BETHEL COLLEGE MENNONITE CHURCH
WORSHIP SERVICE AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
JANUARY 12, 2025
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.
To livestream the worship service:
On Sunday morning, around 9:20 a.m. go to BCMC’s webpage at bethelcollegemennonitechurch.org and click the green button labeled LIVE STREAM on the right side of the screen, which will take you to the worship service. If you get a message in the black box that the video is unavailable, click the gray box below that says “View Live Stream on YouTube”. Anytime after the service concludes, you can watch a recording of the service at your convenience by clicking the same green LIVE STREAM button. Again, you will probably have to go to the gray box that says “View Live Stream on YouTube”. That will transfer you to the BCMC YouTube Channel. You will have to click on the tab “Videos” to see all of the BCMC videos. Click the red button to see the bulletin/order of service.
OR – click on this link for this Sunday: https://youtube.com/live/_uUj8rcts7Y?feature=share
You are encouraged to stay at home again this Sunday. We will be streaming the service in the sanctuary at 9:30 a.m., and we recommend you watch from home. If you come to the church, parking and the entryways will still be icy and snowy, you put yourself at a high risk of falling. Parking will especially be limited as snow drifts impede access to the church from the south, west, and north. The east parking lot, though still slick, will have some drop-off access to the northeast and southeast entryways.
The Service of Remembrance will be held and live streamed at 4:00 in the afternoon. Exercise the same caution with that service.
Snow had fallen, snow on snow,
snow on snow,
in the bleak mid-winter,
[not so] long, long ago.
Christina Rossetti
–
Nathan Koontz (he, him)
Co-Pastor
Bethel College Mennonite Church
A note from Monica Lichti – Thank you to Kevin Neufeld for working really hard to remove lots of snow and ice from the east parking lot and church sidewalks. Also thanks to Marlin Lichti for shoveling entrances and throwing down ice melt!
BETHEL COLLEGE MENNONITE CHURCH
January 12, 2025
Christ Candle Lighting
Centering Music– Will Wiebe-Friesen
Welcome & Prayer–John Sheriff
*Hymn–Be Thou My Vision– VT 549
Children’s Conversation– Kathy Stucky
Worship Music–Country Dance (C.M. von Weber)– Rebecca Schloneger and Will Wiebe-Friesen
Scripture Reading–John 1:1-5; Proverbs 8:22-36– Richard Friesen
*Hymn–In the Beginning–VT 270
Sermon–Sophia Christ–Nathan Koontz
*Hymn–Praise to the Living God–VT 204
Prayers of God’s People
*Hymn–O God, Our Help in Ages Past–VT 203
*Benediction
Postlude
* You are invited to stand
VT—Voices Together
Audio visual—Francis Toews
The Week at BCMC: January 12—19, 2025
Sunday, January 12, 2025
9:30 a.m. Worship — 10:30 a.m. Faith Formation
YouTube Link for the worship service this Sunday:
https://youtube.com/live/_uUj8rcts7Y?feature=share
4 p.m. Service of Remembrance in the Sanctuary
YouTube Link for Service of Remembrance:
https://youtube.com/live/5-CgsEfm7BY?feature=share
For the Service of Remembrance bulletin press here
Wednesday, January 15, 2025
7:30 p.m. Chancel Choir rehearsal in the sanctuary
Thursday, January 16, 2025
6:30 p.m. Chancel Bell rehearsal in Room B7
Sunday, January 19, 2025
9:30 a.m. Worship with sermon by Joanna Harader; 10:30 a.m. Faith Formation
The congregation is invited to enjoy a piece of cake in the Gathering Space during fellowship time today, January 12, to help Glen and Karen Ediger celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary, which was December 28th.
BCMC Offering for Dec. 29: Gen. Fund $10,567.74; Plant Fund $50; Gen Fund 2025 $2000; Flower Fund $20; Kitchen Fund $14.01; Solar Fund $2,000; Dotty Janzen Mem. $103; Women’s Fellowship $581.
We offer sympathy to Nathan Kaufman and family on the death of Nathan’s wife, Jill Kaufman. Jill died Dec. 27 at Kidron Bethel Village. The memorial service was held on January 2 at Kidron Hall, Kidron Bethel Village, and may be viewed at the following link:
https://www.youtube.com/@KidronBethelVillage/streams
Greetings!
I am looking for volunteers who would be willing to provide a morning snack for our youth on Sunday mornings. Items could be, but not limited to, cinnamon rolls, fruit, cookies, etc. We generally have 4-7 young persons participate in Sunday School and would be gracious for yummy treats before their lessons starts. If you are able to volunteer, please email me at jill@bethelcollegemennonitechurch.org.
There will be a congregational meeting on Sun., Jan. 26, during the Sunday School hour in the sanctuary. The meeting will be available through streaming options. An agenda will be available in the near future. The following items will be included on the agenda: The Church Board recommends the approval of Melanie Mueller to the Witness Commission and approval of the 2025 BCMC Budget.
Changes for your BCMC Directory
· Al and Sue Penner no longer have a land-line. Add Sue’s cell phone: 620-727-0941
· Omar Voran’s new address in Wichita: Cedarhurst Senior Living, 11820 W. 29th Street N, #14, Wichita, KS 67205
Upcoming Memorial Services:
· January 13, 10:30 a.m.: Leona Kaufman’s memorial service at Eden
Mennonite Church, 401 18th Ave., Moundridge. Zoom link is:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88103194061?
pwd=pMzTgraQS8KPtIOZldMYMtX6iqZ6Go.1
Meeting ID: 881 0319 4061
Passcode: 576696
January 20, 11 a.m.: Dorothea (Dotty) Janzen’s memorial service at BCMC
· Helen Paul’s memorial service is pending (Helen died Dec. 25, 2024)
If you are interested in becoming a member, or transferring membership, or learning more about membership at BCMC, please contact Elizabeth Schmidt, Pastor for Congregational Care. She will be happy to visit with you!
The Kansas Mennonite Men’s Chorus is getting organized for our 2025 season. Those who sang last year should have received information from Aaron Stucky (stuckya2003@yahoo.com). For those who would like to join this year please contact Aaron or myself, Joe Peters 316-288-7031 or joep67117@gmail.com or join us at our first rehearsal on January 26. We sing so others may live.
Volunteer at New Hope Shelter: BCMC is part of a 24-congregation network providing volunteer support for evening shifts at New Hope Shelter. About five weeks per year, we carry in several meals for 25-30 people and have two volunteers stay through the evening to support a staff person. As volunteers come and go, we can always use more help to cover this commitment. If you could help occasionally by contributing food for a meal or spending an evening at the shelter, please email Cynthia Linscheid at cdlin319@gmail.com. New Hope Shelter serves homeless men, women, and children from Harvey, Butler, Marion, and McPherson counties. Thanks to all who have volunteered their time and service at New Hope, either recently or in the past!
Volunteers needed at Rocky Mountain! Camp needs assistance with Foodservice/Housekeeping for Jr and Sr High Snow Camps, Jan. 24-26 and Feb. 14-16. Please visit the camp website at rmmc.org and follow the link to the volunteer information and sign up to join us.
Register now for the 500 Years of Anabaptism & Swiss Alps Tour, May 21-31, 2025. Sites: The Swiss Alps, Swiss Mennonite sites, & the 500 Year Celebration in Zurich on May 29. Preview the tour at www.tourwithweldon.com. For information & registration details contact Weldon Martens at weldon.martens@gmail.com or 402-202-9276
Peace Connections is hosting a Bridges Out of Poverty Training Jan. 31 and Feb. 7. This training experience is a great way to invest in your community and expand resources, to help individuals understand the impacts of poverty. This FREE training will explore the root causes of poverty, increase personal understanding and identify ways to reduce barriers between each other. For more information or to sign up for this two-part training, please visit www.peaceconnections.org
Bethel College Announcements
· Sun., Jan. 12: Sunday-Afternoon-at-the-Museum program, “A Mennonite Sojourn in Central Asia, 1880-1935,” with historian John Sharp, 3 p.m., Kauffman Museum auditorium.
· Mon., Jan. 20: Bethel College’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration, 7 p.m., Krehbiel Auditorium in Luyken Fine Arts Center, with local pastor (retired) and community leader Larry Lee.
· Sat., Jan. 25: Kauffman Museum annual Kansas Day event, “At Home on the Range,” noon-4 p.m., museum parking lot and grounds. Featuring food trucks, exhibits and activities indoors and out, and much more. For more information, see the Kauffman Museum Facebook page or kauffmanmuseum.org
New Bluestem U lifelong learning courses for winter and spring 2025 are now open for registration. Courses are available for individuals age 55 and better. This semester’s offerings include STEAM, theatre, astronomy, bird watching and a free author’s series. See more information and registration at bluestemu.org. Bluestem U is a lifelong learning program of Bluestem Communities in partnership with Bethel College and Hesston College.
Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) is hosting a 75th Anniversary Annual Celebration in Wichita this February 14-15. As part of the celebration, MDS will be hosting a volleyball tournament and cornhole tournament! The tournaments will be held Sat., Feb. 15 at Ridgepoint Church in Wichita. The cornhole tournament is at 1 p.m. and the volleyball tournament is from 5 p.m.-8 p.m. They are looking for local teams or individuals to join the fun! Everyone is invited! If you are interested in registering a team or as an individual, please let Kaelan Swartley at kswartley@mds.org know by January 27. If you are looking to form or join a team with others from Western District Conference, contact the WDC office at wdc@mennowdc.org and we can connect you with others who may be interested.
Volunteers are needed to help with meals (meals are free for volunteers), welcome and hospitality, driving shuttle vans between hotels and church, and helping with meeting room preparation. Please contact Ada Schmidt-Tieszen at 316 842-9751 or adast@bethelks.edu for more information or sign up at the back of the sanctuary on Sunday, January 12. Thanks!
Newton Community for Racial Justice will hold its annual anti-racism training Feb. 13-15. This is a date change from previous years. Training will be held at the Newton Recreation Center from Thurs. evening, Feb. 13 through Sat. afternoon, Feb. 15. Registration: $350 per participant. Some scholarships are available. REGISTER HERE: https://forms.gle/pXViB4fzH8y3u7WM7
Payment can be made online: https://www.convergepay.com/hosted-payments?ssl_txn_auth_token=%2Bd%2Fr1xrRRCaZybUyv2z%2FeAAAAZON0fyjV
Hesston College Music Department will host a program called Anabaptism at Five Hundred: Hymn Festival Sun., Jan. 19, 3 p.m., at Hesston Mennonite Church. The Hymn Festival coincides with the 500th anniversary of the first Anabaptist adult baptisms in Zurich, Switzerland in 1525. This event will also celebrate the release of the Anabaptist Community Bible. The public is invited to this community wide celebration that involves singers from surrounding churches, as well as audience participation in the singing of hymns, led by Russell Adrian and Karen Unruh. The core of the program will be historical narrative by Ken Rodgers tracing important hymns and texts throughout the past five centuries.
Anabaptism at 500! This year, Anabaptists around the world are celebrating the 500th anniversary of the first Anabaptist baptism on January 21, 1525. As part of this world-wide celebration, MennoMedia has published the Anabaptist Community Bible, which two different BCMC Sunday School classes contributed to. You can find a copy in our church library. And if you’d like to read through the Bible in 2025, you can find a reading chart in a BCMC email. Our primary time for congregational celebration will be our worship service on January 26. BCMC will sing 16th century/Anabaptist hymns, hear reflections by two members, see a banner, and pray for wisdom as we observe this anniversary. On February 2, Dale Schrag will preach as we continue to mark Anabaptism 500.
MC USA Climate Justice | Zoom book study
Join MC USA in imagining a sustainable future for ourselves, our children and our planet by participating in an online book study of the compelling and timely book, “So We and Our Children May Live” by Sarah Augustine and Sheri Hostetler. In five sessions (Jan. 16 through Feb.13, 2025), we will engage in discussions in both large and small groups, interact with the authors, and explore how we – and our communities – are called to contribute to creating a more just and vibrant world. Register on-line today!
For Mennonite Mission Network “News and Beyond” press here
Western District Conference invites you to visit our website to read the latest news, stories and announcements
Camp Mennoscah Announcements
Camp Mennoscah Hoodies available for ordering! Click here to order online (https://forms.gle/QmPwMxrxD8ii9tRH6) or contact olivia.bartel@campmennoscah.org. The camp sign logo will be on the chest. Youth sizes are $40. Adult sizes S – XL are $40 and sizes 2XL – 4XL are $45. Colors can be found in the ordering form. Youth colors do not match adult colors exactly due to color availability. Contact Camp Mennoscah at 620-297-3290 with questions. Ordering closes January 20. We need a minimum of 15 hoodies ordered to proceed. Available ONLY through this online order.
Other events and happenings:
- Thank you for your generosity over the holiday season! Your gifts, prayers, and service to support Camp Mennoscah’s ministry are much appreciated. We’re a bit behind on getting receipts and thank yous sent, but you are not forgotten. Thank you oh so muchly!
- The application for 2025 Summer Staff is open.Staff positions are needed for nature, office, music, lifeguards, crafts and grounds/maintenance. Further information available on the Camp Mennoscah webpage under Programs/Summer Youth Camps or contact 620-297-3290.
- The 2025 Summer Youth Camp Schedule is available. See online at campmennoscah.org or attached for the (corrected) schedule. There has been a change in age groups for the camps. There are two Junior Camps for those going into grades 6, 7 and 8 in the fall of 2025. There is one Junior High Camp for grades 8 and 9. Other age groups remain the same. Registration will open in February 2025. The theme for the 2025 summer is Another Way, looking at how Jesus invites us to re-imagine who we are and to live in another way.For Mennonite Central Committee “In Touch” press here
For Mennonite Central Committee “The Great Winter Warm-Up” press here
Mennonite Church USA Announcements
Registration is open for MC USA’s Hope for the Future conference, Feb. 28-Mar. 2, 2025, at Goshen (Indiana) College. This year’s unique event will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Damascus Road Anti-racism Process and its pivotal role in the Anabaptist commitment to justice and reconciliation. Learn more here: mennoniteusa.org/news/30-damascus Register here: mennoniteusa.org/hftf-2025-register View the PDF here: mennoniteusa.org/hff-25-registration-pdf View the PowerPoint slide here: mennoniteusa.org/hff-25-registration-slide
On January 14, 2025, at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT, join Sarah Bixler, associate dean of Eastern Mennonite Seminary, and host, Michael Danner, associate executive director for Church Vitality at MC USA, for a presentational webinar titled, “Mindsight: Compassionate Pastoral Attention to Self and Others.” Learn more and register here: mennoniteusa.org/webinar/mindsight-ems
Beginning on January 18, 2025 the Anabaptism at 500 Read-a-thon will be available to stream online and will conclude on January 21, 2025, with a live-streamed worship/celebration in Goshen, Indiana (USA) as we read together the final passage from Revelations and celebrate the launch of the Anabaptist Community Bible. Tune in to the MennoMedia (https://www.facebook.com/MennoMedia) and Anabaptism at 500 (https://www.facebook.com/Anabaptismat500) Facebook pages to watch the livestream!
Mennonite Mission Network Prayer Request: Mennonite Mission Network praises God for the 29 SOOP volunteers serving in Arizona and Florida this month. Pray that these SOOPers will be a blessing to vulnerable populations, as they serve between two weeks and four months.
Western District Conference Prayer Request: Pray for congregations that are hosting visits from listening teams during the coming months as part of the WDC Listening Process, that they would be blessed through sharing and conversation together about how God is at work in their community and how WDC can support their congregational ministry.
Bethel College Mennonite Church is an open and affirming congregation
centered in the life and teachings of Jesus. Embracing the divine within each person, we warmly welcome any and all into fellowship without regard to race, ethnic background, gender identity, sexual orientation, ability,
economic status, marital status, or age.