We offer sympathy to the family of James ‘Jim’ Gaeddert. James died June 15, 2022. Jim’s children are Douglas (Lisa), Gregory (Terri),Bradley (Tracy Kruse), and Janelle Benninghoff (Dan). BCMC member Joel Gaeddert is a grandchild (Crystal, Collin, and Brett). A memorial
service is being planned and the date will be announced later.
The memorial service for Orletta Wiebe will be Friday, June 24, 3 pm at BCMC. Orletta died June 8 at Schowalter Villa, Hesston.
This Week at BCMC: June 19-26, 2022
Sunday, June 19–Juneteenth
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, June 20—Juneteenth: a holiday for church staff; church will be locked and the office closed today
9 am Women’s Fellowship Executive Board will meet at
Lois Preheim’s home, 3005 S. Kansas Road, Newton
Tuesday, June 21
9 am KIPCOR (Kansas Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution) will be using the Fellowship Hall and some classrooms in the basement for meetings Tuesday through Friday morning
Thursday, June 23
2 pm Hospitality Commission meeting in Room 14
7 pm Deacon Commission meeting in Room 14
Friday, June 24
3 pm Memorial service for Orletta Wiebe in the Sanctuary
Sunday, June 26
9:30 am Worship with sermon by Todd Schlosser
10:30 am Faith Formation
Budget update: For May 2022, income was $35,452 and expenses were $38,968. For the year-to-date, income is $176,381 and expenses are 214,380. – The Finance Committee
May 17 Offering: General Fund $3,330.00; Camp Mennoscah $1475; Living Stones $13.33; Mennonite Camp Scholarship $574; Mission Quilters $132; Keith Sprunger Memorial $250; Larry Friesen Memorial $100
May 22 Offering: General Fund $6,086; Camp Mennoscah $80; Caring Fund $25; Living Stones $80; Women’s Fellowship $498; Keith Sprunger Memorial $855.
May 29 Offering: General Fund $5,435.64; Library Reserve Fund $31; Living Stones $255; Screen Project $500; Keith Sprunger Memorial $100.
June 5 Offering: General Fund $4,570; Living Stones $340; Screen Project $2,700; Keith Sprunger Memorial $1,000
June 13, 2022: Offering: Genera Fund $9,358.95; Library Reserve Fund $20 Living Stones $430; Screen Project $3,700; Dean Koppes Memorial $50.
Pride Month at BCMC
During June Pride month celebrating LGBTQIA persons, we have pride flags flying all around our church campus. In addition, these flags are in celebration of the recent resolutions passed at the MCUSA Special Delegate Assembly that open up access to the LGBTQIA persons in MCUSA and acknowledge previous harm that has been done to them by the church. Also throughout the month of June, the BCMC Supportive Communities Network banner will be at the front of the sanctuary. Finally, members from our congregation will also be attending a Unity March and potluck on June 25 in Wichita sponsored by Wichita Pride. Go to their website for more details. If you are planning on attending, please contact Nathan Koontz so he can get you a button.
On-call cookie crew. BCMC thanks those who have facilitated meals and receptions after memorial services in the past. Since April, a new Funeral Committee has hosted box lunches for families, with BCMC providing dessert. We may also host receptions after a service. With that in mind, could you provide cookies, bar cookies or brownies, if it suits? To join the on-call cookie crew, email dave.linscheid@gmail.com. Thank you. – Dennis and Kathy Campbell, Tom Jackson, Dave Linscheid, Kathryn Simmons and Doris Whillock
The Library theme for June and July is Caldecott and John Newbery Award Winners. We have many of these award winning books that would be of interest to both adults and children. Come check them out. We are also continuing to accept and sell puzzles. Not only are they on the cart, but also below the new book section on the west wall. Just leave a suggested donation of $5 in the envelope and enjoy. We have a long list of books that we would like to add to our collection and this is a great way to support our efforts.
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. As a part of the process, each congregant will receive a survey later today to begin gathering information. All are encouraged to complete the survey and return it promptly; your perspectives are important! The survey can be completed online but will also be available in paper format for those who request it through the church office. For households with shared email addresses, it is possible for more than one person to complete the survey received through one email address. Names will differentiate surveys from the same household email address. After individual and group interviews as well as preliminary reports and feedback, the consultants plan to submit their final report to the church sometime before Advent. A reference group of David Linscheid, Lois Preheim, Megan Kohlman, Ada Schmidt-Tieszen, and Todd Schlosser has been offering feedback to the consultants. Thank you for taking on this important work!
About the Survey: Please find the survey by using the following link: https://credenceandco.com/bethel college-mennonite-church-discernment-process-survey/.
Expanded Pastoral Time for Nathan Koontz:
The Church Board has approved a proposal to expand Nathan’s time from ½ time to ¾ time beginning June 13. The MOU is through November 27; Nathan and the Church Board will review the arrangement together in October or November to determine continuation. His additional work will focus on preaching (one additional Sunday each month) and performing the role of worship coordinator. Worship coordination includes making arrangements for worship leaders, scripture readers, and children’s storytellers; liaison work with musicians; work with guest pastors; and other planning and tasks as appropriate. Thank you, Nathan!
Good-bye to Pastor Renee Reimer:
The Church Board and congregation bid farewell to Renee during her last Sunday with us (June 12) and during a reception on Monday, June 13. Her final day of work with the church is June 17. We are so grateful for her work with the church and for her conversations and suggestions during this time of leaving. Although we’ll miss you, we wish you well, Renee!
Screen Project:
It is with gratitude and excitement that we announce that we achieved the requested $12,200 commitment by the congregation to move ahead with the new screen for the front of the sanctuary. The church will also make a tithing donation to the International Rescue Committee as a part of this project. Thanks to the screen study task group for all their fine work over the last two years! And thanks to so many in our congregation who made an early donation to the project! Additional donations will be needed in the coming months to complete the project.
Bethel College’s Prison Theater Project is currently in process, with director John McCabe-Juhnke, Bethel students and seven men from the Hutchinson Correctional Facility minimum-security East Unit. The public performance at HCF is Friday, July 1, 7 p.m., and the project is looking for an audience! If you’d like to go, contact Offender-Victim Ministries in Newton at 316-283-2038 (Mon.-Thurs.) by June 23.
Mennonites Against Militarism seeks volunteers interested in counter-recruitment efforts
Mennonites Against Militarism – a collaboration of Mennonite Central Committee, U.S. and Mennonite Church USA – is seeking to launch an initiative to counter military recruitment of U.S. youth, called Alternatives to Military Enlistment Network (AMEN). AMEN invites interested volunteers to complete a brief survey that identifies areas in which they may engage with AMEN, including administration, web and graphic design, publicity, budgeting, fundraising and guidance/career counseling. Take the survey here: https://rb.gy/gbehlm
Western District Conference invites you to visit our website to read the latest news, stories and announcements and share them with your congregation!
Start out the morning with God at WDC Assembly! – Tonya Ramer Wenger will be leading morning prayer Saturday and Sunday at 7 am at Camp Copass as part of our Annual Assembly. Camp Copass is on a lovely peninsula, so morning prayer will be by the lake. We hope you’ll join us. Register at: https://mennowdc.org/2022-annual-assembly-registration/
June WDC Resource Library Final Thursday Book Discussion: “At no other time in history or place in the world have so many people understood themselves to be suffering from mental health problems.” In Not Quite Fine: Mental Health, Faith, and Showing Up for One Another, author Carlene Hill Byron calls and equips the church to step up for such a time as this. Join us Thursday, June 30 at 7:00pm via Zoom to discuss the book. Register by emailing crlib@mennowdc.org
Summer Story Hour–God Rocks! – All children ages 3-8 in the central Kansas area are invited to God Rocks! Summer Story Hour at the WDC Conference Resource Library 2517 N. Main in North Newton. Fun Stories and Activities with Leader, Marjie Warkentine and Resource Library Director, Jennie Wintermote. Mondays at 10:00am on June 27, July 11, 18, 25 & August 1 & 8. Register for Story Hour here.
June 15, 2022
Urgent prayer request from Ecuador
Peter Wigginton, who is serving in Ecuador with his wife, Delicia Bravo, has been struggling with back problems. Recently, the pain was so severe that he had to go to the emergency room. Peter has consulted with two surgeons and is facing possible surgery for a herniated disc. Peter and Delicia request prayer for healing and for wisdom as they decide whether to have surgery.
The timing of Peter’s back pain is disappointing as Delicia and Peter and their two daughters, Aliyah, 8, and Ariana, 5, were planning to go to Bolivia to visit Delicia’s family on July 4. It has been three years since the family has been able to visit with parents and extended family, due to COVID restrictions. Pray that the visit to Bolivia can be rescheduled in the not-too-distant future. Blessings!
Lynda Hollinger-Janzen
Mennonite Mission Network Prayer Ministry
Direct phone: 574-523-3043, Fax 316-283-0454
Toll Free: 1-866-866-2872 Ext. 23026
E-mail: LyndaHJ@MennoniteMission.net
“Together, sharing all of Christ with all of creation.”
For Mennonite Mission Network News and Beyond click here
For Mennonite Disaster Service On the Level press here
Mennonite Church USA Announcements
Menno Snapshots
Learn, Pray, Join: Welcoming EveryBODY is a collaborative initiative between Mennonite Church USA and Anabaptist Disabilities Network that celebrates the many gifts that people with disabilities bring to our church communities. Christle Hain, the marketing communications and engagement associate for MC USA, reflects on her life as a person with “disability” and her experiences in the Mennonite church. Read more here: https://www.mennoniteusa.org/educating-listening-around-disability
As part of Mennonite Church USA’s “Learn, Pray, Join: Welcoming EveryBODY” initiative, Suzanne Kratz, volunteer manager at Care & Share Thrift Shoppes, shares about her experiences creating spaces for friends with differing abilities. “When welcoming people into our communities, it is important that we remember that each and every person has been created by a loving God, in God’s image.” Read more here: https://www.mennoniteusa.org/should-i-say-everybody
Joanne Gallardo points out in her recent Menno Snapshots blog that our society today “lives by the gun.” She argues that, as Christian pacifists, we are called to something different. Read more here: https://www.mennoniteusa.org/entitled-to-violence
In her Menno Snapshots blog, Katie Graber shares about being part of the Voices Together hymnal committee. “The goal of writing songs – or producing any art – together is not to produce a ‘big hit’ but to make something that is meaningful to individuals and to the community.” Read more here: https://www.mennoniteusa.org/camp-songs-anabaptist-voices
Mennonite Mission Network Prayer Request: Mennonite Mission Network requests prayer for the members of Mennonite churches in Venezuela, as they extend the love of Jesus to their neighbors during a time when more than 90% of the population is living in poverty, and more than 75% are experiencing extreme poverty. Pray for the churches as they address both food insecurity and spiritual hunger.
Western District Conference Prayer Request: Give thanks for WDC’s Gifts Discernment Committee, and pray for the Holy Spirit to guide their decisions as they prepare nominations for elected leadership positions to bring for delegate action at WDC’s annual assembly.