Dear Friends,
I shared with Chris this morning that I felt that today was the beginning of the final chapter of my interim work. Exciting things are coming soon for our congregation. Although I may have shared this information recently, it doesn’t hurt to review it one more time. Here are some important dates.
June 16 – The church office will send to all members and friends of the congregation (that are listed in our latest directory) a formal invitation to the special congregational meeting to call our next pastor. The letter will also reveal the name of the pastor that has been unanimously approved by both the call committee and the congregation council.
June 20 – After our worship service, all members will be asked to stay for a Meet and Greet with our pastoral candidate. First he will bring greetings to us and share about himself, his family and his ministry. Then everyone will be invited to move to a round table in the fellowship hall where cookies and drinks will be served. Our candidate and Jim Thompson will move from table to table for a brief visit with you.
June 27 – After our worship service, the congregation will convene in a special congregational meeting with the sole purpose of calling our approved candidate to become our next pastor. There will be two separate resolutions. The first will be to call the candidate. If that resolution passes, the second resolution will be to approve the compensation package. If both resolutions pass, our president or call committee chair will call him and report the vote.
June 27- If the pastor is called, he will have up to 30 days to accept the call. If he accepts the call, he has 30 days to complete his current ministry and move his family to Mesa. As you can see, setting a date to begin his ministry depends on all of the above factors.
Installation Sunday – Our bishop installs, so she will be consulted and a date set.
In the days following his call from us and his acceptance of the call, I will continue to be your interim pastor. Following his arrival I will offer my assistance to him during his first days as our pastor. After that, Chris and I plan to do what we did when I “retired” from First Evangelical and then again following my “retirement” from my synodical work, and that, is visit other places of worship. I have some new clergy friends I want to hear preach and we have a month long trip to Pennsylvania planned in October. At some point thereafter, we will return as fellow members and as a fully retired pastor.
I am praying for us to have a strong turnout for these last two Sunday worship service. Let’s show our support for our ministry here at Bethlehem and our new pastor.
Peace,
Pastor John
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Our Navy Chaplain, 1967
A story of invitation to worship
by Ray Stasko
We never saw much of the chaplain on our ship, except when he read the morning prayer over the PA system. When in port he would read the prayer, then snap his book shut, salute the Officer of the Deck, and depart the ship as fast as he could.
A sailor timed him; from the time the chaplain said amen ’till he was off the ship took 9 seconds! The sailor looked at me and said: “See how much he loves us!”
     Fortunately we got a new chaplain before we went to the Mediterranean. He was a caring, congenial guy who tried to make himself known to the crew. I felt sorry for the chaplain because, of the 1200 sailors aboard, only 8 men attended his services. I asked the chaplain if I was allowed to invite other sailors to come to church. He said: “By all means! I had the Captain draft a letter stating that no one should be prevented from going to church, and tacked it to the bulletin board.”
   The following Sunday I tried convincing the men in my division to go to church. I put it to them this way: “Look, you can stay on deck and work hard, or you can go church and just sit.”
That reasoning worked; in a short time I had collected twenty sailors.
As the gang headed toward the wardroom, we were confronted by the lead petty officer who said: “Hey, where do you guys think you’re going?!” I replied: “We’re going to church.” He said: “Oh no! Get back to work!” I then explained the letter from the Captain to him. The petty officer reluctantly said: “Ok, but I better catch you guys in church every Sunday, or, I’m going to work you lazy loafers to DEATH!” [Needless to say, we were in church every Sunday.]
 When we got to the wardroom, the church service had already begun and a young sailor was singing “The Old Rugged Cross.” I paused in the doorway so as not to interrupt, but the chaplain waved for me to come in. He looked surprised and delighted as twenty of my shipmates filed in behind me. After the men were handed a hymnal and seated, the chaplain yelled: “Everybody sing!”
We finished the hymn as the chaplain sat with his eyes closed, enthralled by the sound of his newly expanded congregation.
    When my tour of duty was nearing it’s end, I was told to report to the Captain of the ship. I thought: “Oh no, what did I do now that I have to see the Captain himself?”
     I entered the stateroom; the Captain was seated with the chaplain standing by his side. The chaplain had a big smile on his face, so I knew things couldn’t be too bad. The chaplain had asked the Captain to give me a Letter of Commendation for my [acts of outreach.]
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BLC Welcoming Committee Needs Your Help in Creating a:
“Where-to-Go” and “Who-to-See” Directory as a guide and valuable information for our new pastor and family when we receive one. If you have a special talent or business or know someone that you would recommend to be added to the directory, please submit your information to: Avis Peterson at Petersonspark@aol.com or call me at 480-835-5044 (leave a message if no answer).
These special talents can cover a multitude of areas like home care, cleaning, decorating, landscaping, pool care, plumbing, carpentry, electrical, A/C, painting, general maintenance. Personal care such as hair, nails, skin, massage, alteration services. Child care & entertainment centers in case there are children, CPA, attorney, financial advisor, technical, mechanical and vehicle care, and the list could go on.
Think about it and please submit your info soon. A business card, brochure or ad would also be helpful and can be mailed to or left at the church office with my name on it, Avis Peterson. Thank you! Your input is valuable and you are special!
We are one Christian Family at a “Home to Share God’s Love & Grace”