Januray 29, 2006 Newsletter

January 29, 2006
Issue #408

Telecare: 9:00 a.m. 365 days a year
bethany.crc@verizon.net
bethanychurchmuskegon.org
Office: 725-7325
Office Hours:
Mon. - Thurs. 9:00 - 3:30
Closed Friday & Saturday

Thank God that through faith we are able to say "I believe".

Hey Intermediate Club - It's Time for Breakfast!
Please join us Jan. 31 at Mickey's, at 9:00 AM. Bring a hearty appetite for
good food and fellowship! We'll see you there!

Attention Bethany "Hearts & Hands"
To all members who serve others by providing needed meals, Willy and Mary are
extending a dinner invitation to you! Come to the Sytsema home, 3876 Norton
Hills Rd. on Thursday, Feb. 9th at 6:30 p.m. Anyone interested in becoming part
of our Hearts & Hands Ministry are welcome to join us. Please RSVP to
Mary(780-4276) or Willy(755-6458).

Tip Night at the Pizza Ranch!
Support the Bethany CRC Young People and enjoy a great dinner at the Pizza
Ranch on Monday night! The young people will be working hard from 5-8PM on
Monday, January 30, to earn your tips. They'll clear tables, wash dishes, and
maybe even sneak you a piece of Cactus Bread fresh from the oven. The money
they earn in tips, as well as a percentage of the evening's sales, will be used
to support their activities this spring and fund a work project in downtown
Muskegon this summer. So treat the family to dinner and support a good cause!

Twice Fed Update
Twice Fed needs volunteers to prepare desserts and salads. If you could donate
some time to prepare either or both, please sign up in the Fellowship Hall.
Contact Diane Sodini (722-1985) if you have questions.

Collection Schedule
Feb. 5 Gen. Fund/Benevolence
Feb. 12 Gen. Fund/Missions
Feb. 19 Gen. Fund/BCES
Feb. 26 Gen. Fund/Property Improvements

Adult Education
Adult Education will focus on the state and future of the Muskegon economy.
Today will be led by Jim Edmonson.

No Church School Today

Bethany Family
Mercy General Hospital- Oak Campus: Dob Sieplinga
Mercy Hospital: John DeYoung had surgery for a bleeding ulcer.
Jim Hughes is scheduled for total knee replacement at Mercy Hospital January
30.

* If you have a prayer request you would like to put in this newsletter, please
give copy to Laurie in the office by Wednesday noon, or fill out a request card
and place it in the Prayer Request Box on the Literature Table in the foyer.

Special Birthday Wishes to Those 80 and Over
Gay Sieplinga will be celebrating her 84th birthday today! We wish you a
wonderful birthday Gay!

Birthdays This Week
Jan. 29 Delores DeGraff
Don Holtrop
Janice Leutscher
Gay Sieplinga
Jan. 30 Don Palmer
Feb. 1 Lindsey Villalpando
Katricia Rietveld
Owen Varnado
Feb. 3 Joe Buthker

Birthdays Next Week
Feb. 8 Colleen Mars
Kayla Deans
Feb. 10 Marva Stevens
Feb. 11 Don Doorn
Kreanna Sandoval
Byron Varnado

The birthdays listed are from the information we currently have in our
" membership list". Should your birthday be recorded incorrectly or not appear,
please contact the office @725-7325. Should you wish to send cards but do not
have current addresses, please call the office as well.

Lost and Found
Woman's black gloves
Man's tan all-weather coat , x-large with black lining.
Please check the box if you are missing items.

Mmmm....Hot Coffee
Make sure to stop in the Fellowship Hall today after morning worship to sample
some of the different coffees and tea available from Equal Exchange. We now
purchase our coffee through this organization who only use fairly traded beans.
The Fellowship Committee will be selling this coffee as a fundraiser for our
upcoming Church Directory. After you try the coffee and/or tea, take an order
form and call Paula at 744-5767 or email jameypaula@yahoo.com to purchase some
later in the week. Also, check your box and the table for more information
about Fair Trade and how we can ensure small farmers in third world nations can
continue to make a fair and decent living without being exploited and driven
into poverty.

Ministry Opportunities for February 5
Greeters: Anne Rose, Florence Saunders, Marv & Ethel Brown
Ushers: Art Brown, Jim Dephouse, Jamey Foreman, Andy DeBoer
Coffee Fellowship: Catherine Butterfield, Alma Steendam
Transparency: Dan Rinsema
Reader: Willy Vander Kooi
Lectionary: Isa. 40:21-31
Ps. 147:1-12, 21
1 Cor. 9:16-23
Mark 1:29-39
Offering Opportunities: General Fund and Benevolence
Nursery Today: Mary Abbott, Carol Patton, Jesse Patton
Nursery Feb. 5: Betty Heykoop, Ev Christenson,
Benjamin Klemm

School News
An open house for area 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th graders is being held Monday, Jan.
30 at 7:00 PM at Western Michigan Christian High School.
Students and their parents will be given a tour of the new school and teachers
will be in their classrooms. The event will give visitors a taste of what WMC
is about and will conclude by 8:00 PM. The high school is located on Ellis Rd.
across from the Muskegon County Airport in Norton Shores.

Cadet Counselor
Meeting
The Musk-O-Tawa Cadet Counselors monthly Council meeting is Thursday, February
2, 7:30 PM at Allen Ave Christian Reformed Church.

Love INC Note
There are many people in need of beds in our community. If you have a bed to
donate, to please call Love at 773-3448.

IRAQ -Did you know?
1. The garden of Eden was in Iraq.
2. Mesopotamia, which is now Iraq, was the cradle of civilization!
3. Noah built the ark in Iraq.
4. The Tower of Babel was in Iraq.
5. Abraham was from Ur, which is in Southern Iraq!
6. Babylon, which is in Iraq, destroyed Jerusalem.
7. Daniel was in the lion?s den in Iraq!
8. Belshazzar, the King of Babylon was the "writing on the wall" in Iraq.
9. Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, carried the Jews captive into Iraq.
10. The three wisemen were from Iraq.
11. No other nation, except Israel, has more history and prophecy associated it
than Iraq.