Greetings from Pastor Anne

“This is my story, this is my song…”

Famous words from a beloved hymn. Maybe you even started humming or singing along. Maybe you know the next line: “praising my Savior all the day long…” That’s the point of telling our stories: to praise God. Our stories, in very real ways, are God’s story. When we share how God is at work in our lives, changing our hearts, helping us heal old wounds, finding courage to move forward and try new things, even just taking a moment to notice a sun set; that’s God story here and now in 2026.

 

During Lent this year, we’re going to be sharing our stories. We’ll have members of our congregation sharing parts of their story and you’ll be invited to think about your story. Our structure will be a lot like last year. We’ll have worship at 7:00 pm for about 30 minutes and then we’ll continue our Lent reflections with action: we’ll have prayer stations, a service project, Stations of the Cross and conversations about how we tell our stories. Our schedule will come out as soon as we have it solidified.

During Holy Week, in April, we’ll have Dinner Church on Maundy Thursday, traditional worship on Good Friday and we’ll be introducing a prayer vigil on Holy Saturday, the kind you can do from home (or anywhere really!). More about Holy Week next month!

 

Back to our theme for Lent 2026 for a moment: Telling our stories matters. How else will we find the moments when the normal everyday things become sacred signs of God’s presence and love in our world? We often only see God’s hand on our lives in hindsight. Looking back can often be incredibly helpful. God is at work in our lives and in this world. Often not how we expect or maybe even want, but God is there! So, we’re changing the lyric of the song (not really but go with me on this): This is my story, this is God’s story!

 

Join us this Lent on Wednesday evenings, starting February 18th on Ash Wednesday as we explore how God’s story is unfolding in this world through our stories! See you there!

Grace + Peace,

Pastor Anne

Youth Corner

Ellen Olson, Coordinator of Youth Ministries

Sunday School

Sunday school is going well with regular classes and gathering together the first Sunday of each month for a group activity.

On February 1 we gathered and Pastor gave our younger inquisitive children an introduction class to the sacrament of holy communion.  Our older children benefited from the conversation as well.

Noisy Offering

Thank you for your generous gifts of coins and dollars for Noisy Offering.  On January 25 we collected $319.23 for the Wheeler family who lost their home and personal possessions in a house fire on Christmas Eve.  Thank you for your kindness for this Vinton family.

LYO

LYO met Wednesday, January 28 for a group activity which also included two guest speakers.  My nephew, Connor Kruse, is currently serving in Syria in the Army.  He is 21 years old and is part of the Iowa National Guard that is stationed there.  As you are aware, it is very volatile there. 

The Blue Star Mothers of Iowa (of which my sister-in-law is a member) has initiated a program to send cards, lots of cards to our brave men and women serving. 

At our LYO gathering, Steve Wallace and Stephanie Humiston shared their personal military experiences.  And then we prepared cards to be sent to our soldiers.  Thank you to everyone for making this happen.

LYO will meet February 11 at 7 pm. for their next meeting.

Confirmation

Pastor meets our four 7th grade confirmation students each week at 6 pm via ZOOM classes.  This is working very well and we are fortunate for the family’s support.

EWALU Summer Camp

Camp brochures are available in the fellowship hall for the summer.  Scholarships are available for those interested.  Please contact Ellen Olson and she will take care of the scholarship details.  Early bird discount for February 28 sign up.

Wednesdays with God

February 4th at 6:30 p.m. Women’s Bible Study

February 11th at 7:00 p.m. LYO

February 18th at 7:00 p.m. Ash Wednesday Holy

                              Communion Worship Service

February 25th at 7:00 p.m. Lent Worship Service

Property Maintenance Fund

A heartfelt thank you to everyone who has already contributed to our new Property Maintenance Fund! Your generosity supports the ongoing maintenance and necessary repairs of our church. Donations are still welcome throughout 2026 – every gift helps care for our church home.

 Food for Thought

Meets on the third Thursday of the month at the Brickside

Brew N Chew at 12:00 noon in Vinton.

February – The Crossroads by William Paul Young

March – Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride

April – Midnight Library by Nathan Naig

May – Sophie’s Heart by Lori Wick

June – Julia’s Hope by Leisha Kelly

July – Against the Tide by Elizabeth Camden

August – Secrets by Robin Jones Gunn

September – The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhorn

October – Unplanned by Alana Terry (#1 in Kennedy Sterns series)

November – A Day to Pick Your Own Cotton by Michael Philips (#2 in the Shenandoah Sisters series)

December – Christmas in Chestnut Ridge by Nancy Naigle (#2 in the Chestnut Ridge series)

Christian Faith

If anyone needs prayer, please contact the church office (319-472-3784) or Brenda Sutton (319-929-3961 phone or text message).  A team of church members is always available to pray for you or your loved ones.

Outreach Worship

On Sunday, February 1st Bethlehem Lutheran members will be conducting worship service at Virginia Gay Rehab at 1:15 p.m. and at Windsor Manor Assisted Living at 2:15 p.m. in Vinton.  Anyone interested in helping with this outreach ministry please contact the church office at 319-472-3784.

Men at the Inn

Men at the Inn continues to meet on Friday mornings at 6:30 a.m. for Coffee and Fellowship in Augustana Hall.

Ladies Lunch Out

Ladies Lunch Out meets on the second Friday of the month at 11:30 a.m. at the Brew N’ Chew.

Cards & Dominos

Please join us on the 4th Thursday of the month, February 26th at 1:00 p.m. at the Lutheran Living Community to play Cards or Dominos.

The Orphan Grain Train

Bethlehem is still collecting donations of new or good used clothing items for infants through adults to be taken to Clemons, Iowa for distribution to those in need.  Please bring your items to the church.

Stamp Collection Project

Bethlehem will continue collecting stamps that are cancelled or new.  These stamps are used to help pay the postage of the LWR quilts and kits.

Quilting Group

The Quilting Group can use good used blankets or sheets that you may not need anymore to make them into quilts. If you have any please bring them to the church office.