WORSHIP SERVICE AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
FOR BETHEL COLLEGE MENNONITE CHURCH JULY 23, 2023
To livestream the worship service:
On Sunday morning, around 9:20, 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 belows 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/i_L0L-s4B28?feature=share
BETHEL COLLEGE MENNONITE CHURCH
July 23, 2023
Prelude—Salut d’Amout (Edward Elgar)—Karen Schlabaugh
Christ Candle Lighting
Welcome—VT 851
Invocation—VT 857
Songs for Gathering
VT 6 Let’s walk together (piano, guitar) (Verse 1 octet, verse 2 & 3 congregation.)
VT 28 Come, Christians, join to sing (organ/acapella) (Verse 1 and 3 with organ, verse 2 acapella)
Song With Children:
VT 63 Like a rock
Song of Praise
VT 101 Sing praise to God who reigns (verses 1 and 4 in unison, 2 and 3 parts)
Telling God’s Story
From the OT: VT 185 (Psalm 104)
VT 175 Planets humming as they wander
From the NT: 295 (Matthew 5:3-12)
VT 290 Blessed are you
Confessing Our Faith
VT 419 Great is thy faithfulness (acapella)
Sharing Our Stories
VT 625 Far above the noise of life (octet sing verse 1, congregation sing verse 2, octet sing the second ending)
Prayers of God’s People—VT 996
The Lord’s Prayer—VT 675 Abana Alathi—(octet sing each phrase, congregation sing repeat)
Benediction—VT 822 (Romans 15:5-6)
Sending Song
VT 769 Now I know—(Ron Garber, leader, congregation echo)
Postlude—When in our Music God is Glorified—(Robert A. Hobby)—Cynthia Neufeld Smith
Thank you to the participants of this Sunday’s hymn sing:
Song Leader—Cynthia Neufeld Smith
Audio-visual—Ken Lamp
Violin—Rebecca Schloneger
Flute—Susie Swartley
Guitar—Roger Neufeld Smith
Scripture Reader—Elizabeth Schmidt
Octet—Ron Garber, Verlene Garber, Cynthia Linscheid, Dave Linscheid, Virginia Mininger, Joe Peters, Bill Swartley, Susie Swartley
Accompanists—Verlene Garber and Karen Schlabaugh
This Week at BCMC: July 23-August 6, 2023
Sun., July 23, 2023
9:30 a.m. Our worship will be getting more acquainted with Voices Together.
YouTube Link for this Sunday is:
https://youtube.com/live/i_L0L-s4B28?feature=share
The church nursery is staffed during worship and Sunday School
10:45 a.m. Faith Formation—High School (Room 24) Adult Classes: Agape Class meets in the nursery; Fellowship (B7); Fine Arts (Rm 22);
Issues and Christianity (Rm 23); Open Circle (Room 21) Seekers (Rm 28)
Mon., July 24, 2023
7 p.m. Facilities Committee meeting in Fellowship Hall
Tues., July 25, 2023
6 p.m. Pastor Search Committee meeting in Room 14
Thurs., July 27, 2023
4 p.m. Witness Commission meeting in Room 14
7 p.m. Deacon Commission meeting in Room 14
9:30 a.m. Worship with sermon by Pastor Nathan Koontz; music by
Joan Griffing; July birthday recognition
BCMC Offering for July 16, 2023: General Fund $3,008.33; Caring Fund $250; Memorial Funds $100; Living Stones $258.33; Francis Funk Memorial $50.
You did it again! June was a great month with a positive balance of about $3000. That’s three in a row! Congratulations! If this trend continues we will wind up with a fantastic year. Finance Committee
“Growing Up in Gaza—Bringing Peace and Justice to Israel-Palestine” will be presented by Tareq Abuhalima, Sun., Aug. 6, 10:45-11:45 a.m. at BCMC. The purpose of this event is to create a safe space for education and dialogue about the Israel-Palestine conflict. Tareq, a graduate student with Bluffton University, will share his experiences growing up in Gaza, working for the Youth Vision Society, and his “Gaza Twinning” relationship with Manhattan Mennonite Church. The presentation and following dialogue will also address antisemitism and other issues that surround this intractable conflict.
Pastors Whereabouts
Pastor Roger is in Newton this weekend. He will drive back to Topeka on Monday (7/24). He will be back in the BCMC office on Wednesday, August 2. Roger will be checking his email and text messages daily while he is in Topeka. So feel free to email, text or call (785-220-1968.)
Looking Ahead
For a Bethel College Mennonite Church calendar with dates for 2023/2024 congregational meetings, Wednesday night suppers, Christmas and Easter programs, and other important dates, press here
Colorado Peaches are coming! The Palisade peaches on the Western Slope are supposed to be a good crop this year thanks to the moisture during the winter and spring. Please email patsydirksen@mcc.org to place your peach order from July 24-August 5. Two sizes are available: 10 lbs. for $30 and 18 lbs. for $41. Checks should be made payable to Beth-El Mennonite Church with “Peaches” in the memo line and payment (cash/check only) is due by August 5 to MCC in North Newton (121 E. 30th St.). Peaches will be available for pickup from the MCC Material Resources Center on Monday, August 21. This is a fundraiser for the Rocky Mountain Mennonite Relief Sale held in Rocky Ford, Colorado October 20-21.
Don’t forget to fill out the Faith Formation Survey!
Greetings from Faith Formation!
Faith Formation is asking that ALL who are interested in being a part of building intergenerational relationships within the church fill out the attached survey.
If you are a parent of a youth who will attend the Intergenerational Sunday school class or who will be a part of Jr High Club or Senior High Youth Group, you may fill out the following Release Form for the 2023-24 school year.
Intergenerational Sunday school will follow this format from week to week. Teachers may decide to switch up the weeks to fit their needs.
Week 1: Introduction of the Bible story. Activity related to the Bible story.
Week 2: Reader’s Theatre or continuation of the Bible story.
Week 3: Craft or games
Week 4: Interview an adult who has joined us for the month (ask the week prior to interview)
The weekly schedule will follow the format below:
Following the service until 10:45 am
- Arrival and snack (groups will be mixed ages at each table)
- Questions of the day to discuss at table groups
- Opening prayer and announcements
10:45 am – 11:15 am
- Bible Story/Activity
11:15 am – 11:30 am
- Clean up, Journal, or other activity with the teachers
- Closing prayer and dismissal
Mark your calendar for the Sunday School Orientation/Safe Sanctuaries Date: August 20 from 12:00-1:00 pm. We will have a pizza lunch.
Intergenerational Survey: https://forms.gle/upn5yizoKEUvqumZ7
Youth Release Form: https://forms.gle/AfyQ7fV5RXHUJZqp7
2023-24 Faith Formation Calendar: https://calendar.google.com/calendar/u/0?cid=ZmFpdGhmb3JtYXRpb25jb21taXNzaW9uQGJldGhlbGNvbGxlZ2VtZW5ub25pdGVjaHVyY2gub3Jn
Thank you and have a wonderful summer!
Faith Formation Sunday School team
Jill Robb
Kathy Stucky
Rebecca TschetterDeb Gering
Mary Ellen Hodge
It’s time for the MCC School Kit Challenge! Help us meet our goal of gathering 10,000 school kits in the month of August. By donating items like notebooks and pencils, you can help kids in places like Syria, Ukraine and South Sudan who have been forced to flee their homes or struggle to afford basic school supplies. Join this effort to share a tangible message of God’s love with children around the world. Learn more about this challenge and download a free activity resource at mcc.org/school-kit-challenge.
Lincoln and Lawrence Kohlman have joined the MCC School Kit Challenge! Their goal is to pack and donate 100 school kits by the end of August. We estimate that they will need about $850 (plus 100 bags) to meet this goal, although we will use the money we raise to make as many kits as we can! We hope that we can do more with the money when school supplies go on sale. How can you help? To donate, see Lincoln or Lawrence. To make bags for the school kits we want to pack, use the MCC website for directions and let us know how many you plan to make. We will plan to host a time to pack school kits. Let us know if you want to be invited!
Children and Youth of BCMC: Read a book. Earn a Book. This summer, you can earn a book for the New Hope Shelter for each book checked out, read, and returned. Visit the table outside the door to the children’s room of the BCMC church library for more information. The challenge is to fill a whole shelf of books for homeless children and youth.
The Library Theme for June and July are Library Committee suggestions for Everybody/Junior books for the summer reading contest. As has been noted, this contest is for anybody who checks out a book from our library, reads it independently, reads it with someone or someone reads it to a child, and then returns it. We are excited to see how many books will be purchased for New Hope Shelter. —The Library Committee
The Women’s & Girls Retreat will be Sept. 9 & 10 at Camp Mennoscah sponsored by Western District Women in Mission. Retreat theme is “Women Talking, Listening and Creating.” Come for a time of friendship, fellowship, and story-telling with Tammy Duvanel Unruh, Wendy Funk Schrag and others. Registration information and more details will be on the Western District Conference website, in the church bulletin, on the church bulletin board. Follow the Western District Women in Mission on Facebook.
Western District Conference invites you to visit our website to read the latest news, stories and announcements.
 Our theme is Holy (Wholly) Listening. We will focus on careful listening to God and each other, especially when we start from different perspectives. Speakers will include Jes Stoltzfus Buller with MCC and Nathan Koontz, as well as the testimonies of some of our WDC ministers who have spoken up and listened for ways to act in justice and hope for all God’s people. Register here: https://mennowdc.org/2023-wdc-assembly-registration/Visit: https://mennowdc.org/2023-wdc-annual-assembly/ for more info on this summer’s Assembly! WDC Assembly 2023 Registration is now open below! Registrations are due by July 30! |
Colorado Peaches are coming! The Palisade peaches on the Western Slope should be a good crop this year thanks to the moisture during the winter and spring. Email patsydirksen@mcc.org to place your peach order from July 24-Aug. 5. Two sizes are available: 10 lbs. for $30 and 18 lbs. for $41. Checks should be made payable to Beth-El Mennonite Church with “Peaches” in the memo line and payment (cash/check only) due by Aug. 5 to MCC in North Newton (121 E. 30th St.). Peaches will be available for pickup from the MCC Material Resources Center on Mon., Aug. 21. This is a fundraiser for the Rocky Mountain Mennonite Relief Sale held in Rocky Ford, Colorado Oct. 20-21.
Plowing with Horses—(Swiss Volhynian Mennonite Celebration Event)
The rains came Saturday evening July 15, and the field was turned to mud, so no plowing. But the Ag Committee decided to have Plowing with Horses and Vintage Tractors Saturday, July 29, just west of the Moundridge Museum, 8:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Concessions by Gospel Mennonite. We tasted their homemade ice cream and that really makes a trip to Moundridge double worthwhile. Come and see. —Kathy Goering for 150th steering committee
The 2023 issue of the Bethel College journal Mennonite Life is now live at ml.bethelks.edu and includes a poem by Cheryl Denise and prose poems by Abigail Carl-Klassen; a sermon by Sheri Hostetler; Brad Gregory’s Menno Simons Lectures from 2022; articles by Johnny Wideman and Nathan Garber; and reviews by Ben Woodward-Breckbill, Hannah Neufeld, Willmar Harder, Brad Born, Josue Coy Dick, Daniel Shank Cruz, Rachel Waltner Goossen, Joe Smucker, Kimberly Schmidt and Melanie Springer Mock.
From the Newton Et Cetera Shop
Are you a thrifter? Are you interested in sharing your talents to make the Newton community, local area, and the world a better place for all?
Then join us Thursday, July 27th from 6:30-7:30 pm and find out how we can use you to make an impact on all those who donate, volunteer, and shop at the Newton Et Cetera Shop! All are welcome!!
For the Mennonite World Conference “Courier” press here
For the Mennonite World Conference “Info” press here
For Mennonite Disaster Service “On the Level” press here
For Mennonite Mission Network “News and Beyond” press here
For Mennonite Mission Network Urgent Prayer Request press here
For Mennonite Men “Engage” press here
Mennonite Church USA Announcements
#BeTransformed
Jewel Gingerich Longenecker, dean of Lifelong Learning and co-director of the Doctor of Ministry in Leadership program at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary, shares about her transformative experience applying for a position through the Spirit-led nudging of a mentor. Read her story here: mennoniteusa.org/transformed-by-mentoring
The international fellow at Mennonite Central Committee’s National Peace and Justice Ministries, Anthony Khair, has lived next to a wall for a lot of his life. “Being from Palestine, I am often seen as being from ‘the other side of the wall,’” he writes. Read his Menno Snapshots blog, “Both sides of the wall: the good side and the bad side,” here: mennoniteusa.org/both-sides-of-the-wall
On Sunday, May 21, 2023, more than 260 people – including members of at least six local Mennonite Church USA (MC USA) congregations – gathered for a Gun Violence Awareness Day witness walk in Lansdale, Pennsylvania. Read more here: mennoniteusa.org/protest-gun-violence
In celebration of Bike to Work Day, Joel Miller, pastor of Columbus (Ohio) Mennonite Church, an MC USA congregation, wrote a poem about his experience riding his bike to work in the morning. Read the full poem here: mennoniteusa.org/bike-church-poem
Mennonite Mission Network Prayer Request: Mennonite Mission Network rejoices with the Mennonite Church in Burkina Faso for the peacebuilding ministries of Calixte Bananzaro and Siaka Traoré, who helped negotiate an agreement through which Mennonites will provide care for internally displaced people and provide trauma healing, instead of paying war taxes. Pray for an end to violence.
Western District Conference Prayer Request: Pray that children and their care-givers may grow in faith and joy as they attend summer Story Day activities at the WDC Resource Library on August 3.