by Brenda Orso
Bethlehem
United Methodist Church
PO Box 57
4 Westtown Road
Thornton, PA 19373
P: 610-459-3482
F: 610-459-0811
www.bethmeth.com
2014: The Year of Prayer
THE YEAR OF PRAYER 1
THE CIRCLE MAKER 2
On The Spot 2
CALENDAR 3
SPOTLIGHT ON MISSIONS 4
Don’t Just stand there 4
ASK GOD FIRST 5
WHERE’S WOOFI 6
Inside this issue:
The Bethlehem StarThe Bethlehem Star February/March 2014
P rayer is a weapon given to us by
God. It is not optional, nor is it a
last resort. It is overlooked,
undervalued, and even taken for
granted. There are books, guides, blogs
and sermons on how to pray. There are
many methods of prayer, such as
meditation, group prayer, journaling,
and more. It can be overwhelming and
confusing. Am I praying enough? Am I
doing it the right way? Am I being
sincere enough? Is God really
listening?
2014 is the year to set aside all your
fears and doubts about prayer, to
approach our Lord with faith and
confidence, and learn how to harness
the power (yes, the POWER) of prayer.
All year long, BUMC will be teaching,
training, and guiding you on prayer.
There will be special opportunities
during select worship services to share
your own personal stories of how God
has answered your prayers, in big ways
and small. There will be a special two
day seminar in March on experiencing
the presence of God. We will be
reading a book called “The Circle
Maker” as a church body. You will be
exposed to new methods, such as
soaking prayer, and have an
opportunity to sample music from
this genre. The newsletters will
include book reviews on prayer, and if
you’ve read a good book on prayer
and would like to share a review in
our newsletter, please let me know!
Ask God First By Pastor Kevin Giannotti
T here’s a story a dear friend told me about a God moment that happened
between his wife, Cindy, and their young daughter, Ariel. Ariel was in need
of some new tennis shoes and told her mother about it. Most parents would nod
their heads, grab the keys, and head to the nearest store to buy the new shoes. Cindy
would have, too; though not right away. She told Ariel, as she always did, “You can
Continued on page 5
2
A s an additional way to celebrate 2014 as the Year of Prayer, we will share a
four-week journey centered around the book The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson.
Each of the four Sundays from March 16 through April 6 will kick off a three-dimensional
exploration of this series:
The church as a whole begins the week in worship, during which the message—
delivered by a different pastor each week—will focus us upon that week’s theme from
The Circle Maker
Folks will then gather into small groups at various times throughout the week to have
interactive conversation around that week’s theme
Each individual will have opportunity to read the book personally, focusing upon the
chapters identified for that week
This inspiring journey will begin the day after the March 14-15 “Experiencing the Presence
of God” seminar, a wonderful one-two punch designed to get us all really grounded in a
life of prayer!
The Circle Maker by Pastor Tim Kriebel
On The Spot: What’s the hardest thing about prayer,
for you?
Janice Butterworth:
“Accountability. I'd like to
have a more systematic
approach to prayer, such as
a prayer journal.”
Laura Barrouk:
“Allowing God to reveal
His will instead of
inserting my will into my
prayers.”
William Scott:
“Maintaining the discipline
of timing, both making the
time for prayer, but also at
times having to put limits
on the time for prayer due
to other responsibilities.”
Experiencing The Presence of God, March 14-15 at BUMC
This free seminar is being presented by Curt Cohn, a friend of both Pastor Tim and
Pastor Jon Swenson. Curt has been leading the Experiencing the Presence of God
weekend for many years and has a tremendous amount of experience in leading
people to new levels of connectedness with God. If you are looking to go deeper in
your relationship with the Lord and are interested in learning how to better discern
His voice and leading in your life, then you will surely want to attend the event.
Experiencing the
Presence of God
March 14-15
If you are interested in
a more intimate
relationship with the
Lord, a more dynamic
quiet time or would
like to actually hear the
voice of the Lord in
your life, then this
event is for you!
Some of the topics that
will be covered are:
The benefits of
intimacy with the Lord
Hearing the Lord and
seeing in the Spirit
Learning how to
dialogue with God and
hearing His voice
Learning the dynamic
R.E.A.D.S method of
Bible study as well as
several other areas
Further details will be
forthcoming but for
now make sure to mark
your calendars for
March 14-15 for an
event you will most
likely never forget.
3
Friday, February 14—Friday Fun Night
Sign up for a Valentine treat for you and your children. Friday
Fun Night begins at 5:30 and ends at 8:30 PM. Registration is
required so we can plan accordingly for dinner. This event is
planned for children ages 4 years thru 5th grade. Please send
an email to Beverly@bethmeth with the names and ages of
your children. Spots are filling quickly so sign-up today!
Mondays, Feb 3 thru April 28: GriefShare
It may be hard for you to feel optimistic about the future
right now. If you’ve lost a spouse, child, family member
or friend, you’ve probably found there are not many
people who understand the deep hurt you feel.
This can be a confusing time when you feel isolated and
have many questions about things you’ve never faced
before.
GriefShare groups meet weekly to help you face these
challenges and move toward rebuilding your life. Each
GriefShare session has three distinct elements
Video Seminar
Support Group Discussion
Workbook Based Personal Study and Reflection
When to join a GriefShare group - You are welcome to
begin attending the GriefShare group at any session.
Each is “self-contained,” so you do not have to attend in
sequence. You will find encouragement and help
whenever you begin. You will be able to continue with
GriefShare through the next 13-week cycle and view any
of the videos you have not seen.
February 22 & March 1, 8:00am-12:30pm
Our new member class is being offered, February 22 and
March 1. If you’ve been thinking about membership, or you
just want to learn more about United Methodism and Bethle-
hem Church, then this class is for you. Refreshments, fun, and
childcare available. Contact the office to sign up.
Clip n’ Keep Calendar
Sunday, February 2
Communion at all Services
Monday, February 3: 7:00 PM
GriefShare Begins
Thursday, February 6: 7:00 PM
MSC Meeting
Thursday, February 13: 6:30 PM
Kenya Informational Meeting
Friday, February 14: 5:30 to 8:30 PM
Friday Fun Night
Saturday, February 15
Good Works Team: 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM
Friday, February 21 thru Sunday, February 23
Pursue Christian Teen Conference
Saturday, February 22
New Member Class 8:00 AM to 12:30 PM
Saturday, March 1
8:00 AM to 12:30 PM
New Member Class, Part II and Class 201
Sunday, March 2
Communion at all Services
Wednesday, March 5: 7:30 PM
Ash Wednesday Communion Service
Thursday, March 6: 7:00 PM
MSC Meeting
Friday and Saturday, March 14 & 15:
Experiencing the Presence of God Seminar
Saturday, March 14
9:00 AM to 4:00 PM - Good Works
Every Sunday except holidays
Prayer meeting in Sanctuary
Soaking Prayer, 5:30-6:00pm
Intercessory Prayer, 6:00-7:00pm
Check out our Google Calendar at
www.bethmeth.com.
Spotlight on Missions: Wycliff by Rob Robinson
O ur Missions Spotlight, for
this edition, shines upon
Tom and Margie Rafetto. Tom and
Margie work for Wycliffe Bible
Translators. This organization is
named for John Wycliffe who was
the first to translate the Bible into
English. For this, and for his
opposition to the Catholic
priesthood and the Pope, Wycliffe
was declared to be a heretic. Several years after his death, his body was exhumed,
burned, and his ashes were scattered into the River Swift. Wycliffe died in 1384. His
work was a precursor of the Reformation.
Wycliffe Bible Translators has the goal of translating the Bible into each and every of the
more than 6,900 languages spoken on Earth. At the present time there are more than 1900
of these languages, representing 180 million people, with no translation. Tom and Margie
live in Pennsylvania and Tom does his work throughout Asia. He emails me on a regular
basis, usually from an airport as he is leaving on a
trip or is ready to return.
Bethlehem has supported Wycliffe and the
Rafetto's for many years. Your Missions
Committee strongly believes in their goal of
reaching all of the people on Earth with a
translation of the Bible that they can read. Wycliffe
also uses audio players for those who cannot read.
The audio players are solar-powered. Information
about gifting an audio player or any of Wycliffe's
any other tools can be found at
www.wycliffe.org/giftcatalog .
4
Don’t Just Stand There by Brenda Orso
I n Bethlehem’s library, we have a book called “Don’t Just Stand There, Pray
Something!” by Ronald Dunn. It’s well-written and covers many topics, such as fast-
ing, what it means to be an intercessor, how God answers prayer, and what is means
when the Church prays. Prayer sometimes suffers from a poor image. It’s not fun enough,
not dangerous enough. Sometimes, it’s treated as something you do only when you can
Books in this Issue
More Books on
Prayer
Continued on page 6
bought them.”
The friend
brought the
shoes over that
night.
Cindy could have been a good mother and
simply driven to the store to buy new
shoes. But those shoes would have soon
wore out and been thrown in the trash.
The experience of God that was caught
that night, however—that experience
would last far longer than any pair of
shoes ever could. God showed Himself to
a little girl through an answered prayer for
new shoes. How can we give God room to
show Himself to our children today?
5
What Are You Chasing By Lori Imparato
always ask me for anything. But I want
you to ask God for it first.” Ariel stated
that she had already asked God before she
approached her mother. Cindy said alright
and planned to take Ariel shoe-shopping
sometime in the near future. Ariel,
though, would receive far more than just
a new pair of shoes.
Cindy received a call from a friend that
night. This friend stated that while she
was cleaning out her closet, she found a
pair of shoes on the shelf. They weren’t
even her size and she wasn’t sure why she
had bought them. The friend asked if
anyone in Cindy’s family needed a new
pair of shoes. Cindy didn’t even ask what
size they were but said, “I know why you
Ask God First Continued from page 1
The women's spring bible study will be "Chase" by Jennie Allen and will begin the first
week of March. It is an eight week interactive study that looks at David, a man after God's
own heart. Even when David got things terribly wrong, he always turned and chased after
God. This study will explore the events that defined his life and penned the Psalms. We
will learn from David's example how to face fears, resolve doubts, check beliefs of who
God is, and what God expects from us.
It highlights seven events in Davids' life to help you move beyond the appearance of
godliness and open your deepest self to God's love. The main question is....What are you
chasing? We are all chasing after something, something that we think will make us happy -
comfort, career, family, material possessions, someone's approval. We look to things of this
earth to fill the void that only God can fill, but nothing really satisfies, except God Himself.
God is invisible and yet He is the only thing we can chase that won't leave us feeling more
empty. So whether you are running from God or working your tail off to please Him,
David’s journey will challenge your view of God and where you ought to be. The lessons in
this study are simple, yet deep, rich and inspiring. It is very interactive, offering Bible
study, stories, personal reflection and learning from and sharing with others. Please join us
Mondays starting March 3rd, 7-9 pm or Wednesdays starting March 5th ( child care
Wednesdays only) 9:15 -11:30 am. Look for sign up sheets and please sign up to reserve a
book!
The Bethlehem Star is published 6 times/year by Bethlehem United Methodist Church, 4 Westtown Road, Thornton PA 19373, (610) 459-3482,
www.bethmeth.com, Editor: Brenda Orso, [email protected]. Deadline for copy: the 7th day of the month prior to publication. Editor reserves the right to
edit for content and space. Unsolicited material is welcome!
6
Where’s Woofi? By Harriet Widlund
Don’t Just Stand There Continued from page 4
I n December, you may have seen Woofi sitting on the pulpit announcing (via the Pastor) where you could com-
bine evangelism and Christmas gift buying in one masterful move. Three of our members donated Woofies to our
Bank. This activity, combined with some separate sales before and after, have netted us 50 Gospel puppies for our
outreach bank. At Woofi's Table we also made available the 'Keep Christ in Christmas' magnet and earned a little
more to purchase Woofi. Two little girls prayed to receive the Lord as their savior after inquiring about the wordless
Gospel Flipper Flapper and the wordless bracelets that sat on the table next to Woofi. Their grandmother was very
pleased, and each girl received a ‘spiritual’ birthday card in the mail.
December 21 we were invited back to Christ's Home for Children in Lancaster. This time the children ages 6 to 14,
and a mix of boys and girls, but Woofi was up to it. We talked about how the story of Woofi was like a parable but
what he was sharing was true and so important to their lives here and when life ends on earth. We also mentioned
that although dogs do have a reputation for being loyal and faithful, no pet or person is equal to our Lord. We
showed them a picture of two soldiers with big smiles at Walter Reed Hospital receiving a Woofi. The boys came
forward to see the picture. As usual we shared what Woofi tells everyone he meets, "God loves you and wants you to
be in His family." Janice Gruehn had the privilege of praying with a 14-year-old to accept Jesus as her savior. We
sent her a 'spiritual' birthday card as encouragement and something to authenticate and remind her of this great day in
her life. At the end of the story, if the child can recite the meanings of the colors on Woofi's collar using the wordless
flipper flapper, they can keep one, as well as a wordless bracelet.
In January, the news reports could speak of nothing but the cold. But Woofi hardly noticed as God's heart is always
warm towards mankind. After Christmas God sent one of our banked Woofis with warm messages of love to Bolivia,
South America. Woody Widlund leaked news about Woofi to the Mens’ Monday Morning Bible Study. One of the
men bought two puppies and two books for his grandchildren. He approached me because his daughter was leaving
for a mission trip to Bolivia. Not only did we give her a book and Woofi from our bank, we printed out a Spanish
Translation for her to take with a Spanish language tag for Woofi. I know this ministry sounds like it has one foot in
childhood, one foot in the adult world of evangelism and one hand in the business world. A child's prayer may be a
small beginning but a huge investment in their eternal lives. Do not discount Woofi as 'a small thing' because it is in
the hands of the Lord.
do nothing else: a last resort. But that is not true. Prayer is a gift God has given us to unlock His power, mercy, and
glory so He can pour it out over the earth. There is a spiritual battle which can only be fought through prayer. There
are things God will do only through our asking Him. He wants us to ask, He waits for us to ask, and He is ready to
answer. If we wait until we understand why we have to pray, or how we are suppose to pray, then we will never pray.
So don’t wait, and don’t just stand there, pray something!
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