Bethlehem July News

If you couldn’t tell from the giant sequoia standing in the sanctuary, we had VBS last week and it was amazing! I had the great pleasure of writing and performing the opening skits as Sequoia Sam (shout out to my counterpart Redwood Rachel) and also running the Cooperation Station where we did different science projects – some of which may have included some fire, so if any of the kids say their favorite part of VBS was playing with fire with Pastor Sam, just know it was done in a safe and controlled environment!

I want to start by saying thank you to all the amazing volunteers, without whom none of this would have been possible. An extra special shout-out to Cynthia Heigold for her work in leading the decorating crew, and to our fearless leader and Children’s Ministry director, Jana Hegg, for herding all of us cats and for writing a truly amazing curriculum for us to follow!

This year’s theme was Camp Kindness. We live in a world where kindness is often seen as a weakness or something to be exploited, and in keeping with the often counter-cultural nature of the church, we spent the past week highlighting the importance of being kind. We listened to stories of Bible characters who understood the importance of friendship and being kind. We heard from members of the congregation who volunteer in amazing ways and help people all over San Diego County and beyond. And we practiced being kind to one another. On the last day Jana talked with the kids about how none of us are perfect (so true!) and that we all deserve grace, forgiveness, and love when we make mistakes. That is such an important lesson for these kids to hear – the notion that we love them and that God loves them, no matter what.

Which leads me to one of the coolest things about VBS in my opinion, and that is the fact that it’s not limited just to Bethlehem folks. We had kids and volunteers from many different congregations, as well as those with no religious affiliation. The world has become increasingly secular, and the religious voices that do get highlighted often aren’t the ones who represent us the best. So, what we do for one week, every summer, here at Bethlehem, is so important. For some of these kids, these five days might be their only exposure to what church life is all about. We always say that if the kids leave knowing that we love them, and that God loves them, even if they don’t remember anything else, it was a successful week. And thanks to all of the amazing folks who were involved, I think we had a very successful week indeed!

With Kindness and Gratitude,

Sequioa Sam (a.k.a Pastor Sam)

July Worship Schedule

Sunday Morning Worship

July 5th, 12th, 19th & 26th - 9 & 10:30 am

Healing Sunday

July 12th (Prayer after both services)

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.

Music Ministry

During the summer months, all of our larger ensembles take a break. This is the time to feature solos and small groups for special music. If you have such talent and would like to play/sing in church, please contact monagoetsch@gmail.com.

Spring Concert - Huge Success! - We had a fun and well received Spring Concert on June 7th. "The Best of Spring" can be viewed online by clicking here. Enjoy hearing our largest Bethlehem band, Barbershop and Beatles songs!

Special Music for July

7/5 - Mona Goetsch / Mike Lindberg, duet
7/12 - Woodwind Trio
7/19 - Carolin Meinhardt / Mark Reynolds, duet
7/26 - Sandy Lakey / Steve Grady, duet

Youth Ministry

If you are new to the 6th grade or just new to youth group at our church, welcome! All 6th – 12th grade youth are encouraged to join in the monthly activities for fellowship and fun. Contact Deacon Mindy with questions or to be added to weekly group emails or text group. Email: mindybugaj@blcenc.org

July 12 – Pizza with a Purpose! - Be at Bethlehem Sunday, July 12 from 4:30-6:30 pm for lunch packing followed by pizza, games, and fun! We will pack 100 sack lunches for Interfaith Community Services. It will be a fun afternoon while we meet the needs of others and spend time together. Don’t miss out. Mark your calendars!

July 22 – Beach Afternoon

Let’s meet at the beach! Wednesday, July 22, from 4:30-6:30pm at Moonlight. We will enjoy the sun, sand and water. Then, at 6:00, we will head to Cali Cream for snacks. I’ll bring the beach games and some drinks. You bring your towel, and any beach gear you’d like. RSVP to Mindy by July 20.

July 27- August 2 – Youth Summer Trip - Our 8th – 12thgrade youth will be in the Altadena/Los Angeles area for the week. They will learn and serve along side area non-profits. All the participants are very grateful for the support and prayers that make this trip possible. Join worship on August 9th to hear about their experiences.

Children's Ministry

Children's Ministry - Learning Circles will take a break for the summer. Activities are available for children in the narthex throughout the summer. If you need help or resources for your children during worship time, please let us know.

Camp Kindness! VBS 2026 was a huge success! We welcomed 51 (Preschool - 6th grade) children from 14 different churches for a wonderful week of Bible adventures focused on friendship and spreading kindness in our community. Activities included Around the Campfire (Bible Story), Cooperation Station (Science), Teamwork Time (Games), and Campfire Music.

We heard from a different guest speaker each day during our Kindness Talks and they shared with us the different ways that they are spreading kindness in and around our community. We also decorated placemats to be used for the breakfast at St. Andrew's and we collected $280 in loose change and cash. That is enough to buy the mix for 2,025 pancakes and 41 bottles of syrup! Water play was the perfect end to an awesome week, but most of all, we enjoyed nurturing our friendships and spreading kindness all around.

Our week was supported by over 50 volunteers from both the Bethlehem and St. Andrews communities. We have the BEST volunteers who shared their love, kindness and talents to all of the children in attendance. Thank you for your support for our VBS program. We are already making plans for next year!

Also, a GIANT thank you to the team who helped build our Giant Sequoia Tree for VBS! Amazing! Dick DuBois, Tom Wolf, Eric Olson, Teri Grady, Steve Grady, Ron Hegg, Jennifer Neelsen, Mike Notrica, Jim Julig, Wes Westlake, Jim Simcoe, Linda Inskeep, Mark King, Pastor Laura, and my grandson Jonah who hauled the lumber out of storage and drilled pilot holes!

We appreciate you! - Cynthia Heigold

Accessing Health Care Information

Don’t (let your young adult child) leave home without it! If your child is over 18 years of age, you may have difficulty obtaining any information regarding their health care and/or their financial status at college, unless they have taken steps to allow access to you. Join us to discuss Advance Health Care Directives, HIPAA releases and Durable Power of Attorney forms on July 12 at 11:45 am in the multi-use room. Any questions, contact Mary Tigue-Velardi (760) 274-3860 or mary.velardi@cox.net.

Pajama Project

Our meeting date for July has changed to July 18th!

As a reminder, our remaining Saturdays to meet in the Family Center to cut our PJ's and make kits are: August 29 and September 26

We will be working from 9 until 2, but begin our teardown at 1:30. Please come when you can and stay as long as you would like. We will break for lunch at noon so bring your lunch or something to share if you would like.

Stephen Ministry

Summer is a Time for Change - Summer is a time to change routines and take a vacation. But it can also be a time to change jobs or retire. It can be a time to move and change houses. It can be the time your youngest child prepares to leave home for college. If you are having trouble dealing with the changes in your life this summer please consider accepting the support of a Stephen Minister to help you through this difficult time.

Stephen Ministers are trained caregivers, who will listen, encourage and, pray with you. Men are matched with male Stephen Ministers and women are matched with female Stephen Ministers. It’s free. It’s confidential. To find out more about Stephen Ministry please speak with Pr. Laura, Pr. Sam, or with one of our Stephen Ministry Leaders Molly Hall, Suzi Westmoreland, or Laure Reynolds.

Bethlehem Serves 2026

Bethlehem Serves will be on August 30th. This is a Sunday where congregational members of all ages come to church and participate in a community service project for the morning. Projects will include onsite projects: School Kits, 1st Responders Gift Baskets, Plants to the Neighbors, Car Wash, One Safe Place Laundry Kits, Interfaith Shelter Hygiene Kits, Somas Tias Food Bags and Toys for the Humane Society. Offsite projects will be Community Resource Center Resale Shop, Ocean Knoll Children's Farm, Beach Clean-up and Chimes for the Seniors.

Signups for the various projects will be in person at the beginning of August. Also watch for an email sign-up. There will be a short service at 9:00 a.m. at church before leaving for the service projects. At the end of the morning, participants are encouraged to stay for a catered lunch and some fellowship with each other! Please bring a lawn chair for lunch. If you have any questions, please contact Mona Goetsch (mona.goetsch@gmail.com) or Jana Hegg (rjjhegg@gmail.com).

If you would like to donate to Bethlehem Serves, please click here.

School Kits Project - One of the projects for Bethlehem Serves will be to make 200 backpacks with school supplies for Lutheran World Relief and children in our San Diego community. If you are able, please pick up a few of these items to help fill our backpacks:

2 1/2 inch eraser
30 centimeter ruler
Pencil sharpener
Blunt scissors
Unsharpened #2 pencils
Blue/Black ballpoint pens
Box of 16 or 24 crayons
Single subject notebook, 70 pages

Please bring items to church by August 15th and leave in the basket marked “School Kits.” Thank you!

After School Tutoring

After School Tutoring at Ocean Knoll - Starting September - Bethlehem Lutheran Church is excited to begin a partnership with Ocean Knoll Elementary School to provide after-school tutoring for students who need extra academic support. Tutoring sessions will be held twice each week, most likely on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and will last approximately 30–45 minutes. Lessons will mostly focus on Math to begin with as we build the program. All lessons will be prepared by the school's intervention teacher and will include clear, easy-to-follow directions, making this a wonderful opportunity for volunteers of all experience levels. We will work closely with the family liaison and intervention teacher to ensure students receive the support they need to succeed. Tutors do not need to be available both days and you do not need to make a weekly commitment. We will take you whenever you are available! If you are interested in learning more about this rewarding ministry and community partnership, please click here or contact Jana Hegg for additional information.

BLC Women of Welcome

Bethlehem Women’s Retreat

SAVE THE DATE!

Our next Bethlehem Women’s Retreat will be held at Luther Glen on September 18 - 20, 2026. Stay tuned for more information.

Adventure Ministry (BAM)

Camping in Idyllwild

October 9 - 11, 2026

Idyllwild Regional Park

54000 Riverside County Playground Road

Idyllwild CA 92549

Join us to camp in gorgeous Idyllwild Regional Park. The campground has beautiful trails, the Idyllwild Nature Center, and historic sites and museums. It is just a short walk to the community of Idyllwild where there are artsy shops, wine tasting, a brewery, and restaurants.

This campground does not have a group site but has an area that has several campsites in the same loop. Most of these sites accommodate either tents or an RV. There are a couple of loops near this loop that accommodate tents only and tent campers could easily share a campsite.

Please use the following Signup Genius link here to let us know if you have already reserved a campsite. It will be a fun weekend of camping, hiking, and exploring the town.

If you are interested in joining us, please click here to go to the Idyllwild Regional Park website and reserve your campsite. This campground does not have a group site but has an area that has several campsites in the same loop. Most of these sites accommodate either tents or an RV. There are a couple of loops near this loop that accommodate tents only and tent campers could easily share a campsite. We suggest reserving a site in Campground 2, in the loop that contains sites #84 - #96.

As we get closer to October, we will send out another signup for the Saturday night group dinner.

Food Pantry

THANK YOU for supporting St. Andrews Food Pantry. We collected about 30 bags of groceries during our Lenten food drive and raised $1100 to send directly to St. Andrews to purchase necessary food items. The pantry is distributing groceries every Thursday to about 260 families.

Also, give a shout out to our BLC volunteers who have helped at the pantry this year: Marty Topp, Karl van Schlieder, Arleen van Schlieder, Teri Grady, Steve Grady, Bev Laning, Susan Serdar and Cheryl Mozino.

All are welcome to receive groceries from St. Andrew’s on Thursdays, 2-4 pm. If you or your neighbor are in need, come on over! - Cynthia Heigold

Prayer Chain

Are you or someone that you know and love in need of prayer? The BLC Prayer Chain is a virtual space where we can share prayer concerns with one another, hold each other in prayer, and support one another during times of need. You can share your prayer requests by clicking here. On that same page you can also sign up to receive prayer requests when they are sent out, so that we might hold one another in prayer, light, and love.

Volunteers Needed for Sat. Breakfast at St. Andrews

Volunteers Needed! Saturday Breakfast at St. Andrews - Our mission to feed the hungry a hot breakfast each Saturday is starting back up again, and the kitchen at St. Andrew’s is now open for business. Bethlehem will be preparing breakfast on the 4th Saturday of each month. We need 6 volunteers to crack and scramble 6 doz. eggs, cook 60 hash browns, 13 lbs. of bacon, make 80 pancakes and serve up plates with a smile! Click below to volunteer!

Opportunities to Engage

Qigong/Tai chi -The weekly Qigong/Tai chi practices at our church is available by Zoom. You are able to join online from your computer on Wednesdays at 6 pm. Also, Chacha is having a Friday at 9 am practice by Zoom.

These practices are moving meditation practices that focus on relaxation, breath, and visualization while carrying out gentle movements. Everyone is welcome, no previous experience is necessary. If you are interested in joining please e-mail Chacha at chachapinillap@gmail.com. Please let her know which of the practices or if you would like to be invited to both practices. She will send an e-mail invitation with the zoom link.

Scraps and Prayers - This ministry sews quilts for people in need of comfort and care. We meet each Wednesday morning from 9am-11am in the Multi-Use Room. We need your help sewing and tying quilts. No experience necessary! Stop by for an hour or stay for the whole morning; we'd love to share our scraps and prayers with you. For more information, contact Bobby Allen at roberta798@aol.com or Laure Reynolds at laurereyn@roadrunner.com.

Pastor Sam's Sermon Blog

Did you miss one of Pastor Sam's sermons? Want to double check if he actually said what you think he did? Accidentally fall asleep and want to go back and read the section you missed? Check out all of Pastor Sam's sermons on his blog at: https://sinningboldlywithsam.wordpress.com/

Global Mission "Global Links" E-Newsletter

Rooted and built in Jesus! This is the core of our work as the ELCA walks with more than 80 companion churches in other countries to participate in God's reconciling mission through proclamation and service. Participating in these relationships, ELCA members see how people's lives are touched by the gospel, how their lives are transformed and renewed, and how their communities live in hope. If you would like to receive the ELCA Global Mission e-newsletter "Global Links", please click on the following link to subscribe: https://community.elca.org/elca-email-subscriptions

Bethlehem Cares Fund

Bethlehem Cares Fund: For members of Bethlehem, we have a fund to assist you with temporary financial needs such as medical, home, family or personal needs.Contact Pastor Laura, Pastor Sam, Rose Moldenhauer or Molly Hall. If you are able to contribute to the fund please mark your gift to BLC with the notation Bethlehem Cares.

Newsletters Available on Our Website

Have you missed one of our monthly e-newsletters? Have you wished you could open up that newsletter again to get that bit of information you were looking for? Well, now you can. On our Newsletter Archive page there are links available to view current and past newsletters.

Bethlehem Lutheran Church

www.blcenc.org