Re-open Church Task GroupThe Re-open Church Task Group continues to work at keeping our church and community safe while finding ways we can gather as a community. Some Faith Formation and small group activities have begun to happen outside. As we continue to learn about COVID-19 we are working on continuing to open in safe ways. At this time, BCMC is closed for in-person worship at least through October. In order to gain some feedback from the wider congregation, the Re-open Church Task Group would like to gage the comfort level of in person gatherings at BCMC and find out the needs of the congregation at this time. We are encouraging households to fill out this Google Form to better guide our Re-open Church Task Group. Please click here for the form and complete it by October 15th.
Regardless of the results of this questionnaire a few things can be expected:
- Worship and community life will look and feel different
- Worship services will continue to be livestreamed on YouTube
- Capacity will be limited in order to ensure proper social distancing
- There will be no congregational singing
- Masks will be required at all times while in the building
- There will be no fellowshiping time inside the building. You are welcome to greet others outside at a distance.
To view more information about what the Re-open Church Task Group has been working on, you can visit our new tab on the church website here.
Hello VideoThis week’s Wednesday “Hello” video comes from Al Peters and Patty Shelly. Click here to learn more about the bcmcXpress and how our November pledging event has changed this year.
Thank you to BCMC members for all of the friendly notes, calls, and gifts of food following my fall and subsequent ankle surgery in July. Thank you to pastors Nathan and Renee for your caring and encouraging conversations. My ankle is strong enough for me to walk behind a walker, and I will soon start physical therapy. — Carol Peters
According to the latest numbers, we still need $1,466.12 to cover the elevator repair. Based on the estimate from Regier Construction, we need $35,886.03 to cover the kitchen/fellowship hall renovation.
Contributions from January 1 through September 30 were $327,680 and expenses were $352,897, leaving a shortfall of $25,217.
P & M Pumpkin Patch
Faith Formation Commission has purchased 50 tickets for families to visit the P & M Pumpkin Patch on October 18th. If you are interested in picking out a pumpkin, playing some outdoor games as a family, and possibly running into a few other BCMC folks, please contact Deb Georing at dgering@bethelks.edu for tickets.
Social Justice is Climate Justice
The Witness Commission along with Christy Miller Hesed would like to continue to provide education and avenues for advocacy for social justice and climate justice. The link below features Katharine Hayhoe, who is a climate scientist and evangelical Christian and speaks very clearly on how to talk about climate change with our neighbors.
Interfaith Power & Light Webinar Recording: Climate Change, Our Faith Values, and 2020: A Conversation Between Dr. Katharine Hayhoe & Rev. Susan Hendershot: http://bit.ly/KatharineHayhoerecording
Learn about Katharine and see her resources on climate science and communicating about climate science at http://www.katharinehayhoe.com/wp2016/
The family of Frank Nachtigal wishes to thank the congregation for the many expressions of sympathy including cards, prayers, food, memorial donations, and other sincere condolences following his sudden death on August 17th. All were comforting during this sorrow in our family.
A Rembrance of Frank’s life will be held on the Bethel College campus at Memorial Hall on October 25, 2020 at 1:00 pm. Friends and family in attendance will be required to wear masks and socially distance before, during, and after the service. In addition because of Covid, no food will be served and no large group singing will take place. Weather permitting, any informal greeting of family and guests will take place outside on the plaza following the service. We look forward to your presence with us as we mourn our husband, father, brother, grandfather, and friend.
The Hesston College Nursing program is partnering with Slate Creek Elementary, and looking for reusable mask donations from local businesses and organizations. There are 200 students total who need pediatric sized masks. The goal Hesston College Nursing has for the school is to promote mask hygiene, and the students will need another mask while they wait for theirs to dry after washing. We understand that 200 masks is quite the undertaking, so any number of masks that you would be able to provide would be greatly appreciated. If you would like to donate some child-sized masks, you can bring them to the BCMC office and the office will see to it that these masks are delivered to the Hesston College Nursing Program. — Noah Miller, Hesston College Nursing Program
The Kansas Mennonite Relief Sale is conducting an Online Quilt Auction. The Quilt Auction begins on Monday, October 12, 2020 and will run through Monday, October. 26, 2020. There are 25 quilts that have been selected by the Quilt Committee.
The Quilt Auction is on the Auctria website at https://charityauction.bid/KMRSQuilts The link is now live and there are pictures of the quilts with a complete description of each quilt that would be in the MCC Sale Quilt booklet. This includes title, dimensions, as well as the individual that donated the quilt if known. These are lovely quilts that are a representative of the more than 200 quilts that were donated in April. Check out the pictures now and start bidding on Monday, Oct 12!
Mennonite Mission Network Prayer Request: Brian and Noelia Fox of Mennonite Mission Network are trusting God to show them the way through adjustments made necessary by COVID-19. Pray for family members as their daughters continue with e-learning and as Brian and Noelia adapt classes at the English academy. Pray also for their ministry with the Anabaptist community in Burgos, Spain.
Western District Conference Prayer Request: Give thanks for generous contributions that support WDC’s work of sustaining pastors and leaders, resourcing congregations, and nurturing church planting partnerships.
Western District Conference Announcements:
Your Vote Matters! This article (https://mennoniteswithoutborders.org/blog/your-vote-matters-to-us/) from the perspective of DREAMERS (young adults who were brought to the U.S. as children) is the next article sponsored by the WDC Immigration Task Force in their series before the election. Please read it!
Mennonite Central Committee announcements:
· Mennonite Central Committee invites you join Celebration 2020: MCC at 100, a livestreamed event commemorating a century of MCC’s ministry on Saturday, Oct. 17, starting at 6:50 pm. (EDT). The event will feature photos, videos and storytelling that highlight MCC’s work over the years. Former MCC leader and pastor Leonard Dow of Philadelphia will inspire participants to walk boldly into the next century of MCC’s ministry while talented musicians will lead in prayer and thanksgiving. You can find more information about MCC’s centennial and log in for the livestreamed event at mcc.org/celebration-2020.
Camp Mennoscah announcements
· Camp Mennoscah volunteers will be removing the Camp Mennoscah dam on October 18 beginning at 3pm (after a morning baptism). You are welcome to come watch the process (please bring a mask and/or expect to stay at least 6 ft. away from others). If you would like to help in the removal process, please contact Camp Mennoscah at 620-297-3290. Physical distancing and mask wearing may not be feasible for those in the water.
· Camp Mennoscah’s Scrapbook and Crafts Retreat on October 30-Nov. 1 has only a few spaces available. (Nov. 6-8 is waitlist only.) Participants will stay in the Retreat Center with their own bathroom and scrapbook/crafts tables will be set up in the dining hall to provide more space and better ventilation. Mask and distancing guidelines followed. Register at campmennoscah.org! Call 620-297-3290 for more information.
· Last chance for canoeing before the dam comes out! Come to Camp Mennoscah for a day or overnight retreat and spend those hours basking in a canoe. You can also hike the trails in cooler weather, have a campfire cookout, and enjoy the open spaces of the tallgrass prairie! Contact Camp Mennoscah at 620-297-3290 to make a reservation.
Bethel College Announcements:
· Mon., Oct. 12 – “In the Time of Injustice and Unrest, Cultural Humility Calms the Storm,” a virtual presentation by Dr. Juliana Mosley, 10-11:30 a.m., sponsored by Bethel College’s Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. To register, send your name and e-mail address to diversity@bethelks.edu, with “Juliana Mosley” in the subject line. Dr. Mosley is chief diversity, inclusion and public relations officer at Chestnut Hill College in Philadelphia, and an experienced public speaker, including a TEDx Talk.
· Due to Bethel College’s current COVID status, the Chamber Orchestra concert scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 13, has been canceled (it may be rescheduled, or recorded at a later date).
· 2020 Menno Simons Lectures at Bethel College – For the first time in 68 years, this annual series will be delivered virtually. The speaker is César Garcia, general secretary of Mennonite World Conference, Kitchener, Ontario. The series title is “Towards an Anabaptist Catholicity.” Lectures are Sunday, Oct. 25, 7 p.m. (live online with Q&A to follow); Monday, Oct. 26, 11 a.m. (pre-recorded); and Monday, Oct. 26, 7 p.m. (live online with Q&A to follow). To register, go to https://forms.gle/t55EqQjrttWn4md8A All registered participants will receive the Zoom link a day or so before the series begins.
· Virtual events from Bethel College’s Fall Festival, Oct. 2-4, can still be viewed on its YouTube channel, including No Cross, No Crown: Covid Edition, an original play by Karen Robu, based on the life of Antoinette Brown Blackwell, the first woman to be ordained in a mainline denomination in the United States, and an outspoken anti-slavery, temperance and women’s suffrage advocate. You can also see the 2020 alumni awards presentations to Doris Bartel and Barry Hieb and Todd Flory’s Young Alumnus Award convocation (after Oct. 9). Go to https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYk8Gp04MBoPIO2NUap95ug and click the “Videos” link.
· Bethel College Women’s Association has worked to raise money for Bethel for many years. This August we are opening our first online store, www.bcwamarketonline.com. We invite you to help us support Bethel by checking this online market for crafts, jewelry, Bethel-themed items and much more. Our inventory will change over time so please check in to find that special gift or item for your home.
Now in the Regier Gallery in Luyken Fine Arts Center at Bethel College: “Forthcoming,” photography by David Long, through Oct. 30. Gallery hours: 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Mon.-Fri. Face coverings must be worn on the Bethel campus.
KIPCOR’s 2020-2021 Peace Lecture Series. KIPCOR will be live-streaming “Bridging the Cultural Divide in Difficult Times.” with speaker Sarah Smarsh, Thursday, November 5, 7 pm. Sarah focuses on socioeconomic class and rural America. Her book Heartland: A Memoir of Working Hard and Being Broke in the Richest Country on Earth, a New York Times bestseller and a finalist for the National Book Award, examines economic inequality through her upbringing among the working poor on a Kansas farm. Sarah has reported on socioeconomic class for The Guardian, the New York Times, The New Yorker, Harper’s, and other publications. Heartland was named a “best of 2018” by NPR, Fresh Air, the Boston Globe, Amazon, Buzzfeed, Barnes and Noble, and Publishers Weekly. In addition to being short-listed for the National Book Award, Heartland was a finalist for the Kirkus Prize, the Lukas Prize, the Indie Choice Award, and an Audie Award for Smarsh’s reading of her audiobook. Actor-producer Sarah Jessica Parker selected the title for the American Library Association’s Book Club Central. Sarah is a regular political commentator in national media and has spoken internationally on poverty, rural issues, and cultural divides. She was recently a Fellow at Harvard’s Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy. In 2019, Sarah released a podcast entitled The Homecomers, which focuses on how a national blind spot toward rural and working-class America is driving misleading headlines, broken politics, and dangerous fissures in our social fabric. The podcast showcases stories of people who, as residents or advocates, remain committed to their complex, embattled homes. This event is a fundraiser. Registration (to be included in the November 4 emailing of the Zoom link), and a donation button if you want to help offset the cost of the event, are available at the website, www.KIPCOR.org.
SAVE THE DATE—IBA BENEFIT DINNER: The annual Instituto Bíblico Anabautista (IBA) benefit fundraiser will beFri., Oct. 16 at First Mennonite Church in Newton. A burrito order to go will take place instead of the usual dinner. (You can order Pork, Chicken or Meatless burritos. Sold by ½ dozen-6 burrito and a dozen-12 burritos) Pick up between 4:30-6:30 pm, instructions will be sent later. Sale by donation. If you are not able to order you are invited to give a donation. Your generous gift will help ensure the future of this vital ministry. IBA is a program of Mennonite Education Agency’s Hispanic Ministries for Leadership Development and Pastoral Education. For any inquiries or to ORDER contact Violeta Ajquejay Suastegui at: VioletaA@MennoniteEducation.org or call 316-281-4342. DEADLINE to order: Thursday Oct. 9.
Mennonite Church USA Announcements:
· Glen Guyton, executive director of Mennonite Church USA, reflects on his 27 years as a Mennonite and shares his vision for what’s working, what’s not and what opportunities lie ahead for our denomination in his blog, “The church we’re called to be.” Read it here: https://www.mennoniteusa.org/menno-snapshots/the-church-were-called-to-be/
Subscribe to Mennonite Church USA’s convention newsletter to get the latest news about MennoCon21, scheduled for July 6-10, 2021 in Cincinnati, Ohio. http://eepurl.com/gbyUCj
· Hillary Watson, a bivocational pastor in Ann Arbor, Michigan, reflects on the relationship between our war-tax-resisting Anabaptist roots and our response to current-day violence in her blog, “’Defund the police’ is deeply Anabaptist.” Read more: https://www.mennoniteusa.org/defund
· Join Bible teacher Joe Sawatzky on Mission Network’s Facebook on Tuesdays at 1 p.m. (EST) for “Missional Meditations.” A church relations representative, Sawatzky will help you gain insight for your sermons or daily life and inspire a missional imagination in your congregation!
· November is mission month. Racism harms the body of Christ and God’s reconciling mission. But God has made a way to receive forgiveness — repentance that leads to life! Our mission month materials invite MC USA and everyone to engage God’s plan for reconciliation.
How has 2020 strengthened, challenged or reshaped your Anabaptist faith and the way you live your life? Share your stories, photos, videos and artwork at Anabaptist History Today, a collaborative, online, Anabaptist storytelling platform. https://aht.libraryhost.com/s/archive/page/Welcome
Everence will host a Social Security and retirement income planning webinar, on Tuesday, Oct. 20 at 6:30 p.m. Attendees will learn about Social Security strategies, risks that can impact retirement savings and strategies to help income last throughout retirement. This online workshop is free. Register soon by contacting our office at 316-283-3800, 877-467-7294 or central.kansas@everence.com.
MEDA Convention 2020: Towards an equal world Join MEDA for 2 days of inspiration, information and networking online November 6-7, 2020. MEDA Convention is an intersection of faith and business where you can explore what it means to be faithful in daily work and learn about MEDA’s business solutions to poverty. Go to www.medaconvention.org for more information.
Hoffnungsau Mennonite Church, 43 13th Ave, Inman, annual Mission Supper
There will not be a dine-in experience in the church basement, but they will offer a carry out meal featuring a traditional menu of homemade sausage, mashed potatoes, gravy, creamed peas, zwiebach, applesauce and pie on Sat. evening, Oct. 24. Orders will be accepted from October 4-October 18; call/text Barb Reeves (620-543-6863) or Teresa Schrag (620-242-2357) to let them know how many meals to have ready and prepared for you. Meal pick-up will be at the church from 5-6:30 pm, October 24. There will be a free-will offering benefit with all proceeds going to support the Buhler Omega Project, a Christian addiction recovery program. Checks can be made out to “Hoffnungsau Mennonite Church” and cash donations will also be accepted that evening.
The Tabor, 891 Chisholm Trail, Newton, Mennonite Men’s annual chicken BBQ will be Nov. 5. However, unlike the last 50 years there will be no in church dining. The meal will be a drive-by to-go meal. The menu will be the same, bbq chicken, baked beans, coleslaw, dinner roll and ice cream.