BLC Weekly, August 26
Hello Bethlehem,
Join us in the BLC parking lot tomorrow evening from 5:30-8:00pm for the Lincoln Park Neighborhood Association Night to Unite. There will be food, live music, games and fun for all. All BLC members are welcome to attend. Stop by and connect with our wonderful neighborhood!
Family faith formation
Family Faith Formation programming registration is now open and there’s something for everyone! Ages 3 years to 4th grade are invited to join LIGHT or NightLIGHT, grades 5th-6th are welcomed to TorchLIGHT and we have confirmation classes for 7th-9th graders. High school students are invited to attend monthly fellowship events. Join FFF Director, Anna Wencl and Children’s & Family Ministry Associate, Kaitlin Carter, for another great year!
ANNOuncements
God’s Work, Our Hands will take place Sunday, September 8 and Wednesday, September 11. Reunite with your church family with worship, food, and congregational art projects. Service projects will include assembling school kits, baptism blankets and doing a neighborhood cleanup walk. This is also a great time to bring in your blessings box donations as we restock for the season!
Small Group sign ups are now open. You can join BLC Men, the Women’s Circles, Meet & Eat, Bible studies, and more! Make sure to check out our new group, Bibles & Brews, led by Pastor Jacie. Learn more and register on our website.
The Greater Mankato Diversity Council is hosting a Voter Registration Event on Saturday, September 21st, from 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm at the 127 S 2nd St Shared Spaces location. “Our goal is to make voter registration accessible to all eligible community members and ensure they are empowered to participate in the upcoming elections.” Contact GMDC if you are interested in volunteering at this event!
The 2nd Annual Women’s Event is scheduled for November 9th. We want your group to join in the fun at a tour of tables! This year’s theme is Warm your Heart with Plaid! Be creative and advertise your group.
Bring a plaid tablecloth
Decorate the table with a centerpiece celebrating your group
Plates/napkins are provided but optional to bring if your group has something in mind!
Interested? Contact Joy Dykema, dykemajoy@gmail.com
Holy Grounds Needs You Holy Grounds is an ecumenical, community-based breakfast program located in downtown Mankato at Centenary Methodist Church. We serve approximately 100 meals six days each week (Monday through Saturday), between 9:00 and 10:00 AM. Our guests are among the most vulnerable in our community - folks that lack housing, folks without enough funds to make it to the end of the month, folks struggling with addiction, and folks who feel alone and isolated. It was started 15 years ago by a gentleman who wanted to meet the church’s downtown neighbors. However, without enough volunteers it would all grind to a halt. If you have 90 minutes available, once a week (8:45 - 10:15 AM), please consider giving it a try. You can sign-up by going to the Holy Grounds home page (https://www.mankatocentenary.org/holy-grounds), and clicking on the volunteer link. Come and join our small, but mighty group of dedicated servants.
Council corner
Here are the “highlights” of the Bethlehem Council meeting held on August 20. Meeting minutes with details posted at www.blcmankato.org and also available in the church office notebook. Visit with Council members with questions and concerns! We welcome your conversation & feedback!
Financial Report: Unavailable at this meeting.
Welcome New Vice-President: Kristen Simon-Frank approved & welcomed as new BLC VP.
2024-25 Council Goals: Council reviewed, revised & approved 11 proposed goals to
address during 2024-25.
God’s Work Our Hands: Plans for Rally Week (Sunday, 9/8 & Wednesday, 9/11) were shared. Plan on participating in various service projects and sharing brunch on Sunday morning and dessert on Wednesday evening with other congregation members.
Fall Catalog: Look for the fall catalog of activities, learning opportunities & worship planned
for this fall. Everything you always wanted to know about what will be happening at Bethlehem will be highlighted.
BLC Strategic Plan Update: Progress and the status of Goal #1 Engaging Youth “We will
implement creative and effective ways to better engage post-confirmation youth and their
families, and young adults” was reviewed by highlighting the work on 11 supporting objectives.
Cruz Family Update: Ariac (father) enjoying his part-time custodian work at Christ the King.
Oldest son Randy participated in VBS in July at Bethlehem. Search continues for new law firm to represent asylum application after previous firm ended operations this summer.
Pastoral Performance Reviews: The annual reviews of our 2 pastors were conducted on August 6 by the President, President-Elect and Secretary. Both reviews were very positive and approved.
Community Leader Interviews: Council members identified community leaders they will meet with this fall to discuss significant issues facing Mankato area community and how Bethlehem can collaborate in addressing these issues. Interview results to be shared at fall Council meetings. Pr. Jay met with the Andrew Burk, Executive Director of the YMCA, who highlighted the need to pursue strategies to bring growing diverse community groups together.
Facilities: Security cameras are being installed, parking lot re-striping is planned, trees are being treated and a new Blessing’s Box is on the way.
Building Use: Conversations are being held with LSS for possible use of BLC kitchen for meals on wheels program and with the synod for use of BLC for new Sundanese Nuer worshiping community being organized.
Bibles & Brews: Join Pr. Jacie in intergenerational monthly gatherings at local sites to discuss relevant cultural topics and how our faith speaks to these issues. Stay tuned for more details.
Semi-Annual Meetings: Plan on the following dates for 2024-25 semi-annual meetings:
Sunday, November 17 – Budget Forum; Sunday, November 24 – Fall Semi-Annual Meeting;
Sunday, April 13 – Semi-Annual Meeting Preview; Sunday, April 27 – Spring Semi-Annual
Meeting. We hope you will join us to make important decisions for Bethlehem!
Next Council Meeting: Tuesday, September 17.
Monthly Mission
Bethlehem’s August Monthly Mission partner is Crossroads Campus Ministry. Led by Pastor Jenna Couch, Crossroads is “Welcoming of all people of good will, no exceptions.” Campus Cupboard provides food support to students in need and Lunch-for-a-Buck provides an affordable weekly meal during the school year. Our goal is $1,000. You can give online or drop off a check written out to Bethlehem with the memo line: Monthly Mission, Crossroads Campus Ministry. Thank you for giving generously.
Monthly Mission Match! BLC Endowment is currently matching your monthly mission contributions $1 for $1 for the rest of the summer! Designate a special gift to Bethlehem for any or all of these projects and the Endowment Fund will double it!
This Week in our Prayers
Curt Halvorson Marian Mallory Pete Wachtel
Les Biesterfeld Anna Moses Jim Freyberg
Barb Girtz Mark Woelfel Tracy Carter
Amy Grams Haugesag Jane Sletta Nick Frederick
Fran Jurs Royce & Vonnie Elker Danielle Johnson
St. Matthew Lutheran in Harmony Moland Lutheran in Kenyon
Epiphany Lutheran in Eagle Lake Ikhanoda Lutheran in Tanzania
Iglesia San Lucas Lutheran in Colombia