IN MEMORIAM, JOHN HOPP

John Hopp, our current Council President, passed away suddenly this past month. John was felled by a heart attack. He was only 60 years old. He is survived by his wife Linda and his four children. A funeral service was held at Bethlehem and it was estimated that there were 400 people in attendance. John had served faithfully as our council president this past year. He has deep roots at Bethlehem and did a commendable job in leading his beloved church this year. His positive voice will be missed. John always brought a faith filled response to the questions that came up at council. Phyllis Wright is our current Council Vice President. She ran the October council meeting and will continue to do so for the rest of the year. John’s empty council seat will not be filled this year. We give thanks for all that John gave to this church. He will be deeply missed. Our prayers are now with Linda.

Welcome New Members!

New members were received Sunday, October 5th. Welcome into our fellowship! God bless our partnership.

• Gene and Wanda Schnabel
• Gregg and Denise Thomas and Simon 

 Prayer Group Opportunity

Women of the Word Centering Prayer and Intercession Group meets every third Tuesday of the month, 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at 940 Reynods Farm Lane in Longmont, All are welcome. Please call Carole if you have any questions, 303-772-9598

WOW Morning Bible Study

We will meet each Monday morning from 8:30 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. at 940 Reynolds Farm Lane in Longmont. This will be a block of eight weeks, ending before Thanksgiving. Each lesson will be a unit unto itself. We can resume in January changing the format if we desire.

Lost and Found

Have you checked the lost and found box on top of the narthex mailboxes lately? Several pieces of jewelry, sunglasses, a hearing aide(?), gloves have been found.

Ladies Book Group

Meets the 2nd Thursday of the month, 6:30 am at Ziggy’s (4th and Main).

• November 1 - The Shack by William Young
• December 11 - Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

WOW Women's Evening Bible Study

We will meet the first Tuesday of the month, Nov. 4th at 7:00pm at Colleen Beyer’s home, 484 Golden Lane. The selected study is the book of Isaiah and the cost for the booklet is $7.00. If interested, please contact Colleen Beyer at 303-651-2816.

Community Thanksgiving Eve Ecumenical Communion Service

The last several years we have been blessed with this community Thanksgiving Eve Worship Service. It has been wonderful to see all these local churches (Bethlehem, St. Stephen’s Episcopal, Light of Christ Ecumenical Catholic, Westview Presbyterian, Central Presbyterian, First Methodist, and Long’s Peak Methodist) come together around the Lord’s Table and give thanks. This year the service will be on Wednesday night, November 26th at 7:00 at Long’s Peak United Methodist. The church is at 1421 Elmhurst. Once again, we will have a massed choir, with our choir participating. Please plan to join us for this community celebration. We have much to be thankful for!

Adult Catechism: No Tests, No Memorization, Just Grace

Session #2 – Commandments 3 and 4, with Deaconess Kristen Baltrum on Wednesday, November 5th, 7:00-8:00 in room 112 off the Fellowship Hall.

In the NCD focus groups last spring we heard a number of members share that they would like to feel more confident about their Lutheran identity. In particular, they would like to understand the catechism better. (They confessed that they didn’t pay enough attention the first time through!) In response to that concern, we are offering an adult catechism class on the first Wednesday of each month. We will be following the same schedule that our confirmands are on Wednesday nights in their confirmation classes. For the fall, they are studying the Ten Commandments.

Lutheran Family Services of Colorado Adoption Options

If you or someone you know is feeling called to be parents and want to welcome a child into your home, Lutheran Family Services of Colorado can help you build your family. Lutheran Family Services is now providing informational meetings and accepting applications for parents interested in International or Domestic Adoption Programs or Foster to Adopt Programs. Please contact Kate DeTrent at 303-217-5850 for Domestic and International Adoptions, and Cindi Newkirk-Noah at 303-217-5846 for Foster to Adopt.

Bebo Norman in Concert

Rainbow Trail Lutheran Camp presents Bebo Norman in concert at the Colorado Community Church in Aurora on November 17, 2008. This is a benefit concert to support the ministries of Rainbow Trail Lutheran Camp. Come enjoy a wonderful evening of music by a great Christian artist. Even if you are not familiar with Bebo’s music, we promise you will love this acoustic concert. Tickets are on sale now through the Rainbow Trail website. Concert begins at 7:30 pm. Doors open at 6:30 pm. Tickets are $25 and the concert is open seating. There are only 850 tickets so buy your tickets now! For more information and to purchase tickets, go to www.rainbowtrail.org.

Attention All Party People!

Do you enjoy orchestrating a fun time for large groups of people? If so, please lend me an ear. In 2009 Lutheran Family Services has a fantastic line up of great fund raising gatherings you could play a pivotal role in planning. In May we have our Gala, In July is Rumble in the Jungle at the Denver Zoo and in August our Annual Golf Classic. We work hard to plan our committee meetings around everyone’s busy schedules including face to face sessions and also telephone conferences. If glitz, glitter, and rollicking good times for a great cause piques your interest you should call Doyle Lott at 303-217-5860 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it We’ll chat and see what might work best for you. C’mon let’s Party!

Church Break-In

Recently the church was broken into. They broke out the window in Kristen’s office to get into the church. To do that, they unscrewed the security lights that lit up that area. The window is hidden by some hedges. They tried to get into the other offices but were not able to do that. They then did some minor vandalism in the narthex. Finally they took one of the computers out of the Sunday School computer lab and left through the front
door.

It is always disturbing when this happens. (In reality, churches are not good places to burglarize. Other than computers, there isn’t much of value worth stealing.) Just a reminder…if you are in the building at night, make sure that all the doors are secured. If you do drive by the church at night, just make a trip around the parking lot and check things out. We are guessing it was youth who did this. Pray for them. Pray that they can find better ways to use their time and energy.

IRA Charitable Rollover Extended!

If you are considering a distribution from your IRA and wishing there was a way to do so without paying tax on it, you are in luck. The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (H.R. 1424, Financial Rescue Package) became law on October 3, 2008 and includes a two-year extension of the IRA Charitable Rollover provision, originally contained in the Pension Protection Act of 2006, which had expired at year end 2007. This provision, which is retroactive to January 1, 2008, exempts from federal taxable income any funds transferred from a traditional Individual Retirement Account or Roth IRA directly to a qualified charity under the following circumstances.

• To qualify for this treatment, these funds which otherwise are included in federal taxable income, must be transferred by the taxpayers IRA agent directly to the qualified charitable organization after donor has attained the age of 70.5.
• The donor’s total combined IRA rollover contributions to charitable organizations cannot exceed $100,000 in any one year.
• These rollover contributions must be made between January 1, 2008 and December 31, 2009.

Of course in order to qualify you cannot receive any goods or services in return for the contribution and you must obtain written substantiation of each IRA rollover contribution from each recipient charity.

You may need to take the Annual Minimum Distribution (AMD) and find this to be a great way to do so and use it (or a portion of it) without the tax consequences. You might even just find this to be the best source for your donation to the charity of your choice (think BLC) regardless of AMD considerations. Of course you should always consult your tax or legal advisor for professional guidance.

Social Action Ministry - God's Work, Our Hands

Thank You for Your Help

• To Cathy and John Goodman for attending the Rocky Mountain Synod Hunger event on October 11.
• To all those who expressed interest and support in advocacy for World Hunger, especially on Bread for the World Sunday on October 19th.
• To all those who helped in any way with the Boulder Country CROP Walk. Thank you to the youth for their participation as well as other Bethlehem walkers. Thanks to all who gave financial support. And thanks to all those who helped to organize and facilitate this new event for Bethlehem.
• To Linda Anderson for leading the Fair Trade Catalog sales and all those who ordered from the catalog.

Current Opportunities for You to Help

• Assist with the Fair Trade Fair in November - 18TH ANNUAL WINTER WARMTH COAT & BLANKET DRIVE - Sponsored by Longmont Rotary October 13 - November 28. All items will be cleaned, sorted, and delivered to the O.U.R. Center for distribution. Please donate new or gently used coats, hats, scarves, gloves, mittens, boots and blankets. Bethlehem is one of the drop off sites. You will find the collection box in the narthex.

Habitat for Humanity

Habitat for Humanity of the St. Vrain Valley is dedicated to providing simple, decent and affordable homes for deserving families here in our local community and needs you! Most volunteer opportunities are extremely visible, from volunteering on the job site on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays to working at the ReStore. We need individuals sto serve on our seven different operating committees, volunteers who can prepare lunches for our volunteers, dedicated professionals who will serve in our Board of Directors, and those who can advocate for our cause within their sphere of influence. To learn more about all the opportunites available, please call the Volunteer Coordinator, Jenn Weyerman at 303-682-2485 or e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Habitat for Humanity ReStore is selling Christmas Trees!

Stop by the ReStore between now and November 1st to order your Douglas or Noble Fir Christmas Tree. These trees are considered to be the most beautiful and perfectly shaped Christmas Trees in the nation and we are offering them to you at a great price. $15.00 of every tree sold goes towards Habitat for Humanity so you will also be contributing to a great cause. Prices vary depending on the size that you order. Beat the crowds, have one less thing to do in December, order your Christmas Tree now and support Habitat for Humanity!!

Save the Date: Habitat's 1,000th Home Dedication and Celebration Date is Set

On Saturday, November 22nd, at Noon, Habitat for Humanity of the St Vrain Valley, in conjunction with Habitat for Humanity of Colorado, will celebrate the completion of 1,000 Habitat Homes Built in the State of Colorado by dedicating Christine Hertz’ home at 1215 Della.Ave in Longmont. There will be a special celebration to commemorate this historic event and launch the beginning of a 3 year campaign to build the next 1,000 homes. More details to follow!

Bethlehem Quilters

We meet every Thursday from 9-noon in the quilting room at Bethlehem. We welcome new volunteers, whether you’re dropping in or regular, we’ll be happy to put you to work. We often get questions as to whether you need to sew. The answer is no, if you can cut fabric or tie yarn, we could use YOU! We have a break time about 10:30 am or so and share a great fellowship time.

The Bethlehem Quilters sent a quilt for the recent Quilt Auction at Redeemer (the first) and the Auction raised $6500 for missions. The money is going to Mexico, Uganda and Kenya. The support of the Bethlehem Quilters is greatly appreciated! Plans are being made for the 2nd annual Quilt Auction in July 2009.

Recycle Your Computer

ARE YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW GETTING A NEW COMPUTER? USED LAPTOP COMPUTERS ARE COLLECTED YEAR ROUND FOR NICARAGUA CONTACT CATHY GOODMAN 303-530-3838 OR LEAVE IN CHURCH OFFICE

Evangelism News

Living Nativity - The Living Nativity will be held on December 21st from 5:00 - 8:00 pm. Does anyone know anybody who has farm animals who would be willing and able to donate time and their animals to the cause?

We are also looking for someone to sew costumes for the Living Nativity. Contact Diane Frank at 970-532-0211 or Cindy Schlagel at 303-776-6645 if you or know anyone who can help with either need.

Longmont Christmas Parade - we would like to have a float in the Longmont Christmas Parade on Saturday, December 13, if we can get help with designing and decorating the float. The theme this year is “Lights So Bright.” Please contact Diane Frank at 970-532-0211 or Cindy Schlagel at 303-776-6645 if you are interested in helping out.

PRAYER SHAWL MINISTRY

The Prayer Shawl ministry is now back with clicking needles and a crochet hook or two. It is an interactive group that has members from both Bethlehem Lutheran Church and Light of Christ. And the colorful yarn make beautiful rainbows of prayer and care for so many in our congregational families. Over 200 prayer shawls have been made over the past several years.

Who gets a prayer shawl? One of the first ones came to us, the Berrys. It is in our family room waiting for that time when a snuggle, a comfort or a prayer is so impor- tant. That gift started my journey on the prayer shawl road... Have you ever needed that extra touch - your own prayer shawl? I hope a comforting shawl was there. Let Nancy Tiff in the Bethlehem office, or any of the staff know because this ministry is FOR YOU.

We need to know when life and its traumas and crisis happen. Then we can be there. Then you will know that this shawl has been made with you in mind. How do we know that it is YOU that needs this newest one that has been created? This is the miracle of the prayer shawls. Each completed shawl finds just the right home, hopefully at the right time and for the one who needs it the most.

You can be a part of this ministry. Two hands; a wish to either learn or renew a skill; a desire to share this time and talent with others are all that it takes. The Prayer Shawl ministry meets from 10:00 - 11:30 on the 3rd Tuesday of each month from September through May. The Fireside Room at Bethlehem is alive with chatter, clicking needles, love and prayers at that time. Come and join us.

In Our Thoughts....

Hospitalized.....

Mary Hill, Mildred Hart, Marilyn McEntee, Agnes Ronneberg, George Choun, Francis McKinney, Bob Dunkel, Jerry Phipps, Harry Bernhardt

Ill/Recuperating...

Jeremy Goodman, Taylen Zabel, Mildred Hart, Virginia Dick, Jerry Phipps, Gail Gaffney-Taylor, Jim Woodruff, Brenda Downing, Charlotte Peterson, Alice Steinke, Mary Hill, George Choun, Agnes Ronneberg, Francis McKinney, Bob Dunkel, Jerry Phipps, Diana Bruckner, Harry Berhardt, Marilyn McEntee

Prayers and sympathy to.....

• Ruth and Pastor Mark on the death of Ruth’s mother, Jane Stewart
• Linda Hopp on the death of John Hopp
• Lydia and Sam Boxberger on the death of their son, Sam Gregg and Denise Thomas on the death of Gregg’s niece, Annie Thomas of New York.
• Doris Haave on the death of her brother, Bill Bowman

Congratulations to...

• Kristy Moore and John Christianson of the birth of Isaac born on Oct. 8, 2008
• Eric and Helen Kessler on the birth of Jonah Michael born on Oct. 7, 2008
• Pastor Lili Stahlberg on the birth of her 2nd granddaughter, Sidonia on Oct. 1, 2008