Newton Community for Racial Justice worked to put together a video for MLK Day of Service. Take a look to hear Newton leaders talk about antiracism and MLK. You may even recognize some BCMC folks! Click here to watch the video.

Junior High Club and Super Bowl Snack Fundraiser
This is the time of year when Jr. High Club sponsors and members start planning for the much-anticipated Super Bowl Snack fundraiser, which is held on Super Bowl Sunday. Given the current circumstances with COVID-19, we believe it is safest to cancel the annual fundraiser this year rather than try to proceed, even in a modified format. However, if you would still like to support the Jr. High Club with a financial gift, you are welcome to do so. We thank you for your continued support and will plan to be back for Super Bowl LVI in 2022!

A Message from the BCMC Visual Arts Committee
The Tempestry wall hanging, a project of BCMC’s Visual Arts Committee, was originally scheduled to be unveiled in April 2020 in the Gathering Place at BCMC.  Due to the interruption of the pandemic, it will be hung at the Et Cetera Shop in Newton for several weeks beginning mid-January 2021, and then displayed at BCMC for a longer period when we gather again.  The seven panels feature a row of knitted yarn representing the high temperature for each day in twenty year increments, from1897 (when BCMC began) through 2019.  Thanks to skilled knitters Sara Dick, Esther Kreider Eash, Deane Frey, Mary Goering, Marilyn Harrold, Peggy Souder and  Lenore Waltner who participated in creating this visual art piece. 

Mon., Jan. 18, 6:30 p.m.
Bethel College’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration will feature spoken word artist M’Vyonne Payne and former pro athlete and motivational speaker Chris Singleton. The event will be held in Krehbiel Auditorium in Luyken Fine Arts Center, with COVID protocols in place, and will also be live-streamed via YouTube at bit.ly/bethelks-mlk2021 Sponsors are the Bethel College Diversity Council, Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and Student Life Office, with support from the Bethel College Women’s Association. 

COVID Lighting Memorial
The Presidential Inauguration Committee will host a memorial to honor the lives lost to Covid-19 on Tuesday, January 19 at 4:30 p.m. in cities and towns across the U.S.   A Washington D.C. memorial will feature a lighting around the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. It will be the first ever lighting memorial to honor lives lost.  The Inauguration Committee is inviting cities and towns across the country to join Washington D.C. in lighting buildings and ringing church bells in a national moment of unity and remembrance. 
You can participate by lighting a candle in your window. 
“In the midst of a pandemic — when so many Americans are grieving the loss of family, friends, and neighbors — it is important that we honor those who have died, reflect on what has been one of the more challenging periods in the nation’s history, and renew our commitment to coming together to end the pandemic and rebuild our nation.”

Join Mennonite Central Committee for a free webinar: The Spiritual Cost of Doctrine of Discovery. Mark Charles, a Navajo activist, speaker, and author will be presenting on The Spiritual Cost of Doctrine of Discovery. Along with Soong-Chan Rah, Mark is the author of Unsettling Truths: The ongoing, dehumanizing legacy of the Doctrine of Discovery, Intervarsity Press (2019). The free webinar will take place on Thursday, January 21, from 10-11:30 CST. Please register by January 20 at mcc.org/webinar-registration-dod to receive the webinar link. 

Congregational Meeting will be January 31 
Mark your calendars now for the upcoming Congregational Meeting on Sunday, January 31, 2021, at 1pm.  The meeting will be held via Zoom and agenda includes approval of the proposed 2021 church budget. Agenda and other reports will be made available ahead of time (more details to follow).

Great news from the BCMC Finance Manager
Great news!  2020 is over, and the church ended the year with a surplus!  We were even able to send additional monies to all the organizations supported by the Witness Commission!  I have received some questions regarding the end of year contributions reports.  If you have any questions or concerns about yours, please let me know by email treasurer@bethelcollegemennonitechurch.org or telephone (316-283-2660).  ~  Mike Claassen, Finance Manager
BCMC Offerings
December 24:  General Fund $5,284; Sr Hi Youth $25; Gen Fund 2021 $4,025; Caring Fund $350; Living Stones $125; Women’s Fellowship $260; Miscellaneious $252.95
December 31:  General Fund $2,975; Caring Fund $1,175; Living Stones $2,500.
January 7, 2021:  General Fund $15,533.92; Caring Fund $1,550; Living Stones $1,315; Peace Garden $2,000; Carl Thieszen Memorial $50.

Everence to hold Medicare webinar: Tuesday, Jan. 19
Everence will host its popular workshop, Make Medicare an easy step, as a webinar on Tuesday, Jan. 19 at 6:30 p.m. Attendees will learn about the various Medicare plans and what they cover; plans that supplement Medicare; and enrollment details and deadlines. This webinar is free. Please register by contacting our office at 877-467-7294, 316-283-3800 or central.kansas@everence.com.   *Attendance is recommended for those approaching retirement or those ready to sign up for Medicare. 

Western District Conferece Annual Assembly Resolutions
The Assembly will be held July 30-Aug 1, in a hybrid model with the possibility of both virtual and in-person activities. WDC encourages the development of resolutions that facilitate discernment, educate, build unity, and provide an area conference understanding while acknowledging dissenting voices.  Any proposed church statement should be discerned through congregations or WDC commissions and task forces and submitted for consideration to the WDC Resolutions Committee a minimum of 120 days prior to annual conference sessions (April 2, 2021).   

Camp Mennoscah announcements
1.  Applications for Camp Mennoscah Summer Staff positions are now being accepted!  Although there is a chance positions will change to meet the needs of pandemic-impacted summer youth camps, the current leadership positions are naturalist, crafts leader, lifeguard, grounds/maintenance, music leader, office, and all-round/media. For those 21 years old or older, there is also a Director of Support opening.  Find the application and information online at www.campmennoscah.org under Summer Youth Camps!
2.  Celebrate the new year by coming to Camp Mennoscah!  Camp Mennoscah is a wonderful space for families and groups needing space to spread out!  Facilities for differently sized groups are available with a variety of gathering areas.  Trails and fields are waiting to be hiked and used for fun activities, too!  Contact Camp Mennoscah at 620-297-3290 or office@campmennoscah.org to reserve.  You are invited to enjoy this sacred space!
3.  Thank you, Allen and Janet!  After 40 years of dedicated service as program directors at Camp Mennoscah, Allen Jantz and Janet McGillivary are retiring.  We know them in part for their wonderfully caring and carefully planned camp week and for Allen’s lunchtime skits and Janet’s lanyard-making.  We celebrate these years shared with Camp Mennoscah and wish them the best in new adventures!  See you at Camp Mennoscah again soon, Allen and Janet!

Mennonite church announcements
Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary is offering two new scholarships:

• The Multicultural Church Scholarship is for students who are currently serving in or preparing for ministry assignments in a multicultural context and/or who belong to historically underrepresented racial or ethnic groups within the Mennonite Church. Each year, this award will provide a limited number of 100-percent tuition grants to full-time students beginning a master’s program, or a limited number of 75-percent tuition grants to part-time students beginning a master’s program.
• The MDiv Connect Student Scholarship provides a limited number of 75-percent tuition grants to students beginning the Master of Divinity (MDiv) Connect program.

For more information:  ambs.edu/grow

Common Read
Join others across WDC to discuss I Am Not Your Enemy: Stories to Transform a Divided World by Michael T. McRay.  This Common Read is a partnership between Herald Press, MC Canada, and MC USA.  WDC-based Zoom discussions will take place on Jan. 28, 7-8pm. Join for one or both discussions. To borrow a copy of the book (limited number) or to register for the discussion, email crlib@mennowdc.org 

Sat., Jan. 30 – Kauffman Museum annual Kansas Day event, “Our Stories, Our Foods.” Starting at 11 a.m. – food trucks, local producer booths and take-it-home crafts, museum parking lot and grounds; 11 a.m. via Zoom: Glen Ediger, North Newton: stories about Mennonite ethnic foods; 2 p.m. via Zoom: Jenny Masias, Newton: “The Immigrants Who Built Newton: One Spike at a Time”; walking tour to the eight “Stories Along the Trail” sites in North Newton. Please note that face coverings must be worn and distancing guidelines followed on Kauffman Museum and all Bethel College property. To get Zoom links, go to the Kauffman Museum Facebook page or kauffmanmuseum.org

The KIPCOR Film Series at Bethel College is serving up a second helping of Cooked: Survival by Zip Code, which focuses on the deadly 1995 Chicago heat wave to illustrate how Black, Indigenous and People of Color and low-income citizens suffer the most negative impact from natural disasters. The film is an indictment of U.S. disaster preparedness, and connects extreme weather, extreme disparity (income and other) and extreme racism. Go to kipcor.org, “Film Series,” for a link to watch Cooked for free and a link to register for the Feb. 7 virtual discussion; advance registration is required to participate in the discussion, which will be held in break-out rooms, with leaders who include Chicagoans who experienced the 1995 heat disaster.Letter from Jim Robb, Kansas Mennonite Relief Sale Chair
Please put July 2 and 3, 2021 on your church calendar for this year’s MCC Sale.  We are hoping and praying that COVID-19 will be under control by July so we can hold the MCC Sale this year. Click on this link to read the letter.   https://mcusercontent.com/6c82c57d5882e890a1945358a/files/14e4425a-12b1-40e1-8e27-62a136da1a0a/MCC_Sale_Date_Change.pdf

Mennonite Mission Network Prayer Request
Mennonite Mission Network praises God for DOOR’s (Discovering Opportunities for Outreach and Reflection) creative adaptation of leadership training programs in the COVID-19 era. Pray for all the young people who have engaged with the Teaching Collective series, which offer a virtual space for discussions centered around race, gender, trauma and healing. DOOR organizes opportunities to experience God in urban settings.

Western District Conference Prayer Request
Pray for God’s wisdom for WDC church leaders, as they continue to discern how best to guide congregational life during the pandemic.