1279 High Street Auburn, California95603 We Are on the Web www.bethlehemlutheranauburn.org Phone: 530-885-4515 Fax: 530-885-2287 E-mail: [email protected]Bethlehem Lutheran Church Save the dates! BE THE CHURCH WEEK JULY 23 – 27, 2012 5:30 – 8:30 pm Sharing Christ’s Love Sharing Christ’s Love Sharing Christ’s Love Sharing Christ’s Love Worship Services Saturday Evening 5:00 PM Sunday Morning 8:30 AM & 11:00 AM Evening Service of Meditation , Prayer and Peace– Second and fourth Sun- days a month at 5:30 PM The Herald In his annual report to our Synod, Bishop Holmerud, quoting Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson, called us to a “living, daring confi- dence in God’s grace.” Since reading and hear- ing his report to Synod pastors and congrega- tions, these words have echoed in my heart and head: A living, daring confidence in God’s grace. What does it mean to have a living, daring confidence in God’s grace? Throughout the season of Easter, our first scripture reading came from the Acts of the Apostles and highlight- ed the drama of the early church. In the book of Acts, Luke uses the word “boldness” to describe the activity of these early Christian leaders. We are told that they even prayed for bold- ness as they spread the good news and per- formed the signs and wonders of God’s Kingdom. That pray- er, by the way, came on the heels of perse- cution. I wonder if boldness isn’t a syno- nym for a living and daring confidence in the grace of God? William Willimon suggests that the kind of boldness described in Acts is, in a sense, what prayer is all about: “the bold ef- fort on the part of the community to hold God to God’s promis- es.” Praying for bold- ness is the confidence that God will be true to God’s character and give the church what it so desperately needs. What we need may not always be what we want, but God gives us what we need to live out God’s mission in a manner and style that looks a whole lot like Jesus and the ministry of the Kingdom of God: lifting up the lowly, spreading the word of forgiveness, healing the brokenhearted, minister- ing to the poor, loving enemies, making disci- ples. Here at Bethlehem we are involved in a vision- ing process. We are look- ing to the future and dis- cerning where God is leading us. We are asking what our unique role is in the on-going activity of God to renew and heal a broken creation. As we continue to pray through this process, I wonder what it looks like for us to have a living and dar- ing confidence in God’s grace? What risks are we willing to take as we seek to represent Jesus to the community around us? We need not be afraid. We can even pray for boldness and trust that God is helping us in ways we can only begin to im- agine. Peace, Pastor Bryon Pastor’s Page ~ Confident in God’s Grace Bethlehem Lutheran Church June 2012 CHURCH STAFF PASTOR Bryon Hansen DIRECTOR OF YOUTH MINISTRY Bryan Whiteside OFFICE MANAGER Joy Johnson WORSHIP COORDINATOR Denise Nelson FAITH COMMUNITY NURSE Randi Olson DIRECTOR OF CHILDREN’S MINISTRY Kathye Hamm CHURCH COUNCIL MEMBERS President Don Schultze Vice President Inge Hendersen Secretary/Treasurer Diane Allison Members at Large: Jaron Latona Laura Hesse Terry Mornin Christie Sonmez
Sharing Christ’s LoveSharing Christ’s LoveSharing Christ’s LoveSharing Christ’s Love
Worship Services
Saturday Evening 5:00 PM
Sunday Morning 8:30 AM & 11:00 AM
Evening Service of Meditation , Prayer
and Peace– Second and fourth Sun-
days a month at 5:30 PM
The Herald
In his annual report to
our Synod, Bishop
Holmerud, quoting
Presiding Bishop Mark
Hanson, called us to a
“living, daring confi-
dence in God’s grace.”
Since reading and hear-
ing his report to Synod
pastors and congrega-
tions, these words have
echoed in my heart and
head: A living, daring
confidence in God’s grace.
What does it mean to
have a living, daring
confidence in God’s
grace?
Throughout the season
of Easter, our first
scripture reading came
from the Acts of the
Apostles and highlight-
ed the drama of the
early church. In the
book of Acts, Luke
uses the word
“boldness” to describe
the activity of these
early Christian leaders.
We are told that they
even prayed for bold-
ness as they spread the
good news and per-
formed the signs and
wonders of God’s
Kingdom. That pray-
er, by the way, came
on the heels of perse-
cution. I wonder if
boldness isn’t a syno-
nym for a living and
daring confidence in
the grace of God?
William Willimon
suggests that the kind
of boldness described
in Acts is, in a sense,
what prayer is all
about: “the bold ef-
fort on the part of the
community to hold
God to God’s promis-
es.” Praying for bold-
ness is the confidence
that God will be true
to God’s character
and give the church
what it so desperately
needs. What we need
may not always be
what we want, but
God gives us what we
need to live out God’s
mission in a manner
and style that looks a
whole lot like Jesus
and the ministry of
the Kingdom of God:
lifting up the lowly,
spreading the word of
forgiveness, healing the
brokenhearted, minister-
ing to the poor, loving
enemies, making disci-
ples.
Here at Bethlehem we
are involved in a vision-
ing process. We are look-
ing to the future and dis-
cerning where God is
leading us. We are asking
what our unique role is in
the on-going activity of
God to renew and heal a
broken creation. As we
continue to pray through
this process, I wonder
what it looks like for us
to have a living and dar-
ing confidence in God’s
grace? What risks are we
willing to take as we seek
to represent Jesus to the
community around us?
We need not be afraid.
We can even pray for
boldness and trust that
God is helping us in ways
we can only begin to im-
agine.
Peace,
Pastor Bryon
Pastor’s Page ~ Confident in God’s Grace
Bethlehem Lutheran Church June 2012
CHURCH
STAFF
PASTOR
Bryon Hansen
DIRECTOR OF
YOUTH MINISTRY
Bryan Whiteside
OFFICE MANAGER
Joy Johnson
WORSHIP
COORDINATOR
Denise Nelson
FAITH COMMUNITY NURSE
Randi Olson
DIRECTOR OF
CHILDREN’S
MINISTRY
Kathye Hamm
CHURCH
COUNCIL
MEMBERS
President
Don Schultze
Vice President
Inge Hendersen
Secretary/Treasurer
Diane Allison
Members at Large:
Jaron Latona
Laura Hesse
Terry Mornin
Christie Sonmez
Page 2
Synod Assembly Report The 25th annual Assembly of
the ELCA Sierra Pacific Synod
met May 18-20 in San Jose.
Representing Bethlehem were
Kathye Hamm, Don Schultze,
Kevin Hamm, and Pastor Bry-
on. Speakers and Bible Study
leaders reflected on the As-
sembly theme, For the Love of
God: Caring for Creation. This
Stewardship of Creation
theme was echoed, too, in the
Assembly’s worship, prayer
and workshop opportunities.
Individuals throughout the
Synod were elected to posi-
tions on the Synod Council
and as voting members to the
2013 ELCA Church wide As-
sembly. Several resolutions
were passed, including the
Synod becoming a partner
with LACE (Lutheran Associ-
ation of Christian educators),
support of the ELCA Malaria
campaign, witnessing against
capital punishment, and sup-
porting a merger between
PLTS (our seminary in Berke-
ley) and California Lutheran
University.
Ordination anniversaries were
acknowledged for Synod cler-
gy, including our own Pastor
Paul Krueger (55 years) and
Pastor Virginia Ward (25
years). Our Synod includes
nearly 200 congregations in
central and northern Califor-
nia and Nevada. Bethlehem’s
James Anderberg serves on
the Synod Council, represent-
ing the Foothills Conference.
The Reverend Mark
Holmerud is our Synod Bish-
op.
Pastor’s Preaching Project Pastor Bryon will be attending his third and final residency for the Doc-
tor of Ministry in preaching project, June 18 through July 6 in Chicago.
The first week “core” course focuses on prophetic preaching. “The
Spirituality of Preaching” is Pastor’s elective class during the second
week. The final week, known as colloquy, will begin the process of de-
veloping and writing a thesis. Stay tuned for more details!
We have 12 prints of Stations of the Cross that are DeGrazia Prints.
They were used a year ago and we have not been able to locate them. If
you have any idea where they could be, or if you accidently picked them
up please contact the church office. Thank you.
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR DIRECTOR OF YOUTH MINISTRY BRYAN WHITESIDE.
Bryan graduated from Fuller Seminary with a Masters of Divinity on June 9, 2012
Congratulations to Bryan!
Food Closet News
The Auburn Interfaith Food Closet is humming right along these days, managing with the help of God's faithful servants to meet its monthly food targets. AIFC is serving about 1,000 families a month these days, so every donation counts.
Good news about the "Stamp Out Hunger" collection day, when our local postal workers picked up your donated food items at the mailbox -
AIFC received 19,000 lbs. of food products! That smashed the previous high (9,000 lbs.), so a big thank you to everyone who participated this way.
Attention BLC Youth: If you are looking for a meaningful way to spend some of your time this summer, consider serving in the Summer Student Program at the Food Closet. From June 18 to August 3, you will work about 4 hours a day sorting groceries, stocking shelves, and "learning the ropes" of how the Food Closet provides its services to hungry people from the community. This will look good on your résumé, for sure! There's an application to fill out along with parental per-mission. The deadline to apply is June 16. If you have questions, please call the Food Closet at (530)885-1921, or email Joe Irvin at [email protected].
Stuff-A-Bus Rolls Into Auburn: Please mark your calendars for Saturday, June 16, when buses will be parked in front of SaveMart (Elm Plaza) and Bel-Air Market (Hwy 49). The idea is to jam them full of canned goods, packaged foods, and jars, which will help us through the summer months. Just stop by after shopping or when you are out and about. Look for the Stuff-A-Bus in the parking lots. Thankyou's from the heart!
This group is open to all member of Bethlehem who have a recreational vehicle and like to travel, mostly short distances to camp. In April the group went to Monterey and stayed at the Laguna Seca Racetrack. One day they toured the Monterey
Bay Aquarium, drove to Big Sir and had lunch, and one day toured the Carmel Mission. The next outing will be to Duck Island on the Delta June 26-29. Don & Peggy Schultze and Jerry & Audrey Mueller are in charge. If anyone desired to come along, give them a call.
Strategic Development Team Update, June 2012 Your Strategic Development Team continues to work on BLC’s visioning process. Thank you to
all who completed surveys and took part in Easter Meeting Focus groups to let your views of
Bethlehem be known ! We have received dozens of surveys, and held about a dozen Focus
Groups in the months of April and May.
In this coming month, we will be collating the responses received, develop initial findings, identi-
fy congregational priorities and prepare a Herald article with the survey/meeting results. We
hope to prepare some missional goals and begin to discuss these findings and priorities with the
Church Council.
Thank you for your input and your support of this very important process which will shape the
future of Bethlehem!
Your Visioning Team.
WOMEN’S MINISTRY Quilting Plus has ended for the summer months and will re-sume September 4th. Over the past year the group has made and mailed off 20 quilts to Lutheran World Relief and the Navajo Mission in Rock Point Arizona.
A Note from Bryan Whiteside
I am so excited about this year’s “Be the Church
Week.” It is exciting for a number of reasons. First, it
is an opportunity for those of us at Bethlehem to roll
up our sleeves and get active in our community. Sec-
ondly, this is a wonderful witness to the city of Au-
burn that we do not exist for the sake of ourselves
but forth the sake of our city. Lastly, Bethlehem will
be serving and encouraging the other non-profit
agencies our community. This is a good step forward. If we want to be a missional commu-
nity then we must begin with our own neighbors. “The friendly little church by the fair-
grounds” can no longer be the indirect slogan of Bethlehem. Let’s replace it with something
like, “The dynamic people of God set free to love as Jesus loved.” Maybe then, when we tell
people about our church we will not tell them where it is located, what the time the services
are, or how many members we have. What if instead, we were able tell concrete examples
about all of the disciples who have been commissioned to bring God’s Kingdom to Auburn
as it is in Heaven. “Be the Church” week will be my last week as a staff member at Bethle-
hem and I cannot imagine a better way to end my time here.
-Bryan
Excited about serving others – living out our mission as followers of Jesus??? You won’t want to miss
BE THE CHURCH WEEK
JULY 23 – 27, 2012
5:30 – 8:30 pm
Our entire church family will gather together for 5
evenings to share meals and serve the community.
Each night will have a different focus – ending with
Gathering Inn on Friday night. We will invite our
guests to join in our fun as well as serve them a meal!
More information about the other evenings coming soon!
Page 4
Spotlight on You!
Each month I will be featuring a couple of our kids. This month
meet:
Name: Ava Conn Age/Grade: 4 yrs/ preschool
When I grow up, I want to be a princess.
If I could be any animal for a day, I would be a horse, because I like horses.
My favorite book of all time is Blue Fairy Do Something.
Some things I like about Bethlehem are doing crafts.
or dimes or quarters) to help Kibungo parish build
a church!
Thanks to your generosity, we have already filled
5 ½ jars with pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters
and bills! On Sunday May 27, as part of the Pente-
cost Celebration, we will sort and roll and count our donations. Watch for a final total…
Thank You Godly Play and K.O.W.
Leaders!
We’ve had an amazing year in Godly Play and Kids On
Wednesday! But it would not have been possible without a
dedicated team of volunteers. Next time you see these amazing women, tell them how
much you appreciate their service to our children.
Coreena Whiteside Joy Johnson Monica Vega Janet Riswold
Erin Grover Jenn Bayer Darling Cindy Bowman
Kid’s Corner
Page 9
A Word from Diane Alison, Treasurer
The year is off to a good start. Thank-you! Let's keep the momentum going as we enter the Summer which is typically our lean months for giving. BLC offers electronic giving go to our website and download the form and give to Joy. Or put us on your own banks bill pay so you don't have to remember to bring the check book on Sundays. April YTD Budgeted
Income $40634 $135240 Income $120915 Expenses $33356 $1124753 Expense $120915 Balance $7278 $10487 Though April was a good month , May giving is a little down. As we enter the summer season please be faithful and gener-ous with your committed giving to God and Gods Mission.
Summertime Stress Slowing You Down? We like to think of summer as being a relaxing, enjoyable time. But hurts, strug-gles, crises, and problems don't take a vacation. Many times our difficulties seem even worse during the summer because everyone else seems to be enjoying life while you are feeling down. If you are experiencing a difficult time--emotionally, spiritually, or relationally--you don't have to suffer alone. Our Stephen Ministers are trained caregivers, ready to listen, care for and encourage you, pray with and for you, and provide one-to-one Christian care to help you through whatever it is that you are facing. Men are matched with male Stephen Ministers and women are
matched with female Stephen Ministers. It's free. It's confidential. And it will make a difference in your life!
To find out more about Stephen Ministry for you or someone you know, talk with one of
our Stephen Ministry Leaders: Pastor Bryon, Joy Johnson, Susan Christensen, Joe Irvin, or Jo Reid.
MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR
to Honor and Bid Farewell to
Bryan and Coreena Whiteside
Saturday, July 28, 2012
5:00 WORSHIP AT BETHLEHEM
6:00 RECEPTION FOLLOWED BY BANQUET AND TRIBUTE
Sunday, July 29, 2012
8:30 and 11:00 WORSHIP AT BETHLEHEM
9:45 CAKE RECEPTION
12:00 - 4:00 FAMILY PICNIC AT
LOOK FOR MORE INFORMATION TO COME
Page 8
A Note From the President I just returned from the 2012 Sierra Pacific Synod Assembly where the theme was "For the Love of God: Caring for Creation". We had numerous sessions on how we as followers of Christ can advocate for the care of God's creation in our lives and through our ministries. It brought to mind our in-house recycling ministry at BLC. The other day Joy told me that a nearby neighbor picks up the recycle items brought to the church and uses them to supplement his meager income. It dawned on me that this is the type of thing that a missional church is all about. How we can help others outside the church. And recycling is an import method of caring for God's creation.
Now that I am coming up to speed after being away for several months, there are a number of things in the near future that I am looking forward
to:
♦ The June 2 Rummage Sale for raising funds to help build the chapel for our sister-congregation in Kibungo. We hope for many volunteers to help out. (Oh yes, I had a vender’s ta-ble at the assembly where I sold a third of my banana fiber product inventory. It netted $160 For Kibugo. Every little bit helps.)
♦ The Financial Ad Hoc Committee's report will soon be finished. I hear they have numerous ideas that should be very beneficial.
♦ Implementing the new Baptismal Covenant church organizational structure. The Congrega-tion Council approved revised Continuing Resolutions in April granting the authority for the structure. Council is working with the Leadership Development Committee to fill vacant posi-tions so that we can soon implement this new structure. It will be used on an interim basis until the Bethlehem Leadership Vision Team makes its recommendations at the end of the year for Bethlehem's future.
An updated Fellowship Directory with many new pictures of church members to argument the 2009 Directory will soon be finished. It will reflect many changes since 2009 and will be use-ful to connect names with faces.
I really appreciate all the hard work and accomplishments done by the Council during my ab-sence. Don Schultze, President
These young persons affirmed their Baptism on Holy Trinity Sunday,
June 3rd:
Jose Untalan Jr., Don Williams, Jason Ciola, Kevin Dillon, Han-
nah Olson, Jack Tjornhom, Adryn Kindice.
Page 5
You Are Invited!You Are Invited!You Are Invited!You Are Invited! Who:Who:Who:Who: All Children and Youth What: What: What: What: A Trip to Bounce In Roseville When: When: When: When: Monday June 18 How Much: How Much: How Much: How Much: $5 per kid (parents/guardians are free and can join in the bouncing!) What Time: What Time: What Time: What Time: Depart from BLC at 2:00 pm and return at 4: 30 pm What to Bring: What to Bring: What to Bring: What to Bring: SOCKS!!!
Questions or would like to help drive? Talk to MrsKathyeHamm or MrBryanWhiteside
SIGN UP BY JUNE 3!SIGN UP BY JUNE 3!SIGN UP BY JUNE 3!SIGN UP BY JUNE 3! Sign Up online at www.bethlehemlutheranauburn.org by clicking on the event BounceU in
Roseville
7611 Galilee Road, Roseville, CA 95678 BounceU.com/Roseville Thanks to all who helped with the Columbarium expansion, especially Joel Sizemore, Jim Sizemore and helpers Jerry Mueller, Ron Lindstrom, Bob John-son, Tom Larson and Rod Stoltenberg. The Columbarium will be dedicated on All Saints Sunday in November.
These persons were received as new members at
Easter Vigil and Pentecost
Scott and Kathy Smith, 943 Eden Valley Rd, Eden Valley, CA 95713, 530-
637-1810
Preston Marx, 1737 Stone Way, Auburn, CA 95603, 820-3888
David Iezzi, 12199 Gateway Ct #3, Auburn, CA 95603, 530-823-5399
Melissa and Katelyn Miller, 1470 Wimbledon Dr, Auburn, CA 95603,
530-878-6826
Jean and Dean Decker, P. O. Box 592, Loomis, CA 95650, 916-652-7768
Heather, Christ, Sophia and Maggie Campbell, P.O. Box 1285, Newcastle, CA 95658, 916-
865-7108
Grady Grover the son of Erin and Phil Grover and grandson of Ruth Dugan
Frank & Lula Gregersen, P.O. Box 5597, Auburn, CA 95603 775-853-1774
