Empowered by Jesus to be His hands and feet, Bethlehem is a caring Community called to be His compassionate presence in this world and to build community by reaching out with the

life-giving Word to those in our neighborhoods who are wearied and burdened by life’s demands and changing Circumstances.

January 2019, Volume XIX, No. 1

BETHLEHEM LUTHERAN CHURCH 201 E. Watauga Avenue

Johnson City, TN 37601 Rev. Steven Harmon, Pastor

Church: 423-926-5261

Reach Up, Reach In, Reach Out

December was another busy month for our youth. Our youth raked Paula Baskin’s home on Sunday, December 9th following the 2

nd service as a fundraiser. Thank you

Baskin family for hiring us to help you. We had our children’s Christmas program on Sunday, December 16

th. Thank you to Anne Larson, Patti Harmon, and Susan Burkey

for all your hard work. The play was beautifully done. We were able to spread the Christmas cheer with families who are in need. We delivered a carload of presents to families in the Carver Park and Keystone Park on Christmas Eve. The kids that an-swered the door were ecstatic for the presents that we deliv-ered. We were also able to adopt 8 veterans at the VA Hospi-tal. The veterans were VERY excited to see our youth in their rooms. We left them with stocking full of toiletries, candy, and a Bible. We purchased these 8 stockings with the money we raised for raking the Baskin’s yard. The youth really felt proud of what they had done to spread His love to them. We’ll head over to the Bristol Motor Speedway to ice skate on Sunday, January 6

th. On

Saturday, January 19th, we’ll have a New Year’s/Game Night Party

at the Whaley’s home. Thank you again for your continued support and prayers in our youth. Month of December at a glance: Saturday, January 5

th…...Ice Skating

Saturday, January 19th…..New Year’s/Game Night at the Whaley’s

THANK YOU FROM THE CHURCH STAFF

Please accept our thanks and

appreciation for the generous gift cards from the congregation that we received at Christmas. We are most appreciative and it is our joy and privilege to serve at Bethlehem in our various capacities. A

blessed new year is wished for all at Bethlehem as we continue to serve our church, our community and beyond as we all are the hands and feet of Jesus.

Serving This Month 8:00 a.m. 10:45 a.m.

ELDER OF THE MONTH: Ted Wilson & Larry Larson

ELDER OF THE MONTH: James Wudtke

USHERS USHERS

1/6 Robert Woody John Port

Roy Knispel Rob Whaley

Ann Larson Silas Whaley

1/13 Roy Knispel Lee Talbert

Adam DeMello Tim Treece

Tom Watson Dylan Treece

1/20 Robert Woody Frank deNobriga

Roy Knispel Rob Whaley

Tom Watson Silas Whaley

1/27 Roy Knispel John Port

Adam DeMello Bob Wohlford

Ann Larson Ben Wohlford

Altar Guild for January: Ann Larson & Marie Wilson

The history of the Epiphany Up until the 19th century, the

Epiphany was more im-portant than Christmas Day, and it was used to celebrate

both the three kings' (or three wise men's) visit to Jesus shortly after his birth and also Jesus' baptism by John the Baptist. In the West, Christians began celebrating the Epiphany in the 4th century, associating it with the visit of the Magi (the three kings) to Bethlehem. According to the Gospel of Matthew, the three wise men - named Melchior, Caspar and Balthazar - followed the star of Bethlehem across the desert to meet the baby Jesus,

offering gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. The gifts were symbolic of the importance of Jesus' birth, the gold representing his royal standing;

frankincense his divine birth; and myrrh his mortality. The word 'Epiphany' comes from Greek and means 'manifestation'. It celebrates 'the revelation of God in his Son as human in Jesus Christ'. The six Sundays which follow Epiphany are known as the time of manifestation; the last

Sunday of the Epiphany is celebrated as Transfiguration Sunday.

Notes from the Pastor’s Desk We are Jesus’ hands and feet.

We have come to the beginning of a new year and people will be asking what resolutions you have made. There is a part of us that is never satisfied with the status quo. The desire to make this year better than the last is a good thing.

Unfortunately, those resolutions too often fall by the wayside. They are forgotten. Our will to change or do things differently fades. The results just don’t come quickly enough – if they come at all.

Resolutions are easy to make, but they are hard to carry through to completion. Part of that is the fact that we really don’t know what visible impact our resolutions will have on us.

We don’t know what completion looks like. We probably have some idea of what we desire or hope we will look like. But we really don’t know.

The other part of that is we are weak and lazy. Sustained change is a hard road. It takes sustained commitment. As sinful human beings, we can’t maintain that commitment. So we turn to One who can. We turn to God who

has made us a new creation in Christ. We were baptized into Christ. We were joined together with Him in His death and life. In Christ, we are now

new creations. We have been raised to new life. And the good news is this: God who began this good work in you will bring it to completion in the day of Jesus

Christ. He is at work to conform us to the image of His Son. He is faithful and He will do it.

God comes and invites us to join Him in His house and at His table on a regular basis. As we answer His invitation, here is the schedule of worship times this month. See you there!

January 6 . . . The Epiphany of Our Lord 8:00 am

SERMON TEXT: Isaiah 60:1-6 SERMON THEME: “Your Light has Come” LITURGY: Divine Service 3 with Holy Communion

10:45 am SERMON TEXT: Isaiah 60:1-6 SERMON THEME: “Your Light has Come” LITURGY: Divine Service 3 with Holy Communion

January 13 . . . The Baptism of Our Lord

8:00 am SERMON TEXT: Romans 6:1-11 SERMON THEME: “Shall We Go on Sinning?” LITURGY: Divine Service 4 with Holy Communion

10:45 am SERMON TEXT: Romans 6:1-11 SERMON THEME: “Shall We Go on Sinning?” LITURGY: Divine Service 4 with Holy Communion

January 20 . . . 2nd Sunday after the Epiphany 8:00 am

SERMON TEXT: Isaiah 62:1-5 SERMON THEME: “The Lord Delights in You” LITURGY: Divine Service 1 with Holy Communion

10:45 am SERMON TEXT: Isaiah 62:1-5 SERMON THEME: “The Lord Delights in You” LITURGY: Divine Service 1 with Holy Communion

January 27 . . . 3rd Sunday after the Epiphany

8:00 am SERMON TEXT: 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a SERMON THEME: “Diversity in Unity” LITURGY: Divine Service 3 with Holy Communion

10:45 am SERMON TEXT: 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a SERMON THEME: “Diversity in Unity” LITURGY: Divine Service 3 with Holy Communion

Happy January Birthdays to Veronica Maupin & Barbara Fetzer (1st), Geri Swihart (3),

Kerry Swinehart (5th), Elizabeth Treece (6th), Elisabeth Wudtke, Craig Campbell, & Bill Cupp (7th),

Zach Olsen & Nicholas Grady (8th), Grace Marshall (12th), Phillip Harmon (16th),

Jan Miller & Haven Nutter (20th), Sandi Bailey (25th), Mary Lee Bowman, Ansley Nutter & Evan Harmon (27),

Vivian Marshall (29th)

Sew Crazy

Sew Crazy finished off 2018 with an afternoon of helping

to serve lunch alongside members of Bethlehem Lutheran Church at the Melting Pot in Johnson City. For several of our members it was their first opportunity to see how the program works and they are interested in serving again. After lunch, the group handed out the handmade draw cord bags filled with nonperishable food items to

those who had been served lunch . We were thrilled to be able to meet our goal of

225 bags with the help from Sew Crazy members, Bethlehem Lutheran Church,

Thrivent Financial, Johnson City Morning Rotary and various individuals. It was

indeed a wonderful way to say farewell to one year by serving those in need.

Sew Crazy starts 2019 off with our most popular project: dog coats for the animal shelter. The Washington County animal

shelter will be the recipient of warm coats - just in time for when "old man winter"

makes his return to our area. Additionally, we are doing a second project with a bit

more creativity for a good cause - "designer" dog coats to be placed in a silent

auction ( as well as used for a fashion show ) to benefit the Washington County

Humane Society . These special coats will be seen at the Dogwood & Cattails Ball fund raiser for the Humane Society in March. Sew Crazy works solely from

donations of supplies and currently our in-ventory of fleece fabric is low. This fiber is used to create the warmth factor in the dog coats that are headed to the shelter. If you

are interested in helping us with this project, we can always use sewers, as well

as fabric. Our next meeting is: Saturday, January 19. Time: 10am to 2 pm. Sew Crazy is free and open to anyone who would like to join us! For additional information: Please contact

Donna Pruitt (423)434-0424 http://www.sew-crazy.org

We are also active on Facebook.

Statistical Report for December

Attendance 8:00 a.m. 10:45 a.m. Offerings December 2 55 57 General Fund $ 4,755.00 Shaneyfelt Mission $ 50.00 Federwitz Mission $ 34.00 Wheel Chair Fund 4 100.00 December 9 No services due to snow December 16 46 78 General Fund $ 7,012.00 Social Ministry $ 230.00 Melting Pot $ 30.00 Federwitz Mission $ 33.00 Shaneyfelt Mission $ 100.00 Honorariums $ 270.00 Bronner Memorials $ 75.00 Anderson Memorials $ 175.00 Poinsettias $ 80.00 Lutheran Witness $ 10.00 Fellowship $ 10.00 Outreach $ 50.00 Wheel Chair Fund $ 100.00 December 23 41 48 General Fund $ 2,789.00 Shaneyfelt Mission $ 50.00 Honorariums $ 495.00 Melting Pot $ 70.00 Anderson Memorial $ 20.00 Fellowship $ 72.05 December 30 44 55 General Fund $ 4,945.89 Federwitz Mission $ 44.00 Shaneyfelt Mission $ 50.00 Anderson Memorial $ 250.00 Bronner Memorial $ 50.00 Walwick Memorial $ 30.00 Melting Pot $ 50.00 Roof Repair $ 1,000.00 ADVENT SERVICES: December 5 37 General Fund $ 656.00 December 12 39 General Fund $ 1,876.00 Fellowship $ 58.00 Roof Repair $ 50.00 December 19 33 General Fund $ 2,546.25 Christmas Eve – 7:00 p.m. 108 General Fund $ 2,142.38 Anderson Memorial $ 50.00 Honorarium $ 100.00 11:00 p.m. 36 General Fund $ 85.00 Christmas Day 59 General Fund 4 540.00 Spending Guidelines approved for 2018 $252,564.00 Offerings needed each week in 2018 $ 4,857.00

Hours

The Church office is open

Monday – Friday 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Saturday: 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Susan is off on Thursdays Pastor is off on Fridays

Voice mail and e-mails are checked regularly.

THANK YOU ALL!

My family and I would like to thank you for the many cards and gifts given to us this Christmas Season. I especially want to thank Bethlehem for the generous

gift card. You are all special people and a joy to serve as your pastor. Blessings to you all. Thanks again.

Pastor

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