Bethlehem December News

As we enter into this season of hopeful waiting and eager anticipation, our eyes turn towards the Bethlehem after which our congregation was named, and the well-worn story of Jesus’ birth. Advent has long been understood to be a season of preparation, a time to make room in our hearts and minds for the miraculous, preposterous, scandalous, wonderful notion that God would choose to enter into our midst, right smack dab in the middle of this messy, beautiful, crazy thing that we call being a human.

As a part of that preparation, while Alissa and I were visiting my parents for Thanksgiving, we decided to go and see the new movie “Journey to Bethlehem.” We had heard a few things about it, but quite honestly, we weren’t sure what to expect. Overall, it was really quite good! There were some excellent bits of humor sprinkled in here and there, like when the angel Gabriel started levitating towards Mary as he was about to tell her the big news, but banged his head on the door frame as he was entering the room. And the three wise men were absolutely fantastic, singing a song in which they referred to themselves as the three wise guys. Oh, did I forget to mention that it was a musical? Yep, it sure was! There was King Herod (played by Antonio Banderas) singing about how much he loves to be king, changing part of the Lord’s Prayer and singing “mine is the glory, mine is the power.” There’s a wonderfully choreographed dance fight scene that takes place inside Joseph’s head, where two versions of himself – one that believes Mary, and one that doesn’t – wrestle with one another to determine how he will respond to her pregnancy.

There were a few parts where the script let me down a little bit. There was no rendition of Mary’s Magnificat, the beautiful song that she sings in response to the angel Gabriel’s visit. You would have thought that a musical would have jumped on an opportunity like that! Additionally, when Mary went to visit her cousin Elizabeth, there was no mention of John leaping in her womb for joy at being in Mary and Jesus’ presence. During those parts, just like I have done during many film adaptations of pieces of literature, I grumbled to myself, “The book was better.” But as a whole, I really enjoyed the film! And I think what I liked the most about it was how it brought the story to life before our eyes. The biblical text often hurries past certain details that the movie did not, like how arduous a journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem on donkey would have been for a woman who was about to give birth.

Most of all, the movie emphasized the humanity inherent in the story. These characters that we have talked about for centuries, who have been elevated and held in such high regard, were at one point in history just regular people. People like you and me. People who had doubts, and fears, and dreams, and hopes, and faults, and insecurities. People who felt unworthy, and uncertain, and yet were still chosen by God for this miraculous task of helping God enter into our world in the most unlikely of ways, as a tiny infant, born to a couple of nobodies from the backwater town of Bethlehem. It’s a reminder, that we don’t need to be perfect to be involved in helping God’s purpose come to fruition in the world around us. God loves, accepts, and chooses us exactly as we are. Faults and all, strengths and all, human-ness and all. God chooses to act in the world through beautifully imperfect people, people like you and me. During this advent season, I invite you to contemplate and ponder in your heart (as Mary did) how it is that God is calling you to live, act, serve, speak, or give to those around you for the sake of proclaiming God’s good news.

Advent Blessings, Pastor Sam

December Worship Schedule

Worship and Special Services:

December 3rd - Sunday Morning Service- 9 & 10:30 am

December 10th - Sunday Morning Service- 9 & 10:30 am

December 13th - Wednesday "Comfort at Christmas" - 7 pm

December 17th - Inter-generational Christmas Program - 9 & 10:30 am

"Christmas on the Coast" - 12 pm

December 24th - Candlelit Christmas Eve Service - 10 am, 7 & 9 pm

Children's Christmas Eve service - 4:30 pm

December 31st - One Sunday Morning Service - 10 am

Worship usually takes place in the sanctuary for both services, and there is the option to sit outside in the eco-narthex as well. The livestream usually takes place during the 10:30 am or as indicated.

Christmas on the Coast

"Christmas on the Coast - Come to Bethlehem and Sea!" - Please plan to join us on Sunday, December 17th to celebrate Christmas in a very special way! We are so excited for our Inter-generational Christmas Program during both the 9:00 am and 10:30 am Worship Services. During both services, the congregation will be actively involved in retelling the Christmas Story. All in attendance will be assigned a part to play during the program and our children will help to tell the story through narration, songs and by creating a Living Nativity Scene throughout the telling of the story. The morning will also include ornament making and cookie decorating, as well as the Women's Christmas bazaar, Nativity displays and yummy baked goods. Grab your Christmas sweaters and flip flops and we will see you on the 17th!

Attention Bakers, Makers, and Crafters! - This year instead of our traditional Christmas Bazaar we are joining the Christmas on the Coast celebration on Sunday December 17. Help us supply the Christmas Market with baked goods and craft items. Craft Items and baked goods can be dropped off on Saturday, December 16 from 1:00 to 3:00 in the Multi-Use room. Baked goods will also be accepted at the Food Booth on Sunday morning before the 9:00 service. For other arrangements or if you have questions please contact Laure Reynolds laurereyn@roadrunner.com or 760-271-3359.

Secret Santa

2023 Secret Santa Update:

Please bring all Secret Santa donations (Gift cards, teen shelter items, and monetary donations) to the church by Sunday, December 3rd.

If you have any questions, please call me at (760) 942-1482.

Thank you for your Many Years of Support, Cheryl Monreal

Music Ministry

Christmas Concert - Bethlehem's Annual Christmas Concert called "The Glory of Christmas " will be on Sunday, December 3 at 4 pm. Selections will include the word "glory" in many different genres of music by composers Vivaldi, Handel, Butler and many others! Catch the Christmas spirit with the Children's Choir, Jubilation Ringers, Band of Bethlehem, Good News Singers, soloists and the World Music Ensemble. A free will offering will be taken for the music program.

Special Music this month:

12/3 - World Music Ensemble each service; Concert at 4 pm
12/10 - Band of Bethlehem
12/13 - Comfort of Christmas service 7 pm - Holden evening prayer
12/17 - Multi-generational program during each service
12/24 - 10 am- Women's Ensemble

4:30 pm - Chris Matthews, The Music Man

7 pm - Eden LaClair, piano solo

9 pm - Good News Singers

12/31 - 10 am service only - Carolin Meinhardt, solo

Children's Ministry

Here is our Advent/Christmas Schedule:

12/3 - Angels Visit
12/10 - Jesus is Born
12/17 - Intergenerational Christmas Program during both services
12/24 - Christmas Eve (No Learning Circles)
12/31 - Parable of the Talents (One Worship Service at 10 am)

Our Learning Circles/Sunday School continue weekly during the 10:30 service. We meet as one large group to begin in the Multi-Use/Library right after the Children's Message. The curriculum that we are using is designed to break into "buddy pairs" with older children helping the younger children to participate in discussions and complete activities together. This time is intended for children ages 3 - 6th grade. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Jana Hegg at childrensministry@blcenc.org. We are excited to see you on Sunday!

Youth Ministry

Winter Retreat 2024 at LRCC

Middle and High School

February 2nd-4that Luther Glen

Open to students of St. Andrew’s and Bethlehem.

Online registration will begin soon. Mark your calendars and watch your emails for the link to register your student(s). Retreats include worship, workshops and faith-filled discussions & lots of time on the farm or in the snow. The fun begins Friday night and runs until Sunday at lunch. $185 per student. More information can be found on the LRCC website. Don’t miss this!

Meetings this month:

Middle School group will meet 12/6 and 12/19 at SAEC.

High School group will meet 12/6 and 12/20 at BLC and 12/13 at SAEC.

Solar Fundraiser

As you know, our congregation has made the exciting decision to act as good stewards of the creation and install solar for our campus. We have been talking about and hoping for this day for many years and the time has finally come!

We have contracted to do this work through Stellar Solar. The ERC Vote set aside $50,000 to be used towards a total cost of $136,937. Of that total amount, we anticipate receiving a 30% refund from the government, totaling approximately $41,000. This leaves a gap of $46,000. Given the size of the project, this comes out to roughly $500 per panel. If you would like to help make this project a reality, please consider sponsoring 1, 2, 20, or as many solar panels as your heart might desire. Any and all contributions are welcome and appreciated.

In order to capture significant savings, including 9 years of Net 2.0 metering benefits, we need to meet a submission deadline of December 15th. Any contributions that you could make before that date would be greatly appreciated.

To date we have received contributions totaling $5000, or as we like to put it, 10 panels! Just 88 to go!

Please click here or the button below, or visit the “Contribute” page on our website to make a donation.

Thank you for your faithful stewardship and for the heart and passion so many of you have shown for this project.

Contribute to Solar Project

ELCA Advocacy

ELCA Resources for the Crisis in the Holy Land

The ELCA Website has a hub of Resources for the Crisis in the Holy Land, including information from Lutheran Disaster Response.

Updated “Peace Not Walls” ELCA Advocacy letter

The ELCA Advocacy Action Center lets you send a message to your national representatives to “Call for a cease-fire and de-escalation, sustained flow of humanitarian aid, respect for safe spaces for Gazan noncombatants, and the commitment of all parties to international humanitarian law.” Visit Peace Not Walls for more information and to sign the letter.

LOPP- CA: Facebook, Twitter

Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton: Facebook, Twitter

Pacifica Synod: Facebook, Twitter

ELCA Advocacy: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram

ELCA: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram

For information or questions about Bethlehem’s Advocacy Team, contact Karin Kloehn at blcadvocacy@gmail.com.

Golf Tournament

Bethlehem Annual Golf Tournament -January 28, 2024 - It’s time for fun and fellowship at the annual BLC Golf Tournament. Join other BLC golfers of all ages and abilities at 'The Links' at the Lakehouse Resort (formerly St. Mark Golf Club) in San Marcos on Sunday, January 28th beginning at 1pm.

Price per golfer is $48, which includes green fee and cart. We play a scramble golf format. ( a team works together to score on each hole) . Below is the link to Bethlehem's website for payment. Checks will be accepted in person after services in early January.

Tournament Registration

Stewardship Stream

…and there, ahead of them, went the star that [the wise men] had seen at its rising, until it stopped over place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

What a wonderful stewardship example – offering gifts out of JOY in response to God’s love made manifest among us!

Thank you for opening your treasure chests to benefit Bethlehem’s missions this past year. May you experience the abundant JOY that is the Christmas season!

Stephen Ministry

Can You Become a Stephen Minister? - Have you ever wondered whether you could be a Stephen Minister? Please consider these steps.

The first step is to pray. Prayer is one way we learn what ministry God is calling us to do. As you pray, ask God whether Stephen Ministry is the right ministry for you.
Look at what spiritual gifts God has blessed you with. Stephen Ministers need to be loving, patient, non-judgmental, confidential, prayerful, and encouraging. They need to be good listeners. Five spiritual gifts valuable to Stephen Ministers are Faith, Mercy, Teaching, Encouragement, and Knowing.
Next, assess your current responsibilities. Stephen Ministry is a big commitment. If you are stretched too thin already, now is probably not a good time to become a Stephen Minister.
Consider your life circumstances- is now the time? For instance, if you are in the middle of a grief process, it is probably better for you to receive care at this point in your life than to become a caregiver.

If you are truly interested, speak to a Stephen Minister who can answer your questions and share their own experiences.

Announcing New Stephen Ministry Training Class - We will be starting a new Stephen Minister Training Class in January. Stephen Ministry training is thorough and practical. It includes listening, dealing with feelings, maintaining assertiveness, confidentiality, and boundaries, and caring for people who are grieving, dying, aging, divorcing, or experiencing other life crises. The goal of Stephen Minister Training is to prepare you for whatever you might encounter when working with a care receiver.

In addition to offering this class to new Stephen Ministers, this year we are opening up the class to anyone in the congregation who would like to improve the listening and caring skills that you use in your own life- either in your personal life or in the ministries you are part of within the church or community.

The class will take place on Monday evenings from 6:30 to 8:30 pm in the Multi-Use Room beginning on January 22 and continuing to June. The cost of the class is $55 which covers the cost of books. If you are interested and would like to know more please contact one of our Stephen Leaders: Suzi Westmoreland, Molly Hall, or Laure Reynolds.

New Columbarium Project

We are in the process of creating a new outdoor columbarium space. We are working on finalizing the design, contracting with a company to build both the niches and the supporting frame, and local artist Jane Wheeler has already created an incredible tri-panel mosaic art installation for above the columbarium.

The price per niche is $2500. Each niche has space for up to two urns. You do not need to be a member to purchase one - all are welcome here at Bethlehem. Please sign up by contacting the church office, and payments can be made via check, or online here.

If you have any questions, or would like to inquire about payment plans, please contact the church office. If you would like to simply donate to this project, but do not wish to purchase a niche, your generosity and stewardship would be so appreciated, and you can do that by clicking here.

As Christians, we know that we are connected with all who have come before us in the faith – a great cloud of witnesses. Through this columbarium space we bear witness to that fact and will provide a much needed place of final rest for members of our community.

Volunteers Needed for Sat. Breakfast at St. Andrews

---> Our date for December is changed to December 16. <---

Volunteers Needed! Saturday Breakfast at St. Andrews - Our mission to feed the hungry a hot breakfast each Saturday is starting back up again, and the kitchen at St. Andrew’s is now open for business. Bethlehem will be preparing breakfast on the 4th Saturday of each month. We need 6 volunteers to crack and scramble 6 doz. eggs, cook 60 hash browns, 13 lbs. of bacon, make 80 pancakes and serve up plates with a smile! Click below to volunteer!

Opportunities to Engage

Qigong/Tai chi -The weekly Qigong/Tai chi practices at our church is available by Zoom. You are able to join online from your computer on Wednesdays at 6 pm. Also, Chacha is having a Friday at 9 am practice by Zoom.

These practices are moving meditation practices that focus on relaxation, breath, and visualization while carrying out gentle movements. Everyone is welcome, no previous experience is necessary. If you are interested in joining please e-mail Chacha at chachapinillap@gmail.com. Please let her know which of the practices or if you would like to be invited to both practices. She will send an e-mail invitation with the zoom link.

Scraps and Prayers - This ministry sews quilts for people in need of comfort and care. We meet each Wednesday morning from 9am-11am in the Multi-Use Room. We need your help sewing and tying quilts. No experience necessary! Stop by for an hour or stay for the whole morning; we'd love to share our scraps and prayers with you. For more information, contact Bobby Allen at roberta798@aol.com or Laure Reynolds at laurereyn@roadrunner.com.

Pastor Sam's Sermon Blog

Did you miss one of Pastor Sam's sermons? Want to double check if he actually said what you think he did? Accidentally fall asleep and want to go back and read the section you missed? Check out all of Pastor Sam's sermons on his blog at: https://sinningboldlywithsam.wordpress.com/

Global Mission "Global Links" E-Newsletter

Rooted and built in Jesus! This is the core of our work as the ELCA walks with more than 80 companion churches in other countries to participate in God's reconciling mission through proclamation and service. Participating in these relationships, ELCA members see how people's lives are touched by the gospel, how their lives are transformed and renewed, and how their communities live in hope. If you would like to receive the ELCA Global Mission e-newsletter "Global Links", please click on the following link to subscribe: https://community.elca.org/elca-email-subscriptions

Bethlehem Cares Fund

Bethlehem Cares Fund: For members of Bethlehem, we have a fund to assist you with temporary financial needs such as medical, home, family or personal needs.Contact Pastor Laura, Pastor Sam, Rose Moldenhauer or Molly Hall. If you are able to contribute to the fund please mark your gift to BLC with the notation Bethlehem Cares.

Newsletters Available on Our Website

Have you missed one of our monthly e-newsletters? Have you wished you could open up that newsletter again to get that bit of information you were looking for? Well, now you can. On our Newsletter Archive page there are links available to view current and past newsletters.

Bethlehem Lutheran Church

www.blcenc.org