Announcements

Dearest Members of Bethlehem, “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your father in heaven.” -Matthew 5:16 Sometimes people make me wonder! I saw a beautiful tree recently; it might have been a White Oak tree, and in the side of that beautiful expression of God’s creative power was carved a heart, inside of which was two sets of initials. I can’t remember the initials exactly, but I am sure you can imagine

A word from our Associate Pastor Dear friends in Christ, To me, August serves as a month where we still hold on to summer and yet are looking forward to the activities of fall. Before we look too far ahead, I wanted to share one of my favorite moments of the summer. I got to attend Grown-up and Me Day at Lutherlyn this year. My sister invited me to attend on a day she would be there wit

Dearest Members of Bethlehem, “For everything there is a season and a time for every matter under heaven… a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted.” -Ecclesiastes 3:1-2 I am not one to question the wisdom of scripture. As a result, I believe it’s a good thing to acknowledge that, “for everything there is a season and a time for every matter under heaven.” My struggle - and it could be the case that some of you wrestle with this just a bit as well - is that I wo

Dearest Members of Bethlehem, “Again he asked them, ‘Whom are you looking for?’ And they said, ‘Jesus of Nazareth.’” -John 18:7 When the soldiers and the betrayer turn up in the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus is ready, they are not. Jesus stands there before them, it is portrayed so poignantly in the Gospel of John, but there is a momentary failure to act. Jesus has to ask them not once, but twice, “Whom are you looking for?” Why the delay? Why did it take so long before they act

Our guest, Lauren Wolcott, Communications Director of the Southwestern PA Synod, shares her expertise in shaping a more human, relational approach to communicating as a church. It's a good one! www.belc.org/podcast or wherever you listen to podcasts!

Dearest Members of Bethlehem, “…Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them, for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs.’” -Matthew 19:14 The week of vacation Bible School truly is a marvelous time. The children, the volunteers, the music, lessons, games, and time in scripture are such a blessing. It’s only once a year, but to have a full week, day in and day out, during which we can devote ourselves to the faith formation of our y

Office will be closed on Friday, July 3rd in observance of the semiquincentennial. Saturday evening spoken word service with Holy Communion will begin at 6:00 pm

Dearest Members of Bethlehem, “Therefore, you also must be ready, for the son of man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” Matthew 24:44 I distinctly remember the fireworks displays of my childhood, these were stirring spectacles of sight and sound; they were the excuse to stay up late and relish a summer evening. But it didn’t take very long to catch on to the rhythm of the fireworks display. There were be a couple of loud booms to let folks know things were about to begi

Dearest Members of Bethlehem, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” The passage above comes straight from scripture, quoted exactly from the NRSVue edition. If you had to guess, from where in the Bible does that passage come? It certainly does appear in the New Testament; you might have pointed to Matthew 22:39, or perhaps Mark 12:31. Both would be correct. However, for the sake of this brief devotion, I would like to note that this glorious bit of wisdom also appears i

“Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. If you have ears, hear!” Matthew 13:8-9- (NRSVue) Not long after receiving this newsletter you may be celebrating our country’s semiquincentennial; that’s a fancy way of saying 250th birthday. I am all for recognizing the milestone, and I will certainly be enjoying the festivities taking shape in the days ahead. I am a patriotic person. I love our country and remain deeply c

Dearest Members of Bethlehem, “Let’s see how inventive we can be in encouraging love and helping out, not avoiding worshipping together as some do but spurring each other on, especially as we see the big day approaching.” -Hebrews 10:25, The Message Worship is such a regular and important part of my life, and has been for such a long time, that it is easy for me to take my time in the sanctuary for granted. I shouldn’t. In fact, I want to take a moment today to celebrate and

Dearest Members of Bethlehem, “…with all humility, and gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” -Ephesians 4:2-3 Most of the time when we talk about “patience,” we’re talking about keeping our cool while we stand in line at the DMV. People who are patient, have no problem at all waiting for their meal to arrive at a restaurant. Bumper to bumper traffic, or even gridlock, no probl

Dearest Members of Bethlehem, “So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day.” -2 Corinthians 4:16 Every once in a while a bright red notification will appear on my computer or phone screen indicating to me that it is time for an “update.” And now, the deliberation begins! Should I do it? Will the update introduce too many new changes into my life? Do I really want to sit around and wait for a fu

Tidings from Bethlehem-June 2026 A word from our Associate Pastor June, 2026 Dear friends in Christ, Blessings this June! June means ma ny things for our community. Remember that worship times have shifted to our Summer Schedule: Saturday 6 pm, Sunday 8 am and 9:30 am. Our summer Bible Study will feature a look at And look! We Li

Dearest Members of Bethlehem, “Our life is not only a great deal of trouble and hard work; it is also refreshment and joy in God’s goodness. We labor, but God nourishes and sustains us. That is reason to celebrate.” -Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together I don’t know about you, but I am always looking for a reason to celebrate. I greatly appreciate the insight from Bonhoeffer that appears above. Ever the realist, he acknowledges the truth; our lives involve ups and downs,

Dearest Members of Bethlehem, “A threefold cord is not quickly broken.” -Ecclesiastes 4:12 As of today, May 19, 2026, Kari and I have been married for 25 years. This is our “silver anniversary,” and this email is being sent to you from the Gettysburg Campus of United Lutheran Seminary; where we began our relationship all those years ago. I can honestly say that I have been grateful for every day we have shared together. Those of you who know her, know that Kari truly is a tr

Dearest Members of Bethlehem, There’s a brilliant novel out there written by John Williams entitled, “Stoner.” It’s definitely, at least in my humble opinion, one of the best of all time. For the record, I am not recommending the novel. Lots of folks think the book is absolutely awful. So, if you read it and you don’t like it, please don’t tell me. However, in the latter chapters of that novel, there is a haunting line that I think captures what Christian Education should be

Wear Red!