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Happy New Year! I have always found it strange that in the post-Christmas madness, we typically choose to create some of the most ambitious goals of all time when we officially roll into “winter” come January 1. We go straight from a time of celebrating the birth of Christ and time with family, right into celebrating the turning of a new page in a new year. I find it to be an interesting juxtaposition that at this time of year oftentimes, many people seem to find themselves in a natural funk simultaneously. The big goals and dreams begin to feel daunting. The mistakes from the past bite at our heels. Joyful celebrations fade into the long dark days of the winter.
As Christians, we must remember the Epiphany Light that shines in times of great darkness. This light is not from us—but is the light that Christ Himself embodies—the Light of The World! This light shines in the darkness—yet the darkness has not understood it (John 1).
Here at BLC, we had a wonderful celebration of the Light of Christ coming just for us! Outreach, programs, celebrations, events—and more! May this newsletter “lighten up” your mailbox in even the darkest season.
Rev. Dr. Gerard Bolling—Lead Pastor
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Spanish Lake Update
At Spanish Lake, alongside teaching the Gospel of Jesus to our kiddos, we also teach them valuable life skills about everyday things! One of the topics that we talked about was fire safety in which the kids learned about what to do in case of a fire! A short safety quiz was handed out and everyone passed with flying colors. With a little bit of coloring, it makes for a fun time of learning.
Seminarian Eddie Krez–Small Groups Ministry Coordinator, EAC Team Leader
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North County Update
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations...........” Matthew 28:19
In September we welcomed a new sibling set to our North County EAC site! A 10-year-old girl and a 12-year-old boy. The young boy was very rowdy, playful, and at times disrespectful. Mr. Brock had talks with him and after a few negative behaviors from him, Mr. Brock also talked with his mom. We noticed that he was the most playful during the times we did our Bible devotions and even prayer time. We suggested he take some time away from EAC and after many apologies from the child himself, we welcomed him back!
When our friend came back to EAC he had opened up to us that he’d never been to church, he didn’t pray and oftentimes he was just goofing off because he didn’t know how to respond to hearing stories from the Bible. He didn’t know what it felt like to talk or connect with God. Today our friend is very respectful, offers to help clean up, participates in every activity and devotion! But most importantly he now KNOWS and PRAYS The Lord’s Prayer every day.
Blessings for Christmas
On the first and third Wednesday of every month, we welcome our dedicated visitor, Linda from Resurrection Lutheran Church at our North County EAC site. Each Wednesday she does a devotion, a short clip/story, and a craft based on the Bible story she chooses. This year Linda, along with Resurrection’s congregation, blessed children with Christmas gifts. Linda came on her regular Wednesday night, she read “The Christmas Star” and brought a “Happy Birthday Jesus” cake to celebrate Christmas and more importantly JESUS. Then the children loaded up on the BLC vans to go home. This year Linda chose to follow behind the church van to pass gifts to the children as they got home. We had one of our regular kiddos (enrolled in EAC since 2018) absent. When dropping off, Linda and Mr. Brock took her gifts to her house. Her mom called very thankful and praised us because this year, she couldn’t afford a “Christmas”. They weren’t even going to celebrate. Then we got another call, from a mom who has 3 children who come to our EAC site. Again she had no words to show the appreciation she felt that her kids got to open gifts for Christmas. This mother mentioned to us that groceries and cleaning supplies were so expensive she wasn’t expecting her children to even open a gift. Children that we know and love were so close to not even celebrating Christmas because of a parent being so discouraged about monetary circumstances! Of course, we prayed with the moms and let them know this season isn’t just about gift-giving. We felt so much appreciation from these mothers! We also know we have more families that were in similar situations and were too ashamed to even talk about it. But, the joy the kids had coming back to EAC after Christmas break, wearing new clothes and overhearing, “I can’t believe I got....”, was such a great, warm feeling!
We are blessed to be able to help bring God’s word and many blessings to GOD’S CHILDREN!
Samantha Cooper–EAC Staff Member
Click HERE to support our North County EAC site!
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Pancakes with Santa!
Just a few days before Christmas, we had a great time eating pancakes, doing art projects, hearing Christmas stories, and taking pictures with SANTA! This event not only provided experiences for the kids but also offered opportunities for everyone involved to share in the joy, fostering a sense of community and celebration among people of all ages. We are blessed to get to serve our kids and to celebrate Christmas as their church family!
If you would like to support us in providing more opportunities for our kids, click HERE!
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How You Can Support!
A few months ago we announced our plan to build a new building! This new facility will give us the ability to better serve our community by providing a new space to worship, host events, and care for others. To reach this goal, we are raising $5 million! Check out this QR code to hear more about our project and join us in making this building a reality.
Consistent giving is the best way to support BLC. You can give a one-time sum, or, through our website, you can set up recurring gifts. By doing this, we can better plan for the future!
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New Staff - Katrina Miller and Seminarian Luke Symmank | |
Katrina, a recent graduate at Concordia University Ann Arbor, was commissioned and installed as our Director of Worship Arts at the beginning of January! In this role, Katrina leads worship, directs the Kids and Jr. Youth Choirs, and teaches music classes in our school. Katrina wants everyone to know that she is, "excited to bring my gifts and talents to help us grow together in our musicianship as well as in our faith." We are very thankful to have her on our team! | |  |
Seminarian Luke is in his first year of studies at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. He has come on staff as the Media and Communications Coordinator. In this role, he works closely with with Sunday tech team, to ensure that worship technology assists the service each week. Additionally, he manages our social media sites, and our website, and oversees the newsletters. He has his bachelor's in Communication from Concordia University Wisconsin and is excited to use his degree to further the mission and vision of BLC! | | |
The Word - Lessons and Carols Christmas Production
To end off our Christmas season, we celebrated on Christmas Eve with, "The Word" a Lessons and Carols Christmas production. This was new to BLC this year, and it was a great service filled with so much joy. It was only because of the help of our congregation that this could happen. The service consisted of readings from the Luke 2 account of the birth of Jesus, music from our worship team, dancing from our dance ministry and so much more! It was a wonderful way to celebrate all that the birth of Christ means to us and our lives today.
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Thank you for reading about what God is doing here at BLC! It is a blessing to be in ministry with you each week.
You can donate by mailing a check to:
Bethlehem Lutheran Church
2153 Salisbury Street,
St. Louis, MO, 63107
Click HERE to give online and set up recurring gifts.
Or scan the QR Code!
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| Contact – Email | Call – (314) 231-4702 | |
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