Friday, June 7, 2024 Newsletter



For Sunday



10:00 a.m.: Summer Worship Service in the Sanctuary

(in person and livestreamed on Facebook and our website)

A MESSAGE FROM THE REV. J.C. AUSTIN: 

SUMMERTIME WORSHIP PRACTICES

“Summertime… and the living is easy…”

I know it’s not technically summertime yet, but since it’s June, and we seem to be past an unusually cool and rainy spring, many folks are busy planning or already anticipating short getaways, longer trips, special projects, camps for children and grandchildren, and so on. That said, the ministry and life of First Presbyterian continues with worship, fellowship, service, K-groups, and so on. 

So please don’t hesitate to let myself or the Worship Committee, chaired by Rich Hjorth, know what you’re thinking and feeling. Part of the reason for that shift, of course, is that many people’s schedules become much more fluid in the summer months, and often involve travel away from Bethlehem and, therefore, from participating in worship in person.

With that in mind, I want to invite you to engage in two practices of worship ministry this summer, regardless of where you find yourself. First, a reminder that we livestream Summer Worship every Sunday, which you can access either from Facebook or from the church website at 10 a.m. each Sunday. With a reminder that the prelude music typically begins shortly before 10 a.m., so you don’t miss it!

Second, that livestream is also recorded, which means that if you cannot join the service in real time at 10 a.m. EDT from wherever you are, you can access it at any time after and experience the service through the recording. You can find the recorded services at this link. That will enable you to stay part of the worship life of this congregation throughout the summer, and I encourage you to take advantage of that in whatever way works best for you.

I also want to urge you to set up an automatic payment or debit (usually known as an ACH payment, or Electronic Funds Transfer or EFT) to continue fulfilling your pledge to support the church financially even when you cannot be physically present.

Traditionally, we encounter some struggles with our cash flow in summer months because people who put their gifts in the offering plate fall behind in their giving when they are away because they cannot put their offerings in the plate while they are gone! While you can certainly mail in a gift, the U.S. Mail is experiencing ongoing struggles and delays with service, so it is not uncommon for mail to take ten days or more just to get from one part of the Valley to Bethlehem.

Setting up a recurring electronic payment with your bank is actually a fairly simple process that your bank can help you with; if you are already doing online banking, you can do it in a few steps on your bank’s payment transaction page. The forms that you need to complete are on our website at fpc-bethlehem.org/give.

If you are not comfortable with online banking, your local bank account services desk can do it for you if you go in and ask. Doing this would be of enormous help to the church as we worship, learn, serve, and support one another through the summer months!

I hope your summer plans are coming together well, whether that involves extensive time away, “staycations” here in the Valley, or a continuation of normal life. And whatever those plans may be, First Pres will be continuing its mission and ministry throughout the summer, so I hope you will take every opportunity to continue your part in our life and work together this summer as you are able!

Grace and Peace,

J.C.

FOR THIS SUNDAY

Ephesians 4:1-7, 11-16

• This week’s sermon: The Great Ends of the Church 4: The Preservation of the Truth by the Rev. J.C. Austin
• We post the video of each week’s services and sermon text on our website: fpc-bethlehem.org

TO DOWNLOAD AND PRINT on 8.5" x 11" paper:



Traditional Worship Service (4 pages)

FOR THIS SUNDAY: JOIN US FOR LEMONADE ON THE LAWN

Join us after worship for our social time, “Lemonade on the Lawn” – everyone is welcome to come and connect. If weather permits, we’ll gather on the west side (front) of the church building, otherwise in Fellowship Hall.

Thank you to one of our several K groups that is hosting today. We are looking for other groups or families to take on the hosting duties for future dates.

BRING YOUR ARTISTIC SKILLS

They’ll have all the supplies, simple instructions, and treats, so it should be a fun morning!

ANOTHER SALE COMING – SATURDAY, JUNE 22

We still have more “treasures” to sell, so we’ve set another sale date of Saturday, June 22. We’ll be open from 7 a.m. – 2 p.m. in the Kirk Center, so this is a rain or shine event.

You can also reserve a space for $5, or a space with a table ($10) if you’d like to sell your own wares. Contact us if that interests you.

MEMORIAL SERVICE FOR MILLY MEAD

A memorial service will be held in the Sanctuary tomorrow (Saturday) at 11 a.m. for longtime member M. Virginia “Milly” Mead, who passed away on Feb. 27. A calling hour will precede the service at 10 a.m., with interment in the Memorial Garden immediately following the service. Her First Pres friends are welcome to attend.

LUNCH BUNCH IS BACK – THIS WEDNESDAY, JUNE 12

LOOKING FOR LECTORS

Thank you to those who have already volunteered! We still have a few more open dates if you are interested in participating in worship as a lector (reader). Please use this online sign-up sheet or call the church office at 610-867-5865.

If you have not served as a lector before and have questions, please contact us at info@fpc-bethlehem.org or call the church office at 610-867-5865. Thanks for considering!