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The Bethania Blade “As a called people of God and as members of Bethania,

we will grow in our faith and share it with others”

April 2017

Many of you know that I grew up at the foot of the Shenando-

ah Valley of Virginia, in the foothills of the Blue Ridge and Appa-

lachian Mountains. You may not know that Lutherans aren’t

nearly as plentiful down there as they are up here. Baptists and

Presbyterians, yes. But Lutherans? Our Synod covered the whole

state.

Down there Lutherans (and our Episcopal sisters and brothers)

were mostly bunched in with Roman Catholics and, as such, were

targets of Evangelism by Southern Baptists and many others.

That is part of the reason I am familiar with several “evangelism

tools” employed by evangelicals… including one of the most pop-

ular: The Two Question Method.

The Two Question Method asks an individual two simple ques-

tions. By your answers are supposed to tell if you are really a

“Christian” or just think you are. (In other words, if you don’t give

the answer they’re looking for, you’re not “saved.”) Since Luther-

an Christians are, in fact, “really” Christians and we certainly are

“saved,” we should have little trouble, right? Right. Except…

A surprising number of Lutherans have trouble answering the

questions “correctly.” Let’s see how we do (don’t look ahead, just

look at the question and think what you would say)

Question #1: If you died tonight, would you go to heaven?

A large percentage on non-evangelicals answer this one “I

hope so,” “I think so,” or “I don’t know.” These are humble,

(continued on page 2)

2

non-presumptuous answers. But, although no answer is

“wrong,” it isn’t the one our evangelical friends are looking for.

It’s not quite the one your pastor is hoping for, either, because

I don’t want you to doubt your salvation.

Question #2: If you died tonight, found yourself at the

gates of Heaven, and Jesus asked, “Why should I let you in?”

what would you say?

Once again, you would have a lot of company if you said

something like, “Well, I tried to be a good person… most of the

time…” or “Well, I was confirmed so…” As someone who has

been on the receiving end of these two questions on a number

of occasions, let me assure you… if these are your answer: pre-

pare to be evangelized within an inch of your life. You’re about

to be told to accept Jesus into your heart as your personal Lord

and Savior and say the sinners prayer in order to “know” you

are saved and get into heaven.

So what are the answers the evangelists are looking for?

Well, you actually already know them! The answers are in our

hymns and our creeds. You hear them in the Scripture and (by

God’s grace) Preaching. But it’s a pastor’s calling to tell you

the answers as often as necessary. So, in short form, here they

are:

Question #1: Yes, when you die you should have every ex-

pectation of going to heaven. As John 3:16 reminds us “God

so loved the world that he gave his only Son so that all who

believe in him should not perish, but should have eternal life.”

Of course, this single verse begs the questions: Is doubt al-

lowed? Yes. Of course it is. Countless examples in the

scripture attest to this. Your faith doesn’t have to be perfect,

nor do you. But you are responsible for trying to nurture and

( the continuation of our pastors page)

27

The Racine Theater Guild is presenting Joesph

and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat.

We would like to do a group event either Sun-

day May 21st at 7:00 p.m. or Thursday, May

25th at 7:00 p.m. Group Tickets are $12.50 for

Seniors and $14.50 for adults and $10.00 for

Youth 21 & Under. Please let us know if you

are interested by calling or emailing the church

office pr filling out the purple sheet on Sunday

and putting it in the offering tray.

March 15—Ed snowblowing that whop-

per of a Spring Snow Storm.

26

Caitlin’s Loaded Broccoli and Cheese Soup

Ingredients

2 - 14.5 oz. cans chicken broth

2-3 large carrots, peeled and diced

4 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed into small pieces

1 tsp. onion powder

2 small heads broccoli (washed and diced small)

3 TB butter

⅓ cup flour

3½ cups milk

4 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1 tsp. salt

½ tsp. garlic pepper

6 slices bacon, cooked and chopped

Instructions

1. In a large pot combine chicken broth, carrots potatoes and onion powder.

2. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for about 10 minutes. 3. Add broccoli, cover and simmer for an additional 10

minutes. 4. While simmering, melt butter in a large sauce pan. Whisk in

the flour and cook for another minute (or until golden brown). Whisk in milk and cook for an additional 5 minutes until the sauce thickens.

5. Add cheese and stir until it is all melted. Add salt and garlic pepper.

6. Pour cheese sauce into the large pot and stir until well com-bined.

7. Add more milk for a thinner consistency and add any addi-tional salt and pepper needed. Top with bacon pieces.

8. Serve warm.

3

grow it. But it’s not what we do, but rather our Faith in the one

who did do the what was necessary. Speaking of which…

Question #2 Speaking of what Jesus did, here’s the answer

the evangelists are looking for and I hope you understand… “I

don’t deserve to come in, but because you paid for my sins on

the cross – by your grace I am able to enter.”

To put it another way, Good Friday and Easter are the an-

swer. We have a God who demands justice… which means

(since everyone HAS sinned and all sins are the same to God)

we should all be locked out of heaven for eternity. Thankfully,

we also have a God who is merciful loves us too much to con-

demn us to spend either this life or the next apart from him. So

how does God reconcile perfect justice and perfect love? The

Cross.

By dying on the cross Jesus made the final sacrifice to atone

for our sin. Once and one for all of us, he paid the price owed

to pay for our sins and earned our way into Heaven by what HE

did when he died on Good Friday. On Easter, when the The

Father raised him from the dead, he broke the power of death

and brought us all eternal life.

Our reservation was made, our ticket bought… never, ever

by ANYTHING we did or could do, but by Grace through Faith…

the gifts of Good Friday and Easter. Thanks be to God!

So, if you were a bit shaky on those questions… or even if

you weren’t… come and praise the one who has the answers

and offers us light, life, and salvation: our crucified and risen

Lord.

Blessings,

Pastor Heather Bumstead

4

APRIL WORSHIP LEADERS

April 23, 2017

Worship Assistant Bill Krause Acolyte Will Beaner

Communion Assistant Kurtis Webster Communion Bread (wafer)

Lector Anne Woodward Flowers Webster

Ushers Ed & Jacci Young Coffee Hour Brad & Bonnie

April 2, 2017

Worship Assistant Robin Barnes Acolyte Camren Mc Intosh

Communion Assistant Jacci Young Communion Bread (wafer)

Lector Robin Barnes Flowers

Ushers Brad Larsen &

Keith Webster

Coffee Hour Youngs

April 9. 2017

Worship Assistant Kristi Mueller Acolyte Logan Schoff

Communion Assistant Julie Hansen Communion Bread (wafer)

Lector Kristi Mueller Flowers

Ushers Vicki Thiery &

Karen Fernandez

Coffee Hour Altar Guild

April 16, 2017

Worship Assistant Jeff Alderson Acolyte Calaway Alderson

Communion Assistant Brad Larsen Communion Bread Anne Woodward

Lector Jerod Alderson Flowers Easter

Ushers Leo Miller & Jim

Leger

Coffee Hour

April 30, 2017

Worship Assistant Vicki Thiery Acolyte Seth Hultman

Communion Assistant Caitlin Webster Communion Bread Grete Loschenkohl

Lector Irma Anderson Flowers

Ushers Bill & Liz Krause Coffee Hour 25

Keith's Slow Cooker Creamy Tortellini Soup Serves: 10 Ingredients: 1 pound ground Italian sausage (or ground chicken, turkey or beef), browned* 1 onion, chopped 3 large carrots, chopped 3 stalks celery, chopped 4 cloves garlic, minced 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning ½ teaspoon salt 4 - 15 ounce cans beef broth (or chicken or vegetable broth ­­ I use low sodium) 1 tbs cornstarch 3 -12 ­ounce cans evaporated milk (or half and half) 1 -12 ounce package three cheese tortellini, frozen (may want more tortellini) 1 cup milk

Instructions:

1. Place the browned sausage, onion, carrots, celery, garlic, Italian seasoning, beef bouillon powder, salt, and broth in a 6 ­quart slow cooker bowl. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 7 hours. 2. Uncover and skim any fat that is sitting on the top of the soup with a spoon; discard. Stir in the cornstarch mixture with the evaporated milk (or half and half or cream). Add the tortellini and mix well. Cover again and cook on

HIGH heat setting for a further 45 minutes until the soup has thickened, and the tortellini is soft and cooked through. 3. Pour in milk in ⅓ cup increments, as needed, to reach your desired thickness and consistency (I needed 1 cup); taste test and season with extra salt ONLY if needed, and pepper to suit your tastes. Notes: *Italian sausage gives this soup an amazing flavor, but you can substi-tute it with ground chicken, turkey or beef sausage. OR use plain ground meats if you don't like sausage. For vegetarian options, leave the meat out all together. The soup thickens as it cools and absorbs quite a lot of liquid.

You can add 5 cups spinach, if desired. If you add in the spinach, do so before

adding the milk, press the leaves down to completely submerse into the liquid.

Cover again for a further 5 to ­10 minutes until the leaves have wilted.

24

Schoff Taco Chili

1 - 3lb beef roast

3 - jars of salsa ( I used medium heat for the chili at soup supper)

1- 28 oz can of diced tomatoes with green chile’s

1- can of bush's chili beans

3 - cloves of chopped garlic

1/2 onion, chopped fine

2 tbsp chili powder

salt and pepper to tast e

Cook everything in slow cooker for 6-8 hrs on low

Serve with sour cream and shredded cheese

Thank you to everyone who contributed to the soup supper!

5

Apr i l 2 , 2017 5 Lent

First Reading Ezekiel 37:1-14

Psalm Psalm 130

Second Reading Romans 8:6-11

Gospel John 11:1-45

April 9, 2017 Palm Sunday

First Reading Isaiah 50:4-9a

Psalm Psalm 31:9-16

Second Reading Philippians 2:5-11

Gospel Matthew 26:14--27:66

April 16, 2017 Easter Sunday

First Reading Acts 10:34-43

Psalm Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24

Second Reading Colossians 3:1-4

Gospel Matthew 28:1-10

Apr i l 23 , 2017

First Reading Acts 2:14a, 22-32

Psalm Psalm 16

Second Reading 1 Peter 1:3-9

Gospel John 20:19-31

This Months Readings

Apr i l 30 , 2017

First Reading Acts 2:14a, 36-41

Psalm Psalm 116:1-4, 12-19

Second Reading 1 Peter 1:17-23

Gospel Luke 24:13-35

6

Were You There?

Did you Share?

Date Attendance Giving

March 1, 2017 20 $1,006.00

March 5, 2017 53 $3,186.00

March 8, 2017 22 $ 79.00

March 12, 2017 40 $3,719.00

March 15, 2017 16 ———-

March 19, 2017 53 $1,554.84

March 22, 2017 31 ———

March 26, 2017 40 $1,580.00

March 29, 2017 17 ———-

23

22

Adopt-A-Project Ideas:

Outside painting: Windows and exterior doors Inside paint-ing: Kid Zone wall, Post of Youth room, Kitchen bathroom, pastor’s bathroom. Worship Assistant/Acolyte Albs cleaning Cleaning of area fans (oscillating fans in sanctuary, box fans.) Take load of hazardous waster on collection day—every 3rd Saturday from April to October. Organize photos and other church archive items Office: Thin old records (according to a list of what to

keep and what to shred) ”Honey-Do maintence list

Do you have any other ideas???

March 8th—What happened on the windy day when the

neighbors left their trampoline home alone. 7

Bethania Lutheran Church

4120 Wright Avenue

Racine, WI 53405

(262) 632-7267

Email: Bethania@wi.twcbc.com

Pastor’s Email: pastorheather@wi.twcbc.com

Website: www.bethanialutheran.org

Office Hours: Monday thru Friday –

2:30 to 5:30 p.m

(Please note: There may not be a car in the parking

lot but the office is open.)

Reverend Heather Bumstead, Pastor

Cathi Webster, Administrative Assistant Mike Imhoff, Custodian

Willy Mueller, Church musician Jeff Alderson, President

Kelly Imhoff, Vice President

Ed Young, Treasurer

Rob Borgardt, Council Member

John Barnes, Council Member

8

Jim & Shirley Woodward Joyce Woodward

Heather (Bonnie Jensen’s granddaughter)

Betty Hedstrom Richard

Dona Turner Bettie Liston

Danny Kristi Mueller

Jim Mueller Jim Thornton Karen Luxem

Grete & Jorn Loschenkohl Kennedi

Will Beaner Jeff L., Dakota

Prayer Shawl Ministry

Our first meeting will be Friday

April 7th at 9:30 a.m. We will dis-

cuss how the prayer shawl ministry

will work, what our name should be,

and a few other things. See you there.

Confirmation class resumes

Wednesday, April 26th at 6:00 p.m.

21

From the Pews

Don Rybarik and Hax his K-9.

Union Grove High Schools production of Beauty and the Beast. Sammie

Schoff (front row #73 shirt) was in charge of all the costumes and makeup!

Way to Go Sammie!!

Pastor

Heather’s

cat ,Triple,

tries to show

he’s a

Lutheran kitty.

20

Venture

Crew

242

clean up

& Fun

at Oh

Da Kota

Congratulations to Crew President Casey, Jason, Ian and Vice President Jaisyn who became members of the Order of Siam and they have earned the Venturing Award.

On Saturday March 4th the Venture Crew spent the day cleaning up the sticks and fallen trees at Oh Da Kota but they also found some time to enjoy themselves.

They are still looking for members who like to have fun and enjoy the outdoors. Any youth ages 14 to 21 are wel-come to join them. They meet at Bethania on the 2nd and 4th Sundays of the Month in the Dorcas room.

9

(Please let us know if there are any changes or missed

birthdays or anniversaries. Thank You!)

4/1-Tom Nielsen

4/6 –Aaron Baclawski

4/6 –Bruce Burrow

4/6 –Alita Fernandez

4/6—Harold Fricke

4/7—Celieta Gardner

4/7—Gilbert Jensen

4/8—John Zeni

4/9—Kia Genrich

4/12—Irma Anderson

4/13—Karen Davis

4/14—Molly Hultman

4/14—Patrick Imhoff

4/15—Kaylin Donaldson

4/17—Jessica Schoff

4/18—Jeanne Kutka

4/21—Dominic Shawhan

4/27—Mary Genrich

10

To Sam and Karen Fernandez and family on the

death of his sister Yolanda Trinidad on Saturday

March 4th, 2017. Her funeral was held at Maresh

Meredith on Saturday March 10th, 2017.

From “50 Solutions to Everyday Mistakes: And How to Fix Them” in Reader’s Digest, April 2017

Mistake “#50: Neglecting Your House of Worship. Women who get out to attend religious services at least once a week have 20 percent reduced risk of death, re-gardless of whether they smoke, drink, or exercise, says a study of more than 92,000 women by Yeshiva University and Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Researchers credit the emotional support and respite from stress that going to regular services can provide. Amen to that.” (“Reader’s Digest” Vol. 189, Issue 1129, April 2017, p. 73)

Church Council meeting deferred to May.

19

HOSANNA!

Don’t miss Palm Sunday; Sunday of the Passion Worship at 9:00 a.m. on Sunday, April 9th. We will be using a dynamic

new dramatic reading of the passion using several readers.

“This Is My Commandment”

Maundy Thursday Worship with Holy Communion will be held at 7:00 p.m on Thursday, April 13. This service pre-pares us for Easter by focusing on the Last Supper and Jesus’ preparation of his own disciples for the trials ahead.

“Jesus, Remember Me When You Come Into Your King-dom.”

We honor Jesus’ sacrifice for our sake by remembering his crucifixion at Good Friday Services: Friday, April 14 at 7:00 p.m. We will once again use the Tenebrae service of gathering darkness as we read the scriptures

marking the seven last words of Christ along with prayers and hymns. Come to not only fully appreciate the sacrifice Jesus made for you but also to truly feel the joy of Easter Sunday!

18

Heartfelt Thanks

Austin, Dakota, Aaron and Timothy (with cup) goof around on a break from bussing tables at this year’s AEbleskiver brunch

Many Thanks to everyone who worked so hard to make the “Fat Sunday” AEbleskiver brunch a success! Planning, set-up and prep, cooking, bussing tables, clean up, and too many things to mention. Thanks for sharing your time and talent to honor our Danish founders and celebrate our Danish Heritage with the community.

11

OUR HOMEBOUND MEMBERS

Janet Kintzler

c/o The Woods Of Caledonia

5737 Erie St.

Racine, WI 53402

(262)639-7573

Lyman Larsen

c/o St Monica’s

3920 N. Green Bay Road

Racine, WI 53404

Helene Wasik

c\o Oak Ridge Care Center—Rm #3

1400—8th Street

Union Grove, Wi 53126

Bernard Wasik

c\o Becker Shoop Memory Care Campus

6101 16th St,

Mt Pleasant, WI 53406

12

Shawhan Family

1901 Wustum Avenue

Racine, WI 53404

A sign of Spring ….

17

Our theme for the month of March was team building and leadership. Mr.

Alderson spoke to us about what being a leader is , what it means and did

some leadership exercises with us.

We held a quarterly court of honor and inducted new troop leadership.

Our new patrol leaders are: Will Beaner and Teddy Hoffman. Our quar-

termaster is Calaway Alderson. Yash Luba is our chaplains aide.

Jacob Spotts earned the life rank and 3 merit badges.Carter earned a

merit badge also.

We played team building games which were a lot of work and fun.

Troop 242 got the honor of being the color guard at Gateway’s merit

badge tech this year.

16

LIBRARY CORNER BOOK REVIEWS – Mary Lou Miller, Librarian

April, 2017

The Spring Wind by Gladis DePree - Margaret Madsen Collection listed by author

The story takes place in Hong Kong. The names of the streets are strange. The people have daily rice instead of daily bread, the language sounds as though someone were singing a tune. This book is a deeply personal account of the

search for meaning in intercultural relations in1970.”

All About the Months by Maymie R. Krythe – Margaret Madsen Collection listed by author

MONTH OF APRIL

“In April in old calendars, is drawn a gallant hawker, pacing a lawn,

Holding a bell’d and hooded fowl of prey, ready to loose him in the airy way,

For daily now, ascends the solar beam, and the warm earth seems in a waking dream;

Insects creep out, levees burst, and flowers rise, and buds enchant the woods

and wing the skies…

*Edmund Spenser

“Much of this book is devoted to the months’ symbolic jewels, from semi-precious stones to the fabulous 44.5 carat “Hope diamond, and flowers from the common field daisy to the most resplendent rose. Their origins and their often bewitching

roles in history are all here.“

Garden to Order by Ken Kraft – Margaret Madisen Collection listed by author "This book was written in 1962 and the reader will find a wealth of gardening information that had received the full endorsement of the W. Atlee Burpee Seed Company back in that day. What the Burpee folk did is the exciting story of a scientific and experimental organization, constantly dreaming up and perfecting new hybrids and growing them on their own farms. It is written with all of Ken’s wit and wisdom, with dividends of anecdotal Americana and portraits of two remarkable American seedmen – W. Atlee Burpee, the company’s founder, and

David Burpee, it’s President year’s ago – thrown in."

13

Sunday,

April 16th, 2017

Following worship

Bring your basket so

you have something to

pu t your eggs in.

Aaron Kechter checks out his haul of Easter Eggs during the 2016 Egg Hunt. How many eggs will your little one find? Egg Hunt will be held after worship on Easter Sunday!

14

Sun Mon Tue Wed

2 3 4 5

9 10 11 12

16 17 18 19

23 24 25 26

30

April 2017

6-8 p.m. RC Band Rehearsal

& Prayer Mtg

6-8 p.m. GS troop 31524

6-8 p.m. RC Band Rehearsal

& Prayer Mtg

9:00 a.m. Worship

10:00 a.m. Coffee Hr.

11:30 a.m. to 7p.m. Restora-

tion Worship Service & SS

9:00 a.m. Worship

10:00 a.m. Coffee Hr. /

Easter Egg Hunt

11:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Restoration Worship Service, SS

6:30 p.m. Restoration

Worship & SS

11a.m.-1:30 p.m. TxT OPEN

6:00 p.m. Soup Supper &

Lenten Worship, fh

6:30 p.m. RC Worship

6-8 p.m. RC Band Rehearsal

& Prayer Mtg

6-8 p.m. RC Band Rehearsal

& Prayer Mtg

6-8 p.m. GS troop 31524

11:00-1:30 Txt OPEN

NO. Confirmation

6:00 –7:30 TxT OPEN

6:30 p.m. Restoration

Worship & SS

7:30 a.m.– 3:00 p.m.

Racine Unified

6:00 p.m. Boy Scouts, fh

6:30 Thread by Thread

7:30 a.m.– 3:00 p.m.

Racine Unified

6:00 p.m. Boy Scouts, fh

6:30 Thread by Thread

8:00 p.m.—Crew 242

NO Racine Unified

6:00 p.m. Boy Scouts, fh

6:30 Thread by Thread

9:00 a.m. Worship 10:00

a.m. Coffee Hr./SS 11:30

a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Restoration

Worship Service, SS

4:00 to 6:00 Venture Crew

242, Dorcas rm

9:00 a.m. Worship

10:00 a.m. Coffee Hr.

11:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Restoration Worship Service,

SS

Easter Sunday

9:00 a.m. Worship

10:00 a.m. Coffee Hr.

11:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Resto-

ration Worship Service, SS

4:00 to 6:00 Venture Crew 242,

Dorcas rm

7:30 a.m.– 3:00 p.m.

Racine Unified

6:00 p.m. Boy Scouts, fh

6:30 Thread by Thread

8:00 p.m.—Crew 242

6:30 p.m. Restoration

Worship & SS

15

Wed Thu Fri Sat

1

6 7 8

13 14 15

20 21 22

27 28 29

April 2017

6:30 p.m. Restoration

Worship & SS

1:30 p.m. TxT OPEN

6:00 p.m. Soup Supper &

Lenten Worship, fh

6:30 p.m. RC Worship

6:00 –7:30 p.m.

ADRC Alzheimer Sup-

port Group, hearth room

7:00 p.m.—Maundy

Thurday Service

1:30 Txt OPEN

NO. Confirmation

7:30 TxT OPEN

6:30 p.m. Restoration

Worship & SS

10—Noon ADRC Alz Sup-

port, hearth rm

5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Girl Scout

troop 9351

6-7:30 p.m. Girl Scout

Troop 9351

NO Racine Unified

7:00 p.m.. Good Friday

Service

7:30 –11:00 a.m.

Racine Unified

7:30 –11:00 a.m.

RUSD

9:30 a.m. Prayer Shawl mtg

RC Anniversary Dinner &

party set up

NO Racine Unified

6:30 p.m. Restoration

Worship & SS

Restoration Church

Anniversary Dinner &

party

2-6 p.m.—birthday

party , fh

Confirmation Party

3-10 p.m.