sustainable solutions for hunger. This makes a particularly meaningful and memorable gift for friends and family at Christmas time! Cards, ornaments and coloring books are available in the narthex for those who give the gift of a barnyard animal. Order your animals here!
All are welcome to Cocoa and Caroling on Wednesday, December 20th! Join us at Bethlehem at 6:30pm for hot chocolate or meet at Connections Shelter at 7:00pm for caroling.
Bethlehem will host a blood drive on December 21. There are still plenty of slots available! Sign up online to give blood and save lives!
Join us on Christmas Eve for worship services at 9:30am, 4:00pm and 6:00pm.
SERVE
Thrivent Action Grants & Choice Dollars Are you a Thrivent member? Would you like to help Bethlehem financially? Check out the flyer that describes what you can do with Thrivent Action Grants and Choice Dollars. You can really make a difference for our church.
Home Care for Pr. Don: Bethlehem has been caring for and supporting Pastor Don and Bonnie Roberts since he was diagnosed with ALS in 1995, and now the Roberts need our help. Are you interested in helping with Pastor Don's home care? If you have experience as a caregiver, a good heart, and a willingness to learn, you are needed, as they are looking for more caregivers to round out their team. Let Pr. Don and Bonnie know if you can help! Connect with the Roberts by emailing dbroberts320@hotmail.com
tHANK yOU
“AND A GOOD TIME WAS HAD BY ALL! A huge thank you to all that helped with all processes of making the lefse and packaging it , plus the bake sale! It was so much fun to hear all the chatter and laughter, it could be heard thru out the church!! And that wonderful smell too!! In about 2 1/2 hours we turned out and packaged 480 pieces of lefse. And sold it ALL! It’s so wonderful to see everyone come together , and great to see the tradition of keeping lefse making alive!! We will distribute the money we made to local charities. We thank you all!”
-Ginger Erlandson
“We can't believe that we're already at the end of Fall Term at MSU-Mankato! We feel blessed to have Bethlehem Lutheran Church and your volunteers as partners in our ministry to feed hungry students through our Lunch For-a-Buck program. We were pleased to welcome your volunteers on Tuesday, December 5, when Jan Blaisdell and DeAnn Bennett provided a hearty Finals Week lunch of chicken tetrazzini, spinach pasta, Italian bread, and homemade cake to 41 hungry lunch-goers. They also collected $58.17 in donations that will be used to purchase the lettuce, fixings, beverages, paper plates, dinnerware, and other supplies for lunches during Spring Term. Bethlehem served Lunch For-a-Buck on four separate Tuesdays during Fall Term, feeding a total of 217 people while collecting $300.12 in donations. In all, five area ELCA congregations combined to serve Lunch For-a-Buck on 15 Tuesdays during the term, feeding 828 people and collecting $820.84 in donations. This is a substantial increase over 2022, when 448 individuals were served lunch during Fall Term and $514.81 in donations was collected.
We look forward to seeing you at your next Lunch For-a-Buck following winter break on February 6, 2024. God bless you for your generosity and for supporting the students and our ministry at Crossroads.”
-Crossroads Campus Ministry
This Week in our Prayers
Curt Halvorson Brenda Goetsch Marian Mallory
Pete Wachtel Nikolas Perez
Pastor Don Roberts, Bonnie, & his caregivers
Faith Lutheran in Saint Charles Central Lutheran in Winona
Wanamingo Lutheran in Wanamingo Kiech Kuon Lutheran Parish in South Sudan
Torpuot Lutheran Parish in South Sudan Mading Lutheran Parish in South Sudan