Bethlehem Lutheran Church

Our Mission

Bethlehem Lutheran Church is a Community centered on God's Grace and focused on Worship, Music and Social Justice with a goal of growing together in Faith and Action.

Summer Worship is held every Sunday at 10:00. Sunday School will resume next September. Join us for Summer Worship!

Heartside Music Together

Heartside Music Together will be offering a six week summer session on Mondays July 6 - August 10th with classes at 10:30 am and 5:30 pm. Two FREE demo classes will also be offered on Monday, June 29th. RSVP's can be made via e-mail carmen@heartsidemusictogether.com. Looking forward dto making music will all of you!

Sermon Time

We are working on posting the sermon/service via the web. Here is a sample of what will be coming each week. This is the sermon from Pastor Jed's last Sunday, May 17, preached by Pastor Jay.

Link to Video

Witness Committee Survey

The Witness Committee is trying to understand why people attend BLC and what brought them through our doors. Please feel free to complete this survey to help them understand what BLC means to you and how we can encourage others to join us in our ministries.

We Have Moved!

Our new address is 250 Commerce SW. Check out our "wall-breaking" ceremony, the "clean-up days" (found under the "New Church Home" link), the "walk" to our new church on October 7, and pictures of our new sanctuary.

New pictures (like the one to the left) by Paul Petersen have been added - see them on our "New Home" Page.

The 2009-10 MAJIC concert series:

Friday, October 9
Drew Nelson (local singer/songwriter)
Opening/Reception works from the Prodigal Son Collection of Larry and Mary Gerbens

Friday, November 13
Los Gatos (Latin jazz ensemble)
Art works by Grand Rapids Dominican Sisters
Concert Co-Sponsored by the Dominican Sisters and Aquinas College

Friday, December 11
Grand Rapids Women's Chorus
Art Installation from Grand Rapids Dominican Sisters continues...

Friday, January 8
An Dro (Celtic Quartet)
Art Opening by Eric Nykamp

Friday, February 12
Paul Vondiziano (classical guitarist and composer)
Art Installation with Eric Nykamp continues...

Friday, March 12
Loom (Chicago based modern jazz ensemble)
Art Opening by Erick Pichardo

Friday, April 9
Steve Talaga's Premier Composition about Heartside
Commissioned by MAJIC
Pichardo Art Insallation continues...

MAJIC ia a continuing ministry of our congregation which is the creation of our own flutist extraordinaire Carmen Maret. MAJIC stands for Musical Arts for Justice in the Community and is an eight concert series which will be held in our new church home at 250 Commerce SW. Held at 7:00 pm on the second Friday of every month from October through May the series will feature a wide variety of local and regional performers and an equallyl eclectic range of music styles. The concerts are free with a suggested donation of $10 which wil benefit the Grand Rapids Coalition to End Homelessness.

Through MAJIC we will hope to: help house the homeless, make our new church home visible and accessible to the community, and promote musical arts in our community.

Check out the MAJIC webpage for more information.

Attention
The Official Website of Bethlehem Lutheran Church of Grand Rapids, Michigan is www.blc-grmi.org. Please make sure this is the bookmark you are using or change your "Favorites List" to reflect this address.

Social Justice

Second Harvest Gleaners
Help feed our neighbors by volunteering at Second Harvest Gleaners. BLC volunteers once a month on Saturday from 9am till noon at 864 West River Center Drive NW, Comstock Park. Our next date is July 11.

Ransom Towers Paper Drive - Every 4th Sunday we collect paper items for Ransom Towers.

Sojourners' Mobilization to End Poverty
Through scholarships, generous donations, Service Committee matching funds, and plenty of simple thriftiness, Bethlehem has made it possible for seven representatives from our congregation to attend this conference. The group will be traveling to Washington DC during April 26-30. Watch for more info from this group when they return to share what they have learned about ending poverty!

NECM Supper House - Watch for the next time. The location has changed permanently to Plainfield United Methodist Church, which is on the corner of Spencer and Plainfield Ave. The time is still the same...4:30 PM to 7:00 PM.

Lutheran Social Services of Michigan - is one arm of the ELCA's social ministry. For more information please click on their logo!

Our Hope update - For seven years BLC has been working with the ladies of Our Hope, teaching them how to sew. Thank you to all the volunteers for their gift of time and talent. Currently there is a need for cotton fabric, notions, patterns, and other sewing supplies. Right now the ladies are working on coin purses and plan to adorn them with decorative buttons - do you have any lying around? Please bring donations to church or call to arrange for a pick-up. Thanks!

Prayer Vigil - On Saturday, March 21, a vigil in memory of Thomas Pauli was held. Over 100 people met at Degage Ministries where a prayer opened the vigil.  The vigil included a silent candlelight walk to the site of Mr. Pauli’s death in the 600 block of South Division.  A short prayer service was held at that site and then the vigil continued to Bethlehem Lutheran Church where refreshments were served and the opportunity for conversation followed. Please click here to read the words of the service.

Warm Up America - To comfort abused children being placed in foster homes, we want to give them their own personal afghan of 49 pieces. You can help by donating your left-over skeins of yarn or any yarn that you would like to purchase. If you knit or crochet, make a 7"x9" rectangle in any washable yarn, color, pattern, or stitch of your choosing and drop it off at the church in the box by the office lobby. Next meeting is Saturday, October 19 at 10:00am at St. Luke's.

Hurricane Katrina Relief Trips: Now that we are nearly two years out since Katrina hit the coast, many who don't live in the affected area have forgotten the devastation and that the pool of volunteers has nearly dried up.

BLC has sponsored 6 trips to Ocean Springs, Mississippi for Hurricane Katrina Relief. Three of the trips have been documented and are available for your viewing: Fall 2005, January 2006, and January 2007.

Announcements

Vacation Bible School - This year we are traveling to Discovery Canyon, a cool place to explore the wonders of the Word. We'll meet some neat characters along the way, make new friends and have fun while we learn of God's love for us. VBS will be August 3-7 from 9:30 to 11:30 AM. We need volunteers! Please sign up to help!

Need to contact someone: check out our "contact us" website.

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