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Pastor's Page
Welcome to Bethlehem
We are delighted you are stopping by at our website. We hope you will avail yourself of all that Bethlehem has to offer you.
I would like to take a moment of your time to introduce you to the congregation I love and serve. Bethlehem Lutheran Church is a warm supportive congregation reaching out with God’s good news of love and forgiveness.
We are a congregation connected to the E.L.C.A. and supportive of global and domestic missions and outreach through branches of the Church such as Lutheran Disaster Response, E.L.C.A. World Hunger Appeal, Lutheran Social Services. We also support the local efforts of the Cook County Food Shelf, Salvation Army, and numerous other needs.
Worship life is viewed as a high priority at Bethlehem. We celebrate God’s love in a liturgical style incorporating traditional and contemporary music. On Sunday mornings at 10:00 a.m. accompanied by pipe organ, grand piano, senior choir, bell choir, our new children’s choir and soloists our congregation lifts their voices in songs of praise. Because of the high value we place on music within our worship services Bethlehem has become known for good music and a people who love to sing. On Wednesday evenings at 6:30 p.m. we hold a more casual and intimate worship service where the musical focus is toward the contemporary, and the sharing of the peace of Christ is central. At both our Sunday services and our Wednesday services we celebrate Holy Communion weekly.
Regular Bible study is also a high priority at Bethlehem. We host many Bible studies at the church throughout the year including live webcasts from Luther Seminary in St. Paul. Learning God’s Word for our lives is a life long pursuit for us. We also host many studies outside of the church building. Members are encouraged to find the Bible study that works best for them.
Members and friends of the congregation form significant and lasting relationships here. Mutual prayer support is practiced through prayer chain, prayer groups, prayer shawls and visitation.
Join us, you are always welcome here.
Pastor’s Bio
I am Mark Ditmanson, and I have served Bethlehem since 2001. I was ordained in 1986 and served at Gustavus Adolphus Lutheran Church in Northeast Minneapolis, and then Lake of the Isles Lutheran Church in Minneapolis before coming to Grand Marias. Prior to becoming a pastor I had worked as a behavior therapist in the MN Correctional System; I also served the A.L.C. as a short-term missionary in Japan.
Being a pastor in a church like Bethlehem is a great joy to me. To be able to serve the full diverse ministry areas of a congregation is a rich blessing. I am passionate about serving families all the way from the joys of baptism, the celebrations of graduations, weddings, and other milestones, through the path of accompanying members in illness, and into the heart-break of loss and the healing of grief. Bible Study and Family Ministry are my particular loves within pastoral ministry. In 2005 I completed my Doctor of Ministry degree focusing on how families can best help their children to grow in faith.