AMOS Civic Academy Wrap Up

It's now time for those next steps! Municipal elections are coming up this fall, and we want to get ourselves organized to make concrete changes to improve housing in our community.

Join us on Sunday, June 8th 2:30-4:00 pm at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Ames. Please be aware that you can access the UUFAmes parking lot only from the south (e.g., Pammel Drive or Lincoln Way), NOT from Ontario Drive. More info here.  

We will be sharing stories across our organizations from the civic academy process, determining where we want to focus within the spectrum of housing pressures, and committing to a summer strategy to get ready for fall elections.

Letters of Offering Delivered

Letters congregation members wrote urging Senators Grassley and Ernst, and Congressman Feenstra to support full funding of WIC and global nutrition programs were delivered by Bread for The World. Thank you to all who wrote letters!

Donate to VBS

Help make this the best VBS year yet by donating! Donations are needed June 22 - 26.

Check the board near the Welcome Center to donate!

New Books in the Crossroads!

As Rod Fischer moves to Washington, Iowa, he gifts the Church Library a two-volume set of “The Luther Bible of 1534” in its complete facsimile edition, all in German, with stunning photos inside, and a book in English about the Bible. The new set, with its visually captivating content, is available for perusing in the Crossroads.

Compete to Win a $50 Gift Card at the Bethesda Women's Summer Salad Social

Wednesday, June 11, 2025, at 6:00pm in the commons the Bethesda Women will host a Summer Salad Social where women of Bethesda are welcome to make their favorite summer salad to share and compete for a chance to win a $50 gift card.

Women of all ages are welcome to participate! RSVP HERE or sign up at the Welcome Center.

All salads entered in competition will be required to bring the recipe written out for Women’s Ministries to keep. Salads can be sweet or savory, and like something you bring to a potluck, but recipes must be from a church or community cookbook. 

Please include approximate cost of ingredients. We will set up a salad buffet for all those in attendance to sample each entry.

You're Invited to Lynn Anderson's July Retirement Party!

After 17 years dedicated to being our friendly and incredibly knowledgeable Administrative Specialist, Lynn Anderson will retire at the end of July. Lynn would like to invite all of the congregation to her retirement party after service on July 27th. Lynn has thoroughly enjoyed her position and getting to know each and every member during her time at Bethesda.

Bethesda Lutheran Church is Hiring!

Bethesda is looking to fill a part-time SPLASH Children's Church Coordinator role. If you, or anyone you know, is interested in either position, you can view the details of the position and apply at https://bethesdaames.org/work-with-us/.

Nominate Bethesda Lutheran Church for The Best of Story County!

and we'd love if you'd consider nominating Bethesda Lutheran Church for Best Place of Worship in the Entertainment and Leisure category. To vote, CLICK HERE, navigate to the Entertainment & Leisure category, and write in Bethesda Lutheran Church as your nomination! This could be our 8th consecutive year winning this category, but we need YOUR help to make it into the top three! Nominate Bethesda Lutheran Church as many times as you'd like once per day so can advance to the VOTING category!

Get Ready for the Annual BBQ Cook-Off!

The annual BBQ Cook-Off will be held Sunday, July 27th at 5:30 PM! Sign-up is available now online (click here) or on the Welcome Center for both competitors and attendees!

Remember, attendees VOTE for their favorite dish using cash, and those donations will benefit the Mary Greely Compassion Fund.

Gearing up for VBS!

It's only June, but we're so excited for Vacation Bible School at the end of July, we're getting everything together!

Time is running out to register your preschool through 5th grader for five days of fun this summer June 22-26 from 5-8 PM!

Registration is $10/child and includes a t-shirt, nightly dinner for the kids at 5 PM, Bible Study, music, and other recreational activities throughout the week focused on how we can magnify God's love!

Register here!

For organizational purposes, we ask that you fill out the form once for every child you have attending.

If you would like to sponsor a child's VBS experience this summer, you can write a check or bring cash to our main office and notate your donation is for a VBS Sponsorship.

Additional Ladies Lunch Bunch Dates!

If you're interested in attending the Ladies Lunch Bunch, but can't make the May 8th date, mark your calendar for outings the second Thursday of the month at 11:30 AM June through September!

June 12th - The Mucky Duck Pub (3100 S Duff Ave. on the porch)

July 10th - Tosca (303 Welch Ave. on the porch)

August 14th - La Casa Maya (631 Lincoln Way)

September 11th - Boulder Tap House (114 S Duff Ave.)

All ladies are welcome!

Raising Readers Celebrates 25 Years of Literacy Advocacy!

Raising Readers Story County's 25th birthday celebration was a great success with community members coming out to celebrate all the accomplishments over the last 25 years!

They are geared up to continue enhancing the lives of children and families for the next 25 years!

Bethesda Book Discussion Group's July Read

Please join us for Bethesda’s book club’s next book, Abundance by Ezra Klein. We will meet at 7 pm on Thursday, July 31, in The Crossroads.

The book club is open to everyone, and there’s no obligation to attend every time. If we’re reading a book that interests you, join us! If you haven’t read the book but you’d like to listen to the discussion, join us!