Camping in September- We will be camping Friday, September 6th through Sunday September 8th at the Big Sage campsite within the El Prado group campground. Check-in on Friday is 2pm and checkout on Sunday is 11am.

The parking lot is limited to 15 vehicles so signups will be capped at 15 unless you notify me that you will be carpooling. This is a tent camping site with no electrical hookups. There is water, picnic table, fire circle, and vault toilet. There are showers located in the main campground with flush toilets.

Meals: you are responsible for your own meals but let's plan to share dishes Saturday night.

Activities: there is a relatively flat paved road around the campground Meadow loop that is good for bikes and scooters. There are great mountain bike and hiking trails (NOTE: e-bikes are not allowed on the trails). There should be good stargazing as the moon will be a crescent and setting at 9 pm on the 6th.

Please signup by clicking here.

Click here for additional information about the campsite.

Questions? Contact Dennis Astroth

Save the Date! - Bethlehem Adventure Ministry (BAM) is planning a day trip to the San Diego Maritime Museum. Our own Bill Dabbs is a docent there and has offered to lead a tour. Thank you, Bill! We hope you can join us.

BAM Tour of the San Diego Maritime Museum

1492 North Harbor Drive

San Diego CA 92101

Saturday, October 5, 2024, 9:30 am

Please sign up here so we can send you notifications and updates:

Tickets:

$24 for adults

$18 for seniors over 65

Children are free in October!

Once you have paid your admission, you can stay all day. 

Parking along the Bayfront is $7.50 for 3 hours. If you want to take the trolley or Coaster, Union Station is about 4 blocks away. More transportation and parking information is available here. There is so much to do in the area. You may want to plan to spend the day there or least have lunch. 

Questions? Contact Suzi Westmoreland at blcsm@outlook.com. 

Think Stephen Ministry - Stephen Ministry is a ministry that belongs to every member of Bethlehem. It is your ministry, too, and we ask you to support it in whatever ways you can. Remember Stephen Ministry as you meet and talk to people. When you notice a need, ask about it and listen some more. Might this be a need for Stephen Ministry? Let yourself be the eyes and ears of Jesus. 



How do you recognize when needs exist? Look around you. Who do you see? Who do you know? If a person you talk to each week at church isn’t there one week, call him or her to be sure everything is okay. If someone you know at work or in your neighborhood begins to behave differently, take notice. Often people withdraw when a crisis occurs or may not have the energy to contact others to let them know that something is wrong. They may be embarrassed about needing help. Or, they may assume that somehow the church already knows. You may be the only one who notices that someone is missing or has a need. If that person doesn’t, or can’t, tell anyone- and you don’t either- the need goes unmet and the person suffers. If you encounter a need that you are unequipped to meet, bring it to the attention of one of the pastors or one of our Stephen Leaders, Suzi Westmoreland, Molly Hall, or Laure Reynolds.

Money for a Good Cause! - Bethlehem has been blessed over the years by gifts to our Mission Endowment Fund, which has a current balance of over $425,000. The income from that invested money is committed to support Bethlehem’s ongoing ministries or develop new missional ministries, be they near or far. Possible programs could include but may not be limited to:

• Scholarships
• Human needs
• Global outreach
• Mission development
• Music

As a member or friend of Bethlehem, you are welcome to submit a grant request to the Endowment Fund Committee by completing this form or a written description of the opportunity and then submitting it to the church office. The Committee is anxious to further God’s work with these funds and look forward to your ideas for doing just that, so please let us know your ideas.

Questions? Feel free to contact Mark Stauffer, Committee Chairperson, at MStauffer79@aol.com.

Are you or someone that you know and love in need of prayer? The BLC Prayer Chain is a virtual space where we can share prayer concerns with one another, hold each other in prayer, and support one another during times of need. You can share your prayer requests by clicking here. On that same page you can also sign up to receive prayer requests when they are sent out, so that we might hold one another in prayer, light, and love.

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!

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.

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/

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: 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.

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.