Bulletin
Bethany Rosters
Church AGM
Reminder Church Service times change after Easter.
Daylight saving ends. Don't be late for church :)
OOPS. This was forgotten
Seeking Donations of Homemade jams, relishes, and biscuits needed for BETHANY HERITAGE STALL
At the Barossa History Fair, Angaston
1st May.
Please contact Anna on 0409 429 507 if you can provide anything.
SERVICE CHANGES FOR BETHANY/TABOR PARISH
Dear Parish Members,
After much discussion, the decision has been made by Bethany Church Council to revert back to one service at Bethany on Sunday mornings. This decision has not been made lightly. There are many factors that have contributed, with the main reasons being:-
1. Low attendances at services.
2. Lack of volunteers for many roles, despite an intense campaign to procure them.
3. Three services has been seen as a negative in the call process.
4. The overwhelming feeling of disconnect between Bethany’s two service groups.
The evolving situation with the Tanunda churches overall has also been considered, and the lack of available pastors to fill those positions. This is just another reason why going to one service makes so much more sense at this time.
Given Bethany’s position, Parish Council have met to discuss new service times for Sunday morning to facilitate this change. It has been agreed the best way forward is for Tabor to hold the first service at 9:00am with morning tea to follow, and Bethany will hold the second service at 10:30am. Morning tea at Bethany will be held prior to the service at 9:30am. The new service times will come into effect on the first Sunday after Easter, 24th April 2022. Once things settle and restrictions allow, Bethany intend to introduce occasional breakfast and lunch gatherings.
This is a big change for both of our churches - asking our Tabor members to change the time they worship and our Bethany members to join for one service at a new time. Some members may see this as a backward step, but Council would rather look at it as an opportunity to grow together. We ask you to prayerfully consider the many positives that can come out of this transition:-
1. Opportunities to re-connect with each other – to strengthen the Bethany community, relationships and support networks.
2. Opportunities to foster intergenerational connections which have been lost in latter years, leading to more opportunities for mentoring and teaching our younger members.
3. The consolidation of resources which have been spread very thin over the two services, hopefully leading to all roles being filled.
4. For Tabor members, an opportunity to have more time to greet the Pastor before he needs to leave for the Bethany service.
It is proposed to run intergenerational services at Bethany at 10:30am – a varied mix of both traditional and contemporary styles. The Bethany worship team is working very hard to make this happen. Change is never welcome, and is often never easy to implement. It is simply impossible to please everyone, and we ask for your patience and tolerance as they find the right balance to the worship format.
We are at a real cross-road, not only in our own parish, but in our entire Tanunda community. Please pray for all church councils, their call teams and worship teams as they work to find solutions going forward. God will provide what we need when the time is right. We need to trust in Him - He has never let us down yet!
In God’s Service,
Bethany Tabor Parish Council
8th March 2022
Rosters for 2022 (March to February 2023) are available in your pigeon hole.