The Bethlehem Word - September

Featured in this Issue... Missions News

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Veritas Update

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CHIC 2009

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Facilities Update

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Media & Web Committee Update Pg. 5

September 2008

The Bethlehem Message from the Pastor The revitalization seminar that many of us on the church board attended back in March was called “Veritas: Telling the Truth about Congregational Vitality.” “Veritas” is the Latin word for “truth.” It’s important that we tell the truth about our church, our God and ourselves. Sometimes in church that is hard to do—to honestly critique the church’s situation, to have the courage to “critique” God and ask and wrestle with the big questions of our faith, and to deal with each other with honesty and love. It can be “painful” or difficult to examine and think critically about the church and see areas where we have fallen short. But the benefits of doing so are well worth our effort and hard work. If we are truly working for God, we should desire to be the best we can be with His help. It is necessary at times to question and “examine” God. Who of us does not have questions we would love to ask God? Who of us has not been angry at

Word God or felt at one time or another that God does not care or does not understand our situation? We’ve all been there but sometimes we don’t even have the courage or the permission from another to question God. God can handle our doubts and frustrations and questions. If only we humans were the same as God in that sense. But we can’t always handle other’s criticism or disagreements or concerns. Or we are afraid to approach others with our concerns or issues that come up. We don’t want to rock the boat, but often our silence only leads to the boat later being capsized because it takes on so much water. When we don’t deal with issues, they don’t usually go away—they fester just below the surface and like a volcano can erupt at any time with devastating results. I know it is taken out of context a little, but I will quote Jesus when He said, “You will know the truth and the truth will set you free (Jn. 8:32).” Can we be courageous enough, concerned enough and loving enough continued on pg. 7

September 2008 Sun

Mon

Tue

Wed

Thu

Fri

Sat

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2 Veritas Committee Mtg. 7pm

3 Music and Worship Comm. Mtg. 6:30pm

4 Walk Thru the Bible 7pm

5

6

7 Worship 9:30am

8

9 Board Mtg. 7pm

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11 Walk Thru the 12 Bible 7pm

13

14 Worship *10:30am*

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16

17

18 Walk Thru the 19 Bible 7pm

20

21 Worship 10:30am

22

23

24

25 Bible Study 7pm

27 Tag Sale 9am—1pm

28 Worship 10:30am Joey Malo baptism

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Missions News Missions News Missions News Canned Food Drive

Support our Troops:

Beginning October 5th there will be a basket filled with slips of paper that list canned good items which will be collected as part of the Thanksgiving donation to the Quinsigamond Village Community Center.

There are two donations going on simultaneously—Brandon Vallee and military in Afghanistan: This is an ongoing support table for Brandon and the men and women he serves with in Afghanistan. Remember too, winter will soon be settling in Afghanistan and warm items would more than likely be appreciated—remember they have to be Army issue. The local surplus store is: Metro West Surplus Army-%avy 201 W. Boylston Street, W. Boylston, MA 508-835-2600.

Missions Sunday Soup: Our first Sunday Soup will be held October 19 immediately after the service in Fellowship Hall. Please plan on staying for a hearty soup, bread, coffee and dessert. There is no cost for this lunch. Please plan on joining us!!! This is a great excuse to invite new people to church also. ☺

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Coupons for Military Wives: Bring in your clipped coupons for mailing overseas for use by military wives to stretch their food dollars.

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Mt. 28:18-20

Birthdays and Anniversaries September Birthdays Robert Quinn Cody Ellis Ronald Thyden Brittany Weber Alden Anderson Gabriel Johnson Paul Nyquist Katie Ross Karoline Ciance

9/2 9/4 9/4 9/12 9/13 9/18 9/19 9/25 9/27

September Anniversaries Lee and Astrid Randall Bill and Lil Stafinski Susan and Paul Strozina Christine and Robert Leach Jeanne and Frank Bartkus Esther and Robert Elbe Carol and Carl Nordstrom Mark and Sue Fellion

9/4 9/6 9/7 9/12 9/17 9/21 9/22 9/28

October Birthdays Elizabeth Quinn Mildred Carlson Colleen Elbe Jeanne Bartkus Alice Sullivan Janet Clawson Robert Elbe Jr. Lydia Anderson

10/5 10/11 10/12 10/19 10/22 10/23 10/26 10/29

October Anniversaries Joy and Nicholas Monopoli 10/4 James and Jennifer Zoulias 10/9

Church Tag Sale Saturday, Sept. 27th 9am-1pm We are accepting donations—please bring them to church and put them on the tables in the vestry. Tables to sell your own goods and make big bucks are a steal at $10 a piece. ☺

Veritas Update The Veritas Team met with our consultant, Alan Forsman on Aug. 8th and 9th. Our group of nine consists of Jeanne Bartkus, Mark Fellion, Pastor Dave, Alden Anderson, Tracy Ellis, John Schonning, Gigi Zepp and Denise McGinley. Alan said that three important components of a healthy church are vision, mission, and purpose. Alan suggested the first thing we start of with is data gathering: who we are, who are neighbors are. Then when need to interpret the data, set goals, implement our goals, and evaluate what we are doing. Alan wrote a “straw” purpose statement of sorts for the team and suggested that this be a beginning point as to what our purpose is. We can tweak this statement to our own liking: “The purpose of the Veritas Team is to be discerning about God’s spiritual, strategic direction for Bethlehem Covenant Church and make recommendations about a →

preferred future.” Three sub-teams were set up: External demographics, Internal demographics, and Communication. The internal team will look at membership, attendance and giving trends, spiritual gifts of congregation, financial resources, etc. The external team will study our neighborhood and its makeup and needs. Talk with other agencies, churches, schools, etc. The communication team will keep the church notified and involved in process. If you have questions or concerns or want to be a part of these sub-teams, please let any of us on the team know. Your input is vital!

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Thank You CHIC (Covenant High In Christ) is the triennial high school youth conference of The Evangelical Covenant Church. CHIC exists to: * be a catalyst that inspires Christ-like change * challenge students to see themselves as part of something bigger * inspire students towards the journey of following Christ. Through CHIC, we want to see students be: * a Christ-centered community (Gen. 28:3) * confident in their relationship with Christ (Romans 8:38-39) * committed to doing justice, loving mercy, and walking humbly with their God (Micah 6:8). What are the student age requirements? High school students are eligible to attend CHIC if: 1) they will complete grade 9, 10, 11 or 12 in the 2008-2009 school year or; 2) they will be at least 15 years old as of September 1, 2009. When will CHIC 2009 be held? Save the dates for CHIC 2009, which will begin on Sunday, July 12, 2009, and end on Friday, July 17 of thevery same year. Where will CHIC 2009 be held? No need to bring along your orange-tinted sunglasses, because CHIC 2009 will return to the oh-so-very hospitable and oh-so-very orange University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you have any questions, check out the new CHIC website at www.chic2009.org or ask Pastor Dave! More info and registration coming soon.

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Dear Friends at Bethlehem, How wonderful to receive your letter. The fact that you remember us and pray for us means so much as life goes along. I am feeling pretty good but we will not be out East this summer. We sold our cottage in Connecticut last summer so we won’t be there any longer. We had ten great summers there since our retirement but it was the best thing to do considering my heart problems in January and February. We can never forget Bethlehem and how you accepted us in 1964 when Alayne was so ill in N.E. Baptist Hospital, our kids were with some good people in NH and I moved to 14 Victoria Ave. alone. That was not an easy time, but you stood with us and prayed for us. Our seven years in Worcester at Bethlehem remain in our memories full of beautiful remembrances. May God bless and prosper you all. —Alayne and Cliff Johnson Dear Friends, Bethlehem was so important to our mother, she was a member here all her life. Hearing the news of cancer on her 90th birthday hit us all; our lives changed forever. We can’t thank you enough for your prayer, card, phone calls, all your support and love we felt the past two months. Pastor Dave, his countless visits, prayers, reading scriptures, giving communion, and even discussing with mom her final wishes. Pam, Gigi, and Alden sang from their hearts at the memorial service, and mom enjoyed when the Swedish verses were sung. It meant so much that Carolyn Graham was able to play the organ, she has that wonderful talent. The diaconate and women of the church put on a beautiful and delicious table after the service. Thank you and God bless you all. Love Chris Thank you for all your support! God blessed mom and continues to bless and provide for all who love and worship Him. —Paul Dear Friends, Thank you so much for the wonderful retirement day you gave me. The service was such a nice tribute and Gigi’s comments were very touching. The luncheon was delicious. My guests all said the same. I told them that the ladies at Bethlehem always do a great job. As for my Bose system gift—wow—I was overwhelmed! Continued on pg. 6

MEDIA & WEB COMMITTEE UPDATE

Facilities Update

First of all, the Media & Web committee wishes to thank all those contributing to make our time of thanks and honor for Justin Stafinski a success. Thank you all.

On June 22, 2008 at a Congregational meeting our church family made some significant decisions regarding our church facilities. On this date we proposed and adopted the following courses of action to improve our facilities at Bethlehem:

The Media & Web ministry is again off to another year of providing the home bound members and friends with the recorded Sunday morning worship.

Approved at the June 22 meeting included the following: 1) Updates to our heating system which will improve our ability to conserve fuel consumption and thus lower our cost of heating. 2) Installation of new carpeting in our hallway from the parking lot entrance and stairways leading to the church sanctuary. 3) Resurfacing, new lines and signs for our church parking lot.

Our good friend and leader, Justin Stafinski is now at North Park University. Justin, we as your committee wish you our best and pray God will guide and direct you in all you do. We as a committee thank you for your devoted leadership to us and this ministry. Thanks. Onward and Upward—we as a committee desire to continue the great work which Justin initiated in providing media /web support for our congregation. We are in a learning curve and ask your patience with us as we seek to get up to speed with the operations of the media ministry. The Sunday morning CD worship recordings will continue as in the past with no change. The monthly church newsletter will be posted on the web site as in the past. We are also working to bring you a new look and presentation of the newsletter in the months ahead. We as a committee continue to feel that the media/ web ministry is an important part of Bethlehem and ask your prayerful support. We continue to seek those who might like to be part of the committee. Speak with John Schonning or Steven Pope if you are interested. —The Media & Web Committee

Painting and new glass for “old” church sign in front of church. 4) The Sanctuary floor was stripped and a fresh coat of wax applied. 5) Foundation work including the closing in of 2 basement windows. The above projects were all completed over the summer months. Many other smaller projects have been completed during the summer. Some of these improvements include the following: Painting of exterior doors and front entrance interior doors, painting of front & side fences surrounding the property, installation of new carpeting in the library room off of back hallway, lattice work and preservation maintenance to our handicap ramp and upgrades to our church nursery. Our God is working HIS plan to continue our ministry in Quinsigamond Village. Thanks to all who contributed to seeing these projects completed, particulary John Schonning, Scott Stafinski and Frank Bartkus. It is good to see others involved in keeping our church looking beautiful and inviting. A special word of thanks to our facilities coordinator, Bill Stafinski. We as a church family express our sincere thanks to Bill for his continued work to make our church home a beautiful place to worship and invite others to become part of our church. Without Bill’s knowledge and dedication and hard work, these projects would not get done. As one person said, “Bill’s retirement was like Bethlehem hitting the lottery!” ☺ Thanks and God Bless.

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The following is an updated list of our church members and friends who unable to attend church on a regular basis. Let us remember them in our thoughts and prayers and with a note. Please let the pastor know if you are aware of others who should be on this list. Mr. Lee & Mrs. Astrid Randall 10 Hall Street Webster, MA 01570 508-943-0847

Paul Faler University Commons 378 Plantation St. Worcester, MA 01608

Mrs. Doris Anderson 667 Washington Street #225 Auburn, MA 01501 508-832-5239

Mrs. Dagny Johnson Life Care Center of Auburn 14 Masonic Circle Auburn, MA 01501

Mr. Algot Ekstrom University Commons 378 Plantation St. Worcester, MA 01608

Mrs. Claire Poirier 63 Hudson Avenue Grafton, MA 01519 508-839-0364

Mrs. Lydia Anderson Mrs. Lillian Ekstrom Whitney Place Notre Dame Du Lac 555 Plantation Street Apt. 327 P.O. Box 935 85 Beaumont Dr. Apt. 10 Worcester, MA 01608 Northbridge, MA 01534 Mr. Carl & Mrs. Esther Werme Mildred Carlson 24 Briarwood Circle 669 Washington St. Apt. Worcester, MA01606 234 508-856-7232 Auburn, MA 01501 Mr. Howard Cummings Life Care Center of Auburn 14 Masonic Circle Room #266 Auburn, MA 01501

Covenant Men Fall Retreat October 10-12 2008 Pilgrim Pines in %H Our Featured Speaker: Bill Paige Bill Paige is a gifted, passionate speaker whose broad appeal is anchored in a depth of life experience that includes 20 years of police and detective work in New York. An ordained minister, Bill brings a wealth of valuable insight in the areas of men’s ministry, having shared with thousands of men through his speaking opportunities. He has lead chapel services for both NFL and Major League Baseball teams, including two opportunities to speak at the NFL Pro Bowl. His communication gifts combined with his life experience and honed insight put him in very high demand in this country and around the world as a speaker. He serves currently as Special Assistant to the President in Young Life. Bill is married to Claudia, his wife of 40 years. He will take us through the weekend theme from 1 Samuel, “ And the Lord sought a man after His own heart..." Are you that man?

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Those participating in worship this month are: Sept. 7th Ushers: Delbert and Eleanor Smith Scripture Reader: Denise McGinley Worship Leader: Mark Fellion Security: John Schonning Sound Ministry: John Schonning Sept. 14th Ushers: Karen Anderson Scripture Reader: Alden Anderson Worship Leader: Jeffery Stafinski Security: Bill Stafinski Sound Ministry: Steven Pope Sept. 21st Ushers: Bev Gosselin and Jeanne Bartkus Scripture Reader: Sharon Anderson Worship Leader: Sarah Strozina Security: Ken Malo Sound Ministry: John Schonning Sept. 28th Ushers: Phyllis Conder and Dave Ahlin Scripture Reader: Tracy Ellis Worship Leader: Gigi Zepp Security:

Sound Ministry: Steven Pope

Some of my friends have the same and I’ve always that it would be nice to have. I will enjoy playing it forever and remember you all. With much appreciation, Love, Carolyn Dear Scholarship Committee, I would like to express my profound gratitude for the scholarship grant. It was incredibly generous and I appreciate the efforts of all those involved. The gift will be very helpful during my last year of school. Thank you again for all the help Bethlehem has given for as long as I’ve been a member—both spiritual and monetary. Sincerely, Jill Avery

with each other in the body of Christ to talk to one other when necessary? From speaking to other colleagues of mine, I don’t believe I am alone on this when I say that I for one as a pastor wish people would come to me if they have concerns or issues with me or the church in general. I respect that a whole lot more than the person who doesn’t want to speak up because they are afraid to offend or “rock the boat” or not be “nice.” Let’s be bold enough to tell the truth about ourselves, each other and our God. Silence can be deadly at times. Speaking up with the truth in love can lead to growth and flourishing life. As we heard at the Veritas seminar, we need to have conversation that is civil, compassionate, and Christ-loving. One of the many things we learned at the Veritas Seminar was the idea of a behavioral covenant. Gil Rendle has a book on behavioral covenants in congregations. A behavioral covenant, he says, is “holy manners for a faith community. It is a written document developed by leaders, agreed to and owned by it creators and practiced on a daily basis as a spiritual discipline. The covenant answers the question, ‘How will we behave (how will we live together?) when we don’t understand each other and when we don’t agree?’” We were offered the following guidelines for our interaction with each other: • We seek to build each other up and not tear down • We respect and honor the office of pastor and other lay leaders • We seek to communicate clearly and completely • We offer our opinions with charity and humility • We make positive investments in each others lives • We seek to discover what is best for our church as a whole, not what may be best for us or for some small group in the church • We accept disagreement, conflict and evaluation as normal and natural. Wow. Those are some high standards to live up to, but that should be our goal as a church and as individuals seeking to follow Christ. It is not easy—but Jesus never said dealing with other people was easy. ☺ I encourage you to come to me with your concerns or questions or yes, even criticisms. As a human being, I

can’t read minds and so if you have an issue with me, you need to speak to me—not someone else. Trust me, I can handle constructive criticism or concerns—I want to hear them—I am no better than any of you; I am not perfect and need that accountability. And if you have an issue with someone else, don’t speak to me—speak to them. We should follow the advice of Jesus in Matthew 18: “If your brother or sister sins against you, go and show them their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses. If the person refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.” I want to leave you with these words from Paul from Colossians chapter 3: “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them together in perfect unity” -Colossians 3:12-14 God bless, Pastor Dave

The deadline for the October Word is Sept. 24th.

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The Bethlehem

Bethlehem Covenant Church 46 Greenwood Street P.O. Box 70629 Worcester, MA 01607 (508) 752—1459 www.bethlehemcc.org

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