BETHANY CHRISTIAN CHURCH (Disciples of Christ)

Bethany Christian Church has for many years enjoyed this celebration on the 3^rd Sunday of October and 2021 was especially exciting as we missed the previous year due to the Covid 19 Virus. My brother believes our “Homecoming Sunday” may have been celebrated since 1840 which many of our ancestors were a part of.

Folks begin arriving at the 11:00 am hour with their home baked casseroles, vegetables, salads, and famous desserts. After the food was tucked away in the kitchen, the church began to fill up with old and new members, neighbors, and other familiar faces. I chose to sit on the last pew in order to enjoy the view from the back seat as it had been a while since the sanctuary was full.

Our church choir accompanied by our pianist; Dawn Metts, sang beautifully an old favorite “Near the Cross” receiving great applause.

Our guest speaker Rev. Beth Burton- Williams was no stranger to the home folks. Her parents Jerry and Mary Ellen Burton had served 1966-1978 at Bethany, thus Beth and her sister Jennifer were raised in the church with the aid of some of the members. Rev. Beth reminded us that our dinner today was just a foretaste of the celebration banquet (Banquet Hall of the King) we would someday share in Heaven.

After the service ended, the ladies gathered their food and placed it on the tables under the pavilion, the meal was blessed, and the sharing of the meal began. It was all delicious too!

Was this Homecoming different from the many in the past? Personally, I felt it was one of the best! Yes, my immediate children were not in attendance, but my brother and sister-in law were. Somehow, though, I still felt the love of our church family that had gathered to celebrate our Homecoming and departed with a full heart.

Susan H Bissette

 

 

…but you have the key to wind it up! Time is flying. We are in the fourth quarter of the year, which is a quarter of great significance for us because it contains Thanksgiving and Christmas, events celebrated by praise, thanksgiving and rejoicing.

     Those words: praise, thanksgiving and rejoicing, are the key to wind the clock, for that is worship, and worship is what we want to do especially in this season.

Wind the clock and wind it tight! Put fear and hesitation behind you; praise God, give thanks to Hlm, breathe deeply and rejoice! Make this season full of praise, thanksgiving and rejoicing as never before, and carry it through all next year!

 

Our Homecoming is this Sunday, October 17. After missing last year’s homecoming, we could not be more excited about this one! Rev. Beth Burton-Williams will be in the pulpit. She will be preaching on Matthew 22:1-14, “Banquet Hall of the King.” If you haven’t seen her in a while, you will not want to miss her now. Our choir will be singing Near the Cross and be accompanied on the piano by Dawn Metts. As has been our recent custom, we will pick up our communion wine and wafer when we enter the sanctuary and hold it until the appropriate time during the service and partake together. After the service, we will gather under the pavilion and in the fellowship hall to feast on fabulous homecoming fare! Bring your favorite main, side, and/or dessert;  we will provide the rest. Thanks to Jennie Adams, we will be able to view Mr. Russel Lee’s many wonderful videos of homecomings past to view as we gather together. What a wonderful gift he left for us! photo credit:  Melissa Watson

 

 

Two years in the making, and now it is complete. The CWF rummage sale was a success! The ladies would like to thank everyone who attended and all the many people who volunteered their time to help produce such a nice sale. We took in $1,600 that will be very useful in the upcoming projects the women have planned! It was also a lot of fun! People would come and shop and snack and visit and leave, and several groups of people, in an hour or two, came right back and did it again! Plus, John Beeman of the CMF grilled hotdogs for an early lunch, and they were delicious! Again, thank you to all!!

The table is set all over the world today. It is set for a feast. For this day, we take this bread and drink this cup and remember our Lord and Savior and feel the connection with the world at large for we are all his children and are brothers and sisters together in Christ.

In this week’s summary, Rev. Bennett summarizes the last of Genesis and our beginning readings in Exodus, 1-15. Rev. Osgood previews Exodus 19-34. Be sure to jot down any questions you have during your reading. Roger will be glad to answer them during his “Deep Dive” Sunday morning. If you are unable to come Sunday morning, Torrie or Roger will be available during the week to answer your questions! Call (249-0266) or drop by the church office.