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September 28 Announcements

CROP Walk 2023: Please plan to support the CROP Walk to End Hunger, which takes place this Sunday, October 1, at 2:00pm. Thanks to Burton Shields who is leading the CROP Walk set-up team. It’s not too late to walk with or donate to Bethany’s team. Every step and every donation help to end hunger. To join the team or donate visit:  https://events.crophungerwalk.org/2023/team/bethany-lutheran-2

Faith Formation: Sunday School continues next week, Sunday, Oct 8! Kids in grades K-6 are invited to Sunday school in the Education Building after the children’s message in worship. A teacher will be present to walk with them to the meeting spot. This week’s lesson continues on the theme of “Compassion: Learning to Love Like God,” and features the story of David showing kindness to Mephibosheth (now that’s a mouthful of a name, right?!). Our memory verse for the week for the following week will be: “David called him by name and he answered, “I am your servant.” 2 Samuel 9:7

We are very grateful to welcome Barbara Lawrence, Suquamish Tribe Storyteller, for our Adult Education forum on Sunday, Oct 1. In honor of Indigenous People’s Day (Oct 9), Barbara has offered to share some history of the Suquamish Tribe and what’s important for neighbors like us to know about the Tribe today. Thanks to Sonja Selboe for making the connection with Barbara and helping to arrange this wonderful offering. Please plan to come—we meet in the sanctuary just after worship. Enjoy a cup of coffee and refreshment in Fellowship Hall first, and kindly make your way back to the sanctuary for what is sure to be a dynamic presentation. Adults of all ages and teens are warmly welcome! 

October Bible Study: The Rachel Circle Bible Study group will meet this Tuesday, October 3, at 10:00am. The study materials are available in the narthex. The Men’s Bible Study group will meet later in October than typical. They will meet on October 24, at 8:00am. The Women’s Bible Study and Book Group will meet on Monday, October 16, at 9:30am. All Bible study groups meet in fellowship hall.

October Impact Gathering: Our next intergenerational meeting we call “Impact” will be on Sunday, Oct 8, at 4:00pm. Everyone is invited all the time, but for this particular gathering, we’re extending the invitation to your PETS! In keeping with our Season of Creation and in honor of the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, patron of the environment and animals, we’ll be blessing the animals! We’ll likely meet outside the front of the church for this event, and instead of a sharing a meal as usual, this month we’ll enjoy animal-themed snack bags to go. For planning purposes, please let Pastor Erin know if you’re planning on coming and what pets you’ll be bringing with you—but as always, if you didn’t have a chance to RSVP, come anyway! 

Fellowship Fun: The first Fellowship Committee meeting is tomorrow, September 29, 11:00am at Bethany. This group is charged with turning up the fun meter—thinking of activities for small or large groups to do together, here at church or in the community. A walk through Bloedel? Trip to the art museum? Poulsbo Film festival? (Starts Oct 13, by the way.) Being on the committee does NOT make you in charge of organizing and you will not be elected to any office—just presenting to the congregation as options and seeing if there is interest. There will be fun, exciting, and possibly educational activities coming up for us at Bethany, plus any friends you would like to bring along.  And mark your calendars for November 4, 7:00pm (please note date change!) for the irregularly scheduled and always unpredictable Bethany Variety Show. We are looking for audience members and acts—music, dance, skits, readings, demonstration of skills. Please let Mary Jensen know if you have ideas at 

Finch Green LLC Update Info Meeting: Plan to stay after worship on Sunday, October 8, when Jonathan Davis and Marja Williams from the Finch Green LLC will be at the Adult Education forum to share the latest news from Finch Green and its progress for building 20+ affordable homes on Bethany’s property. Jonathan and Marja will also lead us in an envisioning exercise of what a village could look like around the church and school. All are welcome. 

Bethany Endowment Fund Grants: The Bethany Endowment Committee is still accepting grant applications for the 2023 distribution cycle until October 15. Application forms are available on the table in the narthex. They can also be downloaded from our website. Completed applications can be dropped off in the office or sent by email as an attachment.

HRB Speaker Series: The third installment of the HRB speaker series takes place Monday, October 16, 7:00pm at the Bainbridge Public Library. The theme of this installment is “Housing Decommodified, A Global Exploration with New York Times Writer Francesca Mari”. Ms. Mari promises to be an engaging presenter, sharing scenes from Vienna where limited-profit and social housing allow people of all incomes to live with comfort and security, great photos, and a skilled journalist’s facility with articulating trends and history. To register for free tickets, visit https://www.housingresourcesbi.org/events/

Altar Flowers: The altar flowers this weekend are given by Jennie & Dennis Harris in celebration of their 44 and a half year wedding anniversary.

Prayers are Requested: For Jan Thrun who is once again experiencing health concerns and has been admitted to the hospital for tests; for Steven Selvar & Stephany Taylor who will be married on October 14.  

Thank You to this weekend's Worship Assistants:           
          Altar Duty: Carol Fenner
          Saturday 5:00pm – Greeter/Usher: Luanne & Tom Croker; Lay Reader: Gail Christensen: Hospitality Host: Veronika & Jim Rohrscheib
          Sunday 10:00am – Greeters/Ushers: Colleen & Steve Chupik; Lay Reader: Claire Dasler; Communion Assistant: Colleen Chupik; Hospitality Host: Claire & Marty Dasler

Next weekend's Worship Assistants:
          Altar Duty: Kathy Dudgeon
          Saturday 5:00pm – Greeter/Usher: Joe Sommerseth; Lay Reader: Carol Fenner: Hospitality Host: Carol Fenner
          Sunday 10:00am – Greeters/Ushers: Nancy & Harry Wetzler; Lay Reader: Harry Wetzler; Communion Assistant: Linnea Chu; Hospitality Host: Kristi Sutton & Linnea Chu

September 21 Announcements

Faith Formation: Sunday school is off and running! Kids in K-6 grades will be invited to Sunday school in the classroom in the education building. Although the lessons are geared toward kids in K-6, everyone is welcome, but please do fill out a registration for all children who may attend Sunday school or nursery. Hard copies are on the table in the Narthex, or you can request one electronically by emailing Pastor Erin ( ). 

The Sunday school lesson this week is about Shiphrah and Puah's courage and continues on the theme, "Compassion: Learning to Love like God." Our memory verse, introduced in the Children's message during worship, is "The community grew and became strong, and God was pleased..." Exodus 1:21 (paraphrased).

Family devotionals are available to take home. They are in the blue folders on the table in the Narthex. Please take one for your family and another for a family who might also enjoy one!

Our first intergenerational youth and family gathering of the season, otherwise known as Impact, was a big success! Thanks to all those who attended on Sept 17, we filled 75 backpacks for Lutheran World Relief. We enjoyed fellowship, a blessing of our own backpacks (and even a diaper bag!), and a pizza party-- thanks to a Thrivent Grant arranged by Alice McCain! Mark your calendars for our next event, on Sunday, Oct 8, when we'll celebrate St. Francis of Assisi with a blessing of the animals! 

The next Adult Education will be Sunday, Oct. 1, in the sanctuary after worship. We will welcome Barbara Lawrence from the Suquamish Tribe to present the history of the Suquamish Tribe. Barbara is a gifted storyteller, and the Tribe's official Storyteller, and to welcome her will be an honor--and timely, too, as Indigenous People's Day is observed on Monday, Oct. 9! Many thanks to those who attended last week's adult education when we welcomed John Kydd and Stefani Galaday from the Interfaith Council's Climate Circle. The discussion on climate change fit nicely into our worship liturgy for the Season of Creation.

Evan Stoll Funeral: A funeral for Evan Stoll will take place on Saturday, September 23 at 1:00pm. Please keep Helen and the Stoll family in your prayers during this tender time.

Receiving New Members: Join us this Sunday, September 24, when Bethany will be receiving new members. Andrew and Kim Uptagrafft and their daughters Vera and Heather began attending Bethany several months ago. Baby Heather was recently baptized at Bethany and Vera will be attending Bethany Preschool. Beth Balder and John Jay have also been attending Bethany for several months. They live in the Blakely neighborhood with their dog Luna, who also enjoys the Bethany services!

Confirmation Class: Pastor Paul will be leading a confirmation class on Monday, September 25, 2:00pm at Woodward Middle School. The class will meet at the outside picnic area. Contact Pastor Paul with any questions.

CROP Walk 2023: Please mark your calendars for the CROP Walk to End Hunger, which this year takes place on Sunday, October 1 at 2:00pm. Pastor Paul wants all to note that this year there is neither a Seahawks or a Packers football game that day (and the Mariners World Series game will most likely be in the evening). So come and walk with us or donate to Bethany’s team. Every step and every donation help to end hunger. To join the team or donate visit:  https://events.crophungerwalk.org/2023/team/bethany-lutheran-2

Fellowship Fun: We have some fun, exciting, and possibly educational activities coming up for us at Bethany, plus any friends you would like to bring along.  Mark your calendars for October 28 for the irregularly scheduled and always unpredictable Bethany Variety Show. We are looking for audience members and acts—music, dance, skits, readings, demonstration of skills. Please let Mary Jensen know if you have ideas at 

Also, the first Fellowship Committee meeting is September 29, at 11:00am at Bethany. This group is charged with turning up the fun meter—thinking of activities for small or large groups to do together, here at church or in the community. A walk through Bloedel? Trip to the art museum? Poulsbo Film festival? (Starts Oct 13, by the way.) Being on the committee does NOT make you in charge of organizing and you will not be elected to any office—just presenting to the congregation as options and seeing if there is interest.   

October Bible Study: The Rachel Circle Bible Study group will meet on Tuesday, October 3 at 10:00am. The study materials are available in the narthex. The Men’s Bible Study group will meet later in October than typical. They will meet on October 24 at 8:00am. The Women’s Bible Study and Book Group will meet on Monday, October 16 at 9:30am. All Bible study groups meet in fellowship hall.

Apples in the South 40: The apples in the ‘South 40’ are ripe for the picking. Please enjoy a nice stroll and help yourselves! 

Finch Green LLC Update Info Meeting: Plan to stay after worship on Sunday, October 8 when Jonathan Davis and Marja Williams from the Finch Green LLC will be at the Adult Education forum to share the latest news from Finch Green and its progress for building 20+ affordable homes on Bethany’s property. Jonathan and Marja will also lead us in an envisioning exercise of what a village could look like around the church and school. All are welcome.

Bethany Endowment Fund Grants: The Bethany Endowment Committee is still accepting grant applications for the 2023 distribution cycle until October 15. Application forms are available on the table in the narthex. They can also be downloaded from our website. Completed applications can be dropped off in the office or sent by email as an attachment.

First Lutheran Poulsbo Transgender Speaker & Vocalist: Poulsbo First Lutheran Church will be hosting Dr. Stephanie Dykes at 7pm on September 23. She will be telling her story in word and song in a free autobiographical concert. Dr. Dykes holds a Ph.D. in educational research and measurement from the University of South Carolina, and completed her undergraduate work at Clemson University. She has spoken at conferences on women’s and gender studies and institutional research across the United States, as well as serving as a guest lecturer on her experiences as a transgender woman at numerous colleges and universities across America. Over the past year, she has made appearances as a speaker and singer at Texas Lutheran University, Bethesda Lutheran Church in Ames, Iowa, and Holy Spirit Lutheran Church in Kirkland, Washington. Dr. Dykes believes that her special calling as a transgender Lutheran is to make the world a better place for transgender and gender-diverse people.

Altar Flowers: The altar flowers this weekend are given by Mary & Dick Coar in celebration of family and anniversaries.

Prayers are Requested: For Julie Cooper as she mourns the death of her father; for Heather Ballaine as she mourns the death of her mother.

Thank You to this weekend's Worship Assistants:           
          Altar Duty: Heather Ballaine
          Saturday 5:00pm – Greeter/Usher: Charlene Selvar; Lay Reader: Rachel Pritchett: Hospitality Host: Carol & Ron Fenner
          Sunday 10:00am – Greeters/Ushers: Debbie & Andy Rimkus; Lay Reader: Andy Rimkus; Communion Assistant: Vicki Browning; Hospitality Host: Debbie & Andy Rimkus

Next weekend's Worship Assistants:
          Altar Duty: Carol Fenner
          Saturday 5:00pm – Greeter/Usher: Luanne & Tom Croker; Lay Reader: Gail Christensen: Hospitality Host: Veronika & Jim Rohrscheib
          Sunday 10:00am – Greeters/Ushers: Colleen & Steve Chupik; Lay Reader: Claire Dasler; Communion Assistant: Colleen Chupik; Hospitality Host: Claire & Marty Dasler