Welcome to BCMC’s new Faith Formation College Intern, Julianna Schrag! Julianna is a sophomore at Bethel College and will be joining our community this year in the area of Faith Formation. She will work under the leadership of the Faith Formation Commission as she teaches preschool Sunday School and coordinates Journey Club. Keep an eye out to learn more about her eagerness to learn and creative spirits!
Friends: Unbelievable! Thank you for all your birthday wishes and notes. It was greatly appreciated. ~ Dorothy Harder
Congratulations to Kate (Katherine Seymour) and her husband Todd Lawrence and grandparents Valetta and Miner Seymour on the birth of a baby girl, Ruth Linden Seymour, August 10 in Nashville, TN!
Announcement about Karen and Glen Ediger’s Grandson
Greyson Ediger, grandson of Glen and Karen Ediger, is recovering at Wesley Regional Medical Center from surgery for Hirschsprung’s Disease, and expects to go home this weekend. Greyson William Ediger was born August 7 to Brandan and Megan Ediger. Brandan and Megan live in Wichita. Brandan is a an Interventional Radiological Technologist at Wesley Regional Medical Center. Megan is the Office Manager for Andover Central High School.
Porch Portraits
We love seeing your pictures and want to keep seeing more! Please send your porch portraits to Renee at renee@bethelcollegemennonitechurch.org so we can include your smiles to our collection. View photos by following this link: https://cruxphotos.smugmug.com/BCMC-Porch/ New photos have been added and will continue to be added in this ongoing project.
Updating Church Directory
Monica Lichti is working hard at updating our church directory for this coming year. Please take a look at your contact information and your families contact information from the yellow 2019 directory. If anything is incorrect, please let Monica know by September 12.
Church Office Closed
The church office will be closed Monday, September 7th for Labor Day.
Hello!
This week’s “Hello” video comes from the chair of the Faith Formation Commission, Mary Ellen Hodge. Watch this video to learn about the new curriculum Faith Formation Commission bought for the whole church to use. Link is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHnAnUqin0E&feature=youtu.be
Check out https://www.godsstorygodssong.com/#/ to explore the curriculum on your own. If you’d like to use this curriculum with your Sunday School class, partner, friends, on your own, or by creating a small group, please let Renee Reimer know. All ages, Bible knowledge, and Sunday School attendance records accepted!
From the BCMC Financial Manager, Mike Claassen
According to the latest numbers, we still need $5,291.12 to cover the elevator repair. Based on the estimate from Regier Construction, we need $39,631.03 to cover the kitchen/fellowship hall renovation.
Contributions from January 1 through July 31 were $249,106 and expenses were $275,461, leaving a shortfall of $26,355.
Mennonite Mission Network Prayer Request: Mennonite Mission Network’s Service Adventure participants began their assignments in the Jackson, Mississippi, unit this week. Pray that God will provide wisdom for Debbie and Rick Lee, new unit leaders, and for all as they transition into community living and learning.
Western District Conference Prayer Request: Pray for Gabriel Pennington as he is installed today as pastor at Southern Hills Mennonite Church, a WDC congregation in Topeka, KS.
Offering at BCMC for August 30-September 6, 2020: General Fund $4,537; Peace Garden Fund $6,000; Living Stones $40.
Other Announcements
You are invited to read the September/October/November issue of WDC’s quarterly newsletter, WDC Garden, now available at: https://mennowdc.org/wdc-garden-september-october-november-2020/.
Everence will host its popular workshop, Make Medicare an easy step, as a webinar on Tuesday, Sept. 15 at 6:30 p.m. Attendees will learn about the various Medicare plans and what they cover; plans that supplement Medicare; and enrollment details and deadlines. This webinar is free. Please register by contacting our office at 877-467-7294, 316-283-3800 or central.kansas@everence.com.
Bethel College Women’s Association has worked to raise money for Bethel for many years. This August we are opening our first online store, www.bcwamarketonline.com. We invite you to help us support Bethel by checking this online market for crafts, jewelry, Bethel-themed items and much more. Our inventory will change over time so please check in to find that special gift or item for your home. If circumstances allow, on September 1 we will begin accepting orders for baked goods to be picked up on Fall Fest weekend, October 1-3. Please check the website for updated information.
If you can tie a knot you can help MCC! There are lots of comforters at MCC in North Newton that need to be tied and we’re looking for volunteers! If you would be interested in borrowing a set of sticks/stands from the MCC Workroom to set up and tie comforters at home, please contact Kate Mast at (katemast@mcc.org, 316-804-8432). Thank you!
The 2020 issue of Mennonite Life, Bethel College’s online journal, is live at ml.bethelks.edu, with articles and reviews by Alain Epp Weaver, Ben Nobbs-Thiessen, Ben Woodward-Breckbill, Cheryl Denise, Christopher Reed, Emma Beachy, Jason Schmidt, Joanne Lehman, Joyce Zuercher, Julia Kasdorf, Keith Sprunger, Lisa Schirch, Marc Gopin, Melanie Zuercher and Raylene Hinz-Penner.
Preschool Story Hour at the Conference Resource Library returns this fall with VIRTUAL LIVE story hours full of stories, rhymes, and craft ideas on Tuesdays at 10:00am and Thursdays at 3:30pm. Tuesday and Thursday sessions will be different, join us for one or both sessions each week. Story Hour will start Tuesday, September 8 and be geared toward ages 3-5. Story Hour will be led by Library Director Jennie Wintermote and will be shorter than our Summer Story Hour. Register at https://forms.gle/vpk7DXRwwHAbSo5A7 and contact Jennie with any questions at crlib@mennowdc.org.
Camp Mennoscah announcements
· Mental Health Spiritual Retreat at Camp Mennoscah will be a one-day event on Monday, September 7. This retreat is for those affected by mental illness, including friends and family. Activities will be outside. We will follow social distancing and mask guidelines. Please bring a mask with you. Those interested in attending the retreat should contact Camp Mennoscah at 620-297-3290.
· Limited number of openings! Camp Mennoscah’s Scrapbook and Crafts Retreats will take place on Oct. 30-Nov. 1 and Nov. 6-8. Masks and physical distancing guidelines will be followed and the facility used has been changed. More spaces will be opened as determined safe and feasible, so put your name on the waitlist! Register online at campmennoscah.org! Call 620-297-3290 for further information.
· Camp Mennoscah welcomes guests! Camping areas and cabins are open to guests/groups for overnight stays and day visits. Spend time in the river, have a campfire cookout, and enjoy the open spaces of the tallgrass prairie and the Ninnescah River! Contact Camp Mennoscah at 620-297-3290 to make a reservation and to inquire about use of additional facilities. We can’t wait to see you!
Women’s Retreat 2020: And now for something completely different! After much discussion and prayer, the Retreat Committee has decided not to meet in person at Camp Menoscah this year. We will miss all of you and the energy and joy you bring to camp. However we WILL gather virtually on Saturday night, September 12 from 7-8:30 pm via Zoom for a worship service. Our goal is to connect to and encourage each other through Christ and His love for us. Susan Jantzen (interim pastor of Worship/Visitation at First Mennonite in Newton) will lead us on “Reflections on God as Keeper”. Bethany Martin from Faith and Life Bookstore will review a few books. Annelle Claassen (Retreat Committee Chair) will lead singing, and Karen Mascho (Pastor and Retreat Committee) will lead communion together. No masks required! For free registration or questions, send your email to Tammy Duvanel Unruh at 2020womensretreat.rsvp@gmail.com by Thursday, September 10. Save the date and we look forward to seeing your whole face!
Mennonite church announcements
· Curious about church planting or re-planting? Join the next Sent Network cohort and learn how to explore, equip, and be sent to spread the word of God! Visit MennoniteMission.net/SentNetwork to learn more and save your spot!
· The Mennonite Heritage and Cultural Museum in Goessel, has an ongoing display of Marie and Martha Voth’s Wheat Marquetry Art till the end of September. Over 25 larger works (both paintings and wheat art) and many, many smaller items and greeting cards. Museum Hours are Tues. through Sat. 10 am – 5 pm. Regular admission applies and free admission for museum members.
Join KIPCOR ONLINE for their 2020-2021 Film Series
On Sunday, September 13, at 2:00 PM KIPCOR will be hosting a ZOOM call featuring the film “Selma: The Bridge to the Ballot”, produced by the group Teaching Tolerance.
This film tells the story of a courageous group of Alabama students and teachers who fought nonviolently against a century of Jim Crow in a segregationist state to win voting rights for African Americans. These change-makers overcame violence, arrest, and even murder to achieve one of the most significant victories of the civil rights era.
The talk-back session after the film will feature Larry Burks, Sr., the President of the Wichita Branch of the NAACP.
You can find out more, and register to participate, on the KIPCOR website at http://kipcor.org/ Advance registration is required.
Now in the Regier Art Gallery in Luyken Fine Arts Center at Bethel College: work by three seniors from the Class of 2020, Georgia Anderson, Blayne Stump and Anna Wiens. Gallery hours are Mon.-Fri., 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Receptions will be individual and by invitation only. Face masks must be worn on the Bethel College campus.
Now at Kauffman Museum (through Nov. 29) – “Sorting Out Race: Examining Racial Identity and Stereotypes in Thrift Store Donations.” Regular hours are Tues.-Fri. 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Sat.-Sun. 1:30-4:30 p.m., closed Mondays and major holidays, but with ever-changing COVID-19 protocols, you are advised to check the museum website, kauffmanmuseum.org, or Facebook page or call 316-283-1612 before planning a visit.
Good news from Rocky Mountain Mennonite Camp! Labor Day Work and Play Retreat, September 4-7 2020 is a “go” all while following existing guidelines to wear a mask inside and/or when within 6′ of participants not from your own place of residence. The weekend is a time for individuals and families of all ages to enjoy a day of work (Saturday) along with a day of “play” (Sunday). Camp operations/projects continue to abound including food service, housekeeping, and maintenance projects (i.e. Spruce beetle mitigation, painting, etc.) With 11 already registered, only 9 more spaces remain so please sign-up online at rmmc.org.
The Israel Palestine Relations Task Force of Western District Conference/Mennonite Church USA is sponsoring a webinar on September 21, UN’s International Day of Peace entitled Racial Justice from US to Palestine. The Webinar features Jonathan Kuttab, Alex Awad and Sarah Thompson Nahar.
For a quick snapshot of what’s happening around WDC or what Keynote Speaker Danny Carroll had to say at the WDC Assembly, go to “WDC Assembly 2020” on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6aO7e884ZT5d9gHzyrfAucccOFYYd_M5. There are many creative Assembly videos still available for viewing!
In an open letter to the denomination, Michael Danner, Mennonite Church USA’s associate executive director of Church Vitality, invites fellow white Christians to “engage in proactive, deliberate efforts to oppose and dismantle racism in all of its forms.” Read more: https://www.mennoniteusa.org/letter-danner
Wurst Fundraiser Ever: You’re invited to a German-themed drive-through carryout meal fundraiser to benefit Mennonite Central Committee Sept. 26 held at Shalom Mennonite Church in Newton, Kan. Tim and Heidi Huber’s family will be offering bratwurst, sides, dessert and drinks, with an RSVP deadline of Sept. 19 or 300 reservations at https://forms.gle/ASndjK9AQPa3BLRS7. Hope to see you there!