June 29, 2022
Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
Tomorrow morning, I begin my two-month leave of absence. I thank you so very much for granting me this special time away to be with my family. We have a great group of preachers ready to lead worship (they're all listed in the schedule below).
In the event of a pastoral emergency, please reach out to Maria or our Prayer Team, headed by Barbara Greene. I will still be checking my messages and email on occasion. Session is also available to continue to manage our church's functioning. Ron Carlsen can help with building issues, Debbie Leibrock can help with budget and financial issues, Jackie Sneed can help with spiritual formation questions, Cathy Sapunor can help with worship and mission questions, and Juli Jensen can assist with personnel questions.
Maria will be away from August 1 - 19, so it will be very quiet around Bethany. If you have business to take care of, it would be best to set an appointment, or call ahead before making your way to Bethany.
Here’s who will be preaching in my stead during the summer:
7/3—Rev. Janice Kamikawa
7/10—Jackie Sneed
7/17—Jim Guida
7/24—Rev. Judy Davis
7/31—Rev. Judy Davis
8/7—Jim Guida
8/14—Rev. Peggy Krong
8/21—Rev. Jeri Dahlke
8/28—Rev. Mary Westfall
We have a wonderful 2022-23 year planned—so we'll gather with much excitement in September with much hopeful expectation for what God will be doing in our midst! Until then, rest and recreate, and I look forward to seeing you in September!
UPDATES:
Bethany’s Session met last night; as always, we had a lot of business to tend to. Click here for the latest Session update, which tells of a few decisions that were made and projects that we are managing.
We hope everyone has picked up a copy of Sailboat Church by Joan S. Gray. If you'd like a copy delivered, please let Maria in the office know. The book will be discussed one chapter at a time, followed by a time of prayer and then an all-church gathering next January. Click here for the schedule of book discussions.
Reservations for the 2022 Friends and Family Retreat at Zephyr Point Presbyterian Conference Center at Lake Tahoe are now overdue! If you are still planning to attend, get your reservation into Trisha Uhrhammer or Cathy Sapunor ASAP! This year's theme is "Isaiah in the Coffee House.” As always, this special time together is a great way of connecting with fellow church members, reflecting on some spiritual themes, enjoying a spectacular location, and tending to your soul. Click here for information.
We know that Bethany is a time of great change—we are all adapting to what it means to be the church in the year 2022. We are also doing a lot of experimenting, especially as resources and volunteers aren't as available as they once were. Beginning next week, Office Manager Maria Mar will now be working from home each Tuesday. She has faster internet, a newer computer, and more apps that she can use from her home. She'll still be checking her e-mail and can also check phone messages remotely. She will still be in the office on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays, from 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
Robert Madrigal is now only responsible for an evening walk-through our campus and locking up our buildings. He also takes out the trash weekly and will continue to clean up messes outdoors on occasion, but he is no longer doing any custodial duties at Bethany. Robert and Lety Lopez continue to contract with Bethany to offer cleaning services for a few hours a week. If you have a job to complete or find an issue on our campus that is concerning, please reach out to Ron Carlsen, chair of our Plant and Facilities Commission, or to Maria (who will contact Ron). We know that this is less than ideal, but as we have fewer and fewer resources, we have less money to pay employees. Be sure to clean up our church after you use it, and don't forget to turn out the lights, turn off the AC/heat, and lock up.
The word "pray" appears in the Bible over 300 times while "prayer" is mentioned over 600 times. Prayer is certainly an profoundly important aspect of our faith. Prayer is a way of communicating with God—sharing our joys and concerns, our hopes and fears, our questions and our doubts. It is a holy time of setting aside the many duties and distractions of life, and seeking to come before God just as we are—trusting that God's Spirit is present and in the promise that Christ will help us to bear all of our burdens. In this wild life, there is certainly no shortage of tragedies and joys to offer prayers about. In order to help us weather the many storms of life, and to better tune ourselves into the many blessings that continue to surround us, I encourage us all to continue to cultivate an active prayer life. Even pausing for a few minutes at the ending or beginning of each day can help us to feel supported in all that we carry with us. Generations of the believers have prayed to God in good times and in difficult times, and God continues to help us along the path of faith.
If you have a prayer concern you'd like to share with our church family, please let me or office manager Maria Mar know. We also have a special page on our web site dedicated to sharing prayer concerns; click here to send a prayer request by e-mail.
Philippians 4:6-7 reminds us, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
May it be so.
Jesse
