Youth Summer Meetings

Summer Kick-off Party

Wednesday, June 19th

The youth will kick-off our summer schedule with a special meeting for incoming 6th grade through high school students. We will meet at St. Andrew's from 4:30-6:30pm. This will be a time of fellowship, food, and fun.

In the following weeks, on Wednesdays, we meet weekly at Moonlight Beach from 4:30 - 6:30pm. Beach meetings are for all youth. Mark your calendars and join the summer fun. 

June Youth Meetings:

• Middle School at 5:30pm on June 4 at St. Andrew’s.
• High School at 7pm on June 5 at St. Andrew’s and June 12 at Bethlehem
• Combined meetings begin on June 19 at St. Andrews at 4:30pm.
• Combined at the beach on June 26 at 4:30pm.

Antique Gas & Steam Engine Museum -  We hope you can join our June adventure at the Antique Gas & Steam Engine Museum in Vista. Our very own Ron Hegg will give us an overview. Then you and your family can wander through the farmhouse, blacksmith barn, antique steam engine barn, sawmill, metal arts display, model railroad, clock museum, spinner's cottage, looming and handweaving demonstrations and more. Play on the playground. Enjoy a picnic or purchase food onsite. Bring Dad for an extended Father's Day adventure! Stay for the Antique Engine & Tractor Show and parade. 

BAM at the Antique Gas & Steam Engine Museum

2040 North Santa Fe Avenue

Vista CA 92083

Saturday, June 22, 10 am

Meet in the parking lot for the overview

and then you are free to explore on your own.

Cost: $10 ($9 pre-sale), Children 6 and under are free.

Please sign up here so we know you are coming.

Do you have an idea for an adventure? - Contact Dennis Astroth, Eileen Lajimodiere, Lori Wolf, or Suzi Westmoreland or email blcsm@outlook.com. We will work with you to host the event!

Camping in September- We will be camping Friday, September 6th through Sunday September 8th at the Big Sage campsite within the El Prado group campground. Check-in on Friday is 2 pm and checkout on Sunday is 11am.

The parking lot is limited to 15 vehicles so signups will be capped at 15 unless you notify me that you will be carpooling. This is a tent camping site with no electrical hookups. There is water, picnic table, fire circle, and vault toilet. There are showers located in the main campground with flush toilets.

Meals: you are responsible for your own meals but let's plan to share dishes Saturday night.

Activities: there is a relatively flat paved road around the campground Meadow loop that is good for bikes and scooters. There are great mountain bike and hiking trails (NOTE: e-bikes are not allowed on the trails). There should be good stargazing as the moon will be a crescent and setting at 9 pm on the 6th.

Please signup by clicking here.

Click here for additional information about the campsite.

Questions? Contact Dennis Astroth

Looking for volunteers to help with a fix-up of the Youth Ministry storage shed. We will be removing everything from the shed, removing rotted flooring, raising the shed so the flooring does not contact the ground, re-installing new flooring, and putting the contents back into the shed.

We will meet on Saturday, July 13th, at 9 am. Bring work gloves, water, a hat, and sunscreen. Doughnuts will be provided.

Please signup by clicking here.

Lutheran Lobby Day 2024 by the Numbers...

• 70 — Lutherans and ecumenical colleagues gathered in Sacramento on Lobby Day 2024 on May 15th
• 9 — of those were young adults 25 and under, including
• 6 — CLU students (accompanied by their professors)
• 60+ — legislative meetings were conducted over the course of the day, advocating for 
• 4 — priority bills, with an ask to pass them out of their house of origin (Assembly or Senate), of which
• 3 — of those bills were passed out of their house of origin within the week
• 2 — of those bills are still alive in committee as of press time, including
• 1 — bill to increase affordable housing in California, and 
• 1 — bill to sample, test, and remediate lead in all school drinking water 

Advocacy is a marathon, not a sprint, sprinkled with small victories over time. In a challenging budget year for the state, not all the Lutheran Office of Public Policy California priority bills will make it into law, but the long game of advocacy also provides its own wins. LOPPCA Director Regina Banks commented that the last five to six years of having ELCA Lutherans show up in the legislature both on Lobby Day and through phone calls and actions year round has made our presence known. We are now part of the conversation on priorities in a way we weren’t before. “We saw your people and heard what they said about X” is a comment she hears more often. In addition, the young folks who attended Lobby Day brought an energy and enthusiasm for advocacy work that was inspiring and bodes well for the future. 

Keep your eye out for Lobby Day 2025 next May!

Stressed? Discouraged? Lonely? Sad? Don't Suffer Alone. - Sometimes we fall into a trap where we think it’s a sign of weakness to ask for help. So when we’re stressed, discouraged, lonely, or sad, we try to keep our struggles hidden and are reluctant to ask for help. However, that’s not God’s plan. Galatians 6:2 says, “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” God wants us to care for others—and allow others to care for us in our time of need.

If you’re sad or struggling inside, don’t suffer alone. Ask for help. We’ve got a team of Stephen Ministers who are ready to provide confidential one-to-one care, encouragement, and support to help you through a tough time. Find out more about Stephen Ministry by talking with Pr Laura, Pr Sam, or one of our Stephen Leaders, Laure Reynolds, Suzi Westmoreland, or Molly Hall. Our Stephen Ministers are ready to bring God’s love and care into your life.

In 2023, the congregation approved spending the $429,000 of Employee Retention Credit (ERC) money it had received on 4 priorities: a tithe, family center and eco-narthex repairs, solar, and pastoral housing. The 3 beneficiaries of the tithe received their money last year. The following is an update on the other 3 priorities:

• Family Center and eco-narthex repairs. Drainage fixes for the family center have been completed and replacement of the shingled portion of its roof has been contracted. Bids have been solicited for refurbishment of the eco-narthex and work is expected to be completed by the fall. There will likely be funds remaining for future projects.
• Solar. We celebrated the installation of our solar panels with a punny (!) blessing in March 2024. Receipt of the solar tax credit is expected in 2025 which will replenish general contingency fund which was used to make the final payment.
• Pastoral housing. Through April 30, 2024, approximately $11,500 of interest has been added to the $200,000 set aside for this need. No expenditures have occurred.

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! 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!

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.

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/

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: 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.

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.