Bethlehem News - May 30, 2025
Click below to read updates from various ministries at Bethlehem United Methodist Church
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We are worshipping together this Sunday at 10:15 a.m. – in the Sanctuary. Sunday School will be at 9:00 a.m. for all ages.
This week's worship service will be live streamed and recorded on our church website and on Facebook. Currently the worship bulletin is available on the website by clicking on the All Media tab, then the Media tab and then the Bulletin and Announcements tab.
The 2025 flower sign-up sheets are in the Church Office. Arrangements are $50.00 each and can be taken home after the end of the 10:15 worship service. Flowers can also be reserved using this Sign-Up Genius link (www.Bethlehemumc.com/flowers) and select the Sunday/Sundays you want or you may contact Dana Smyth 615-794-6721.
You may give online by going to the church website. If you have any questions about this process, please contact Ron Whitler.
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Please contact April Jackson, Director of Children's Ministries (ajackson@bethlehemumc.com) for more info on any of these children's activities.
VBS Orientation
It's almost time to trek into the great North and explore what it means to trust Jesus in a wild world! What an amazing setting to help kids discover the awesome love and power of Jesus! We're going to "pack" this week full of Bible-learning experiences, team building games, sciency fun experiences, creative play, and songs that will speak truth to us long after the week is over! Plus, we'll help kids discover how to see evidence of God in everyday life! Let's all get together and make sure that we are ready to go! Please plan to attend the fun Sunday orientation meeting:
•Sunday, June 1 at 9:00 a.m. in the Old Sanctuary (your kids can come too!)
Registration has CLOSED. If you need to register a child who is coming with you contact April Jackson. This is such a fun and important theme. The prayer is that we all have an awesome time and come away closer to God and closer to one another. Wherever He Leads Us!
Acolytes Needed for Sunday Worship
We are looking at the calendar for the new church year. Last year, we had a nearly full calendar with at least one of our Acolytes serving every Sunday! That is amazing! Let's continue strong and fill up the months of June and July. Let April Jackson know when your Acolyte would like to serve!
Children’s Church
Please make sure that you use the Sign Up sheets in the Narthex to register your children. If possible, please sign them in before the service begins. Children's church is offered each week.
Worship Bags
Worship bags are on the hooks in the hallway across from Pastor Craig’s office. Keep us in mind if you get tired of your Rubik's cubes or other quiet gadgets and want to donate new or lightly used items.
Nursery Available
Nursery is available for children 3 and under, every Sunday morning from 8:45 a.m. until the end of the 10:15 worship service.
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Please contact Alison Bocking (abocking@bethlehemumc.com) for more info on any of these youth activities:
Friends and guests between 6th and 12th grade are always welcome at all of our youth events!
Dear Parents,
Happy Summer! We’re super excited to kick off our summer schedule in June with VBS, our trip to Hinton Rural Life Center and more! In addition to these planned events, we will be adding a few more special events but we need YOUR help. The youth will be having a brainstorming session on Sunday night (June 1) during youth group to make plans. Please send any dates that your family will be traveling this summer. If your child can’t be present on Sunday night, please email me your dates. This will help to leverage bigger events around dates when everyone is in town.
Sunday school continues on Sunday at 9:00 a.m. There will also be a VBS training on Sunday at 9:00 a.m. for any youth or adult volunteers. If you’re interested in volunteering with VBS, please reach out to Mrs. April (ajackson@bethlehemumc.com). The youth have traditionally volunteered with VBS then gone out to lunch after the close of each VBS day.
Our summer Sunday school series will begin a deep dive into understanding the holy Bible using lessons from The Thoughtful Christian and Sparkhouse: Echo the Story. We will get an overview of the Bible, discover basic tools to use when studying the Bible and experience creative study of the Bible narrative featuring stories from Genesis to Revelation.
Let us then pray and give thanks for summer:
Summer is here Lord, still our hearts and minds, help us to breathe deeply and experience all that you have given us so far this year.
(Pause)
Help us to recognize the good things which have grown around us, those things which not long ago were simply seeds, ideas and possibilities.
(Pause)
Help us to notice the new relationships, the friendships that have blossomed, the richness of community and the joy of simply being with each other.
Help us to let go, relax and let things be what they need to be, as we know that you will nurture them as you nurture us.
(Pause)
Help us to slow down and resist the pressure to produce, to release the guilt that often comes with stopping and doing nothing, to value the small and fragile things with joy.
(Pause)
Help us to value and care for this planet with which we are blessed, its climate, the ground on which we walk, the seas which we might cross, the life on its surface, in its oceans and the air.
(Pause)
Bless our travels and our rest, our families and friends, those we spend time with this summer and those we will miss. Bless the things we will let go of and the new things we will experience. Bless our earth and all that lives, grows and moves around us. May we feel the warmth of your love and the light of your grace as we stop doing and allow ourselves simply to be. Amen.
Peace,
Alison Bocking+
Director of Youth Ministries
Looking ahead:
• June 1 – Sunday School: & VBS Training 9:00 a.m., Youth Group, 5:00 – 7:00 p.m.
• June 8 – Sunday School: 9:00 a.m., Youth Group, 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. Mission Trip Meeting 7:00 p.m.
• June 15 – Sunday School: 9:00 a.m., NO Youth Group, Father’s Day
• June 22 – Depart for Hinton Rural Life Center 9:00 a.m.
Click here to view and subscribe to our new and improved Google Youth Calendar!
iPhone Users: Click here to subscribe to our Youth Calendar
Click here to join the Youth Parent's group chat on the GroupMe app.
Click here to pick a Calendly date
Do you have a soccer game, orchestra performance, community play you'd like Alison to attend? Or maybe a family game night? Dinner outing? Parent chat over coffee? Please sign up for a date and time. If the time exceeds one hour, please select an additional block of time.
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Monthly Mission
The next monthly mission will be Sunday, June 8, when we will collect beans and rice. Please plan to bring your beans and rice to the altar during the singing of the first hymn/song to share with those less fortunate. All items collected will be given to Feed America First.
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Issues of the May/June Upper Room are in the black mailbox just outside the Sanctuary doors and on the tables in the Narthex. Contact Dana Smyth if you have questions or need more info.
If you’re moving through a particularly difficult place in life perhaps a Stephen Minister could help. We currently have Stephen Ministers available to help you through a difficult journey. Please contact Pat Smith (psmith@bethlehemumc.com or 615-794-6721) for more info.
If you have surgery planned or are ever in the hospital unexpectedly, please let the church know. You can email Dana Smyth or call the church office (615-794-6721). She will forward the information to the staff.