Announcements for March 19-26, 2023

March 19, 2023 – Lent 4–Called to the Light

Based on CDC Guidelines Harvey County is still in green status indicating
low risk for COVID. You are invited to choose whether you wear a mask or social distance.  Both are optional.

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/SP91ZmpvBtw?feature=share

BETHEL COLLEGE MENNONITE CHURCH
March 19, 2023
Lent 4: Called to the Light 

Prelude–Passacaglia, from BWV 582 (J.S. Bach)—Will Wiebe-Friesen
 
Christ Candle Lighting—Elizabeth Schmidt
 
Call to Worship
Leader: The Lord is our shepherd.
People: We shall not want.
Leader: God makes us lie down in green pastures.
People: We shall not want.
Leader: God leads us beside quiet waters.
People: We shall not want.
All: Restore us through your Holy Spirit, the love of Jesus Christ,
and the comfort of your presence.
 
Welcome and Prayer
 
*Hymn—Oh, for a Thousand Tongues—VT 764
 
Children’s Conversation—Dorothy Nickel Friesen, Harold Thieszen
 
Anthem—O God, Beyond All PraisingI (Gustav Holst/Richard Proulx)—Chancel Choir; Riley King, director; Will Wiebe-Friesen, accompanist
 
Scripture Reading—John 9: 1-41
Readers’ Theatre—Coralee Shenk, Richard Friesen, Aaron Tschetter, Kevin Neufeld
 
Sermon—Mud in your eyesI—Dorothy Nickel Friesen
 
*Hymn—Open My Eyes That I May See—VT 738
 
Prayers of God’s People
 
*Hymn—Siyahamba (We Are Marching)—VT 793 (Sing twice: first time; Xhousa; second time English)
 
*Benediction
Leader: Go forth and shine, for the Light has come,
People: and the glory of the Lord rises upon us.
Leader: Surely goodness and love will follow us all the days of our lives, All: and we will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
 
Postlude—Fanfare on “Mit Freuden zart”  (Brenda Portman)—Will Wiebe-Friesen
 
* You are invited to stand
VT = Voices Together
Audio visual— Ben Lichti

We welcome Dorothy Nickel Friesen who will bring us the sermon on the 19th.  
 

This Week at BCMC:  March 19-26, 2023
Sun, Mar. 19, 2023—Lent 4: Called to the Light
9:30 am    Worship   YouTube Link for this Sunday is:  https://youtube.com/live/SP91ZmpvBtw?feature=share
The church nursery is staffed during worship and Sunday School
10:30 am  Faith Formation—Intergenerational class meets in  Fellowship Hall;   High School – Room 24 
Adult Classes:  Agape Class meets in the nursery; Bible Study (Rm 14); Catacombs (Rm B5);  Fellowship (B7); Fine Arts (Rm 22); Issues and Christianity (Rm 23); Open Circle (Room 21)  Seekers (Rm 28)
Tue., Mar. 21, 2023
7 pm   Women’s Fellowship meeting in Fellowship Hall
Wed., Mar. 22, 2023
6 pm    Wednesday night meal in Fellowship Hall-Menu is:  Baked potato bar with all the fixings, dessert.  Please bring your own table service.
7 pm    Senior High Youth Group
7:30 pm   Chancel Choir Rehearsal in the Sanctuary
Thurs., Mar. 23, 2023
4 pm        Witness Commission meeting in Room 14
6:30 pm   Chancel Bell rehearsal in Room B7
7 pm         Deacon Commission meeting in Room 14
7 pm         Bethel College Women’s Association meeting in Fellowship Hall
Sat., Mar. 25, 2023
11 am       Memorial service for Grace Schroeder in the Sanctuary
Sun, Mar. 26, 2023—Lent 5: Called to Life
9:30 am    Worship with sermon by Nathan Koontz
 


​April 14 and 15, the dates of the Kansas Mennonite Relief Sale (KMRS) are rapidly approaching.  A new activity, assembling hygiene kits,  will be in the Pride of Kansas Building April 15 from 6 p.m.-8 p.m., and supplies are needed for these kits.  A kit contains one adult toothbrush in the package, one bar of soap in the package, one good quality nail clipper, a hand towel of bright color, medium weight (16×26), and one wide toothed comb.  If you would like to donate any of these supplies, please bring them to the baked goods sign up table at the back of the church Mar. 19 or Mar. 26. We have sign up sheets for pies, zwieback, and other baked goods. Please stop by and sign up!  Thank you!  – BCMC KMRS Team:  Steven and Elaine Schurr, Bill and Esther Eash, Dale and Margo Schrag
 

Lilies for Easter
You are invited to share an Easter lily for the sanctuary on Easter Sunday, April 9.  The Worship Decoration Committee will purchase lilies.  The cost will be $10.00 per lily,  Make checks to BCMC designated “Flower Fund.”  Contributors may pick up lilies to take home after the Easter worship service. You will be able to designate in honor of someone or in memory of someone with your Easter lily.  There will be a table in the Gathering Place this Sunday, March 19, for you to sign up for a lily. 

         

Pastor Roger Neufeld Smith will be back in Newton on Thursday, March 23 and remain in Newton until Monday noon, March 27. Roger checks his email, text and phone messages daily while he is in Topeka. So feel free to contact him when he’s not in Newton. 

BCMC Women’s Fellowship meets March 21 in Fellowship Hall at 7 p.m. to hear Raylene Heinz-Penner present how her book, East of Liberal, came to be. The book is available at Kauffman Museum and Faith and Life Bookstore. It isn’t necessary that you have read the book. Use the south-east door.

The financial figures at the end of February indicate  that 2023 ranks 13th in the last 16 years in the percent of the budget collected.  Collections have been $16,500 less than expenditures; that comes to 13% of the budget collected and 16.7% of the year spent.  Please note that we have two major expenses on the horizon which are the required update of the fire safety system and replacing a heating/cooling unit. 
– Finance Committee

BCMC Offering for March 12, 2023:  General Fund  $7,502; Bell Choir Fund $100; Wed. Supper $512; Sr Hi Youth $25; Caring Fund $459.65; Library Reserve Fund $25; Jr Hi Fund $65; Living Stones $325; Kitchen Fund $12.20; Mission Quilters $165.

Wednesday night suppers , 6 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall.  Menus:
March 22:  Baked potato bar with all the fixings, dessert
March 29:  Beef vegetable curry with rice, ice cream
April 5:       Ham loaf, macaroni and cheese, peas, lemon dessert
Please bring your own table service.   Not doing so adds significant effort for the cleanup crew.  – Hospitality Commission
Sign up for the March 22 supper on the bulletin board or by emailing office@bethelcollegemennonitechurch.org
  

.Pray with Apache Stronghold on March 19th!
The Coalition to Dismantle the Doctrine of Discovery invites our community to join in prayer for Indigenous land justice with the Apache Stronghold on March 19th. On March 21st, a federal appeals court will hear a pivotal case about Apache religious freedom that centers around a proposed copper mine, which would destroy the Western Apache sacred site of Oak Flat, Chi’chil Biłdagoteel. Mennonite Church USA and Pacific Southwest Mennonite Conference signed onto an amicus brief (a letter to the court) in support of the Apache Stronghold, along with other religious groups. The Apache Stronghold are rallying all people of faith and conscience under the call of “One Drum, One Prayer, One Circle,” to seek unity in protection of Earth and in resistance to ongoing colonization. They will be dedicating March 19th to prayer before their court case and ask us to join them. 
The BCMC Task Group for Indigenous Justice offers two opportunities to join in demonstrating solidarity for preserving the Oak Flat sacred site.
1.  Sunday, March 19, immediately after the worship service ends.  Exit the front entrance and gather outside in front of the Peace Garden for a brief prayer and photo to send in solidarity.
2.  Monday evening, March 20, Sunset Prayer on the Eve of the Court Case to Save Oak Flat.  Meet at 7:30 p.m. at the pickleball court at the intersection of North Anderson and Lakewood Circle in North Newton.  Bring a friend.  
 

Dear Bethel College Mennonite ,I’m reaching out to ask for your prayers on March 19-21. The Apache Stronghold, an Indigenous partner of the Coalition to Dismantle the Doctrine of Discovery (DDoD), are taking their religious freedom case for Oak Flat to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in Pasadena, California, this month, where they will be joined in solidarity by people of all faith backgrounds. On March 21, they will argue that allowing the destruction of Oak Flat by a copper mining company is a violation of their right to religious freedom (see this short video for more info).Can you join us in prayer on Sunday, March 19, and/or on March 20 and 21, before their court hearing?With gratitude to be part of this movement of the Spirit with you,Daniela Lázaro-Manalo
Racial Equity Education and Advocacy Coordinator
MCC U.S. National Peace & Justice Ministries 

Becoming a Member at BCMC.  Last Sunday, March 12, 2023,  we welcomed Max Ediger of Pursat Province, Kingdom of Cambodia into wider fellowship membership at Bethel College Mennonite Church.  Max transferred his membership from Turpin Mennonite Church in Turpin, Oklahoma. Below is a picture of Max with some students from the School of Peace.  For Max’s Journey of Faith Statement click here.
For pictures of Max’s life in Cambodia, press here.  Max’s address in Cambodia is:  

PSAT-9225
Pursat Province
Kingdom of Cambodia  50606
phone:  (855) 16668698
email: ediger.max@gmail.com


Interested in becoming a member or transferring membership to BCMC?  Please contact Elizabeth Schmidt, Congregational Care Coordinator

Life Enrichment for March 23—Krehbiel Auditorium
9:30 “Celebrating 75 Years of the Newton Mexican-American Men’s Fast Pitch Softball Tournament,” Paul Vega, Newton, and Raymond Olais, North Newton
10:35 “20,000 Geese and YOU!,” Libby Albers, assistant director, Kansas Alliance for Wetlands and Streams, Newton
11:30 “Life at Newton Grand Central Senior Center,” with songs by the Golden Notes Choir, Lynne Beth, director, Grand Central Senior Center
 
Bethel College Announcements:
· Mon., March 20 – Bethel College presents the 3rd annual Ada Schmidt-Tieszen Lecture, 11 a.m., Krehbiel Auditorium (regular convocation). Dr. Tonya Hansel, faculty at the Tulane University School of Social Work, will speak on “Climate Change and Severe Weather Events: Social Workers’ Present and Future Roles in Disaster Relief and Recovery.”
· Fri., Mar. 24, Sat., Mar. 25, Sun., Mar. 26 – Spring musical at Bethel College, tick, tick … BOOM! by Jonathan Larson; Krehbiel Auditorium. Ticket purchase required (buy on campus weekdays at Thresher Shop, or online at https://www.bethelks.edu/fine-arts – scroll to bottom of page).
· Sun., Mar. 26 and Mon., Mar. 27 – Staley Lectures at Bethel College with Phuc Luu, a theologian, philosopher and artist based in Houston, author of Jesus of the East. Sun. 7 p.m., “Ida B. Wells, the sinned against, and Minjung theology: African-American and Asian voices in harmony,” Administration Building chapel; Mon.: 11 a.m.,“‘Where does all the pain go?’: God’s broken body, trauma and the healing of han,” Krehbiel Auditorium.
· Tues., Mar. 28 – Bethel College Jazz concert, directed by Joel Boettger, 7 p.m., Krehbiel Auditorium.
· Thurs., Mar. 30 – “What’s happening in the statehouse?,” a forum on Kansas politics featuring journalists from the Kansas Reflector, moderated by Adam Strunk, managing editor of Harvey County Now, 7 p.m., Krehbiel Auditorium. Forum co-sponsors are the Bethel Department of Communication Arts and HCN. The Kansas Reflector is a nonprofit, online publication with Kansas’ largest statehouse bureau. The public is invited.
· Fri., Mar. 31 – Senior recital by Bethel College student Bryce Wilson, saxophone, 7 p.m., Krehbiel Auditorium.
· Fri., Mar. 31 – The public is invited to the final round of Bethel College’s C. Henry Smith Peace Oratorical Contest, 7:30 p.m., Krehbiel Auditorium.  Sponsored by Mennonite Central Committee, the annual competition takes place on North American Mennonite college campuses, with an overall winner chosen from among the campus winners. The original speeches deal with contemporary peace concerns.
· Now in the Regier Gallery in Luyken Fine Arts Center at Bethel College – “Printing on the Plains: Woodcuts by Ian Huebert,” through Fri., April 14 (artist reception April 13). Gallery hours are Mon.-Fri., 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Sun. 2-4 p.m.

Bohne berrogie bake day for the Mennonite Central Committee Sale is April 8 at Moundridge High School.  Volunteers wanting to help, can sign up on the Kansas Mennonite Relief Sale website.
Verenika making day is  April 1 at the Parkview MB Church, 610 S. Main St., Hillsboro with shifts in the morning, 8 a.m.-12 p.m., and afternoon 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. (will include cleanup after we make the target # of Verenika-if you are able and willing to stay and help)  Volunteers, go to the Kansas Mennonite Relief Sale website to sign up.
 
Everence will hold its Medicare workshop at its office, 3179 N. Main St. Suite 1B, North Newton on Thurs.,  Mar. 23,  6:30 p.m. Topics are: when and where to sign up for Medicare, what Medicare covers, plus an explanation of Medicare Parts A, B, C, and D.  Those interested in attending should contact the Everence office at 316-283-3800, 877-467-7294 or central.kansas@everence.com.
 
New Hope Shelter, Inc. will celebrate a groundbreaking on Friday, March 24 at 4 p.m.  As a friend of the Shelter, New Hope invites you to join in this event.  This will be the permanent home of the New Hope Shelter.
 
New Hope Shelter is in need of the following:  Pinesol,  Scotch Tape, Laundry Pods,  Dishwasher Pods, Dishwashing Soap, 8 1/2 x 11 copy paper, 55+ gallon trash bags, Coffee, Creamer, Sugar, Bread, Napkins, Mayonnaise, Granola bars, Pudding Cups.   If you can provide some of these supplies, they can be taken to New Hope, 900 West Broadway, Bldg. #7.

Western District Conference invites you to visit our website to read the latest news, stories and announcements.


For Mennonite Disaster Service Press here
For Mennonite Mission Network News and Beyond press here
Mennonite Church USA Looking for Nominations for their Bring the Peace Award press here
 


Camp Mennoscah Announcements

Nurses and kitchen staff needed for summer youth camps from June 4 through July 21.  Be part of an amazing, faith-filled camp experience!  Most people come out for a camp week, but we will also schedule partial weeks, as needed.  Nurses must be an RN and can receive either a stipend or a camper discount.  Kitchen staff receive a camper discount for up to full camp fees and need to be able to follow directions with a willing spirit.  Contact us at 620-297-3290 or olivia.bartel@campmennoscah.org

Other events and happenings:
 

  • The brush piles and tallgrass prairie have (mostly) been burned!  Thank you to the crew of volunteers who helped–with extra thanks to Jon and Martha who provided lunch. Burning the tall grass is done for safety reasons and to help rejuvenate the prairie.  Camp Mennoscah has not been able to get this done in the past few years due to weather and volunteer schedules.  Camp looks significantly barbecued, but it feels great to have it done.
     
  • Some families have asked how this summer will look.  Summer youth camps will be very similar to pre-2020 with cabin use.  If we do not have enough counselors, as happened in 2022, we would likely use a tent to allow more campers to attend.  A nurse is still working on some of the protocols, but quarantine or close contact groups will not be used.  Based on the final protocol/guidelines, general illness may mean the camper would go home sooner than in past years.  Camp Mennoscah does not expect to test for COVID.  Parents/Guardians would be responsible for any testing. 
     
  • Scholarship funds for campers are needed.  If Camp Mennoscah gives the same amount in scholarships as last year, the account will be depleted.  Donations to the Scholarship Fund are most welcome.  Gifts can be made online or sent to Camp Mennoscah, PO Box 65, Murdock, KS, 67111 with “Scholarship Fund” in the memo.  Share the gift of faith formation and friends with others!
     
  • You may have heard the HVAC in the Retreat Center is not working.  Never fear!  There will be portable A/C units this summer in the Retreat Center.
     
  • Welcome, Summer Staff 2023!  While we may be adding to the number of summer staff, here is the crew as of March 1:  Peter Buller, Schyler Entz, Daniel Miller, Edel Miller, and Jacob Schrag.  Additional staff are needed for lifeguarding and grounds.  Apply here.  We are excited to have them at camp this summer!
     
  • Click to register!  Summer youth camp registration is open and Camp Mennoscah is receiving registrations.  The summer theme is FruitFULL Faith.  Get ready to learn and sing about the Fruit of the Spirit this summer–it’s not a coconut!

Hesston College Announcements

March 22 to 24 Melva Kauffman Lecture Series

Hesston College will explore what restorative justice looks like and how it can be integrated into the world around us during the Melva Kauffman Lecture Series. Jonathan Swartz, director for Student Accountability & Restorative Justice at Eastern Mennonite University, will present. What does restorative justice truly mean? How can one apply it in their life? You can attend a part of the Melva Kauffman Lecture Series at Hesston Mennonite Church on March 24 at 11 am. The session is also available by live stream at hesston.edu/formation.

March 27 – Nature Book Club

Join the Dyck Arboretum on March 27 at 6:30 p.m. online for their Nature Book Club. They are reading Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy and Wild New World by Dan Flores. Learn more at dyckarboretum.org/events.
 

Mennonite Church USA Announcements
 Mennonite Church USA hired Warren Yoder as the director of constituent engagement. In this new position, Yoder will  help the denomination connect more fully with its member churches, organizations and individuals. Read more about his work here: mennoniteusa.org/news/director-of-constituent-engagement

#MennoCon23

Interested in volunteering at MennoCon23, Kansas City, Mo., July 3-6? Mennonite Church USA is seeking volunteers for special events, children’s and junior youth programming, and more! Fill out a form here: mennoniteusa.org/forms/mennocon-volunteer-interest

Mennonite Church USA will host a webinar for more information about what to expect during MennoCon23 on March 30, 2023 at 7 pm ET/4 pm CT. Stay up to date on the latest convention news by subscribing to Peace Mail, the denomination’s only news source here: mennoniteusa.org/peacemail 

Menno Snapshots

The word “home” is something that Christians talk about frequently. But what happens when someone is experiencing physical homelessness? Kyle Nye, author of “Grace Can Lead Us Home: A Christian Call to End Homelessness,” the current CommonRead selection for the denomination, discusses topics around how Christians can respond to this call: mennoniteusa.org/grace-can-lead-us-home
 

Mennonite Mission Network Prayer Request:  Mennonite Mission Network requests prayer for Elena and Freddy Satalaya and their toddler, Matías, as they transition, after five years of ministry in Peru, to Santa Cruz, Bolivia, where they are serving with Bolivia Mennonite Church. Pray for them as they engage in discipleship training and leadership training.

Western District Conference Prayer Request:  Pray for the WDC Church Planting Commission as it hosts a church planting summit in San Antonio this weekend with the theme Being the Church, Meeting Our Neighbors Where They Are.