Bethany Lutheran Church Batavia IL

06/02/2026

Pastor Jeff's Letter & Announcements
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Email from Bethany Lutheran Church View as Webpage AN EXTRAORDINARY MORNING On a Sunday morning, the prairie is lit up by the rising sun. Grasses of different shades and colors stand tall and waft gen

06/01/2026

AN EXTRAORDINARY MORNING
On a Sunday morning, the prairie is lit up by the rising sun. Grasses of different shades and colors stand tall and waft gently in the breeze. A couple of deer wander slowly, grazing as they go. Overhead, a hawk circles while riding the waves of the airstream. Several songbirds sing out to the new day, and a chorus of frogs raise their voices to the creation. A few old trees hold guard, as they have for thousands of mornings before this one. There is a slight fog just above the grass line as the morning dew burns off and evaporates. Beyond the eye of the beholder are those creatures who live below ground, such as rabbits or chipmunks, who are also busy this day collecting food for their nest. These hours are precious, as life awakens from the previous night’s sleep once again early in this growing season.
Over these past couple of centuries, generations too numerous to count have come and gone on this prairie. When life cycles are so short, generations rise and pass quickly. Still, there is an amazing consistency amidst the seasonal and annual changes. God is hard at work imagining and creating new life. Artists grow and develop their talents through practice, but God the Master Artist has a much deeper purpose for this work. The Creator of all things is in the business of loving. The heart at the center of all life beats rhythmically with that which has been called into being. Seasons change and generations pass the torch onward, but the prairie remains predictably indescribable because its roots are grounded in a love that is beyond human definition. Thus, there is nothing about this day that is ordinary. The creatures, grasses, and trees here all hold a special place in God’s soul. This day must therefore be declared as extraordinary, as is every day, in God’s eyes. For the breeze we feel in any time and place is the force of God’s love wafting along and touching all things in its path. There can be nothing in God’s creation that is ever simply ordinary, at least from God’s perspective. There is far too much admiration in those eyes for anything to be taken for granted. If only once we could see from God’s vantage point…Amen.
-Rev Jeffrey G Mikyska

05/31/2026

Love your neighbor... friend, stranger and foe alike.

05/31/2026

The Holy Trinity reminds us that relationship is woven into the very nature of God.

As Creator, God brings life into being. As Savior, God draws near in love and redemption. As Comforter, God remains present, guiding and sustaining us through every season.

At the heart of the Trinity is a relationship of love, shared, given, and received. Created in the image of this relational God, we are called to live in community, practice radical welcome, and care for one another as Christ cares for us.

On this Trinity Sunday, may we give thanks for the mystery of a God who creates, saves, comforts, and continually invites us into deeper relationship with God and one another.



Image: The Trinity by Russian icon painter Andrei Rublev, early 15th century.

05/29/2026

God's desire is to always be a presence with us. So God comes into the world as Jesus Christ, and into us as the Holy Spirit. And now God is intimately connected to us and the world we live in...

05/26/2026

Pastor Jeff's Letter and Announcements 5/26
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Email from Bethany Lutheran Church Community Supper THIS Friday! View as Webpage CONGREGATIONAL MEETING - MAY 31 Constitutional amendments will be up for consideration Sunday, May 31 10:30am after the

05/19/2026

Pastor Jeff's Letter & Announcements 5/19
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Email from Bethany Lutheran Church View as Webpage CONGREGATIONAL MEETING - MAY 31 Constitutional amendments will be up for consideration Sunday, May 31 10:30am after the church service THE STORM AND

05/19/2026

We grieve with the Muslim community in San Diego following the deadly shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego.

Houses of worship should be places of refuge, prayer, learning, and peace — never fear.

We pray for the victims, their loved ones, first responders, and all who are carrying shock and grief. We also stand in solidarity with our Muslim neighbors and reject hatred directed toward any faith community.

God of mercy, shelter all who are afraid. Strengthen all who work for peace. Teach us again how to love our neighbors well.

05/18/2026

THE STORM AND THE RAINBOW
On a humid summer afternoon, a young man sits outside on the deck reading. There is an occasional welcome breeze, but otherwise the air is really quite uncomfortable. For the longest time, he sits there engrossed in what he is reading until, in the distance, he hears a rumble and looks up. The Maple above him is starting to wave more as the wind has picked up. Over the garage, looking west, he can see some of the darkest and most menacing clouds he has ever laid eyes upon. This does not seem normal at all. His instinct is to retreat. The storm is approaching quickly, and the lightning is growing more spectacular. Suddenly, a great wind rushes through the yards, and the large Maple bends over as if to have her top branches reach downward to somehow brace herself and regain her balance from such a big blow. Defiantly she stands herself right back up. This was the warning shot fired by Mother Nature.
In the moments that follow, the scene looks more like midnight than dinner time. The heavenly storehouses of moisture open with full furry. Rain and hail pound the earth, and trees lurch in all directions, their roots holding on for dear life. Thunder literally vibrates the windows as lightning flashes with a wild and constant strobe effect. The sewers in the street cannot keep pace. Branches fall off trees and water floods yards. For the next thirty minutes, chaos reigns supreme in God’s creation. Eventually, though, the sun reemerges and a rainbow takes center stage as the closing act. It is as if the earth reached a boiling point and all stability broke loose, only to have light and glory somehow appear again in the wake of such force. They are gentle reminders that God’s grace will ultimately win the war, regardless of how destructive the individual battles may have been. And now, the evening air is cooler and crisp. Something new has been ushered in…as it always will be. God will never stop resurrecting new life out of complete chaos. Amen.
-Rev Jeffrey G Mikyska