Sunday Worship

8:30 Bethesda

11:00 Immanuel

Contact:

Pastor Connie Monson

678-360-6089

connie.monson@gmail.com

Parish Office:

715-779-5611

bethesdachurchbayfield@gmail.com

Immanuel:

715-742-3440

Links

Bethesda/Immanuel Website



Bethesda FACEBOOK 

Immanuel FACEBOOK 

We pray for Ukraine, Israel and Gaza and all those afflicted by war.

 Hello Nancy,

From the Pastor

The eyes of all look to you,

and you give them their food in due season.

You open your hand,

Satisfying the desire of every living thing. Psalm 145.15-16

This weekend, the Red Cliff and Bad River Bands will commemorate the 170^th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of 1854 on Sept. 30. The treaty, as you probably know, ceded all Lake Superior Ojibwe lands in the Minnesota arrowhead in exchange for reservations located in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Michigan, and, importantly, the maintenance of their hunting, fishing, and gathering rights in the region. This guarantee has been central in legal arguments such as the one leading to the Gurnoe Decision in 1972.

Madeline Island events celebrating and teaching about the Treaty are open to the public and will take place Saturday, Sept. 28-Monday, Sept. 30. It’s a good way for those of us who are not Native to learn about and be in community with our neighbors.

September 30 also marks a less-celebratory event in the lives of Indigenous people, the National Day of Remembrance for Indian Boarding Schools, known colloquially as Orange Shirt Day. The discovery of hundreds of children’s graves at residential schools in Canada and the U.S. has been in the news, but the full extent of death and trauma inflicted at these schools is still unknown. 

Churches in particular, including Lutheran churches, bear responsibility for these harms as founders and overseers of the schools. I believe that as people of God we need to face this history and work to set right what has been made wrong. History has a way of refusing to stay in the past and retains a pungent influence on what is now. Luckily, we belong to a faith tradition that is constantly reforming (see Oct. 27!) and believe that the Holy Spirit will guide us into better and more loving relations with all of creation.



The ELCA Truth-Seeking & Truth-Telling Initiative on Indian Boarding Schools aims to locate and disseminate all records of Lutheran involvement in residential schools, and to educate and engage congregations in this work. Currently over 150 people are participating in the initial project covering 10 states (including Wisconsin). If you’re interested you can get involved through webinars and even a book discussion group. For more information, please see https://elca.org/truthandhealing

We trust in the grace of God to heal our broken places and bring new life in us.

Yours in Christ,

Pastor Connie

Reconciling in Christ Statement

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. Galatians 3:28

We welcome YOU to Bethesda and Immanuel to participate fully in our congregational life. You who may have experienced exclusion, injustice or racial inequity; You who are young, old, rich, poor; You of all abilities; You from all nations and ethnic backgrounds; You of all sexual orientations, gender identities or gender expression.

We are committed to racial equity, economic equity, gender equity, sexual equity. We are committed to learn, celebrate, advocate and welcome everyone through a series of forums and educational opportunities. May we grow in acceptance and become a voice for inclusion, equity and justice.

No matter where you are on life’s journey, you are welcome here.

BOOK REVIEWS FROM YOUR RIC TEAM

Melissa

By Alex Gino

Published by Scholastic 2015

 Melissa, previously published as George until April 2022, is a children's novel about a young transgender girl written by American author Alex Gino. The novel tells the story of Melissa, a fourth-grade girl who is struggling to be herself to the rest of the world. The rest of the world sees Melissa as George, a boy. 

This is a book obviously written for children age 10 through middle school. It is an important book because it is hard to overstate how quickly culture has been changing with respect to its awareness of transgender people, especially transgender and gender nonconforming kids. Children seem to have a natural intuition to notice when another child seems “different” than themselves in some unknown way, and often resort to bullying and other unkind behaviors. Luckily Melissa is growing up with access to the internet and information about being transgender, and that helps them and adults understand what’s happening within their development. (See pages 104 and 105) (125) and (155and 160).

At the back of the book the author has added a section for anyone, child or adult, who has questions about the content of the story or about gender issues, a good starting point for learning more about transgender or genderqueer issues.

Review by Yvette Fleming

Mark your calendars for the Reconciling in Christ team's second annual community forum, Sunday, Oct. 13, during regular worship at Bethesda and Immanuel. As you know, the RIC team's mission is to help our churches live in our commitment to racial, economic, gender, and sexual equity. This year's forum features members of our community telling their stories as LGBTQ+ people and allies. We will also celebrate RIC Sunday on this day, and the service is open to the public.

Bethesda and Bayfield Presbyterian will have a joint worship service on Sunday, October 6, 8:30 at Bethesda. Pastor Lawrence Lee will be presiding here and at Immanuel at 11:00.

Darin Anderson is hosting a Weenie Roast dinner at his house, 84515 Hatchery Road for all Bethesda members and friends on October 2. Time is 5:00. Bring a lawn chair. All food and beverages are provided.

A Message from Alla...

Everything is as usual with us. The lawyer cancelled the court hearing that was supposed to take place in August, now we are waiting for further instructions from the lawyer. Pavel continues to work from home, Oleg goes to work and lives his life, Victoria went to school, Melissa is also developing, I am organizing everyday life and raising children, sometimes we all go somewhere together, for example, to the forest. We help each other in the developing of our projects; in general, life goes on as usual.

MADELINE ISLAND TRIP WITH JIM PETE

Ten members of Immanuel and Bethesda churches enjoyed a field trip to Madeline Island on Sept. 14. Jim Pete graciously took us to places on the island that have been of importance to Red Cliff's people and shared about their cultural practices. Sammy Legrew cheerfully drove a full van of us onto the ferry and to the ends of the island. If you were not able to make it on the 14th, Jim and Sam have agreed to do round 2 on Oct. 26. Again, we can only take ten, so if you're interested, please talk to Diane Fizell or Pastor Connie.

Reformation Sunday is Oct. 27. Bethesda will celebrate the Lutheran commitment to be always reforming with a worship service centered around prayer and discernment about where God is calling us next! Look for more information in the coming weeks.

When Jim Pete was here in July, he made us aware of the Eagle's Nest, a hygiene and household supply pantry for local Lac Courte Oreille Ojibwe University students in need. 

Some of the items needed include: laundry soap, dish soap, dryer sheets, hand wipes, toothbrushes, toothpaste, baby things including diapers, feminine hygiene products, lotion, travel size shampoo & toiletries, pain relievers (Tylenol, Advil, etc.), kids' cough syrup. 

When you're shopping in the weeks ahead, see if a few of these items could wind up in your cart to help support this effort. Items can be dropped off at church (look for the hamper in the Fellowship Hall) or at the Cabin in Red Cliff.

Council Meetings

October 16 2024

Immanuel Council 6:00

Joint Council 6:30

Bethesda Council 7:00

August Draft Immanuel Council Minutes (No Sept. minutes)

September Draft Joint Council Minutes

September Draft Bethesda Council Minutes

Monday Book Club

Book Study is on Zoom

See our website or the link above for the Zoom link

Meeting ID: 851 3905 2851

Passcode: 467574

Dial by your location

    +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)

The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz

Questions? Call Leanne 715.742.3553

South Shore Quilters

Mondays 9:00 am - Noon at Immanuel

Wednesdays 9:00 am - Noon at Immanuel

The mission-quilt group at Immanuel is always in need of donations of clean usable bed sheets--preferably flat sheets--which we use as backing for the quilts, spools of thread (whether full or not) and fabric.

The Knit Wits

Knitting & Crocheting at the Corny coffee shop Fridays 1:00 - 4:00

Immanuel has a painting group that meets on Thursdays, 10:00 - 1:00.