Open Door Health Center is best known as a one-stop clinic that offers medical services, mental health services and dental care to patients of all walks of life, insured or non-insured, regardless of their ability to pay. While these services are probably best known to our community-at-large, Open Door also offers free School-Based Dental Care within 50 Minnesota counties! Elementary students, whose parents have completed the initial registration form, can receive a full exam, fluoride treatments and dental sealants where needed to prevent decay, all without cost! Additional services, such as fillings, may be completed within the main Open Door Health Center facility. The Global and Community Missions Board invites your support of Open Door and the health services they provide to our community’s most vulnerable. You can donate HERE, or send a check to the office with the memo line “May Mission.”
April 26, 2021
Go with our blessing! We sent Pastor Jay into sabbatical a week before his actual leave date, due to Confirmation next week. You can view the entire photo series and more details on the blog.
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It's time to register for VBS! Find out more: blcmankato.org/vbs2021
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The Spring Adult Forums have been scheduled. Please check out the website for details.
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The pastors will also once again participate in "Ask the Pastors" with our Confirmation kids. This event will be held on Facebook Live in our private Friends and Family Group, on Wednesday, April 28th at 6:30pm. Pop in before the forum to learn about your pastors! (Not a member of the group? Click here to request to join.)
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Did you get the email with the COVID preparedness plan updates? In case you missed it, read it here.
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Our partners in our Reconciling in Christ ministry, ReconcilingWorks, have made their monthly newsletters available online. You can read it here and know we will share it with you monthly.
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DUE THIS WEEK! High School Seniors and current college undergrad students, the Endowment Fund Scholarship Application is now available! blcmankato.org/scholarship
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Our new website and church management system, Breeze, offers so many exciting ways we can streamline our communication with you. Using Breeze to send you weekly updates is one of the ways we can keep our email list consistent and accurate (it also saves time and money!).
Additionally, our new website features a "News & Updates" blog, which you can follow right from the home page (blcmankato.org). By including all the details there, you can easily reference it at any time.
News & Updates: https://www.blcmankato.org/news-updates
The website also integrates the Events Calendar from Breeze. You can view the calendar and event descriptions on the website, but you can also check into worship and register for events by using your own Breeze account (don't have one yet? Contact Emily in the office).
Church Calendar: https://www.blcmankato.org/calendar
"Bethlehem is an inviting community that is growing in Christ, loving our neighbors, and serving God's world."
blcmankato.org (507) 388-2925
Bethlehem Lutheran Church
720 S. 2nd St. Mankato MN 56001
A Reconciling in Christ Congregation
Pr. Jay’s sending ceremony was Sunday, April 25 (because May 2nd is Confirmation Day), and his sabbatical will start May 3rd. He returns on August 1st Please remember he won’t be returning calls or emails during this time. We ask you respect his time of rest and renewal, but feel free to say hi if you see him around town.
M-Th, June 21st-24th | Families with kids in PK - 6th grade
WE HAD SO MUCH FUN LAST YEAR, THAT WE’RE COMING BACK FOR ROUND TWO! JOIN US FOR ANOTHER ADVENTURE THAT WILL TAKE OUR KIDS AND FAMILIES ALL AROUND TOWN AS WE TAKE ON NEW CHALLENGES, GROW OUR FAITH, AND HAVE TONS OF FUN.
REGISTRATION IS OPEN THRU JUNE 9TH! Registration and more details at blcmankato.org/vbs2021
CONTACT ANNA WITH ANY QUESTIONS.
April 22, 2021
Dear Bethlehem:
We are heartened by the growing number of those who have been vaccinated and are happy to see many more of you back in worship. Because you have been so faithful in wearing your masks and keeping social distance, we have not had any known COVID-19 cases originating at Bethlehem. We are so thankful for your partnership in making our worship and congregational life safe during this challenging year.
As more return to church, please keep in mind the safety and health of others by staying your distance in the pews. If you are here by yourself, and there is no one in front or behind you, please slide down into the middle to give others a seat. If you are fully vaccinated and your friends are too, we welcome you to sit with them for worship as that opens up another place.
Finally, remember that Bethlehem is the welcome place, and we always want to show hospitality to others. Specifically, we request that you not ask someone to move or scoot down the pew if they are already seated in a green spot. If you have trouble finding an open spot, please ask an usher or staff member to help you.
The council met on Tuesday and amended our COVID-19 Preparedness Plan to adapt to the changing situation. The plan will continue to be on the agenda in the coming months as we hope and anticipate that with increased vaccinations the threat posed by the virus will be diminished. You can find the updated COVID-19 Preparedness Plan here: blcmankato.org/worship-plans
Be well and live in Christ’s peace, Pr. Jay and Pr. Collette
"Bethlehem is an inviting community that is growing in Christ, loving our neighbors, and serving God's world."
blcmankato.org (507) 388-2925
Bethlehem Lutheran Church
720 S. 2nd St. Mankato MN 56001
A Reconciling in Christ Congregation
April 19, 2021
We hope you'll join us in person or online for our daily prayer services this week. More details can be found on the website or on the Facebook event.
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Pastor Jay's sabbatical starts soon! Learn the details on the blog.
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The April Monthly Mission is Global Health Ministries. You can read all the details on the blog. ---------------------------------------------------
The April Adult Forums have been scheduled. Please check out the website for details.
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High School Seniors and current college undergrad students, the Endowment Fund Scholarship Application is now available! blcmankato.org/scholarship
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Two service opportunities for you! Click to learn more: Pedal Past Poverty and Meals on Wheels.
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Our new website and church management system, Breeze, offers so many exciting ways we can streamline our communication with you. Using Breeze to send you weekly updates is one of the ways we can keep our email list consistent and accurate (it also saves time and money!).
Additionally, our new website features a "News & Updates" blog, which you can follow right from the home page (blcmankato.org). By including all the details there, you can easily reference it at any time.
News & Updates: https://www.blcmankato.org/news-updates
The website also integrates the Events Calendar from Breeze. You can view the calendar and event descriptions on the website, but you can also check into worship and register for events by using your own Breeze account (don't have one yet? Contact Emily in the office).
Church Calendar: https://www.blcmankato.org/calendar
"Bethlehem is an inviting community that is growing in Christ, loving our neighbors, and serving God's world."
blcmankato.org (507) 388-2925
Bethlehem Lutheran Church
720 S. 2nd St. Mankato MN 56001
A Reconciling in Christ Congregation
More details at the Facebook Event: https://fb.me/e/JbVY0mHf
Bethlehem’s Racial Justice Ministry Team, in partnership with other congregations and community members, has organized daily prayer services at 12pm and 5pm while we wait for the verdict in the Derek Chauvin trial. If you can’t join in person, all events will be livestreamed on Facebook at facebook.com/bethlehem.mankato.
From May 3-August 1, Pastor Jay Dahlvang will be taking a much-deserved sabbatical. Pr. Kristin Engstrom will join the staff while he is away, and we look forward to having her. Details on the sabbatical plan can be found at blcmankato.org/sabbatical. This Sunday, join us for Pr. Jay’s Sending Ceremony during service. There will NOT be a reception, as in past years, due to continued precaution during the pandemic. Pr. Jay’s last day will be Confirmation Day the following Sunday, May 2nd.
April 12, 2021
We are excited to announce a vaccine clinic at BLC this Sunday! Registration is required. All details and the link to sign up are on the blog.
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Come for a vaccine, stay for the Semi-Annual Meeting! The Annual Report is available on the website and at the welcome tables. We need 75 people for a quorum, so we hope to see you there! This Sunday immediately following worship (about 10:45). More information on the blog.
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There are still a few shifts to cover at Connections this week! Please sign up here.
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The April Monthly Mission is Global Health Ministries. You can read all the details on the blog. ---------------------------------------------------
The April Adult Forums have been scheduled. Please check out the website for details.
---------------------------------------------------
High School Seniors and current college undergrad students, the Endowment Fund Scholarship Application is now available! blcmankato.org/scholarship
---------------------------------------------------
Two service opportunities for you! Click to learn more: Pedal Past Poverty and Meals on Wheels.
---------------------------------------------------
Our new website and church management system, Breeze, offers so many exciting ways we can streamline our communication with you. Using Breeze to send you weekly updates is one of the ways we can keep our email list consistent and accurate (it also saves time and money!).
Additionally, our new website features a "News & Updates" blog, which you can follow right from the home page (blcmankato.org). By including all the details there, you can easily reference it at any time.
News & Updates: https://www.blcmankato.org/news-updates
The website also integrates the Events Calendar from Breeze. You can view the calendar and event descriptions on the website, but you can also check into worship and register for events by using your own Breeze account (don't have one yet? Contact Emily in the office).
Church Calendar: https://www.blcmankato.org/calendar
"Bethlehem is an inviting community that is growing in Christ, loving our neighbors, and serving God's world."
blcmankato.org (507) 388-2925
Bethlehem Lutheran Church
720 S. 2nd St. Mankato MN 56001
A Reconciling in Christ Congregation
We are excited to announce a vaccine clinic available to Bethlehem members first. The clinic will be held in the lower level dining room at Bethlehem on Sunday, April 18th from 9:30-11am. REGISTRATION REQUIRED. (Link is below.)
When you sign up, you will automatically be signed up for the SAME TIME SLOT on Sunday, May 9th for your second dose. You do NOT need to sign up for that second dose, it happens automatically. There will be no FIRST doses available on the 9th. This is a Pfizer two-dose clinic, spanning both April 18th and May 9th, both at church. You need to be available for both dates. Our immeasurable thanks to the Downtown Hy-Vee pharmacy for making these clinics possible.
This link will close on Friday night, so please don’t wait. Please read all directions carefully. There is no cost for the vaccine. https://www.hy-vee.com/my-pharmacy/covid-vaccine-consent?event=563be858-9e80-46c3-925b-995ab4cf415c