Please
remember our church family in your daily prayers, at mealtimes and during your
personal devotions. Continue to remember those young and old with ongoing
physical, spiritual, and emotional struggles.
Congratulations
to Ralph Bos with the celebration of his birthday tomorrow and to Lea Dykstra
with her birthday on Saturday. May God
be with you both and may you feel his blessings in the coming year.
Carol De
Waal and Robert Hosmer plan to be united in marriage on Saturday, October 29th
at 3:00 p.m. here in Bethel church. The congregation is invited to come to the
service and witness as they exchange their sacred vows before God.
Do remember
those who are unable to worship regularly with us: please keep Jenny Bajema, Tilly
Biel, Klaas Boskers, Gerry Doornenbal, Lea Dykstra, Ernie Stebner and Grace
Vander Veen in your prayers.
Pray for our
missionaries around the world.
Bethel News
From the Church
Treasurer:
Just a reminder to the congregation that we still need $23,000 for the
church budget to meet our ministry shares for this year. Also, we received with thanks $28,000 for
various cause on Thanksgiving Day. Thank you! August Luymes
Book
Discussion:
"From Embers to
a Flame" by Harry L. Reeder III. Some of you have read this book already,
or are currently reading it. A number of the ladies belonging to the Book Club
have decided to read it as well. This is the book that is recommended reading
for the Church Renewal Lab. The idea is that readers gain a better
understanding of the process of how to become a spiritually healthy, and a
vibrant congregation. This discussion is for both men and women, or couples,
who have read, or are still reading this book, or want to read it but have not
started. The date is Thursday, December 1st at 7:30 p.m. Place to be announced. Please let Margaret
Roolker (403-782-4506) know if you are planning to come.
The Church Renewal
Lab:
We have begun a “Church Bible Reading” schedule for the Book of
Acts. The vision is to read 5 chapters a
week and ponder the reflection questions in relation to our church. Here are
the readings for last week and this week.
Week 2: The New Testament Church
is prepared for mission
(Acts 6 - 10, October 17th to 21st)
Day 1: Acts 6 - Q: How can we identify opportunities, train leaders and release
persons for mission?
Day 2: Acts 7 - Q: How can we maintain the sweet spirit of Stephen (vs. 59-60)
when we are mistreated?
Day 3: Acts 8 - Q: How does Philip and the Ethiopian offer guidelines for our
outreach to seekers?
Day 4: Acts 9 - Q: What does Jesus’ call to Saul (see 7:58) say about who Jesus
can use for ministry?
Day 5: Acts 10 - Q: Who are we overlooking that the
Spirit may have in mind for us to love & serve?
Week 3: The New Testament Church
moves beyond her walls
(Acts 11 – 15, October 24th to 28th)
Day 1: Acts 11 - Q: v.10-30 show disciple-making. How can we make better
disciples?
Day 2: Acts 12 - Q: The church in Acts 12:15 underestimated the power of prayer
for mission…do we?
Day 3: Acts 13 - Q: How does the mission-minded Antioch church help us think
about missions?
Day 4: Acts 14 - Q: Acts 13-14 describes a persistent push for greater Gospel
impact…are we persistent?
Day 5: Acts 15 - Q: The council of Jerusalem extended grace. How can we be more
gracious?
October is Rehoboth
Membership Month!
Why
not join thousands across Alberta as a Rehoboth member to support the ministry
of supporting persons with developmental disabilities. Membership fees are just $10 each, and donations
of any amount are also greatly appreciated. Look for the October is MemberMonth postcard in your mailbox. Please place your completed membership forms
in Arnie & Sherry Tenbrinke’s box. Thank you!
Operation Christmas Child
shoe boxes are in the foyer. Please help yourself to a shoe box if you are interested in taking part
in this ministry. All the info for
filling a shoe box is inside the box. Please bring your filled boxes back to the church by Sunday, November 13thand
place them back under the church mail boxes.
Living members
will meet at the home of Alex & Ann Wildeboer today, October 23rd
at 7:30 p.m. Please read the first 10
chapters of Acts and prepare to discuss the questions as per handout in our
mailboxes last Sunday.
Craft Days!
To all
crafty folks, this is an advance notice for the craft days to be held on
November 5th and December 10th. We would so like to see
new faces when we get together to do crafts. Ladies, whatever you want to do,
even just visiting, please come for a bit, or the whole day and enjoy our warm
lunch, provided free. New! Men, if you have a hobby that
does not involve or require large, fixed-to-the-floor machinery, please come
and join us. Model building, technical Lego, assembling of whatever you made at
home or in your garage....we know there are both men and women who love
colouring. Come one and all! There's coffee, baking, lunch, desserts, good
company, good conversations. Love to see you all there! N.B. For those of you who like to
do Christmas baking together and then exchange a dozen or so to take home a
variety of goodies, we plan to do that on December 10th. Just let
Anita (403-782-2817) or Margaret (403-782-4506) know ahead of time so we can
plan the warm lunches. See you there!
BETHEL
YOUTH
Young Peoples
will meet at Kyle Scholing’s home this evening at 7:00 p.m.
Young Adults
will meet at the home of Kyle & Erica Van Stryland for a Bible
study this evening at 7:00 p.m.
Tuesday Nite Youth
meets this Tuesday, October 25th at 7:30 p.m. If you have friends who would like to join in
on all the fun, please invite them. Doors will open at 7:00 p.m. See you there!
DENOMINATIONAL
NEWS
You are invited to come and celebrate our 25th
Anniversary as an urban Aboriginal ministry in Edmonton on Thursday, October 27th
at the Chateau Nova hotel in the Grand Room. We have several city and
provincial dignitaries coming to share a few words. Also John Stellingwerff will be in town to
share about his time as director of the ENHC. The evening will begin at 6:30 p.m.
with coffee, punch and dessert!! Come
hear the stories of God’s Goodness and share in the journey of
Reconciliation.
IT'S NOT TOO LATE
– you can still register for this Saturday’s
Day of Encouragement
held at The King’s University. The event begins with
registration at 8:00 a.m. and Dr. Wilkinson’s keynote address begins at 8:45 a.m. The variety of morning and afternoon
workshops are of interest to all people (not just church leaders). Go online today to www.diaconalministries.com
to find the link to register. For more
information contact NADC: 780-819-7488 or yournadc@gmail.com
ANNOUNCEMENTS
A new and exciting musical opportunity
awaits you!
Wolf Creek
Community Church invites you to join in preparing for the upcoming Community
Christmas Eve event at the LMC. The
program this year is Christmas Messiah for Young Voices, an arrangement of
Handel's Messiah that provides a setting for young children and beyond to tell
the Gospel story of Christ and his birth. We are in need of 40 committed
voices. Calling all singers, age 6 to 99: If you like to make new friends,
relax, serve others, and sing, please contact Amber Nagel @ 403-786-9934 or
email: amber.nagel@gmail.com Consider
inviting a friend or neighbour who loves to sing. Rehearsals will take place on Sundays
following the worship service from 12:30-1:30 p.m. at Wolf Creek Community
Church in Lacombe. The first rehearsal
was last Sunday, October 16; however, it is not too late! Join us this Sunday, October 23 for lunch @
12:00 p.m. and rehearsal @ 12:30 p.m.
Central Alberta Youth Unlimited’s
(Youth for Christ)
annual Dessert Night will be held on Friday October 28th featuring Brian Doerksen along with The Shiyr Poets!
This year, we will also be hosting a full concert on Saturday, October 29th at
Crossroads Church. Tickets are
available online at CAYU.ca, through your church representative or at our main
office in Lacombe (5025 50 St.) Our purpose in hosting this event is to
increase the community’s awareness of who Youth Unlimited is and what we do, as
well as to raise funds for youth work in the communities of Lacombe, Ponoka,
Rimbey, Red Deer & Sylvan Lake. We want to share that “We see the hope & potential in every
young person”, and we
believe that you can help us do that!
Come to Woody Nook CRC
on October
30th at 7:00 p.m. to hear from Rev. Greg Sinclair as he delivers a
message on loving our Muslim neighbours. Greg will be talking about how the
Muslim worldview is quite different than the Christian worldview, but there are
still common issues that we all deal with such as shame and fear. As
Christians, we need to be sensitive to people of other cultures, and Greg will
talk about this as well as why and how we should be missions-minded but not
overbearing.
Faith and Climate Change: Towards a Just
Transition
Join Citizens for Public Justice (CPJ) for a panel discussion on key issues
related to energy, the environment, faith, and the economy. The panel will
include Karri Munn-Venn (CPJ), Mike Hudema (Greenpeace), and Joe Bacsu (Iron
and Earth) and will be moderated by Dr. Elwil Beukes (The King’s University).
It will be followed by commentary from Members of the Legislative Assembly of
Alberta. Join us on Sunday, October 30th at 7:00 p.m. at West End
Christian Reformed Church (10015 - 149 St, Edmonton) For more information,
contact Karri Munn-Venn at karri@cpj.ca or go to cpj.ca/faith-climate.
A Musical
Open House For Rehoboth:
The Joyful Noise Choir is hosting a Musical Open House for Rehoboth
Christian Ministries at Parkland United Reformed Church at 6:45 p.m. on
Saturday, November 5th. Parkland United Reformed Church is located
just south of Ponoka of 2A on Spruce Road. Program will be one hour in length with refreshments to follow.
PERSECUTED
CHURCH
Ethiopia:
Three
Christian girls have been arrested following the distribution of a Christian
book written in Ethiopia's main
language: Let's Speak the Truth in Love. The book answers questions posed by an
Islamic scholar about the Christian faith. Local Christians decided to
distribute it following their cross-cultural evangelism training. Threats
against the girls' church leaders have since arisen. There is concern over the well-being of the
girls, but their faith is unshaken. "This (suffering) is an honour for us,
we should expect persecution. We are not afraid. We are singing and praying
here in prison." Ethiopia's
constitution guarantees freedom of religion, and in most cities people of
different faiths co-exist peacefully. However, evangelical Christians are
subject to discrimination, threats and sometimes attacks. Please pray that the
girls will receive justice, mercy and protection from potential harm. Thank God
for their steadfastness in the face of persecution. May their witness inspire
others to grow in the Christian faith and to live more courageously. May God's message of salvation and peace
prevail throughout Ethiopia.