VOLUME 7, ISSUE 11 NOVEMBER 2011

Rich History Page 2

New Website Page 3

LifeGroups,

“table” Page 4

Christmas

Concert Page 5

Christmas by Candlelight,

KidzCLUB Page 6

LifeLight Page 7

Mary Martha,

LWML Page 8

School Musicals Page 9

Giving Tree Page 10

Nov. Calendar Page 11

Bethlehem has a rich history of responding to God’s call to be a ministry pres-ence on the West side of Denver for worship and education of preschool and school aged children. From a home church and a one room school, to the possi-bility of adding the 9th worship space that the Bethlehem community has used for worship and three more classrooms to total 21 rooms for providing a Christian education to hundreds of children a year, we continue to seek God’s will and re-spond to His call!

If you are wondering about those 9 worship spaces…

Bethlehem’s first service was at the home of E.T. Fritz in 1930

Wheat Ridge Methodist Church was used in 1930

Services were held in a storefront shop on 38th Avenue (see photo on

page 2)

A Chapel was built and used from 1937-53 (see photo on page 2)

The “new church” was dedicated in 1953 (see photo on page 2)

Our current sanctuary was dedicated in 1969

Our current chapel in Woodridge Medical Center was dedicated in 2001

Parish Activity Center used for “the table” starting in 2009

The commons (enclosed courtyard) could be the new location for “the table” while the PAC becomes our new chapel.

The school doors that have been opened to children through Bethlehem’s school ministry are many as well.

The one room school opened in 1940 (see photo on page 2)

A two story school was dedicated in 1950 (see photo on page 2)

A four classroom addition was added in 1955

The Gymnasium was added in 1976 and served as classroom space in 1981/2 during the building of our existing school

The current two floor school, library and entry was dedicated in 1983

The current junior high and upper elementary rooms were added in 1994

Three new school rooms could be added paving the way for 5 rooms for the Early Learning Center and 16 rooms for our Day School.

What are the next doors through which God would have us walk for worship and education? Join us in finding out.

Bethlehem’s Doors of Ministry By Sandy Wendelin

VOLUME 7, ISSUE 11 P AGE 2

Basement Door at Nees Hall—1933

Bethlehem’s Rich History

Drive-in Easter Service—1948

4,000+ attendance

FULLY ALIVE P AGE 3

Online Updates @ Bethlehem You may have noticed recent changes to the online presence for Bethlehem Lutheran Church. In keep-ing with our ―Fully Alive‖ theme, Bethlehem has Launched a new website – www.BethlehemFullyAlive.com - which will help us not only keep a consistent look between our church campus, print and online pieces, but will also give us greater ability to post and share videos, pictures, and stories of our church and ministries. The new site also has a clear link to The Next Door Project for Bethlehem microsite, which can also be reached by going to http://bethlehemnextdoor.org. Browsing through this site, you will quickly notice high quality architectural 3-D renderings of the potential building. It is amazing to be able to visualize something so clearly that does not yet exist.

We have recently changed our Facebook Page. You can find, ―Like‖ us and Check in @ www.facebook.com/BethlehemFullyAlive.

V OL UM E 7 , ISS UE 1 1 P AG E 4

People tell me from time to time, ―It sure is great

what you‘re doing for ‗those people‘ in our com-munity.‖ I understand their compliment, but the cynical side of me wants to say, ―We‘re all ‗those people.‘‖ We‘re all those people for whom Jesus died. ―the table‖ exists to remove the barriers that are often present in God‘s church.

Some of you have not yet come to ―the table‖ be-cause you‘re uncomfortable around people who are not like you. ―the table‖ exists to provide a safe place for all people to interact with one an-other around a meal (everyone needs to eat) and worship (everyone needs what God provides in Word and Sacrament). ―the table‖ provides a community for us to simply see everyone as peo-ple for whom Jesus died. I understand that some

of you may be uncomfortable around people whose brokenness is on full display. Yet, God loves the broken sinner - you and me - some of us just do a better job of hiding our brokenness.

Finally, ―the table‖ exists to feed people physi-cally, relationally, emotionally and spiritually. We are striving to be a church that cares for the whole individual.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS:

Thanksgiving at ―the table‖

November 17th

Will you consider joining what God is doing at ―the table?‖ For almost 3 years we‘ve been meet-ing every Thursday - 6pm meal, 7pm worship. www.tablebethlehem.org table@bethluth.net.

Why Does the “table” Exist? By Pastor Tim Ahlman

New LifeGroups at Bethlehem By Pastor Tim Ahlman

We pray that ―The Next Door

Project‖ LifeGroups are going well for you all! We‘ve heard wonderful news of God‘s people growing closer to Him and each other through this experience.

I‘ve spoken with a few folks from Bethlehem who say, ―We love spiritual growth campaigns be-cause they encourage and expect everyone to participate in a LifeGroup.‖ Let me tell you – your LifeGroup experience does not have to end. If you‘ve gotten a taste of LifeGroups through studying ―The Best is Yet to Come‖ and you‘ve enjoyed it, please speak with me

(tahlman@bethluth.net) or Sandy Wendelin (swendelin@bethluth.net) about joining one of our new LifeGroups starting January, 2012. LifeGroup leaders – please be praying about what type of LifeGroup God is calling you to start in 2012. A Bible Study LifeGroup? A Common Interest LifeGroup? A Service LifeGrouip? Sandy and I would love to sit down with each of you and explore LifeGroup possibilities. May the relationships born out of ―The Next Door Project‖ grow deeper in 2012!

Thanksgiving Day Patriotic Service Thursday, November 24

9:30am

F U LL Y A L I VE P AG E 5

Christmas Concert--December 4 By Marilyn Havekost

Sing Gloria! will kick off the Christmas season this year on Sunday, December 4

th. Choirs and orchestra are busy getting ready for that

day. Of all the seasons in the church year, Christmas offers a number of opportunities to celebrate musically with the broadest palette of styles. In Sing Gloria!, David Hamilton reflects on joyous and intimate moments of Christmas in a variety of wonderful styles. It will be a wonderful morning of worship in song and Word.

Remember that on that day, we won‘t have services in the chapel, and the sanctuary services will be 8 and 10:30 only. No 9:15 worship.

Plan to join us for a wonderful morning. Invite friends, neighbors and family to come. See you then!

Need to advertise your business?

Let us help you “ad up!”

We are selling ads for our Christmas concert program this year, to help offset the cost of the concert.

Here‘s your opportunity to advertise your business at a really reasonable rate. Rates for ads are:

Business card size: $ 25

Quarter page size: $ 50

Half page size: $100

Full page size: $200

Checks for the ads can be made out to Bethlehem Lutheran Church. You can turn in a hard copy of your ad at the church office or email it to Kim Musselman at kmusselman@bethluth.net.

Name________________________________________

Phone number _______________________________

Email ______________________________________

Program Ads for Christmas Concert ===========================================================================================================

V OL UM E 7 , ISS UE 1 1 P AG E 6

Christmas by Candlelight An Advent Program for Women

By Marva Tonniges

Join us for a festive evening filled with the sights and sounds of the Christmas season. View elegant tables ar-ranged for the holidays, hear beautiful music, enjoy appe-tizers, delicious desserts and good conversations with friends, new and old, and participate in an Advent Pro-gram, ―The Colors of Christmas‖ designed to help you prepare for the hustle and bustle of holiday preparations.

Tickets are $7.00 and will be on sale in the PAC on Sun-day mornings, November 13 and 20 or in the church office. Seating is limited!

If you would like to be a table hostess (or need more infor-mation before committing), please contact Bev Brown, 303.425.5134, email ronbevjas@aol.com or Marva Tonni-ges at 720.475.1393, email rtonniges@aol.com.

Friday, December 2, 2011 6:30-8:30pm

Parish Activity Center

============================================================================================================

Thank You, Lord for autumn days,

for children that give us

so much praise,

for teachers that share…

smiles, faith and prayer,

for family and friends that

give us much care!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

from KIDZClub

F U LL Y A L I VE P AG E 7

Fully Alive

Bethlehem Lutheran Church & School

2100 N. Wadsworth Blvd. Lakewood, CO 80214

Church office: 303-238-7676 School office: 303-233-0401

Visit us online at

www.bethlehemfullyalive.com E-mail Bethlehem@bethluth.net

KLTT 670 Radio Broadcast 11:00 AM Sundays

David J. Langewisch, Pastor

Tim Ahlman, Pastor

John Petersen, Pastor of

Visi tat ion & Older Adul t Ministry

Michael Heiden, Vicar (Student Pastor)

Michel le Fischer , Princ ipal

Sandy Wendel in,

Director of Discipleship and Early Learning Center

Administrator

Mari l yn Havekost, Director of Music Minis try

Scott Bubke,

Director of Operat ions

Paul Beasley, Director of Information Technology

Adam Winterhof,

Director, Student L i fe Ministry

Suke Gnagy, Preschool Director

Karla Hal lac y, Mel issa Meuzelaar & Timi Schuessler

Cornerstone Counsel ing, 303-238-7676, ext . 315

Fully Alive is published monthly for the members and friends of Bethlehem Lutheran. It focuses on news within the congregation and activities in the church each month. Articles may be submitted to the church office by the 15th of each month for the next month’s issue.

e-mail to: bethlehem@bethluth.net

Research has found that it takes 21 days to form a habit. Habits are a necessary part of our life – at least the good ones. Without them we would fail in most of our endeavors. They help us to reach specific goals, stay fo-cused and keep going when the going gets tough. De-veloping a daily habit of being in the Word keeps us strong against the attacks of Satan and helps us in our spiritual growth.

There were over 600 books given out to people currently participating in the church-wide study of John Kiesch-nick‘s book, The Best is Yet to Come. Although that study is scheduled to end on November 13, 2011, LifeLight will continue to meet on Thursday mornings and eve-nings through April 12, 2012. John Kieschnick‘s book served as the first of three 9-week series in the 2011-2012 LifeLight year. If you have been meeting with a non-LifeLight group to study the book, why not consider join-ing LifeLight? You are al-ready in the habit of studying on your own and meeting once a week with a group. Keep the good habit that you started and meet some new people in the process. Life-Light is Bethlehem‘s largest Lifegroup and is in its 22

nd

year!

The second 9-week series, which starts on Nov. 17, 2011, will be the study of Ecclesiastes and Song of Solo-mon. LifeLight will return to its traditional format begin-ning with this study. The third series will be the study of Ephesians and Thessalonians.

Registration is going on now. You can sign up on-line by visiting www.lifelight.bethluthmin.org. You can also get more information on the website and watch an introduc-tion video.

LifeLight: A Good Habit to Start and Keep By Annette Gunther

V OL UM E 7 , ISS UE 1 1 P AG E 8

LWML Fall Rally By Janet Krogh

On Oct. 1, the ladies of the LWML North Central Zone traveled to Faith Lutheran Church for their Fall Rally. There were 40 ladies attending, as well as some guests.

We were privileged to hear Steve Johnson, the director at Lutheran Valley Re-treat near Woodland Park, speak especially about Kings Camp, held during the summer for at least 60 children who would normally be unable to attend any kind of summer camp. These children are in the foster system here in Denver. With a $6,000 grant, these children are able to attend the camp at no cost. Steve spoke of how some children‘s lives are definitely changed in the short time they are at camp.

So thank you to Bethlehem members for your generous Mites that are put into the Mite box, so that children at LVR can hear about the love of Jesus, interact with a loving caring staff, and be uplifted by experiencing God's beautiful world.

Mary Martha Society Presents a Women’s Patriotic Event By Margaret Wahl

On Saturday, October 8, 2011 approximately 65 guests enjoyed a wonderful afternoon of fellowship, inspiration, refreshments, patriotic music and a drama of Betsy Ross.

The guests enjoyed the following activities: Girl Scout Troop 1260 led us in the presentation of the colors and the Pledge of Allegiance to our flag. Vicki Lyons (leader of Troop 1260), Brandi Lyons, and Samantha Broscheit did the honors. The Joyful Noise Choir provided music for several patriotic songs. Barbara Daubenspeck did a fantastic job of presenting the char-acter of Betsy Ross and giving us all a mini history lesson of that time in our nation‘s history. Mary McFarland read a patriotic poem about the colors in our flag. After a flag folding demon-stration by Troop 1260, the Joyful Noise Choir sang ―God Bless America‖ to end the afternoon.

Thanks to several Mary Martha members: Marcella Rapp, Helen Roglitz, Evie Strayer and Margaret Wahl for their work in planning and preparing this event. A special thanks to Pat Roush and Janet Bell who lent their support and help.

============================================================================================================

F U LL Y A L I VE P AG E 9

“The Great Christmas Giveaway” Grades 5-8

Have you ever noticed that some of the most joyful people you‘ll ever meet are often the most giving people, too? You know it‘s true! There is a beautiful correlation between ―giving‖ and ―joy‖ in God‘s economy!

It‘s also true that Christmas is the season of gift giving. We know this is because of the gift God gave us in the birth of His Son, Jesus!

Our musical is set in a shopping mall where the class officers have gath-ered to find a special gift for their teacher. In the process, they learn three important truths:

God‘s way of giving is that He gave out of love.

God gave us His best: ―His one and only Son.‖

God gave in response to our great need, not what we deserved.

Join us on Tuesday, December 20 at 1:30 and 7:00pm in the gym for an evening of celebrating this joyous time of year. In addition to the musical, we will get to hear our school bands and our handbell choir. See you there!

“Miracle on Main Street” Grades K-4

Join the students of kindergarten to fourth grade as they present Mira-cle On Main Street on Tuesday, December 13 at 1:30 and 7:00pm. This delightful program tells the story of children trying to save their Christmas pageant in the town square. The children learn that the town wants to cancel the pageant because it may be offensive to some in the community.

Our fourth graders will be leading the drama as all the students Kinder-garten through fourth grade remind us through song of the true meaning of Christmas. Our Early Learning Center will also be making a special presentation. Come join us for this special Christmas celebration.

============================================================================================================

BLS Christmas Musicals

V OL UM E 7 , ISS UE 1 1 P AG E 1 0

The Giving Tree By Suke Gnagy

The tradition of the Giving Tree has been a part of Bethle-hem for many years.

The Missions LifeGroup sends out a form letter to families who may have need for assistance. The families know that they remain anonymous. The family may respond to us with gift wishes.

The LifeGroup assigns a family number and alphabet letter for our recordkeeping. (That‘s why it‘s so important not to lose the bell tag because the information we need is on the back of the tag!!) The tags are filled out and hung on the tree Thanksgiving Day.

THAT‘S WHERE YOU COME IN!

Members select a tag, purchase the gift, wrap it, reattach the bell, and place it under the Giving Tree. The team sorts and removes the bell tag and puts the recipient‘s name on the gift.

BETHLEHEM MEMBERS PURCHASED OVER 350 GIFTS LAST YEAR AND HELPED 30 FAMILIES! AWESOME! THANK YOU!

Here is some helpful information.

*Milk tickets, lunch tickets, and band fees may be taken care of in the school office or you may put a check in an en-velope with the bell tag and place under the tree.

*If you take a bell tag and discover the item is more than you planned to spend or you can‘t find the item, it is okay to purchase a gift card.

*Please monitor your children to make sure they have not removed a tag.

*If you misplace the bell tag, write down as much informa-tion as you remember and attach it to the gift.

AND FINALLY

*If you are in need of assistance or know of a Bethlehem family who may be struggling, please contact Suke Gnagy (303-238-7676, ext. 151) with that information or call the church office.

F U LL Y A L I VE P AG E 1 1

Non-Profit Org.

U. S. POSTAGE PAID

WHEATRIDGE, CO

PERMIT NO. 68

The Coffee House/Coffee Cart is looking for a volunteer to work as needed during the week before and after school. It would be Monday-Friday from 7:45am-9:00am and 2:45pm-3:45pm.

Training is available and the bonuses are great — FREE coffee!

If you would like to volunteer or would like more information, please contact Michele Wingo at mwingo@bethluth.net or at 303-919-0767.

November Specials:

*Hot Buttered Rum Latte / Steamer

*Caramel Apple Cider

Closures:

November 23-25