What a wonderful celebration this past Sunday for the Mickler’s 20 years of service at Mt. Bethel. God has blessed so many through Randy’s and Diane’s commitment to serve and honor Him. Here are some pictures from Sunday’s celebration.
Johnna
In case you missed it at the end of VBS last week (or if you just want to see it again), here is the excellent video that was produced to show the highlights of the week. Enjoy!
Mt. Bethel Recreational Ministry is busy this summer offering lots of camps. Last week we offered a Soccer Camp presented by the Atlanta Silverback organization. 120 campers braved the heat and hit the fields to improve their fundamental skills of dribbling, passing, and shooting while having lots of fun. In addition to the Soccer Camp, a Baseball Camp presented by Sports-A-Rama was held on the fields in the afternoon. There was running, hitting, catching, throwing and laughing. We hope everyone had a great time and polished their skills.
We will also offer two sessions of Sports Camp where we will to go Bowling, putt putt golf, Red Top Mountain for hiking and a cookout, Turner Field for a tour just to name a few things. Other camps presented are four Hoops Camps (1,2,3,4) and Volleyball Camp.
Looks like we are having our biggest VBS or close to it. Last July we passed the 700 kids mark, and today, we show 706 kids registered for VBS. We have 174+teen helpers and 100+ Adult Helpers. We are close to 1000 people present and involved.
A HUGE thank you to our kitchen staff who graciously handled our overwhelming numbers for lunch and snacks. Again we are reaching out to the community with many kids from other churches or no church home. We registered over 43 walk in registrations this afternoon, many saying they have heard what a wonderful VBS we have.
THANKS to an outstanding Facilities staff and many other staff members who have pitched in and helped with greeting, directions, check in, and much more. It’s a group effort and we can truly be proud of how the Mt. Bethel Family works together.
We’ve posted 139 pictures from the week — check them out here!
Last year Camp Lee was the highlight of my summer. Now called Infusion, I’m anticipating it to be better than ever. The staff is working hard on all the fun activities as well as spiritual ones that will be going on and we are making sure that if you’re coming that this trip will be the best trip you’ve ever been on. Anyways, I look forward to seeing all of you up at Camp Winfield come Sunday, June 15th. Be ready to be in awe of how big our God truly is.
Justin
We have a great night for the campout! Over 170 campers enjoyed fishing, eating at the cookout, cooking S’mores over the campfire, and playing on the Field of Dreams. The kids had a blast playing with each other and their dads / grand fathers. I heard from several fathers who stated that their child had been asking about the next campout already. After lights out, the dads got to enjoy a relaxing time sitting around and swatting mosquitoes. Look for the next campout this fall.
Brad Gorski
Our music department has received a number of e-mails regarding the patriotic concert last week. Here are a few of them:
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I just wanted to drop you a quick note to say thanks for such a moving and extremely well done performance Sunday evening! What a fitting and thoughtful tribute to our men and women who sacrificed their lives for our country. It also was nice to see the sanctuary so full. It was literally standing room only.
I wish I had been able to participate this year. Hopefully next year!
Kudos to everyone for the magnificent performance.
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WOW! What a wonderful concert. I do believe it was the best one ever! The time just flew by (and that is saying something). You had a great blend of old and new songs. I especially liked “In His Care-O”. I know it was one you had to convince the choir they would like and it was worth it!
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After the social tonight my husband and I were eating dinner at Tijuana Joes with some friends from church. I was still in my vest, and a family of three was eating at a table nearby; I had seen them in the Fellowship Hall after the concert. As they left, the mother stopped by to tell me what a wonderful concert it had been and they were so glad they came—–was it this good every year? Their daughter attends the Mt. Bethel Academy, and they attend Roswell UMC. And, as she put it, the Roswell UMC Patriotic Concert “didn’t compare to our concert”!!! She said she was glad she could hear the choir over the orchestra, that the balance was very good. Also that her father is the Minister of Music at a church and that it took a lot to impress him, but she thought he would really like a CD or DVD of our concert–was one going to be made that she could send to him?
So kudos to our Music Ministry Department and the wonderful leadership the two of you provide for our church and community. You never know who is going to be impressed when we use the talents the Lord has given us. Thank you both for all that you give of your time and your talents to our church.
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My son and I sat in a row full of Lutherans in the balcony who wished they could have such a wonderful choir. We ran into some Jewish friends at the Ice Cream Social who were very glad that they had been invited by a friend, as they so enjoyed your performance. As a veteran of Vietnam, I admit that I need to remember to bring a hankie as it is hard for me to stay dry eyed with the power of your performance. My hat is off and I salute you for your pride and dedication you voice for the cause of freedom. This is a very powerful ministry that I am happy my wife is part of.
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I’m proud of all our Mt. Bethel vets - and if I missed any who participated with this note, please forward this on to them. We had great choir participation, a solo by John Fraser (I prefer his rendition of “God Bless the U.S.A.” over Lee Greenwood singing it - who I heard in person last week); us old vets trying to look sharp representing the Army, Navy, and Air Force; Anthony Cunha looking sharp as a Marine, the only one who could actually pass for a fighting man these days, and doing a great job in the spotlight with his speaking part (glad you stood up for saying “I am a Marine”, instead of sticking to the script and saying Soldier). To our ushers who did their typical great job, to those who participated by wearing their uniform and sitting in the audience. Don Webster for twisting his son-in-law’s arm to get him to bring in the flag - a highlight to have a real active duty Soldier in our ranks.
All in all - I’m proud of you all - and our other vets who are making more people at Mt. Bethel appreciate the honor we vets feel for having served our country. As I’ve said often, it’s our job to teach others how to be patriotic and there’s no time better than the Patriotic Concert to do that. Thanks for stepping up to the challenge.
And thanks, Randy and Ira, for making this a regular event at Mt. Bethel. We must continue to work to make more of our fellow American citizens understand that “Freedom Is Not Free”. This concert does a great job in making that known. And I agree, Ira, God was helping you out when He introduced you to the guest conductor, he loved it and so did the audience.
I’ll be hitting the Roswell and Marietta National Cemetery Memorial Day events tomorrow, then I’ll relax and enjoy time with my Family. Hope you enjoy the rest of the long weekend.
Once again, I’m proud of all of you and appreciate all you do to teach others about the honor of being called a veteran. Keep up the great work!
(note: this is a follow-up to a special event we told you about a few weeks ago)
The day was perfect. The bright sun, crisp. The air clear. COL. Wilbur Parker, Ret. Chaplain for the Joint Chiefs of Staffs stood to bring the invocation. Then we heard it. The fly over by Major Wes Nims, US AFR (94th Airlift Wing, Dobbins ARB). The crowd erupted in applause. Tears streamed down the cheeks of the people who had gathered to honor and celebrate the life of Major James Carl Wise, Jr. A man, who gave his life to his country oh, so many years ago.
My heart was glad when I looked around the crowd and recognized many Mt. Bethel members who came to show their respect to Lucille, the widow of Major Wise, and his three grown daughters, their spouses and their children. What an honor to be there! And as I sat, I had time to reflect on several things during poignant moments of this hour and a half long service. Do the younger people today truly realize the cost of our freedom? Or rather, the cost of anyone’s freedom? Do any of us? Those who were gathered, do they understand the complete and total sacrifice our military men and women make for the cause of our freedom – a freedom that we perhaps take for granted?
As COL. George E. “Bud” Day, USAF (Ret.) stood to deliver the message – can we even comprehend what his life as a POW was like – not to mention how he was medically cared for by another POW, now known as Senator John McCain. And as the service drew to a close and the Atlanta Blues Notes band played a Medley of Service Songs from their hearts – I saw men from each military division stand, Navy, Marine, Air Force, Army, Coast Guard… With pride and confidence, they all stood when they heard their theme song. Do the young people today even know those songs? Are we raising up a generation of ignorance regarding our military history. Has my generation (the generation in between) – has my generation dropped the baton? How I pray we haven’t. How I pray that we will forever, indelibly etched in the hallowed halls of our minds, remember today, what it stood for, and what it means for our future.
Ms. Lucille, my gator country friend, indeed lost her husband to the hells of war, but her faith in God and in her country enabled her to continue on with her life, rear three beautiful daughters, and today to proudly stand tall on the stadium in front of all those gathered to honor Major Wise, as she gracefully received our Country’s flag presented to her by COL. Day. As I said, the day was perfect. The bright sun, crisp. The air clear. And then we heard it, TAPS, and the Taps echo reminding us that we have just experienced a most honorable day.
Diane Parrish
On a cold, blustery night, more than 1200 “brave” souls from Mt Bethel “braved” the icicles and frigid temperatures of the nose bleed section in Turner Field to watch the Braves bunch their hits in a timely manner to beat the Oakland A’s 3-2 on Friday night, May 16th. This annual event organized by the Recreation Ministry once again kicked off with the parade of Mt Bethel athletes and parents around the warning track and some crowd pleasing t-ball play on the outfield grass. All of this was viewed with great interest by more than 30,000 fans in the stands on the Big Screen behind center field.
Chipper raised his .418 batting average with a 2 for 3 night and Brian McCann continues to demonstrate that he, not Frenchy, should have been on the cover of Time magazine in 2006 with 3 timely hits. This is definitely not the Braves of 2007 as the bullpen held the lead for the win. Also the game clearly proved that Tom Glavine will get into the Hall of Fame because of his pitching skills, not his bunting efforts.
Almost as much fun was watching all the fans in shorts and t-shirts suddenly realize around the 3d inning that summer has not arrived in Atlanta. They flocked to the stores to buy “bargain” Braves sweat shirts or sneaked down to the lower levels seeking defilade and protection against the arctic blast that kept our drinks cold for the evening. Atlanta was confirmed that night as the prostate capital of south; I have never seen so many men make so many bathroom trips in the course of a 3 hour game. I’m sure that the fact that the wash rooms were heated was strictly a coincidence.
Those hardy souls who stuck it out were rewarded with an incredible fireworks show sponsored by Publix. Of course those who rode the bus were forced into staying for the show because the director of Men’s Ministry didn’t answer his cell phone (yes you can queue 48 voice mail messages) from whiners who wanted to leave after the 4th inning. His very credible defense was that he couldn’t hear the phone ring over the howling of the wind.
A tip of the hat to Pam “White Shoes” Skelton and the Rec Staff for again organizing this wonderful event.
Blessings
Mike
Ok, so some of the staff drive well and some of the staff pack boxes well…
This morning 18 members of the Mt. Bethel staff went on a field trip and a good time was had by all. We had a fantastic time packing boxes at Mary and Ed Ettel’s home for the Any Soldier Ministry. The Any Soldier Packing parties are like nothing you have ever experienced. We all arrived in the Mt. Bethel bus (just like kids going on a field trip) it was very exciting - thanks to Mike Boyce for driving. Once we all piled out of the bus and into the Ettel’s home we were given our marching orders and then a wonderful breakfast. After we had sustenance (I don’t think any of us are about to blow away) we were off to fill the boxes - wow. This is a well oiled machine.
If you have not had the opportunity to help with a packing party you should definitely make this a priority. This is a local/foreign mission that we can all help out with. You can donate school supplies, lotion, soccer balls, candy and on & on & on… It was a great experience and we accomplished a lot in a short amount of time, and we got a yummy breakfast too - it doesn’t get much better than this.
You can see most of us in the picture.
Genia Crane, Heather Wood, Debi Wyatt, Sherri Juliani, Janis Caverlee, Ruth Curl, Sharon Wyland, Karen Jones, Kim McGarr, Susan Preece, Judy Green, Jamie Allen, Carey Akin, Krista Young, Mike Boyce, and me (Kibbie). Not pictured are Ali Grasty, Dan Boswell and Johnna Bain - they must have been inside still eating. Also, we had Sally and Bill Wenhold, Dik and Carleen Wesson and 2 guys from Chattahoochee Tech. Also, a big thanks to Tami Drukenmiller who stayed behind and held down the fort (and answered the phones).
Thanks again to the Ettel’s for having the vision of this ministry and also having the fortitude to make it happen.
Kibbie
