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 those afflicted by war, oppression, or violence of any kind.

 Greetings!

From the Pastor

Dear friends in Christ, 

We have many opportunities for service, worship, and learning this month! Please check out our calendar and see articles below for more information. And then don’t forget to rest as well. For this busy September, a poem from Jan Richardson:

Blessing of Rest

Curl this blessing

beneath your head

for a pillow.

Wrap it about yourself

for a blanket.

Lay it across your eyes

and for this moment,

cease thinking about

what comes next,

what you will do

when you rise.

Let this blessing

gather itself to you

like the stillness

that descends

between your heartbeats,

the silence that comes

so briefly

but with a constancy

on which

your life depends.

Settle yourself

into the quiet

this blessing brings,

the hand it lays

upon your brow,

the whispered word

it breathes into

your ear,

telling you

all shall be well,

and all shall be well,

and you can rest

now.               (From How the Stars Get in Your Bones, by Jan Richardson)

Grace, peace, and Sabbath rest to you,

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.

Sandy Paavola would welcome visitors. She is pretty much homebound. 715-209-4413

225 N 4th St

Your Reconciling in Christ team presents Monday Night at the Movies!

For several years, our Reconciling in Christ (RIC) program has offered a fall forum, bringing in a variety of speakers to talk about their lives and experiences. We hope these forums have been educational and have inspired you to be curious, ask better questions, and learn more about others. But one Sunday a year cannot cover all the bases as we pray and yearn to grow in welcome.

Our theme for this fall echoes the claim we make in our land acknowledgment: we nurture our relationships with our indigenous neighbors. How are we doing with this so far? Could we be doing more to learn from and alongside Red Cliff friends? Are there barriers that we still need to address? While there are no simple answers to these questions, we aim to do our homework. Please join us for a series of interleaved learning opportunities starting in September.

On Tuesday, Sept. 8, Bizhiki (Buffalo) offers a free performance at Big Top Chautauqua, 7 pm. Dylan Bizhikiins Jennings (Bad River) and Joe Rainey Sr. (Red Lake) sing, drum, and tell stories about the Ojibwe experience. You can reserve your tickets here or just show up. Shuttle service IS available to Mt Ashwabay—please see the Big Top website for a shuttle schedule.

Then, on Monday, Sept. 14, 7-8:30 pm, we will launch a six-part video series produced by our Washburn neighbor Lorraine Norrgard for public television. These one-hour documentaries interview local Red Cliff and Bad River citizens about personal and cultural history, experiences, hopes, and dreams. Each Monday we will show one film, with brief discussion to follow. Popcorn and lemonade are provided, and the public is welcome to these showings, which will rotate between the churches as follows:

9/14—Bethesda

9/21—Immanuel

9/28—Bethesda

10/5—Immanuel

10/12-Bethesda

10/19-Immanuel

This series will be followed in October by a Bible study that takes a hard look at the Doctrine of Discovery and how Christians have misused scripture to support it. Finally, we will also schedule a panel discussion as we have in years past; look for more information in October’s newsletter. We hope to see you at some or all of these events!

Bethesda's worship service on Sunday, September 20 will be at the gazebo at the lakeshore.

Season of Creation in Christ

Since the 7th century, September 1 has symbolized the day of God’s creation of the world in the Byzantine tradition and has been the opening feast and "the beginning" of their liturgical year (in a parallel with the feast of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year). Following several years of study, prayer, and collaboration, this observance is being encouraged ecumenically in the church throughout the world. The “Festival of Creation in Christ” (or “Feast of Creation”) celebrates God as Creator and ponders the great mystery that everything was created through Christ. And, as a result, it also inspires us to care for the gift of the created world. Although the rich theme of Christ’s activity in creation abounds throughout the liturgical year, setting aside this day brings an important focus to this mystery.

Bethesda and Immanuel will observe this feast day on Sunday, Sept. 6 with music and readings from the Revised Common Lectionary, but we will continue celebrating this Season of Creation in Christ through the beginning of October. Some highlights include: Sept. 20, Memorial Park Bayfield, 8:30—Bethesda worships outdoors, with Holy Communion and camp songs. Bring a lawn chair! Oct. 4, Bethesda, 8:30—joint Applefest worship with Bayfield Presbyterian. Oct. 5, NEW! St. Francis pet blessing, Bethesda front garden, 10 am to noon. We will have treats and water as well as a blessing for your goodest boys and girls.

Justice Seekers is a joint ministry of the six ELCA congregations in the area. JS will kick off its year on September 17 with a timely and relevant program on informed citizenship and voting. Monthly meetings on the third Thursday will continue with educational programs on social justice issues of local interest. All are invited to join us at Messiah Lutheran Church in Washburn at 5:30 pm for a soup supper and program at 6 pm.

Zoom Bible Study



Topic: Tuesday Bible Study

Time: 2:00 Central Time (US and Canada)

To join Zoom meeting:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81000510562?pwd=HdJLF2gxH7m2JZcT2FujgrYOYZKr1O.1

Meeting ID:  810 0051 0562

Password: 615053



If you know of someone who could use some sunshine or a thank you please let Sharon Bestul at bestulshack@gmail.com or 715-828-0455 know.

Other Immanuel Sunshine spreaders are Al Reedy, Yvette Fleming and Charlotte Calhoun.

There will be a birthday party for Shirley Hanson on Sunday, September 20 time to be announced at Bethesda. Lunch will be served. If you'd like to help, contact Sheryl Burkel, 608-886-0641.

ABC Thrift Shop is a generous donor to our church's discretionary fund. They are in need of volunteers. Please contact the shop at 715-373-5929 if you're interested in volunteering.

The BRICK’s Food Shelf Program focuses on providing a wide variety of food options in a range of forms (fresh, frozen, canned) to program participants. At times, some of the items we offer are not available through our usual donations network. This means we either need to purchase those products or go without. YOU can help out to ensure that the Food Shelf Program has a wide variety of nutritious foods to offer pantry shoppers. Throughout September The BRICK is asking for donations of canned and dried fruit. At the end of the month, please connect with our Food Shelf Manager Amaris Shrider to drop off your donation. Reach her by phone at 715-682-7425 ext. 3 or email at foodshelfmanager@thebrickministries.org. Thank you for your support!

Council Meetings

September 16, 2026

July Draft Immanuel Council Minutes

March Draft Joint Council Minutes

August Draft Bethesda Council Minutes

Monday Book Club

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)

We will be reading "The Awakened Brain" by Lisa Miller

Book study is taking a break and will resume on Monday, September 14.

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 Cornucopia Coffee Shop

Fridays 1:00 - 4:00

Immanuel has a painting group that meets on the second and fourth Thursday of the month, 10:00 - 12:00.



The Immanuel Juliet Club will meet on September 10 at 11:30 at Poncho's and on September 24 at 9 AM at the coffee shop.