Nativity (detail), 1480 by Martin Schongauer

The Voices of Christmas

Advent: Nov 29, Dec 6, 13, 20

The world is full of noise. Voices shout at us - using the media, music, traffic, cellphones, salespeople, advertising. In fact, somewhere between 500 and 3000 advertising messages a day, all "voices" yammering at us, rolling around our minds.

If we are honest, most of them demand we pay attention to things of little importance, yet what they may cover up is critical - the sound of voices that move us beyond ourselves. God's voice.

This Advent, we slow, wait and try to focus on a handful of voices in scripture, perhaps familiar and profoundly essential...

The Voices of the Prophets (Nov 29)
The Voice in the Wilderness (Dec 6)
The Voices of Gabriel & Mary (Dec 13)
The Voices of Angels & Shepherds (Dec 20)

To listen to sermons from our worship services, click here.

Bethany Men's Breakfast Fellowship

Hear Jeff Van Duzer's presentation from November 19 on the topic, "Why do good people sometimes do bad things?"

From the November Briefs...

Faithful and Spectacular / Pastor Dan Baumgartner
Every day I receive several advertisements by email, and several more in the mailbox for programs and products that promise SPECTACULAR!!! results...

Caring for Our Extended Family Affected by AIDS
Cindy Herter
In 2003 Bethany’s Session discerned that God was leading our congregation to respond to the devastating crisis caused by HIV/AIDS. The session made it a priority for us to take action, particularly in Africa...

Wednesday Night Dinners / Janet Moore
A big “thank you” to all of you who assisted with a Wednesday Night Dinner (WND) with Families in Service. I look forward to these summers, partly because I know how important community service was for my girls. But mostly I am excited because I’ve witnessed great moments while watching families assist at the dinners...

Who Has God Called You to Invite to Alpha? / Claudia Heiden
The Bethany Alpha course begins next February. Although that may seem like a long way off, now is the time to begin thinking of someone you may like to invite.

Grabbing Advent Before It Comes and Goes... Again
Pastor Dan Baumgartner
Saturday, October 17, was one of those crazy fall days in Seattle when the weather was extraordinary. Extraordinarily wet and blowy. I know because I was out for a very long training run at 6:30am...

Holiday Magic On Its Way!
Want a unique, fun opportunity to serve our neighbors and welcome our community into the doors of Bethany? Well Queen Anne Avenue’s “Holiday Magic” is on its way --- and our church takes part in this neighborhood celebration every year.

On Fri, December 4, 6-8:00 pm, Bethany will kick off this special evening with our annual tree-lighting on the front lawn --- and then will open the doors to our Fellowship Hall with activities for everyone: cookie-decorating, card-making, assembling goodie bags for our WND guests, Advent wreath-making, story-telling, live music, and more!

For many , this is the only time of year that they set foot into a church. But we need your help to welcome these neighbors and make it all happen! There are many opportunities to serve, so stay tuned for more details in the Sunday bulletins!

Contact Michelle McFarland to sign up for a volunteer shift: michelle.mcfarland@gmail.com, 954-5363.