Pastor Renee and Pastor Nathan will be out of town attending a workshop from October 23 through 25. If pastoral care needs arise during this time, please contact Rosalind Andreas at kenda4302@aol.com or 316-804.4218 or Carolyn Penner at clpenner@bluestemmail.org or 316-804-4535.
We offer sympathy to Jerry and Carol Buller and their family on the death of their brother-in-law, Gene Hawkey of Schowalter Villa, Hesston. Gene died October 19. Gene’s wife was Jerry’s sister, Doris (Buller) Hawkey. She preceded Gene in death. The memorial service was Friday, October 23 at Trinity Heights Methodist Church, Newton.
We offer sympathy to the family of Mary Lou Goertzen. Mary Lou died Monday, October 19. She was 91 years old and still living in The Blue School House in Deadwood, Oregon. She was no longer a member of BCMC, but she grew up on the campus and at BCMC. Her parents were Willis Rich and Hulda Penner Rich. Many people here knew her, especially because of the china she designed and her other art work. She married Ernie Goertzen, who was also an artist. She was a cousin of Dwight Platt and Zona Galle and also Lenore Waltner. ~ Zona Galle
Mennonite Central Committee Meat Canning time is upon us. BCMC’s days to work are November 10, 11, and 12 (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday). John Hillegass (MCC, Akron, PA) and Jason Unruh (MCC, North Newton) are working to make this season’s canning experience as safe as possible. Masks will be required, temperatures scanned and extra precautions taken with snacks. The workload is being reduced to four batches per day instead of six or seven and we should be finishing by late afternoon. Starting time is 7 am. If you don’t feel comfortable working, one can send a check to BCMC and write “MCC Meat Canning” on the memo line. As Maynard Knepp says: “The need is great.” Thanks, Lowell Stucky, BCMC Meat Canning Representative, 316-283-9677 (please leave message.)
The BCMC 2020 Directory is in your mailboxes at the church. The south automatic (glass) doors and the northwest door (the door closest to the office) are open at the church every day from 9 am to 5 pm. The office can mail (and would be happy to mail) you the directory but it does cost $1.40 to mail each directory. If you wish to have your directory mailed to you, please email or call the office. Maybe you are coming to the church to pick up your directory and/or visit the church library and you could pick up a directory for a neighbor or a friend! Thank you to Rosalind Andreas for collecting directories and taking them to Kidron Health Care and Assisted Living!
From the Finance Committee:
The annual BCMC pledge drive is now called the bcmcXpress! Multiple factors were involved in the name change, including that this is more in tune with our common purpose statement: “Our faith in a God of love leads us by the power of the spirit to follow Jesus in doing justice, loving mercy and walking humbly with God.” We know that to some extent the Pony Express played a part in the decimation of the Native American population in our country. So, it was time for a change!
There will be no door to door handing out of the envelope as in the past. Those of you that have email contact from the church will receive an email with a “Giving Intent Form” that is fairly simple to fill out. If you do not receive email from the church, the information should come to you via regular mail.
November 8 is Stewardship Sunday. The theme this year is “Where your treasure is, there is your heart” – taken from Matthew 6:19 to 21.
In his sermon on the Mount, Jesus makes a connection between our treasure and our hearts: Not only do the possessions, money and property we accumulate tell the story of what we value; Jesus seems to suggest that the treasure we possess has the power to shape our values, priorities and lives.
Our congregation’s upcoming bcmcXpress process provides us with opportunity to reflect again on the role of money and wealth in our lives. How might generosity—our willingness to share what we have with our congregation and beyond—help free us from the power that treasure holds over our lives?
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.
BCMC Offering for October 11-18: General Fund $7,270; Mennonite Central Committee $200; Living Stones $385; Elevator Repair $750.
A Rembrance of Frank Nachtigal’s life will be held on the Bethel College campus at Memorial Hall on October 25, 2020 at 1pm. 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.
Mennonite Mission Network Prayer Request: Pray for Mennonite Mission Network’s partner DOOR and UpNext, DOOR’s mentorship program for young women of color desiring to explore the intersection of faith and justice. Pray for these young adult leaders and their mentors to make a positive impact in their communities as they apply faith-based leadership models.
Western District Conference Prayer Request: Pray for pastors in WDC, as they provide congregational leadership and care during challenging times.
Western District Conference Announcements:
· Thumbnail Comparison of Candidates on Immigration policy, asylum, and deportation: The WDC Immigration Task Force invites you to review this brief comparison between the presidential candidates on immigration issues here: https://mennoniteswithoutborders.org/blog/candidates-immigration-policies/. We voters are the voice for the voiceless. “Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom that is prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food; I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink; I was a stranger and you welcomed me; I was naked and you gave me clothing; I was sick and you took care of me; I was in prison and you visited me” (Matthew 25.34-35).
· Connect! Faith Formation in Challenging Times: Join Kathy Neufeld Dunn (WDC Associate Conference Minister, Kansas Based) Saturday, October 24, 9-11 am CT on Zoom or Facebook Live on WDC Facebook page for ideas of how to connect with the story of Jesus and with God–how to connect your church folk, yourself, and the curious. Before the pandemic, people were already going online for info and interaction. Now faith formation online is one tool we have to have in our faith formation toolbox. How do we do this with integrity? Want to join via Zoom? Request the link at wdc@mennowdc.org.
Camp Mennoscah announcements
· A recording of Camp Mennoscah’s annual meeting is available on YouTube at https://youtu.be/gWLZ8tXyBcM and soon on Camp Mennoscah’s Facebook page.
· Camp Mennoscah’s Scrapbook and Crafts Retreat on October 30-Nov. 1 has only a few spaces available. 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.
· Another Work and Play Day at Camp Mennoscah has been completed! Thank you to all the volunteers for the work done and your great company. Your support is valued more than you might imagine.
· Camp Mennoscah is a year-round campground! Ask about winterized facilities or conquer the prairie wilds in a tent. It’s a whole new world in the winter–and available for you! Contact Camp Mennoscah at 620-297-3290 to make a reservation.
Bethel College Announcements
· 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.
KIPCOR’s ONLINE 2020-2021 Film Series
The November film is Cooked: Survival by Zip Code, a multiple-award winning documentary that focuses on the deadly 1995 Chicago heat wave to illustrate how minorities and low-income citizens suffer the most negative impact from natural disasters. The film is an indictment of our nation’s disaster preparedness, and forges a link between extreme weather, extreme disparity, and extreme racism.
Note that watching the film and participating in the Talk-back are two distinct, separate events.
YOU MUST VIEW THIS FILM BETWEEN NOV. 8 AND NOV. 14 using this link and password:
Click here to view film: https://vimeopro.com/bullfrogfilms/kipcor-cooked
Password: KC30p0
Then on Sunday, November 15 at 2 pm, KIPCOR will host a virtual discussion of the film on Zoom with Christy Miller Hesed, a Hesston resident and Postdoctoral Associate in Environmental Anthropology at the University of Maryland. Go to KIPCOR’s website at http://kipcor.org to register for the November 15 Talk-back discussion, and
we will send you the Zoom link on November 13. Advance registration is required.
Mennonite Church USA Announcements:
· Pastor Sandy Drescher-Lehman and her husband, John, realized that when they stepped out of the way, God began a good work – right in their own backyard. Read their blog, “Hosting Hipcampers: Is this missional? Or spiritual?” at https://www.mennoniteusa.org/hipcampers.
· A new video series from Mennonite Church USA showcases the stories of Mennonites who are advocating for immigration justice and demonstrating radical hospitality. Visit the Learn, Pray, Join web page for these and other resources: https://www.mennoniteusa.org/immigration/.
· Safwat Marzouk, associate professor at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary, urges us to consider how the demographic changes in North America are providing an opportunity to recover a biblical vision of the church. Read his blog, “A church that embodies immigration justice and radical hospitality” at https://www.mennoniteusa.org/menno-snapshots/church-embodies-immigration-justice-radical-hospitality/
· Giving Tuesday 2020 is Dec. 1. Live out your call to participate in and support the work of God. Visit MennoniteMission.net/GivingTuesday.
Mask ask! MCC is responding to a request from people on the Northern Cheyenne reservation in southeastern Montana for cloth face masks to help stop the spread of COVID-19. If you would like to sew masks, here are guidelines:
-Adult sized
-Use at least 2 layers of good quality cotton fabric (solid colors preferred)
-Elastic ear loops
-Nose wire/filter pockets optional
Please ship purchased or completed masks to the MCC Central States Material Resources Center (Attn: Kate Mast) at 121 East 30th Street, North Newton, KS 67117, or drop off in the 24 hour donation room at MCC by November 15th. They will all be collected and transported to Montana in time for the winter season. Questions? Please contact katemast@mcc.org.
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.
The Tabor Church Mennonite Men would like to invite everyone to the annual chicken barbeque on Nov. 5 from 5-7 pm or until the food runs out. This year it will be a to-go pick up meal. The menu is bbq chicken, baked beans, coleslaw, dinner roll and ice cream and the food will taste great as usual. From the south end of the east parking lot please drive around the south side of the church under the overhang to place your donation and pick up your meal(s). The funds raised will go to Mennonite Central Committee and Bethesda Home in Goessel. The church is located 8 miles north of Newton to 90th then 1 mile east or 3 miles south and 1 east of Goessel.