Worship is the cornerstone of our congregation

When visitors worship with us, we want them to feel at home at the Lord’s Table.

We welcome you to receive Holy Communion whenever it is offered. If you believe that Christ is offering His Body and Blood in Bread and Wine for the forgiveness of sins, come and share in this holy meal. Younger children who do not commune will receive a blessing and a fish cracker.

Our method of Holy Communion is intinction. Ushers direct those who commune to come forward by rows. The pastor gives the flatbread [Body of Christ] to each communicant and a chalice is offered on each side of the congregation by assistants. Dip the bread into the chalice to receive the wine [Blood of Christ.]

Every Easter, we begin our Resurrection celebration with an Easter Sunrise Service. This service is followed by an Easter fellowship breakfast prepared by the Lutheran Men in Mission.

Each year, we celebrate Homecomng on the 3rd Sunday in September. This is a day to welcome old friends and new ones. A guest preacher delivers the Homecoming Sermon. A good number of family and former members return for this great day to renew old friendships. A bountiful covered dish meal follows worship.

We give thanks to God for all his daily blessings each Thanksgiving Eve. We begin this Thanksgiving observance with a soup and sandwich supper. A Holy Communion service follows the meal in the church.

Our Christmas Festival Service is observed on Christmas Eve evening with Holy Communion, the proclaimation of the Good News from Luke’s Gospel, and candlelighting during “Silent Night.”
On the four Sunday mornings of Advent, we observe the traditions of lighting the Advent wreath candles and decorating the whole church. There are window and door decorations, beautiful red and white poinsettias, many candles, the creche, and the Christmon tree. We also light luminaries around the church on the evenings of Advent. You’ll see the decorations filling up the inside of the church a bit more each Sunday.

Advent and Christmas are important at Bethel. Lent and Easter are highlited even more. An Ash Wednesday evening service gets us started on this spiritual journey.

We remember the road Jesus walked to Calvary on Sundays in Lent with the morning 10:30 service and an evening service. We participate in an ecumenical preaching exchange on the five Sundays before Palm Sunday. The congregation is treated to a sermon by a new preacher each Sunday night as local pastors take part in a Lenten preaching series.

Holy Week begins with Palm/Passion Sunday. The congregation gathers outside the church to commemorate Jesus’ Palm Sunday ride into Jerusalem. Our worship turns from celebration to the remembrance of Jesus’ suffering and death with the congregational passion reading.

Each Holy Thursday evening is remembered at Bethel with Holy Communion, the traditional readings from scripture and the stripping of the altar.

The church has been stripped bare of the beautiful furnishings to remember the darkness and humiliation of the Friday we call Good. We mark God’s unimaginable gift of his Son, crucified for us, as we hear John’s Passion reading, sing old and new Good Friday hymns and hear a message about this most important day. We leave in darkened silence to ponder this greatest of all gifts!

You are invited to worship with us at Bethel to mark the important Sundays and other days of the church year!