Bethany Evangelical Lutheran
Church (Dormont)
3104 West Liberty Ave.,
Pittsburgh, PA 15216 ('Dormont' neighborhood)
(412) 531-9363
Worship
Service: Sundays at 9:15 a.m.
Sunday
School: Sundays at 10:30 a.m.
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E-mail:
bethany-dormont@verizon.net
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Thinking about
visiting Bethany? Please accept our open invitation to visit any
Sunday.

What's New!
See our December 2023 calendar
Read our
December 2023/January 2024 Newsletter
See our January 2024 calendar
About our 2019 Fish
Fry
See
photos from our 2018 Free Fish
Dinners
2015 Free Thanksgiving Dinners
The Kane
Group
2019 Fish Fry
Dinners
Bethany once again served its
annual Fish Fry Dinners during Lent. The dinners
were held in the church social hall, and were
enjoyed by those who attended. Although these Fish Fry
dinners originated as a fund-raising event, the
purpose is no longer to raise money for the church. Instead, any profits from the dinners are donated
back to the local community (sometimes to families
in need, sometimes to food banks, etc.).
A huge thank you goes out to all who participated in the
success of our 27th annual Lenten Fish Fries. It takes so many hands to
carry out these events, and your hard work and dedication to this event
is greatly appreciated. Food and fellowship flowed in Bethany’s Social
Hall! Once again, God’s blessings overflowed and we look forward to
being able to provide assistance to some of our neighbors in need! The
Fish Fry Committee would like to especially thank the following for
their kindness and generosity:
MANCINI’S BREAD
PITTSBURGH SEAFOOD
THE
FOOD LIFT
THRIVENT FINANCIAL
THE
INCREDIBLE VOLUNTEERS
THOSE
WHO PROVIDE FINANCIAL SUPPORT

A New Revelation in Stewardship
Recently a group of 19 representatives
from our PLUM congregations attended the second in a series of
"Stewardship for Stewards" seminars, hosted by our Western PA
Synod and Pastor Blair Morgan, our deployed
Staff Person for the ELCA. Having heard from many of those in
attendance, it became clear that a more Biblical approach of
looking at stewardship is evolving. We all know that everything
was created by and ultimately belongs to God. Even our children
are just on loan to us. (Remember the story of Abraham and
Isaac?) But for far too long we have allowed our world view to
infiltrate our faith walk into believing that what God has given
us to use, whether it is our time, our talents, and/or our
finances, are "ours to keep". Our world wants us to believe or
at least act like God transfers ownership with his blessings,
similar to the way one gets a title from the state when we
purchase a car. What is curious and although we might want to
believe this to be biblical, there are no models in scripture to
support that worldly attitude. Matter of fact, the exact
opposite is at the heart of most of Jesus teachings. The rich
fool, or the man building bigger barns, Luke 12:13-21; Zacchaeus
the tax collector in the tree, Luke 19:1-10; the widow's mite,
Mark 12:41-44; etc.
So, what changes when we acknowledge the
fact that everything we have is really God's and it is our gift
to be allowed to use it? In all reality, we can become more
generous - willing to share - which makes us more content with life
in general. After all it's our human nature that makes it easier
to share someone else's stuff than to share our own. Question:
"Are you more or less likely to give someone your bottle of
water that you just got out of the family cooler at the picnic
or the one you just bought at the local dairy mart?" Both have
endless supplies but isn't the real issue ownership, "Whose is
it anyhow?"
Over the next several months we will be
exploring stewardship with some new twists. We are doing this
not as a way to manipulate you into giving more out of duty or
guilt. Rather, as we know from our personal lives and stories,
as an avenue to better understand the many blessings of grace
giving. It is in the recognition of these blessings that we have
been given that allow us the freedom and joy to give of our
time, our talents and our resources. And, it is this joy that we
want you to know. Therefore, join us as together we continue
discussing and learning what it is to celebrate the true
blessings of life as God's chosen people.

Bethany
Evangelism Group
Every member of Bethany is invited to join
this group and all are asked to pray for the evangelism work of
Bethany congregation.
Many activities are in the works as we
seek ways that might enable us to share and spread the Good News
to our neighbors. Evangelism is not just a committee
responsibility, but a responsibility that we all share. Keep in
mind that the role of the evangelism group is not necessarily to
add to Bethany's membership roster (if it is God's will that
through these efforts our membership increases, that would of
course be wonderful), but our mission is to share and spread the
Good News of Jesus Christ.
We usually meet on the first or second
Wednesday of each month at 7:00 p.m. in the social hall (check
the calendar).
Our on-going agenda items include:
1. Door Hanger "Invitations"
Our effort of hanging invitations on the doors of homes in
Dormont is continuing. We usually distribute the invitations on
Saturday mornings, beginning at 7:30 a.m. If you would like to
join us, consider yourself invited. If you aren't able to do the
walking, please consider becoming a "Prayer Warrior" for this
effort.
2. "Drinks in the Park"
We are also continuing our program of providing free beverages
at the playground in Dormont park on several Saturdays
throughout the summer from approx. 11:45 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. It is
fun to see and talk with young children and their parents. We
especially need "Prayer Warriors" for this effort.
3. Dormont Street Fair
For the past 3 years, we have had a presence at the Dormont
Street Fair. We are always looking for help and suggestions that
might help us reach out to our local community through this
event.
4. Signage
We are continuing to develop our ideas for using our message
boards at the front of the building, banners, and even our
bulletin boards within the building to communicate with those
who use our building and those who pass by each day.
5. Welcome to New Residents of Dormont
We continue to develop our list of new residents, and are
planning ways to communicate with them, and to invite .



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