Friends in Faith—
This coming Sunday is "Reformation Sunday." We'll be celebrating our faith tradition which is one of many unique voices in the grand myriad of Christian traditions. We are excited to be welcoming both a bagpiper—an homage to our Scottish roots—as well as KC Shane, a guitarist who offers beautiful contemporary Christian songs.
These two musicians, incorporated into one service, serve as a great example of our Reformed Tradition: we honor our past and the good work of all of our ancestors of faith, and yet we also acknowledge that we are still very much learning everyday about the nature of God and how the Holy Spirit is guiding us today.
So we strive to remain relevant in our changing world and embrace the many new beautiful things God is opening our eyes to. Indeed, God is still very much at work in creation, calling us all to new ways of being and new revelations as we continue our journey of faith together. Our scripture passage will be from Habbakuk 2:1-4 and Ephesians 2:4-10. We will also have some delicious Scottish shortbread following worship during our time of fellowship.
You are invited to wear tartan or, seeing as how we'll also be celebrating Halloween later in the day, any sort of costume is also welcome
The Trunk or Treat Halloween Extravaganza is at 3 p.m. this coming Sunday, October 30, and it's gonna be a blast! There will be games, food, music, hulu-hooping, drumming, and even a bouncy house! Invite your family and friends. It's all free! Our elder for evangelism, Candace Keefauver, has been busy planning this event and can use a lot of help— be sure to decorate the trunk of your car and don't forget to wear a costume. Bring a bag of candy to donate. We'll also need help with set-up and tear-down when the event is over. Several of us plan to stay all afternoon this Sunday to get everything set up.
Thanks again to those folks who help to set up these special events, to create our labyrinth, to offer treats after worship, to maintain our facility, to manage our finances, etc.
This coming Monday, October 31 is our volunteer day at the SSIP Food Closet. We'll spend the better part of the morning filling bags with foods for the many clients of this special ministry. If you are interested in joining the team, we'd love to have you - please reach out to Cathy Sapunor for more details.
Next Sunday, November 6 is "All Saints Day" — a time to remember loved ones who have gone on to be with God.
November is also Stewardship Month—stay tuned for more details!
This coming Sunday, October 30, we'll be discussing Chapter 9 of Sailboat Church; we'll gather at a table immediately following worship in the Fellowship Hall. We won't be meeting on Monday morning as most of us will be volunteering at the SSIP Food Closet for the morning. However, you can still discuss this chapter via Zoom on November 2 at 2 p.m. And note that this is our second-to-last chapter; we are almost there!
We have two memorial services coming up for two beloved members—Donna Roberts and Gail Powell. Donna's service will be on Sunday, November 6 at 3:30 p.m. and Gail's will be on Saturday, November 19 at 3:30 p.m. We no longer have deacons or a fellowship commission, so if you are able to volunteer and serve as a greeter for one or both of these services, that would be great.
We lift our many prayers to our Lord, trusting that God hears our prayers and stands by us through good times and bad. John 14:27 declares, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid."
—Jesse
It's been a very busy fall — and there has been a lot going on behind the scenes as well. We want to share our deepest gratitude for those many folks at Bethany who share of their time, talent, and resources to keep us humming along! Above, Candace, Tom, and Mark are putting up the Trunk or Treat sign. Below is a picture of our breezeway—you'll note that Mark Strack has been very busy fixing it up and it looks amazing.
We also had a lot of fun at our "Blessing of the Pets" service this past Sunday. There were probably about 15 furry friends present and it felt a bit like a zoo! You can see some of these critters below (as well as a bunch of beloved humans).
Below is a pic of our resident photographer, Howard McMackin, and his dog, Mona.
