Bethany Family and Friends,
Let All Things Now Living
By Katherine K. Davis
Let all things now living a song of thanksgiving
To God the creator triumphantly raise.
Who fashioned and made us, protected and stayed us,
By guiding us on to the end of our days.God’s banners are o'er us, pure light goes before us,
A pillar of fire shining forth in the night.
Till shadows have vanished, all fearfulness banished
As forward we travel from light into light.By law God enforces, the stars in their courses
And sun in its orbit obediently shine;
The hills and the mountains, the rivers and fountains,
The deeps of the ocean proclaim God divine.We, too, should be voicing our love and rejoicing;
With glad adoration a song let us raise
Till all things now living unite in thanksgiving,
To God in the highest, Hosanna and praise!
This beautiful hymn reminds us that we still have so much to be grateful for, even in the midst of a pandemic. In the spirit of thanksgiving, we’ll be focusing on our great gratitude for all of God’s blessings in our lives and in the world this coming Sunday, November 22. We’ll also be celebrating “Stewardship Sunday;” we’ll consecrate the gifts and pledges that have come forward for 2021. If you have not yet done so, you are encouraging to mail in your pledge card to the office as soon as possible. Thanks!
As always, all are welcome to join us for our Facebook Live worship service at 10:20 a.m. on Sundays. Then, immediately following this service, all are invited to our Zoom worship service which begins around 11:10 a.m. You can find all the links to this service, as well as two our other Zoom meetings (Tuesday Bible studies and Wednesday check-ins) here. Please note that we will not have a Zoom Check-in next Wednesday, November 25. We’ll resume on Wednesday, December 2 at our usual time of 11 a.m.
Yours in faith,
Jesse
UPDATES:
SSIP will be holding its annual “Thanksgiving Turkey Give-Away” this Saturday, November 21st from 9-11 a.m. Please note that our two parking lots will be off-limits to everyone, as SSIP will need all spaces for their drive-thru process.
Also, please note that our office administrator, Maria Mar, is on vacation; so, the building will be closed now through Sunday, November 29. If you should have any emergency, please contact me.
Bethany’s Worship and Arts Commission is planning to pre-record a few of our worship services now and then; we are experimenting with a variety of virtual formats that can enhance our services. Christmas Eve is in the works now! We are inviting our members and friends to participate in worship by sending in a video clip which will then be edited into a larger worship service. Please contact Jim Guida if you are interested in participating! You can also share fun videos on our web site here!
The next session of our book study on Ibram X. Kendi’s acclaimed, “How to be an Antiracist” is on Tuesday, December 1st at 7 p.m. If you would like to join us, please contact Donna Tabaie and she’ll be in touch with further information.
Our Tuesday Zoom Bible study group, which meets at 11 a.m., has begun “Into the Light—Finding Hope Through Prayers of Lament” which has already led to some very meaningful sharing. We’ll be using this curriculum for the next few months and all are welcome to join us whenever they can. Purchasing our study book is not necessary to participate, but if you’d like a copy of this excellent resource, you can find one here.
