Bethany Evangelical Lutheran Church 2515 Madison Ave.

Burlington, Iowa

Phone: (319) 752-3621

www.bethanyburlington.org

Pastor’s Cell: (360) 623-2184

Bethany Lutheran Church Mission Statement

Reaching out in Worship, Fellowship, Learning, and Love - We Are God’s People.

Our Staff

Rev. Paul Hermansen, Pastor Cory Byrne, Choir Director/Organist

Amanda Stevenson-Cosgrove, Dir. of Youth & Family

Sue Hermansen, Admin. Asst. Dennis Wohlers, Financial Sec’y

Mike & Tammy Morris, Custodians

Volume 57 Issue 3 March, 2017

Our mid-week Lenten services start on March 1 with Ash

Wednesday worship. This service will include the imposition of

ashes.

On the following Wednesday nights two other churches

will be joining us--Trinity and Faith. The night will start with

the Holden Evening Prayer from 6:00 p.m. to 6:25. At 6:30 we

will break bread together. On March 8 and April 5, Bethany will

coordinate the meals. Our youth will supervise the March 8

meal and the church council on April 5. Trinity and Faith will

provide supper on March 15, 22, and 29.

At 7:00 p.m. we will meet for 30 minutes of education.

Pastor Ryan’s class is Christian Lab 101. I will be doing a five

week discussion on the Power Surge book and how following

the six principles of discipleship can enable a church to experi-

ence dramatic growth. I look forward to these nights with you.

HOMEBOUND CARD

MINISTRY Please help remember Bethany’s mem-

bers who are in nursing homes or home-

bound by sending them a card. A birth-

day or a “thinking of you” card is a spe-

cial way of showing God’s love. During

the summer months, take a minute to

send a card with a short note - these

folks would love to hear from you.

Names and addresses are available on

the table in the fellowship hall. Please

remember to mark the spreadsheet if

you send a card.

We are in the final stages of putting together our new pictorial directory. We were gratified with the number of people who turned out for pictures.

The final step in putting the directory together is preparing an accurate, up to date, roster for the back of the directory. The addresses, tele-phone numbers, etc., were automatically up-dated for the folks who had their picture taken. For those of you who did not have your picture taken it is important that we have correct infor-mation for the roster. It would be greatly ap-preciated if you could check your listing in the 2012 directory and, if there are any changes to your address and/or phone number, please call or email the office as soon as possible.

We have a great new council for 2017. There is a good balance of years of experience in life and gender ratio. They want to hear your input to help make Bethany even greater!

“Son of Man”

A group from Faith/Trinity will be at Bethany on March 7 at 7 p.m. to watch the movie, “Son of Man,” in our library. They have invited us to join them. What a great op-portunity to grow our faith as well as share fel-lowship with our sister

congregations. MARCH ACTIVITIES The Retired Nurses will be here on Friday, March 3,

at 9:00 a.m. They gather in the fellowship hall.

Also, Boy Scout Troop #25 has their regular weekly

meetings on Tuesdays.

RETIRE WISELY - March 28, 12:00 p.m.

One of the greatest resources of our church is Thrivent Financial.

Thrivent helps Christians become good stewards of their finances.

On Tuesday, March 28, at noon, our Thrivent representatives will

present a free workshop at Bethany entitled “How to Retire Wisely.”

The workshop will last one hour. A second presentation will be

given at Messiah at 6:00 p.m. If you have any questions, please call

or email me.

I would like to thank my Bethany family for again being there

when I needed you.

The luncheon provided by the ladies after my husband’s, Larry,

funeral service was outstanding, with its delicious food and ex-

cellent organization.

I was so proud of my church and church family as I received

the many complements from our family and friends on, not

only Larry’s memorial service, but the beauty of Bethany.

Sandra Sandy and Family

Donna Miller and Family

The Fellowship Committee is accepting

donations for their annual rummage

sale to be held June 9 and 10. Please

drop off all your usable items at the

church. Please, no clothing.

CHURCH KEYS

At the beginning of the year we have people who are newly elected to

the Council who need church keys for their ministries. We also have

members who have successfully completed their Council service who

may no longer need their church keys for various functions. If you

happen to have a set of church keys but no longer need them, it would

be much appreciated to have them turned into the church office.

Thank you!

HOW TO GROW BETHANY

A phenomena that has been happening for many years is the decline in membership and

attendance in American churches. The very last thing I ever want to do is sound a discour-

aging note. I love Bethany with all my heart and pray for us to continue to be a vital par-

ticipant in God’s Kingdom. What can we do to help make that happen? Tell family,

friends, and neighbors how much Bethany means to you and the joy you feel for being

here. It will help us grow.

DESCRIBING OUR GOD JOURNEY If you have not yet noticed, you will soon discover that spending time with God is a high priority for me. When you receive the March issue of The Chimes we will be starting the season of Lent. These six and a half weeks can represent several things for us, but among them is the reminder to spend time with God. I am not suggesting that Lent is the only season for pursuing our journey with the Almighty. But if you tend not to give God-time your undivided attention, Lent is at least a nudge to us to make God-time a considera-tion as we contemplate Christ’s sacrifice, death, and ultimate resurrection. How would you describe your God journey? Are you glad to know He is there for you when you need Him? Do you actually hear Him directing your life in times of uncer-tainty? Does He give you insight regarding your relationship with others? Does He chal-lenge you in areas of your life that you would prefer He leave untouched? What do we gain when we give God an opportunity to know us? We experience an unfathomable love unlike anything we will ever know. One of the intangible needs that all of us have in order to survive is the need to feel loved by another. This is why God wants us to take time out to be with Him! God created us with a need to be loved. No one can fill that need like God. We may look to others or things to fill that need, but only God can love us totally, completely, and beyond measure. Many years ago a person in a church I served brought to my attention a phrase I used quite often: “God loves us immeasurably.” She told me that it meant a lot to her to hear that. This is what eternal life is. Eternal life is knowing the one true God and Jesus Christ whom He sent (John 17:3). Knowing God means knowing His love for us. During Lent, and throughout the year, may we bring blessing to our lives by giving God time to be with us and to love us. In Christ, Pastor Paul

“And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God,

and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”

John 17:3

1 - Jacob Cox; Paul Ervin;

Robert Voigt

2 - Richard House; Tina

Savage; Jeff Schuler

3 - Flora Specht

4 - Emilee Bellegante;

Nichole Riherd; Wendell

Smith

5 - Marlene Benninghoven

6 - Amy Unglaub; Kimberly

Miller

7 - Dan Wischmeier

8 - Sterling Tharp

9 - Laurie Chelf, Ron Wood-

side

10 - Marian Chaddock;

David Nuebel, Steven Quam

11 - Beth Peterson

13 - Tatem Sherwood

14 - Rylee Morris; Mike

Reichelt

15 - Robert Shirley

17 - Cynthia Brackett, Lori

Cox; Nancy Nuebel, Darrin

Timberlake

18 - Brittan Roth, Doreen

Roy

19 - Isaac Morehead

20 - Tiffany Huppenbauer,

Nancy Kern

21 - Nancy Drebenstedt,

Robert Lee

22 - Loretta Freeman; Linda

Manes

24 - Rachel Lindeen; Alexis

Oetken; Tony Stanley

25 - Shawn Adam; Kara

Clark; Robert Etchison

27 - Cameo Mundt

28 - Sherry Swanson

29 - Paige Carson; Joseph

Engle; Elizabeth Loots;

Aaron Morehead

31 - David Guile; Michael

Hopp, Tyler Schramm

March

Birthdays

Head Usher: Spencer Honsey

March Team Captain: Dan Wisch-

meier

Ushers

5 - 12 -

19 - 26 -

Communion Assistants 5 - 12 -

19 - 26 -

Fellowship 5 -

12 - 19 -

26 -

Missionary Support 5 - 12 -

19 - Edd & Barbara West 26 - Ginny Mesecher

Acolytes 5 - Abi Schonrock; Madison McClurg

12 - Tyler Burch; Isaac Morehead 19 - Sammie Gerdes; Abi

Schonrock 26 - Sam Morehead; Aunika

Johnson

Lector 5 - Bob Sogard 12 - Gerald Janssen

19 - Pam Taylor 26 - Dan Harken

Greeters 5 - Gerald & Lila Janssen

12 - Pam Luder; Pam Taylor 19 - Spencer & Mary Honsey 26 - Scott & Jan Creighton

Flowers 5 - Tom Holtz 12 - 19 -

26 - Dan & Ruth Harken

Altar Guild Bonnie Rosenberg; Ellen

Shepherd; Mary Honsey

March 2017 Lay Leaders

L.I.F.T. Living In Faith Together

L.I.F.T. gathers on March 12 at Trinity Lu-

theran Church. We start at 5:00 and are

done about 6:45 p.m. This is a gathering for

kids, ages 4 - 5th grade and this year our

theme is Fruits of the Spirit. March’s theme

is kindness as shown through the story of the

Good Samaritan. We have a bible story, do a

craft, sing some fun songs… ALL AFTER WE

EAT!!!

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CONFIRMATION March 1 6:00 p.m.

March 8 6:00 p.m.

March 15 6:00 p.m.

March 22 6:00 p.m.

March 29 6:00 p.m.

Questions? See Amanda or Pastor Paul

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SUNDAY SCHOOL

Remember we have Sunday School every Sun-

day at 10:30 following our worship service.

All children ages K through 6th grade are in-

vited to attend.

BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND!

We will meet at Great River

Wellness Center for rock

climbing on March 9 at 6:00

p.m. Waivers will need to be

signed beforehand. For ques-

tions, see Todd Morehead.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR VBS!

It seems so far off, but VBS will be here before

you know it. It will be held at Bethany, June 19-

23, with staff from Camp EWALU leading our ac-

tivities. We are very excited to add this element

to our program and look forward to our joint minis-

try outreach as we work alongside our Lutheran

brothers and sisters from Trinity, Faith, and Mes-

siah. See Carlene Woodside or Amanda for volun-

teer opportunities.

The annual 3rd, 4th, and

5th grade lock-in will be

at Bethany on March 24-

25, starting at 6:00

p.m. We will need vol-

unteers to assist with a

few games and to serve

our kiddos breakfast the

next morning. Those of you with kiddos this

age, see Amanda for details. Registration

forms will be on the youth table in the fellow-

ship hall. You don’t need to have kiddos in-

volved to help out with this event.

If you change your mailing

address, please let the office know ASAP.

For every returned piece of mail we get for

an incorrect address, we are charged 75

cents.

The meetings for March that have been scheduled as of the publishing of this newsletter are listed below. Watch the bulletins for any date and time changes or additional meetings scheduled. Altar Guild Sunday, March 5, 10:15 a.m. Men’s Breakfast Saturday, March 18, 8:00 a.m. Evangelism Stewardship Comm. TBA Church Council Sunday, March 19, 10:15 a.m. Property Committee Monday, March 20, 6:30 p.m. Worship and Music Committee Sunday, March 12, 10:30 a.m.

Finance Committee TBA Fellowship Committee Thursday, March 23, 6:00 p.m.

FINANCIAL

UPDATE

FEBRUARY ATTENDANCE

February 5 114 February 12 88 February 19 93 February 25 22 February 26 70

FEBRUARY GIVING

February 5 $2,960.30 February 12 3,076.13 February 19 3,229.00 February 25, 26 2,363.00 Total $11,628.43

WOW! PRAISE GOD!

Thank you for your generosity and

faithful trust in God to provide your

needs! God believes in you and has a

great future planned for Bethany.

PLEASE NOTE The deadline to submit information for the monthly Chimes is the 25th of the month.

You’re welcome to email your submissions, leave a note on the desk in the office, or call

the church office.

ALSO! Because of Federal Privacy laws, if you or a

member of your family are hospitalized and

would like the Pastor to visit, you must con-

tact the church and let us know.