June 25, 2023
Summer Worship
Worship at 9:30 am

Presiding Minister & Preacher: Pastor Scott Harris
Vicar: Gabrielle Brown
Assisting Minister: Chris Wigren
Pianist: Lynn Arezzini
Lectors: Veronica Brisson and Calli Micale
Altar Guild: Rebecca Lerud
Livestream: Ray Bussolini
Tellers: Martin Gehner and Rachelle Goto
Ushers: Rachelle Goto
Bread Baker: Lee Family
Musicians and Cantors: Arezzini Family
Coffee Hour: Tyler Fair

From the Vicar

Friends,
This week, your Vicar has been reflecting on pictures, two of them, to be precise.

The first picture is Södersten’s painting of Jesus rescuing Peter from the raging sea. You know, the one in the narthex. The one you may have heard me call “White Jesus” as a jab towards our Eurocentric church history.

And the second picture is a big picture. Not the big picture, but a big picture.

My time at Bethesda is brief and finite, just under a year. Yet this faith community was established way back in 1883  - a hundred and forty years ago. The mission of Bethesda - our reason for being - began before I arrived and will continue after I leave. And I’m not the only one, am I?

Bethesda’s current building is the fourth church building Bethesda has occupied. The Södersen was obtained back in 1905, and has occupied a place of honor in three of those buildings. At the same time, Bethesda engaged in mission and ministry outside the walls, including partnering with the late Rev. Ruth Drews’ ministry at Resurrection, knitting and sewing and quilting warm things to be shared around the world. More recently, Bethesda’s mission is carried out beyond our the walls when we serve meals at Downtown Evening Soup Kitchen, invite neighbors to our Ice Cream Social and Easter Vigil support Global Mission and our siblings in Palestine, and harvest fresh vegetables for Christian Community Action’s food pantry. Bethesda’s ministry intersects with Yale Divinity School, LuMin Campus Ministry and the Institute of Sacred Music.

Regardless of the space - in the building with White Jesus as a backdrop, or out in the New Haven community and beyond  - Bethesda has consistently been centered in the grace of the Word and the Sacraments which nurture learning and growth in faith and service.

This congregation honors its Swedish roots while embracing today’s realities. The people of Bethesda offer a daily witness to God’s reconciling love in Christ in word and action, as individuals and in community. Bethesda is welcoming, affirming and generous.

So, the larger than life painting of Jesus, displayed in a place of prominence in a series of buildings makes me think of the consistency of Bethesda’s big picture. Bethesda’s unwavering mission and ministry pivots when change is required, yet remains steadfast and dependable.

This Vicar looks forward to returning to Connecticut one day and experiencing what Bethesda’s witness, ministry and community looks like. And Jesus’ rescue from the chaos of the sea will be a part, I do not doubt.

-Vicar Gabrielle

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.

Thank You Pastor Harris
Pastor Harris is serving as Presiding Minister at Bethesda Worship this week. He is a retired Lutheran pastor.  He has served congregations in Wisconsin, Long Island, N.Y., and Connecticut. He and his wife Karen, along with their three children, lived in India for five and one-half years where Pastor Harris taught Hebrew and Old Testament at Andhra Christian Theological College, a Lutheran supported interdenominational seminary in Hyderabad, India.  He is a graduate of Yale Divinity School and holds a Ph.D. in Hebrew and Old Testament from Union Theological Seminary, New York City.

We Need Volunteers for July

Please sign up for volunteer roles here for July!

Did you receive a volunteer recruitment email you would prefer not to receive in the future?

Email administrative assistant, Tyler Fair ([email protected]) to update your communication preferences on our volunteer platform.

Relatedly, if there are any tasks that you'd like to do but don't yet know how, feel free to email Tyler who can get a training coordinated. These volunteer opportunities include bread baking, coffee set-up, acolyte, altar guild, reader, and others.

"I am the gate" - Jesus Christ, John 10:7
You may see some new fencing and gates going up near the circular drive and lower Memorial Garden. This new fencing will help keep nursery school children safe and Bethesda Nursery School in compliance with safety standards. Bethesda Nursery School is paying for these updates. Please remember to avoid cutting through nursery school grounds while children are present

2024 National Youth Gathering and Concurrent Young Adult Gathering

2024 National Youth Gathering is next summer in.....

New Orleans!

Plus, for the first time, there will be a Young Adult Gathering alongside NYG! If you’re age 18-35 and interested, stay tuned!

Find more info here.

Christian Community Action (CCA) News--Let's Get to 500!

Thank you, Martin Gehner, for obtaining a Thrivent Action Team grant to help us fill the cart every week this summer. Last year we exceeded our goal of 500 food items for CCA. Let’s do it again this June and July!

Groceries will be transported each week to CCA. Let's see to it that our cart runneth over!

More from CCA

Christian Community Action’s six-decade mission is to express faithful witness by providing help, housing, and hope to people who are poor in New Haven.

CCA wants everyone in the Bethesda community to know

how thankful they are for Bethesda’s partnership through our food pantry donations of pantry staples and fresh produce from the Giving Garden. 

Bethesda’s recent quick and generous response to CCA’s needs helped demonstrate that we can support CCA’s food pantry most effectively by staying aware of CCA’s food pantry shortages--which are more severe after recent federal policy changes.

Each month CCA will let us know their likely greatest needs. Nicole, CCA’s Director of Emergency Family Services, predicts that for July, the greatest food pantry needs will be cans of fruit, jelly, juice and juice boxes, and filler items such as condiments, sugar, and seasonings. Consider these items when shopping for items to donate, and remember that all food staples are always welcome.

Thank You, Bethesda, for your Support!

Eleanor Lee sends a thank you and update to Bethesda!:
I’m Eleanor and I am so excited to return to Lutheran Summer Music at Valparaiso University this summer. I am endlessly grateful for the support from Bethesda that has allowed me to participate in this program for two years. Similar to last year, I’m excited to participate in the Festival Orchestra (playing the violin) as well as a chamber group, and I’m looking forward to adding a new ensemble this time around: the Festival Choir! I also look forward to taking various courses, including music theory and conducting, and to continue growing in my faith surrounded by people who share my values.

Again, thank you very much for your continued support in this endeavor; I can’t wait to share all of my travels with you once I return!

-Eleanor Lee

Ministry at Bethesda

Vicar Gabrielle will be the primary contact for day to day ministry along with Leigh Cromey ([email protected]), other staff, and leadership until her last Sunday on July 9. You may reach her at her email ([email protected]).

For pastoral care, urgent or otherwise, please call or text Vicar Gabrielle at (719) 352-8918. 

Elaine Ramshaw, congregation council president, is also available should you have questions or need pastoral care ([email protected], (203)747-1343)

If you are not able to reach Vicar Gabrielle, Leigh, or Elaine for pastoral care needs, Pastor Josh Sullivan at Christ the Good Shepherd will be available through the end of June at (860) 748-3837 and Deacon Jeff Hazewinkel will also be available after July 16th at (219) 929-8684.

We have a slate of preachers and presiders for Sunday mornings. Plan to greet them and thank them for their leadership.

Prayer Requests

For healing and strength: 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; Shirley Farm; Anne and Lee Keck; Kay Leone; Molly Dinneen; Karen (Starbranch) Blitch, daughter of Chuck Starbranch.

Prayers of comfort in grief for the family of Pastor Leon Linquist, a former Bethesda member most recently living in Montana.

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.

Prayers of comfort for family and friends of Pat Sunderland, and those at Trinity Lutheran, where she was their long-time administrator.

For our Ecumenical Partners Worldwide: We pray for Kenya and Tanzania. The Ecumenical Prayer Cycle takes us through every region of the world over the course of a year.

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

For Pastor Tim and Pastor Kari Henkelmann Keyl on sabbatical May 22-August 21, that they may be renewed.

For Bethesda members traveling over the summer: Blair Goodlin headed Maryland end of June and New York around early July; Eleanor Lee who will be attending the Lutheran Summer Music in Valpro, Indiana from late June to late July; the Lee Family will be in Indiana, Iowa, North Dakota and Minnesota mid-July through early August; Michaela Natal who will be in Argentina and Brazil in July; Maggie Astrup and Max Marmor spending time in Minnesota and Austria June through August; Dianne Witte and Richard Ford traveling West for triathlon related travel June through August; Ann Louise Onton headed to Japan in early August; Ike Harijanto who will be in Germany from June until the end of 2023.