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Children, Youth, and Family Ministry
At Bethesda on the Bay, we offer a wide variety of learning opportunities for people of all ages. As we worship and attend learning programs together, the Lord helps us grow in our daily walk of faith.
SUNDAY SCHOOL – We offer classes for ages 3 through adult on Sunday mornings from 9:45-10:45. We use a variety of curriculums to help people learn and explore scripture through creative ways. These classes are offered September-May.
INTERGENERATIONAL SUNDAY SCHOOL – Intergenerational events are offered during the Sunday School hour about 4 times a year. All ages come together to learn and complete a project. Intergenerational events include making advent wreaths, making Lenten passports, making tie blankets, and other service projects for our community.
CHILDREN’S CHRISTMAS PROGRAM – Our annual Children’s Christmas Program is always a highly anticipated event! All Sunday School children are invited to participate and our program is presented on a Sunday morning during worship service. The program is followed by a family pizza luncheon.
CONFIRMATION – All 7th and 8th grade students are invited to participate in our Confirmation, or Affirmation of Baptism, program. We meet on Monday evenings from September-May for a two year program, which includes study of Luther’s Small Catechism, Old and New Testaments, the church year, the worship service, and Martin Luther himself. Youth will affirm their baptisms at a fall service during their 9th grade year. During this study, our youth will learn that being a part of the Lord’s Church means serving, worshipping, mentoring, and discovering God’s way for us.
FIRST COMMUNION – First Communion is traditionally offered to 5th graders. Instruction classes are held in the spring and First Communion is celebrated during Holy Week. Acolyte training coincides with First Communion training.
THIRD GRADE BIBLES – When children reach the third grade, they are presented with a gift bible from the church. These bibles are age-appropriate and provide a beautiful way for young people to read the scriptures on their own.
VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL – Vacation Bible School (VBS) is a fun filled week long event held each summer in June. Hours are 9:00 to 11:30, and all children ages 3 through 6th grade are invited to attend. Each summer brings a new theme and each day of VBS includes a bible story, music, a puppet show, crafts, games, snacks, and a service element. We close our week with a family celebration.
Bethesda on the Bay Youth Group
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Bethesda Youth is an active group of 7th-12th graders who meet regularly and participate in many fun and worthwhile activities throughout the year. We hold youth meetings that include bible study, games, and always snacks! We go on fun outings like attending local Christian concerts, attending fall festivals, tobogganing, ice cream socials, and hiking, We also participate in many service projects throughout the year, both for our own church, and for the greater community. Recent service projects include: serving at community meals, participating in Days of Service in Lorain, hosting a Lenten Soup Supper, participating in a local Adopt a Family program, participating in Building Hope in the City, helping with the Bethesda church picnic, and helping with many odd jobs around our church building.
LUTHERAN YOUTH ORGANIZATION (LYO) — The youth group has recently started to get involved in our local chapter of LYO. This is a totally youth led organization that holds events for local youth several times a year. Bethesda Youth recently attended the Winter Gathering of the LYO in January.
ELCA NATIONAL YOUTH GATHERING – The ELCA National Youth Gathering is the highlight of the high school years for many youth. This event takes place every three years in a different large city in the US. 30,000 high school youth and their adult leaders gather for five days of faith formation the includes service work, amazing speakers and musicians, and interactive learning. Young people grow in their faith and are inspired to live their faith in their daily lives.
An important part of the Gathering’s ministry are two pre-events, the Multicultural Youth Leadership Event (MYLE), a faith formation and leadership development event primarily for youth of color, and the tABLE, an event that gathers, blesses, and empowers youth with disabilities.
In 2018, many members of the Bethesda Youth Group traveled to Houston to take part in the National Gathering, “This Changes Everything” . To prepare for this trip, youth were asked to attend monthly Getting Ready meetings from September through June, and also to participate in fundraising efforts and team bonding experiences.
The next National Youth Gathering will be held July 24-28, 2022 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The theme is “Boundless – God Beyond Measure” . Visit the ELCA Youth Gathering website for more information.
For any questions regarding children, youth, and family ministry, please contact Chris Webner, Minister of Children, Youth, and Family at chris.webner@bethesdaonthebay.org
Fellowship
Bible Study: Meets most Wednesdays during the school year at 10:00AM to discuss upcoming scripture readings.
Book Club: This group meets monthly to discuss a selected reading in an atmosphere of honest sharing of ideas.
Music Ministry
A Joyful Noise!
The music at Bethesda is a collection of traditionally based Lutheran liturgy, hymns and anthems, together with a smattering of newer canticles, songs and responses. This mixture of sounds provides comfort food for the ears, and therefore a Joyful Noise to the soul. We at Bethesda lend ourselves to those who love the art of singing, as well as to those who simply enjoy the act of listening.
The Lutheran tradition of singing dates back to the 1500’s during the Reformation. Martin Luther said, “Music is God’s greatest gift. It has often so stimulated and stirred me that I felt the desire to preach!” It has also been said that, “When one prays, they walk to God, but when one sings, they run!”
Chancel Choir
The Chancel Choir has a wonderful reputation for weekly providing a high-level of choral literature in a variety of styles. During non-Covid times they rehearse at 7:30 p.m. each Thursday throughout the academic year. The energetic ensemble sings at the 11:00 service, leading the hymns and canticles, as well as the anthem of the week. Major Sundays, such as Christmas and Easter, usually provide for larger works and an addition of choral friends and instrumentation. We weekly enlist the vocal contributions of section leaders from Oberlin Conservatory of Music, most of whom stay several years and become part of our church. Instrumentalists are always welcome to share their talents, and sometimes accompany the choir. New adult members, from high school through senior citizens, are enthusiastically welcomed. There are never auditions; just help for those who seek it.
Our ministry is an outreach to the community, and an important ingredient to the spiritual growth of Bethesda. Members are “family,” and we care about each other in a profound way. The music rehearsed and shared on Sundays is always a variety of semi-challenging pieces of the latest choral literature, and the members work hard to present this as part of their tithing.
Eric L. Richardson – Minister of Music
Dr. Matt Chiu – Organist
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- 1+(440) 871-2276
- info@bethesdaonthebay.com