Sign up to donate at redcrossblood.org.
Please take some time to look at what ways you can serve Connections this year. Our weeks to provide volunteers are Dec. 14-20 and December 28-January 3, including an all-day shelter on New Year’s Day. No- and low-contact options are available for volunteering, and funds are always needed. Sign up at blcmankato.org/serve-at-blc.
Christmas in Christ Chapel at Gustavus this year will be virtual. Online broadcast premiere on Saturday, December 19 at 7:30 pm. To watch the premiere is free, but if you want a printed program mailed to you, you need to register by December 7 (TODAY!). You can also watch after the premiere date. Contact gustavus.edu/ccc for information. Bethlehem member Alex MacLean sings in the Gustavus Choir, but might be hard to recognize because the students are wearing masks.
Financial Peace University is a class everyone should take! It continues to change the lives of its participants years after. Get all the same great lessons from the comfort of your home! No more money stress! It’s possible when you know how to handle your finances. Join our virtual Financial Peace University class, and we’ll learn how to dump debt and build wealth. Financial Peace is free for Bethlehem members. Contact Pastor Jay or Visit fpu.com/1129784 to sign up and learn more. Class starts Monday, January 11, 2021. and runs 8 weeks on Monday nights. This class is open to the public, but is only free to Bethlehem members. Sign up today!
Our Christmas service will be different than ever before, but we still want you to be a part of it! If you would like to be a reader or a musician for Christmas (not live! record a video!), contact Laurie Rossow at 1jam@hickorytech.net or (507) 779-9114 by Dec. 14.
If you’d like a more low-key role, EVERYONE can send Emily Heinis a photo from Christmases past to include in the service. If you have pictures in the church (in front of the big tree, maybe?), even better, but all Christmas pictures will be accepted and included. Send them to blchurch@blcmankato.org by Dec. 22.
What is a Good Gift? It is a possible alternative Christmas gift you give to honor or remember someone who is special to you. We have enough “stuff!” A Good Gift - of chicks, bees, goats - is a statement that you care for the less fortunate in our world and are willing to support that caring with a financial gift. When you give a Good Gift, your name and the honoree will be listed on-screen before the online Christmas Eve worship. Deadline to be included on the list is December 21st. These gifts become a blessing both to you and to the person whom you honor. This year, you can submit your honoree names and make your payment online. Find the ELCA Good Gifts form on our website at blcmankato.org/forms. Or send a check to church with a note indicating your honoree.
It sounds a bit bold to say, but because of you, this day, a child in Africa will get enough to eat – and a chance for a better life. World hunger, need for clean water and sanitation, training for health workers in poorer countries – the needs are obvious and are among those addressed by the ELCA Hunger and Disaster Division. If you purchase a Good Gift, 93% of the dollars given will be used for direct aid to our brothers and sisters in need. Thanks in advance for your generosity.
~ Your Community and Global Mission Board
Sign up is now available for volunteering at the shelter. You need to have an email address to sign up, as you will get training videos sent to you. If you do NOT have email, you will need to have a training with Pastor Collette.
If you sign up to bring a meal, you will be told the week before how many to cook for, but it is important there is enough for our guests to have seconds or leftovers. You can choose to cook the meal (it must be delivered to Connections ready to eat, as the kitchen is not yet finished) or you can support a local restaurant by buying the meals.
If this is not the season for you to volunteer, you can donate coffee, napkins, paper towels, or monetary contributions. Please mail checks to Connections Shelter, 220 E. Hickory St., Mankato MN 56001 or donate online at connectionsshelter.org. There is also a list of items you can purchase from Amazon and have sent directly to the shelter. All support is appreciated.
On Thursday, November 19, the Mankato Free Press published a full page ad with an Antiracist Statement written by a group of Mankato clergy. Both our pastors as well as our Family Faith Formation Director signed the statement. The Racial Justice Ministry at Bethlehem has started meeting monthly to find ways we can actively create change in our church and our community.
Director of Family Faith Formation, Anna Wencl, is pairing children and youth with older members of our congregation to serve as pen pals during this difficult season. There is plenty of love to go around! If you are interested in being a Faith Friend to someone, young or old, let Anna know by emailing her at annawencl@blcmankato.org.
Shirts will be dark royal blue in a 60/40 cotton/ poly blend (read: SOFT) with the simple version of our new logo on the front in white. Available in sizes Youth Small to 4XL, each shirt will be $9, delivered the week of Christmas. Order and pay online (preferred) at blcmankato.org/forms or call the office with order and mail a check. Order forms and payment due by Dec. 6th. Help us feel connected, even when we're apart.