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, or if you would like to volunteer to help with Sunday School time, please feel free to reach out to Jana Hegg at childrensministry@blcenc.org. We are excited to see you on Sunday!

Here is our schedule for February:

• 2/4 - Jesus Heals Two Blind Men
• 2/11 - The Transfiguration
• 2/18 - Noah's Ark
• 2/25 - MUSIC w/Mona

Save the Date for Scuba Vacation Bible School! We are excited to dive into friendship with God during the week of June 24th - 28th. Mark your calendars now and watch for more information regarding registration and volunteer opportunities coming soon! Questions? Contact Jana Hegg at childrensministry@blcenc.org.

Youth Forum on Stress & Anxiety - Anxiety and depression are becoming more common in middle and high school aged students. Our kids are facing struggles with mental health; their own and/or their friends’. It doesn’t end there. Colleges are seeing an increasing need for students to receive mental health counseling and support. But many students don’t know how or when to ask for help. In some cases, they seek solutions that are self-destructive. 

How can we make a difference? 

Deacon Mindy will be leading the high school youth through the Faith In An Anxious World curriculum for four consecutive weeks on Sundays from 11:30am-12:30pm. Students will meet at Bethlehem Lutheran on February 25, March 3, 10, and 17. This is a commitment of one hour each week for students. Parents also are asked to commit to learning through separate parent resources; weekly podcasts and class guides. 

RSVP’s are necessary to provide students and parents with the program resources. Please email or text Deacon Mindy with questions or to sign up. 

Youth Meetings for February

• Middle School Confirmation: February 13 & 27
• Middle School Group: February 6 & 20
• High School Group: Feb. 7 & 28 at St. Andrew’s, Feb. 21 at Bethlehem, Worship on Feb. 14 at your home congregation

Old Encinitas Walk - Please join us as we explore old Encinitas. 

Update: We postponed the walk due to weather. See below for current date and meeting place.

Lori Wolf (a local resident since she was two years old!) will lead us as we walk to the Old Schoolhouse and back to the beach. The walk is about two miles, on paved surfaces, and has some hills. Be sure to wear comfortable walking shoes. We recommend a hat and sunscreen. Don't forget your water. 

Bring a lunch and a chair (just leave them in your car) and after the walk, we will picnic at Moonlight Beach. If you aren't available for the walk, please join us at noon to picnic. Look for our bright green BAM t-shirts and rainbow umbrella. 

BAM Olde Encinitas Walk

Saturday, February 24, 2024

10 am PST

Moonlight Beach parking lot

Corner of C Street and Third Street

Encinitas CA 92024

REQUEST: Whether you're joining us for the walk or the picnic or both, please sign up here on Signup Genius (so we know to watch for you). This is a new signup for the new date.

For more information or if you have an idea for a future adventure, contact Dennis Astroth, Eileen Lajimodiere, or Suzi Westmoreland. You can send an email to: blcsm@outlook.com



The Pajama Project brightened many hearts this Christmas by distributing 912 warm and cozy PJ's to those in Need and those needing to Know that someone cares! We could have made even more but we are very limited to the number of participants who can sew our PJ's. Calling all Sewists and All who would like to help to create and deliver Pajamas again this year. We will be meeting in the Family Center from 9:00 till 2:00 on these Saturdays for our PJ Work Party Days:

• February 24
• March 23
• April 27
• May 25
• June 29
• July 27
• August 24
• September 28

Ways you can help: Come to a Work Party day to cut out PJ's and make kits to distribute to Sewists. Help us wash the approx. 3000 yards of flannel that we buy each year, Host lunch for our volunteers on a Work Party Day. Sew PJ's from the kits we have created. Donate to the Pajama Project for funds to buy flannel and all supplies needed to create these special gifts.

Warmly Yours, Belinda Simonini

Coordinator of The Pajama Project

pjproject92024@gmail.com

Here are the results of last year's Secret Santa Project:

• Secret Santa 2023 - $1000 raised! - The secret Santa program supports various families in need during the holidays to bring them joy. (Some of these families are in a part of the Es Por Los Ninos program.)

• Es Por Los Niños - $700 raised! - For more information on this program, click here.

• Teen Shelter – 7 Backpacks given!

Thank you to everyone who donated and helped with these projects. I believe was our 34th year of the Secret Santa Project here at Bethlehem. Special thanks to Carolin Meinhardt who without her help I don’t know what I would have done, especially during the changes COVID brought to this project and others. With Carolin’s help these past four years, Secret Santa moved into the modern age of donating on-line.

Thank you all, Cheryl



Bethlehem is excited to partner with E4E (Encinitas for Equality) to host their Education Support Program. This after-school tutoring program is meeting at BLC three times per week in the Multi-Use room to provide tutoring services to students from our local community in 2nd - 8th grades. The students have access to the Community Library and are checking out books during the week. We recently received a $1,000 grant from the Pacifica Synod to help support this partnership and to provide needed materials to the students and tutors. The grant will also be used to update the Library as needed.

How can you help? E4E is looking for volunteers to help support this vital program in the following areas:



• Tutors - 1.5 to 3 hours per week. (High School -Adult). All tutors attend training and orientation prior to starting with students,
• Daily Facilitator - 3 to 5 hours per week to be present on campus one day per week to oversee the program. (Can be shared between two people).
• Co-Director - 10 to 20 hours per month to oversee the logistics of the program. (This is a stipend position)

If you are interested in finding out more about these volunteer opportunities, please contact Jana Hegg at childrensministry@blcenc.org.

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.

February is the month of LOVE!  - Valentine’s Day stirs this highest of emotions with gifts, dinners, cards and other expressions of caring.

The Bible has many things to say about love, some of which we hear at weddings. How many times have you heard from 1 Corinthians chapter 13, particularly verse 13: “… and the greatest of these is love?”

A person’s heart is often the metaphor for their center of love and the Bible uses this common understanding to make a point about stewardship. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught: “Do not store up for yourselves treasurers on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven... For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:19-21. 

In contrast to earthly treasures, when we focus on God’s priorities and values, our actions are led, not by our own desires, but by the desires that God has for our world. And we work with God to make this world a closer reflection of the Kingdom of God. When you let love be what guides how you treat others, as well as how you treat yourself, you will be amazed at what a world of difference it makes.



Stephen Ministry Training Class Postponed! - For several reasons we have decided to postpone our next Stephen Ministry training class . We now plan to run the class beginning in the fall of this year. Stay tuned!

Why Do We Have Stephen Ministry? - People sometimes ask, why do we need Stephen Ministers—don’t we have pastors to provide caring ministry? The simple answer is that our pastors are like firefighters-when a crisis happens, they rush to the scene to put out the fire. But, shortly after that, another crisis will break out and they’ll rush to that scene. They will still provide care to the victims of the first crisis as they are able, but their time quickly becomes consumed by the second, third, and fourth fires. This is on top of their other duties as pastors.

This is where Stephen Ministers come in. Our Stephen Ministers are people who come in after the fire is put out (and sometimes before) and help the victims sort through and clear the debris and begin to rebuild. Stephen Ministers continue to provide care as long as needed during the rebuilding process-one month, six months, possibly a year or more. They provide the steady, consistent, one-to-one follow-up care that our pastors want to provide, but simply cannot.

To learn more about Stephen Ministry please talk to Pr Laura, Pr Sam, or to one of our Stephen Leaders; Suzi Westmoreland, Molly Hall, or Laure Reynolds.

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! 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/

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.