Bethlehem Lutheran Church
2745 N. 32nd Street, Mesa, AZ. 85213
480-832-0462
Pastor John Schaumburg
June 8th, 2021
Dear Friends,
Let me bring you up to date on our call process. On May 24th, the call committee met with our pastoral candidate and his family in person. Following the meeting, the call committee unanimously approved our candidate to become our next pastor. The call committee then shared their decision with the congregation council at a special meeting on May 25. The congregation council received the night before the name of the candidate and the webpage of his current congregation. They were all able to hear sermons and see a monthly blog from the church’s webpage.
At the combined meeting of the call committee and the council on May 25, the council heard from each member of the call committee why they were so enthused with our candidate. After a good discussion, the council voted unanimously to present his name to the congregation for call.
Later in the week, a team of two council members visited with the pastor and presented him with our proposed compensation package. He accepted the package as presented.
On June 3rd, the council meet again, this time to formally approve the compensation package and to set a date for the congregational meeting to call our candidate. We also set a date for a Meet and Greet opportunity.
The candidate and his family will be with us on Sunday, June 20. After the worship service there will be a “Meet and Greet”. The exact format of this event has not yet been planned, but everyone will be able to meet both him and his wife.
Now for the great news. !!!
On June 27, after our worship service, the congregation will be called into session. The congregation will receive a full report on our candidate from the call committee with a period of Q&A from the congregation. Then the congregation will be presented two resolutions. The first is to officially call our candidate to be our pastor and the second resolution is to approve the compensation package.
Now, who is our candidate? It is the prerogative of a pastor to be the one to share the news with his or her congregation that he or she has accepted a new call. This is almost always done AFTER the new call is voted on by the calling congregation and the pastor formally accepts the call.
So it is incumbent that the calling congregation (Bethlehem) is confidential with our knowledge of the name of our newly called pastor until after he/she accepts the calland has the opportunity to share this with their current congregation.
On or about June 16, I will send you a letter (via mail) inviting you to attend the special congregational meeting to vote on the resolution to call our new pastor. I will share with you the name and the congregation where he now serves. In addition to the Meet and Greet on June 20 you will have 10 days to visit his church’s website and listen to as many of his recorded sermons as you wish.
However, in the unlikely, but still possible chance that you know someone in his current congregation, we ask you to keep his name confidential. Specifically I asked that there is no posting of his name on any social media platforms. A few days after he accepts the call you can shout the name from the rooftops.
Please set these two days, June 20th and 27th, in your calendars. You won’t want to miss these activities. They come about every decade or so, so plan now to be there.
Peace,
Pastor John
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Our COVID Journey – A request from Pastor John to tell our Covid Journey
 – Sharon and Daryle Odden
Oddly enough, our journey began in February of 2020 when my husband Daryle and I spent 3 weeks in Mesa with my sister-in-law, Marilyn Bieter. We loved the mild weather we experienced here while our friends in Montana were responding to snowstorms, wind and icy streets. We recalled how we dreaded winter every year. Then it occurred to us that we didn’t have to stay in Montana; our kids are scattered from California to Oregon and Oklahoma. Air travel to and from Montana is not budget-friendly while traveling to and from Mesa is reasonable.
We went home in early March when life as we knew it was changing rapidly. We put our house on the market thinking that it would take several months to sell. Were we ever wrong! It sold in 24 hours. Soon after, we purchased a condo in Mesa, having only seen it online because flights to Mesa had been canceled.
Here we were, in the middle of the worst pandemic the world had seen in 100 years. We had no idea what lay ahead, but we knew we were committed to making the change. Because we were downsizing, we had to sell many of our belongings. We advertised them online and were careful to wear masks and take our stuff outside for people to see as much as we could. We gave away oodles of our possessions in the same manner.
Then there was the issue of informing our friends. Our pastor guessed before I even got the words out of my mouth; she is a perceptive one.
We made arrangements to meet our closest friends, individually, in their yards or on their porches to tell them our intentions. Keep in mind it was still winter in Montana!
The Sunday before we left in the second week of May we were lamenting the fact that we had not been able to have a good Lutheran potluck sendoff; not even coffee and bars! We were sad; this was not the way we would have wished to leave. Then we received a call from our pastor. asking she and her husband could stop by that afternoon. Of course, we agreed knowing our goodbye would have us wearing masks and would not be including hugs. When they arrived, they insisted we go outside to our front porch even though it was quite chilly. Then we heard the cacophony of horns honking and saw a parade of cars turning the corner. Though we could not visit or hug, we felt the love as car after car drove by, a total of about forty. When the movers loaded our belongings two days later, they did so amid a snowstorm.
The three-day drive, pulling my car on a trailer behind Daryle’s pickup, was an eerily quiet one. Hotels were operating at about 30% capacity. Each room was left unoccupied for two days after guests checked out. We were instructed to leave our trash outside our door. Though breakfast was usually provided, this was no longer the case.
Our ability to meet new people in Mesa was severely thwarted. We self-quarantined for two weeks. Had it not been for Marilyn, we would have known absolutely no one. But Bethlehem was a Godsend! Even though we could not attend worship in the sanctuary, parking lot worship was available; we could worship from our living room. Pastor John visited us via Zoom and we became involved in the Thursday morning Bible Study. Our bubble was rather small consisting of a total of six people; nonetheless, we were both infected with COVID. Thankfully, neither of us had severe symptoms.
We cannot thank the people of Bethlehem enough for the love and acceptance you have shown us over the past year. You helped to make a difficult year more than bearable.
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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”