Privilege

“Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,

 who, though he was in the form of God,

 did not regard equality with God

 as something to be exploited,

 but emptied himself,

 taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness.”

(Philippians 2:5-7)

The above is a poem or hymn Paul used in his letter to the community at Philippi. The “Christology,” or way of describing Jesus, is stark. To me it suggests that we will find God in Christ as one identified with the least agency and status.

Mindful of the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., I recall that he was killed as he was on his way to support a sanitation workers’ strike.

Mindful of MLK’s legacy, I myself am continually in check about white privilege. Here’s a passage from a book some of us read and reflected on in the past years, Tears We Cannot Stop: A Sermon to White America, by Michael Eric Dyson:

It is your obligation, beloved, to school yourselves, and other white folk, too, about the seductive, mythical, neutrality of whiteness, the belief that you are somehow American without a racial identity, without racial baggage. “While it is dangerous to say that all whites have equal access to wealth and education,” one of my white students writes, “the fact of the matter is that white people will not be followed in a store, frisked on a New York sidewalk or shot by police at the same rate as black people. Whites must understand that they benefit from white privilege in order to realize how white privilege creates the space for black oppression.”

So I have a place of privilege by virtue of what is built into the system, and it is to my sense of what’s right (and what’s wrong) to notice and to know it.

This is part and parcel of my travels to the Middle East with my blue U.S. passport, with my ability to navigate travel in country, across borders, and across checkpoints. There is a marked intersection between the experience of Palestinians and African Americans, and the place of privilege for those like us.

So I want to see Christ in African Americans, in Palestinians, and in those who are oppressed. And I want to empty myself appropriately to recognize how Christ might be in me when I renounce oppression, racism, and the occupation, repent, learn, love, and act with a mind toward justice.

Pray for our companion synod in the Middle East, rejoice at the ordination of the first women in the ELCJHL, pray for Kari and me and soon a group of 29 that I will lead to see Christ in the living stones in the Middle East.

Pastor Tim Keyl

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.

Bible Study on Zoom

Bethesda's Bible Study continues to discuss NT Wright's Acts. The next gathering will be Wednesday, January 18 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)

Dinner Church

Every Wednesday at 6:00 pm on Zoom

Zoom in from your kitchen or dinner table for conversation, prayer, and reflection. We will be reading the upcoming Sunday morning Bible texts as our scripture. Have a Bible on hand. Look for the texts each week in the enews.

First Reading: Isaiah 9:1-4

Psalm: Psalm 27:1, 4-9

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:10-18

Gospel: Matthew 4:12-23

Click here to join on Zoom

No Learning Hour This Sunday

There will not be learning hour after worship on Sunday, January 15 due to Bethesda’s Winter Retreat at Calumet. Learning hour for all ages returns on January 22 at 11:00 am.

Updates to Bethesda's Constitution

Bethesda's constitution conforms to the ELCA Model Constitution for Congregations. The model constitution is amended at the ELCA's triennial Churchwide Assembly. Amendments approved at the 2022 Churchwide Assembly will be brought forth for approval for our constitution at our February 19 annual meeting. You can see the changes HERE. Once approved, they will go into effect immediately. The Council is considering further amendments to areas where the model constitution allows congregations to fit the document to their circumstances. Stay tuned!

Pastor Tim and Pastor Kari Henkelmann Keyl leave for the Holy Land on behalf of the New England Synod

Pastor Tim and Pastor Kari leave Thursday, January 19 to attend the ordination of Sally Azar as pastor in our companion synod the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land. Pastor Kari returns February 1st. Pastor Tim will then lead a group of 29 on a companion synod trip (including Vicar Gabrielle) and return on February 15. Vicar Gabrielle (719) 352-8918 will be available for pastoral care until February 1. Pastor Kari (603) 533-5274 will be available from February 2-15. Pastor Josh Sullivan from Christ the Good Shepherd in Hamden (860) 748-3837 will be available throughout.

Annual Meeting Scheduled for February 19

Bethesda’s Annual Congregational Meeting is scheduled for Sunday, February 19, 2023. The meeting will be held in the Campanius Room following the worship service. The agenda for this meeting will include reports of ministry in 2022, adoption of the 2023 budget, elections for new members of Council and the Nominating Committee, and adoption of changes to Bethesda’s Constitution based on updates to the ELCA Model Constitution. As always, there will be a potluck meal and lots of coffee to keep everyone sustained through the meeting.

Forum with Jeff Hazewinkel

At last Sunday’s forum Jeff Hazewinkel gave a presentation at forum on his final project on the way to become a deacon through the Lutheran Diaconal Association. He is looking to enhance Bethesda’s IT functions and collaborate with us on how they can deepen our ministry and mission. Thanks, Jeff!

Former YDS Interns at Bethesda on Sunday

Rev. Dr. Maria Erling and Rev. John Spangler worshiped at Bethesda last Sunday and sang in the choir. Maria serves as Professor of Modern Church History of Global Mission at United Lutheran Seminary (Gettysburg campus), and John has retired from parish ministry, most recently serving as interim in churches in Washington, DC, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. They each served as YDS interns at Bethesda in the 1980's with Pastor Hal Wimmer, then continued during an interim along with Henry Morris as music director after Hal was elected bishop.

Ordination of Claire Repsholdt

All are invited to attend the ordination of Claire Repsholdt, YDS MDiv ’21 and Bethesda House Ministry Liaison 2019-2021. The service will be held on January 28, 2023 at 11:00 am at The Interchurch Center (61 Claremont Ave, New York City). A reception will follow. The color of the day is red.

Blessings for Pastor Claire!

Donations for Sally Azar

Sally Azar will be ordained as the first Palestinian Lutheran Pastor in our companion synod the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL) on Sunday, January 22. Pastor Tim and Pastor Kari Keyl will be in attendance. Again, besides our prayers, we are receiving donations for the gift of clergy apparel by Sunday, January 15. Designate your gifts for “Sally Azar” in the memo.

Thank you!

Upcoming Commemorations

Martin Luther King Jr., renewer of society, martyr, died 1968

Sunday, January 15, 2023

An American prophet of justice among races and nations, King was an eloquent preacher, a leader of the nonviolent resistance to race-segregated society, and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. Born on this date, he was assassinated on April 4, 1968.

Antony of Egypt, renewer of the church, died around 356

Tuesday, January 17, 2023

One of the earliest of the Egyptian desert fathers, Antony gave away his sizeable inheritance and became a hermit. Later he became leader of a group of monks who devoted themselves to prayer, worship, and labor.

Pachomius, renewer of the church, died 346

Tuesday, January 17, 2023

Born in Egypt, Pachomius became a Christian while a soldier. He became a hermit (a solitary monk) and organized others into a religious community. His rule for monasteries influenced later ones in both the Eastern and Western churches.

Confession of Peter

Wednesday, January 18, 2023

Today the church remembers the apostle Peter's great acknowledgement of Jesus as "the Christ, the Son of the living God." This festival serves as a fitting beginning to the week in which we particularly pray that all Christians might be united in faith and witness.

Henry, Bishop of Uppsala, martyr, died 1156

Thursday, January 19, 2023

When Erik, King of Sweden, determined to invade Finland for the purpose of converting the people there to Christianity, Henry went with him. Henry is recognized as the patron saint of Finland.

Agnes, martyr, died around 304

Saturday, January 21, 2023

Agnes was a girl of about thirteen living in Rome. The details of her martyrdom are not clear, but she gave witness to her faith and was put to death as a result, most likely by the sword. The church has honored her as one of the chief martyrs of her time.

Prayer Requests

For healing and strength: Pastor Ruth Drews; John Ferreira, nephew of Chris Couture; Mary Ricketts, friend of Chris Wigren; 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, and Vicar Gabrielle Brown. 

For those who mourn: Ada Richison, mother of Jeff Hazelwinkel, mourning the death of her husband Don on January 8th.

For Greta Lee, at the anniversary of her baptism on January 16.

For Sally Azar at her ordination into the ELCJHL on Sunday, January 22, and Pastor Tim and Pastor Kari Henkelmann Keyl on their travels to the Middle East.

For Bethesda folk on retreat at Calumet through Monday.