Remember: Daylight Savings Time starts March 13. Set your clocks forward (Spring Forward) one hour!
As COVID numbers continue to decrease in our community, the reopening task force is in the process of discerning COVID safety guidelines for our church building. This coming Sunday, March 13, one side of the pews will be taped off social distanced and one side will be open seating. Please sit where you are comfortable and allow others space to do what feels best for them. Masks are still required in our building as we continue to live with one another with different levels of comfort in this pandemic. We will continue to evaluate our life together and will let you know of changes prior to Sunday morning worship together.
March 13, 2022-Second Sunday in Lent
Masks will be required. We encourage you to wear your name tags so Pastor Todd Schlosser can learn to know you. The service will also be live streamed.
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.
There will be no children and youth Sunday School on March 13 and 20 due to spring break. There will be no sr high youth group on Wednesday, March 16th.
BETHEL COLLEGE MENNONITE CHURCH
March 13, 2022
From Fear to Compassion
Seeking God’s Ways
Prelude—A Suite of Passion (Wilbur Held)—1. Jesus, I Will Ponder Now—2. In the Cross of Christ I Glory—
3. O Darkest Woe—Karen Schlabaugh, organ
Introit–What Wondrous Love Is This (arr. Douglas Wagner)—Chancel Bells; Verlene Garber, director
Christ Candle Lighting—Todd Schlosser
Call to Worship
Leader: Together we seek the way of God.
People: As disappointment oppresses and violence threatens,
Leader: We come to ask: Whom shall we fear?
People: We come to be reminded of God’s power and to be led more deeply into God’s love.
Leader: We long to gather under the wings of Christ, as a mother hen,
All: and to learn the holy way of compassion.
Lenten Prayer of Confession
Leader: Holy One, we seek you while you may be found.
People: We call upon you while you are near.
Leader: Have mercy on us, O God, for our thoughts are not your thoughts and our ways are not your ways.
People: Forgive us for living out of fear. Help us to live out of compassion.
Leader: As we walk with Christ on the Lenten journey, let us see your way more clearly
All: and follow your way more faithfully.
*Hymn—I Sought the Lord—VT 161
Children’s Conversation—Glen Ediger
Worship Music—When I Survey the Wondrous Cross (arr. Kastner & McChesney)—Chancel Bells
Kin-dom Report—Elizabeth Schmidt
Scripture Reading—Luke 13:31-35—Bill Swartley
Sermon—Looking Into Fear, Seeing Compassion—Nathan Koontz
*Hymn—Mothering God, You Gave Me Birth—VT 426
Prayers of God’s People
*Hymn—The Lord Is My Light—VT 437
Benediction—Nathan Koontz
Postlude—What Wondrous Love Is This (Manz)—Karen Schlabaugh
* You are invited to stand
VT = Voices Together
Audio visual—Francis Toews
Pastors—Renee Reimer, Nathan Koontz, Todd Schlosser
This week at BCMCSunday, March 13—2nd Sunday of Lent
9:30 am Worship Service (in person and live streamed)
There will be no children and youth Sunday School on March 13 and 20 due to spring break. There will be no sr high youth group on Wednesday, March 16.
High School – Room 24 Koinonia (college students welcome!) – The Agape House
The Agape Class will meet in Room B8
Adult Classes (If meeting): 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)
Tuesday, March 15, 2022
4 pm Lent Prayers by Zoom
Wednesday, March 16, 2022—No Youth Group today
7:30 pm Chancel Choir in the Sanctuary
Thursday, March 17, 2022
2 pm Hospitality Commission meeting in Fellowship Hall
4 pm Lent Prayers by Zoom
6:15 pm Chancel Bells in Room B7
Sunday, March 20, 2022—3rd Sunday of Lent
9:30 am Worship Service (in person and live streamed)
Staff Absences
- Pastor Nathan Koontz will be gone from March 14-20.
- Pastor Renee Reimer will be gone from March 21-25.
Offerings at BCMC
February 13, 2022 General Fund $13,835; Living Stones $13.33; Women’s Fellowship $50.
February 20, 2022 General Fund $9,952; Living Stones $155
February 27, 2022 General Fund $8,174; Living Stones $257
March 6, 2022 General Fund $8,132; Living Stones $340
Wednesday Night Club (open to 3rd-8th graders) will begin Wednesday, March 23 from 7-8pm and continue weekly through the end of April. Look for more information from club leaders in the coming weeks.
Lent Prayers
Pastoral staff at BCMC will be facilitating prayers during lent on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons at 4 pm. This is a time to take a break from the day and let evening come. We will pray together via Zoom for about 15-20 minutes using the daily prayer book from the Corrymeela Community, northern Ireland’s longest running peace and reconciliation organization: Daily Prayer with the Corrymeela Community by Padraig O Tuama.The next prayer time will be March 15 and 17.
Below is the link for our lent prayers via zoom using Daily Prayer with the Corrymeela Community as our guide. This same link should work for each prayer time. We are looking forward to connecting and praying together!
Bethel College Mennonite Church is inviting you to a lent prayer Zoom meeting on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 4.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85751414152?pwd=MDN0a0x1Z2xSbUtyMU4xWHlQZFR1UT09
Meeting ID: 857 5141 4152
Passcode: 834612
Collecting Supplies for our BCMC College Students!
Faith Formation Commission is collecting non-perishable goodies for our BCMC college students. We currently have 10 youth attending colleges in Virginia, Kansas, Minnesota, and Missouri. We would love to share our love and support with them in their final months of the year and are asking for donations of snacks, fast food gift cards, microwavable food (i.e. ramon, mac n cheese, popcorn, etc,), chewing gum, chapstick, hand sanitizer and masks, or cash. We invite people to bring 10 items for each of our students and place them in their Fed Ex boxes that will be located on a table in The Gathering Place foyer on Sunday March 20th and March 27th. We will mail the boxes on March 28th.
Delegates for MSUSA Special Assembly…We are currently seeking one or two additional delegates to attend the upcoming MCUSA Special Delegate Assembly, May 27-30, 2022 in Kansas City, on behalf of BCMC. Currently four resolutions are being addressed including MCUSA Membership guidelines, MCUSA justice resolution, MCUSA accessibility resolution, and the resolution for repentance and transformation. If you are interested or have questions please contact Dale Shrag (Gift Discernment Committee) or any of the pastors.
CALLING ALL BAKERS: There will be sign-up sheets at the back of the sanctuary each Sunday through April 3 for persons willing to take the time and energy to help alleviate physical suffering around the world by baking pies, Zwieback, etc., for the Kansas Mennonite Relief Sale. Don’t pass up this chance to exercise your culinary skills in the service of Christ and his kin-dom.
MY COINS COUNT: In addition to the collection jars in the Sunday School rooms, you will note that jars have been placed in the back of the sanctuary by the offering plates. We don’t want to deny those of you who aren’t attending a Sunday School class the opportunity to lighten both the weight of your pockets and your feelings of guilt for not contributing regularly to the Kansas Mennonite Relief Sale.
Bohne berrogie bake day for the MCC sale will be on April 2 at Moundridge High. Volunteers are needed to fill the berrogie. Shifts are at 6:45 and 9:00. Please wear a head covering. If you would like to volunteer, please contact Marla Gillmore at 620-921-0428 or at bmg@lrmutual.com. Let’s make this happen for MCC.
Sign Up now for BCMC Pictorial Directory!
The photo sessions for the pictorial directory are filling up quickly. You can still sign-up March 23, 24, 25, and 26. ANYONE who wants to be included in the BCMC Photo Directory is welcomed to participate. Official membership is NOT required.
All photography sessions will be held in Fellowship Hall, March 23, 24, 25, and 26. The photo sessions on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday will run from 2:00 to 8:30 pm and on Saturday from 10:00 am to 4:30 pm.
There will be same day proofing of pictures. You will have a professional photography session, and afterwards be able to view your proofs and have the opportunity to purchase extra portraits for family and friends.
Three options for making an appointment March 23, 24, 25, or 26:
1. Click on the link below and make your appointment yourself on-line
https://instant-scheduling.com/sch.php?kn=3534502&typId=63985&step=2
2. Call Doris Whillock at (316) 283-5561 to set up your appointment date
3. Sign up before or after the worship service on Sunday.
Every family photographed for the directory will receive a copy of the directory and an 8×10 portrait at no cost. So please, sign-up today!
Not available March 23-26? If you or a family member are not able to have your picture taken, you may still submit a digital photo for publication in the directory. Please send a digital head and shoulders photo to d.whillock@cox.net
Pictures should be oriented vertically, not horizontally. Photos cannot be from another professional photographer because of copyright issues. Please list names of all people in the photo from left to right. The final deadline for this is April 2, but we would appreciate having them as soon as possible! Act quickly, no late photos can be published!! We want all BCMC members and attendees to be included!
Individuals sitting for a professional photo get a copy of the directory at no cost. If you send in a digital photo and would like a copy of the pictorial directory, we are asking for a $10.00 donation to cover the cost of printing.
Library Announcement
A couple of beautiful 2000 piece puzzles have been donated to the library. The committee has decided to use them as a small fundraiser to help buy books on our wish list. The puzzles will be outside the library on Sundays. If you choose to buy one, we are asking for a minimum donation of $5. Just hand your donation to the librarian on duty.
Also, several books that were checked out right before COVID and the shutdown have not been returned or were not checked out properly. If you recognize a title that you might have checked out, please double check your own books to make sure that you haven’t inadvertently forgotten to return it. Titles that we are missing are:
The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth Speare
The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon by Alexander McCall Smith
The Wounded Healer by Henri J. M. Nouwen
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown
Ida and Martha by Sara Fretz Goering
The Time is Now by Joan Chittister
Option B by Sheryl Sandberg
Please continue to use or come in and check out our wonderful library. We appreciate your support.
The Everence Sharing Fund provided $3000 in matching funds to support needs in our church last year. Jim Robb serves as the Everence advocate for our congregation. Please contact him for more information.
BETHEL COLLEGE ANNOUNCEMENTS
Now in the Regier Gallery in Luyken Fine Arts Center at Bethel College, Susan and David Harmon, “Painterly Aesthetics: An Expressive Duet,” through April 7 (closing reception April 7). Gallery hours: 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Mon.-Fri.
Sun., March 20 – Bethel College’s Staley Lecture Series presents Karen González, 7 p.m., Administration Building chapel. González is the author of The God Who Sees: Immigrants, the Bible and the Journey to Belong (Herald Press, 2019). She will also speak in Bethel College’s convocation on Mon., March 21, 11 a.m., Memorial Hall.
Fri.-Sun., March 25-27 – Spring musical at Bethel College, Bright Star by Steve Martin and Edie Brickell, Krehbiel Auditorium in Luyken Fine Arts Center. Friday and Saturday, 7:30 p.m., Sunday matinee at 2 p.m. Tickets for sale at Thresher Shop in Schultz Student Center, weekdays 8 a.m.-5 p.m. (316-284-5205 for credit card orders), online at https://www.bethelks.edu/fine-arts, or at the door, subject to availability. Adult language and themes – not intended for young audiences.
HESSTON COLLEGE ANNOUNCEMENTS
Bel Canto Singers Home Concert: Deep Peace – March 22, 7 p.m., Hesston Mennonite Church
Hesston College Bel Canto Singers will travel east for a spring break tour with performances in Virginia, Pennsylvania and Ohio. The program is inspired by this year’s theme verse at Hesston College, Ephesians 4:2-3, in which Paul calls Christians to lift each other up in community. A full itinerary of their tour, beginning on March 12, along with live stream link of the home concert can be found at www.hesston.edu/music.
Where have all the Pastors Gone? – March 25 to 26, Hesston Mennonite Church and online
A Weekend College event presented by Hesston’s Center for Anabaptist Leadership and Learning (CALL) program, the seminar will explore strategies to encourage discernment and development of calls to leadership within our congregations. Discuss barriers to the pastoral call and work at strategies to remove those barriers. Explore ways the church can change to make the pastor role more attractive. Online and in-person options available. Learn more and register at hesston.edu/weekendcollege.
Western District Conference invites you to visit our website to read the latest news, stories and announcements and share them with your congregation!
MENNONITE CENTRAL COMMITTEE ANNOUNCEMENTS
Virtual Visit – War and Peace: MCC’s peacebuilding work and response to conflict: In this special live session, MCC staff and alumni will share stories about what peacebuilding work looks like in the midst of conflict in Ukraine, Colombia and DPRK (North Korea). They’ll explore questions like: What does peace look like in the middle of war? And, how do we embody a peace perspective? Join the live virtual visit on Wednesday, March 16 at 7 p.m. CST / 6 p.m. MST. For more information and to register for the event, visit mcc.org/webinars.
MCC is seeking host families in Newton and Wichita Would you be interested in learning from and sharing a cultural experience with a young person from another part of the world? Do you know someone in Newton or Wichita who might be a great fit? MCC is expecting 3 international service workers to join our communities beginning in August of 2022. Host families are needed to provide a private bedroom, within their home, and serve as a bridge to church, community, activities and places of interest. A monthly stipend of $350 is available for the host family to assist with the basics of food, toiletries and household expenses. If you are interested and would like more information about being a host, please contact Abby Endashaw at abbyendashaw@mcc.org or (720) 500 – 3413.
For Mennonite Central Committee In Touch Newsletter press here
Kansas Mennonite Disaster Service response
Information regarding a Kansas Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) response to the Cottonwood Complex Fire in Reno County Kansas. At this time clean up response is on hold due to hotspots in the fire area. Kansas MDS Unit is planning a response. We would like to assess available equipment that volunteers would be willing to bring for clean up. If you have a high loader, bobcat, backhoe, dump truck please indicate your availability for using this on this project by emailing or calling Cleo Koop at cleohkoop@gmail.com or 316-282-0797. As soon as there is clearance for clean up, information will be sent out inviting volunteers.
For Mennonite Mission Network News and Beyond press here
CAMP MENNOSCAH ANNOUNCEMENTS
Camp needs to prepare for groups using the dining hall and other main camp buildings this spring. Help is needed to make these spaces welcoming and ready for fellowship. We can work with your schedule, including evening and weekend hours. Tasks include basic cleaning, washing cookware and dishes and moving tables. Contact us at 620-297-3290 or olivia.bartel@campmennoscah.org
Other events and happenings:
- Youth Volunteer Weekend is April 9-10! This weekend of service and worship for grades 6-12 returns with vigor. Start your weekend of fun on Saturday at the MCC Sale in Hutchinson (on your own or with your youth group) and then bring the fun with you to Camp Mennoscah in the afternoon.Register at www.campmennoscah.org! (Registration is under Summer Camps.) Keep looking for more information available soon.
- The dam in the Ninnescah River will be replaced on March 20 beginning at 2pm. Meet by the shelter/stairs to the dam. Everyone is invited to help or watch the process. Some activities are not appropriate for young children. Kevin Neufeld will organize and direct volunteers. Questions can be directed to Camp Mennoscah at 620-297-3290.
- Kitchen helpersneeded for Summer Youth Camps! Your time and skill give campers a week of growing in Christian fellowship and experiencing God’s great creation. Cooks need only willing hands and the ability to follow directions. Kitchen staff is needed for June 19-23, July 3-9 and July 17-23. Contact us at 620-297-3290 or olivia.bartel@campmennoscah.org.
- Better camp discount ends April 1! Summer Youth Camp registration is open. The theme of “What’s in a Name?” focuses on how God knows us beyond any name we may be called. Don’t fret if you miss getting your registration and full payment in by April 1. After April 1, you’ll still get a good rate for an amazing week of camp. Register at www.campmennoscah.org!
- Getting ready for outside fun! Camp Mennoscah needs to replace some outdoor sports equipment, including inner tubes, 4-square/Gaga balls, frisbees for ultimate, and inner tubes. Check out the Camp Mennoscah Wish List on amazon.com or the Wish List. Challenge your Sunday School class or youth group to help meet camp needs! We’ve got many more ideas. Contact us by replying to this email.
- New Volunteer Projects every month! This month we’ve added cleaning gutters, lubricating locks, and deep-cleaning the oven and hood–plus more!There are volunteer projects for every group size, skill set and length of project. Email office@campmennoscah.org or call 620-297-3290 to volunteer. See the Wish List for other ways to support Camp Mennoscah!
MENNONITE CHURCH USA ANNOUNCEMENTS
The Executive Board of Mennonite Church USA affirmed a “clean” audit report and strong financial results during its meeting on February 3-4, 2022, and provided direction and feedback for the work ahead related to the upcoming Special Session of the Delegate Assembly (May 27-30, 2022), the resolutions process and denominational polity. Read more: mennoniteusa.org/news/board-affirms
Everyone is invited to attend Mountain States Conference’s Faith & Life Forum, entitled “The Myth of the Perfect Victim,” on Zoom on March 26 from 9:30-11:30 a.m. MST. Join Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary assistant professor Susannah Larry and mental health therapist Will Larry as they guide us to better understand men’s and women’s experiences of violence and the ways we can all be supportive. https://mountainstatesmc.org/2022-faith-life-forum/
During Women’s History Month (March), the Women in Leadership ministry of Mennonite Church USA invites you to engage in its small group Bible study, “Laboring Toward Wholeness: A Training on Dismantling Patriarchy.” Learn more here: mennoniteusa.org/resource/laboring-toward-wholeness
Menno Snapshots
“In the context of anti-racism work, particularly in the church, I have learned that we need each other, and we need to hold constant our vision of God’s shalom for all of creation,” said Regina Shands Stoltzfus, author of this season’s CommonRead book, “Been in the Struggle: Pursuing an Anti-Racist Spirituality,” in her recent blog. Read “Black history is also joy,” here: mennoniteusa.org/black-history-joy
Mennonite Mission Network Prayer Request: Mennonite Mission Network requests prayer for Prince of Peace Mennonite Church and the Service Adventure unit in Anchorage, Alaska, as Zaden Issah, Sam Setiawan and leader Michael Oyer recently welcomed three new participants from Germany: Sarah Huber, Alexander Mantler and Daniel Schumacher. Ask God to bless their transition to a larger household.
Western District Conference Prayer Request: Pray for the WDC Gifts Discernment Committee as they consider nominees for elected leadership positions in our conference.
Janeen Bertsche Johnson (Director of Campus Ministries; Admission Associate; Development Associate; Alumni Director; Core Adjunct Faculty) from Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS) joins BCMC for worship this Sunday. Janeen will share about AMBS during the kinship time and offers the morning sermon on this upcoming first Sunday of Lent. The following is from her short biography on the AMBS website.