Sunday Worship

• March 1st, 8th, 15th, and 29th - 9 and 10:30 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 Sunday service or as indicated.

Midweek Lenten Gatherings | Holden Evening Prayer - Communal Meal - Adult Education

• March 4th, 11th, 18th and 25th - 6 to 8 pm

Wednesday Lenten Meals (after the service) - Here are our hosts for this month. Please feel free to add a dish:

• March 4th - Choir
• March 11th - Stephen and Health Ministries
• March 18th - Men of Bethlehem
• March 25th - Church wide potluck

Faith Together – Interfaith Dialogue for the Sake of the World

Lent 2026 | 6 – 8 PM

Join us Wednesdays in Lent as we welcome and engage with leaders from different faith traditions. Our evenings will begin at 6 PM in the sanctuary for Holden Evening Prayer, and that will be followed by a community meal in the Family Center. 

The adult education portion will begin around 7 PM. All are welcome!

• February 25 | Baháʼí | Renna Wolfe
• March 4 | Judaism | Rabbi Alexis Berk
• March 11 | Islam | Yusef Miller
• March 18 | TBD
• March 25 | Buddhism | Deer Park Monastery

We've entered the Lenten season and music at Bethlehem is in full swing! All groups will be sharing their talents this month during services culminating with the Good News Singers Palm Sunday Cantata "God So Loved" by Pepper Choplin on March 29th. This cantata is a contemporary interpretation of the Passion story relating how God's love is demonstrated in every step of the Holy Week journey. Accompanied by a small orchestra and narrators, the choir will be presenting this as the sermon for both services.

The Holden Evening Prayer service will be the music for our Wednesday night Lenten services. The service will begin at 6 p.m. on March 4, 18, 25 and at 7:30 p.m. on March 11.

March Special Music

• 3/1- Good News Singers and Children's Choir (only at 10:30 am)
• 3/8- Duet- Mona Goetsch/Dave Ensberg
• 3/15- Second Sabbath
• 3/22- JuBellation Ringers
• 3/29- Good News Singers - Palm Sunday Cantata 

Every Thursday afternoon, many boxes and bags of food are distributed to 200-220 local families by the St. Andrews Food Pantry. Before the distribution, volunteers sort donated fresh and dry foods into massive piles, setting up a makeshift supermarket inside the parish hall. Each person selects an assortment of canned and dried foods along with fresh eggs, milk, bread, prepared meals and produce donated by Vons, Sprouts, Gelsons and other local grocery stores. The San Diego Food Bank along with Feeding San Diego are key suppliers for the pantry, bringing pallet loads of fresh produce and bread items each week. 

Pantry Wishlist:

• Peanut Butter (small or medium size jars)
• Dry Rice
• Dry Beans
• Soup and Stew
• Applesauce pouches
• Cereal (smaller boxes please)
• Cooking oil (smaller jugs please)
• Condiments
• Coffee/Tea
• Sugar
• Flour

Please help in whichever way is most convenient for you:

• Bring non-perishable foods to church on Sunday, March 8 or Sunday, March 15. Drop off in the trunk of the silver SUV in the visitor parking spot.
• Place your non-perishable donations in the Food Pantry basket in the Narthex anytime.
• Donate funds online by clicking here.
• Write a check to BLC and indicate “Food Pantry” on the memo line.

Your monetary donation will go directly to purchase food for the pantry.

If you are interested in volunteering on Thursdays, please contact Cynthia 760-525-3519.

Youth at Border Church - Area youth groups are gathering with the leadership of Border Church on Sunday, March 8th for worship. We will join others for lunch then move on to the worship location and stay for time of fellowship. 

We will meet at Bethlehem to carpool. Adult/parent drivers are welcome to join us. Sign up to attend. Please add in the comment line if you will need a ride or will drive others and how many seats are available in your vehicle. 

Meet at 11:00am at Bethlehem to carpool to lunch. We will meet the other youth groups at 12 pm for lunch at Taco El Franc in National City/Plaza Bonita. Worship begins at 1:30pm. Youth groups will have time for fellowship and learning after worship. We should arrive back at Bethlehem by 4:45pm. Click here to sign up. Contact Mindy if you have questions. 

Summer Service Trip - Our summer trip will be to the LA/Pasadena areas of Southern California. We will be staying in South Pasadena.

Dates: July 27 - Aug 2, 2026 

Who: 8th - 12th grades

Cost: $250 per student with a $100 deposit due with registration. 

This trip is limited to 17 students due to accommodations and activities. A wait list will be created if necessary. 

Registration can be filled out on the Google Form linked here. If you choose to print the form and submit it to the church office, please be sure to have the date and time of the submission noted by me, a pastor, or other staff.

Cinnamon Roll Sale - Following worship on Sunday, March 22, youth will offer up these sweet treats as a fundraising opportunity for their summer trip. Don’t miss out!

Learning Circles - Our Sunday morning Learning Time continues each week during the 10:30 service. We are using a multi-age classroom curriculum which emphasizes the use of peer buddies across all ages. Deacon Mindy meets with our 5th and 6th graders on the 2nd and 4th Sunday of the month. Here is our Learning Circle schedule and themes for the month of January:

• March 1 - Abram's Call (Genesis 12:1-9)
• March 8 -  Woman at the Well (John 4:5-42)
• March 15 - MUSIC with Mona
• March 22 - Lazarus (John 11:1-45)
• March 29 - Holy Week (Matthew 28:1-10)

Easter Egg Hunt - Join us for a fun-filled Easter Egg Hunt at 10:30 am on Easter Sunday, April 5th. We'll meet out on the playground, where kids up to Grade 6 can search for eggs filled with sweet surprises. Bring your baskets and your best hunting skills as we celebrate this special day together. We are excited to see you there!

Mark Your Calendars for Camp Kindness Vacation Bible School! - Camp Kindness VBS will take place June 22nd - 26th from 9 am to 12 pm daily for children ages 4 - 6th Grade. Plan to join us as we explore Biblical stories of friendship and learn how to share kindness in our world. Registration will start in March.

Would you like to be part of this happy group from our adventure at the San Diego Safari Park? Join us for our next adventure!

Save the Date! Join us at the Museum of Making Music

Saturday, April 18

9:30 am Meet at the museum

10 to 11 am Private Docent-led tour

11 am Enjoy the museum exhibits until closing at 5 pm.



The Museum of Making Music

5790 Armada Drive

Carlsbad CA 92008

The museum is offering us discounted tickets: $12 for adults, $8 for students and seniors (age 60 and up), Children age 3 and under enjoy free admission. Check the April newsletter to sign up.

Questions? Contact one of the leaders: Dennis Astroth, Eileen Lajimodiere, Lori Wolf, or Suzi Westmoreland

Save the Date for Lutheran Lobby Day - Lutheran Lobby Day will be May 20th in Sacramento. Click here for the FAQ on Lobby Day. We hope to see you in Sacramento this May! 

The Pajama Project is beginning it's 30th Year! We began in 1996 sewing warm, cozy PJ's for children in need. The first year the ladies of the Bethlehem Scraps and Prayers Quilting group helped to sew 50 pairs that Cheryl Monreal lovingly distributed to children in need in the Encinitas area. Now The Pajama Project has given over 21,000 PJ's to children and adults in need!!!

Channel 8's PJ Crazy Margaret talks with Jeff Zevely!

This year over 1000 pairs of PJ's and PJ pants were distributed to STEP (Support the Enlisted Program), Domestic Abuse Shelters, the UCSC HIV/Aides Mother and Child support program, The Storefront homeless Teen shelter, Headstart Preschools and support programs for those dealing with mental health and poverty right here in our San Diego community.

The PJ Project has attracted volunteers from all over the county to witness Bethlehem's giving and active good works! Once a month PJ Volunteers meet in the Bethlehem family center from 9 am until to 2 pm to cut and assemble “kits” to take home to sew.

Our Saturday “Work Party” days for 2026 are:

• February 28
• March 28
• April 25
• May 30
• June 27
• July 25
• August 29
• September 26

As we begin our 30th Anniversary year of creating “Handmade with Love” PJ's we are forever grateful for all of the volunteers who contribute time to this project by: Washing Flannel, Sewing PJ's, participating in the “Work Party” days and Donating to the PJ Project on the Bethlehem website so that we can buy more flannel and supplies!

For questions about our program and how you can help please contact Belinda Simonini, PJ Project Coordinator, belindasimonini@gmail.com, 760-822-9573.

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 fire will break out in our congregation, and they’ll rush to that scene. They still will provide care to the victims

of the first fire, 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, two months, six months, possibly a year or more. They provide the steady, consistent, one-to-one follow-up care that our pastors want to, but simply cannot provide. To learn more about Stephen Ministry please talk to one of our pastors or to one of our Stephen Leaders Suzi Westmoreland, Molly Hall, or Laure Reynolds.

Southern California superblooms are the BEST! The vibrant colors in such an otherwise unexpected place – the desert! – are something to behold.

But before this riot of wonder appears, something has to happen – plentiful rainfall. If the rain doesn’t come, the blessing doesn’t appear. Stewardship can be like that. We have to make something happen in order for the good things to emerge. Faithful stewardship in the form of time with those in need; volunteering in service to church or other outreach organizations; and financial support of causes that lift up our neighbors or enable our building to host community gatherings and preschools – all of these trigger incredible beauty of one kind or another, many times in places we don’t expect.

“The flowers appear on the earth; the time of singing has come.”  Song of Solomon 2:12.