VOLUME 7, ISSUE 10 OCTOBER 2011

Next Door Project Page 2

Renderings Page 3

Music News Page 4

Fall Festival Page 5

“table”, LWML Page 6

LifeLight Page 7

School News Page 8

CAHSA Page 10

PrimeTimers Page 10

October Calendar Page 11

Coffee News Page 12

I m a g i n e ! Can you imagine what it would be like to move the chapel to the Parish Activity Center (PAC) for worship? Imagine enclosing the courtyard and holding special events for our school students, like the Kindergarten 100th day celebration, or Pioneer Days. That enclosed courtyard (called the Commons), could also be worship space for “the table” allowing more people to experience the fullness of life in Christ. Imagine the par-lor being our coffee house and kitchen to serve receptions and the meal that precedes the table. Imagine being welcomed right away when you arrive at Bethlehem for worship, school, meetings, and Bible study.

Imagine our campus supporting the ministry of our three environments. There could be three areas (sanctuary, chapel, and the commons) for remarkable worship, places and spaces for people to share life together in a LifeGroup, and three more classrooms for our school. Imagine if that could happen. Having a hard time imagining it all?

The last week in October there will be a series of opportunities for you to imagine what it would be like. We will enclose the courtyard, just to help us imagine, and host a leadership event on October 25, a number of walk-throughs for school families during that week, and an open house for the worshipping community on Sunday.

In October and November, you will begin receiving specific information regarding The Next Door Project. The mailings you receive will help bring clarity to the purpose and vision of the project as well as answer some frequently asked questions. Finally, we will together as one con-gregation respond to God’s prompting by making individual 3-year com-mitments on Pledge Sunday, November 13

th. The information you re-

ceive along with your commitment card will help you make an informed Spirit-guided decision.

We do believe the best is yet to come, here at Bethlehem and ultimately in eternity. May we continue to fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith, as we faithfully respond to His calling.

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Prayer Walk: October 18 SAVE THE DATE! Our On-Campus Prayer Walk for The Next Door Project will be on Tuesday, Oc-tober 18

th from 3:30–7:30pm. The Prayer Walk

will begin in the main sanctuary narthex and will continue at 20 minute intervals beginning at 3:30pm. The walk will lead us to three differ-ent stations, represent-ing our three main fo-cuses of ministry: Wor-ship, LifeGroups, and School and will last one hour. Prayer requests and praises will be re-ceived from worship cards, LifeGroups, and from the students in our school. Our stu-dents from Kindergarten through 8

th grade will also

have an opportunity to participate in a Prayer Walk centered around the same three focuses of minis-try.

Over 650 books were distributed for the study portion of The Next Door Project. Many of those will be shared by multiple family members. How wonderful that so many in our Bethlehem community will be studying the same thing at the same time. If you are not a part of a study group, but would like to be, contact Sandy at swendelin@bethluth.net.

To enhance your study you may want to listen to the video intro-duction that Pastor Langewisch prepared to be used in the Life-Groups. The videos for all 9 weeks are available by going to www.bethluth.net, click on the “Other Bethlehem Websites” tab, then LifeLight, then Lectures, finally The Next Door Project 2011. Select the week you want to view. We hope you will take the 30 minutes each week, in addition to your daily reading and meditation, to come alongside all the others in our Bethlehem Community who are studying together.

Making the Most of your Book Study By Sandy Wendelin

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The “Commons” area from the new entryway

The new Chapel

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“Awesome” Worship By Mar i lyn Havekost

I’ve been thinking lately about one of the most over used, abused words in the English language – “awesome.” A game was “awesome.” A hamburger was “awesome.” These days anything vaguely exciting is labeled “awesome.”

The Bible tells us that awe is something reserved for God. What a thought. We know that honor, praise, glory and power belong to God. Now we learn that awe, too, is reserved for Him alone. We may stand inspired or impressed by the char-acteristics and achievements of another human being, but in the correct sense of the word, we should never stand in awe of that person. Awe is reserved for God alone. It’s the look of wonder and amazement that flows from one who has glimpsed God in His splendor.

Psalm 89:7 says, “Who among the heavenly being is like the Lord, a God greatly to be feared…and awesome above all who are around Him?” If we look at the early church, one of the keys to their power is that they were awestruck. The book of Acts tells us, “Everyone was filled with awe.” These first Christians were inspired by the resurrection and empowered by the Holy Spirit. Yet we see another factor that played a role in their effectiveness to shine as the people of God: They walked in awe of God. They saw the big picture – a God glori-ous enough to spend the whole of their lives on and powerful enough to uphold them as they did so.

It’s only as we breathe in more of the wonders of God that

we can breathe out a fuller response to Him.

Are you in awe of God? I ask myself that question occasion-ally. Am I in awe of God, or have I fallen into a pattern of tak-ing Him for granted. If my answer is yes to myself, then I find that digging into the Psalms of David again and consciously pouring my heart into worship on Sunday morning with my fel-low believers will again raise my level of awe at the wonderful God we serve.

As we go through the doors of the book we’re reading to-gether, we’ll be led to check our level of awe and challenged to move closer to the Creator of the universe. What a wonder-fully exciting time this will be! Read on! Praise on! Be in awe!

I’ll see you at worship on Sunday!

Save the Date! Annual

Christmas Concert

December 4 8:00am & 10:30am

(no 9:15 service)

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Fall Festival =

Family F U N ! !

Games! Invite your friends to

come and play with us!

Prizes! Bring your treat bag!

Costumes! Wear your costume the

whole evening!

ALL AGES are encouraged to enter the

costume contest at 5:00pm

(NO ghosts, witches, or gory costumes please!)

Food! Hot dogs, chips, drinks

(minimal cost for food)

Saturday, October 29, 2011

4:00-7:00pm

Bethlehem Lutheran School gymnasium

Admission/Donation: One can of food for the Bethlehem food pantry

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The ministry at “the table” is ever evolving based on the growth that God is granting. We’re striving to care for the needs of the whole person – physical, emotional, spiritual. Af-ter all, that’s the way God cares for us. Every week dozens of people enter into relationship with “the table’ for the first time. We desire to support and pray for and hear as many of their stories as possible. That’s where you come in!

We have a new group of volunteers called “the table ser-vants.” Their primary role is to assist Pastor Tim and Vicar Mi-chael is hearing stories and identifying the needs of our friends from the Lakewood community, both during the meal and post-service. This group is meeting consistently to pray and share resources to make themselves more effective in providing care. Would you consider becoming a “table ser-vant”? If so, contact Vicar Michael (mheiden@bethluth.net).

We also need one more bus driver on the 4th

week of every month to help pick up our friends from the community so that they can be fed physically and spiritually. Again, if you can serve in this way, please contact Vicar Michael.

Serve the Lord with Gladness By Janet Krogh

PRAISE GOD! As of May 2011, even before the LWML Convention in June in Peoria, IL, 97% of the 2009-2011 mission goal of $1,825,000.00 was donated by mites!

As we move on to the next biennium of LWML Mission grants, let us offer this prayer---

Dear God, we ask You to---promote His saving Gospel through us in every aspect of LWML and to lead us in the powerful ministry of prayer;

---help us to recognize the script the Holy Spirit writes on our hearts, and guide us in this com-munication with Him;

---keep us true, faithful, and active in prayer, and bless the missionaries around the world through the prayers we offer;

---bring hope, strength, and endurance to those He has called into mission fields in both for-eign countries, and here in the United States.

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We Need YOU to Serve at the “table” By Pastor Tim Ahlman

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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.bethluth.net

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

.

The seasons may be changing, but the yard work hasn’t ended yet. As I was pulling weeds for hours recently, I made an observation; weeds don’t need our permission, nor do they ever get it, to grow. They also don’t need any attention from us or from nature. They grow without water or proper soil and survive in even the hottest or most uninhabitable of conditions. As a matter of fact, they seem to do better when conditions are bad – they don’t need rain, regular watering or fertilizer. Even spraying poisons doesn’t always get rid of them. They seem to come back with a vengeance. You can pull the weeds out but they manage to come back, eventually, espe-cially on a weekend when we want to entertain guests out-doors.

The weeds reminded me of sin. It’s an unending battle, like life here on earth. Fortunately, we don’t have to fight alone. God has given us the Holy Spirit to guide and protect us. The more we know about God’s eternal plan for us, the easier it is to fight the “weeds of life”.

While we’re here on earth, we’ll have to deal with them; but, someday we’ll have an eternal, weed-free home. I can’t wait for that day! LifeLight helps us deal with our battles by equip-ping us with God’s comforting, guiding Word. Sin is relentless and unstoppable without Jesus’ help. Even if we fail, He has already forgiven us and accepts us as we are. His ultimate sacrifice paid the price for our sins, now and forever.

So, while dealing with weeds is no fun, we can look forward to harvesting only the good plants someday and we won’t have to deal with what Germans call “Unkraut”, or unacceptable vegetation. Everything will be perfect and I’m sure no weed would dare attempt to show its face.

Our next session begins on No-vember 17 with the study of Ec-clesiastes and Song of Solo-mon. Registration begins on October 30. Join us!

Getting Rid of the Weeds? By Annette Gunther

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Bethlehem Jr. High Retreat By Michelle Fischer

On August 25-27, fifty-eight junior high students, accompa-nied by nine adult chaperones, ventured into the hills and set up camp at Lutheran Valley Retreat (L.V.R.) for the first annual Bethlehem Jr. High Retreat. What an auspicious beginning to a new school year as this three day event served as a springboard for building leadership skills, instill-ing teamwork, and nurturing faith! Building upon the school’s theme verse for the year, the Bi-ble study leaders focused on the radical nature of the Great Commission. Mrs. Hollenbeck, Mr. Winterhof, and Vicar Heiden led students through sections in God’s Word, high-lighting how Christ’s redemptive work in us and the Spirit’s work through us makes this mission possible. While Satan attempts to make us feel outnumbered or ill-equipped to “go therefore and make disciples of all nations…” –to make us think that this is Mission Impossible, we were reminded that we are given God’s armor, God’s Word, and God’s Spirit, all of which radically empower us “missionaries.”

Students took what they learned in the Bible studies and put it into practice by completing a service project, or rather three service projects, for Lutheran Valley Retreat. Mr. Brei-dert’s 8

th graders worked on clearing a new trail for horse

campers to use. Mrs. Roybal’s homeroom split firewood and laid hay to help keep the ground from eroding. Stu-dents in Mrs. Hollenbeck’s homeroom moved dirt and rocks to fill in areas that had been washed away by heavy rain this summer. According to many of the students, this was one of their favorite parts of the retreat. It was so wonderful to see the students working hard together, to serve others.

Teambuilding activities, games, and challenge activities were also on the itinerary. Everyone participated in a vari-ety of games, and many students challenged themselves on the high ropes. It was truly inspiring to see these young people stepping out of their comfort zones, making new friends, cheering on fellow classmates, and bonding with each other while singing praises to God around a campfire. I really saw the students come together as a cohesive group of young people. I am so pleased that I had the op-portunity to spend this time with them. I know it was a great experience that will be fondly remembered.

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In order for this to become an annual event, the Jr. High is planning a fundraiser in the spring. They are currently working out specific details and will share them as soon as they become available. Please watch for information about how to help the students raise the money to ensure that this incredible opportunity will be possible for future 7

th and 8

th

graders.

If you would like to see a short slide show of the trip, you can click on the following link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDzOwkR8

Lastly, I would like to say a public thank you to Director Steve Johnson and all of the staff at LVR for their support and assistance. They helped immensely with planning and implementing our vision and goals for this retreat.

LVR Hosts Jr. High Retreat (con’ t f rom page 8)

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Concordia Academy High School Association By Robin Duclos

A NEW high school association has formed in northwest Den-ver to carry forward a vision of Lutheran high school education in this area. The vision is alive to plant a new Lutheran high school on the north and west side of Denver. Until the school is built, we have partnered with Faith Christian Academy to provide a Lutheran track to our 35 students attending school there.

Everyone is welcome to join us for a Concordia Academy Christmas at The Arvada Center on Friday, December 16

at 6:00pm. A festive reception and energizing presentation on Concordia Academy High School will accompany a night at the theater to see The 1940s Radio Hour, a delightful Christmas musical the whole family will enjoy.

Email lhsnorthwestdenver@gmail.com for your tickets today. Tickets are available until October 30

th. Preferred seating is

available for tickets ordered by October 10.

Please continue to keep the vision of Lutheran education in your prayers. If you’d like to be on the distribution list for on-going information about the high school plans, email us at lhsnorthwestdenver@gmail.com.

PrimeTimers October Events

Handicap Access Fund By Pastor John Petersen

October 1 Bunco in the PAC at 1pm

October 4 Bible study in the PAC at 10am

October 12 IMAX Theater “Born to be Wild” at 11:30am

October 16 Potluck in the PAC at 12:30pm

October 18 Bible study in the PAC at 10am.

Out-to-lunch bunch following at Abe’s Restaurant (Wadsworth at Hampden). Bus available at church.

Once again I want to encourage the support of the Handicap Access Fund, especially with fi-nancial gifts memorializing those who have passed on or honoring people on special occa-sions. This is even more important now that building plans are being considered for Bethle-hem worship and ministry facilities.

No matter what the final plans are, handicap access will be an important part of the project. Contributing to this fund will greatly help the building plans budget.

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Non-Profit Org.

U. S. POSTAGE PAID

WHEATRIDGE, CO

PERMIT NO. 68

As friends come together to mark the end of summer and anticipate coming festivities, there is one warm treat that has come to stand above all others-one that we get asked for again and again and again because people love it so much.

The Pumpkin Spice Latte is fall's favorite drink. Signature espresso blended with the unmistakable spices of fall - cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove- smooth with steamed milk and topped with delectably sweetened whipped cream.

Coffee Specials: Pumpkin Spice Latte/Steamer Caramel Apple Latte/Steamer

Closures: October 3-7