Presiding Minister: Pastor Tim Keyl

Preacher: Calli Micale

Assisting Minister: Vicar Gabrielle Brown

Music Director: Stephen Gamboa-Díaz

Music Intern: Ike Harijanto

Lectors: John Aden and Chris Wigren

Altar Guild: Clarissa Youngberg

Ushers: Sue Berube and Christina Castaneda

Livestream: Ray Bussolini

Tellers: Blair Goodlin and Dianne Witte

Bread Bakers: Judd family

Coffee Hour: Stewardship Committee

Stewardship includes Money and Pledging

Bethesda is Generous. We are generous with our time and talents. We have a wide cadre of people that help to enliven and lead worship each week. People volunteer monthly at the Downtown Evening Soup Kitchen. People serve on committees. Some teach children and confirmation youth. Some provide care to others by providing rides, support over meals and through prayer.

We are also generous with our money. Freewill offerings at concerts support an array of social service agencies. Specific or ongoing projects receive monies offered to the Student Ministry Fund, the Capital Fund, ELCA Hunger, and Lutheran Disaster Response.

By this Sunday, November 13, we will also track the very important giving through offerings, many online, toward Bethesda’s ministry. This includes administration, facilities, budgeted items for our ministry, and for staff. The Stewardship Committee’s goal for 2023 is increasing the number of those pledging to 45 households and increasing the total monies pledged to $160,000. We can do this!

Thank you if you have already provided your intention to give for 2023. See below to document your pledge, which assists Bethesda’s leaders in creating a budget.

Some of us have made our way through Mark Allan Powell’s book Giving to God. This is what he says about pledges:

We should pledge to support our congregation with contributions that represent our proportionate responsibility for its budgeted expenses. In doing this, we are not being generous or make a sacrifice; we are being responsible and fulfilling a basic commitment to the life and mission of the community of which we are a part…. The church needs to be able to depend on receiving this money from us regardless of whether we are in town on any given week or whether we overspent our budget on Christmas shopping…. We give it because we are part of the church and we want to belong to this fractious and flawed family of God that is so beloved of Christ. (p. 145)

It is a privilege to be together as the church. And together we can do more.

If you have any questions about this year's stewardship emphasis, don’t hesitate to contact me.

Many thanks to those who have offered Stewardship Testimony and thanks for Bethesda’s Stewardship Committee: Blair Goodlin, Calli Micale, and Dianne Witte.

Pastor Tim Keyl

Pastor Tim will be off or away Wednesday, November 16 through Saturday, November 26. For urgent pastoral care, please contact Vicar Gabrielle at (719) 352-8918.

Save the Dates

Sunday, November 27 - First Sunday of Advent; International Potluck in the Scandinavian Tradition and Craft-Making following worship

Sunday, December 4 - Service of Lessons and Carols at Battel Chapel, 5:30 pm

January 13-16 - Bethesda at Camp Calumet

Sunday Worship Livestream

We stream Sunday worship services live on Bethesda’s YouTube Channel. Join us live at 9:30 am every Sunday or watch the recording afterward.

Click here to view this Sunday's bulletin.

Stewardship Response Sunday

To cap off our Empowered by the Spirit Stewardship Emphasis, we will have lunch from Koffee Katering in the Campanius Room following worship on Sunday, November 13.

Before worship on Sunday, use this fillable card to share your intention to give during the 2023 year for worship offerings. You may also input your intention on Breeze or indicate your plan via email or postal mail. Review this year's theme and process here.

The Breeze pledge form can be accessed here: https://bethesdanewhaven.breezechms.com/form/pledge20225

Questions? Email Blair Goodlin [email protected], Calli Micale [email protected], Dianne Witte [email protected], or Pastor Tim [email protected].

Branford Labyrinth

Following the catered stewardship luncheon next Sunday, November 13, Confirmation youth and families invite all from Bethesda to join them to walk the Branford Labyrinth, leaving around noon. Walking a labyrinth is an ancient contemplative prayer exercise. Carpooling will be encouraged. For more information contact Dan Cortright at [email protected].

Dinner Church is around a meal in your home over Zoom

Wednesday nights beginning at 6:00 pm

Click here to join on Zoom

From your kitchen or dining room table beginning at 6:00 pm, Dinner Church is framed by prayer, informal and guided conversation, prayers of thanks over bread and wine, and eating together virtually. Have something on hand similar to bread and wine. Come to be with or meet friends from Bethesda and its community. Look to reflect on scripture and spiritual readings. All this provides a kind of communion liturgy over the course of a meal.

The theme for our autumn gatherings is Saints.

Questions? Ask Pastor Keyl.

CCA Thanksgiving Baskets Saturday, November 19 11:30 am to 1:30 pm

All are invited to assemble Thanksgiving Baskets for clients of CCA Saturday, November 19 from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm at Casa de Oración Y Adoración on Columbus Avenue in New Haven. For more information or to car pool, please contact Priscilla Melendez at priscilla.melendez@trincoll.edu.

Intergenerational Craft and Potluck on November 27

Bring lunch to share

Calling all crafters!

Do you love Christmas?

Do you love crafts?

Let's lead some craft making on Sunday, Nov, 27 at our annual Intergenerational Craft and Potluck event! 

Wreath making, ornament making, nativity-inspired decor, cards, gifts - so many options! Please email Nora ([email protected]) or contact Pastor Keyl if you are interested in leading a craft for all ages! Thank you!!

Bible Study on Zoom

Bethesda's Bible Study meets every other Wednesday at 8:00 am on Zoom. The series on the Book of Acts continues on Wednesday, November 23.

When? Every other Wednesday at 8:00 am

Where? On Zoom, click here to join (or join by telephone: 203-432-9666; Meeting ID: 961 0888 6279)

Bethesda hosts a winter CSA

For the second year, Bethesda will be the staging area for a winter CSA delivering produce to subscribers. High Hill Orchard will distribute produce the second Sunday of the month through January in the Parish House foyer.

Updates on former Vicars

Maeve Schurz will be ordained on Saturday, December 10 at 10:00 am at her home congregation, Trinity Lutheran Church in Lansdale, PA (see invitation below).

Kurt Saenger-Heyl will complete his Approval Interview in the New England Synod Saturday, November 12.

Thank you Bethesda!

You ordered 27 pies to help our youth!

Bethesda ordered 27 pies, earning the Youth $540 toward our trip to the 2024 ELCA Youth Gathering in New Orleans - THANK YOU!!

The yummy Apple Crumb and Pumpkin Pies will be available for pick up on Sundays November 13 and 20 in the Campanius Room. They are frozen and include instructions for baking at home. If you have not already done so, please bring your payment ($20 per pie) or pay online by choosing the Youth Fundraiser line from the dropdown menu in Tithely.

We hope you enjoy your pies, and Thank You!

~ Greta, Henry, Lily, and Louis

Why am I Lutheran? What are my hopes for the Church?

We asked these question at worship on Reformation Sunday and asked you to share your responses using sticky notes.

The most common answer to the question why you continue to identify as Lutheran is GRACE. Many others said they feel connected to God through the liturgy, music, and sacramentality of our tradition. Others appreciate how welcoming and caring the Church is, locally and globally.

And here are just a few hopes for the Church that people shared:

-To remain Christ-centered

-To engage in service opportunities that embrace our neighbors

-To build community in new ways that reach young adults

Thank you all for sharing!

Large-Print Bulletins Now Available

Bethesda will begin providing large-print bulletins for Sunday worship. If you anticipate needing a large-print bulletin on a regular basis, please speak with John Aden after worship on Sunday or via email at [email protected].

Super Saturday

Last week’s Intergenerational Super Saturday featured the assembling of school kits to benefit Church World Service, the eating of pizza, and the viewing of the movie Buzz Lightyear. Twenty cheerful people were counted among them.

Bethesda is going to Camp Calumet!

On MLK weekend, January 13-16 Bethesda folks of all ages will head to northern New Hampshire to the ELCA retreat center, Camp Calumet. Our time there will be spent playing in the snow, board games and puzzles by the fire, hiking, eating good food, laughing and lots of great conversation. We are making plans now and would like to finalize our reservation by 12/19. Please contact Natalie Judd at natalie@bigvoicecomm.com or 203-605-9515 if you are interested in learning more or signing up. 

Scholarship monies are available.

WANTED - YOUR PHOTOS and VIDEOS!

Fantastic photos and videos of Bethesda events parked on your phone? We'd love to share them on Bethesda's social media and website!

Please upload media to this Google Drive folder.

If you do not have a Google profile or cannot access the folder for any reason, feel free to email your photos to John at [email protected].

Upcoming Commemorations

Elizabeth of Hungary, renewer of society, died 1231

Thursday, November 17, 2022

Born in Hungary, Elizabeth was betrothed to the son of the Landgrave of Thuringia, and at age four was taken to be raised with him at the Wartburg Castle. Ten years later they were married. She was very generous to the poor, and after her husband's death she lived in cruel hardship until her own death at age twenty-four.

For healing and strength: John Ferreira, nephew of Chris Couture; Carole DeVore; Mary Ricketts, friend of Chris Wigren; Kathryn and Karolyn Lee, aunts of Chris Lee; George Arndt, father of Lynn Arezzini; Michelle Lee, friend of Christina Castañeda; Mark Barnett, nephew of Becky Lerud; Marie Gray; Sonja Krummrey; Maureen Anderson; Natalie Denardis, granddaughter of Gail Denardis; Shirley Farm; Anne and Lee Keck; Kay Leone; Molly Dinneen; Karen (Starbranch) Blitch, daughter of Chuck Starbranch.

For those serving in the military.

For our partners in the Gospel: the congregations and schools of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL) and LuMin Campus Ministry; for Bethesda House and Yale Divinity School students.

For Bethesda New Haven: that God continues to guide us into the future with ministries of witness, service, hospitality, and care while building up our community in all its diversity.

For those in candidacy for rostered leadership in the ELCA: Natalie Benson, Calli Micale, and Vicar Gabrielle Brown. 

For those marking the anniversary of their baptism: Morna Deeney, November 18, 2018.

For those who mourn: the family of Robert Handschumacher, who died September 28th and whose memorial service is Saturday, November 12 at Tabor Lutheran Church in Branford. Bob was a longtime board member with others from Bethesda of the entity that supported ministry in the Hill Neighborhood called Lutherans in Mission.