Many Questions

I’ve been intrigued lately by some of the new questions I’ve been asked!

• “Why do we use leavened bread instead of unleavened bread in the celebration of the Lord’s Supper?”
• “What do you think of the rock group KISS? They’re one of my favorites, but I think they are often misunderstood by Christians.”
• “Do you think people would be offended if I whistled during worship?”
• “Would Bethel Church be willing to join with other local congregations in celebrating Thanksgiving on Wednesday night instead of on Thursday morning?”
• “What does the Christian Reformed Church believe about speaking in tongues? Does anyone at Bethel speak in tongues?”

These questions illustrate how the people who are calling Bethel home today come from a wide variety of backgrounds. They also point to the challenges (and blessings!) that we can look forward to as we learn how to live with and learn from each other. I don’t doubt that many of us will be stretched as we seek to “connect people to God and to each other.” At times, the “connecting people to each other” piece may actually be the more difficult one!

House Keeping

Bethel in Hebrew means, “House of God.” We don’t believe that God actually lives here and not other places. But we do believe that this building is a place where God dwells in a special and sometimes mysterious way. As a result, we treat this space as holy/set apart for God’s service. And we do our best to maintain it and be present in it in ways that show that this is a place where we meet with God. But what really does that mean?

Maintenance – if you notice something that is not the way it should be with our building, please let Dave Gorham know.

Use – we’re working on a new Building Use Policy that will help us explain how and when our building may be used. This much we know – if you want to use the building, you need to talk to Bonnie.

Care – as much as possible, we need to care for our building with even greater care than we use for our homes. If you use something, put it away; if you spill something, clean it up; if you break something, let us know.

Cost Containment

As we enter the cold season again, a gentle reminder that the thermostats in our rooms are set to 60 when we are not using them. If you’re going to use the room, feel free to turn the heat up (68 is usually sufficient), but don’t use the Hold button on the programmable thermostats. When you leave the room, turn the heat back down and close the door. If you are turning down one of the programmable thermostats, we would prefer that you push the button “Resume Schedule” if there is one.

Speaking of the joys of “connecting people to each other,” our Council is asking that you leave your beverages behind as you enter the Worship Center. For some, this fits into the House Keeping category and is really a matter of respect for the presence of God and for what it means to “come near to God in worship.” For others, it fits more into Cost Containment: it is expensive (and not all that effective!) to remove coffee stains from the carpet. Others believe that this fits into the Silly category: we built a multi-purpose space so that we could use it and potentially spill in it. For yet others still, it fits into the Accountability category: we have delegated authority to the Council to make decisions and have agreed to abide by them or to bring our disagreement to the Council. Regardless where you place the discussion, we are asking that the beverages stay behind when we come together to worship.