February 26, 2023
Worship at 9:30 am
First Sunday in Lent
Fellowship and Learning Hour following Worship

Presiding Minister: Pastor Tim Keyl
Assisting Ministers: Chris Wigren and Vicar Gabrielle Brown
Music Director: Stephen Gamboa-Díaz
Music Intern: Ike Harijanto
Altar Guild: Dianne Witte
Lectors: Maggie Astrup and Marietta Meyer
Ushers: Ray Bussolini and Miles Kirschner
Livestream: Blair Goodlin
Tellers: Richard Ford
Bread Baker: Franz family
Coffee Hour: Maggie Astrup

From a Deacon in Formation

As an individual who has spent a few decades working as an arts administrator, it is not uncommon that I am asked to provide data to support my request. I am prepared to provide the facts and figures to support my position in order to obtain the support needed for a particular program. Although one hopes that the data will provide all the justification needed, it never creates a complete picture of the overall impact.

In the fine arts, the impact of an event can also be measured in emotion, in the shared experience of those gathered in-person or online to absorb what is heard and seen. It is common for the arts to affirm (or challenge) one’s beliefs, to be introduced to something new or re-connect with the familiar. The emotional impact can rarely be measured, only experienced.

Have you ever considered the emotional impact of being religious?

Currently in the U.S. there is a significant shift from being religious to being only spiritual. Many are abandoning the regular practice of prayer and praise as a community, moving to an individual state of personal belief in the divine as a greater presence. Very often there is acknowledgement of something greater than oneself, however it can be extremely individualistic, perhaps even a bit self-centered.

Experiencing worship as a community can be uplifting and emotional. A collective response to a petition of prayer, the joy of singing hymns, especially a childhood favorite with hand gestures, reciting a Psalm, listening to the Good News from the pulpit, sharing the Peace of the Lord, are all part of the benefits of a worshiping community. There is power in this shared experience beyond that individual connection to the divine. There is community support and accountability, a sense of belonging. When we worship as a community we have an opportunity to be moved.

As you worship this week, in person or online, I ask you to ponder the emotional impact of your worship experience, to feel the power of the Holy Spirit fill your heart and mind with a warmth and joy brought by togetherness.

+ Jeff Hazewinkel

Coming Up at Bethesda

Worship Livestream

We stream 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 access this Sunday's bulletin.

Sunday Forum for February 26: Visit to the Holy Land and Companions in the ELCJHL

Hear stories from Pastor Tim and Pastor Kari about attending the ordination of Pastor Sally Azar in Jerusalem and visits with friends, and hear from Vicar Gabrielle about her impression as a first-timer to connect with our companion synod and holy site. See photos. Meet in the Parish House Living Room at noon.

Soup Suppers in Lent begin next Wednesday, March 1st, at 6:00 pm
Theme: Traveling Stories

6:00 pm every Wednesday in the Campanius Room

Sign-up to bring soup to share – one meat-based, one vegetarian. Others may sign-up to bring loaves of bread and bottles of wine to share.

Traveling Stories

The Israelites ate manna forty years, until they came to a habitable land; they ate manna, until they came to the border of the land of Canaan (Exodus 16:35).  

The number forty is a compelling number in the Bible. The time in the wilderness, time apart, time wandering, time on the way to the land of promise each inform our own experiences, particularly in Lent. During Soup Suppers, we will reflect on traveling stories, from scripture, from authors, and from each other. Do you have a travel story to tell? To the home of your ancestors? To a far-off land? On a vacation? Sign-up to tell your stories one week at Dinner Church, or just show up. Questions? Contact Pastor Keyl at [email protected].

Bible Study on Zoom

Bethesda's Bible Study continues to discuss NT Wright's Acts. The next gathering will be Wednesday, March 1 at 8:00 am.

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)

St. Luke’s Steel Band Concert to Benefit Christian Community Action
Sunday, Feb. 26, 4:30PM

On Sunday, Feb. 26 at 4:30 p.m., Bethesda’s sanctuary will ring with the soul-filling sounds of St. Luke’s Steel Band in a concert to benefit Christian Community Action (CCA). Admission is FREE; free-will donations will be taken to benefit CCA. Reception to follow.

Under the direction of Kenneth Joseph, St. Luke's Steel Band has a reputation as one of the area's most exciting performing ensembles. Their repertoire includes soca, calypso, reggae, classical, sacred, jazz, popular and island folk music.

Carole DeVore Memorial Service and Potluck
Saturday, March 4

A memorial service for Carole DeVore will be held at Bethesda on Saturday, March 4 at 10:00 am.

Following the service, The Tuesday Lunch Circle (TLC), together with the Bethesda Choir, will host a potluck luncheon in the Campanius Room. If you would like to contribute a dish, it would be greatly appreciated.

All are welcome.

Public Lecture on Rewilding Christian Worship with Lisa Dahill

Thursday, March 2, 7:00 pm Niebuhr Hall, Yale Divinity School
409 Prospect Street, New Haven, CT Free parking
All are invited!

Title: Rewilding Christian Worship

Living in a time of urgent ecological crisis, Christians need outdoor ritual experience of our faith: of what is wild, of the living Earth, stranger faces of the divine. We need worship that restores our primal perceptual and spiritual connections to that living world at the very core of our faith. Moving worship and the practices of faith outdoors is not the only way to help restore and deepen these connections, but it may be the most powerful, making possible an opening to this larger sacred wild in actual, present, sensory experience. But what happens when worship moves outdoors? What is gained and lost?

Lisa Dahill is the Miriam Therese Winter Professor of Transformative Leadership and Spirituality and Director of the Center for Transformative Spirituality at Hartford International University.

Congregational Meeting Elections

At the annual meeting on Sunday, we voted to confirm our new congregation council members. Bethesda's 2023 council (pictured below in order of appearance, new members in italics) includes: Eleanor Lee, Nora Lee, Ann Onton, Blair Goodlin, Elaine Ramshaw, Rachelle Goto, Linda Cortright, Becky Lerud, Dianne Witte, and Aníbal González.

Thank you to our outgoing councilmembers Ray Bussolini and Mary Browne, and to our outgoing president (remaining on the council) Rachelle Goto.

Snacks for Columbus House

Lily Micale, Greta Lee, and Henry Marchand packed 150 snack bags for Columbus House. They were dropped off today. The Columbus House staff were especially excited to have enough to hand out at their warming shelter.

Columbus House also shared the following message on their Facebook Page:

People staying at our New Haven and Overflow Shelters are enjoying some Mardi Gras fun thanks to Lily, her fellow Confirmation students, and members of Bethesda New Haven. Yesterday, Lily dropped off 150 bags decorated for the holiday and filled with treats and toothbrushes. On behalf of the people who will receive these special gifts, thank you for your thoughtfulness!

Order Olive Oil from LWF

Time to order Olive Oil through Lutheran World Federation to support the LWF Vocational Training Program and help to reduce the fees of students.

Click here to access the on-line order form. Please place your order by April 2. Additional order forms are available in the Narthex.

Two size options:
250mL of olive oil in a plastic bottle - Price: $15.00
750mL of olive oil in a plastic bottle - Price: $35.00

Lenten Book Club for Adult Forum/Confirmation Class

Join the Adult Forum and Confirmation students each Sunday in March to discuss the book The Story of More by Hope Jahren. Each Sunday we will focus on a different section of the book. Our conversations will include opening devotionals from Confirmation students. Copies of the young adult version of the book are available from Dan Cortright. We hope to donate these copies to area middle schools after our book club.

Discussion topics are

Mar 5: Life and Earth, Ch 1-4 and 17-18
Mar 12: Food, Ch 5-9
Mar 19: Energy, Ch 10-13
Mar 26: The Story of Less, Ch 18-19, Appendix

Voices Rising: Three Choirs Concert

On Sunday, March 5, from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm, a free choir concert featuring Bethesda's own Matthew Judd will be held at Woolsey Hall (500 College Street, New Haven).

Yale Schola Cantorum, Yale Camerata and Yale Glee Club will join together with guest conductor, Craig Hella Johnson.

Click here to learn more.

Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper

Between 45-50 pancake dinners were served at the Mardi Gras/Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper to raise money to send our youth to the 2024 ELCA Youth Gathering in New Orleans!

Congregational Watershed Discipleship

Mark your calendars - on Sunday, April 30th at 11:30 am, Bethesda will host Rev. Dr. Nancy Wright, who will preach and lead an interfaith workshop on Congregational Watershed Stewardship.

ELCA World Hunger Lent Study Guides

As we journey through the season of Lent, consider picking up a copy of the ELCA World Hunger Lent Study Guide: 40 Days of Giving, available in the Narthex. This resource provides prayers, devotions, and exercises for personal or communal reflection.

Giving Garden

The Giving Garden is fallow, but spring is just around the corner. If you'd like to play a part in this ministry, we could use your help! Please reach out to Vicar Gabrielle [email protected] or 719-352-8918 or even in person if interested.

Upcoming Commemorations

Elizabeth Fedde, deaconess, died 1921
Saturday, February 25, 2023

Born in Norway and trained there as a deaconess, Fedde was asked to come and minister to the poor and to seamen in New York City. She established the Deaconess House in Brooklyn as well as Deaconess Hospital in Minneapolis.

George Herbert, hymnwriter, died 1633
Wednesday, March 1, 2023

An excellent scholar, Herbert served briefly in the English parliament, then became a parish priest. He was known for devoted care of his parishioners, as well as for writing poetry and hymns, including "Come, my way, my truth, my life." He died at age 40.

John Wesley, died 1791; Charles Wesley, died 1788; renewers of the church
Thursday, March 2, 2023

These brothers led a revival originally intended to remain within the Church of England, one that involved frequent communion and advocacy for the poor. Except for a brief time in America, they worked in England. Charles was also a prolific hymn writer. After their deaths, their work led to the formation of the Methodist Church.

Prayer Requests

For healing and strength: Rachel, daughter of Mary Browne; Pastor Ruth Drews; John Ferreira, nephew of Chris Couture; Kathryn and Karolyn Lee, aunts of Chris Lee; George Arndt, father of Lynn Arezzini; 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 House and Yale Divinity School students.

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, Calli Micale, Vicar Gabrielle Brown, and Jeff Hazewinkel (in formation for consecration as deacon).

For Those Who Mourn: Paul Stuehrenberg and family, as they gather with Bethesda for Carole DeVore’s Memorial Service Saturday, March 4.