VOLUME 8, ISSUE 8 AUGUST 2012

Back to School Page 2

Ice Cream Social Page 3

Worship Page 4

FAST Page 5

Stephen Ministry Page 5

LWML Page 6

Primetimers Page 6

LifeLight Page 7

Joyful Noise Page 8

Theater Camp Page 9

KidzClub Page 10

August Calendar Page 11

Coffee News Page 12

Welcome Back to School By Michelle Fischer

I can hardly believe that summer is almost over and another school year is beginning. I am so excited for the 2012/2013 year; we are going to have an incredible year at Bethlehem Lutheran School. The faculty and I are busy getting class-rooms ready and activities scheduled. I am happy to an-nounce we will have three new faces joining our faculty: Amy Schredl will be teaching 1

st Grade, Kimberlee Cobb

will be teaching 3rd

& 4th Grade multi-age, and Krista Freitag

will be teaching 8th grade. Please give them a warm Bethle-

hem welcome when you see them around the church and school.

Every year Bethlehem holds a few fundraisers to raise money for the school. Our big emphasis is technology. We are hoping to put 3 mobile laptop carts into the school so students and teachers have more access to technology throughout the day. Technology is no longer seen as a class you do once or twice a week. Technology is part of everything we do and all subjects. This year at Bethlehem we will only have two major fundraisers for the school.

1) In September we will have our annual magazine drive. The students will be selling magazines, but the good news is that you can also renew all your cur-rent magazines. So save those renewal notices and help out the school in September.

2) April 13

, 2013 — ―Bobcat Boogie‖. This is our 5k

run/walk and 1mile Family Fun Run. This event was a huge success last year and we look forward to making it even better this year. There are really four ways to help with this event.

VOLUME 8, ISSUE 8 P AGE 2

Sponsor a vendor table — We have an area after the race for vendor tables where partici-pants wander around. Participate by running or walking in the race. Volunteer — This event takes a lot of man-power, and volunteers are critical to the race success. Give a donation — If you are unavailable on that day or running is not for you, you can make a donation to the school or sponsor a school child that financially otherwise would not participate.

If you would like more information, please contact the school office.

Back to School (con’t)

Back-to-School Night August 8

4:30-7:30pm

Ice Cream Social August 8

4:00-5:00pm

1st Day of School August 15

Jr. High Retreat at LVR August 15-17

FULLY ALIVE P AGE 3

The Next Door Project Bridge Team will be hosting an ice cream so-cial on Sunday, August 5 from 11:30-12:30pm in the Courtyard to celebrate an exciting milestone in our building project and to welcome our new Vicar Caleb & Brittany Kruse and three new teachers: Kimberlee Cobb, Krista Freitag and Amy Schredl.

Once a month we continue to move bricks from the chapel to the church as donations toward this pro-ject are received.

See you on August 5!

Vicar Caleb & Brittany Kruse

Ice Cream Social Sunday, August 5, 2012

11:30-12:30pm

Kimberlee Cobb

Krista Freitag Amy Schredl

V O LU ME 8 , I SSU E 8 P AG E 4

Remarkable Worship By Marilyn Havekost

I was thinking back to my days in confirmation class and the wonderful pastor I was blessed to work through that process with. He was an amazing man whom God used to change the course of my life. He came to our small country church in Nebraska from a large Milwaukee congregation, along with his wife, six kids and a dog, as I recall.

He was a man of great faith, and he was the first pastor in my life who truly loved worship and music. Since, at age 12, I was the church‘s organist, he worked with me closely to plan worship, right down to prelude and postlude. I learned so much from him.

One of the most important conversations we had about wor-ship began this way. He said, ―You know, the word ‗worship‘ is really misnamed. It should be called ‗workship‘, because it really is work to do it well.‖ He wasn‘t talking about the plan-ning that we did each weak to prepare for worship services. He was talking about the act of worship itself. He believed, as I do, that we really have to work to worship well. It‘s work to keep our focus on this amazing God we‘ve come together to meet and to extol the wonders of His works and love for us. It‘s work to not let our minds wander, checking to see who‘s here today, what they‘re wearing, or perhaps what we‘re going to be doing later when worship is done. There are so many distractions that it‘s really work to focus on the God of the universe. Satan doesn‘t want you to focus on Jesus or hear his Word.

Let‘s be perfectly honest. Have you ever come to a worship service, sat faithfully through the entire thing, and by the time you get to lunch, you haven‘t the vaguest idea what the sermon was about or perhaps even one song that was sung? I hate when that happens!

So, I accept his wonderful forgiveness, and I resolve that I will face that worship time with resolve, with prayer, and give him the praise he is due. And when that happens to the best of my ability, I leave with joy in my heart and a renewed spirit. Isn‘t God good?

See you in worship on Sunday morning!

“ . . . the word „worship‟ is really

misnamed. It should be called

„workship‟ . . .

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Our Fall spiritual growth campaign is ―fast‖ ap-proaching. Our study together this fall is titled,

―FAST – Fully Alive Serving Together.”

We will encourage all of God‘s people at Bethle-hem to join or lead an in-home LifeGroup for 6 weeks that will consist of a meal, a teaching video on service, and focused discussion ques-tions around the week‘s theme. In the middle of the series we will all serve together on Sunday, September 30

th in the ―Day to Serve‖ (D2S) from

10-2pm.

Please let us know (swendelin@bethluth.net) if you know of community service projects that could use a team of God‘s people to help com-plete.

Also, if you‘re looking for a tangible way to serve before FAST begins, please check out our cur-

rent LifeGroup catalog. Habitat for Humanity (Ron & Tammy Uecker - whitetor-nado3@gmail.com) is still in need of volunteers. Jobs for Life is also looking to begin another class this August and they are in need of men-tors (Doug McKay - djmckay6001@comcast.net). “the table” also needs volunteers every Thurs-day to help set-up and clean up, prepare and serve, take out trash, etc. (Joanna Douglas - hereiam_sendme@yahoo.com). There are so many exciting ways for all of God‘s people to partner in service! Please join what God is doing through so many people!

F.A.S.T. By Pastor Tim Ahlman

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Stephen Ministry Corner By Lorraine Clark

My name is Lorraine Clark and I have been with Stephen Ministry for many years. My care re-ceiver is usually an older adult. Many in our age group have similar backgrounds with experi-ences and memories from 30-50 or more years to share.

I meet with my care receiver usually once a week for approximately one hour. We sometimes dis-cuss their problem or may just visit and hopefully have a few laughs, may watch TV together and talk over events, work on a puzzle and, if health permits, go for a walk or more importantly, just be a listener.

We talk about church relationships. Not all care receivers are Bethlehem members and may no

longer have a present or a past church home. A prayer is offered or I ask if I may include them in my daily prayers.

Close relationships can and do develop. All conversations are held in complete confidence.

If you would like to talk with a Stephen Minister, please call the church office or Martha Rowley at 303.425.6971.

V O LU ME 8 , I SSU E 8 P AG E 6

As you drop coins into your mite box at home or empty your little box into the larger mite box at church, it might be inter-esting to consider where those mites will be going. Listed below are the grants for the Rocky Mountain District se-lected at the LWML District Convention held in El Paso. Once again, the total goal for mite collection is $75,000 be-tween now and March of 2014.

1. Training Pastors for Gospel Outreach in Africa - $7,000

2. Trinity/Hope Lutheran School Noon Meal Pro-gram in Haiti - $5,000

3. Religious Life Curriculum for Developmentally Disabled - $8,000

4. Sunday Sermons for the Zulu of South Africa - $5,000

5. Concordia Seminary, St Louis Food Bank - $7,000

6. Rocky Mountain District – LCMS Pastor‘s Educa-tional Debt - $7,500

7. Concordia Early Child Education Center at Holy Trinity - $5,000

8. Concordia Seminary Graduate School Interna-tional Student Support - $5,000

9. Gospel Outreach to Muslims and other Eastern Religions - $5,000

10.Support for University Lutheran Chapel – Boulder, CO - $6,000

In upcoming months, individual mission grants will be fea-tured in this publication so that we can better know how to pray for these recipients of the mite funds.

LWML Mission Grants for 2012-2014 By Kay Koch

August Primetimer Activities

By Pastor John Petersen

Saturday, August 4 —Bunco at 1pm in the PAC. Bring a snack to share.

Tuesday, August 7 & 21—Bible study at 10am in the PAC.

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F U LL Y A L I VE P AG E 7

Fully Alive

Bethlehem Lutheran Church & School

2100 N. Wadsworth Blvd. Lakewood, CO 80214

Church office: 303-238-7676 School office: 303-233-0401

Visit us online at

www.bethlehemfullyalive.com E-mail Bethlehem@bethluth.net

KLTT 670 Radio Broadcast 11:00 AM Sundays

David J. Langewisch, Pastor

Tim Ahlman, Pastor

John Petersen, Pastor of

Visi tat ion & Older Adul t Ministry

Caleb Kruse, Vicar (Student Pastor)

Michel le Fischer , Princ ipal

Sandy Wendel in,

Director of Discipleship and Early Learning Center

Administrator

Mari l yn Havekost, Director of Music Minis try

Scott Bubke,

Director of Operat ions

Paul Beasley, Director of Information Technology

Adam Winterhof,

Director, Student L i fe Ministry

Suke Gnagy, Preschool Director

Mel issa Meuzelaar & Timi Schuessler

Cornerstone Counsel ing, 303-238-7676, ext . 315

Fully Alive is published monthly for the members and friends of Bethlehem Lutheran. It focuses on news within the congregation and activities in the church each month. Articles may be submitted to the church office by the 15th of each month for the next month’s issue.

e-mail to: bethlehem@bethluth.net

When I was in high school a friend of mine and I would spend evenings together just driving around Aurora, Colo-rado. Sometimes we would play a game where the passen-ger would close their eyes and the driver would ask them af-ter about fifteen or twenty minutes of riding around, ―Where are we?‖ Leaving from a familiar spot, like the school park-ing lot, the passenger would have to figure out the final desti-nation by concentrating on all of the turns made, the stops made, the distance between stops, etc. Aurora wasn‘t nearly as big as it is today, so it wasn‘t extremely difficult, but definitely challenging and the passenger really had to pay attention.

As human beings we wonder sometimes, can we really know in advance where we‘re going when we die? The apostle John, who also wrote about the new heav-ens and the new earth, writes in 1 John 5:13, ―I write these things to you who be-lieve in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.” In the game I played in high school, only the driver knew the final destination, the passenger was basically ―guessing‖ the final destination based on their knowl-edge of the town of Aurora. The one thing the passenger could be confident of was that the driver would not take them to a dangerous or unsafe place.

As Christians we also know that where we are going is a safe place even though we have never been there. We too are required to pay attention in our journey through this life as we walk with God, but we know for sure that we have eternal life, and that we will go to heaven when we die. There is no mystery or ―guessing‖ required. God has given us eternal life in heaven with him, all we have to do is be-lieve and trust in Christ‘s death and resurrection.

During the 2012-2013 Lifelight year, we will be studying 1, 2 and 3 John. These Epistles are filled with care and concern for fellow believers by the ―Elder‖ who testifies to the fullness of life in Jesus Christ and the joy that is ours when we have fellowship with him. Please join us for this study of 1, 2 and 3 John as well as those of the Psalms, and the life of David. You may register on-line at lifelight@bethluthmin.org.

Where Are You Going? By Sherri Wells

LifeLight Fall Registration August 12, 19, 26

V O LU ME 8 , I SSU E 8 P AG E 8

What’s All the Noise About?

By Mary McFarland

Now that I've gotten your attention, I'm talking about the LifeGroup, Joyful Noise.

We had an interesting April. Palm Sunday, a few of us went to the home of Esther & Orville Hinseth for a hymn-sing, followed by lively conversation, angel food cake, and strawberries on the patio.

On April 12th, we entertained at Covenant Village where Walt & Anna Mae Gabbert and Einar & Rena Anderson reside. The Anderson's were celebrating their 70th wed-ding anniversary the following week, so Ron Wahl sang "Jeg Elsker Deg" (Norwegian), the song that was sung at their wedding. (Ron sang it in English.) We ended the af-ternoon at the Sterling House, where Ruby Stolz wel-comed us with her beautiful smile.

We took the Bethlehem van to the Courtyard at Lakewood on May 10 where Ruby Hankel was glad to see us. Back in the van, we traveled to Porter Place to see Helen Bisset. Helen could have joined us on stage since she sang along to every hymn. Proof that the hymns we learn early in life remain with us forever.

We were honored to sing at the Women's Tea on June 2 at Bethlehem which featured speaker Miranda Naeem.

Our own Larry Boye resides at Golden Pond Retirement Community, so we treated his friends and neighbors with a performance on June 7 that showcased him with solo verses of hymns and the classic, I BELIEVE. Also, we cut our first CD of that performance.

We are taking July off. We will resume rehearsals mid-August to prepare for the church picnic.

See you in September!

We rehearse on Thursday afternoons and one Thursday a month we entertain at retirement communities, at the home of a Bethlehem shut-in, or by invitation. For more info con-tact Irene Eggers (303-425-3208) or Mary McFarland (303-426-0660).

F U LL Y A L I VE P AG E 9

Summer Theater Camp: A Blockbuster! By Marilyn Havekost

Bethlehem‘s Summer Theater Camp has come and gone once again. It was a wonderful, chal-lenging time for all involved. We had 28 actors/actresses and five wonderful high school drama students to help us. Jillian Lietzau and I directed, Pastor Langewisch hung the lights, and we had a great design team this year, Michelle Jones and Grace Hollenbeck.

The show was filled with so much singing and dancing this year that the kids had to work really hard. They love theater, and they are so talented, and in the end, in eight days we went from audi-tions to performance. It was truly a team effort this year. The kids encouraged each other, worked together, laughed together, and had a great time as they worked through the hard parts and got to the fun part, the show itself and the applause they received from some great audiences.

What‘s coming up next year? Summer Theater Camp will be performing the Jr. Broadway version of ―Little Mermaid.‖ Watch for dates and times to come soon!

And…..(drum roll)…something new next summer. Kids Kamp will be for kids going into grades one to three. It will be a one-week camp with one show at the end. We‘re looking at ―101 Dalma-tions.‖ Watch for dates for that as well.

Thanks for your support. The kids and I appreci-ate it so very much!

[More pictures on Page 10]

V O LU ME 8 , I SSU E 8 P AG E 1 0

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Fall Sunday School Registration By Marva Tonniges

The 2012-2013 Fall Registration forms will be available August 12, 19 and 26 in the school entry or on-line.

Our ages are 3 year olds to 6th grade.

KICK OFF SUNDAY is September 9th in the gym.

F U LL Y A L I VE P AG E 1 1

Non-Profit Org.

U. S. POSTAGE PAID

WHEATRIDGE, CO

PERMIT NO. 68

Our great tasting coffee comes from Elevation Coffee Traders formerly known as Scottish Roaster.

Elevation coffee is roasted in their open-air system which creates an extremely smooth and easy-drinking coffee. During the roasting process they pull the smoke off the beans so the coffee is always roasted in "fresh" air. This signature roasting style allows the beans' flavors and complexities to come through, the way specialty coffee is meant to taste.

Come and taste on Sunday mornings in the Coffee House!

August Specials: Vanilla Cool Cap

Hazelnut Latte Iced or Hot