Bethesda Living Current - August 30, 2024

A weekly e-newsletter of

Bethesda Lutheran Church

Ames, Iowa

August 30, 2024

Calling ALL Bakers!

Interested in baking communion bread for worship services? Bethesda is looking to switch from communion wafers to bread, but we need bread bakers to make this possible. Contact Jeanne Rieck (515-292-2713) if you want to help bake communion bread!

Help Make Rally Weekend a Success

Making Rally Weekend a success is a congregation wide effort. If you would like to lend a hand in our kick-off to programming, we are in search of canopy tents to provide some shade for our attendees. If you have one or two canopy tents you would be happy to let Bethesda borrow, please drop them off in the office by Wednesday, September 4th.

Grieving a Loss? Join Us at GriefShare

Sundays through November 24th in the Conference Room. Call the church office or contact Kathy Slocum (kslocum@prodigy.net) or Pat Swanson (swansonrp@gmail.com) for more information.

You're Invited to the Scandinavian Coffee Meeting Sept. 3rd

Women's Ministries is having a Scandinavian Coffee meeting Tuesday, September 3rd at 6:30pm in the Crossroads. Please join us and invite anyone that wants to be involved in planning!

In order for Yennifer to attend DMACC classes in Ames, the family is in need of someone to watch their two children, Tadeo and Ana Paula, ages 6 and 3 as Jose works Tuesday and Thursday evenings. The requested time commitment is from 5:15 PM - 9:00 PM on Tuesdays and Thursdays starting ASAP. Contact Russ Melby if you would be available to volunteer your time.

*Reminder that there will be no Saturday service and instead all congregation members are invited to join us on the East patio for service at 9:30 am on Sunday, September 8th.

Adult Choir and Bell Choir begin September 11/12

Bethesda's Adult Choir will rehearse on Wednesday evenings from 7-8:15 in the Music Room beginning on September 11. The Carillon (Bell) Choir will rehearse on Thursday evenings from 6-7 in the Music Room beginning September 12. Please consider joining one or both of these fun ensembles! If you have questions, please contact one of the directors!

Randy Ewing (Adult Choir Director) rewing@bethesdaames.org

Nancy Ewing (Carillon Choir Director) newing@bethesdaames.org

SPLASH Children's Church is transitioning to Wednesday nights! Starting September 11th, kids pre-k to 5th grade get to explore Bible stories through the Spark Rotation Curriculum's eight different workshops, all with hands-on activities! Programming begins at 6:45 pm.

Learn More!

Parents of 6th, 7th, and 8th graders, you can register your child for OASIS confirmation TODAY!

OASIS Confirmation starts Wednesday, September 11th at 7:00pm!

Give your high schooler a safe environment to grow in their faith every Wednesday during the academic year from 8 - 9 pm by registering them for FLOOD High School Youth Group! They can register alone or along with a friend to experience fun games and fellowship every week.

O.W.L.s September Trivia

Join O.W.L.s September 12th at 2:00 PM in the Commons for Trivia hosted by Lynn Anderson. Sign up at the Welcome Center to attend.

Community Pride Worship Service September 15th!

Participate in Community Pride Worship Sunday, October 15th at 10:00 AM at ISU Memorial Union in the combined Sun Room and South Ballroom and also available by livestream (to be announced) if you can't make it out to the event.

You're Invited to Women's Ministries Cream Tea Sept. 28!

Women's Ministries invites you to their Cream Tea September 28th from 9:30 - 11:30 am in the Commons! Wear your favorite Tea-party/ Kentucky Derby hat or fascinator and join us for a short informative presentation followed by Tea, scones, fellowship and crafting! Bring your daughters, mothers, sisters, friends and neighbors and join us!

Upcoming AMOS Events

Gathering on Saturday, October 5th from 9 - 4 pm at St. Patrick’s Catholic School (1302 5th St., Perry, IA 50220)
Fall Variety Show Fundraiser on Saturday, November 9th (time TBD)

Coming Soon to a Church Near You!

Bethesda is going digital! With the help of several gifts, the Memorial & Gifts Team has the funds needed to install a digital sign out on the front lawn. The sign will be easy to see from both directions and will be able to quickly update the information with Bethesda happenings. A Big thank you to all the donors who supported this project and to the church council for their support! The new sign is anticipated mid-September.

Join Bethesda's CROP Walk Team!

The 2024 CROP Walk is being held October 13th at 1:00 pm at Ada Hayden Park. Help provide life-saving support by donating or joining the team today!

Donate or Register

Decorate a Trunk for Trunk-or-Treat!

This year’s Trunk-or-Treat is October 30th from 6:30 – 7:30 PM! Congregation members and friends are invited to decorate a trunk for this community event! Register yourself, or a group, at http://tinyurl.com/besthesdatrunkortreat.

Give a Gift Online

Don't carry cash or checks? You can set up a recurring or one-time gift to Bethesda online, so you never miss an offering opportunity!

ShelbyNext

Refresher to log onto ShelbyNext:

On your laptop or desktop Computer - https://bethesdanet.shelbynextchms.com

On your cell phone go to the App Store or Google Play Store

search for ShelbyNext Membership - download the free app;

On first screen replace the word domain with Bethesdanet

Enter username and password.

You should be ready to go! If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Linda Fevold on Monday's 12 noon till 2:00 pm.

What's The Difference Between The Current and The Living Current?

The Current is a double-sided sheet consisting of four or more announcements that may widely affect the congregation with a schedule of Sunday-to-Sunday activities and order of worship.

The current, the physical copy members pick up each weekend, is limited to a certain number of announcements and is determined by what events will largely affect the congregation as a whole, often on a first come-first serve basis.

The Living Current, an e-newsletter sent every Friday at 9 am, consists of the larger announcements that make The Current as well as other announcements and events that may not affect the majority of the congregation. Such things may include:

An announcement for an event more than a month away. (As the event nears, it will be placed in The Current while holding its place in The Living Current.)
Ongoing support and prayers

If you have an event that you would like advertised in The Current for weekend services, submit your announcement event via email to Tess Hanson and Lynn Anderson no later than the Tuesday before you would like it advertised. Please specify where you want it to be published. If submitted after the stated deadline, it will be integrated into The Living Current e-newsletter and The Current for weekend services the following week.

Grieving: Jennifer Dooley, daughter of Tom Dooley and Matt and Terri Bogenrief, passed away.

Healing Prayers: Andrea Blythe; Philip Coney; Charlene Doyle; Rita Stewart; Shirley Stromer; Dana Woolery

WELCOME!

We invite you to join our community, which is committed to inclusion, racial equity and anti-racism. We share in God’s abundant grace knowing that we cannot be separated from the love of God by our age, race, ethnicity, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, political beliefs, socioeconomic status, physical or mental abilities or faith background.