Mission Partners at Bethel: A City-Wide Church with a World-Wide Ministry
At Bethel, we are called to live out our mission as a city-wide church with a world-wide ministry. This mission extends beyond our church walls as we seek to form meaningful partnerships with organizations and communities both locally and around the world. We believe that by working together, we can make a deeper, more lasting impact—transforming lives and sharing God’s love through action.
Our mission partners are an essential part of how we carry out this vision. Whether through local outreach programs, global mission work, or community collaborations, we are united in purpose and dedicated to supporting those who need it most. These partnerships allow us to join hands with others who share our heart for justice, mercy, and love in action.
We invite you to explore the ways Bethel is engaging with mission partners near and far. Together, we can be a force for good, living out our faith through service and creating a community that reflects God’s love to the world.
PUERTO RICO
This is a video that Pastor Ivette Salgado Torres and others put together for our 20th Anniversary Celebration. Iglesia Luterana Bethel and Bethel Lutheran Church working together, side by side, creating wonderful memories and friendships.
If you are interested in learning more about how to participate in our partnership with Puerto Rico, please contact Pastor Lauren at lauren@bethel-madison.org.
EMERSON SCHOOL
Bethel Lutheran Church is grateful for our ongoing partnership with Emerson Elementary School, a valued neighbor in our downtown community. Through hands-on service projects, seasonal clean-ups, and volunteer support, Bethel members come alongside students, families, and staff to care for the school and strengthen our shared neighborhood. This relationship reflects our commitment to being a “city-wide church with a world-wide ministry,” living out our faith in tangible ways by supporting local schools and investing in the well-being of our community.
HEPHATHA LUTHERAN CHURCH 
Bethel Lutheran Church is proud to partner with Hephatha Lutheran Church in Milwaukee, supporting its Strong Baby Sanctuary and the vital work it does with families. Rooted in shared faith and a commitment to justice and care, this relationship connects our congregation with a broader effort to address infant and maternal health disparities. Through prayer, learning, and financial support, Bethel joins Hephatha in walking alongside families—offering encouragement, stability, and hope in meaningful, lasting ways.
CIRCLE OF LOVE
From 2000 through 2017 Bethel hosted a small delegation of children from the Ukraine near the site of the Chernobyl nuclear accident for 6 weeks during the summer. They received medical, vision, and dental treatment; attended English classes and enjoyed trips to Noah’s Ark and Bethel Horizons. This program came to an end in 2017.
Since 2017, Circle of Love has partnered and supported many different groups and organizations through the annual Circle of Love Golf Outing.
Bethel has partnered with:
- Habitat for Humanity, helping to build a home for one of Bethel’s Bhutanese families
- Bethel Horizons, raising money for their 50th Anniversary Campaign (1969-2019)
BLOOD DRIVE
Assisting professional Red Cross staff at blood donation sites throughout the city or donating blood through the One-a-Week program for organizations that promise their group’s support. . For more information, or to sign up, contact Dale at 608.241.4751.
Visit the American Red Cross Website
COMMUNITY MEAL PROGRAM (LUKE HOUSE)
Bethel members and volunteers provide and serve the noontime meal at the Luke House Community Meal Program on the second Monday of each month. Luke House is located at 310 S. Ingersoll St. You can bring your contribution to Bethel the Sunday before or by 10am on the day of serving. If you would like to be a part of this vital community program by serving or preparing a meal please contact Janet the Luke House Coordinator or email at bethel@bethel-madison.org..
Food contributions and servers for the meal are always welcome. This is a great opportunity to share in a vitally important ministry taking place outside our church walls that has a very low time commitment.
CHURCH LADIES (DAYTON HOUSE)
The ARC Houses in Madison are transitional living situations for women who have been incarcerated and are reentering the community. Each month women from Bethel go to the ARC House on Dayton Street to make greeting cards, share treats, have a short Bible story, sing and pray from 1-3pm. If you want more information on this program and how you can help, contact Sue Murray at bethel@bethel-madison.org.
BLANKET WORKSHOP
Blanket Workshop: women share in fellowship as they make blankets (quilts) that are donated to Lutheran World Relief for distribution throughout the world. Some women in the group spend their time at a sewing machine. Most of the women share in simple tasks of tying knots with yarn and pinning hems. No sewing or quilting experience is necessary to join this group. Tasks are easy, and there are plenty of friendly and experienced members to show you the techniques. You don’t have to officially sign up, and you don’t have to come every month. Just join us when you can.
This group began in 1969 and has assembled a total of 9,049 quilts for Lutheran World Relief (LWR). The quilts can be used for warmth, as part of a tent, as a mat, room divider, poncho or pallet. Quilts have also been repurposed as a wedding dress and used to bury a loved one. The Blanket Workshop meets on the 4th Thursday of the month, 9am-2pm at Bethel (two meetings in August on the 2nd and 4th Thursday and none in December). It is not necessary to be present the entire time or every time. Bring a sack lunch if you do stay through the lunch hour; coffee will be provided. Quilt kits are available to sew at home to make quilt tops for the Blanket Workshop. These quilt kits consist of 48 (10.5 inches) squares to sew in a 6 X 8 block arrangement. Please contact Patty Saxe if interested in sewing a quilt top.
MADISON AREA JAIL MINISTRY
Bethel provides funding that supports a men’s and a women’s chaplain for the Dane County Jail. Chaplain Todd Marcotte brings spiritual and personal support to Dane County inmates.
Madison Area’s Jail Ministry serves people in Dane County who are incarcerated, their families, and their communities. Our logo illustrates our mission. The blossoming flower represents hope, perseverance, and love for a new life. As the shackles of past lives and poor choices are broken, wisdom, forgiveness, faith, and love grow. The mosaic hands speak to diversity. People from every walk of life are impacted by incarceration. This rich diversity of life experiences informs the spiritual journeys of every person who is seeking a closer relationship with God. The handcuffs represent both the literal shackles of physical confinement and the figurative prisons of self-doubt, shame, and self-loathing. The hands and the flower breaking free of the circle represent the limitless possibilities when we bring faith, hope, and love into the challenging process of re-entry.
If you are interested in finding out more information about the Madison Area Jail Ministry check out their website.
Chaplain Todd Marcotte
tmarcotte@madisonjailministry.org
Your Bethel Contact: Ann Leon
LUTHERAN PARTNERS
Today and every day, Lutheran World Relief Quilts and Kits of Care give families around the world some of life’s essentials, as well as a reminder that they are not alone. From chronic poverty and conflict to drought and typhoon, the intensity of humanitarian needs continues to increase. Your quilts and kits are urgently needed!
LUTHERAN WORLD RELIEF KITS
Lutheran World Relief Kits Today and every day, Lutheran World Relief Quilts and Kits of Care give families around the world some of life’s essentials, as well as a reminder that they are not alone. From chronic poverty and conflict to drought and typhoon, the intensity of humanitarian needs continues to increase. Your quilts and kits are urgently needed!
LWR QUILT AND KIT SHIPPING FUND
LWR spends around $1.3 million to operate this shipping program. Those funds, combined with the generosity of donors, ensure LWR has the resources needed to move these items around the world.
LWR spends around $1.3 million to operate this shipping program. Those funds, combined with the generosity of donors, ensure LWR has the resources needed to move these items around the world. Donating toward the Lutheran World Relief Quilt and Kit Shipping Fund provides another way to support Lutheran World Relief. There are a couple of ways to donate. The link below will take you to the Lutheran World Relief website where donations can be made online. Credit cards are accepted.
Donate to the LWR Quilt and Kit Shipping Fund
Checks can also be written out to Bethel, with “LWR Shipping” written on the memo line. Please consider this opportunity to support the LWR Quilt and Kit Shipping Fund. Donating to the shipping fund will help ensure that the gifts created by others can reach those who need them most.
BETHEL SUPPORTS UKRAINE
Support Ukraine is a Bethel mission formed in response to the war in Ukraine in 2022. Funded through congregation donations and the Circle of Love Golf Outing, the ministry provides direct assistance to those affected by the conflict. In 2025, Bethel sent $16,500 to support urgent needs including dental care, children’s programs, resettlement assistance for displaced families, hospital repairs, and the work of a Family Development Center in Nebrat.
