This Week at BCMC: July 31—August 7, 2022
Sunday, July 31—Live stream (YouTube) link for this Sunday is:
https://youtu.be/gQoTnZnOPO0
10:15 am Fellowship Time with coffee and water served in the
Gathering Place
10:30 am Faith Formation—Visitors welcome!
Adult Classes (If meeting): Agape Class (Rm B8) Bible Study (Rm 14); Catacombs (Rm B5); Fellowship (B7); Fine Arts (Rm 22); Issues and Christianity (Rm 23);
Mosaic (Rm 20); Open Circle (Room 21); Seekers (Rm 28);
Sojourners (Chapel)
Monday, August 1
Pastor Todd Schlosser will not be in the church office today.
7 pm Facilities Committee meeting in Fellowship Hall
Tuesday, August 2
6-9 pm Event in Fellowship Hall
Thursday, August 4
7 pm Church Board Meeting in Room 14
Sunday, August 7
9:30 am Worship with sermon by Todd Schlosser
10:15 am Fellowship Time with coffee and water served in the
Gathering Place
10:30 am Faith Formation—Visitors welcome!
BCMC July 24 Offering: General Fund $2,572; Library Reserve Fund $10; Living Stones $5; Women’s Fellowship $50.
BCMC Budget Update: For June 2022, income was $35,070 and expenses were $39,637. For the year-to-date, income is $211,450 and expenses are $254,017. – The Finance Committee
New address for your directories: Weldon and Florence Schloneger have moved to Kidron Bethel Village. New address is 3004 Ivy Drive, North Newton, KS, 67117. Their cell phones and email addresses remain the same.
The Abuse Prevention and Response Committee will take the months of July and part of August to read the book, #Church Too. On Sunday August 21 will be spent sharing reactions to the book, and on August 28 guiding questions will be used to help us discuss how we as a congregation can use the information from the book to help us create a healthy culture around sexuality at BCMC that supports survivors, our children/youth and ourselves. The book can be purchased through Amazon, requested through Faith and Life bookstore, or your favorite local independent bookstore of your choice. If demand is high we will pivot and figure out a way to have copies available in the church office for purchase. – Jill Robb, APRC chair
Update from the Church Board:
BCMC is in a time of transition, an “in-between” time of waiting and working in the boundary between what was and what will be. These times are rich with possibility for new understanding of our past and current status and for re-envisioning and planning our future. The following are updates on Church Board work during these transitional times:
Credence and Company Consultants:
BCMC has contracted with Credence to help us assess congregational strengths and challenges and review our current leadership structures as we consider the future with new pastors. A congregational survey has been completed. The consultants are currently in the process of interviewing 35 individual members of the congregation, gathering additional information from outside sources, and analyzing survey results. A preliminary report for congregational feedback will be shared with the congregation on a Sunday morning sometime in September or October. The final report will be completed before Advent. The reference group of David Linscheid, Lois Preheim, Megan Kohlman, Ada Schmidt-Tieszen, and Todd Schlosser has been offering feedback to the consultants. Thank you
Assistant Treasurer Transitions:
Over the last months there have been several transitions in the volunteer role of assistant treasurer, an important position appointed by the Board. It is with deep gratitude that we recognize and thank Nancy Hilty and Lois Goertzen for their competence, dedication, and long service in this role. The Church Board was pleased to approve Mary Ann Boschman and Bonnie Epp as our new assistant treasurers and recognize and thank Richard Friesen for his ongoing work as a volunteer assistant treasurer who manages software that tracks congregational giving, produces quarterly contribution reports, helps analyze giving patterns, and trains new assistant treasurers. Thanks to all these invaluable volunteers!
Reopening Task Group—Release and Thanks! The church board voted to release the Reopening Task Group from their duties. We owe a huge thank you to the group for steering our congregation through the last several years with consistency and wisdom! We recognize that Covid is not gone, but at this time Covid management will become decentralized with commissions and committees managing Covid precautions and decisions for events and activities in their charge. Individuals are expected to take whatever precautions each deems appropriate. The church will continue to livestream services for those who choose to view services from home. Masks will be available for in-person worship and events.
New Task Group:
The Church Board has approved the formation of a task group to lead the church in finding ways for our congregation to move beyond land acknowledgement to tangible actions seeking justice for the harms which Indigenous peoples have suffered and continue to suffer today. We will discuss joining the Repair Network of Mennonite congregations for education, solidarity and reparative action alongside Indigenous peoples. The first action of the BCMC task group will be to help support MCC’s “Loss of Turtle Island” experience for members of our congregation. If you would like to join the task group, contact Nathan Koontz or Ada Schmidt-Tieszen. Raylene Hinz-Penner will convene the task group.
BCMC Welcome for New Bethel College Students
On Sunday August 14th BCMC will welcome the new students at Bethel College to our church. It is a large incoming class, numbering over 150 students from many different places. The gathering will start with our normal worship service to be followed by some refreshments (outdoors as able). While this is a wonderful opportunity for us to show hospitality, we are also aware of the possible COVID implications. While everyone will be required to wear masks, please be aware of the opportunity to view the service on line if you so choose. We also invite all who feel comfortable to join the students for refreshments following the service (whether you view on line or in person) to meet and greet and to offer a warm welcome to Bethel and BCMC
Welcome to Riley King who will begin this fall as our Chancel Choir Director! Singers from high school age on up are invited to join the choir when rehearsals begin this fall.
Faith Formation Staff Positions and Survey
Two quarter time staff positions are open to help ease the load of Faith Formation in the wake of Pastor Renee’s departure. The Youth Coordinator is primarily responsible for the high school youth group. The Faith Formation Coordinator is responsible for coordinating children and youth Sunday School and Wednesday evening programming for children up to high school age. These positions will go through the end of the school year. These positions could be combined into one half time position for the right candidate. If you or someone you know might be interested, please contact Kathy Stucky at kathystucky57@yahoo.com. The full job descriptions are attached at the bottom of this email.
For Faith Formation Coordinator Description click here
For Youth Coordinator Description click here
Faith Formation would like for everyone to fill out a short survey regarding interest in attending an intergenerational Sunday School class this coming school year with our children and youth. We are looking for adults who are interested in joining the class for one month out of the year. Please take a look at the survey and see if any of the areas of opportunity to help will interest you.
https://forms.gle/v5q4uWeY4XE8w6vX7
The current BCMC Library theme is “Committee Book Recommendations”. Our current members, picked a few of our favorites from our wonderful collection and they are now shelved in back of the library desk. Come in, check one (or two or three) out and see if you agree with us. Carol Flickinger, Rose Haury, Barb Koontz, Sondra Koontz, Kathryn Simmons, Margaret Goering.
The Library Committee has processed almost 20 new books, 10 of them purchased and donated by The Abuse Prevention and Response Committee. The APRC books can be found on the Pastor’s Corner shelf which is now located on the west wall with the other recent purchases. Another new purchase is “The Land Is Not Empty” by Sarah Augustine which was recommended by the Dismantling the Doctrine of Discovery group. Please stop by and see what we have to offer and continue to browse and donate from our puzzle collection.—The
Library Committee
The 2022 issue of Mennonite Life, Bethel College’s annual online journal, is now live at ml.bethelks.edu, with articles and reviews by Daniel Shank Cruz, Chris Dick, June Mears Driedger, Susan Kennel Harrison, Raylene Hinz-Penner, Gordon Houser, Reinhild K. Janzen, Gayle Gerber Koontz, Steve Nolt, Rachel Pannabecker, Karen Reimer, Ben Woodward-Breckbill and Melanie Zuercher.
Life Enrichment returns to Bethel College with the start of the fall 2022 semester – but It will be on a different day. Life Enrichment resumes Thursday, Aug. 25, and will be on Thursdays thereafter. Place and time remain the same: Krehbiel Auditorium, 9:30 am. See https://www.bethelks.edu/academics/convocation-lectures/life-enrichment for more information.
Western District Conference Announcements
Western District Conference invites you to visit our website to read the latest news, stories and announcements and share them with your congregation!
Fall Book Study on Healing Haunted Histories Sept. 8-Dec. 1, 2022
Elaine Enns, co-author of Healing Haunted Histories: A Settler Discipleship of Decolonization, will be leading an online, intensive book study this fall for the Dismantling the Doctrine of Discovery Coalition. Two-hour sessions will be every other Thursday, 6-8 pm Central Time, on Sept 8 and 22, Oct 6 and 20, Nov 3 and 17, and Dec 1. This book encourages personal and collective work toward decolonization. It asks those of us who are settlers, immigrants and displaced peoples to do our own pre-work of integrating our ancestral stories, so we can see more clearly and show up in solidarity with Indigenous peoples. There is a suggested donation of $150-$250 for the online book study. Scholarships are available. Register here by August 1.
Note to Western District Conference members: You are encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity and register for the Healing Haunted Histories book study! If you do so, please inform the WDC office at wdc@mennowdc.org or 316-283-6300. This will allow us to facilitate networking between WDC participants, and plan for further engagement with Elaine Enns within the WDC context, as follow-up to the book study. If you seek some financial support to help meet expenses for the book study, please inform WDC. Requests for assistance will be considered by the WDC Resource Commission at their next meeting in September.
Sat., Aug. 6 – Kauffman Museum first-Saturday bird walk, 7 a.m. start time in the museum parking lot at the corner of Main and 27th streets in North Newton. Experienced birders lead a walk of 1-1.5 hours in Chisholm Park and on Sand Creek Trail (terrain is mostly wood-chip path and sometimes uneven/sloping).
Bluestem U, a lifelong learning program for individuals age 55 and better, is enrolling now for its first semester that will begin in September. The fall 2022 semester will feature three courses hosted by Hesston College and Schowalter Villa – “Prairie Landscaping 101” taught by Brad Guhr, “Happy Habits from Positive Psychology” taught by Kevin Wilder, and “Buggies, Bonnets and Boundaries: A Study of Amish Faith, Life and Culture” taught by John Sharp. Each course is $50. For more information and registration, go to bluestemu.org or call 316-836-4846. Bluestem U is a partnership between Bluestem Communities, Bethel College and Hesston College.
Camp Mennoscah Announcements
Many thanks to the many volunteers of the 2022 summer–program directors, input leaders, counselors, kitchen staff, maintenance volunteers, and all the other delightful people who spent time at Camp Mennoscah! It has been a brilliant time with approx. 370 campers immersed in worship, friends, and caring relationships over 8 amazing camp weeks. Thank you for being part of these great experiences!
Camp Sing on Saturday, August 6, at 2:30pm at Hope Mennonite Church in Wichita! Camp Mennoscah will be celebrating a wonderful summer through song! Everyone is invited to come and sing camp songs (both “traditional” ones from across the years and newer Praise & Worship ones). The final details are yet to be determined, but there will be soda pop–generic or otherwise! Put it on your calendar and come be part of the fun!
Other events and happenings:
- Work & Play Day on August 20! Camp Mennoscah has projects to complete and plenty to do after a busy, fun summer. You are invited to be part of this camping ministry through fellowship and service! Projects for all ages and weather are available. Let us know you’re coming so we can be prepared for you! Bring your lunch and a water bottle. The day will start at 8:30 at the maintenance shed. End your day with a leisurely kayak ride or stroll to the sandbar. Contact Olivia at 620-297-3290 or olivia.bartel@campmennoscah.org to sign up. Want to volunteer either before or after August 20? Give us a call!
- Pardon the Mess! Camp Mennoscah is cleaning out and organizing maintenance sheds and other buildings. Items in the front “yard” will slowly find new homes. Thank you for your understanding!
- Groups are invited to set their own precautions based on the comfort level of their group. Please note the RV electrical hookups are not available due to safety concerns.
- Camp staff work hours vary depending on scheduled events for the week. The office assistant also works part-time from home. (Whenever a group is at camp, a staff person will be on duty.) Thank you for understanding! We will be in touch as soon as possible.
Everence® February webinar: Social Security and retirement income
Everence® will hold an informative Social Security and retirement income webinar on Tuesday, Feb. 15, starting at 6:30 p.m. Specifics will include Social Security strategies, including when to begin taking benefits, risks that can impact your retirement savings plus strategies to help your income last throughout retirement. There will also be plenty of time for questions.
Information will be presented by staff from the Everence offices in Central Kansas.
To register contact Everence at 316-283-3800, 877-467-7294 or central.kansas@everence.com.
Advisory services offered through Concourse Financial Group Advisors, a division of Concourse Financial Group Securities, a Registered Investment Advisor. Securities offered through Concourse Financial Group Securities, a registered broker-dealer and member of FINRA and SIPC. Investments and other products are not NCUA or otherwise federally insured, may involve loss of principal, and have no credit union guarantee.
Products and services offered through Everence Trust Company and other Everence entities are independent of and are not guaranteed or endorsed by Concourse Financial Group Securities, or its affiliates.
For Mennonite Mission Network News and Beyond press here
For Mennonite Mission Network News from Around the World press here
For Anabaptist Disabilities Network press here
Mennonite Church USA Announcements
This week, please pray for Allegheny Mennonite Conference congregations as they gather for their annual Celebration of Congregations and Conference on August 5-7.
Learn, Pray, Join: Welcoming EveryBODY
We do ourselves a disservice when we don’t celebrate everyone’s gifts. Jeanne Davies of Anabaptist Disabilities Network reflects on how those on the margins, those with disabilities, provide beautiful insights and gifts that we can all benefit from. Read more in her Menno Snapshots blog, “For the common good.” mennoniteusa.org/for-common-good
Menno Snapshots
When Cindy Angela moved from Java, Indonesia, to Pennsylvania, she was pleasantly surprised that she was able to experience pieces of her Indonesian culture in her new city. When she was baptized into Christ, she was even more excited that, through her diverse church, she was able to incorporate her Indonesian identity into her Christian walk. Read her Menno Snapshots blog, “Pieces from back home,” to learn more. mennoniteusa.org/pieces-from-back-home
Mennonite Mission Network Prayer Request: Mennonite Mission Network requests prayer for Freddy Barrón and Margrit Kipfer Barrón, as they mentor leaders and support church plants in the Bolivia Mennonite Church. Pray for Freddy as he pastors a congregation and Margrit as she coordinates Christian education for the denomination.
Western District Conference Prayer Request: Join the Church Planting Commission in praying for WDC congregations to discover new opportunities for bringing healing and hope in their ministry contexts, according to the vision Jesus proclaimed of God’s kingdom. Likewise, that God would strengthen or create new connections between older congregations and newer congregations and church plants, so that we may learn from one another. – Pastor Caleb Yoder