VOLUME 12, ISSUE 3 MARCH 2016
He is Risen! He is Risen Indeed! Special Easter Worship Services Lenten Services—Wednesdays 10:00am (Chapel) and 6:30pm (Sanctuary) 5:00-6:15pm—Lenten Suppers
Palm Sunday, March 20 Palm branches will be given to all worshippers
Maundy Thursday, March 24 10:00am (Chapel) and 6:30pm (Sanctuary) Living Last Supper—6:30pm 5:30pm—the “table” Meal in the Commons Transfer the Page 2 Blessings Donation Program Page 3 IMPACT Page 4 Trivia Night Page 4 Action Plan Page 5 Stephen Ministry Page 6 Primetimers Page 6 LWML Page 6 LifeLight Page 7 Summer Camp Page 8 Scholarships Page 10 School News Page 10 March Calendar Page 11 The Blessed Cup Page 12
Good Friday, March 25 12:00 noon—Worship Service (Sanctuary) 5:00pm & 7:00pm—Tenebrae Service (Sanctuary)
Eggstravaganza, March 26 10:00-11:30am—School Gymnasium
Easter Sunday, March 27 (communion all services) 8:00am — Sanctuary (traditional) 9:30am — Sanctuary (mild contemporary) 11:00am — Sanctuary (live band)
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VOLUME 12, ISSUE 3
Generosity in Your Own Words By Andrea Rogers
How would you put it? How could you tell others about generosity? Would you, like St. Paul did, communicate to people you love that we should not keep the grace of God to ourselves? St. Paul framed his generosity teachings through a discovery that came late in his life. Rather than fuming with a hatred for sinners, as Paul was taught to do from childhood on, he found out that God actually loved him in his fallen humanity. Wow! Paul writes about God’s generosity to the Corinthian Church. “For the love of Christ compels (controls) us, because we have concluded that one has died for all, therefore all have died.” This Jewish leader had been led to believe that the Jews, especially the ones who kept God’s law zealously, were in the privileged line. He was surprised to learn that we “all have died.”
Join us on March 6 in the Commons to learn more about ``sharing such generosity with the people you love and ministries you care about.``
This discovery shed new light on his understanding of generosity. “…And he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for Him who for their sake died and was raised.” Paul realized how true generosity can’t be understood in an earthly way of thinking. Paul now looked at being generous through the lens of Christ, and his entire life was changed. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation…All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to Himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation…and is entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.” What Paul learned from God is that generosity is about God’s love for others and our opportunity to share that love. Paul found a renewed purpose in living as an ambassador of God. “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God is making his appeal through us.” Have you ever thought about sharing such generosity with the people you love and the ministries you care about? Check out God’s Word in 2 Corinthians 5: 14-21 and 6:1. For additional help, please see us at the Transfer the Blessings table on Sunday morning, March 6th in the Commons. Ice cream sandwiches will be served!
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The 2016 Jamaica Mission Trip Team has 19 people traveling to St. Mary the last week of July. We would love to have you praying for us as we prepare for impactful journey. Please pray that our fundraising would be successful, and also for the health and safety of everyone on the team. We would ask to be blessed with team unity and a thankfulness for the experiences we will have together. If you would like to learn more about A.C.E., you may go to acexperience.org. Our first full year of Wednesday Night Impact Ministry (for middle schoolers and high schoolers) is wrapping up, and we're letting all of our volunteers go! We asked all of the volunteers to serve for one full year, and we are serious in honoring that commitment. At the end of this school year, their terms are up. Of course, some of them might decide to continue serving middle and high schoolers in this way. As you can imagine, now would be a great time to consider joining this ministry. You can consider it for a full two months and not even start serving until this fall after you've been trained. Positions will be opening up to work in discipleship relationships with middle and high schoolers as well as support roles such as coordinating meals, coordinating greeters, and praying for specific students. But wait there's more! If you know this ministry is not where God is leading you, you might still know someone who should be working with this ministry and doesn't read this newsletter or might just need an extra nudge to get started. Act now! Look for the bulletin insert asking for names of potential volunteers for Impact Ministry, fill it out, and return it to the Information Desk or send suggestions by email to Autumn Lawrence at autumn.lawrence@yahoo.com.
Thank you for joining us for Bethlehem Night Live! We had a lot of fun and hope you did too.
Trivia Night 2016 is coming up! When: Friday, April 29 at 6:30 PM Cost: Pre-register by April 24: $20 per person or $150 for a table of 8 (At the Door: $25 per person or $175 for a table of 8) Get a team of 8 together, or sign up and we will put you on a team. Answers are given by the table, not by individuals. The winning team not only gets bragging rights, but also a great prize! The more people that are there, the more fun it is, so invite your friends and neighbors to join us. Concessions will be available. Registration will be available in April. (Watch for many of the family-friendly events that the Mission Team hosted last year, as they will now be hosted by our Children and Family Ministry.)
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Action Plan Progress Continues The following is an update on January activities toward achieving goals for the three areas of the Bethlehem Strategic Action Plan: Remarkable Worship, Excellent School, and Discipleship Pathway. REMARKABLE WORSHIP Pastor Langewisch and Pastor Ross have had numerous “in-person” meetings with individuals who may be concerned with worship service time and/or location change considerations. Copies of a survey were provided to all members through bulletin inserts for two weeks. The survey was also available online. The deadline for survey completion was February 7. After the data received is compiled, the findings will be shared with PPC and communicated to the congregation. A cost estimate for audio visual equipment needed to provide increased quality of sermon presentations, as well as online presentations, was developed and presented to PPC for discussion. It will be necessary to identify how and when this equipment can be funded. EXCELLENT SCHOOL Two parent information nights were held and others are planned for March and April. This goal is now considered completed and ongoing. Volunteers have brought new activities forward for ChildWatch. Student growth packets have been developed and are in the proofing stage. Once complete, the packet will be presented to PPC for approval. Two parent surveys have been completed and another one is planned in April. Therefore, this goal is considered completed and ongoing. An administrator invitation to worship was sent for the start of the New Year. This goal is now complete. DISCIPLESHIP PATHWAY A "Going Deeper" writing team has been established and a schedule for preparing
By Hazel Hartbarger
materials related to the sermon series was completed. New short term studies have begun or are scheduled to begin soon including: The Study of the Book of John, Prayer, The Legacy Journey, and Financial Peace University. Fourteen new families were received into membership on January 24 and welcomed with a traditional brunch and campus tour. Newly introduced was a video on the history of Bethlehem. “Meet the Pastors/Staff Night” is being re-introduced during which time an intentional invitation to LifeGroups will occur due to new members worshiping at all services making it difficult to meet on Sunday morning. The Jamaica Family Mission Team has identified two fundraisers. The contract for website development has been signed and a new look for the website was introduced to leadership staff for feedback. The process to select software to integrate the four systems currently used for membership/ group management and communication, finance, student tracking and school family communication have been with the review of one system. A team of staff volunteers met to determine outreach and communication efforts to promote Lent, Holy Week and Easter. Note: The information for these updates was provided by the Pastors, Principal, and Director of Discipleship Pathway, respectively. The reports are expected to become shorter as goals are completed and fewer updates are needed. As always, refer to the original 2015/2016 Strategic Action Plan document for details regarding specific goals and completion due dates.
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Stephen Ministry Caregivers
By Sharon Brown
Jesus has selected many of us to be caregivers. We may care for our loved ones that have Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s, stroke, AIDS, or head injury. During this stage of our lives, many of us have had to take on this role as primary caregivers to our parents, siblings, or a friend or neighbor. I am not discounting our roles as spouses, employees, and parents. All of these roles together may be exhausting and discouraging, even overwhelming. I am going to focus on Alzheimer’s disease. During the early stages of Alzheimer’s you may have noticed diminishing mental faculties of your loved one.
Primetimers March Schedule By Georgia Phillips
Tuesday, March 1—Bible study at 10am in the Commons. Sunday, March 13—Potluck at 12:30pm in the Commons. No special theme. (Note: This is the 2nd Sunday.) Monday, March 21—Bunco at 1pm in the Commons. Bring a snack to share. (Note: This is the 3rd Monday.) ==============================================
LWML Easter Bags for Mean Street By Sharon Erlacher
Our February meeting included the annual discussion of “Easter Bags” for Mean Street Ministry (partner of our “table” ministry). Some of the items to fill the bags will be candy, small toys, coloring books, crayons, pencils, notebook paper and storybooks. Our prayer is that in some small way these gifts will bring to mind the generous gift God gave us in His Risen Son! Our blessing will be bringing a smile and joy to a child’s face at Easter!
There are 10 warning signs: Memory loss Difficulty performing familiar tasks Problems with language Disorientation to time and place Poor or decreased judgment Problems with abstract thinking Misplacing things Changes in mood or behavior Changes in personality Loss of initiative As the disease progresses, the caregiver will spend time attending to financial responsibilities, dressing, bathing, and toileting. The patience of the caregiver is stretched because the care receiver will become insensitive. Care giving takes an enormous toll on caregivers: It is frustrating, draining, and painful Symptoms of depression Stress upon families Lack time for themselves Sleep deprivation Health may deteriorate Make financial sacrifices Burnout If any of the symptoms listed above apply to caregivers of Alzheimer’s or any other long term care, you as a caregiver are not alone. Stephen Ministers at Bethlehem can walk with you during this time. They will be a caregiver to YOU. Your stress and depression can be talked through so that you will be refreshed during your time of care giving. Place a call to Martha Rowley at 303.425.6971 or Sharon Brown at 303.903.6183 for a Stephen Minister referral. The information for this article was taken for Alzheimer’s: Facing the Loss of a Lifetime by Lutheran Hour Ministries.
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Fully Alive Bethlehem Lutheran Church & School 2100 N. Wadsworth Blvd. Lakewood, CO 80214 Church office: 303-238-7676 School office: 303-233-0401 Visit us online at www.bethlehemfullyalive.com E-mail Bethlehem@bethluth.net KLTT 670 Radio Broadcast 11:00 AM Sundays David J. Langewisch, Pastor Dr ew Ro s s, Pa st o r T im W e nde li n, Pa st o r Kev i n Hohn st adt , Vi c a r ( Stu de nt P ast or ) Nat han R i cht er , P r inc ipa l S and y W end e lin , Di re cto r of D is ci pl e s hip S cott Bu bk e, Di re cto r of O p er at ion s Doug Bu tte , IT D ir e ct or Lis a Ro ge r s, EL C Ad m in ist r at o r Dav e Kin g, Di re cto r , W o r sh ip Ar t s Be c k y C hap li n, Di re cto r , M ini st r y t o Chi ld re n T ony C r e ede n, Di re cto r , Stu de nt M in ist r y Su k e G n ag y, P re s cho ol Di re ct o r Fully Alive is published monthly for the members and friends of Bethlehem Lutheran. It focuses on news within the congregation and activities in the church each month. Articles may be submitted to the church office by the 15th of each month for the next month’s issue. e-mail to: fullyalive@bethluth.net
Just So Tired of the Media By Mary Anne Brossman
I’m on vacation in Florida as I write this article for Lifelight and have watched more TV in the evenings than usual. A good majority of the time my mind is wandering during all the politicalhype, but I got to thinking about a couple of things. And that is how important prayer is in these times. When I was attending school in NW Ohio, each school day began with the Pledge of Allegiance and the Lord’s Prayer. That is until the atheists (less than 4% of the population in 2016 and no doubt even less in the late 1950’s) saw that prayer was removed from the schools nationwide. My mother had kept a clipping from the newspaper that Ann Landers had written. A devout Jew, she stated something along the line of “as long as there will be tests given in the classroom there will most certainly be prayers spoken silently!” Some years
ago the atheist journalist Christopher Hitchens was dying of terminal cancer. Some of his colleagues asked if he would like them to pray for him and in a couple instances just told him they would be praying for him. His nasty reply, “Do so if it makes you feel better. There is nothing out there but if you believe there is have at it.” Reading between the lines you could tell he was in a “rage against the dying of the light,” spoken by Dylan Thomas. Apparently, the media felt it was important for all to know this conversation. It was as if they
championed him for his fortitude. Really? Why make such a point about this atheist? Did they think he was more enlightened than the rest of us? Here again is an example of the 4% voice shouting to the masses. And another example of the media feeling somehow that this was newsworthy. To what end? Do they think the faithful really desire to follow Hitchens example? We have the gift of the Holy Spirit and atheists don’t have the Holy Spirit and they are jealous that we have the Holy Spirit. You can’t go out and buy the Holy Spirit anywhere. You could steal everything I own, but it is impossible for you to steal the Holy Spirit from us. There are many rich people and many poor people who also have the gift of the Holy Spirit. The exclusive 4% of the population that occupies and embraces the emptiness of atheism obviously enjoys shooting poison darts into those who are experiencing the fullness of life in Jesus Christ, the light of not just our world but THE world. Perhaps some think the Holy Spirit will just move away, or that a dart will scatter this Spirit into the wind! How very blessed we are to instead recognize these words from the Scottish Anglican poet Henry Francis Lyte: “Heaven’s morning breaks and earth’s vain shadows flee; In life, in death, O Lord abide with me.”
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School News
Scholarship Funds Application Deadline: April 1, 2016 With the continued increasing costs of education, along with the condition of the current economy and declining alternative scholarship opportunities, students attending the Parker campus of Colorado Lutheran High School, the Lutheran Track at the Arvada campus of Faith Christian Academy or one of our Concordia Universities (pursuing a Church worker’s degree) or Seminaries are in need of financial assistance. Won’t you please help these young people continue their Christian education? Consider giving a memorial or making a contribution to the Seminary/ College or High School Scholarship Fund in support of the Church’s ministry work. Students who would like an application for a scholarship grant may contact Dale Wagner at dale@thewagners.co, 303.435.1225 (cell) or 303.972.9431 (home). THE DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS IS APRIL 1ST! Completed applications should be returned to Dale Wagner via e-mail, mail (11486 San Joaquin Ridge, Littleton, CO 80127), or left with Kim Musselman in the Church office. Should you have questions, please feel free to contact Karen or Terry Donze (303.420.7868), Helga Duncan (303.985.4952), or Marty or Dale Wagner.
By Nathan Richter
The school uses a variety of standardized testing formats to assess our students and monitor their progress in areas of reading comprehension, reading fluency, and mathematics. We test in the fall, the winter, and the spring to track student progress. From the fall to the winter testing, our students improved by an average of 1.2 grade levels across the board. What this means is if a second grader was reading at a 2.2 grade level equivalent in the fall they are now up to a 3.4 grade level equivalent. This second grader is now reading at a third grade level, fourth month of school. This is a huge increase average for our school. Our teachers are doing great work with all our students. In the middle school, grades 5-8, we looked at our GPA averages from first quarter to second quarter. Every single grade increase by an average of two tenths. The school average for GPA's went from 3.09 first quarter to 3.25 second quarter. Great work to our middle school teachers for helping to guide and motivate our students in this much growth academically. A great big thank you to the Prime Timers who have been working with our middle school students on the first Tuesday of each month. They stay after their meeting and visit with eight middle school students to help them work on face-to-face communication skills. Many of our students are nervous about this when they first start but by the end of the thirty minutes they are opening up and truly enjoying their conversation. This is a positive influence on our students so thank you for this commitment by the Prime Timers. Thank you also to Ed and Ellen Knack who had lunch with our kindergarten through second grade students the other day. The students loved the positive attention. Our school is truly blessed to have such a caring and giving church body working with us in this ministry to children and their families.
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