December 10, 2023
Second Sunday of Advent Worship at 9:30 am
Followed by Fellowship and Learning Hour

Presiding Minister: Pastor Tim Keyl

Assisting Minister: Chris Wigren

Organist & Music Director: Isaac Lee

Lectors: Clarissa Wylie Youngberg & Blair Goodlin

Altar Guild: Richard Ford and Diane Witte

Livestream: Ray Bussolini

Tellers: Blair Goodlin and *volunteer opportunity*

Ushers: Miles Kirschner & Becky Lerud

Bread Baker: Lee Family

Coffee Set-Up: Marietta Meyer

Volunteer Needed
If you would like to serve as a teller this Sunday, please contact Cynthia at [email protected].

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 for the bulletin.

This Week at Bethesda

From the Pastor 

From the Pastor December 10, 2023

Advent Week 2

Rituals are useful as they bring us closer to God. And as rituals go, they are borne out of ordinary human practices. Communion at its essence is related to eating and drinking. Processions are very much related to parades, where pride of place goes to someone important. Baptism at its essence is related to bathing.

We light candles to announce God is near, in church at the altar (for communion), on torches (to bracket the Word), on candelabra (to make a really big impression!). In pre-modern societies, candles were lit to illuminate rooms so people could see (pre-electricity!). Today, candles announce something special: an elegant dinner, a birthday cake, or Jesus’ incarnation while holding candles on Christmas Eve.

At Bethesda, during Advent, we are lighting candles to put in boxes of sand as an accompaniment to prayer. They signify a kind of “signal” to heaven, and a connection to the purpose or person being prayed for. It is a meaningful, tactile gesture to accompany silent prayer.

I encourage your use of candlelighting at home in similar ways to bring God near, especially using an advent wreath made from tree branches in your yard. Kari has brought in holly branches which are deep green with red berries, and placed them around a ring of four candles we have acquired. Even just four votive candles placed on a table can mark this season of preparing. While we are in a season where the days are darker, each week a candle is lit, one, two, three, four, as if to make the days brighter.

Use a prayer from a devotional book as you light the candle for the week. Here’s one for week two from the booklet Come, Lord Jesus:

Blessed are you, O Lord our God, ruler of all the universe.
John the Baptist calls all people to prepare the Lord’s way
for the kingdom of heaven is near.
Bless us as we light the candles on this wreath.
Baptize us with the fire of your Spirit,
that we may be a light shining in the darkness
welcoming others as Christ has welcomed us,
For he is our light and our salvation.
Blessed be God forever. Amen.

Thankful for your company this Advent.
Pastor Tim Keyl

Newtown Anniversary
On Sunday, December 10 during worship, a candle will be lit at the font at the commemoration of those killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14, 2012 in Newtown, Connecticut.

Council Corner December 2023

Council met at the end of November to hear about and discuss several important topics for our congregation. First, we were grateful for Ian Bjorkman’s time and expertise as he walked us through next steps from a legal perspective regarding our ongoing conversations with potential property partners. We heard updates from the three nonprofit organizations who have expressed interest in moving forward with repurposing our campus to varying degrees. All are still on the table.

We considered the agenda for the Dec. 3 Special Meeting of the Congregation and reviewed the proposed amendments to the constitution. We thoughtfully reviewed a summary to be shared with members at this meeting pertaining to our ongoing conversations with potential partners who may assume ownership of our buildings and grounds while allowing Bethesda to continue to worship in this place. Eager to hear from the congregation, we prepared talking points for the potluck on Sunday following the meeting.

We looked ahead to the annual meeting at the end of January and planned for the budget approval process. We will be inviting the nominating committee to begin their work and we encourage you to prayerfully consider any request to serve on our leadership team in these important months ahead.

We gratefully accepted reports from our staff and committees outlining the good and continuing work of our lives together as Bethesda Lutheran Church.

Nora Lee, Secretary

Supporting Palestinian Christians

Special Offering for Palestinian Christians during Advent and Christmas

We are looking to raise $1,000 to support our companion church in Jerusalem, the West Bank and Jordan (the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land). Donate to Bethesda with “ELCJHL” in the memo on check and online designating it as “Special Gifts.”

Crafts by Palestinian Christians in Bethlehem

Pastor Keyl has friends in Bethlehem looking for additional income during the crisis, as tourism has ground to a halt.

Order Crafts from Jack at the Christmas House on Facebook or My Christmas House on Etsy

or Elias at Touch of Grace on Facebook.

Even better will be to combine orders into one big order. See Pastor Tim and stay tuned for more details.

Advent at Betheda

Second Sunday of Advent December 10

Fellowship and Learning Hour following worship

Parish House Living Room forum on the Gospel of Mark

Weekday Soup Supper and Prayer Thursday, December 14

6:00 pm Soup Supper (Campanius Room) 

Offered: one meat-based and one vegetarian soup, bread, and wine

(see sign-up or bring some to share; set-up at 5:45 pm)

6:40 pm Contemplative Prayer (Bethesda’s Chapel)

Twenty-minutes of reading, song, and silence

Third Sunday of Advent December 17

Tree decorating during the postlude

Dessert Potluck following worship

Bring desserts to share

Caroling to a few homes 

Bring lunch to eat before we carpool

Service of the Longest Night Prayer, Wednesday, December 20

7:00 pm in the sanctuary

Near the winter solstice, we will acknowledge grief and pray for God’s coming in the deepest darkness

Christmas and the Sundays of Christmas at Bethesda

Christmas Eve Sunday, December 24

7:30 pm (NOTE THE NEW TIME!)

Carols, Choir song, Candlelighting, Eucharist, 

Refreshments following worship in the narthex

Christmas Day Monday, December 25

10 am in the Sanctuary

More carols, The Prologue of John (Gospel), Eucharist

Refreshments following worship in the narthex

First Sunday of Christmas December 31 at 9:30 am

Even more carols, The Presentation our Lord (Gospel), Eucharist

Refreshments following worship in the narthex

Devotions in the Home

Take home limited copies of:
Come, Lord Jesus: Devotions for the Home Advent Christmas Epiphany
Bread for the Day: Daily Readings and Prayers for 2024
The Word in Season Daily Readings and Prayers
2023 Advent Cycle of Prayer for Churches in the Holy Land and the Middle East

We Are Called

Stewardship Update as of 12/5:

Out of 38 pledges received, 24 increased their pledge, 6 decreased their pledge, and 8 did not change their pledge from last year.

Pledge total is $186,048, 95% of our goal of $196,000. That pledge total, $186,048, is $19,005 above what those 38 pledgers pledged last year ($167,043), an 11% increase.

We are following up with people who pledged for 2023 but have yet to submit a pledge for 2024. There are also a number of members who contribute, but do not pledge. If you are one of them, we would welcome the opportunity to discuss with you the spiritual advantages of pledging to Bethesda.

If you haven't already, share your intention for giving in 2024 using online or hard copy (paper) forms (Stewardship Pledge Form 2024.pdf; Online Stewardship Pledge Form 2024). Mail (305 St. Ronan Street, New Haven CT 06511) or email the hard copies ([email protected]).

Order Your Poinsettias!

It is that time of year again! As we prepare for Christ’s birth, you can help decorate the chancel area of the Sanctuary for Christmas Eve by sponsoring a poinsettia! This year, they are $12 each. Simply fill out the form linked below to confirm your order, specify your designation for your poinsettia, and then either pay online or select Pay by check and drop your check in the offering basket on Sundays or mail it to the church. There will also be paper forms available in the Narthex after worship.
Please place your orders by December 17th

Click here to order

Year-End Gift to Bethesda
We give our time, our talent, and our treasure to many places, year-round. But the profound hope of Advent engenders a sharper sense of gratitude for all we have received from God through our beloved faith community, Bethesda. We ask that your reflection results in consideration of a special, year-end gift, even as it coincides with your financial planning for tax purposes. A donation beyond a pledge or regular gift can be made in many ways besides cash: an IRA distribution; appreciated stock (don’t sell it first!); the pile of coins collecting dust on your dresser. Thank you for thinking about making a special gift to Bethesda by December 31.

Pastoral Care

If you’d like to meet with Pastor Keyl, please make an appointment through Bethesda’s administrator Leigh Cromey [email protected] or by calling (203) 787-2346 most weekday mornings. Pastor Keyl can meet at your home, at Bethesda, or over a cup of coffee somewhere.

Prayer Requests

For healing and strength: Michele Meyer, daughter-in-law of Marietta Meyer; Linda Johnson; John Ferreira, nephew of Chris Couture; Sonja Krummrey; Maureen Anderson; Shirley Farm; Ann and Lee Keck; Kay Leone; Molly Dinneen; Matthew H., cousin of Tyler Fair

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 our Ecumenical Partners Worldwide: Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam. The Ecumenical Prayer Cycle takes us through every region of the world over the course of a year.

Pray for an end to violence in the Middle East: Donations are being received from Lutheran Disaster Response, or you may give through Bethesda, memo: “ELCJHL”. 

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 or seeking candidacy for rostered leadership in the ELCA: Natalie Benson, Gabrielle Brown, Tyler Fair, Calli Micale, Tim Bergeland, Jordan Baker, Eric Pitts.