January

"Glory to God in the highest Heaven and peace on earth to those with whom He is pleased." Luke 2:v14

Dear Bethel Members,

Your church council wishes you all a blessed an happy new year and hope you had a wonderful holiday season with family and friends. The council is looking to 2014 as a pivotal year at Bethel. With the faithful giving of our members and a series of cost-saving measures implemented in 2013, Bethel has been able to reduce our deficit to less than half of the projected $79,000. Additional budget cuts have been implemented beginning on January 1, 2014. A complete overview of the 2013 and 2014 budgets will be presented at the Annual Meeting on January 26, 2014.

The council is carefully reviewing the survey data and is in the process of developing a series of recommendations as to the next steps to be taken on behalf of our church family. We ask for your prayers as we work to ascertain God's plan for our church, how we are to best serve Him and demonstrate the love of Jesus Christ through our missions and ministries. We also need to fill four seats on our council. If you would like to join the council or have any questions about serving on the council, please contact me or another member.

We are still working to mitigate the damage due to the roof leakage. The ceiling tiles and the insulation from the Heritage Room have been removed. This was a rather extensive undertaking. We are looking into having the remaining ceiling and insulation professionally removed and replaced. Paramount Roofing has installed a new drain on the roof and resealed the edges. There is additional work to be done on the dry well in the spring to ensure proper drainage.

In other matters, Marlin Casker has volunteered to be one of Bethel's representatives to the Synod Assembly to elect a new Bishop. If you would like to be the other representative, please let Pastor or me know. The Resource Center will be providing cleaning services for Bethel beginning this month. We thank Gregg and Fran Guichard for the many years of service and dedication to Bethel. What they have done behind the scenes has demonstrated their faith and commitment to Bethel. It has been indicated that there is a desire to resume the G.I.F.T.S. class on Sunday mornings. If you are interested in participating in or in leading the G.I.F.T.S. class, please contact Pastor Alan. We encourage any opportunities to help each other to grow in our faith.

The council recognizes and appreciates the time and efforts of Marlin Casker, Sandy Dole, Gloria Lombardo and Steve Williams for their work on the council and commitment to Bethel and its members. There are no words sufficient to thank them for their service to God and Bethel. Additionally, the council thanks you for your thoughts, prayers, and support over the past year. Your words of encouragement and your input have been greatly appreciated by each of us. The council looks forward to serving you again in 2014. May God bless you and your family throughout the new year.

Respectfully yours,

Gregg Davis - President