YOUR GIVING MAKES A DIFFERENCE
And the Lord said, ‘Hear my words:
When there are prophets among you,
I the Lord make myself known to them in visions;
I speak to them in dreams.” Numbers 12:6
1894 - January 7 first worship service
1897- First church begun on 14th Avenue
& 18th Street. Stone was salvaged from
fire damaged Westminster Presbyterian
at 7th and Nicollet
1898 - Christmas Day. First service in
basement of new building
1899 - Sunday February 5 Completed
building dedicated. Worship services were
in Norwegian. Words over the chancel
read (in Norwegian) “We have seen his
star in the East and are come to worship
him.”
1904 - Ladies Benevolent Society formed
“to bring relief, comfort, and cheer to
those who are needy, sick or in trouble.”
1905 - Parsonage built Ladies Aid gives
money to buy the lot.
1906 - Bethlehem members begin
Fairview Hospital and Auxiliary.
1907 - December 31 Congregation
celebrates burning of their mortgage
1915 - Bethlehem members begin
Ebenezer Old People’s Home and
Auxiliary
5 years ago Cleo Kriesel woke from a dream. She’d been giving a lot of thought to
the ways in which her family’s financial gifts could make an impact for good both
in the short and long term. But no idea seemed quite right. Then, in the middle
of the night, a new idea suddenly came to her. She could hardly wait until the
morning to share the idea with her family. They loved it immediately. They knew
it would be the perfect way to honor the memory of their beloved husband and
father, Ralph.
And so the Ralph and Cleo Kriesel Lutheran
College Scholarship Fund was born! Since
then, 50 Bethlehem Lutheran Church students
attending Lutheran colleges have been
awarded funds to help defray the costs of
school, totaling 121 scholarships in all.
If you are a senior in high school and thinking
about attending a Lutheran college please
apply for a Kriesel Scholarship by contacting
Steve Tjeltveit, [email protected].
Applications are due by August 1, 2019.
Cleo and her family experienced first-hand how favorably these institutions
shape and reinforce values of vocation and serving the needs of a hurting world.
Their hope is that others might be blessed to have a similar experience. Their
generosity helps make it so.
1917 - 100+ members enlisted or drafted
into service for WWI
1919 - 25th Year. Membership has grown
to 1171
1920 - Miss Laura Eng declined election
as a Sunday School officer because she
doesn’t have a vote in the congregation
1921 - Women included as voting
members
1923 - Bethlehem merges with Golgotha
Congregation and agrees to relocate
“south of Lake Street”. First pastor
ordained from the congregation
1924 - Last weekly worship service in
Norwegian
1926 - Merged congregations vote to
build new church. Location selected at
41st and Lyndale, the site of a former
livery stable. Construction begins in
the fall and the cornerstone is laid on
October 31.
With Deep Gratitude....
We say goodbye and thank you to Council members: Dave Raymond, President,
Stu Duering, Secretary, Sandra Edwardson, Brent McVay and Glen Varns. Barbara
Raymond is also retiring as Recording Secretary. These faithful servants led
this congregation through a unique season in our history as a congregation: our
consolidation as one church, the death of our beloved pastor Chris Nelson, the
encouragement to pursue a co-lead pastor model for leadership, the reinvestment
for a new chapter of Spirit Garage.
We give God thanks for your spirit, for your visions and dreams that help
shape our commitment to the gospel in liminal seasons and pray that you will
continue to use your gifts for leadership in this congregation and in the world.
Thank you!
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