| Bethany Lutheran Church Red Lake Falls MN |
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June Newsletter
Separation of Church and State
Did you know that in 1776, the United States was the only country in the western world that did not have an established “state church”? Everywhere else, people were required by law, to worship in one state sponsored church, pay taxes for the support of that church, and raise their kids in that church. If they did not wish to support their state sponsored brand of religion, there was little freedom to do anything about it. You could go to jail for not supporting your state supported church. You could lose your home, job, or farm. You could even lose your life! No wonder the colonists arriving in colonial America wanted something different. State supported religion was a nightmare! Many of the early colonists had left Europe with bitter memories of state sponsored religion. Protestant countries could be just as oppressive as catholic countries. America, around the time of the revolution, was filled with all kinds of religious refugees seeking freedom to worship God in their own unique way. Among these, were groups such as the Mennonites, Quakers, Hutterites, Baptists, Puritans, Methodists, Lutherans, Presbyterians, Methodists, and many many more. The negative side of the separation of church and state is that we don't have a preacher at graduation or several other functions community functions. We might lose out on a Christmas tree in our public school. The positive is that we don't have a country that “plays favorites” when it comes to religion. If we are a Lutheran living in Utah we enjoy the same freedoms and privileges of the Mormon majority. The same is true for the Mormon living in Minnesota where we Lutherans are so “dense” (Ho! Ho!). You don't have to worry about your kid being converted by his Mormon or Lutheran basketball coach. The playing field is level. Each denomination or religion has to win converts and carry on its business without the aid or impediment of the government. The United States is still the most religious industrialized country on the planet, partly due to the blessings of the separation of church and state. When people are forced to support a religion or church, they quickly lose interest in it. But when their church depends on them for its support and mission, they take ownership, and both the church and its mission flourish. That's one of the reasons religion has thrived in the United States, while religion in the “old country” fell into apathy and indifference. The separation of church and state as we know it is far from perfect. But by the same token, it's a whole lot better than what people left behind. May we continue to be a conscience for our nation, and not just one of its bureaucracies or services. May we live our our faith by being good citizens in a nation a nation that promises and promotes freedom of religion for all. Pastor Gary Synod Assembly Thanks to Allen and Sandy Bertilrud for representing us at our Synod Assembly on June 8th and 9th. Vacation Bible School VBS is rescheduled for July 9th-12th starting with a supper for the kids at 5:30 pm. We need teaches, helpers, and cooks! Please call Linda Johnston (253-2982), Peggy Miller (253-4337), or the church (253-2589) if you would like to help out. Wedding Congratulations to Amanda Myhre and Michael Daily on their wedding June 9th. Youth Group On June 23rd, members of our Youth Group will be taking off for the National Youth Gathering in Houston Texas. They'll be worshiping, listening to great speakers, having fellowship, and working on service projects with 30,000 teens from Lutheran churches all over the United States. Thanks to your support and the hard work of our youth leaders and teens, we raised enough money to send fourteen kids and two adults to Houston. Please pray for these kids and their leaders as they embark on their journey. Attending will be: Hailey Broden, Olivia Bulger, Olivia Larson, Mariah Peterson, Keaton Hansen, Parker Holt, Greta Philipp, Allison Aakhus, Shelby Baird, Madison Schmitz, Brenden Larson, Freddy Landman, Blane Schmitz, and Brady Gums. Chaperons on this trip will be Jenny Schmitz and Nancy Hofstad. Thank you to all who helped make this event possible. Bible Camp It's not too late to register for Bible Camp – openings still available for an exciting time! Scholarships are available to attend Bible Camp this summer at Pathways. Please contact Chris Van Emmerik for more information. Brochures can be found on the table beside the double doors to the sanctuary. |
Newsletter PDFs
June
Birthdays 3 – Carol Cote 4 – Tim Nord Patty Olson 5 – Wes Largis Jayde Sandberg Ashley Erickson 6 – Carly Kleven Kayla Kleven 7 – Amy Nelson 9 – Danny Graff Destiny Kuznia Hunter Pierson 12 – Bobbi Aakhus Phyllis Borg 13 – Madilyn Waldal 15 – Julie Beyer Buse Avery Vraa 16 – Anneke Lacina Tania Waldal 18 – Michelle Harmoning 19 – Chris Nelson Kristina Swenson 20 – Patrick Leines Savanna Nelson Mykayla Peterson 21 – Shannah Guenthner Daisy Olson Roberta Roff 22 – Trish Seeger 23 – Darold Johnston Rachelle Tydlacka 24 – Vicki Duden 26 – Bryce Narlock 29 – Jim Murphy Jerod Olson 30 – Alison Lacina June
Anniversaries 1 – Spencer & Arielle Sundberg 2 – Ben & Rachael Largis 4 – Allen & Nichole Holt 6 – Steve & Faye Klipping Bruce & Ann Piersol 7 – Clyde & Val Fering 8 – Jason & Bobbi Aakhus Steve & Renae Philipp 11 – Tim & Janeen Brule Myron & Carol Cote Ed & Joanne Dahle Erwin & Marilyn Wetenkamp 16 – Andy & Patty Olson 18 – Benjamin & Mikayla Tabert 20 – Aaron & Rebecca Myhre 21 – Mark & Melissa Peterson 29 – LeRoy & Linda Hoffman 30 – Gary & Linda Graff Keith & DeeAnn Leines | ||||||||||||||||||
Summer Bible Study
I've had one suggestion for a summer Bible study on the book of Revelation. Anyone else interested (I need to order books). Any specific time? Any suggestions for other classes? Let me know. - Pastor Gary
Midweek Worship
There will be no Wednesday evening worship during the months of June, July, and August. We resume Wednesday evening worship in September.
June Blood Drive
God's love has produced many miracles, large and small. One of these is the life-sustaining power of blood. We have the ability to share this miracle of life; to pass it along to others. The opportunity to share your healthy blood with those less fortunate will be on June 6th, 11:45am-6:00pm and June 7th, 7:30am-11:15am at Bethany Lutheran Church. Please call Jenny Schmitz at 253-2914 to set up an appointment.
New Prayer Ministry!
Members of Bethany and your pastor will be available to pray with you after the service in our library. Talk to the pastor, he'll get a group together and join you in the library for prayers for yourself or a loved one!
We “Can”!
Reminder: Anyone who has aluminum cans saved for recycling can donate the "buy back" money when selling them at Ecksteins. They will be notifying the public in June of the date. You can have the check made out to Bethany Youth Group or just sign the sheet they will have and they will write one big check. If you have cans that you need picked up, contact Jerry and Chris Van Emmerik at 253-2053.
Women of Bethany
June--Mystery tour
July--no meeting
August 15 next meetings.
Fair Hills Retreat
The Fair Hills Retreat will be Monday, June 11th and Tuesday, June 12th. This year's theme is "Knitted Together in Prayer" and the speaker is Roxanne Stordahl from McIntosh. Contact Jan Helgeson at johelges@gvtel.com or 945-6252.
Survey
In the newsletter this month you'll find our 2018 survey. Please take a few minutes to fill this out and return it to us by placing it in the box by the sanctuary doors or mailing it back to us at 1315 6th St NE, Red Lake Falls, MN 56750. You can also email your responses to us at bethanylutheranrlf (at) gmail.com. In addition, the survey can be taken here.
Benevolence 2018
▪ January - $500 to Fosston Christian Radio, $500 to “Sat 7” a Middle East radio station
▪ February - $1000 to Care and Share Shelter
▪ March - $1000 to Bethany Youth Group, National ELCA Gathering Trip
▪ April - $1000 to Lutheran Disaster Relief, aid for Syria
▪ May - $1000 to Northwest Minnesota Synod
Thrivent “Choice” Dollars
Thanks to Thrivent for donating $77 in “Choice Dollars” last month in behalf of the following members; Gary and Linda Graff, Irene Oland, Richard and Teresa Stephens.
I've had one suggestion for a summer Bible study on the book of Revelation. Anyone else interested (I need to order books). Any specific time? Any suggestions for other classes? Let me know. - Pastor Gary
Midweek Worship
There will be no Wednesday evening worship during the months of June, July, and August. We resume Wednesday evening worship in September.
June Blood Drive
God's love has produced many miracles, large and small. One of these is the life-sustaining power of blood. We have the ability to share this miracle of life; to pass it along to others. The opportunity to share your healthy blood with those less fortunate will be on June 6th, 11:45am-6:00pm and June 7th, 7:30am-11:15am at Bethany Lutheran Church. Please call Jenny Schmitz at 253-2914 to set up an appointment.
New Prayer Ministry!
Members of Bethany and your pastor will be available to pray with you after the service in our library. Talk to the pastor, he'll get a group together and join you in the library for prayers for yourself or a loved one!
We “Can”!
Reminder: Anyone who has aluminum cans saved for recycling can donate the "buy back" money when selling them at Ecksteins. They will be notifying the public in June of the date. You can have the check made out to Bethany Youth Group or just sign the sheet they will have and they will write one big check. If you have cans that you need picked up, contact Jerry and Chris Van Emmerik at 253-2053.
Women of Bethany
June--Mystery tour
July--no meeting
August 15 next meetings.
Fair Hills Retreat
The Fair Hills Retreat will be Monday, June 11th and Tuesday, June 12th. This year's theme is "Knitted Together in Prayer" and the speaker is Roxanne Stordahl from McIntosh. Contact Jan Helgeson at johelges@gvtel.com or 945-6252.
Survey
In the newsletter this month you'll find our 2018 survey. Please take a few minutes to fill this out and return it to us by placing it in the box by the sanctuary doors or mailing it back to us at 1315 6th St NE, Red Lake Falls, MN 56750. You can also email your responses to us at bethanylutheranrlf (at) gmail.com. In addition, the survey can be taken here.
Benevolence 2018
▪ January - $500 to Fosston Christian Radio, $500 to “Sat 7” a Middle East radio station
▪ February - $1000 to Care and Share Shelter
▪ March - $1000 to Bethany Youth Group, National ELCA Gathering Trip
▪ April - $1000 to Lutheran Disaster Relief, aid for Syria
▪ May - $1000 to Northwest Minnesota Synod
Thrivent “Choice” Dollars
Thanks to Thrivent for donating $77 in “Choice Dollars” last month in behalf of the following members; Gary and Linda Graff, Irene Oland, Richard and Teresa Stephens.
Electronic Newsletter
Want this newsletter sent to you via email? Zap us an email stating so at bethanylutheranrlf (at) gmail.com.
Please include the above address in your email address book or your spam filter will automatically “bump” our mailings into your garbage folder.
Want this newsletter sent to you via email? Zap us an email stating so at bethanylutheranrlf (at) gmail.com.
Please include the above address in your email address book or your spam filter will automatically “bump” our mailings into your garbage folder.
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