May 25, 2021

Pride Month is upon us and ReconcilingWorks, our partners in our RIC ministry, is leading the parade! Find out more here.
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Please watch your mailbox this week for an important congregational letter. Make sure to open it and read it.
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Please wear your name tags when you come to church, so Pr. Kristin can learn your names. See the updated look here.
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Want to sing along at home? We're taking the lyrics off the screen, but you're welcome to arrange pick-up with the office if you'd like to borrow a hymnal. Information on the blog.
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The ALS Walk has been scheduled for September 11. It is a statewide walk, but Bethlehem still has a team and encourages fundraising. Find out more, including a link to donate, on the blog.
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Adult Education needs your help planning this fall! See their request here.
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Please take time to welcome Pastor Kristin Engstrom when you see her in the coming weeks. Pr. Kristin will be with us while Pr. Jay is on sabbatical until August. Read about all she has done before coming home to Mankato on the blog.
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May's Monthly Mission is Open Door Health Clinic. You can read about their mission here, and make a donation here or by sending a check to the church, memo line "May Mission." FINAL WEEK!
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It's time to register for summer fun! Find out more: blcmankato.org/youth for Mission: Mankato! Find out more: blcmankato.org/vbs2021 for VBS!
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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

From ReconcilingWorks, our partners in RIC ministry:

Happy PRIDE! ReconcilingWorks is excited to celebrate the diversity of the LGBTQIA+ community with you this PRIDE season!

Throughout the months in which many of our LGBTQIA+ siblings would be celebrating their fullness through PRIDE parades, parties, and festivities in accompaniment with many of the Reconciling in Christ (RIC) partners such as Bethlehem, ReconcilingWorks will be celebrating virtually this year! There are so many ways they invite you to celebrate our beloved queer siblings - here are just a few ReconcilingWorks invites you to celebrate through for the 2021 PRIDE season.

As we bring back singing to the sanctuary, we will be phasing out the lyrics on-screen. If you are unable to join us in person yet and would like to sing along, please call the office to arrange to pick up a hymnal. We are happy to loan them out. Office Hours: Tuesday-Thursday, 9am-4pm. (507) 388-2925

The name tags will be back on the brackets this Sunday with an updated look. They will be alphabetized from left to right. It will help everyone if you return it to the same place. Please use your new name tags when you attend church, so Pastor Kristin can learn your names. All current members should have a name tag. If you don’t find yours, please email Emily Heinis. OR, if your name tag is wrong, please also email. Child members do not have name tags, but they will be issued upon request. (They get their own each year in LIGHT/NightLIGHT for program purposes.)

Additionally, we are adding blank name tags to the Welcome Desk, so our visitors can make themselves known if they wish (or if you took yours home last week then forgot it this week, but you’re ushering and you need to wear it!).

May 20,2021

Dear Bethlehem members,

As many of you know, there were major changes in CDC guidance and our state’s mandates regarding COVID-19 safety procedures last week. Your church council met this Tuesday to discuss these changes, and how Bethlehem will adapt its safety plan in response. We agreed upon the importance of letting go of COVID safety measures slowly, both because we know there are some members (especially children) who cannot be vaccinated, and because we have all suffered trauma during this pandemic and need time to feel safe in large groups again. We will be taking a gradual, month-by-month approach to reducing restrictions on our congregational life, with hopes that moving slowly and deliberately will be best for both our mental and physical health.

So, here are the things that are changing as of Sunday, May 23rd:

1. We will resume congregational singing, which means we can add pieces of sung liturgy as well as join in singing the hymns we love.

2. Hymnals will come back into the pews, so that we can begin transitioning back to worship that is not completely dependent on screens. We will still put everything on the screen for the rest of this month, but beginning in June, anything that is in the hymnal will not be duplicated on the screen. If you are still worshipping at home at that time, we invite you to pick up a hymnal from church during the week to use at home. (If you are unable to get to the church, call or email me, and I will drop one off for you.)

3. We will no longer be concerned with where people are entering and exiting the building and sanctuary for worship, and will remove any unnecessary signage.

Additionally, on Sunday, May 30th, name tags will come back into the narthex, redesigned with our new church logo, and we ask you to use them, especially to assist Pastor Kristin in getting to know you.

There are also a number of things that will remain the same for now:

1. We will still require mask wearing when entering the building and during all worship services. I remind you that, as of last month, mask wearing in small group meetings within the church is at the discretion of group members, and should include assessment of how many group members are vaccinated.

2. Social distancing in the sanctuary will still be encouraged, especially because we know that singing disperses airborne particles much more widely than speaking or breathing regularly. 

3. Avoidance of crowds in the narthex and other gathering areas of the church is still important, though we encourage you to visit with friends and visitors just outside the church.

All other safety measures adopted by previous plans will stay in place for now, and we encourage your feedback to staff and council members about these changes. Council will continue to update our plans every month, and we are all hoping for a return to pre-pandemic congregational life soon. We ask you to be patient as we transition out of our restrictions, and that you continue to care for your neighbors as you are so good at doing.

We also look forward to some outdoor worship Sundays this summer, which will enable many fewer restrictions, and are firming up dates for that now. Again, thank you for being so good about keeping one another safe during this trying year, and for continuing to be patient as we transition to a new normal.

Blessings, Pastor Collette (on behalf of the church council)

May 18, 2021

Please join us this Sunday for a prayer vigil in the park. Learn more and get the link to the Facebook event on the blog.

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The ALS Walk has been scheduled for September 11. It is a statewide walk, but Bethlehem still has a team and encourages fundraising. Find out more, including a link to donate, on the blog.

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Adult Education needs your help planning this fall! See their request here.

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Please take time to welcome Pastor Kristin Engstrom when you see her in the coming weeks. Pr. Kristin will be with us while Pr. Jay is on sabbatical until August. Read about all she has done before coming home to Mankato on the blog.

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May's Monthly Mission is Open Door Health Clinic. You can read about their mission here, and make a donation here or by sending a check to the church, memo line "May Mission."

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It's time to register for VBS! Find out more: blcmankato.org/vbs2021

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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

Prayer & Call to Action for Racial Justice
Sunday, May 23rd at 6:30pm
Washington Park, Mankato

Join Mankato clergy and faith communities as we gather together to pray, repent, speak out against white supremacy and systemic racism, and invite our communities to action centered in God’s justice and peace. Our 30-minute gathering is open to all, but is centered in our shared faith. Our time together will include music, prayer, and speakers. Look for more details on the event as it gets closer. https://fb.me/e/SNhjITo7

Join the Bethlehem Gait Keepers for our 15th year supporting the Walk to Defeat ALS in honor of Pastor Don. Don Roberts served our congregation from 1989 to 1996, when he retired because of ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease). Pastor Don continues to be an inspiration of life and faith to our congregation as he navigates his journey with ALS.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive, fatal neuromuscular disease that slowly robs the body of its ability to walk, speak, swallow and breathe. The life expectancy of a person with ALS averages 2 to 5 years from the time of diagnosis, although Pastor Don has far surpassed that life expectancy since his diagnosis in 1995 thanks to advances in care and technology. More than 5,000 people are diagnosed with ALS every year, and there is currently no known cause or cure. 

That’s why we participate in the Walk to Defeat ALS. To bring hope. To raise awareness. To provide resources and services to families free of charge. To support the scientific research community working to unlock the mystery of ALS and find the key to treatments and a cure.

Help the Bethlehem congregation rally together this year by making a donation in honor of Pastor Don. Visit bit.ly/BethlehemGaitKeepers to make an online donation toward our team's goal, or you can send checks (made payable to The ALS Association) to the church office to be sent in. Donations sustain The ALS Association MN/ND/SD Chapter's work providing equipment, resources and support to people living with ALS and their families across our region, as well as fund cutting-edge research to discover treatments and a cure for ALS.

The Adult Education Board wants to hear your ideas for educational opportunities for adults this next year. Please submit suggestions for possible topics, organizations, or individual presenters to Bob Ihrig at robert.ihrig1@gmail.com by July 31. Provide contact information, if possible. Thanks.

May 4, 2021

Please take time to welcome Pastor Kristin Engstrom when you see her in the coming weeks. Pr. Kristin will be with us while Pr. Jay is on sabbatical until August. Read about all she has done before coming home to Mankato on the blog.
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The final day of LIGHT is May 16th! Another wonderful year for the young families of BLC, despite challenges and change. Read the details of their final week on the blog.
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Congratulations to our 2021 Confirmands! View photos on the blog.
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May's Monthly Mission is Open Door Health Clinic. You can read about their mission here, and make a donation here or by sending a check to the church, memo line "May Mission."
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IMPORTANT NOTES:
1. Radio broadcast of worship will be at 5pm on May 9 and May 23. Please share this information with any of our homebound radio listeners you visit with.
2. Weekly emails will be sent on Tuesdays during the summer, and there will be no email the week of May 9.
3. This Sunday's vaccine clinic is ONLY for people who received their vaccines at BLC on April 18th. There are NO FIRST DOSES available.
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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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Did you get the email with the COVID preparedness plan updates? In case you missed it, read it here.
***
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