Get Involved

Bethany is an active church! There any many ways to get involved in service, outreach, community opportunities and small groups. Look through the options below and if you have more questions, please contact the office.

Mission Jamaica Update

Ministry Volunteer Opportunities

Inside Bethany

Prayer Ministry

One of the great privileges and ministries listed in the New Testament is the opportunity to remember one another in prayer - to "bear one another's burdens." To help us in the ministry, Bethany has a Prayer Ministry to which requests for specific prayers may be made. If you would like to be a pray-er in the Prayer Ministry, please contact the office and we will add your name to those contact when a request is sent.

Home Communion Server

Are you willing to visit a member to serve them home communion? Please contact the church office at 715-234-9028 to volunteer to be trained in this ministry of service to our members.

Knitters and Crocheters

The Prayer Shawl Ministry began in 1998 as a grass-roots movement. It has grown into an international cause, with countless numbers of shawls given to grateful recipients. Shawls are prayed over as they are knit or crocheted. The recipient receives their shawl full of prayers, love and encouragement. At Bethany, this has grown beyond Prayer Shawls to Baptismal blankets, Pocket Prayer Squares and other projects.

These items are used as a means of bringing God’s love, comfort and peace to those in need. Think of it as a "hug" from God. Examples of those receiving them would be people with long-term illness, those going through cancer treatment, the home-bound, newly baptized, etc.

The Prayer Shawl Cabinet is available in the Narthex at all times. You may help yourself! If you have an item to bring in, please drop it off in the church office. 

Church Bus (Martin Looper II) Volunteers

Bus drivers ~ Need a valid driver's license.
Bus helpers ~ Assist people getting on & off the bus.

Church Worship Assistants

Sunday Assisting Ministers: a mix of reading Prayers of Intercession, assisting Pastor with communion and reading lessons (duties are dependent upon the worship service). If you are interested, please contact the office or signup on our Signup Genius schedule.
Greeters: welcome worshipers & visitors
Ushers: collect offering, usher rows to communion, record number of people at service
Readers: read the 1st & 2nd readings during our Sunday services
Communion Assistant: serve communion
Projectionist: run the projection at one of our worship services
Streaming Technician: video the service and operate the streaming equipment

Blood Pressure Screening

Blood Pressure Screening is done twice monthly on the 2nd and 4th Sundays of every month between services from 9:00 - 10:00 a.m. It is located in the Library, located along the back wall in the Narthex. If you are trained and interested in being a screener, please contact the church office at 715-234-9028 to find out more about the screening rotation. 

We Share Food Pantry

We Share Food Pantry has been in operation since 1983. At that time, Chick Stauffer from the Presbyterian Church and Pastor Kasperson from Bethany, recognized that there were people in need of food. They mobilized the church community and the pantry was started.

The We Share Food Pantry is open Tuesdays from 10:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m. and Thursday from 1:00-2:30 p.m.

If you are interested in volunteering, please contact the church office at 715-234-9028.

Bring non-perishable food items to Bethany to donate to the We Share Food Panty. The first weekend of the month is our monthly collection, but you may donate at any time.

 

Bethany Committees

Bethany has many committees that work year-round and on a short-term basis in lots of areas. If you are interested in being part of a committee or are looking for a short-term project, contact Angie Buchli, Bethany's Director of Congregational Ministries, to talk about how you might be able to help!

Committees: Altar Guild, Education, Finance, Green Team, Welcome Team, Library, Mission Concerns, Personnel, Property Management, Stewardship, Trust Fund, Women of the ELCA, Worship & Music and more!

Outside Bethany

 

Meal Preparations for Benjamin's House

Please prayerfully consider preparing & serving a meal for the residents of Benjamin's House by calling Carol Kohlmeyer at 715-458-4094 or Laurie Carlsen at 715-651-1355. They will help you prepare & serve. Much of the food is provided or you may donate your own. Great for the whole family to sign up for!

We also sponsor two rooms at Benjamin's House. This means we donate the furniture and items in the room for the occupants.

Benjamin's House is a 24-hour supervised shelter which includes case management services. Each resident at the shelter receives assistance with goal setting, problem solving and connecting with area resources. Benjamin House is located in Rice Lake and their number is 715-736-2437.  For more information, go to their website.

 

Meals On Wheels

This program delivers daily meals to shut-ins from 11:00 - 11:45 a.m. They are in need of drivers. Drive once or as many times as you want, on any day you choose. Please contact Sonja Wilson at 715-234-2916

Feed Our Kids - Rice Lake Backpack Program

Imagine you're a child leaving school for the weekend, knowing that you might not eat again until you return for school breakfast on Monday. This is a sad reality for too many student in the Rice Lake School District. On school days, the Free & Reduced Food Program provides a nutritious breakfast and lunch for 48% of the elementary students in the district. However, these meals are not available on the weekends, which leaves many without proper nourishment for Saturday and Sunday.

In order to bridge this gap, the Rice Lake Backpack Program has been established. Bags are filled with food for the students to carry home every Friday afternoon throughout the school year. This food will ensure that the children have meals and snacks to meet their needs for the weekend.

You can contribute to the cause by helping to pack the backpacks and/or by monetary donations. For more information, please visit the Backpack Program's Facebook page.

The Caring Closet

The Caring Closet is a resource at Rice lake High School, where students can discreetly access basic hygiene products free of charge. A different Rice Lake congregation has signed up to stock the closet each month and Bethany sponsors May.

 

Mission & Outreach

Mission Jamaica

Jesus said, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength. You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Mark 12:30-31. Mission Jamaica provides a way for us to love and serve our neighbor as Jesus taught us through his love and service to others. The Mission Jamaica trip combines a service project with time for reflection and spiritual rest. It allows a person to experience an international mission field that is close to home, yet far enough away to immerse into another culture for a week. For more information, please contact the church office

Quilting

The Bethany Quilters meet every Monday in the Quilting Room (Rm. 102/103) from 1:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m. We welcome anyone who would like to join us! It just might be what you've been looking for!

We try to make our project as cost effective as possible. Much of our fabrics, yarn and thread is donated and we scout around for sheets at garage sales, thrift shops, etc. We are grateful for all donations including monetary gifts to purchase batting and supplies as needed.

Together with other churches and organizations, many thousands of quilts find their way to the needy. Every year, on the second Saturday in October, a semi-trailer is brought to the church parking lot to load these items. They are then transported to the Lutheran World Relief warehouse in Minneapolis for distribution.

 

Special Giving Opportunities

Sunday Morning Hospitality Sponsorships

Do you have a special date coming up? Maybe a birthday or anniversary that you would like to celebrate? Perhaps you just really enjoy Bethany’s Fellowship Hour!

One way to honor your special date is to sponsor the Fellowship Hour for a week! Sponsorships are $40 per week and can be paid either by cash or check in the envelopes provided at church or by online/text/ShelbyNext app giving (direct your donation to “Hospitality Fund”).

Please contact the office to sign up for a date.

Worship Service Broadcast Sponsorships

Every Sunday morning, Bethany broadcasts the 8:00 a.m. worship service on WJMC 96.1 FM and 1240 AM. This enables those who would not ordinarily be able to attend the worship to hear and participate with the congregation.

It costs $80 for a worship broadcast. If you are looking to honor or remember a loved one, consider sponsoring a broadcast in their name.

To sign up for a sponsorship date or to ask questions, call the church office at 715-234-9028.

Flowers on the Altar

Providing flowers to decorate the Sanctuary during services is another way to honor or remember a loved one or special date. We are happy to have homegrown bouquets from the garden as well as purchased floral arrangements. To provide flowers for the Altar, two arrangements are requested. Single arrangements are placed on the organ near the Altar.

To sign up for a sponsorship date or to ask questions, call the church office at 715-234-9028.