Welcome to Bethlehem Lutheran Church

 

Education & Advocacy

Peace in the Middle East 

We continue our efforts to support the ELCA in educating about and advocating for change in our country's policies in the Middle East. We work to promote peace and justice, and offer support to our churches/schools and the Augusta Victoria Hospital in Palestine. The 2007 Pentecost offering will go to support the church schools in Palestine. If you have interest in this ministry please contact Dave Ioder (630)443-9156.                                         

Human Sexuality

When it comes to human sexuality everyone has an opinion. We each have a variety of experiences, thoughts and beliefs that are both spoken and unspoken, and we have not had much practice discussing sexuality in our church community. Yet we understand that sexuality has been a God-given gift from the beginning of creation, as “God created them, male and female” (Genesis 1).

As a community of faith, we are engaging in a six week study on sexuality called "Journey Together Faithfully." To begin our journey, Rev. Roger Willer, co-author of the ELCA study will be speaking at Bethlehem on Sunday, September 9th, 2007.

Presiding Bishop of the ELCA, Mark S. Hanson writes: “On complicated matters, Christians can and will in good conscience disagree about interpreting the will of God. ...We do not disagree that we are saved by grace through faith. We do not disagree that we are called to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. So then, as God’s own people called to freedom in the gospel, we ask, ‘How then shall we live?’ Discovering this ‘how’ is not a simple matter. It will likely produce some struggle, but because we are bound together in the gospel we can deliberate without fear and without threat of division.” It is with this hope and with confidence in the leading of the Holy Spirit we continue our journey together. May God strengthen and bless us as we participate in these studies.