2024 Offering Envelopes are now available in the welcome area on both campuses.
Adopt A Family
Bethany is again teaming up with The Hope Center to support and show God's love to families in need this holiday season. We have been given the ambitious task of supporting 4 families this year, but we know Bethany's members will rise to the occasion and let God's love shine. You can select an ornament (or more) from the tree in the foyer on the Parkway Campus. Please purchase the item listed on the tag, wrap the gift individually and then tape the tag from the tree back on the package. With four families and multiple children in each family this is SO IMPORTANT that the tag stays with the gifts to keep all gifts accounted for and given to the correct families. Please make sure all items are purchased, wrapped and brought back to the giving tree by Monday, December 19th at 7pm.
- If you have any questions, please contact Char Schall-Krokosky (920-475-7410) or Lindsey Kraft (920-470-0213).
Christmas Services
Please invite your family and friends to one of our Christmas services. There are “events” on Facebook that you can share with your friends list there as well.
Christmas Eve 10AM at the Lynndale Campus
4PM & 6PM at the Parkway Campus
Christmas Day 9AM at the Parkway Campus (with Lord’s Supper)
Little Blessings Playgroup - December 9
Family with kids ages 0-6 years looking for some Christmas festivities: Join our Little Blessings Playgroup next Saturday, December 9th at 10 AM for a Bible story, snack, and activites! Our theme is Christmas! We will meet in the multipurpose room at Our Shepherd with check-in and free play beginning at 9:45 AM. If you have any questions please contact Sammi Stegman (sammipk13@yahoo.com). To aid in the planning process, please use the following link to register and sign-up. https://forms.gle/w9LxfNfcKGkoqtzZ6
Sunday School Christmas Program
The Sunday School children will present their Christmas program on Sunday, December 17 at 9AM. This will be the worship service that day. There will be no communion during this service. (Saturday and Monday that weekend WILL have communion.)
Christmas Decorating at Parkway
Please join us for decorating the Parkway Campus for Christmas on Saturday, December 2 at 9AM. There are lots of different trees, scenes, and more to be put up in the sanctuary and welcome center areas.
Our Shepherd Christmas Program
The Our Shepherd Christmas program will be held in the Praise Center at 4PM on Thursday, December 7. Children in rooms 9, 10, and Praise and Graze will present the story of Jesus birth in song! This program will also be livestreamed on the Our Shepherd Childcare Facebook page.
Free Advent Devotional Booklets
There are free Advent devotional booklets available in the Welcome Center area on both campuses. The book was made available by Martin Luther College, and is titled “The Mysteries of Christmas: Many Millennia, Many Mysteries, One Messiah. These 25 meditations look back on the mysteries of the Messiah’s first coming and look ahead to the mysteries of his second.
Pastor Brown's Last Weekend at Bethany
Pastor Brown’s last weekend at Bethany will be Saturday and Sunday, December 9 and 10. There will be a time for fellowship after both services at Lynndale and Parkway, and to say farewell and thank you to the Brown family. One way for our members to show their thankfulness for Pastor Brown’s service here at Bethany is to provide a card shower for the Brown family. There will be card boxes at both of the fellowship times—or you can leave a card in the church office. There will be no church on Mon, December 11.
Call Extended to Rev. Matthew Krenke
At the call meeting on Monday, November 13, Bethany’s voters called Rev. Matthew Krenke to be our associate pastor. Pastor Krenke is currently serving at Mt. Olive Lutheran Church in Las Vegas, NV. Please pray for Pastor Krenke and his family as he begins his deliberation over where to serve.
Welcome Drew Sonnenberg
Please welcome Drew Sonnenberg to the Bethany staff! Drew will be assisting with technology and worship, as well as aiding in the workload during the pastoral vacancy. Drew is a 2011 graduate of Martin Luther College and has previously served as a worship coordinator at WELS churches in Rock Hill, SC and Seattle, WA. He currently serves as the president of Hearts & Hands, a non-profit that supports WELS artists. The Sonnenbergs - Drew, Jillian, and their daughter Imogen - have been Bethany members since October 2022. Watch for a further introduction to their family in the newsletter at the end of this month.
Advent Lessons & Carols Service
This year for Advent, Bethany is trying something different than in the past. Rather than having three midweek Advent services during an already-busy season of the year, we will have a single Advent celebration at 6pm on Wednesday, December 6 at our Parkway Campus. At this Service of Advent Lessons and Carols, we will have an opportunity to focus our hearts on the upcoming birth of the Savior by meditating on God's servants who proclaimed Christ's coming. We will also raise our hearts in prayer and our voices in song with all your favorite Advent carols! Looking for places to worship on the other Wednesdays in Advent? Check out service times across the valley at welsunited.org/churches/special-services.php
Thanksgiving Eve Worship Service/Closures
On Wednesday, November 22 at 6PM, make plans to join us for our annual Thanksgiving Eve worship service on the Parkway Campus. There will be no Midweek Oasis, Bible History and Catechism classes that day. Both Our Shepherd and the Parkway Campuses’ offices will be closed on Thursday and Friday – November 23-24.
FVL & FVL Schools and the Appleton Christmas Parade
FVL and FVL Schools are again sponsoring the broadcast of the Appleton Christmas Parade! Watch for the FVL Schools and FVL commercial, and tune in for FVL Admissions Director Joe Blum's live interview from downtown Appleton. The date is Tues., 11/21 at 7 PM. Check it out on WFRV-TV5.
Call Meeting - November 13
There will be a call meeting on Monday, November 13 at 7PM (after our Monday evening worship service). Please join us as we prepare to extend a call for an associate pastor here at Bethany.
Little Blessings Playgroup - November 11
Family with kids ages 0-6 years? Finding it hard to get out of the house with colder weather upon us? Come join our Little Blessings Playgroup next Saturday, November 11th at 10 AM for a Bible story, snack, and activities! Our theme for the week is Thanksgiving! We will meet in the multipurpose room at Our Shepherd with check-in and free play beginning at 9:45 AM. If you have any questions, please contact Sammi Stegman (sammipk13@yahoo.com). To aid in the planning process, please use the following link to register and sign-up. https://forms.gle/w9LxfNfcKGkoqtzZ6
Sunday School to Sing - November 5
Bethany’s Sunday School children will sing in the 9AM worship service on 11/5. Children will practice in the basement fellowship hall at 8:45AM, and then should sit with their parents and come forward when it is time to sing.
Valley Teen Night - November 12
God doesn't say he hates many things, but one thing he does hate, has become commonplace among us as is the hurt and pain it brings. This thing is divorce. Divorce inflicts deep and lasting emotional trauma. On November 12th, Valley Teen Night will be meeting at Bethlehem in Hortonville at 6 p.m. to hear a talk led by Pastor Joe Gawel about the nature of this trauma, how support can be given to those wounded by it, and how Jesus' gives true healing. Come on out for some food, God's Word, and good discussion!
WELS United Joint Reformation
The WELS United Joint Reformation worship service will be held on Sunday, October 29th, at 4:00 PM in the Fox Valley Lutheran High School auditorium. Rev. Mark Henke is the guest preacher. All Federation members are invited to celebrate our gospel heritage restored to us in the Reformation of the 1500's. We are saved by Grace alone, through Faith alone, and according to Scripture alone. Light refreshments and fellowship will follow the service. Offerings collected will benefit the Tuition Assistance program at FVL.
FVL Announcements 10/29
There is an opening at FVL for a teacher in the Practical Arts Department, specifically for welding. If you are interested or have questions, please visit please reach out to Principal Alan Nolte at anolte@fvlhs.org.
The Cheer and Stunt Team is hosting a Daddy/Daughter Dance at FVL on Saturday, November 4 from 1:30-4:30 PM. Information and registration link is at fvlhs.org/news.
FVL’s Annual Veterans Day Breakfast & Service is set for Fri. 11/10 from 8:30-10:30 AM. Veterans from the FVL Federation and their family members are invited. Information and registration is online at fvlhs.org/news. Please register by the end of the day on 11/2.