Heroes and Torches / Pastor Dan Baumgartner
Bertolt Brecht wrote in his play "Galileo," "It is an unhappy country that has no heroes." We must be unhappy. In 2007 it's tougher than ever to be in the hero business. In a culture looking for perfection, we find faults easily. Heroes fall hard and frequently...

Bethany Celebrates 119 Years...and Marches On!
/ Pastor Dan Baumgartner
If the words "annual meeting" sound like a synonym for "boring," then Bethany Presbyterian Chruch is trying to buck the norm. Our congregation gathered at 5:00 pm on Sun, Jan 28th to celebrate God's goodness, have some fun, be a family and conduct a bit of business...

Bethany Welcomes Dr. John Perkins / by Lynne Faris Blessing
While a number of people have impacted the way I've trued to live out my faith over the years, Dr. John Perkins has been one of, if not the, very most influential...

Sunday Evening Community / by Tara Taylor
I've been thinking a lot about community lately. In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul describes the Church as a Body - a living organism made up of my different parts, each member contributing something vital to the whole...

Food for the Journey / by John Chase
Every Sunday evening at 6:30 pm 7 Howe comes alive. Heat is turned on. Curtains are drawn. In the kitchen, dinner is prepared by able hands, and the door is opened. We arrive from different locations, for different reasons, and hopefully with a sense that something's going on here, even if we can't quite put our finger on what it is. I think it has something to do with food...

Meet the Staff: Gail Beran Neils
Gail began working at Bethany in July 2004, after seeing the job posting at Fuller Seminary's extension campus. During her interview, she enjoyed a "small world" experience as she learned that Bethany's previous pastor, Rev. Bruce Murphy, currently serves as president of Northwestern College in Iowa - Gail's alma matter...

Preparation for Easter
Lent begins on February 21 and continues through April 8.

Palm Sunday: Sun, April 1

Holy Week: Mon, April 2 - Fri, April 6

Easter: Sun, April 8 - Sun, May 20

Pentecost: Sun, May 27

February 21 is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the season of the church year known as Lent. Stretching from Ash Wednesday to Easter and inaugurated with the sign of an ashen cross marked with our flesh, Lent is a season of dying, or giving up, of clearing out, of emptying.

It is a season of coming face to face with our mortality, our limitations, our shortcomings.

It is a season when we can accept the reality that we are not enough.

It is a long season (40 days) and not altogether a comfortable or pleasant one.

But it is necessary. For we cannot be raised to the new life that Easter proclaims if we have not first died to the old one. This Lent, how will you clear out space in your life for God to enter in?

Consider a Bethany Lenten Small Group
Meet once a week before Easter: March 18, 25 and April 1
You are invited to join in a small group with some other people of Bethany during the three weeks before Easter to prepare for the celebration of the Resurrection. Dan Baumgartner and Kimberlee Conway Ireton are writing guides to help us make this journey together.

Making this journey in the company of others and sharing burdens and struggles along the way is an opportunity for you to connect with others on a deeper level. It’s a great way to meet some new people in a significant way.

Home groups are encouraged to consider using this guide together. It will be available to everyone early in March. Look for the specifics of signing up in the bulletin towards the end of February and during March.

Contact:
Catherine Purdy (762-2699, catherine.purdy@gmail.com)
Kay Benesi (285-0831, jeffb47@qwest.net)

Families In Mission
A dedicated group of parents is working hard to create some wonderful opportunities for our families to be involved in mission together this coming summer. We are considering:

• a spring trip to the Philippines to possibly work in an orphanage
• a cultural exchange weekend with the Yakima Indians, working with Emily Mitchell who is an intern with a ministry there.
• a week with the Kleber family in Portugal

We are also working on several “close to home” activities for families with children of all ages. Please keep this team and their work in your prayers. Questions, contact elder Julia Sensenbrenner at jss361@comcast.net.

Be a Book Worm & Taste Our New Books
Enjoy the new books in Bethany's library. Among them is a new book by former associate pastor, Lynne Baab, entitled: Fasting: Spiritual Freedom Beyond our Appetites.

Lynne and Dave are moving to New Zealand in June where Lynne will teach at the University of Otago in Dunedin for three years.

On the Calendar
see interactive calendar for complete listing

Healing Prayer
Sundays, Feb 4 & 18, 5:00 pm
To make an appointment, call 284-2222, ext 35.

College Age Fellowship
Sundays in February, 6:30 pm at 7 Howe

Dynamis Class
Mondays, Feb 5, 12 & 26, 7:00 pm at Bethany

Bible Class
Wed, Feb 7, 4:00 pm in the Parlor
The 3rd graders will meet with Pastor Dan Baumgartner

Bible Sunday
Sun, Feb 11, 9 & 10:45 am in the Sanctuary
The 3rd graders will lead worship and receive Bibles.

The Book of Revelation & The Power of the Apocalypse
… held in conjunction with our sermon series

• The Climax of Prophecy:
  An Introduction to Christian Apocalyptic Literature
  February 11, 10:45 am in the Parlor
• Mysterious Apocalypse:
  On the Millennial Kingdom and Being Left Behind
  March 4, 10:45 am in the Parlor
• Christian Zionism:
  The Salvation of the Jews and the End of the World
  March 11, 10:45 am in the Parlor

Narnia Experience
Mon, Feb 12, 4:15-5:15 pm in the Parlor
All children (2nd grade and above) and youth who are interested in being part of the Narnia musical must attend this meeting. Parents will meet with Dianne Ross in 7 Howe during this time.

Caring for Creation
Environmental Stewardship Because We Must
Saturdays, Feb 17, Mar 17 & 31, 7:00 pm at Bethany

Saturday Night at the Movies-

Feb 17 - An Inconvenient Truth (with Al Gore)
with Philip Mote, Washington state climatologist
Mar 17 - Who Killed the Electric Car
with Aaron Campbell, Seattle’s bio-diesel guru
Mar 31 - End of Suburbia
with Mark Plunkett, Seattle biologist and marine life expert

This three-part series is designed to inform and spark discussion about creation and our stewardship of the earth. Each film will be introduced, shown, and followed by a brief discussion with ample time for questions to our experts.

Bethany 101
For newcomers and long-time participants who have not had the chance to take the membership class. Bethany 101 is designed to help you learn more about the Bethany community, to meet people, and find our more about Bethany.

 

Potluck for all attendees
Fri, Mar 2, 6:30-8:30 pm in the Parlor

Attendees may choose from 2 models:

Weekend Model
Sat, Mar 3, 9:30 am-2:30 pm in the Parlor

Sunday Morning Model
Sundays, Mar 4, 11, 18 & 25, 10:45 am in the Fellowship Hall

Lunch with Pastor Dan Baumgartner

Lunch for all attendees
Sun, March 11, 12:30-2:00 pm in the Parlor

Contact Linda Cutshall (lindac@bethanypc.org, 284-2222, ext 13).

Exploring Theology
The Church, Anointed, Messy & Marvelous
Sat, March 10, 9:00-11:30 am in the Parlor
Leslie Newbigin once noted that Jesus did not leave behind a book or a creed, a system of thought or philosophy, or an organization. Instead, he left the church.

The followers of Jesus Christ have met together, ministered together and changed the world together since the first century.

The church is the means that Christ chose to use to reach out to the world since the first century. And since the first century, the church has argued regularly and made catastrophic mistakes.

How does it all fit together?

Women's Retreat: Lord, Teach Us To Pray
Fri-Sun, Mar 23-25 at Warm Beach Conference Center
Here’s an invitation that’s hard to resist! Slow down, reflect and pray, rediscover God’s presence. Meet new people, deepen relationships. Laugh, sing, pray and rest. Enjoy the good company of other women ages 18 – 88. No meals to fix, no e-mails or carpools.

This year our theme is “Lord, Teach us to Pray.” No matter where we are on our journey of faith, a brand new Christian or mature in faith, there’s always more to explore about the incredible invitation of being in communication with God.

Three Bethany ladies, Abby Mansfield, Tara Taylor & Anne Van Roden have offered to share with us some of what they’re learning about prayer. These gals are honest, down to earth women who are insightful, humorous, excited about being in scripture and eager to not just “teach” us but give us the chance to experience prayer in new ways.

Now is the time to step up to help plan our retreat. We need artists and singers, poets and worship leaders, instrumentalists, small group leaders, registration hosts, supply Queen, emcee, crafts, sports enthusiasts, aerobic leader, ambiance for prayer room and many helping hands. Contact lindac@bethanypc.org. Registration begins Sun, February 18.

Mississippi Trip
Sat, April 21 - Sat, April 28
This is an opportunity to help people in need regain housing damaged by hurricane Katrina. Cost is $200. Sign up for the trip by March 31. Contact Mike Christensen (365-7808, mikechristensen47@gmail.com).

Read Good Books
The Sound and the Fury
Sun, April 22, 12:15 pm book discussion in the Parlor
William Faulkner was a Pulitzer prize-winning “southern” novelist in the United States who often wrote about his home state of Mississippi. The Sound and the Fury (1929) was Faulkner’s fourth novel and perhaps his best. It was Faulkner’s personal favorite, and one he called his “most splendid failure.” Teasing out the threads of human nature, faith and redemption is no easy task in Faulkner...but we’ll try together!

News & Notes

Births

• Thomas Jerome Hyde January 2 to Lynn & Mike Hyde
• Juliette Jordan Hale January 3 to Anita & Matthew Hale
• Jeremia Elizabeth Garretson January 11 to Lori Reimann Garretson and Craig Garretson
• Joshua Miller MacLean January 16 to Beth & Matt MacLean
• Delsey Mabyn Fuller January 17 to Becky & Brady Fuller

Baptisms

• Reese Ellie Ruegamer January 14
• Carson Roy Ruegamer January 14
• Samuel Jacob Janzen January 14

Session Notes
by Chuck McFarland, clerk
Session met in the parlor on January 9, 2007 to pray, learn, worship, discuss and decide.

Steve Jones delivered the financial update. Bethany finished 2006 with a surplus! God is good! A motion was passed for the $35,000 surplus to be apportioned out with 25% going to Global Outreach, 25% to Local Outreach, and 50% to the exterior lighting and landscaping project to serve as an outreach to the Queen Anne community.

We looked at case studies of difficult situations that leaders in our church community often face and discussed ways to handle them. Our answer to these situations can't always be, "Go ask Pastor Dan."

Scott Gronholz shared about the training he has been doing with the youth group leaders during the month of January.

Session received an update on the work of the Associate Pastor Nominating Committee. The team is making great progress and is in conversation with several candidates.

During an extended worship and prayer time Tara Taylor and Pastor Dan led us in reflecting on the simple faith statement, "Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior."