From sharing photos to accessing the latest news

and weather, nearly 200 Bethel seniors now have

the chance to learn how to connect online. Some

will even receive a free desktop computer, thanks to

a federal grant and Rep. Danny Davis’ support.

Bethel recently received funding through a federal

initiative that seeks to provide more access to com-

puters and the internet in low-income communi-

ties. Through the grant, residents of Bethel’s sup-

portive living facility, Beth-Anne Place, have a new

computer lab, complete with 10 computers and one

with a touch screen monitor for seniors with dexter-

ity problems.

In February, interested Bethel seniors will begin a

12-week computer class taught by Connected Liv-

ing, an organization that helps seniors connect

online. Eligible graduates of the class will receive a

free desktop computer and two years of free inter-

net access in their home.

Bethel resident Cicero Blake already has an email address, a Facebook account, and videos on YouTube.

The 75-year-old blues artist has worked with the likes of B.B. King and Otis Clay and toured throughout

the United States and internationally – but there’s just one problem. “I don’t have a computer,” Blake

said. “When I get my own computer [through the class], I can update my information online myself.”

For residents who are not as familiar with using a computer as Blake, the class is tailored to fit the

needs of beginners. From learning how to turn a computer on to how to make calls using the online

software Skype, seniors will have the opportunity to connect with loved ones across the United States.

“My six kids are scattered in different places, from New York to Atlanta to New Orleans. [Through the

computer class], I will learn how to connect with them,” said Marcell Kane, a 73-year-old Beth-Anne

Place resident. “You’re never too old to learn.”

Senior Residents Connect with Family, Friends Online

GRANT FUNDS CLASS FOR BETHEL SENIORS TO LEARN TO USE THE INTERNET

WINTER ISSUE 2011

OUR MISSION

Realize God’s vision of a

restored society by

empowering individuals,

strengthening families, and

building neighborhoods

through community-driven

solution-oriented, and

value centered approaches.

CONTENTS

Senior Residents Connect

with Family, Friends

Online

Inaugural Bethel

Christmas Store is a

Success for 500 Westside

Families

Bethel Celebrates Local

Employers

Thanks to our Donors!

President’s Message:

Naming the World We Envision

President’s Message: Naming the World We Envision

Jesus knew the man had been there a long time. He asked him, “Do you want to be

made well?” Instead of answering the question, the paralyzed man recited all the obstacles in his

way – the people who cut in front of him, the fact that he had no one to help. Jesus said to him,

“Stand up, take your mat, and walk.” At once the man was made well. (John 5: 2-9)

Sometime we’re just like that man – listing off all the obstacles that stand between us

and what we want instead of just saying Yes.

At Bethel, we practice answering Yes and naming the healed world we desire instead of

the hurdles in our way. Will you join us in this practice?

We envision health and jobs and affordable homes for the thousands of families we

serve on Chicago’s Westside. We picture schools with children inspired to learn, who graduate

high school, and succeed in college. We imagine our neighborhoods free from violence and

drugs. We picture a community where people have dignity, no matter how limited their income

is.

For Bethel, we picture the State of Illinois closing its budget gap and continuing to fund

services that are so critical to our communities. We see confirming a permanent CEO, called to

serve Bethel’s mission through the national search now underway by Kittleman & Associates. We

envision your prayers and financial support growing with us as we reach toward this audacious

vision.

And we hold strong to God’s promise in Isaiah, so long our vision statement, that we

will be “like a garden that has plenty of water, like a spring of water that never goes dry.”

So Yes. The answer is Yes.

Let us stand up, take our mats, and serve!

Lawrence Wilson Interim President and CEO

4950 W. THOMAS STREET, CHICAGO, IL 60651 b e t h e l n e w l i f e . o r g

Upcoming Events FREE TAX PREPARATION

Families with an annual income of less than $50K and individuals with an

income of less than $25K are eligible for our free tax prep service. Starting

Jan. 29, Tuesdays & Thursdays, 5:30-8 p.m.; Saturdays 10 a.m.-1 p.m.;

Bethel Commercial Center (4006 W. Lake Street, 2nd Fl). Call 773-826-

8121 for more info.

WESTSIDE COMMUNITY CANDIDATES’ FORUM

Aldermanic candidates from the 24th, 28th, 29th, and 37th wards will

share their platforms and answer constituents’ questions at Bethel’s forum.

Saturday, Feb. 19, 10 a.m.-12 p.m. (1150 N. Lamon)

WHAT’S NEXT: HOUSING & HEALTHCARE PLANNING

Don’t settle for a nursing home. Seniors, learn about your housing and

healthcare options and how you can increase the quality of your life.

Tuesday, March 22, Activity Room, Beth-Anne Place, 10 a.m. (1140 N.

Lavergne)

Want to learn more about the 12-week computer class or about living at Beth-Anne Place? Contact Erika Jackson at 773-473-7870 or

ejackson@bethelnewlife.org.

AFFIX

POSTAGE

HERE

Bethel needs bunk beds and a digital camera. If you can help, call Sara

Spoonheim at 773-473-7870 x146.

Planning an urban mission? You can stay with us! Call Kris Adamik at 773-

473-7870 to find availability of our three modest rooms, sleeping 3-18.

Nominal charge of $10/person/night to support our ministries.

Get Involved

Marcell Kane, a Beth-Anne Place resident,

is enrolled in Bethel’s 12-week computer class.

Hundreds of families and volunteers came together to celebrate

Christmas – and the spirit of giving – through the inaugural

Bethel Christmas Store. This past December, pre-registered

Westside families shopped for brand new gifts donated by spon-

sor families. Almost all were priced at $1, $5, and $10.

The Christmas Store gave over 500 adults the chance to choose

gifts for their families at a level they could afford.

“My mouth flew open when I walked into the store. Right away, I

found a pink bicycle that I knew my daughter would just love,”

said Bill, an unemployed father of three who bought pajamas, a

Transformer toy, and board games for his other children and a

crockpot for his wife. “There’s no way I could have afforded

those gifts for my family.”

Many families earned

“Bethel Bucks” to spend

at the store by complet-

ing Bethel’s financial

literacy courses, taking

nutritious cooking

classes, or earning A’s

and B’s in school. They

also brought cash –

raising more than

$ 5 , 5 0 0 t o s e n d

Westside high school

seniors from the

neighborhood on a

college tour this spring.

THANKS TO ALL OUR DONORS

We are so grateful to those that supported Bethel by donating July 1 to

December 31, 2010. Thank you!! Want to donate? Give online at bethel-

newlife.org, send a check to Bethel New Life, 4950 W. Thomas, Chicago, IL 60651,

or call Sara Spoonheim at 773-473-7870 x146 for other options.

INDIVIDUALS $1,000 AND ABOVE

Tim & Eliza Earle, Lenore Franzen, Donald Gancer, Dorothy Greiner, Jack & Lana Grodoski,

William Barden Houston, Lawrence & Tina Howe, David & Kathleen Johnson, Michael &

Lindy Keiser, Ron Kok-Alblas & Kim Morton, Dirk & Mary Landis, Richard & Beverly

Moody, Mary Nelson, Nat & Summer Piggee, Paul & Barbara Rimington, Barney Straus, Jay

& Carrie Weaver, and Helen Westberg.

INDIVIDUALS $250-$999

Verna Baughman, Perry Bigelow, Marilyn & Philip Breiding, Rev. James Carstensen, Eric &

Jodie Draut, Reuben Erickson, Lawrence Grisham, Kimberly Hendee, Rev. Dr. Sherman

Hicks, Herman & Dorothy Kathan, Richard & Cheryl King, Stephen Kramer, Patrick &

Patricia Madison, Jewel Mandeville, Theodor & Jacqueline Maxeiner, Ernie & Janette Mul-

ler, Graham & Ruth Rogeness, Art Salk, Stephen & Debora Schwab, Kenneth & Janny

Travers, Amy & Jason Vandenbrook, Leslie & Jeannie Weber, Craig & Mary Whitehead, and

Rozella Youngquist.

INDIVIDUALS UNDER $250

Robert Alexander, Delbert & Betty Anderson, Carl & Mary Ann Anderson, Bruce & Sara

Anderson, Robert & Mary Anderson, Joanna Anderson, Charlotte Argall, Gerald Ashley,

Ron & Lois Barliant, Ralph Beck, Jim & Betty Benton, Paula Besler & Phyllis Meyer, William

& Jane Boline, David Boller, JoAnne & Keith Brady, Kay Broughton, Louise Carlson, Betty

Cerveny, Marc & Christine Chason, Rev. Kelly & Cheryl Chatman, Douglas & Elaine Chester,

Jorge Cobo, Thomas Coleman & Donna Norell, Earlean Collins, Charles Crump, Gloria

Davenport, Terry & Mary Lee Denley, John & Jan Derdall, Joan Donnelly, Clifford Dotseth,

William Pierre Dunagan, Ted Elbert, Diane & Bruce Erickson, Donald & Jessica Fagerberg,

Raymond & Marie Fellows, William Fletcher, Jerald & Kathryn Folk, John & Ada Fournier,

Timothy & Marcia Fox, Betty Fridlund, Marie Friedsam, Diane Froelich, Navin & Sushila

Gandhi, Donald & Gail Goldstein, Marilyn Goll, Jill Graham, B. A. Young Grider, Peter Haas

& Karen Hobbs, Georgian & Laura Hadley, Ruth & Hamilton, Bruce & Mary Hamming, Rev.

Mark & Ione Hanson, Rachel Harter, Roosevelt Haywood, David & Carol Hedlin, Cherilyn

Heramb, Daniel & Dorothy Hildebrandt, David & Grace Holm, Mary Beth Hughes, Theresa

Hurley, Erica Jackson, Vincent James, Adolph Johnson, Cheryl Johnson, Dorothy Johnson,

Bill & Kathy Kastilahn, Karen Kawashima & Jordi Kleiner, William & Charlotte Kennedy,

Marie Kipper, Deanna & Don Kohindorfer, Wes & Carolyn Kott, Jody & Ingrid Kretzmann,

Raymond & Deidre LeFevour, Martin & Barbara Letscher, Sandy Lewis-Kadiri, Annie Mae

Liddell, Rep. Camille Lilly, Patricia Lindner, Juanita Little, Stephen Mack, Kaanaeli Ma-

kundi, Pam Marino, Bishal Maskey & Luna Rajbhandari, Eileen Mason & Fred Mueller,

Richard & Wilma McCallister, Laura McGrady, John McKnight, David & Ruth McLaren,

Sheila Meyer, Laurena Moore, Robert & Nancy Nagel, Norman & Joan Nelson, Jonathan &

Junice Nelson, Pauline Nisbet-Dasse, Frances Nohling, Rev. Linda Norman, Ken & Barbara

Olson, Sylvia Perez, Amelia S. Perkins, Grace E. Pierson, Luther Poole, Joan & Robert Pope,

Colleen Poynton, Sheila Radford-Hill, Andrea Raila & Michael Rohrbeck, Kresta Randolph,

McLouis & Harriette Robinet, John & Gwendolyn Rogers, Julie Rowe, Gloria & John Row-

ley, Sister Janice Ruch, Miriam & David Sanders, Henrietta Saunders, James Scherer, James

& Margaret Schlegel, Charles & Susan Schwartz, William Schwarz, Marilyn Seelander, Blake

Sercye, Rhoda Sharpee, Lynn Sivertsen, Brenda Smith, Paul & Cynthia Stark, Valora Starr,

Donald & Barbara Swanson, Wesley & Sonja Swanson, Marjorie & Wilbert Thiel, Marilyn &

Edward Thompson, Paul & Ruth Tillquist, Jean Townsend, Carol Trojanowski, John &

Audrey Varland, Wayne & Harriet VerGowe, Daniel & Marianne Wachholz, Connie Walker,

Krista Wanko, Michaela & David Ward, Thelma Werner-Crane, Walter & Jeanette Whisler,

Curtis & Michele Whisler, Richard Whited, Amy Wiegert, and Jessye R. Wright.

FOUNDATIONS & CORPORATIONS $10,000 AND ABOVE

Advocate Charitable Foundation, Citibank, JP Morgan Chase, LISC, PNC, and WalMart.

FOUNDATIONS & CORPORATIONS UNDER $10,000

BEK Distributing Co., Cornell-Brewer Foundation, Guaranty Bank, HSR Property Services,

Northern Trust Matching Grant Program, Pearson Foundation, The Chicago Community

Trust, United Way of Greater Richmond & Petersburg, Youth Network Council, and Zenith

Fabricating Co.

CONGREGATIONS

Ascension Lutheran Church of Northfield, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Gloria

Dei Lutheran Church of Northbrook, Grace Lutheran Church of La Grange, Luther Memorial

Church of Chicago, Metropolitan Chicago Synod, Our Saviour's Lutheran Church of Arling-

ton Heights, St. Luke's Lutheran Church of Park Ridge, St. Mark's Lutheran Church of

Waukegan, St. Paul Lutheran Church of Villa Park, and Wilmette Lutheran Church.

Inaugural Bethel Christmas Store is a Success for 500 Westside Families Bethel Celebrates Local Employers

Thanks to Bethel’s partnership with the State of Illinois’ Put Illi-

nois to Work (PIW) program, 1,056 unemployed and underem-

ployed people were given the opportunity to work temporarily

this fall, building job experience and enhancing their resumes.

More than 100 local employers also benefited from the addition

of new staff. “We applied for the PIW program because we

needed to fill much needed spots. We were running in the red

and it was a strain to pay employees,” said Willie Kimmons,

owner and founder of Feminique School of Beauty. “Bethel and

PIW enabled us to run our programs at full capacity. It was quite

a benefit to our business."

Bethel sought out and partnered with employers ranging from

large corporations like Grane Transportation to local entrepre-

neurs like Symone’s Catering.

In mid-January, Bethel hosted a breakfast to recognize seven

employers who had hired their worker-trainees, along with 34

who intended to hire theirs.

Now that the program has ended, Bethel will continue to foster

relationships with employers. “We are following up with employ-

ers to make sure they got the maximum benefit from hiring our

trainee-employees,” said Nancy Brown, senior director for Fam-

ily Economic Success. “We want employers see us as a resource

for employees and training and to consider our pool of candi-

dates whenever they’re looking to hire.”

Symone’s Catering, one of 105 local employers that partnered with Bethel in the Put Illinois to Work program, provided food for Bethel’s employer recognition breakfast.

“We were overwhelmed by the generosity of our Bethel friends

and family,” said Sara Spoonheim, Bethel’s senior director of

Resource Development. “The Christmas Store would not have

been possible without our 300 volunteers, who donated, sorted

and priced gifts, welcomed families at the café, entertained chil-

dren while their parents shopped, helped shoppers find great

gifts, restocked the shelves every hour, and wrapped all the pre-

sents. Volunteers and our families came together to create a

truly memorable Christmas.”

“The Bethel Christmas Store was a great annual event for our

youth and families to take part in,” said Aaron Shoppa, director

of Youth Ministries at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in St.

Charles. “We look forward to doing this again and continuing to

work with Bethel throughout the entire year.”

“ ” My mouth flew open when I walked into the store.

Right away, I found a pink bicycle that I new my

daughter would love.

Want to help with next year’s Christmas Store? Contact Sara Spoonheim at 773-

473-7870 or sspoonheim@bethelnewlife.org.

Volunteer gift wrappers wrapped more than 4,500 presents.

Volunteer shopping assistants helped shoppers find terrific gifts.

Looking for skilled employees? Need help with your resume? Contact Donna Ger-

many at 773-826-8430 or dgermany@bethelnewlife.org.

Sixteen churches and businesses throughout Chicago and its suburbs

donated gifts to the Christmas Store.

” Aaron Shoppa

Director of Youth Ministries, Bethlehem Lutheran Church “ The Bethel Christmas Store was a great annual event

for our youth and families to take part in.”

A very heartfelt thanks to Wilmette Lutheran Church. After ending your 88-

year-old ministry, you entrusted your legacy to Bethel. We are truly humbled

and honored to put it to God’s glory.