Andrea McGimsey, Executive Director of the Faith Alliance for Climate Solutions was our guest presenter after worship.
Congregation members shared about such things as best practices for recycling, how to reduce your carbon footprint, and how to use plastic bags as yarn!
We planted and blessed a brand new crabapple tree in Bethel Park
And Julie taught the children about the importance of plants and how they make the world more beautiful and more healthy
Over the final two weeks of January – January 23 and 30 – Pastor Dave will be preaching a two-week sermon series entitled, “The Mission, Vision, and Values of Jesus” based on Luke 4: 14-30, the story of Jesus preaching his first public sermon in a Synagogue in Nazareth, his hometown. Over these two weeks, we will explore WHAT Jesus articulates as the main focus of his ministry and activity.
Previously our Bethel Council, along with our Parish Nurse Edie McGoff, and I met with Dr. Mercedes Abbat, the head Epidemiologist for the Lord Fairfax Health district. We met to discuss next steps for masking in indoor congregate settings.
Through conversation with Dr. Abbat, the Council set the following protocols for masking based on the Virginia Department of Health metrics:
When Frederick county is at the High/Substantial level, we will require masks at worship.
When Frederick county is at the moderate/low level we will recommend, but not require masks at worship.
After our meeting, the CDC changed their protocols which showed Frederick County with a LOW level of transmissibility, while the VDOH still had Frederick County in the Substantial/High range.
As of today, however, the VDOH has updated their recommendations to align with the CDC and so we are now below the threshold for requiring masks! Hallelujah!
Therefore, per our congregation council, we are now MASK OPTIONAL for all gatherings at Bethel.
If you are unvaccinated, we still highly recommend masking. If you are vaccinated, it is your choice to mask or not, dependent on your comfort level and personal decision.
I want to thank our council for their steadfast leadership and their willingness to put health and safety at the forefront of each and every decision we have made at Bethel during this pandemic.
Onward and Upward toward the “next right thing”!
Peace and Blessings,
Pastor Dave
Friends,
Our Bethel Council, our Parish Nurse Edie McGoff, and I met with Dr. Mercedes Abbat, the head Epidemiologist for the Lord Fairfax Health district. We met to discuss next steps for masking in indoor congregate settings. Currently, there are four Transmission Levels that are tracked by the Virginia Department of Health — High, Substantial, Moderate, and Low. Currently, Frederick county (20% positivity) and Winchester (15% positivity) remain at the High transmission level. Through conversation with Dr. Abbat, the Council has set the following protocols for masking:
When Frederick county is at the high/substantial level, we will require masks at worship.
When Frederick county is at the moderate/low level we will recommend, but not require masks at worship.
The good news is that Dr. Abbat did say that the transmission levels are going down, cases are going down, and deaths are going down. She feels we are near the end of required masking and because she and Edie have been in consistent communication, she verbally commended Bethel for our faithfulness, diligence and thoughtfulness during the pandemic.
Onward and Upward toward the “next right thing”! Peace and Blessings, Pastor Dave
Friends,
Bethel is now back to “in person” worship at 9:30am beginning Sunday, February 6. Masks/shields are required. We will continue to “livestream” worship on Sundays via our Facebook page and our YouTube channel (which you can watch here on our website).
Friends,
We have moved to “virtual” worship through the month of January (2022). Each worship service will be pre-recorded and uploaded to our website by Saturday morning each week.
Because of the outbreak of the highly-contagious Omicron variant, we are being cautious with any “mass gathering” experience. We plan to return to “in person” worship – with masks/face shields required – on Sunday, February 6, 2022.
*We are allowing outside groups to meet at Bethel as long as they are masked. Bethel groups can also meet as long as they remain masked.
Bethel Lutheran Church and Pastor David Young will be offering this as both an “in-person” and Zoom event beginning in January. We will meet on four consecutive Saturdays, January 15, 22, 29, and February 5, in the Bethel Fellowship Hall (or on Zoom) from 9:30-11:00am.
The Zoom link to join each week is as follows:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88908165763?pwd=MDdrZWY1L2xGKzYyNGl4bGU4OHlXZz09
Meeting ID: 889 0816 5763 Passcode: 619503
at United Lutheran Seminary since 2015, after completing his doctorate at the University of Chicago Divinity School. His research examines how sixteenth-century reformers sought to equip Christians to exercise discernment and self-discipline in divided religious contexts and amid pervasive fear of deception. You can learn more about Dr. Evener and his publications at: https://www.unitedlutheranseminary.edu/faculty-staff/vincent-evener.Our Annual “Christmas in a Barn” with Holy Communion worship service will be held for the first time on our campus at Bethel in our Bethel Park. It will begin at 3:00pm. Bethel is located at 2077 N. Frederick Pike.
Our Candlelight Communion Service will take place in our sanctuary at 7:00pm.
We hope that you will be able to join us this year!
