Friday, March 7, 2025 Newsletter



For Sunday

9:00 a.m.: Holy Ground Contemporary Worship Service

 (in person in Fellowship Hall)

11:15 a.m.: Traditional Worship Service

       (in person in the Sanctuary, and livestreamed on Facebook and website)

A MESSAGE FROM REV. KAREN KINNEY: ENTERING LENT WITH INTENTION

Grace and Peace to you,

First, thank you all for the warm welcome I received last Sunday. I am grateful to be here and working with you all as your Transitional Pastor. 

Over the next weeks, I will be reaching out to have conversations, attending meetings to learn about the work of the church, and getting to know all of you.

Much like Christ, Lent invites us to go deeper, to repent, which really means to turn back to God and away from all that keeps us from growing closer. Because, despite our best efforts, that soul-tending work is often easier said than done. So, instead of entering this season already feeling behind, let us enter this season with honesty. Let us enter this season aware of our hopes, and aware of the challenges. Let us enter this season wrapped in God’s grace, trusting that God will be our guide.

The Gospel of Luke will guide us in Lent. We will also add selections from various Psalms each Sunday. This Sunday, I will be preaching on the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37). Who are you in this story? Are you the expert who asks the question? Are you the priest, the Levite or the Samaritan (we like to think of ourselves as the hero, don’t we?). Or are you the one who has been robbed and injured? Let’s explore on Sunday.

After the 11:15 a.m. service, we will hold a short congregational meeting to elect our third trustee, Sheldon Cooper (it will also be livestreamed - meet Sheldon below). You are then invited to join a discussion table and think further about the story of the Good Samaritan. Come and see this Sunday!

Pastor Karen

TO DOWNLOAD AND PRINT on 8.5" x 11" paper:

Traditional Worship Service (5 pages)

Don’t be early to our Sunday services! For this Saturday night,

set your clocks ahead one hour to “Spring Ahead”!

For Sunday’s Traditional Worship Service

We will be instituting a change in the order of worship by offering the Welcome and Announcements at the beginning of the service, followed by the Prelude.

ELECTING A THIRD TRUSTEE - AFTER SUNDAY'S 11:15 AM SERVICE

The Session has voted to have a brief Congregational meeting after the 11:15 a.m. service this Sunday (both in person in the Sanctuary, and livestreamed). The sole purpose will be to vote for the open Trustee position; the Nominating Committee has nominated Sheldon Cooper – let’s meet him:

While serving in this capacity, he assisted with the launch, management, and follow-up for an extensive capital campaign that ultimately raised several hundred thousand dollars, a significant portion of which were used to fund much-needed repairs and upgrades to church buildings and infrastructure, which included its affiliated parsonage.  

Sheldon and Sandra recently returned to the Lehigh Valley (Northampton) to retire and be closer to family. Having reconnected with the FPCB, they are looking forward to actively serving the needs of this church to the best of their abilities. Accordingly, Sheldon is hereby seeking the FPCB congregation’s endorsement to serve as a Trustee.  

HEARTS N MINDS ADULT ED CLASS: JOIN US ON SUNDAY

We will explore his ideas about the oneness of the interrelated aspects of spirit and matter and the importance of Love in everything. Pope Francis brought Teilhard back from the margins of the Church with a mention of him in his 2015 encyclical ‘Laudato Si’ and again in 2023 during a Mass in Mongolia when he said, “This priest, often misunderstood, intuited that the Eucharist is always in some way celebrated on the altar of the world”.

FOR SUNDAY – JOIN US FOR BODY N SOUL

During the season of Lent, Body N Soul will be studying the theme Love God, Neighbor, Enemy. We will consider how we can embody the action of the verb love to follow the command to love God, neighbor, and enemy. While the idea of this kind of love is something that we affirm as Christians, the practice of this expansive love is complex and requires attention and intention in our daily lives. In this unit, we will look at a variety of stories in the Bible as models of putting love into practice through service and servanthood, mercy, courage, and peace.

COMMUNITY IFTAR MEAL – WE’RE INVITED!

We hope you’ll join us in Fellowship Hall for this special interfaith event! We do need RSVPs to make sure we have enough food for everyone, so please complete this simple online form to let us know if you plan to attend: https://forms.gle/yMut8NKw4a3dfhkm7 or call the church office at 610-867-5865.

There will be more information next week about any volunteer help we may need!

HI NEIGHBORS: BACK THIS MONDAY, MARCH 10

Our programs begin at 9:30 a.m. in Fellowship Hall with a social time, followed by the presentation at 10 a.m. All are welcome - there is no registration nor cost to attend.

Many thanks to Susan Wolf, our volunteer who has once again assembled an exciting schedule of programs. We'll present nine programs through May 12 (no program on Monday, April 21 because of the Easter holiday).

FOR SUNDAY’S IN-PERSON WORSHIP:



• Child care will be available from 8:45 a.m. -12:15 p.m. this Sunday morning; please ask an usher for directions.
• Your children are a joy in our worship services, and should the need arise, “kid bags” are available for their use while they are visiting. They are in the Narthex.
• We offer nametags for folks to wear – these are for everyone! You can pick up as you enter the worship space; please clearly PRINT your first name.

THIS SUNDAY

•  8:45 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.: Child Care (ask ushers to direct you)
•  9 a.m.: Holy Ground Contemporary Worship Service, Fellowship Hall – in person only
• 10 – 11 a.m.: Hearts N Minds adult ed class, Parlor – all are welcome
• 10:10 – 11 a.m.: Body N Soul intergenerational faith formation, Fellowship Hall – all are welcome
• 11:15 a.m.: Traditional Worship Service, Sanctuary (in person and livestreamed on Facebook and our website, fpc-bethlehem.org)
• 12:15 p.m.: Brief congregational meeting to elect a third trustee (see above), Sanctuary and livestreamed

WEDNESDAYS: 7 p.m. - Overcomer’s Outreach Christian 12 Step Recovery Group weekly meeting, via Zoom.com (meeting #: 868 2214 2960; passcode: OO-Beth)



CHURCH OFFICE AND BUILDING INFO:

Regular office hours are Monday - Thursday from 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. Many of the office staff are working remotely for some of the time, so please make an appointment if you need to see someone specific. The answering service (610-778-7003) can take your urgent pastoral concerns, 24 hours a day. 

IN CASE OF BAD WEATHER: Look for updates on our website (fpc-bethlehem.org), Facebook page, and WFMZ (channel 69 and wfmz.com). We will also put the info on our church phone message, 610-867-5865.