2026 marks Bethesda’s 55th anniversary. To celebrate 55 years of God’s faithfulness to Bethesda, we have created a limited-edition “Tile Tote.”
The creation of “the Tile Tote” has a unique story of its own. A friend of Bethesda was browsing a local thrift store in the Fraser Valley when she discovered a charming blue and white porcelain tile featuring a vintage Bethesda design. Thinking we might appreciate seeing it, she arranged to have it dropped off at the office. After some digging, we discovered that the tile had been a prize handed out at an AGM from the late ’80s. This design was not logged in our archives, making it a little treasure from Bethesda’s past.
It is amazing when pieces of our history find their way back to us. They remind us to pause and reflect on the steps Bethesda has taken and how God has faithfully guided us throughout the years.
The building featured in the design is actually Bethesda first home, Mt. Lehman Home. Read the story of Mt. Lehman Home’s beginnings. In the early ’70s, Bethesda began as a volunteer group formed from within church communities across BC to provide respite for families with children with diverse abilities. A few years later, Bethesda’s leaders felt God’s calling to provide permanent homes for people with diverse abilities where they would be loved and encouraged to grow. Eventually, that calling became a reality, and the Mt. Lehman Home was opened.
Although this home doesn’t resemble our homes today, it was an important first step toward the inclusive homes and support systems that we know as Bethesda today, and a far step from the earlier institutions many of the people who first moved into the home, moved from.
This little tile that made its way back to Bethesda encourages us to reflect on the faithfulness God has shown us over the past 55 years and to look forward to all that He will continue to do.
The Little Blue Tile
A little blue tile, a story untold,
Found in a thrift store, both precious and old.
A piece of Bethesda, from years gone by,
Returned to us – what a wonderful surprise.
From a small volunteer group, a vision grew,
With God’s faithful hand guiding all that we do.
A home at Mt. Lehman, built with great care,
Became a beginning of a legacy shared.
From building foundations to homes we know,
God has been faithful through all that we’ve grown.
Now fifty-five years stand as a reminder:
His faithfulness has carried us farther and wider.
So this little tile, now carried once more,
Tells a story of Bethesda from years before.
A piece of our past, a future to share –
A reminder that God has been faithful through it all, everywhere.
