Putting Beam and Cross in place

I wasn't sure if I should publish all these pictures but they were so interesting I thought I should share them with you! The steel beam for the sanctuary and the cross are up! It now looks like a church! Work has progressed at an amazing rate and we pray that it will continue. Thanks to Pr. Daryl for these photos!
Crane Lifting Steel BeamWall of the Sanctuary
Lifting the Steel Beam.
Watching the Beam Lift Up!
Putting theBeam in Place
Almost in Place!
Lift High the Cross! Putting the Cross in place takes skill!




This is tricky!
The Cross is in Place!

Beams and Cross
A Job Well Done!

Steel Beam Up

Thanks to Lorne for these photos and most of the rest of the photos published here! Lift High the Cross, days end July 25/07.

Almost in place

Up and Over

The last big lift

Now, was that 14 and 26/32 or 27/32?

A framing maze or amazing framing. Education wing.

Installing Laminated Beams July 23

Our church is taking shape! Soon they will be installing the large steel beam in the worship area. Extreme temperatures have not dampened the enthusiasm or the progress of our church!


Lots of volunteers showed up in the 35• heat to put up the large beams shown here.

Volunteers Needed for Farmer's Market

Michelle and Leslie are organizing a booth at the farmer's market to raise money for the Building Fund every Friday morning from 8:30 am to 11:30 am from July 27 to September 28. Volunteers are needed to man the booth and to supply fresh baking, jams, jellies, cut flowers, garden vegetables, house plants, perennials etc. Please label all the ingredients used to make any food stuffs. Donations can be dropped off Thursday nights at Michelle Stalwick's or Leslie Hicks' or brought in to the market at 8:30 am. If you have any questions, or would like to volunteer, call Michelle at 867-1809 or Leslie at 867-8674.

Ice Cream Social Huge Success

The ELW Ice Cream Social took in $613.00 which will go toward the fireplace in the new Fireplace Lounge. It was moved to the church basement due to the extreme heat.

Volunteers needed for Rafter Week

This will be a busy week. Many volunteers are needed to raise the rafters! If you can help, come out to the site anytime during the day or after supper. Les will put you to work either as ground crew or up above!

Bird's eye view of out new church as of July 12. It is taken from the kitchen/fellowship hall wing. The sanctuary is in the left front corner and the office/Sunday School wing is at the top right.


The scissor lift sure beats ladders and scaffolding!

July 11 Framing pictures

More Walls! How many are there?

What does it look like up there?



Look! No hands!
Lunch time is always a welcome break!

Framing Continues

The ELW are sponsoring an Ice Cream Social on Tuesday, July 17 from 2 to 4 pm in Bethlehem Lutheran Church basement. Parking is available across the street at the Bird's Nest Motel. A freewill offering will be taken. Everybody Welcome!

Tuesday, July 10 saw many hungry people flocking to Ag Foods for a barbecue lunch to raise some funds for our building project. Organizer Michelle Stalwick was very pleased with the turnout. "I think it turned out to be a great success, almost entirely due to the generosity of Royce Taylor and the support of the community". Royce Taylor of Ag Foods donated all the 'fixing's' so all funds collected went to the building fund. A total of $778.00 was raised. Special thanks to all who helped out and all who supported it.

Pastor Daryl Olson leads us in the Ground Breaking ceremony on June 25, 2006. Everyone present had a chance to take their turn at turning the sod. Previously, the ground had been rotor tilled in the shape of a cross.

The dozers have moved in! The work has begun!

When putting in the pilings, they hit rock. Our church has a solid foundation!

Volunteers hard at work! They look so relaxed! Can they really be working???

Once the steel beams were in place, we could envision the outline of our church.

Floor joists were put in place in record time with lots of volunteers from
our congregation and LCBI students. Too bad these students won't be
around in the summer to help out!

Walls were started in July and should be finished by the end of this week (July 13) - provided the weather cooperates!

Construction Has Begun!

Excavation is done; piles are in; floor is constructed and walls are going up. Volunteers from the congregation and LCBI have been busy hammering, shoveling, sawing and insulating.

Excavation began in April and the foundation was poured in May by Hank Halseth and crew. On June 19, floor trusses were put up in record time with as many as 28 volunteers from the congregation and LCBI working together. By Friday, the 29th, all floor sections were in place.
Soaring temperatures in the first week of July did not slow down the progress. Walls started to appear as did birthday cake for Ron Sagness, one of the volunteers. Workers literally came up out of the hole to have a piece of birthday cake at the "lunch break" call! Helen's piece of cake bit the dirt and Les Engen, contractor, actually refused this blackened offering! (This was after making it part of the contract that we supply him with cake and pie!)

We are very excited about the progress of our new church and hope to update this blog with pictures in the next week! Keep in touch and keep this project in your prayers.

Welcome to the new Bethlehem Blog!

Please pardon the dust - not only are we constructing a new blog, but a new church as well! Check back later for more information, pictures, etc.