Resolved / Pastor Dan Baumgartner
January. Once again, a new year has crept up on us, slinking around the shadows like a burglar on a dark night. The classic American move at this point would be to make sure we have a list of New Year’s resolutions ready that are well-intentioned, a mile wide and an inch deep. We’ve been through this drill before...

It's All About Garbage /Janette Plunkett
We at Bethany can look forward to a more Earth-caring, less wasteful 2006 with 24 new recycling receptacles and commercial composting of food waste and food-soiled paper products at Fellowship Hall events...

Accommodating Audrey /by Joy Daniel
When my daughters and I began coming to services at Bethany, a little over a year ago, it was a stretch for us. Above all, there was Audrey to consider...

Buddies on Sunday mornings
Several Bethany children with special needs need a special one-on-one buddy to spend time with them once or twice a month on Sunday mornings during one service. If you are interested in learning more about what’s involved in sharing Christ’s love in this tangible way, please contact Dianne Ross at 284-2222 ext 14.

Meet the Staff: Janet Moore, Social Services Coordinator
/Gail Beran Neils
It’s a small world, as Janet Moore can attest. Prior to being hired as the Social Services Coordinator at Bethany in January 2004, Janet had already met Linda Cutshall, Dan Baumgartner, and Bethany member Charlie Allen.

As a high school student in Ellensburg, Janet became friends with a Christian family in her neighborhood. Invited to sleepover on a Saturday night, she learned that the family had a policy of expecting their guests to join them for church the following morning. They attended a Presbyterian church where Linda Cutshall later became her youth group leader. Janet liked her visit to the church so much that she continued attending and later became a Christian there.

After high school, Janet moved to Seattle to attend the University of Washington. She began attending Queen Anne Christian Church, where she met Pastor Dan and Charlie Allen, as well as her husband, Doug. Janet finished a Master’s in Social Work, worked for several non-profit organizations, then went into private practice and later worked for New Horizons Ministries. She and Doug also have two children: Danae (19) and Molly (15).

Janet serves as Social Services Coordinator and Wednesday Night Dinner Director. This is a dual position which she feels suits her wonderfully, mixing her love for working with groups of people while also providing her with one-on-one opportunities to help with individuals’ specific needs.

In her spare time, Janet enjoys doing arts and crafts, running, spending time with her family, and traveling. She is also something of an “unofficial” coordinator for enlivening staff life – watch out for her clever pranks around the office!

Parents, Children, and the Sacraments / by Dianne Ross
Sometimes the sacraments (Baptism and Communion) are hard for parents to understand, much less explain to their children. Here are two things that might support you in this important task:

• Baptism class for parents
  5-6 pm Wed, Jan 18 in the Parlor
  Taught by Pastor Dan. Contact Dianne if you’ll need childcare for your infant or toddler.
• “Kids at the Lord’s Supper: If, Who, When and How?”
  an article written by Pastor Dan. Pick up a copy from the Children’s Ministry bulletin board.

This Month
Exploring Adoption
7-8:30 pm Thursdays, Jan 5-Feb 9 in Knox Parlor, University Presbyterian Church, 4540 15th Ave NE
If you are thinking about adopting a child, come and learn about the joys and trials of adoption during this 6-week series.

Guest panelists will explain how to prepare for adopting a child and they’ll provide firsthand insights about various types of adoption: international, special needs, foster adoption, open, and single parent. The sessions are facilitated by Laura Christianson, coordinator of Heartbeat Infertility & Adoption Ministries at UPC.

For a detailed schedule and to pre-register for this free workshop series, contact Laura Christianson at laurachristianson@hotmail.com or 360-563-0219.

Love & Logic Parenting Course
7 pm Thursdays, Jan 26-Feb 16, in the Fellowship Hall
For current or future parents, aunts, uncles, and all those who parent. Certified instructor Amy Wilson returns to Bethany on Thursday nights to teach this incredibly helpful parenting course. Cost is $10 per person (for the whole series) for those who pre-register, or $15 at the door. Watch for further information in the mail and Sunday Briefings, but start working on your childcare now (no childcare will be available at the church). We encourage you to invite friends and neighbors to participate.

Have fun at the end of the spear!” /by Lois Grove
These were the words from my son as I was about to walk out the door for a sneak preview of the upcoming movie, "The End of the Spear." We both started laughing at how that sounded. What he meant was, “Enjoy the movie, ‘The End of the Spear.’” Well, I can’t say that I “had fun” because it was a difficult movie to watch but I would still recommend it to anyone over 13.

What am I talking about? On January 20, "End of the Spear" will be out in theaters. It is a movie about Jim Elliott and Nate Saint, missionaries who lived in Ecuador. They were literally speared to death by the violent Waidoni Indians over 50 years ago.

Actually, this story is told from the perspective of the Waidoni people. A key player in the movie is Nate Saint’s son, Steve, who was 5 or 6 years old when his father was killed. Steve’s family chose to continue to stay in Ecuador.

I won’t give away any more of the story but I would encourage you to gather a group of friends and go and see The End of the Spear. I can almost guarantee that you will walk away from the theater with a new perspective on the phrase, “What would Jesus do?”

New Small Groups in 2006
Small groups are a great way to grow in faith and fellowship with people at Bethany. If you do not currently participate in a group and are interested in finding one, here are some new opportunities for 2006:

Sunday Evening Bible Study
6:30 pm Sundays, Jan 8–Feb 26 at 7 Howe (next door to the church office on Howe St)
For nine weeks this fall, 20 folks gathered at 7 Howe after the Sunday evening service to share a meal, study the Epistle of James, and pray for one another. This Sunday night Bible study/small group was such a rich and wonderful time of fellowship that we’re going to start it up again! Beginning Jan 8, we’ll meet for supper, a study of a minor prophet, and prayer. The study will be led by Associate Pastor Steve Lympus, Adult Christian Education Elder Kimberlee Conway Ireton, and Adult Education Intern Betty Freeland. All are welcome.

The “B” Group
11 am-12:30 pm the first and third Tuesdays of the month, 352 Blaine St (4 blocks east of church)
This is a Women's Bible Study led by Anne Baumgartner and Kelly Pearson that will meet at the Baumgartners’ home. The group starts on Tues, Jan 17, and will focus on exploring Scripture through the use of Bible study guides. Childcare is not provided and we ask that you confirm plans to attend. To confirm or ask questions, contact Kelly Pearson (329-0983), kpearson@wr.org.

Other groups are forming...contact the Small Group Team at Smallgroups@bethanypc.org, or Kelly, kpearson@wr.org.

The Best Small Group Activities in Town /Kelly Pearson, Elder for Group Life

• Cook a meal for 30 folks
  On a Monday night in March, April or May, your group could exercise culinary skills in cooking a meal for Alpha. Contact Beth MacLean, macato1@yahoo.com.
• Greet and Eat on Wednesday nights
  Come any Wednesday night to eat a 6 pm dinner at church and talk with guests. Sound too simple? Contact Matt Royston at matthewroyston@hotmail.com to find out more and learn easy conversation starters.
• Pray, write and visit a Bethany missionary
  Nine individuals/families from Bethany live all over the world, building God’s Kingdom. Each of them has a Bethany small group that prays, communicates with them, and hopes to visit them. Two openings exist for small groups to link with a missionary. Contact Jeff Van Duzer, vandj@spu.edu.
• Play in the water
  On the second Sunday of each month, Doug & Keith team up to serve Soup and Bread. If your group would like to run the dishwasher, splash the silverware and scrub soup pots, contact Keith McMahon.

Coming Soon to a Home Group Near You: A Guest Teacher
/ Kimberlee Conway Ireton, Elder for Adult Christian Education
Bethany is blessed with many gifted teachers. So this year, the Group Life/Adult Christian Education team is offering small groups the opportunity to have a Bethany teacher visit and teach for one or two weeks (depending on the topic). Group members who have already had teachers visit during a “test-run” have said:

“Having guests [teachers] generated a certain excitement and gave us a new focus.”

“We enjoyed the different dynamic. It surprised me that people felt more free to share certain things with an ‘impartial’ or ‘outside’ leader.”

“It was great to have a change for our home group. It has given us much to think about, and we have continued to discuss the issues raised.”

Below is our “menu” of teachers and topics available to visit your home group in 2006. For more information or to schedule a teacher to visit your group, contact Associate Pastor Steve Lympus, stevel@bethanypc.org.

The Gospel of Mark: Beginning a Group Study led by John Chase

The Gospel Passage That Changed My Life (and other delights of Scripture study) led by Betty Freeland

The Sermon on the Mount led by Lori Reimann Garretson

Conversations about the Holy Spirit: What are the Spirit’s gifts? What about the Spirit in your own life? led by Lynne McMahan

The Significance of Work: Exploring God’s Call in Your Life led by Mike Purdy

Discernment: Hearing God’s Voice in our Decisions led by Laura & Steve Lympus

The Meaning and Mystery of Marriage led by Frank & Patti Holman

News & Notes

"Waking to Mystery"
Kimberlee Conway Ireton, Bethany member and elder, has written an essay entitled “Waking to Mystery,” published in the Jan/Feb issue of Weavings. This “journal of the Christian spiritual life” is available online and in the Bethany library.

Welcome New Members
We received several new members to Bethany Dec 11 at the 9 am service. Please welcome these members when you see them.

Scott & Ginger Huebner Not pictured: Shari Heeringa Lauren Terry Val VerDries Sara Van Hofwegen Jenny Sugiyama

Karen Lent & Mark Moehring David & Nancy Carlstrom

Kathleen & Scott Cummins David & Misty Grieger

Bethany Staff Looking Back, Looking Forward
What we're thankful for in 2005

• An amazing sabbatical time
• Being married to my best friend
• How God has used the Wednesday Night Dinner to change our community

Steve Lympus

• Sunday Night Bible Study, formed and challenged by God’s Word
• Bethany trip #2 to Agros Uno
• Praying with people

Janet Moore

• Being the director of the Wednesday Night Dinner
• Finding housing for people
• Talented WND volunteers

Linda Cutshall

• The grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ, who knows us and calls each one of us by name
• Our new members, their gifts, vitality and friendship
• Courageous people who break the rules of silence around difficult issues

Dianne Ross

• Bethany’s precious children with generous, open hearts
• Over 200 creative and loving volunteers with our kids
• Sara McMahon’s wonderful work/ministry as Director
  of Nursery ministries

Sylvia Lidell

• Developing friendships with people who are 60+ years old
• The insights God gives to me as I study His Word
• The job here at Bethany: a wonderful staff and a loving
  congregation

Bobby Harding

• God’s faithfulness through tough times
• A loving and faithful wife
• A generous family

Our Prayers for 2006

Dan Baumgartner

• Our connections to the world (Kenya, Honduras, Seattle) going deeper
• That I would understand more of the radical call to follow Jesus
• That we would learn more about how to watch for God

Steve Lympus

• For Home Groups
• For harvests at Agros Uno
• That God will keep changing lives through Alpha

Janet Moore

• Starting a spiritual support group for people with a mental illness
• More housing openings
• Building relationships with volunteers

Linda Cutshall

• Being with women of all ages at the Women’s Retreat
• Celebrating God’s daily presence and work
• The ways God forms families through adoption

Dianne Ross

• Hearing our children sing in worship in February and our Children-Youth Choir on Palm Sunday
• Exploring ways for families to do mission trips
• Welcoming more adopted children from around the world to our Bethany family

Sylvia Lidell

• Watching the children in my life learn and grow
• Graduations of two nephews and a niece
• Having my niece living in the area and attending SPU

Bobby Harding

• Attending Fuller in Pasadena in Fall 2006
• Seeing how God moves in my life and in the lives of those around me
• A trip to Agros Uno!