August

Dear Bethel Members,

First of all, the Council would like to thank Pastor Adam for his ministry at Bethel. He helped us with our grief over the sudden loss of Pastor Norm. He has aided us tremendously through our financial struggles over the past few years, giving us counsel bolstering our faith, reminding us of God's purpose and focusing on Bethel's mission to spread the good news of Jesus Christ by the way we live our lives. Best wishes to him and Pastor Jordan in their new endeavors and our prayers are with them both as they follow God's will for their lives.

The Council has extended a one-year call to Pastor Alan Anderson as our Intentional Interim Pastor at 75% time. Many of us are familiar with Pastor Alan, as he is a close neighbor to Bethel and has served as a supply pastor on a number of occasions. Intentional interim is a bit different than an interim pastor. An intentional interim pastor focuses on the specific needs of a church to help the congregation through particular struggles and concerns. Pastor Alan has had extensive training in intentional interim ministry, served on the Synod Conflict Resolution and Healing, currently serves as Intentional Interim Pastor at St. Paul's Church in Eggertsville and understands church dynamics. The word that keeps reverberating regarding Pastor Alan is compassion. He is described as kind and compassionate to those who know him. His term will begin on September 1, 2013. He will be meeting with the Church Council together and individually, as well as church members to determine concerns and areas of focus. He is skilled in listening and discernment, identifying concerns, making recommendations for resolution and assisting congregations toward those recommendations. His ministry focuses on relating Biblical text to people's lives and has "developed preaching passion and freedom from the pulpit and written text." We thank Pastor Alan in accepting our call to Bethel, thank God for sending him to us and look forward to his leadership.

We need your help. As we work to address Bethel's financial profile, we need our membership to fill some voids in our mission to serve others as Jesus Christ has shown us. Bethel voted to not have a Christian Education Director and we are reducing our pastor to part-time, therefore it is up to us to come forward and support our church. We still need volunteers for Vacation Bible School. This is an integral part of our ministry to the wider community and to plant seeds of faith in our young people. This extends to our Christian Education Program beginning in September. We also are looking for Sunday School teachers for the fall. If you are willing to serve as a teacher for a module, a semester, the year, or a substitute, please let the church office know. Additionally, we are asking those sponsoring flowers to either take them home to enjoy or deliver them to someone you think would appreciate them.

LCLC, the Boys and Girls Club of Jamestown and the YMCA thank Bethel for its generous donations of $1,064 each to assist them in their respective missions. These donations flow from part of our constitution to donate 10% of the earnings of our endowment, a requirement that we are very happy to fulfill. The Council believes that serving our youth is central to our mission, whether it is Christian Education, Pre-School, or assistance to other organizations. We thank you for your generosity and look forward to the beginning of a new year together with Pastor Alan.

Respectfully yours,

Gregg Davis - President