Take a look at some of the great craft projects available at the Christmas Bazaar on July 13th 2024 at Bethany Lutheran Church! (Click on picture of project to enlarge). For details read the attached poster. See you there!
Christmas in July Insert May 2024 COLOR
Calling all crafters, bakers, and gardeners in
the Bethany church family…
Do you have a special cookie you like to make? A brownie that is
just scrumptious? Then sign up on the bake sale list today! Do you
like to craft something unusual or cute?
Or perhaps you sew or glue gun or little whittle away the hours?
Come see us! We will put your talents to good use!
We need your talents and energies to make the Christmas in July Bazaar a
success! The bazaar is both a fundraiser for Bethany’s financial support
and an outreach to the community. It will be fun for the whole family!
We will have homemade crafts, baked items, subs, a silent auction,
homegrown vegetables and plants, and much more! Spread the word!
Bring your friends and family!
July 13th 9am-1pm
Immediate Needs:
• Christmas Gift Bags- all sizes pre-
used but in good condition- put in
the box in the stairwell.
• Volunteers to help in all categories.
Sign up to help today via email or
on the bulletin board!
[email protected]
More on Facebook on: Worship at Bethany Lutheran Church
Christmas in July Bazaar – Bethany Lutheran Church LCMS
(bethanylutheransalisburymd.com)
Bethany Lutheran Church announces it’s 2024 Christmas in July Bazaar for July 13th. A new web page has also been created for you to view and keep up with any news about the bazaar. You can also keep up with Bethany on our Facebook page at this link. Join in the fun!
Entrance Hymn: LBW #230 “Lord, Keep Us Steadfast in Your Word”
Prayer of the day:
Almighty and gracious Lord, pour out Your Holy Spirit on Your faithful people. Keep us steadfast in Your grace and truth, protect and deliver us in times of temptation, defend us against all enemies, and grant to Your Church Your saving peace; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
First Reading:
Revelation 14:6-7
6 Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people. 7 And he said with a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.”
Psalm 34:1-2, 11, 22; antiphon: Psalm 119:46
L: I will speak of your testimonies before kings, O Lord,
C: and shall not be put to shame.
L: I will bless the Lord at all times;
C: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
L: My soul makes its boast in the Lord;
C: let the humble hear and be glad.
L: Come, O children, listen to me;
C: I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
L: The Lord redeems the life of his servants;
C: none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
L: I will speak of your testimonies before kings, O Lord,
C: and shall not be put to shame.
Epistle:
Romans 3:19-28
19 Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. 20 For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.
21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. 26 It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
27 Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. 28 For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.
Gospel:
John 8:31-36
31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” 33 They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?”
34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. 35 The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
Message Hymn: LBW #229 “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God”
Closing Hymn: LBW #299 “Dear Christians, One and All”
There will be a Voter’s Meeting on November 12th
following the 11:00a.m. service. It’s time to vote on
our budget for next year. The proposed budget will be
posted on the bulletin board in the Narthex for two
weeks prior to the meeting. We will also be voting for
elders at this time.
All members are urged to attend this very important
meeting
Bethany Lutheran Church welcomes as our new pastor,
Pastor Alemu Ermias Katiso Ph.D.! We are blessed
beyond measure that he and his wife, Lidiya, his
daughter, Wima, and his sons: Haluma, Lalo, and Laga
have chosen to join our church family. They come to us
from serving Concordia in Richmond, VA. We look
forward to his first day of worship with us, which will
be Sunday, Nov. 5th.
The installation service for our
new minister will be Saturday, Nov. 18th at
11a.m. Come join us to meet our new shepherd and
his family! Make them feel welcome and a part of the
church family to which God has led them!
“Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care,
watching over them—not because you must, but
because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not
pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; not lording
it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to
the flock.” 1 Peter 5:2-3
The Installation Service for Pastor Katiso has been
scheduled for Saturday, November 18th at 11:00am.
There will be a luncheon in Fellowship Hall immediately
following.
This is an important, and exciting, day for Bethany
Lutheran Church as well as Pastor Katiso and his family.
Please plan to attend and share in this wonderful day.
If you are interested in helping with the luncheon,
please contact Cindy Prag, who has graciously
volunteered to chair the luncheon committee
Greetings Church Family!
As promised, here is a timeline for .
Pastor Katiso’s first day with Bethany will be November 1. I contacted the district office this morning regarding his installation date, and they have started working on that. As soon as I know the date, I will pass it on to everyone.
Pastor Katiso and family will be living in our parsonage. We have much to do to prepare it for them. We also will need to move our children’s Sunday school classrooms to the downstairs Fellowship Hall in the church. We will forward our plan for that to you in the next day or so. We will need many volunteers to accomplish this! I will send info out for congregation work days at the church as soon as it is finalized, so please be on the lookout for that.
If any of you have anything stored at the parsonage that you would like to keep, please remove it by September 30. If you don’t have a key to get in, please contact me and I will meet you there at your convenience. We will begin work in earnest on October 2, and if your things have not been picked up, they could be inadvertently thrown away and I don’t want that to happen.
If you have any questions, concerns or ideas, please contact me. My contact information is at the bottom of this email. Feel free to email, call or text….whatever is convenient for you. If you need information regarding the property, please contact Gary Young and he will be happy to assist you. We want to make this process go as smoothly as possible, and I know we can count on your help.
God is good!!
Blessings,
Joyce Hardesty
443-880-8592
Make sure you mark your calendar to attend the Fall Harvest Festival at Bethany Lutheran Church October 14th from 9:00am-1:00pm.
Enjoy Apples, Pumpkins, Garden Vegetables, Baked Goods, Crafts, Chili, Cornbread, Cider and a Yard Sale.
Good morning church family,
As promised, I want to update everyone on the progress of the call to Pastor Katiso. I know there has been some confusion regarding the call process. I hope this answers everyone’s questions.
As you all are aware, Pastor Katiso has accepted our call. This is very exciting news for Bethany! However, there is much more to do before he is officially our pastor. At this point he has accepted our call, but he has not yet accepted the position. The next step is for Pastor Katiso to come to Bethany to meet with members of the church council. This will happen on Friday, September 15. At that time, we will show him the property, discuss Bethany’s financial situation, and discuss other topics as they arise. This is a time for him to get to know Bethany better so he is more equipped to make his final decision.
The church council and call committee would like to invite all members of our congregation to attend a Meet and Greet with the Katiso’s on Friday, September 15 from 5:30 – 7:30pm. This will be your chance to personally meet them and ask any questions you might have. Light refreshments will be served. You will remember that we did this same thing with Pastor Scheyder after he accepted our call. Unfortunately Pastor Scheyder did not accept the position. We pray that Pastor Katiso does!
Pastor Katiso is asking for the congregation’s help. He and his wife have four children, aged 6, 4, and 2 year old twins. It is very important to them that their children attend good Christian schools. If anyone has any recommendations for grade schools, pre-K, and day care providers, they would appreciate hearing from you. Please forward your responses to me at [email protected] or call or text me at 443-880-8592 and I will get them to him. Thank you in advance.
Also, the potluck previously scheduled for September 10 has been postponed until October. Hopefully it will be a welcoming celebration for Pastor Katiso and his family! We will let you all know when a new date is set.
Finally, if anyone has any questions or concerns, please let me know. I want everyone to be comfortable and familiar with the entire call process. There is nothing secretive about the process. Nothing has been kept from the congregation. Again, please feel free to email, call, or text me anytime. I would love to hear from you!
Blessings for your day,
Joyce Hardesty
Council President
443-880-8592
To the Congregation of Bethany Lutheran Church,
Friends,
Since January of 2022, Bethany Lutheran church has been without a pastor. We have worked through the process to get a new Pastor, and issued several calls. There have admittedly been some disappointments. However, it is time to rejoice.
Last Sunday we voted to issue a call to Reverend Alemu (Alex) Katiso, and yesterday I received a call from Reverend Katiso that he is accepting our call. READ MORE
There will still be a number of steps and procedures to go through before he officially becomes our pastor and these will not be accomplished overnight. Much of the responsibility for making these happen has shifted to the Church Council and the Church Council will work diligently to keep you all informed as the process moves forward,
That said, we can be thankful to God that our long period of uncertainty is over and we can begin the work of revitalizing Bethany Lutheran.
Peace be with you all.
Ken Medearis