August 21, 2022
Summer Sundays
Worship at 9:30 am
Fellowship Following Worship

Presiding Minister: Rev. Paul Stuehrenberg
Preacher: Vicar Gabrielle Brown
Assisting Ministers: Chris Wigren and Vicar Gabrielle Brown
Music Director: Stephen Gamboa-Díaz
Lectors: Calli Micale and Clarissa Youngberg
Cantor: Michaela Natal
Altar Guild: John Aden
Usher: John Aden
Tellers: Mary Browne and Nora Lee
Livestream: Blair Goodlin
Bread Bakers: Keyl family
Coffee Hour: Leah Snavely

From The Paster

Bethesda’s Sustainable Future

“For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the LORD, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11)

Bethesda is embarking on a journey of futuring. We are mustering all that our imaginations and dreams can bring to ensure that Bethesda’s ministry can be carried out long-term, even if that ministry does not resemble all that we are currently doing. Leadership has done some advance work on that part, from the Congregation Council to the Building Task Force. Look for yet another group to be formed under the framework of something that may be called Bethesda’s Sustainable Future.

As a congregation we just voted to get help from a consulting firm called Partners for Sacred Places to conduct a Feasibility Study. The non-profit non-sectarian firm is committed to keep historic buildings as places to serve the community around them. The study is to assess capacity for fundraising and leadership. In addition, as their website states, “Partners’ Feasibility Study includes valuable insights and recommendations pertaining to the congregation’s long-term planning and ministry within and outside the context of a capital campaign. Partners analyzes interview transcripts, institutional documents (e.g. annual budgets and reports), and independent research to compile a comprehensive report that answers the following questions and provide recommendations for action.”

To me, Partners will assist us with dreaming. We will participate with God’s plan as we discern, and as the prophet Jeremiah says “to give you a future with hope.”

Peter Marty, a YDS grad and someone who graced Bethesda’s doors back in the day, is a pastor in Iowa and the editor/publisher of The Christian Century. In a recent article, Marty urges his readers to look ahead as a focus, rather than live in the past. He compares this to the space dedicated to the windshield of a car as opposed to the rearview mirror:
“The windshield on my car is five feet by three feet in dimension. I know this because I just measured it. The rearview mirror inside is 9 inches by 2 inches. There’s a reason the windshield is about 100 times larger than the mirror: cars are designed to be driven forward. Drivers benefit from having an optimal view of where they’re headed.”

Bethesda has a rich history, a plethora of stories from our past. We should be informed by the past, and give thanks to God for the richness of that time. But now is a time to look intently on what’s ahead, even if it means to leave behind some of what we hold onto from the “before times”

We will continue to rely on God in prayer, and the wisdom God gives, to map out the road ahead.

May it be so.
Pastor Tim Keyl

Pastor Tim Away

Add Pastor Tim is taking days away for vacation and also attending an ELCA Service and Justice Conference in Chicago August 17-25. For urgent pastoral care needs, contact Vicar Gabrielle Brown at (719) 352-5918.

Save the Dates

Sunday, September 11 - Fall Fantastic Feast: Festive Worship, Introducing student staff and Bethesda House residents, with a cookout outdoors following worship; “God’s work. Our hands.” Sunday
Sunday, September 18 - Learning Ministries following worship resumes
Thursday, September 22 - Memorial Service for Mary Peterson, 6:30 pm

Sunday Worship Livestream

We are now streaming Sunday worship services live on Bethesda’s YouTube Channel. Join us live at 9:30 am every Sunday or watch the recording afterward.

Click here to view this Sunday's bulletin.

More chances to meet and welcome Vicar Gabrielle!

Vicar Gabrielle will be hosting a meet and greet after coffee hour on Sunday, August 21st in the Parish House Living Room.

On August 24th, Vicar Gabrielle will host a zoom meet and greet from 7:00 - 8:30 via Zoom. Click here to join. (Meeting ID: 860 7608 5615 Passcode: 193794)

Ice Cream Social Sunday, August 28  

Ice Cream Social is just around the corner - August 28th at 4:00 pm. We need your help - scooping ice cream, setting up and tearing down, and helping out with bubbles and temporary tattoos. We also could use some delicious home-baked treats to go along with the ice cream. And or course, plan on enjoying a delicious cool treat! We’ll have lower fat and well as dairy-free options available. And bring a friend! Please contact Vicar Gabrielle at [email protected] or 719-352-1898 with your preferred role.

Blessing of Backpacks August 28 and September 4

Next Sunday, August 28 at worship and the following Sunday, September 4, Bethesda will offer a blessing for backpacks. This is for all students, faculty, and staff beginning a new school year. You are invited to bring a backpack or other representation of your work for a blessing at the end of worship.

Bible Study on Zoom

Bethesda's Bible Study meets every other Wednesday at 8:00 am on Zoom. The series on the Book of Acts continues on Wednesday, August 31.

When? Every other Wednesday at 8:00 am
Where? On Zoom, click here to join (or join by telephone: 203-432-9666; Meeting ID: 961 0888 6279)

Congregation Approves Significant Projects

Spending for masonry repairs and a consulting contract was approved at the congregational meeting on August 14.

The Council proposed that masonry contractor Capasso Structural Restoration Contractors be engaged to repoint the parish house’s north wall and boiler combustion chimney. Recently it was determined that holes drilled in the north wall were the source of decades of leaks and the cause of deteriorating walls in the parish house kitchen and storage closets. Repairing the leaks will pave the way for interior renovation. Inspection of the boiler’s chimney revealed a concerning stress crack, particularly because the chimney is located over the entrance to Bethesda Nursery School. The accepted bids from Capasso totaled $14,550 for north wall repointing and $32,550 for chimney repointing. This work is in addition to the $27,000 the congregation approved last April for Capasso to repair the crumbling parish house chimney.

The Council also proposed that Bethesda engage Partners for Sacred Places—the only nonsectarian, nonprofit organization dedicated to sound stewardship and active community use of older sacred places across America—to conduct a feasibility study to assess the support among members and from the community for our future ministry. The study will cost $18,000, take approximately two months to conduct, and will begin in September. Bethesda’s Sustainable Future Task Force will be implemented to work with the consultants.

Monies for payment will be drawn from Bethesda’s Special Funds resources and a loan from the Mission Investment Fund of the ELCA. Individual support for these efforts will also be gratefully accepted.

Dianne Witte
Council Secretary

Letter to Bethesda from Lily Micale  

Dear Bethesda,

I am very grateful for the opportunity to go to Camp Calumet this summer. From fun activities like swimming in the lake to singing at campfires, I appreciate every moment I spent at Calumet. I also made a lot of great friends! And I can’t wait to see them again next summer.

I have really good memories from camp as well. For example, I'll remember the time I had to get up in the middle of the night to find a counselor because a very large beetle had made its way into the middle of our cabin. Some of the girls were screaming, and no one was able to sleep. I am thankful that Bethesda supported me, cared for me by writing letters, and encouraged me to make lasting memories of what Christian community among friends looks like.

Welcome to Bethesda House, Lisa and Jonny!

Lisa and Jonny Fischer-Woudstra have arrived in New Haven! Lisa is beginning her position as Bethesda House Ministry Liaison/House Manager, and Jonny is an exchange student from Heidelberg, Germany.

Thank you Eleanor Lee for serving as assisting minister this past Sunday

Love to sing? Join Bethesda Lutheran Church’s choir!

Fall rehearsals resume Wednesday, Aug. 31 from 7:30–9 p.m. in the Campanius Room. Worship services with choir begin Sunday, Sept. 4.

The ability to read music is helpful but not essential. Come to rehearsals to join as a regular member or talk to music director Stephen Gamboa-Diaz ([email protected]) about more occasional choral opportunities at Bethesda.

The choir typically sings on Sundays from September through the first half of June, including Christmas Eve and Holy Week services. In addition to weekly services, on October 30th the choir will perform Bach’s cantata BWV 33 “Allein zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ” and other choral music with instrumentalists as part of Bethesda’s annual Reformation Concert. Join us!

2023 Companion Synod Trip

Join pastors Tim Keyl, Wendy Anderson, and Scott Howard on a life-transforming New England Synod Companion Trip to the 2023 Companion Synod Trip on February 2-17, 2023. Our theme is Sitting Under the Vine and Fig Tree, an image of peace and unity among nations found in Micah 4.

Upcoming Commemorations

Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux, died 1153
Saturday, August 20, 2022
Bernard, a Cistercian monk, was a man of great spirituality who wrote mystical works and criticized those whom he thought took an overly intellectual approach to the faith. He became an abbot, and wrote several hymns that are still beloved today.

Bartholomew, Apostle
Wednesday, August 24, 2022
Mentioned as one of Jesus' disciples in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Bartholomew's name is replaced in John's gospel by Nathanael, leading many to believe that the two are different names for the same person. Little is known about his work, though some traditions place him later in India or Armenia.

Prayer Requests

For healing and strength: Mary Ricketts, friend of Chris Wigren; Kathryn and Karolyn Lee, aunts of Chris Lee; George Arndt, father of Lynn Arezzini; Robert Gritz, brother-in-law of Blair Goodlin; Michelle Lee, friend of Christina Castañeda; Mark Barnett, nephew of Becky Lerud; Marie Gray; Sonja Krummrey; Maureen Anderson; Natalie Denardis, granddaughter of Gail Denardis; Shirley Farm; Linda Johnson; Anne and Lee Keck; Kay Leone; Molly Dinneen; Karen (Starbranch) Blitch, daughter of Chuck Starbranch.

For those serving in the military.

For our partners in the Gospel: the congregations and schools of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL) and LuMin Campus Ministry.

For Bethesda New Haven: that God continues to guide us into the future with ministries of witness, service, hospitality, and care while building up our community in all its diversity.

For those in candidacy for rostered leadership in the ELCA: Natalie Benson and Calli Micale.

For Calli Micale, completing her Clinical Pastoral Education this summer at the VA Hospital in West Haven, Connecticut.

For Natalie Benson, working on her seminary internship at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church of Santa Monica, California.

For those traveling this week: Blair Goodlin to Columbia, MD; Ann Onton to Lake George, NY; Maggie Astrup and Max Marmor returning from Salzburg Austria; and Pastor Tim Keyl to an ELCA Service and Justice Conference in Chicago, IL.

For those who mourn: John Hively and family, at the death of his brother Louis Hively on August 11.