In Memory of Don Aronson

We are saddened to share that Bethany’s former organist, Don Arthur Aronson, passed away on February 8th, 2023. Don Aronson led a life full of service to God and to Bethany Lutheran Church, and we wanted to share the following to honor his memory.

First, we’d like to share a few recordings we have of Don playing the organ at Bethany. Don was Bethany’s organist for 73 years, and those lucky enough to have heard him play will know that he loved to pull out all the stops! We will truly miss hearing Don play. His God-given talent and faithful dedication were one of a kind.

Another piece of Don’s memory lives on in this recording from 1999, where he spoke to the congregation and outlined 120 years of Bethany’s history in 20 minutes. With Don’s lifelong passion for teaching, it seems only fitting to share this recording -  take a listen and learn something new.

Visitation will be held this Saturday, February 18th, from 2:30 - 4:00 PM at Bethany Lutheran Church. A funeral service celebrating Don’s life will follow at 4:00 PM, and will also be livestreamed on our Facebook page. The full obituary for Don can be read here.

We are so blessed to have had Don as a part of our church community for so many years. Please keep Don’s family and friends in your prayers.

Bethany's 2022 Annual Meeting

On Sunday, January 29th, members of Bethany Lutheran Church gathered in the fellowship hall to talk about the ministry of 2022. We talked about a year of transition. The ARK Preschool closed its doors. Pastor Terry Frankenstein retired from ministry. The Bethany Lutheran Free Store began. Catholic Social Services began running The Recovery House next door. And Pastor Lily began her ministry with us. 2022 proved to be a year of a lot of change!

As we look ahead to ministry in 2023, we celebrate that Bethany is in great shape. Our people are invested into the ministry we do together. Support continues to grow for The Free Store. We are still raising funds for the roof project. And we continue to serve and love God’s world from our little corner in Escanaba.

As we continue to look for new ways of serving God’s world for the sake of the Gospel, we give thanks for the resources and the volunteers that make this possible. The meeting ended by electing new BLC council members Gayle Bradley, Bob Prins, and Jackie Porath!

Click the button below to read the full 2022 Annual Report.

Beautiful Things: A reflection on Ash Wednesday

Beautiful Things

Dear Bethany Lutheran and Friends,

We have traveled through Advent and Christmas together. On Epiphany we heard how the news of Christ’s birth spread . We looked with awe as we saw a dove descend upon Jesus at his baptism. Every Sunday we marvel as we hear stories of Jesus’ ministry on earth.

In February we will begin a new kind of journey together in our worship life. On Wednesday, February 22nd, our foreheads will be marked with ashes. We will hear the words, “You are dust, and to dust you shall return.” and we remember that God shows up in the most unlikely of places.

“By the sweat of your face you shall eat 

bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; 

you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

Genesis 3:19

This verse comes from a moment of broken trust. As the story goes, Adam and Eve had taken a bite of the fruit from the forbidden tree. They had made a promise in their relationship with God, and they had broken that promise. By the logic of the world, God should have abandoned Adam and Eve there and then. Instead, God promises to protect them. Their life won’t look the same now, but God will not abandon them. They will have food. They will have shelter. They will have their God. 

These ashes remind us that just like Adam and Eve we take bites out of that apple. Broken trust in a broken world turns us from God time and time again. But the mark of the cross, a reminder of our baptism, hold the echo of God’s faithful promise, “I am with you.”

In the midst of our sin and the pain of our world, God sent Jesus to walk among us and to show us the love and faithfulness of God. On the cross, Jesus looked at our dustiness and found it worthy of love beyond measure. From the tomb, we see the wonderful things God can do with dust. 

I am dust. You are dust. We all are dust. And someday, we will return to that dust. 

Beloved this is good news. God makes beautiful things out of that dust. 

God is at work bringing new life into the dust of our world.

Peace,

Pastor Lily

All are welcome to worship with us!

Worship with us on Sunday mornings at 10:45 a.m. in-person, or worship remotely via Facebook Live, AM600, or FM93.5.

Beginnings

Beginnings

The New Year brings with it an orientation to beginnings. Phrases to the tune of, “a fresh start” or “new year, new me” can be found all around. They ring with a desire to live the year to the fullest, to pick up new hobbies, and to achieve new goals. 2023 offers us an opportunity for growth and change. A new calendar year gives us permission to let go of the weight of the former and to be hopeful about new opportunities. January is a month ripe with anticipation and expectation.

January reminds me of baptism. Baptism promises us the grace to let go and to let die those things that wish us ill. Shame, grief, regret, and despair drown in baptismal waters. These are the old things which can be left behind. In these same waters, through Christ, God raises us to those things that provide life, healing, and wholeness. That’s the work of God. It doesn’t happen each year, but every moment of our life. 

In the month of January, we will emerge from the wonder of the Christmas story to hear the tales of Jesus’ early ministry. In the next weeks we will hear about Jesus’ own baptism and the start of his own ministry. In just a few short weeks our readings go from the manger, to the waters of the Jordan, to the calling of the first disciples. These stories ground us in the hope and excitement of new beginnings. Like Magi following the star to the manger, we go out into the world to see what God is up to here and now.

On January 29th, our annual meeting will take place. We will look at the year of ministry behind us: a year of new beginnings. We opened a Free Store, our parsonage became the Recovery Home, and we began our ministry together. And we will look to the year ahead of us. A year of learning and discernment. What kind of beginnings does God have in store for Bethany Lutheran in Escanaba in the year 2023? Where does God call us to see new life at work? Where do the waters of baptism beckon us to serve on our own journeys of discipleship? 

All of us are here in this place, by the grace and the call of God. In 2023, on our little corner in Escanaba, God calls us together, and sends us out into the world for the sake of the Gospel. We are disciples, being called by Jesus to bear witness to God making all things new through the power of the Holy Spirit. 

Where is God calling you in your life in the year 2023?

Peace,

Pastor Lily

All are welcome!

Worship with us on Sunday mornings at 10:45 a.m. in-person, or worship remotely via Facebook Live, AM600, or FM93.

Bethany 2023 Commitment: Where Your Heart Is

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Matthew 6:21

On my first Sunday at Bethany Lutheran I made reference to the history of our congregation. For 143 years, Bethany Lutheran has existed for the sake of God’s good news in Jesus Christ here in Escanaba, Michigan. On April 15th, 1879 the Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Congregation of Escanaba began with only 35 members.

One hundred years ago, on Christmas day in 1912, we worshipped for the first time in our sanctuary. This year, in 2022, we will have Christmas worship in that same sanctuary. One hundred years of fellowship and worship for the sake of God’s message of Love in Christ Jesus. This big and beautiful sanctuary is testament to the faith of the congregation in those first forty-three years.

Those 35 people had no idea the growth their congregation would experience in fifty years. They had no way of knowing how many building would need to be built to accommodate those who wanted to worship. They had no way to know how the Spirit would work through their ministry, welcoming folks into the body of Christ.

They wanted a place to worship.

They wanted a place to gather and to be fed by God’s Word through readings, preaching, and the sacraments. They needed a place to be sent from to share God’s love with the growing community.

They wanted to share the love they knew in Christ.

143 years later and the landscape of Escanaba and United States religion looks different. We don’t need a bigger building. We don’t need a larger place to worship. But, not everything has changed.

The world still needs to hear the good news that is God’s love for all of creation. The people of our community still need to know God’s abundant grace spreads to them. Our neighborhoods need to hear that Jesus’ love rattles our very reality. God is making all things new.

In Matthew 6:21, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Jesus presents the same challenge to the crowds gathered around him as he does to the group of 35 Swedish immigrants 143 years ago as he does to us today. Trust what Jesus has come to show us. Trust in what God continues to do in our world.

We belong to God. Stewardship asks us to live into this reality, and trust in God’s goodness. Where do we place our treasures? Do we trust what God can do with our lives, our time, our gifts and our resources? Where does our heart belong?

No one ever knows what the future will hold. By gathered together in God’s love we respond to the world with hope, trusting in God’s future of healing and wholeness.

Peace,

Pastor Lily

All are welcome!

Worship with us on Sunday mornings at 10:45 a.m. in-person, or worship remotely via Facebook Live, AM600, or FM93.

U.P. State Fair Volunteers Needed

The 2022 U.P. State Fair is from August 15th - 21st, and we need your help! Take a look at the following volunteer opportunities.

TENT SETUP

On Friday, August 12th at 10:00 AM, we need at least 6 volunteers to help set up the tent. Volunteers will meet at Bethany, to help load the tent, chairs, tables, etc. Then volunteers will go to the fair and help set up the event tent. Please call Kelly in the church office at 786-6642 if you can help!

TENT STAFF

We are looking for volunteers to staff the water tent sponsored by the Delta Conference Churches. Bethany's day to run the tent is Thursday, August 18th. We will need 3 volunteers for each shift. Shifts we still need covered are one person for 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM and THREE for 8:30 PM to 10:30 PM. Sign-up sheets are in the Narthex and circle drive entryway. Each volunteer will sell bottled water and treats and maintain cleanliness of our area. Volunteers get free passes to enter the fair!

CRAFTS WITH KIDS

Elaine Peterson runs our craft with kids table and needs one volunteer each afternoon beginning Tuesday, August 16th through Saturday, August 20th. Times are 1 PM to 5 PM each day. So far, we only have Thursday the 18th covered. Sign-up sheets are in the Narthex and circle drive entryway.

BAKED GOODS

On Thursday, August 18th, when Bethany staffs the booth at the fair, we will be in need of a large amount of baked goods to sell. We will need individually wrapped cookies and bars - 3 X 3 inch sized bars or cookies work best. Please avoid anything with heavy frosting as it melts on hot days at the fairgrounds! If nuts are used, you must mark each individually wrapped item appropriately. Sign-up sheets are in the Narthex and circle drive entry, and baked goods will need to be at the church office by 2:00 PM on Wednesday, August 17th.

Bethany has had a tent in the U.P. State Fair since 2014, and it’s been growing ever since, allowing us to raise over $16,000 for the ELCA Clean Water Initiative. Join us at the fair and be a part of this amazing ministry!

Pastor Terry Frankenstein Retires from Ministry

As of July 1st, 2022, Pastor Terry Frankenstein has officially retired from parish ministry. Her final service at Bethany Lutheran Church was on May 29th. We are so grateful for everything Pr. Terry has done for Bethany, and we wish her God's blessings as she begins this new chapter!

Below, find her retirement letter, written on April 25th.

Dear Members and Friends of Bethany,
On June 14, 1972, my 16th birthday, I started my first job at The Fair Store in Escanaba.

It’s sometimes hard for me to believe, but this summer, on that 50th anniversary of starting work, I will be just a few months short of collecting full social security!

When the members of Bethany called me to be pastor on my birthday, June 14th, two years ago, I had every intention of continuing to work until the age of 70, but that was before the pandemic took its toll. While I am reluctant and sad to admit it, I am exhausted and burned out. I will be retiring from parish ministry on July 1st.

This isn’t an easy decision for me, especially now that we appear to be on the other side of the pandemic. There is momentum and excitement in the church at present, given our parsonage partnership with Catholic Social Services of the U.P. and the successful launch of our Free Store. Worship has returned to a sense of normalcy, and activities are on the uptick. It is apparent to me that Bethany’s leadership is energized and ready to embark upon setting a vision for the future that will bring to light new possibilities for this church. The last two years have been challenging, but I believe Bethany is stronger than it was at the start of the pandemic. It is an ideal time to start anew.

As for me, retirement will permit me to accept new calls from God: one call where I focus on my family, especially being present for my husband who remains busy at Central Industrial while hoping soon to move into semi-retirement. John and I have also purchased another home in Greenville, Wisconsin, to make it easier to spend time with Stacey and her family. The second call is one where I can live into my role as a certified Spiritual Director, offering this ministry to pastors within the Northern Great Lakes Synod. I will also be discerning whether to make application to the DMin in Spiritual Direction Program at Fuller Theological Seminary. I appreciate your understanding that God has called me to new ventures.

Bishop Katherine Finegan will be meeting with the Church Council on May 17th with a plan and proposal for Bethany. She and Pr. Jim Duehring will shepherd and guide the process of calling your new pastor.

In the coming weeks, I look forward to remembering what we have accomplished together. In closing, I offer words of wisdom from my Internship Supervisor, Pr. Warren Geier: Remember that Bethany isn’t my church, nor is it your church. It is Christ’s church, and we are but stewards following the lead of our Risen Lord and Savior.

Your sister in Christ, Pr. Terry

How Bethany Members Can Help Ukraine

As the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues, the need for support becomes more and more urgent. For Bethany members wondering how they can help, we’ve compiled the following resources.

Lutheran Disaster Response

In her sermon on March 13th, Pr. Terry encouraged listeners to give to Lutheran Disaster Response (LDR) through Bethany Lutheran Church. LDR and its ecumenical partners are on the ground in Eastern Europe to help those affected by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The multi-partner humanitarian response includes the provision of food, blankets, water, and hygiene kits. Locally, we can be part of the response by helping with monetary donations.

Thanks to the generosity of Bethany members, over $1,150.00 has already been collected as of this posting!

Ukrainian Feast from Wilson Creek Cafe on March 28th

Veraniki (pierogies) from Wilson Creek Cafe

Wilson Creek Cafe in Powers, MI is hosting a Ukrainian Feast on March 28th to raise funds for the World Central Kitchen, an organization providing meals for Ukrainian refugees. In support of their efforts, Pr. Terry and John are willing to pick up orders and bring them back to the church for 5:30 p.m. that evening, where we will share in the feast and pray for all those who have been affected by the war.

Order forms are available in the church office, or you can click here to print off your own. When placing an order, please indicate whether you will be joining Pr. Terry and John or picking up your order to take home. Please bring all order forms and payments to the church office by Wednesday, March 23rd.

ELCA Worship Resources

Bishop Eaton’s message on Ukraine - March 4th, 2022

The ELCA has provided a PDF resource for worshipping communities in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. While primarily applicable to worship services, the prayers and listed resources may also be helpful for those wishing to pray at home. Click here to access the resource.

May God's healing presence give peace and hope to all those affected in their time of need.

Free Store Opens For Families In Need

On Tuesday, March 1st, Bethany’s new Free Store opened for the first time! Our Free Store aims to help lower-income and/or eligible for Michigan Bridge cards to receive non-food items that cannot be purchased with their Bridge Cards. We’re excited to be embarking upon this new journey in our ministry!

With the generous donations from our congregants, we were able to assist 30 families this month, including 50 adults, 24 children, and 9 babies for a total of 83 people. Thank you to our volunteers, Kris Anderson, Katey Blake, Karen Caswell, Marcie Kaven, Suzanne Miller, Don Nyquist, and Rodney Spence for helping to run the store on its opening day!

The Free Store will be opening again on Tuesday, April 5th from 10 a.m. to noon and from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. If you are interested in supplying replacement items for the next open shopping date, lists are available in the church office and the Narthex.

Current Free Store needs include:

• Household cleaners such as Pine-Sol, Mr. Clean – 32 oz or less

• Dish soap such as Joy, Dawn, Palmolive, or Ajax – 28 oz or less

• Laundry detergent, such as XTRA, Arm & Hammer, or Purex

• Paper towels, preferably not huge; generic is ok; multi-packs ok

• Toilet paper, standard size; multi-packs ok

Thank you in advance for your continued support!

Bethany Loosens COVID Restrictions

Given the recent decrease in positive COVID cases, the Church Council has made the following worship- related decisions:

• Holy Communion has returned to our system of wafers in paper cups and wine/grape juice in trays. People are invited to the front to receive the body and blood of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

• Pr. Terry is once again offering a Children’s Message.

• The wearing of masks is now optional.

• Pews will remain partially blocked off for now.

Should you have any questions about these changes, please share them with a Council member. Thank you for your understanding.