It was your prayers, your generosity, your time, your involvement that helped shape their lives. Your help in the nursery when they were small…your teaching them in Sunday School…your example of faithful worship of the Lord…your help in Vacation Bible School or in LOGOS…plowed the soil in which others scattered the seed. Your prayers for the church, for the youth trips, for their families, lifted them up to God. Your faithful and grateful giving gave them a setting in which they could grow and provided staff and volunteers to mentor them. It was your help in Confirmation class or on the mission trips or in the high school Sunday School class or the youth group gatherings and retreats that scattered the seeds that are growing in their hearts. In other words, it was a team effort, the body of Christ working together to help God grow the next generation of Christian disciples and leaders in the church. Thanks for being a part of the faith life-shaping ministry of Bethany.

And thanks to the youth and leaders who helped lead the service- preaching and praying, greeting and ushering, singing and making music, doing your part in praise of God. Thank you for ministering to all of us.

Here are coming updates for you to know about:

• NEXT SUNDAY will feature the presentation of the Bethany Education Fund Awards to those graduating seniors who applied, the honoring of all the high school graduates from Bethany ( our count is 13 graduates), and at the 10:45am service the Sacrament of Baptism for eight children and infants.  Join us on this special day.
• FAMILY PROMISE SIGNUPS are needed. This time we will be housing and feeding families for a week and a half beginning this Sunday so more help is needed. You can sign up to help online or on Sunday. Or you can call the office.
• A SPECIAL OFFERING FOR TORNADO RELIEF will be received this Sunday at worship. It will go to those in Oklahoma through the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance ministry.

See you on Sunday as we gather to worship and serve our Lord,

John Hamilton

We spent one day in Bamberg, a spectacular city of churches, cobblestone streets, Medieval city walls, and a castle. One of the churches is St. Stephen’s , a church that has been there for several centuries, once  as a Roman Catholic Church and now as a Lutheran Church. It sits on one the highest hills of Bamberg. It has two spires that tower over the city, and on one of the spires is something I have never seen before and likely will not see except in Bamberg – an apartment. At the top of the spire/tower is a little room with a window. A couple centuries ago it served as the residence of the night watchman for the city. Through an agreement with the church he was stationed there to give a guiding light. Think of it. This man would climb the stairs, stay awake and alert, keep watch, and shine a light- a light that guided travelers and citizens to the city center. Though it is old and has been unused for many years, it still looks like an apartment! You can’t miss it…once you look up.

Good idea. Jesus once said, “You are the light of the world…Let your light so shine before others that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”

“You are the light of the world”…YOU are the light of the world. You are the LIGHT of the world. You are the light of the WORLD. That is Jesus’ word, yes, command to us- to show the way to the Father by our lives of kindness and compassion, of faith and faithfulness, of generosity and selflessness. No need for an old apartment. No need to travel to Bamberg to figure it out. No need to be someone we are not. Just shine the light God has given to each of us with the gifts we have and in the setting where we live and serve.

May we be a light for God as the Church called Bethany and as disciples of Jesus. Remember…YOU  are the light of the world. He said so.

Here are some odds and ends I want to pass on to you. How was my trip to Germany as Melany and I travelled to visit our son? It was an amazing combination of seeing spectacular sights and having deep and rich personal time with our son, Steve, his fiancée, Nadine, and with her extended family.

• This Sunday is Youth Sunday. It will be very inspiring through music, prayers, and sermons all given by our church youth under the leadership of Matt Fricker.
• I hear that the Bethany teams in the dartball league did very well: the Bethany Indians were champs, and the Bethany Marlins were tournament champions. Congratulations!
• Have you picked up a Bethany bumper magnet for your car? They are available in the Welcome Center and are a great way to pass the word about our blessed church.
• The Bethany Education Fund is awarding scholarships to eight high school graduating seniors on Sunday June 9. Come and express your support for these young people.
• The Sacrament of Baptism will be celebrated also on the 9^th…a very exciting and blessed day for the church and, we trust, for the kingdom of God.

See you on Sunday,

John Hamilton

Oh yes, and we did get to church, a German Lutheran Church. Around 800 years old it was once a thriving monastery and is now an active, vital church and training center for instructors in religion.

As we settled into our seats in the large, stone, Gothic (and very chilly) sanctuary, we realized the only thing we could read or understand was the listing of hymns on the side boards. Everything else was in German. And in “Lutheran” which meant flipping from page to page in the prayer books, reading and responding, sitting and standing, singing and listening – all in German.

The scripture lesson and sermon were on the Lord’s Prayer, The “Unser Vater” (Our Father) as they call it. The sermon was good. How do I know? I could see it in the face of the Pastor – warm and vibrant. I could hear it in her voice – expressive and inviting. I could see it in the faces of the people – alert and attractive. My son, Steve, would occasionally whisper to me what was going on, the parts of the message. She even used a skit that I have often used in my teachings on the Lord’s Prayer.

Finally, we closed with the Sacrament of Holy Communion. We would go to the front in groups, gather in a circle, take a piece of bread, and then dip it in the large chalice (cup) as it was passed:

“The body of Christ, broken for you.”
“The cup of the new covenant …the blood, given for you.”

The words were German. The message was universal; the power of God’s love in word and sacrament.

When we come to worship, we may not understand all that is going on -even when it is in our own language. It may be hard to follow, and our minds may be 5,000 miles away, even if our bodies are there. But God can get through. God will get through if we let him.

In a land far away and a language foreign to us, we worshipped God…and God got through.

So this Sunday…let us worship God. He will get through.

See you Sunday,

John Hamilton