Bethany Lutheran Church

February 5 - In Isaiah it is the one God who sits above the earth and numbers the stars—it is that God who strengthens the powerless. So in Jesus’ healing work we see the hand of the creator God, lifting up the sick woman to health and service (diakonia). Like Simon’s mother-in-law, we are lifted up to health and diakonia. Following Jesus, we strengthen the powerless; like Jesus, we seek to renew our own strength in quiet times of prayer. (Sundays and Seasons, Augsburg Fortress)

On Sunday, February 5th, Bethany will once again be participating in the national Souper Bowl of Caring event. After the 8am, 9am, or 10:30am services come to the Fellowship Hall and enjoy a bowl of soup. There will be children holding soup pots designated for the Giants or the Patriots. Drop $1 in your favorite team’s pot and we’ll see who wins!

See www.souperbowl.org for more information. This will be Bethany’s fourth year of participation and we have raised over $8,000 in the last three years. Our donations will go half to the ELCA World Hunger Appeal and half to Metro CareRing, our local food bank.

Bring your family, enjoy a bowl of soup, and help us support these great organizations!

Valentine’s Day just got a whole lot sweeter!  Show your love by giving Fair Trade Divine Chocolate this Valentine’s Day!  Your one purchase will give many gifts – cocoa farmers in Ghana will get a fair price for their crops and their communities will get the opportunity to dig wells, build schools, provide medical benefits and more for those they love.  Chocolate that changes lives! What could be sweeter than that?

• Look for Fair Trade Chocolate at the
  
• Global Mission Task Force Table on Sunday, February 5th.

Here’s a tasty opportunity to help raise funds for Rainbow Trail Lutheran Camp!  This FUNdraiser will be hosted by the California Pizza Kitchens along the Colorado Front Range, in Albuquerque, NM and in the Twin Cities, MN.  This is an easy fundraiser, and we are asking for your help to spread the word!

• WHEN: Tuesday, February 7, 2012
• HOURS:  ALL DAY (Lunch through Dinner)
• HOW:  Bring a copy of the advertising flyer (click HERE to download) to your favorite location and present it to your server.  20% of your total bill, including beverages, will be donated to RTLC.  Catering and take-out are included!

Thank you for your help in supporting the ongoing ministry of Rainbow Trail!

“Be bold, take risks on account of the gospel, but believe more boldly still in Christ Jesus!” says Martin Luther.  Bold Women’s Day celebrates all Lutheran women who have acted or are acting boldly on their faith in Jesus Christ. Bold Women’s Day celebrates all Lutheran women who have acted or are acting boldly on their faith in Jesus Christ.

Whether you live out your bold story of faith in your workplace, family or community, let’s celebrate your bold! We know that each woman will act boldly in a way that’s unique to her, so we talk about each of us “finding our bold.”

Some boldness is firm and quiet. Some is bright and loud. We want to help each other find that bold, live it out and celebrate it!  On this day we will honor the retirement of our long-time Bethany Quilters.  Help us celebrate this day by “finding your bold”!

Mark your calendars now:  For our Lenten journey, we will be studying Signs of Belonging: Luther’s Marks of the Church and the Christian Life, by Rev. Dr. Mary Hinkle Shore. Dr. Shore will be our guest on February 25-26, as consultant and preacher. She has written a compelling book about Martin Luther’s signs of being a Christian and our mutual life. We are blessed to belong through Word, Baptism, Holy Communion, Forgiveness, Worship and the Cross.  Her book is available at the Hospitality Desk for $7.

The weekend of January 28-29, 2012 was a sabbath discussing, arm-raising, faith-forming, spaghetti-eating, umbrella-opening kind of weekend!

Special thanks to our guest, Rev. Dr. Paul Hill, director of Vibrant Faith Ministries,  for leading Bethany members and friends in caring conversations about sabbath rest! 

Click HERE for reflections about our weekend together!

• Join us each Sunday for these Adult Learning Opportunities!

• Come once!  Come all 7 times!  As we begin a new year in our faith journey, the Adult Faith Formation Team invites you to “Opening the Book of Faith”, a seven-week study on Lutheran insights for Bible study.  Starting on January 8th at 9:00 am in Room 210, Pastor Dena Williams will lead us through this study about how our Lutheran roots impact and shape our reading of Holy Scripture.  Everyone is welcome!  Whether you know a lot or know very little, join us in this enriching study as we start a new year in our faith journey!  Click here to view details about the seven-week journey!

• Looking Ahead:  Be sure to read all about Pastor Ron’s upcoming sabbatical (January – March 2012) and view videos by visiting guest preachers Dr. Paul Hill (January 28 and 29, 2012) and Dr. Mary Hinkle Shore (February 25 and 26, 2012).
  

As we journey parallel paths with Pastor Ron (on sabbatical in London), we will study Sabbath rest, church and culture and the signs which identify us as a Christian community.  We invite you to add your thoughts about our sabbatical activities.  Pastor Ruth Ann will leave questions for you to ponder.  Rev. Dr. Paul Hill and Rev. Dr. Mary Hinkle Shore will give us much food for thought when they visit.  May God’s Holy Spirit bless and teach us in these three months.

Visit Bethany’s Sabbatical blog,

Blessed to Belong  http://blessedtobelong.wordpress.com

Current Question: Jesus called the disciples to ‘Follow me.’ Where are some of the places Jesus has asked you to ‘follow’? What did you find or discover when you got there? Thanks for your thoughts! Pastor Ruth Ann

Do you have the gift of Hospitality? We need volunteers to staff the Hospitality Desk for each of the services! You don’t need to have all the answers, just be a friendly, welcoming presence for our members and visitors. If you would like to add your name to the list of volunteers, please email Sarah at sarah@bethany-denver.org or sign-up on the sheet at the Hospitality Desk.

If you are interested in being an usher during one of the services, please contact the church office at 303-758-2820. This is a great way to meet members and greet people attending services!

The Carillons are in need of a few ringers. Experience ringing is always helpful, but we’re good at training novice ringers as well. Rehearsals are Wednesday evenings at 7-8:30pm, and the ensemble plays for worship once a month. For further information, contact Lisa Lewis, 303-221-6323, lisajanelewis@comcast.net. We’d love to have you in our family!

Volunteers needed to help build Bethany’s next Habitat House!  Our next (first of three in 2012) Holy Hammers/Habitat for Humanity of Metro Denver build started on January 27th at 6784 Oneida Street, Commerce City, CO 80022.   This home will be for a woman named Tabatha and her five children – read the family bio HERE.  Volunteer Directions can be downloaded HERE.  Click HERE to sign up for upcoming construction dates, or sign up between services at the table in the Narthex, or contact Kevin Dempsey at 303-699-1629 or kmdmpsy@aol.com.  God’s work.  Our hands!

We invite you to pray for Urban Servant Corps and their volunteers / agencies.  We are praying for the volunteers that will give of their time, skills and talents to share the love of God to those in need.   (click on the logo to see a full-size list of participants)