April 21, 2020
Realm launch is here!  
 
Our church uses a church record keeping solution called Realm®. It primarily serves the administrative needs of our staff, but it also offers some exciting opportunities to support the way we are all involved in our church. Not only will this improve the effectiveness of our staff, it will also make it easier for everyone in our church family to connect with each other, keep up with what’s going on, and grow as a connected community of believers.  

Tomorrow morning, every member for whom we have a working email address will get an email inviting them to join our online community ( Click Here  to see an example). Don’t forget to look in your junk mail or spam folder, as sometimes this email will end up there. If you do find it in junk mail, make Realm a trusted source.

Click the link in the middle of the email highlighted in blue. This will take you to the registration page ( Click Here  to see an example). Your email address will be here, and this page will ask you to create a password. Passwords must be at least 8 characters and use a mix of uppercase/lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols. Do not use any part of your email address in the password, and please use a unique password. You will need to remember your password, as we will not have any record of it at the church. If you do forget it, we can send a password reset so that you can put in a new one. Check the box indicating you are not a robot, then click ‘Register’.

This will generate another email ( Click Here  to see an example). If you found the first one in junk mail, and you didn’t make Realm a trusted source, you will find this one in junk mail also. You will want to change this or you will miss other messages from the staff and from your Bethesda friends. This new email will ask you to verify your email. I know it seems redundant, but this follows best practices in online security. Follow the instructions. This will lead you to Bethesda’s online community ( Click Here  to see an example).

Now that you are a part of our online community you will want to edit your profile. In the upper right hand corner click on your name and choose ‘My Profile’ ( Click Here  to see an example). Click the ‘E dit Profile ’ button ( Click Here  to see an example). Here you will enter all your correct and latest information. Be sure and hit the save button when you are done. Take some time to look around in Realm. Next week, we will walk through joining groups.

If at any point you get stuck, call (561) 853-0969. Operators will be standing by (Monday through Friday between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.). By operators I mean our loyal Bethesda staff. This number directly rings a team of our staff whose primary focus for the next several weeks is to help us all get connected and set up in Realm. We want this to be a good experience so we are here to help. 


Fred Staley 
Associate for Administration 

Please help us continue our vibrant ministry during these times when we most need our parish. Did you know you can give online ? You can even make and fulfill a pledge and set up a recurring gift there. It’s easy and very secure. Just click here . And if you need assistance with this, please call the office, and we will help you get this set up. We need you!

Also, the staff are all working from home and available as usual by phone. Give us a call. We would love to hear how you are doing.
Improving our Safety
 
We have made the difficult decision to keep the Nave closed to visitors for now. Unfortunately, we found the majority of the use were by people not practicing proper mitigation and social distancing for COVID-19. We feel this puts our on-site staff at too great a risk. The gardens, including the Garden Chapel, will remain open from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.  
Worship
Join us daily online for worship at 11:00 a.m. Visit our web page or YouTube channel.
  • Sunday Eucharist
  • Wednesday Eucharist
  • Morning Prayer

Education
Join us Sunday mornings and Wednesday evenings on Zoom for fascinating, informative, and fun discussions.
  • Middle Way - Join us on Zoom 6:30 p.m. Wednesday.
  • Children’s Sunday School - Join us on Zoom 10:00 a.m. Sunday.
  • Youth Confirmation Class

Fellowship
  • Sunday Coffee Hour - We’ll gather in a Zoom meeting for a virtual coffee hour. Bring your coffee and questions following the 11:00 service (approximately 11:45 a.m.).
  • Youth weekly gathering - For more information on weekly online youth gatherings contact Greg Knight at (561) 655-4555 x114 or email knight@bbts.org.

Hear from us on our social media
Virtual Coffee Hour : Following the 11:00 service (approximately 11:45 a.m.), we’ll gather in a Zoom meeting for a virtual coffee hour . Bring your coffee and questions. It will be an unstructured time for us to talk as a community. You will find the Zoom link on the front page of our website at bbts.org . Join us Sunday.
Middle Way | Wednesday, April 22 | Zoom Meetings
6:30 p.m. | Join Us For An Online Middle Way Gathering | Zoom
Join with the clergy. We’ll gather in a Zoom online gathering. We’ve held many meetings over Zoom this week, and have found it to be a remarkably good substitute for in-person conversation. We have most of the staff ready to be online from 6:00 p.m. and available by phone at (561) 655-4554 to help you get connected so that you can join this fascinating discussion. Visit the bbtsvirtual.org website for the link or click here to join us on Zoom . The actual discussion will begin at 6:30 p.m. and end at 7:30 p.m.  
 
6:30 p.m. | Bethesda Youth Group Online | Zoom
The Bethesda Youth Group is open to all youth in 6th through 12th grade. Each week we offer fun activities and lively discussions. Visit the bbtsvirtual.org website for the link or click here to join us on Zoom .
 
7:30 p.m. | Compline Online | Zoom
An ancient, brief, and contemplative liturgy of the Christian tradition, compline offers an opportunity to give God thanks for the day behind us and pray for rest and safety in the night ahead. A fitting end to the day, compline offers a peaceful and meditative sacred time in the middle of our often frenetic weeks, as well as a beautiful conclusion to our Wednesday evenings together.    Visit the bbtsvirtual.org website for the link or click here to join us on Zoom .
Children’s Sunday Morning - Zoom Sunday School
For all children ages 10 and under, we are going to offer a Zoom Sunday School with Jessica Hitchcock and Greg Knight on Sunday mornings. We will have a story and short children's homily, songs, and interactive crafts from 10:00 to 10:45 a.m. on Sunday mornings. You will be able to find the link to the Zoom meetup on the new website at bbtsvirtual.org .
The Children and Youth Faith-At-Home Weekly Email Newsletter
Parents of all ages, but especially children 10 and under, are invited to sign up for our weekly e-newsletter that comes out every Friday featuring Sunday School lessons and children and youth resources connected to that week’s liturgy.
 
If you would like to sign up. Please email Greg Knight ( knight@bbts.org ) and you will be added to the mailing list.
Social Media - Subscribe, Like, and Share
Stay connected with us through our YouTube , Facebook , Twitter , and our Instagram pages.
Have someone you would like us to pray for? 
We pray for...
Adriana, Alastair, Alex, Alexis, Alice, Andrew, Angela, Anita, Ann, Anne, Anthony, Arlo, Arthur, Ashley, Austin, Bill, Bill Ed, Bob, Bobby, Bobo, Bonvento family, Boris, Carmen, Celia, Charles, Chip, Chris, Christian, Christine, Claude, Cody, Connie, Daisy, Dalia, Dan, Daniel, Daniel Baxter, David, Dawn, Denise, Desi, DJ, Don, Donna, Dorothy, Edwin, Eileen, Elena, Elinor, Emmy, Eva, Evan, Frank, Fred, Freddie, Gay, Gayle, Gerry, Georgie, Gretchen, Hannah, Heather, Holly, Hunter, Ian, Isabel, Jack, James, Jeanne, Jennifer, Jesse, Jethro, Jim, Joan, Joaquin, John, John Joseph, Kay, Kelley, Kelly Ann, Ken, Kendall, Kornegay family, Kyle, Larry, Louis, Lucy, Lynn, Mac, Magdalena, Mallory, Marcia, Marge, Mariette, Marguerite, Maria Elena, Mariela, Mark, Martin, Mary, Mary Ann, Marty, Matthew, Michael, Michelle, Micki, Miriam, Nancy, Nat, Nathan, Nolan family, Oakley, Olga, Pam, Pat, Patricia, Peggy, Peter, Ralph, Raymond, Regine, Reinhold family, Reysean, Richard, Ricky, Rob, Robbie, Robert, Rosa, Russell, Ryki, Sally, Scott, Sharon, Shaune, Shawn, Stellway family, Stan, Stephanie, Stephen, Stewart, Sue, Susan, Suzy, Sylvia, Taryn, Ted, Terry family, Thom, Thomas, Tom, Tricia, Valerie, Viola, Ward, Wendy  and those serving our country ... Alex, Benjamin, Christian, Clara, Eric, George, Harold, Herbert, John, Lorne, Luster Michael, Thomas, Tommy, and William.