90th Anniversary
Bethany's Archives
In the year 2014, we, the family of Bethany Lutheran Church, celebrated the 80th Anniversary of the creation of the Lutheran Church in Woodstock, Ontario. As a part of those festivities, it was felt that an attempt should be made to commemorate aspects of the history of this church and its members. This manuscript is the result of that attempt. It is an incomplete and sporadic glimpse into the events and peoples that have made us what we are. It does not glorify or seek to praise so many individuals who, through their lifestyle and activities, are truly worthy of praise and commendation; such an endeavour would require several volumes and thus, the deserving may be barely mentioned here. Research into whatever sources were available provided the information here recorded. There were large gaps in the recorded documentation and those lapses may be evident to you as a reader. I apologize for those lapses. Also, details gleaned from archival reports may suffer from my interpretation. Still, what I have written, I have written. Doug Allen.
As part of the 90th anniversary celebrations of Bethany Lutheran Church, a gift of $25,000 was presented to Amanda Cook for The Mobile Health Outreach Bus. The presentation was made following the service on Oct. 6. Left to right: Shirley Hickey, Elizabeth Park, David Bald (chair of council), Amanda Cook, and Grace Osinski.
OUR 90TH ANNIVERSARY
Bethany Lutheran Church joyfully celebrated their 90th anniversary with special events on the weekend of October 5th & 6th, 2024. There was an Open House at 175 Springbank Ave. N. on the Saturday afternoon, where the faith community, along with family, friends, neighbours and past members could reminisce and socialize over snacks, while enjoying photos and stories of the congregation’s history. In the evening, there was a delicious catered dinner, with musical entertainment provided by the “Ole Country Mishaps” led by Pastor Dick Holm.
Sunday morning’s celebratory worship service was led by Jan Hansen and Pastor Dick Holm, with music provided by Peg Hendry and Jan Hansen. At the reception following worship, greetings and congratulations were read by Church Council chair, David Bald, from Arpan Khanna, MP, Ernie Hardeman MPP and several former Pastors of Bethany.
Isaac Olowolafe Jr., Founder of Dream Legacy Foundation gave a glowing report of the work that the organization does to help those in need across Canada. The Foundation is building 38 apartments for seniors and 7 for single parent families at 175 Springbank Ave.,N. The apartment building will be connected to the church sanctuary, office space, and fellowship hall. Some apartments are designated for supplemental rent for which Bethany is providing $700,000 in the coming years. As well, Ryan Knight, Co-Founder of the Afro Caribbean Business Network attended.
Mayor Jerry Acchione brought greetings and congratulations on behalf of the City of Woodstock. He presented the congregation with a certificate recognizing Bethany’s continuing contribution to supporting the most vulnerable people in our community.
In celebration of our 90th anniversary, the executive of the Church Council presented Amanda Cook with a donation cheque for $25,000 for Oxford County’s Mobile Health Outreach Bus program, which supports homeless and struggling people.
Bethany Lutheran is a vibrant and welcoming faith community, who are continuing to serve and love the people of Oxford County. You are invited to come for worship and Sunday School at 10 a.m. on Sundays. On P.A. Days, children participate in bible lessons, singing, crafts, and field trips in the community. For adults there are a number of interesting adult Christian Education opportunities for you to enjoy.
Bethany is now home to a Ukrainian congregation, where a monthly service is held in the Ukrainian language followed by a potluck supper. A Ukrainian newcomer who taught English in Ukraine also provides English classes for Ukrainians twice a week.
Sunday services are live-streamed each week.
EVENT PICTURES
Linda Holm - chair of the Anniversary Committee and spouses of band members.
Our evening Entertainment
Past and Present members of Bethany
Past and Present members of Bethany
Past Pastors and spouses with some Church Council Members
Past and Present members of Bethany
Past and Present members of Bethany
Time for Dinner
Past and Present members of Bethany
Past and Present members of Bethany
PRESENTATIONS
Presentations.movOur Church Council chair, Dave Bald, was our Master of Ceremonies. The video also has greetings from past Pastors that were unable to attend, the City (Mayor Jerry Acchione), Province (MPP Ernie Hardeman) and Country (MP Arpan Khanna); and our donation to Amanda Cook .
Presentations.movRecognizing a former long time member who has returned to the USA.
NOTES OF THANKS
Good morning Linda.
On behalf of the Board and staff of the Oxford County Community Health Centre, I would like to extend my sincere thanks to Bethany Lutheran Church for the very generous donation to the Mobile Health Outreach Bus (MHOB) program, in the spirit of Bethany’s 90th Anniversary – quite a milestone! Your gift will go a long way in the context of serving individuals who may be homeless and or street-involved.
As Amanda outlined to the Anniversary Committee, the MHOB program started at the beginning of the pandemic, based on our strong desire to “bring services to people” in a time period when many agencies closed their doors. The program proved to be so successful in bolstering the quality of life and support to individuals that a decision was made to sustain the unfunded program in one way or another. Donations such as yours allow us to continue our mission in the best possible way.
Thank you once again, and congratulations to Bethany Lutheran Church in celebrating a significant anniversary. Have a wonderful day.
Sincerely
Randy Peltz
Executive Director
Oxford County Community Health Centre
Hi Shirley!!!
I just saw the wonderful donation that your church did for the mobile unit health bus.
I am on the board of the Oxford County Community Health Center and so proud of the work they do.
Thank you for the donation! It will be well used!
Take care and hope to see you soon,
Shauna
Shauna Pow
Pow Engineering
Pictures and Memories from the past
Pictured below is
Bethany Sports Camp, July 2017: 25 children participated in Bible study, soccer, basketball and ball hockey.
Pictured below is Bethany's Float in the Tri-Celebration, in the Woodstock Victoria Day parade which was a celebration of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, the 200th anniversary of Ontario and the 50th anniversary of Bethany.
Pictured below is Cindy Doering and her memory from Bethany is as follows.
"A memory from Bethany that really stands out for me is when I was asked to be Santa Lucia at a worship service, when I was 11 years old in 1974. I had to walk from the fellowship hall to the front of the church, stand there while some things were said & done and then walk back down the aisle, with 6 lit candles burning on top of my head. Lyle Rosnau was sitting half way up the aisle and he was tensely waiting to spring, if my hair caught fire. My Dad (Ken Bond) was also waiting anxiously in the narthex. I had so much fun!"
More memories from Cindy Doering.
"Another great memory is when many folks from our faith community participated in the Christmas play "The Shining Star" and we took it on the road to other churches. Pastor Clyde Wentzell really hammed it up in his role!
Also, when we decided to take down the old retaining wall at the front parking lot ourselves and the whole faith community pitched in with rented digging equipment, shovels, wheel barrows, work gloves and enthusiasm. It felt amazing to be part of this project - all working and having fun together as a team!
One last memory is when our Evangelical Lutheran Women's group decided to dress up as women of the Bible for our program one evening and had the others guess at who we were. Barb Mason gave me a couple of photos of that, about 20-25 years ago, (unfortunately I don't have photos of the other participants). See if you can guess who I was, before you look at the answers.
(answers: Lot's wife and Bathsheba) LOL"
