Bethlehem News

It's that time of year again... School's Back! And that means the annual installation and re-dedication of our school staff and teachers. There were three new faces this year: Samantha Hamilton (Learning Enrichment Teacher), Catherine Watkins (Learning Assistant), and Kylie Kennedy (Learning Assistant). Three of the new school captains were also on hand to participate in the service and welcome the new teachers. For more photos, check out the School's facebook page . In addition to the installation/re-dedication, a special presentation was made at the end of the service today. An acknowledgement was made of the 25 years of full service Lyn Miller has given to Lutheran School Wagga Wagga. The wonderful Lyn is actually in her 27th year with the school now, which is a marvellous achievement considering that she started out "just filling in" when someone else suddenly moved onto a full time position elsewhere!

The Year 3 classes of Lutheran School Wagga Wagga joined us to celebrate Pentecost on Sunday. Interestingly, the church was decorated with red balloons, which tied in well with Mr Weier's message to the children. Thank goodness we don't need to remember a phone number to come to the party! The students participated in most areas of the service which was lovely to see. The skit, "Pentecost Photos" was particularly well done. You can see the artwork that featured during the skit, as well as other photos of Year 3 during the service, over on the school's Facebook page .

It's that time of year again! School's back and so all the staff at Lutheran School Wagga Wagga were at Bethlehem Lutheran Church on Sunday to be installed and blessed. It was also an opportunity to be introduced to three new members of staff: Tara, Callum and Michael. We were also blessed to have Bishop Mark Lieschke back in Wagga for the day to lead Sunday's service.

Lutheran School Wagga Wagga's second Sustainable Living Festival was a resounding success, if sheer numbers and happy faces are anything to go by!  Some of our congregational members were on hand to help out: For more photos of the day, jump over to the school's newsletter  and the  website of The Daily Advertiser .

Last Sunday, the Bethlehem congregation and the Lutheran School Wagga Wagga witnessed the installation of the new school Principal, Peter Weier. The Year 2 students and their teachers were also on hand to participate in the service, making the day extra special for Peter and Lyn.

A couple of weekends ago we held the Lutheran School Wagga Wagga's Homecoming. It was a wonderful opportunity for past students and staff to visit the school and reconnect with old friends and colleagues. Saturday was spent at the school in Tamar Drive where visitors were given guided tours, a sausage or three and the chance to reminisce over old photographs. A worship service at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Athol Street on Sunday was followed by morning tea and a memorabilia display in the Damschke Hall where the school first started in 1982. It was lovely to see familiar faces return to the school, many of whom had the next generation in tow. There are also a couple of photos to check out in the Daily Advertiser's photo gallery .

We had a lovely worship service this week with the Kinders joining us from the School and Pastor John and Carol Wilksch spending their first Sunday with us. Pastor John and Carol Wilksch The Kinders about to launch into song Pastor John, after attempting to make one of the children disappear Tiffany and Andrew ably leading the singing A warm cuppa and a chat - an excellent combination on a cold morning!

We had more than your "average" Palm Sunday service on Sunday, with Year 1 and Pastor Mark Lieschke joining forces to lead us in worship (with not a little help from Andrew and Tiffany!). The kids kicked off the service with a procession of palm branches and performed some songs for us.  Above, Year 1 is singing "Hey King, Where's Your Crown?" Pastor Mark in action It was great to see Pastor Mark and Meredith back in Wagga - they'll be here with us all week too.  Don't forget, there will be services in Athol Street on Maundy Thursday (7.30pm), Good Friday (9.30am) and Easter Sunday (9.30am).

Sunday's worship service was a wonderful collaborative affair.  With Pastor Mike away, Michael L. led much of the service, giving the children's address and the sermon, and Year 5 joined us for the morning and put on a small drama, led the prayers and one of the songs.  A couple of photos of the kids are below.

The School Installation Service was a couple of weeks ago but it's never too late for photos! Many of the School's teachers, staff and School Board attended the service on February 1 to be installed in their positions at Lutheran School Wagga Wagga. Pastor Mike blessing the teachers, staff and School Board members

The Christmas Lunch, organised by our Ladies Fellowship, has been a success for another year. A lovely spread was laid out for the nearly sixty people who attended on Thursday. Pastor Mike led a cooking-themed devotion and Narelle and Audrey sang christmas carols.  The children from the Lutheran School Wagga Wagga were also there to entertain with singing, recorders, guitar and piano.  Ray was chosen to cut the christmas cake, cooked by Noreen and iced by Enid. Audrey and Ruth Norma and Enid Bev's lovely cream puffs Narelle and Audrey Ivy, Elma and Yvonne

This week we say goodbye to Pastor Alois Schwarz who's made quite the impression on us the short time he's been with us! Pastor Alois is currently on sabbatical from St George's Church, Nördlingen .  He has been in the Philippines the last few months to teach at the Lutheran Theological Seminary there and, on his way home, has detoured via Wagga Wagga. A long list of people in our Parish have opened their homes and gladly given their time to Pastor Alois.  He's spent some time with the kids at the Wagga Lutheran School, been given a Mayoral Reception and has seen quite a bit of country in and around Wagga. Pastor Alois delivering his sermon to us on Sunday  - an interesting mix of Nebuchadnezzar and Nördlingen ! Pastor Alois leaves us on Friday and will head down to Melbourne, then make his way to Adelaide for a little while. We wish him all the best for the rest of his holiday and a safe trip back to Germany. Have a look at the website for the Nördl...

Here are a few photos of Sunday's Celebration of Reformation Day and The Lutheran Longest Lunch...   Celebrating the good news of the gospel   with lots of red on display for this "red parament Sunday"   Audrey won the Lutheran Longest Luther Quiz!   Red ties for Malcolm and Rodney How many ways can you wear a Lutheran Longest Lunch bandanna? Hear are a few ways ... The food for the day was excellent with the theme being "Food close to our hearts". Thanks to Lunch coordinator Marg Kleidon for organising a fabulous event!!