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September 5 Announcements

Faith Formation – Adult Forum
Do you yearn to connect with Lutherans in other countries, growing together with new friends in faith, love and friendship? Find out if global mission is for you by attending an adult study on Sunday, Sept. 15, after worship in the fellowship hall. Rachel Pritchett, who has participated in ELCA global-mission relationships in Africa and China for 20 years, will describe exciting opportunities, especially for young adults. She will describe how participating with Lutherans throughout the world has changed her deeply, and how it can change you, too. See you there.

Faith Formation - Sunday School
Sunday school begins on September 15. Kids up to 6th grade are invited to join Mrs. Dudgeon in Fellowship Hall after the children's message in worship. This fall our lessons will focus on classic Bible stories from the Hebrew Bible (aka Old Testament) and the New Testament. There will be crafts and snacks, and of course, lots of fun! Please join us!

Faith Formation - Youth Group
Our first Youth Group of the season will meet on Sunday, September 22 from 3:00 pm-5:00pm at Casa Rojas in the Winslow Pavilion. We'll enjoy "tacos and talk" as we get to know each other a little better and discuss what's in store for the year ahead. Please let Pastor Erin know if you plan to attend so she can reserve a table in advance. Everyone is welcome, so feel free to bring a friend!

September Bible Study
The Women’s Book & Bible Study group will meet on Monday, September 9 at 9:30am to discuss Inspired by Rachel Held Evens. Pastor Erin will be out next Tuesday so the Men’s Bible Study group will now meet on Tuesday, September 17 at 8:30am. All Bible Study groups meet in the fellowship hall.

Rally Day!
Everyone is invited to come to worship this Sunday, September 8 when we celebrate Rally Day! Worship that morning will be followed by a picnic lunch. There will be entertainment, games and perhaps a surprise or two. Bethany will provide the main dishes and beverages. You bring a side dish/salad (last name beginning A-G), dessert (last name H-O), or fruit/veggie tray (last name P-Z). Part of the entertainment will include a music trivia quiz led by Jim Cauter, with a prize for the table with the most points. Start studying now! Please consider helping with set up (3:00pm this Saturday), clean up or serving food. Contact Mary Jensen at   for more information. Please note that there will be no 5pm service on Saturday, September 7 so we can all celebrate Rally Day and the beginning of a new program year together.

Pictorial Directory
Becci Kerstetter will be available to take your photo after worship on Rally Day, September 8. She will also be taking photos after worship on Sunday, September 22 and Sunday, September 29. She will plan on being available after the 5pm service on Saturday, October 5 for the folks that find that time more convenient. Becci will set up in the office area just past the narthex. We will also take this opportunity to verify contact information and whether you want your phone number and/or email address printed in the directory. Get ready to put on your Sunday, or Saturday, best and smile for the camera.

Hospitality Host Needed
We still need hospitality hosts for Sunday, September 15. Can you help by making coffee, setting out snacks and cleaning up? Bethany will provide the snacks and Debbie is happy to show you how to make coffee and run the dishwasher. If you are able to help, call the church office (206-842-4241) or email Debbie at

The LiVE Project – Faith in Public Life
Bethany has purchased a subscription to the Northwest Synod LiVE Project so that Bethanians can participate in any/all of the offerings at no cost. To register for an offering, use the promocode LIVEBUNDLE2024.  

This fall, the project is offering a seven-week Zoom course on Wednesdays at 7:00pm beginning September 18. In preparation for our election and the times we find ourselves in, what does it mean for us to be Church in today’s world? Through a variety of voices and disciplines, we’ll explore what it means to be people of faith in today’s public life, growing in our awareness of how we’ve been formed in our culture and how we’re being called into new places. To meet the guest presenters, find the course outline and register, click here.

LWR School Kit Update
Our 2024 LWR School Kit project has been a roaring success! We now have the supplies we need for 102 book bags, and the next step will be filling the bags with donations and celebrating this achievement. Stay tuned for more info, and thanks to all who took part. Your generosity is overwhelming.

CROP HUNGER DANCE
This year we'll gather at Eagle Harbor Church on September 22, 2024, to participate in fun, easy-to-learn dances and songs led by the Universal Dances of Peace group. No special talent or ability is necessary--just a willingness to have some fun with your neighbors while raising money for a good cause. 

While this year it is a dance rather than a walk, we're still working with Church World Services (CWS) to raise funds to provide meals, clean water, and safe homes for those who need them. A portion of the funds we raise will go to CWS and another to our local social service agencies. This year's community goal is to raise $15,000, which a generous community member has offered to match! 

The dance will begin at 2:00 pm, with the registration table open at 1:30pm. You can also register now for team "Bethany Lutheran of Bainbridge" on the CWS website by clicking here and then selecting "Join or Start a Team." Under Find an Existing Team, type "Bethany Lutheran of Bainbridge" and click on it. The resources on the website are helpful and easy-to-use. Feel free to reach out to Pastor Erin for assistance. Let's set a goal to raise $5000. Can we do it? Yes we can! GO TEAM BETHANY LUTHERAN OF BAINBRIDGE!

Prayers Are Requested: for Barbara Michael who died on Tuesday and for Joe Michael and the Michael family as they grieve; for Veronika Rohrscheib who is undergoing additional oncology testing; for Ralph Schulz who has entered hospice care; for Jim Rohrscheib and Gladys Schulz as they support their spouses.

Altar Flowers: The altar flowers this weekend are given by Linnea Chu in honor of Franklin’s birthday. 

Thank You to this weekend’s Worship Assistants:
          Altar Duty: Gail Christensen
          Saturday 5:00pm – No Service
          Sunday 10:00am – Greeters/Ushers: Debbie & Andy Rimkus; Lay Reader: Linnea Chu; Communion Assistant: Linnea Chu; Hospitality Hosts: Rally Day Picnic!    

Next Weekend’s Worship Assistants:
          Altar Duty: Barbara Swartling
          Saturday 5:00pm – Greeter/Usher: Joe Sommerseth; Lay Reader: Carol Fenner; Hospitality Host: Carol Fenner
          Sunday 10:00am – Greeters/Ushers: Eve & Mike Curtis; Lay Reader: Hazel Hamilton; Communion Assistant: Vicki Browning; Hospitality Hosts: TBD

August 29 Announcements

Faith Formation - Sunday School
Exciting news! Kathy Dudgeon is officially Bethany's new "Youth Coordinator!" What does that mean, you may be wondering? It means that Kathy will continue leading and teaching Sunday school as she has over the past two years, but she'll also organize our Sunday school and youth calendar, as well as design curriculum for our youngest church family members. Kathy will communicate regularly with families and volunteers about upcoming Sunday school happenings and general youth and family news. In the coming weeks, you may notice Kathy's creative touch in the church as she lends her artistic talents to decorate for the upcoming fall season. We are so fortunate to have someone as committed (and talented!) as Kathy to serve our youth. Families can expect to hear more from Kathy next week in advance of Rally Day, which is Sunday, September 8. Plan to attend for lots of fun, and information about the upcoming season.

Faith Formation - Youth Group
Pastor Erin is working with Kathy to create a calendar of Youth events which kick off in September after Rally Day. A newly formed Youth Group will begin meeting twice a month (every 2nd and 4th Sunday) from 3:00pm - 5:00pm in Fellowship Hall. The first meeting of the month will be mostly social and/or service oriented. The second meeting of the month will be dynamic and learning based to accommodate confirmation instruction and general faith formation. All youth ages 7-12th grades are welcome at both meetings - even if they've already been confirmed. More information is forthcoming next week as we roll out our new Sunday School and Youth programs at Bethany, so stay tuned!

September Bible Study
The Rachel Circle Bible Study group will meet on Tuesday, September 3, at 10:00am. The study materials are available on the small table in the library. The Women’s Book & Bible Study group will meet on Monday, September 9 at 9:30am to discuss Inspired by Rachel Held Evens. The Men’s Bible Study group will meet on Tuesday, September 10 at 8:30am. All Bible Study groups meet in the fellowship hall.

Rally Day!
Everyone is invited to come to worship next Sunday, September 8 when we celebrate Rally Day! Worship that morning will be followed by a picnic lunch. There will be entertainment, games and perhaps a surprise or two. Bethany will provide the main dishes and beverages. You bring a side dish/salad (last name beginning A-G), dessert (last name H-O), or fruit/veggie tray (last name P-Z). Can you help set up, serve food or clean up? See the sign-up sheets on the hallway bulletin board. Please note that there will be no 5pm service on Saturday, September 7 so we can all celebrate Rally Day and the beginning of a new program year together.

New Pictorial Directory Coming Soon
Have you thought how handy it would be to have an updated pictorial directory? We think so too! Becci Kerstetter has graciously volunteered to take the photos needed to make this a reality. She will be available to take your photo after worship on Rally Day, September 8, and on the last two Sundays in September. She will plan on being available after the 5pm service on Saturday, October 5 for the folks that find that time more convenient. Becci will set up in the office area just past the narthex. We will also take this opportunity to verify contact information and whether you want phone number and/or email address printed in the directory. Get ready to put on your Sunday, or Saturday, best and smile for the camera.

The LiVE Project
A number of you expressed interest in offerings through the LiVE Project. Bethany has purchased a subscription so that Bethanians can participate in any/all of the offerings at no cost. To register for an offering, use the promocode LIVEBUNDLE2024.  If you're interested in taking one of the classes, please let Pastor Erin know so that we can put together a roster of "Bethanians" participating in one (or more!) of the offerings. Although the courses are on Zoom, there are several options to explore for getting together for discussion in person. Once we have an idea of who is interested, we can begin to generate ideas for meetings.

LWR School Kit Update
Thanks to all the folks who’ve donated to our school supply drive for LWR, we are getting closer to our goal of filling book bags to send off this fall! The school kits will help children around the world be successful in school. School supply sales continue in August, and we have an ambitious goal of filling 102 bags which were sewn by Selina Johnson and Alice McCain. 102 filled bags would be an all-time record number!

Posted by the door in the Narthex, above the donation bin, is a “score card” to help you know which supplies are most needed (as of August 13). Biggest needs are: spiral notebooks, pencil sharpeners, pencils, and ink pens. We’ll do our best to keep the list updated as supplies come in, so keep checking back. 

Please take and use the supply list from the envelope on the bulletin board when shopping and donating; we can’t send school supplies that don’t follow the LWR guidelines. For more information about this project go to https://lwr.org/kits/school-kits/instructions .  Later this fall we will have a party filling the bags and sharing snacks-stay tuned for more information.

CROP HUNGER DANCE
This year we'll gather at Eagle Harbor Church on September 22, 2024, to participate in fun, easy-to-learn dances and songs led by the Universal Dances of Peace group. No special talent or ability is necessary--just a willingness to have some fun with your neighbors while raising money for a good cause. 

While this year it is a dance rather than a walk, we're still working with Church World Services (CWS) to raise funds to provide meals, clean water, and safe homes for those who need them. A portion of the funds we raise will go to CWS and another to our local social service agencies. This year's community goal is to raise $15,000, which a generous community member has offered to match!

The dance will begin at 2:00 pm, with the registration table open at 1:30pm. You can also register now for team "Bethany Lutheran of Bainbridge" on the CWS website by clicking here and then selecting "Join or Start a Team." Under Find an Existing Team, type "Bethany Lutheran of Bainbridge" and click on it. The resources on the website are helpful and easy-to-use. Feel free to reach out to Pastor Erin for assistance. Let's set a goal to raise $5000. Can we do it? Yes we can! GO TEAM BETHANY LUTHERAN OF BAINBRIDGE!

Prayers Are Requested: for Angela Lucioni’s father Hans Asmus who died recently and for the Lucioni family as they grieve; Veronika Rohrscheib and her family as they face important medical decisions; for Ralph Schulz who has entered hospice care and for Gladys Schulz as she supports her husband. Please pray also for the students, teachers and staff who are preparing to return to school next week. God, in your compassion, hear our prayers.

Altar Flowers: The altar flowers this weekend are given by Marlene & Al Orwiler in celebration of their wedding anniversary.

Thank You to this weekend’s Worship Assistants:
          Altar Duty: Kathy Dudgeon
          Saturday 5:00pm – Greeter/Usher: Jim Rohrscheib; Lay Reader: Gail Christensen; Hospitality Host: Jennie Harris
          Sunday 10:00am – Greeters/Ushers: Barbara & David Swartling; Lay Reader: Andy Rimkus; Communion Assistant: Barbara Swartling; Hospitality Hosts: Kristi Sutton & Andy Rimkus                

Next Weekend’s Worship Assistants:
          Altar Duty: Gail Christensen
          Saturday 5:00pm – No Service
          Sunday 10:00am – Greeters/Ushers: Debbie & Andy Rimkus; Lay Reader: Linnea Chu; Communion Assistant: Linnea Chu; Hospitality Hosts: Rally Day Picnic!