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BEHIND THE SCENES
There is so much that goes on “behind the scenes” around here at Bethlehem. Its members sharing
of their time and their gifts. But those willing volunteers are the life blood of this church. Let me
share some of those “behind the scenes” moments:
- 9 HEALTH FAIR – The church was just a “zoo” last Thursday and Friday. We had almost 1900
people go through our building for the 9 Health Fair. That is a record number. We were the only
facility in Longmont this year. But it went very smoothly because of all the volunteers. I talked to a
number of the participants and they were so complimentary of how they were treated and efficiently
moved along. There were over 70 (yes…70!) volunteers from Bethlehem who worked along side
all the health care professionals to make this happen. And they had a great time doing it. Nancy
McLeod and her planning team did an excellent job once again. What a great outreach to our community
this is!
- STEPHEN MINISTRY – 13 faithful church members have been giving up their Monday nights
since the beginning of the year. This is our new class of Stephen Ministers. They are going through
50 hours of training to become Christian caregivers. Next month they will finish their training, be
commissioned, and join the other current Stephen Ministers. I was touched last Monday night when
someone in the class became very emotional. She was saddened to think that the classes would
soon be over as she had grown so close to the other class members. We assured her that they
would still be meeting twice a month for supervision and continuing education. Dan Kube recently
gave up a week of his time to become a Stephen Ministry leader. He flew to St. Louis for an intensive
week of training. But he came back so energized. He will help teach some of the remaining classes.
- LEARN BY HEART – Once a month, Dave Hooley, Sue Anderson, and Raven Astrom sit down
with some of our Sunday School kids and go over their Bible verses. As part of the Learn by Heart
program these children are memorizing selected bible verses at home. They will be lifted up in worship
on May 18th. When I see them working with the lids I can’t help but think of Ernie Peterson.
Ernie is one of our heroes that recently passed away. At his funeral we read the 23rd psalm. Ernie
saw a lot of action in World War II (Omaha Beach, the Battle of the Bulge) and he said that he “wore
out” that psalm during combat. We want to give our kids that gift of those verses. Who knows how
they might sustain them in years to come.
- SPANGLER ELEMENTARY – A couple of weeks ago Fred Fanton gave an impassioned temple
talk after worship. He has been serving over at Spangler Elementary this past school year. He
shared how moved he has been working with the students over there, reading to them and helping
them with their studies. Fred is one of three members who have helped consistently over there this
year. His passion touched others that morning and six more church members signed up (including
this pastor!) to get involved with the kids over at Spangler. Fred told me that the principal ran him
down recently and thanked him profusely for getting these extra volunteers. Each one makes such a
difference.
- CONFIRMATION – We learned at the recent “Passing on the Faith” conference how important
it is for adults to connect with youth at church in hopes of passing on the faith to them. Kathy Byrne
and Patty Dreith are two such adults. They have served as our small group leaders for confirmation
this past year. It’s been wonderful for me to see the bonds they have formed with the confirmands.
They have truly been passing on the faith. What a gift!
- CANTATA – One of the bigger volunteer commitments at church is the choir. They faithfully
come every Wednesday night for rehearsal and then sing almost every Sunday in worship. During
the busy Lenten season many of those choir members (34 to be exact) added to that commitment by
showing up for Sunday rehearsals for the annual Easter cantata. It was excellent as always. John
Goodman, our director, is such a gift. Thank you for that extra commitment!
This Sunday we are handing out “Time and Talent” sheets in worship. We are going to ask folks to fill
them in during that time. As I said, volunteers are the life blood of this church. We need members to
share their time and their talent to make this church go.
But I hope people see it as more than just volunteering. I hope they see it as ministry. There is a big
difference. Christ’s love is being shared by our volunteers over at Spangler. That is ministry. Our
Stephen Ministers are the hands and feet of Christ as they listen and help those who are hurting.
Patty and Kathy, Dave, Sue and Raven are literally helping to pass on the faith to our kids. That is
most certainly ministry.
I hope you do make the effort to fill out a Time and Talent sheet. I hope you do chose to volunteer
here. It does make a difference in the lives of others. It is ministry in Christ’s name.
Blessings, Pastor Mark
P.S. On my bookstand this month is “Christianity for the Rest of Us” by Diane Butler Bass. I
’m getting many good ideas from it for our ministry.
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