From the Vicar

New Haven had a good thunderstorm the other night. I listened as the storm approached, and found myself in a place of contemplation. I counted the time between flashes and rumbles. I felt the air begin to cool. The violence of storm leading a gentle falling away of heat and humidity called me to thoughts of transition.

It’s a transitional time of year. Those following a school calendar are preparing for beginning days. I see more Yale shuttles running and fewer parking spaces downtown. Here at Bethesda, the annual Ice Cream Social marks upcoming changes in the church calendar. Learning Hour resumes. The Fall Fantastic Feast celebrates community and new beginnings.

That thunderstorm brought some really heavy rain. What a deluge - all that water! And what a contrast - nearly instantaneous puddles while the air temperature took its time, cooling only gradually.

Transitions can be abrupt, like instant puddles or the alarm clock on the first day of school. Or landing in a new place with a new role. The same changes have a measured element as well. The rhythm of the school day becomes a normal. Unfamiliar faces gain names and then personalities and then maybe relationships. Change is both at once and ongoing.

Through Baptism, we are changed. We are invited into kinship of a lived faith that permeates every particle of our being. And in baptism, human beings are changed both instantaneously and gradually. The Holy Spirit is present right there and then as the baptized are welcomed into community and communion. A lifetime of living out that faith continues on, perhaps in fits and starts, possibly in a slow steady evolution, maybe as a constant. And human beings, in beautiful diversity, each experience and live their faith in their own individuality.

And what about those who I think get it wrong? Well, God’s grace is for them, too. And so then, should be mine. Extend Grace.

Vicar Gabrielle Brown

Coming up at Bethesda

Save the Dates

Sunday, September 11 - Fall Fantastic Feast: Festive Worship, Introducing student staff and Bethesda House residents, with a cookout and potluck outdoors following worship; “God’s work. Our hands.” Sunday. (See below for more info on the diaper drive.)

Sunday, September 18 - Learning Ministries following worship resumes

Thursday, September 22 - Memorial Service for Mary Peterson, 6:30 pm

Sunday, October 2 - American Baroque Orchestra Concert, 7:00 pm

Sunday, October 30 - Concert Series: Reformation Concert, 4:30 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.

Ice Cream Social Sunday, August 28
Ice Cream Social is this Sunday, 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.

Wear a Bethesda shirt!

Blessing of Backpacks August 28 and September 4
This 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)

Learning Hour Fall 2022
You're Invited!

Bethesda values our families with children and we are excited to share our plans for learning together this fall!  We truly hope to see you and your family for fun learning, wondering, and playing about God’s love for us!

- Confirmation Class (entering grades 5, 6, or 7) led by Dan Cortright
- Early Elementary Class (entering grades K, 1, 2, 3, or 4) led by Nora Lee and Elaine Ramshaw
- Preschool Class (ages 0-6) led by Nora Lee and Elaine Ramshaw

Classes will meet following worship in the Education Wing. Confirmation in the Muhlenberg Room, and younger learners in the Yellow Classroom.

Younger students will enjoy music time, stories, crafts, and playing together. Confirmation students will continue their journey toward affirming their baptism. 

Please complete the online registration form! Whether you are able to come every Sunday, or only occasionally, we welcome you into our family of learning together in Christ however you feel comfortable.

Please reach out to Nora Lee ([email protected], 203-314-2814 for text or call) or Pastor Keyl ([email protected] ) with any questions!

Forum Resumes on September 18
Our weekly learning forum in the Parish House Living Room will return at 11:00 am on Sunday, September 18. Adults of all ages (including teens and young adults) are welcome for a time of learning and conversation.

Diaper Drive

75,000 diapers per week.

And they need more!

The amount of diapers The Diaper Bank of Connecticut provides to families in our state each week - 75,000! - does not completely meet the need. We can help!

Bethesda will be participating in the ELCA “God’s Work. Our Hands.” Sunday on September 11 along with the other Lutheran churches in our area. Inspired by their service trip to Chicago in June, our high school youth will be collecting as many diapers as possible that day to deliver to the Diaper Bank in North Haven. Please bring diapers to church - any size, any brand - or make a donation (checks may be written to Bethesda with The Diaper Bank in the memo line). This is a one day only drive - so mark your calendars and update your shopping lists! Diapers on September 11! God’s work. Our Hands.

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

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

Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, died 430

Sunday, August 28, 2022

Augustine was one of the greatest theologians of the Western church. A native of North Africa, he recovered from a debauched young adulthood through the influence of his mother, Monica, and Bishop Ambrose of Milan. Besides writing influential theological books, he served as bishop of Hippo, in present-day Algeria.

Moses the Black, monk, martyr, died around 400

Sunday, August 28, 2022

Converted from life as a thief and a robber to Christianity, Moses was an Ethiopian who became a desert monk at Skete. The change in his heart and life had a profound impact on his native country. He was murdered when Berber bandits attacked his monastery.

Nikolai Frederik Severin Grundtvig, bishop, renewer of the church, died 1872

Friday, September 2, 2022

Grundtvig was, with Søren Kierkegaard, one of the two great Danish theologians of the nineteenth century. As a pastor, he battled the prevalent idea that Christianity was more a philosophy than divine revelation. He wrote over a thousand hymns.

Prayer Requests

For healing and strength: Henry Morris; Rev. Joseph Bourret; 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; 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 students, faculty, and staff at Yale University and Yale Divinity School, and all those beginning a new school year.

For Lily Micale, at the anniversary of her baptism.