Featured in this Issue...
Calendar Pg. 2
Missions Soup
Luncheon Pg. 2
Cancellation Info Pg. 3
Women’s Book Club Pg.4
Meal with the
Minister Pg. 4
February 2009
The Bethlehem
Message from the Pastor
What if...
We have had some bad weather lately—particularly on
Sundays. Thus the reason we have cancelled worship
services three times this winter season already. (See pg.
3 of the newsletter for cancellation information). Unfor-
tunately, when we cancel, we don’t really save much on
our heating bill, because unless we cancel the night be-
fore and I go to church and shut the heat off, the sanctu-
ary will still be heated for Sunday morning. So we pay
to heat up the large space and then it turns out we don’t
use it. That is a bit frustrating, not to mention costly. At
least oil is cheaper than we had anticipated. One of my
concerns with cancelling worship is that we may not
make up that lost income. I hate to look at it that way,
but it is a fact of life for pastors and churches.
One of the things that has resulted from our Veri-
tas research so far is the realization that many people
only give to the church if they are in attendance. Not
shocking to me, but it is worth noting. Too many Chris-
tians view giving to church as something they do if they
Word
are there—sort of like admission to the event or some-
thing, I guess. Whether they are giving more to make up
for when they have not been there, I do not know. Peo-
ple who attend Bethlehem roughly 80% of the time or
more (40 people at most) give about 80% of our income.
So...what if….what if we actually tithed to the
church...that is, we gave 10% of the money we earn to
the church? Our budget for 2009 is $111,000. If just
those who attend 80% of the time or more were tithing,
we would meet that budget easily. Usually we are about
$25,000-$30,000 behind in our budget. But let’s say
each of those 40 regular attenders makes $28,000 a year.
Some make less, obviously many make more, so these
numbers are very conservative. That totals $1,120,000.
A tithe on that is $112,000 which is more than our
budget for 2009. But we should not look at this nega-
tively—what we aren’t doing or what we don’t have. It
doesn’t do me much good to berate people for not giv-
ing—especially in this economy—people would think I
am nuts. So let’s look at it positively—what we could
do or what we could have at Bethlehem. If everyone
who attended Bethlehem on some regular or semi-
regular basis were tithing, we would exceed our budget
easily. (continued on pg. 5)
 February 2009
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 Worship 2 3 Youth Group 4 5 NO BIBLE 6 NA Meeting 7

10:30am 7-8:30pm STUDY 6:30pm

8 Worship 9 Veritas Team 10 Church Board 11 Quinsig Village 12 Bible Study 13 NA Meeting 14
10:30am Meeting 7pm Meeting 7pm Board Mtg. 6pm 7pm 6:30pm

15 Worship 16 17 Youth Group 18 Pastoral Rela- 19 Bible Study 20 NA Meeting 21

10:30am 7-8:30pm tions Committee 7pm 6:30pm
Mtg. 7pm

22 Worship 23 24 25 26 Bible Study 27 NA Meeting 28

10:30am 7pm 6:30pm
Missions Soup
Luncheon 11:30

Thank You Missions News

Dear Church Family and Friends,

I would like to take this time to say thank you to you all Missions Soup Luncheon
for my Christmas gift. It was unexpected, but very much
appreciated. The real gift, however, is all of you. What
a joy to spend time in song with my favorite people. Sunday, February 22nd following the morn-
Thank you for the opportunity to be with you at the pi- ing worship service.
ano and organ each Sunday. It fills my life! I love and
thank you all.
Blessings, All are welcome to attend this free lunch. Denise
Gigi Zepp McGinley will be cooking the soup for us as usual.

Dear Diaconate Members,

The reception after Al’s funeral service could never have

been nicer. The family and I want to thank you for all
you did. Al is at peace and is where he wanted to be the
past year and a half.
Gratefully Yours,
Lillian Ekstrom

Page 2
 Birthdays and Anniversaries
February Birthdays March Birthdays

Justin Stafinski 2/6 Dayna Girourd 3/9

Steven Bartkus 2/9 Kenneth Olson 3/12
Judy Nelson 2/9 Trevor LaVallee 3/14
Esther Werme 2/11 Sarah Strozina 3/15
Steven Quinn 2/12 Robert Elbe Sr. 3/16
Eric Thompson 2/15 Eleanor Smith 3/19
Ryan Thompson 2/16 Marjorie Thyden 3/23
Christine Leach 2/20 Amy Malo 3/2
Sherry Gosselin 2/24 Esther Elbe 3/29
Pamela Johnson 2/24 Paul Faler 3/30
Debra Miller 2/24
Linda Lizotte 2/29
March Anniversaries

February Birthdays Barbara & William Ruzika 3/3

Robert and Beth Quinn 2/22

Thank You
Dear Friends and family of Bethlehem,
I would like to thank everyone for my staff Christmas
gift and support I receive from members of this church.
This is a very old building with a lot of improvements
that make my job so much easier. I also want to thank
Bill Stafinski for all his hard work and support—without
Bill’s support I wouldn’t be able to do my job!
Cancellation Information
As you know, we have had some bad weather recently
and have had to cancel worship services several times
this winter season. We usually decide to cancel on Sun-
day mornings and the decision is made by 8am. Cancel-
lation information can be found numerous places. It will
be on the radio: WTAG am 580 and on their website,
www.wtag.com. It will also be found on television on
Channel 5 WCVB and on their website,
www.thebostonchannel.com. Finally, cancellation info
can also be found on the main page of the church web-
site, www.bethlehemcc.org.

Yours in Christ,

Paul R. Strozina

Page 3
The following is an updated list of our church mem-
bers and friends who unable to attend church on a
regular basis. Let us remember them in our
thoughts and prayers and with a note. Please let the
Meal with the Minister
pastor know if you are aware of others who should
be on this list.

Mr. Lee & Mrs. Astrid Randall
10 Hall Street
Webster, MA 01570
508-943-0847
Mrs. Doris Anderson
667 Washington Street #225
Auburn, MA 01501
508-832-5239
Mrs. Lillian Ekstrom
Notre Dame Du Lac
555 Plantation Street Apt. 327
Worcester, MA 01608
Mr. Carl & Mrs. Esther Werme
24 Briarwood Circle
Worcester, MA01606
508-856-7232
Mildred Carlson
669 Washington St. Apt. 105
Auburn, MA 01501
Paul Faler Wednesday, Feb. 18th at 12pm
321 Massasoit Rd. Come join us at church for a soup luncheon—all
Worcester, MA 01604
are invited. Pastor Dave will provide soup,
Mrs. Dagny Johnson
Life Care Center of Auburn
chips and/or bread, drinks. If you’d like to bring
14 Masonic Circle dessert, let pastor know. Hope to see you there.
Auburn, MA 01501
Mrs. Claire Poirier
63 Hudson Avenue
Grafton, MA 01519
508-839-0364
Mrs. Lydia Anderson
Whitney Place
P.O. Box 935
85 Beaumont Dr. Apt. 10
Northbridge, MA 01534

A little humor….
A minister was completing a sermon on the evils
of drinking. He spoke about the evils of alcohol
and then wrapped up the sermon with a big
crescendo. With great emphasis he said, “If I
had all the beer in the world, I'd take it and pour
it into the river.” With even greater emphasis he
said, “And if I had all the wine in the world, I'd
take it and pour it into the river.” And then fi-
nally, shaking his fist in the air, he said, “And if
I had all the whiskey in the world, I'd take it and
pour it into the river.” Sermon complete, he sat
down. It was then time for the closing hymn.
The song leader stood up somewhat hesitantly
and announced with a smile , nearly laughing,
“For our closing song this morning, let us sing
Hymn #365, ‘Shall We Gather at the River.’”
Women’s Book Club
Tues. February 3rd
at 7pm to discuss
Lucy Grealey’s Autobiography of a Face
In a strikingly candid and beautifully written memoir,
Lucy Grealy describes how at age nine she was diag-
nosed with a potentially terminal cancer. When she re-
turned to school with a third of her jaw removed, she
faced the cruel taunts of classmates at her disfigured
face.
Grealy tells her story of great suffering and remarkable
strength without sentimentality and with considerable
wit. She captures with unique insight what it is like as a
child and young adult to be torn between two warring
impulses: to feel that more than anything else we want
to be loved for who we are, while wishing desperately
and secretly to be perfect.

Page 4

What if...(continued from pg. 1)
We would have more money than the budget called for
and we would be deciding what to do with the extra in-
stead of worrying about how much we are losing in the
stock market and how much we have to use from invest-
ments to meet the budget every year.
What if people were tithing and we could use that
money to start and then maintain the free health clinic
we are thinking about? What a way to serve our com-
munity in a practical, Christ-honoring way. What if peo-
ple were tithing and we could use that money to pay for
needed repairs when they come up—like the stained
glass window (the Sower window) that is going to cost
us about $5,000 to have fixed? What if people were tith-
ing and we didn’t have to do bake sales to raise money?
What if people were tithing and we could then give to
our conference and denomination the amount (or more)
they suggest churches should give? What if people were
tithing and we could use that money for community out-
reach to bring new people into our church to hear the
gospel? What if we realized that if we were tithing we
could do so much more than just keep the doors open
and pay the bills and pay the pastor? What if we tithed
and then realized we could actually do so much more of
what Jesus really intended the church to do?
What if we realized that we can really truly be
the church that God wants us to be and the church our
founders intended us to be? What if we realized that
Bethlehem can be the church that is well known in the
community for the ministry and services we provide in-
stead of maybe just the church that looks good from the
outside? What if we gave sacrificially and could as a
result then be known as the church that touches and
changes lives and offers hope and love, instead of per-
haps simply the church that has a great Swedish meatball
supper once a year? Please don’t get me wrong—we do
a lot of good things and give generously to a number of
causes—but we could do so much more. More impor-
tantly, we could be so much more. It’s not just about
what we do, but who we are and whose we are. Do we
belong to God? What if we are totally surrendered to
God and His plan for Bethlehem Covenant Church?
What if we seek to really be the church we are meant to
be and address the needs of our immediate community
instead of wishing it was 1950 again and “the good old
days”? What if we make these days right now the “good
old days?? What if…?
God bless,
Pastor Dave
The following is from an article in Christianity to-
day Magazine titled, “Scrooge Lives!”
More than one out of four American Protestants give
away no money at all—"not even a token $5 per year," say
sociologists Christian Smith, Michael Emerson, and Patricia
Snell in a new study on Christian giving, Passing the Plate
(Oxford University Press).
Of all Christian groups, evangelical Protestants score
best: only 10 percent give nothing away. Evangelicals tend to
be the most generous, but they do not outperform their peers
enough to wear a badge of honor. Thirty-six percent report
that they give away less than two percent of their income.
Only about 27 percent tithe. American Christians' lack of
generosity might not be as shocking if it didn't contrast so
starkly with their astounding wealth. Passing the Plate's re-
searchers say committed American Christians—those who say
their faith is very important to them and those who attend
church at least twice a month—earn more than $2.5 trillion
dollars every year. On their own, these Christians could be
admitted to the G7, the group of the world's seven largest
economies. Smith and his coauthors estimate that if these
Christians gave away 10 percent of their after-tax earnings,
they would add another $46 billion to ministry around the
world.
One early finding: That estimate of $46 billion in ad-
ditional giving is unrealistic. Not because it's too big, but be-
cause it's too small. Estimating 10 percent giving for every
committed Christian in the U.S. neglects two groups: those
who truly can't afford to give 10 percent (due to illness or un-
employment or similar reasons), and those who are already
giving more than 10 percent (more on this group in a mo-
ment). If you calculate that 10 percent of Christians can't give
because of their financial limitations, most of the rest give 10
percent, and a handful of generous givers continue their cur-
rent generous giving pattern, committed American Christians
could realistically increase their giving by $85.5 billion each
year.
Such an increase in religious giving could be world
changing. Smith and his coauthors try to provide some idea
of what that money could accomplish: $10 billion would
sponsor 20 million children for a year, and just $330 million
would sponsor 150,000 indigenous missionaries in countries
closed to religious workers. $2.2 billion would triple the cur-
rent funding of Bible translation, printing, and distribution.
$600 million would be enough to start eight Christian colleges
in Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia.
These figures only begin to spend that extra cash. What
Christians could do—if they managed their money in a way
that gave priority to giving a portion away—is astounding.
The median annual giving for an American Christian is actu-
ally $200, just over half a percent of after-tax income.
About 5 percent of American Christians provide 60 percent
of the money churches and religious groups use to operate.
Sad isn’t it? What would Jesus say?
Page 5
The Bethlehem
Word

Bethlehem Covenant Church

46 Greenwood Street
P.O. Box 70629
Worcester, MA 01607
(508) 752—1459
www.bethlehemcc.org