Call Extended to Pastor Steve Waldschmidt

On Monday, October 12, the voters of Bethany Lutheran Church issued a divine call to Pastor Steve Waldschmidt, who currently serves at Christ Alone Lutheran Church in Dardenne Prairie, Missouri. He wrote the following letter to acknowledge this call:

Dear Brothers and Sisters of Bethany Lutheran Church,

The purpose of this letter is to inform you that I have received your call to serve as pastor at Bethany.

I am prayerfully considering the call that you have extended to me. During this time I will ask that you pray for me, my family, and for your brothers and sisters at Christ Alone in Dardenne Prairie as well. I am confident that the Lord will use this opportunity to bless all involved and that we will thank and praise him for his wisdom. As I consider how the Lord might best use me and the gifts he has given to me for the good of his kingdom, I pray that his will be done.

May the grace and power of our living Savior be upon us as we continue to carry out his kingdom work in our daily lives!

In Christ,

Pastor Steve Waldschmidt

Christian Education Weekend - FVL Guests

The weekend of October 24-26 we will celebrate the gift of Christian education in our worship services. Pastor Aaron Dolan (son of Pastor John Dolan, who served here at Bethany from 1984-1990) from Fox Valley Lutheran High School will be our guest preacher. Mr. Jeff Loberger, FVL President, and Mr. Jay Wendland, FVL Mission Advancement Director, will give a brief update on all things Fox Valley Lutheran High School after our worship services on Saturday and Sunday. We hope you can join us!

Covid Update

We will continue to meet with the Appleton Health Department and monitor the coronavirus situation here at Bethany. Should things regarding in-person worship change, we will be sure to let you all know via email and Facebook as soon as possible.

For now, please re-familiarize yourself with our covid guidelines https://www.bethanyappleton.org/reopen, and continue to watch worship on our Facebook page - @Bethanyappleton if you so choose.

Food Pantry Collection Weekend - October 10-12, 2020

The pantry is collecting for items to be distributed for Thanksgiving.  We currently are in need of:

Chunky soups, tomato and chicken soups, creamed soups, canned vegetables (green beans, corn, peas), rice and pasta side dishes, boxed instant rice, boxed and canned potatoes, pancake mix and syrup, canned cranberries, pumpkin and evaporated milk, pasta/spaghetti sauces, laundry soap, dish soap and hand soap.

Thank you for your continued support of the pantry throughout this year.  

LWMS Fall Rally at Riverview Lutheran

Our Paperland Circuit fall rally will be held October 24,2020 and will be hosted at Riverview Lutheran Church, 136 Seymour St. Appleton.

Registration and coffee start at 8AM

Meeting and speakers are from 9AM—12:30PM

Lunch to follow

 Speakers for this rally will be:

Emily Kom—Mission Journey, Russia

Jerry Worden—Stevens Point Campus Ministry

The school gym in handicapped accessible. The state mandates, due to COVID-19, that masks are required. Please call Edie Frank at (920) 277-1642 by October 9th to register to attend this event. Mission monies can be put in the giving box at church anytime before October 9.

 

Better than Fair - New Sermon Series!

It doesn't line up with what seems fair, but that doesn't mean it’s unfair. If anything, it’s supra-fair. We just don’t always understand it. Grace.

Every time God acts in grace, rules change. What we’d assume isn’t, but in the best way possible. God’s grace saves and blesses us. And it saves and blesses others. “Better than Fair” is a sermon series that considers the mind of God in the decisions he makes towards humans. It confronts choices that sometimes offend and sometimes delight and shows us how they’re always best. 

May our earthly reason not get in the way of our praise to God’s beautiful, better-than-fair grace.

This sermon series begins the weekend of September 26-28, 2020.

Power Hour Goes Virtual

Power hour is a group where moms, dads, caregivers and their children can learn together, play together, and meet new friends together in a safe and structured environment. Each session features a Bible story, activities, books, song and dance time, a snack, and time with friends. We’d love to have you join us!

Power hour is open for children 18 months to four years.

Go to bethanyappleton.org/powerhour to learn more!

Upcoming Worship Opportunities

September 13 at 10:30AM is our Confirmation service. There are ten confirmands: Jasmine Agustin, Ella Erdmann, Christian Mikolajczak, Amelia Monroe, Alyson Olson, Riley Schumacher, Addison Sternhagen, Casdyn Thomas, Ashton Vallner, and Gavin Vallner. May they boldly confess their faith forever!

September 19-21 at ALL SERVICES we will celebrate The 20th Anniversary of Our Shepherd Childcare!

Voters' Meeting Recap

Our Family Forum on Sunday, August 30 was held and about half who attended were in person, while the other half participated online, We reviewed God's blessings at Bethany and Our Shepherd during our last fiscal year and unanimously approved our 2020-21 Ministry Financial Plan.

Thank you to all who participated in this meeting and thanks for your tremendous support over the past year.  May God bless us in the year ahead.

Bible Classes and Sunday School Starting Soon

Large Group - Adult Bible Studies

Our study for the fall is entitled: “Politics is Driving Me Crazy.”  Red states. Blue states. Partisanship. Name-calling. Gerrymandering. Seeing the faces and hearing the voices of those who make our blood boil. And then, there are the unending cycle of elections and the rhetoric of social media posts that leave the average constituent frustrated and saying, "Enough already! Politics is driving me crazy!"  This study will offer a note of calm and a return to sanity as we listen to God, who rules over all things. It will help us understand and appreciate the separation of church and state and how we as Christians can best serve our fellow people.

 This class will be offered three times each week.  In-person studies (limited to 30-35 people) will be held on Sundays at 9:15am and Wednesdays at 10:00am in the lower level Fellowship Hall on the Parkway Campus.  Online Zoom study will be held on Tuesdays at 6pm.  Please note: There will not be a separate Midweek Oasis study.  Sign-up sheets will be available in our entryway on both campuses or you may call the church office to register.  Since each class may move at a little different pace, we’re asking you to choose one study group (either Sunday, Tuesday, or Wednesday) to stick with for the duration, rather than bouncing back and forth week by week.  Our first class will meet on Sunday – September 13th. 

Sunday School

For at least the first half of our year, we will be using a home-based Sunday School program published by our Wisconsin Synod.  Every family with children in grades preK – 8 will receive a packet of age-appropriate lessons in the mail.  Then, each week, an email will be sent to our families with a link to a YouTube video of a trained teacher presenting the lesson for the various age groups.  This teacher will also give guidance to the parents about extending the learning at home with the materials received in the mail.  We will also have teachers here at Bethany ready to assist you if you have any questions.  Please watch for an email coming soon with a more detailed description of just how this program will work.

 

Upcoming Worship Notes

  • This coming weekend is Labor Day. Our Monday evening worship service will be held Tuesday at 6PM on our Parkway Campus.

  • Confirmation Sunday is planned for the 10:30AM service on Sunday, September 13, 2020 on the Parkway Campus. This service will not be available for sign-up, as the confirmands each have their families worshiping with them and filling the service.

  • The weekend of September 19-21 we will celebrate Our Shepherd Childcare’s 20th Anniversary!

  • At the end of September, we will begin a new sermon series entitled “Better than Fair.”

Bethany Lutheran Church

920.733.9561

Parkway Campus - 530 W. Parkway Blvd. Appleton, WI 54911