BETHEL COLLEGE MENNONITE CHURCH
WORSHIP SERVICE AND ANNOUNCEMENTS FOR SUNDAY, AUGUST 4, 2024
Our faith in a God of love leads us, by the power of the Spirit,
to follow Jesus in doing justice, loving mercy,
and walking humbly with God.
To livestream the worship service:
On Sunday morning, around 9:20 a.m., 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 below 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/85tBUtxvV_U?feature=share
BETHEL COLLEGE MENNONITE CHURCH
August 4, 2024
Eleventh Sunday After Pentecost
Christ Candle Lighting
Centering Music—When Morning Gilds the Skies (Wood)– Karen Unruh
Land Acknowledgement—Raylene Hinz Penner
Welcome & Prayer—Raylene Hinz Penner
*Hymn—Could It Be That God Is Singing—VT 42
Children’s Conversation—Kevin Neufeld
*Hymn—Open My Eyes That I May See—VT 738
Scripture Reading—Ephesians 4:1-16; 1 Peter 5:1-4—Jim Robb
Sermon—Watch Your Language: Biblical Grammar and Leadership—Trent Voth
*Hymn—Christ Be in Your Senses—VT 721
Prayers of God’s People
*Hymn—We, Your People, Sing Your Praises—VT 849
*Benediction
Postlude—Sent Forth By God’s Blessing (Behnke)–Karen Unruh
* You are invited to stand
VT—Voices Together
Keyboard—Karen Unruh
Audio visual—Ken Lamp
Land Acknowledgement from words by Mark Charles and VT #878
As we do on the first Sunday of each month,
we acknowledge that we worship
on the land of the Kanza, Osage, and Wichita.
We thank them for their care and respect for this land
and acknowledge the injustice of their forced removal.
We ask the Spirit to heal our histories
and find new paths of right relationships with them
and all of creation.
GOING BEYOND LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:
*The Task Group is working to build a Kansas Repair community in the Newton area with several other churches. We hope to host the Apache Stronghold convoy in a prayer and learning event when they come through en route to the Supreme Court.
*Many of us from BCMC attended the 150th commemoration at Tabor Church July 14 when Annette Voth and Pauline Sharp detailed intersecting family timelines of their Russian Mennonite and Kanza People.
*”The Land We Came To,” seminar by Raylene Hinz-Penner at the Schweitzer 150th commemoration of settlement 9 a.m. Saturday, August 24, Eden Mennonite Church.
*Recent youth trip to First Americans Museum in OKC with a tour led by Nathan Hart accompanied by interested BCMC family.
*Read Augustine and Hostetler, So We and Our Children May Live: Following Jesus in Confronting the Climate Crisis before Sarah Augustine’s visit to Bethel Campus during Fall Festival.
*Seekers’ Class is considering a monthly reparations offering
Sunday, August 4, we welcome Trent Voth, Assistant Professor of Bible and Religion at Bethel College. Trent grew up in Halstead, and graduated from Tabor College, Fresno Pacific Biblical Seminary, and The University of Toronto (ON) where he earned a PhD in Theology in New Testament Studies.
Everyone is invited to meet in the Gathering Place after the Sunday, August 4 worship service to celebrate Dwight Platt’s 93rd birthday with a light fruit snack!
The Next Week at BCMC: August 4—11, 2024
Sunday, August 4, 2024
9:30 a.m. Worship
YouTube Link for this Sunday:
https://youtube.com/live/85tBUtxvV_U?feature=share
Monday, August 5, 2024
10 a.m. Library Committee meeting in Room 14
Wednesday, August 7, 2024
7:30 p.m. Chancel Choir rehearsal in the Sanctuary
Thursday, August 8, 2024
3 p.m. Peace Sunday Planning meeting in Room 14
Sunday, August 11, 2024—New Student Sunday + Farewell for Pastor Roger Neufeld Smith and Welcome to Pastor Joanna Harader
10 a.m. (Note the time change for the beginning of worship) Worship with sermon by Joanna Harader; music by the Chancel Choir; Cynthia Neufeld Smith at the organ
Those who enjoy singing are invited to join as the Chancel Choir begins the year with the August 11 worship service. The anthem includes parts for choir, handbells, and congregation, and will be a meaningful way to both bid farewell to Roger Neufeld Smith and welcome to Joanna Harader. Rehearsal will take place on August 7 at 7:30 PM.
Roger Neufeld Smith will return to Newton, Tues., Aug. 6, remaining in Newton until Aug. 11. August 11 will be a special day as it is the Bethel College New Student Sunday, Roger’s last day at BCMC, and Pastor Joanna Harader’s first day at BCMC. And….there will be cake to say farewell to Pastor Roger and to welcome Pastor Joanna! Roger checks his email and phone regularly. Feel free to contact him via email, text or phone (785-220-1968.)
Pastor Nathan Koontz is on vacation July 8—August 10.
Pastor Elizabeth Schmidt will be on vacation August 5-11.
BCMC Offering for July 28, 2024 General Fund $4,914.50; Plant Fund $50; Caring Fund $250; Solar Fund $550.
BCMC Library Announcements:
· Looking ahead to November, the Library theme for the next few months will be Religion and Politics. We’ve pulled some books that might help answer questions about our current political climate. A partial display is behind the library desk.
· BCMC children and youth summer book promotion: What’s new for children and youth in the BCMC library this summer? What’s new is old. Your library committee has sorted through the shelves and uncovered some classics.
These books may look drab, but they have been loved by many, many children over many years. They are waiting for you on a special shelf in the children’s room. Come check them out. Read them with parents or grandparents who remember reading them. Create new memories. Inside each book you will find a certificate good for one book at “Book Reviews” (Newton’s Main Street used book store). Go to “Book Reviews”. Pick out a book that has been loved by another kid. Read it. Share it. Create more memories.
For those who subscribe to the devotional Rejoice through the BCMC group subscription, the last issue of Rejoice (Sept.-Oct.-Nov.) will be coming soon. Therefore, it is time to renew for the coming year. The bulk subscription price is $35.93. The devotional is mailed to BCMC and your copy will be either placed in your mailbox here at church, or mailed to you. If you wish to subscribe (even if you have not subscribed before) place your check in the offering plate or bring or mail to the office with “Rejoice subscription” in the memo line.
It’s School Kit Challenge Time!
Lincoln and Lawrence Kohlman and Gabby and Jake Robb are participating in the Mennonite Central Committee School Kit Challenge again this year. You can help with donations of money, school kit supplies, or school kit bags. Please give monetary donations to Lincoln, Lawrence, Gabby, or Jake by Wed., Aug. 7. School kit supplies and bags can be left on the tables on the Fellowship Hall stage. A list of school kit supplies and directions for sewing bags can be found on the MCC website. Last year we packed 311 school kits. Can you help us beat our record?! We will pack school kits on Sun., Aug. 11, after Fellowship Time. Please join us!
A new book, THE CHURCH BY THE PLAYGROUND: THE STORY OF THE SHARING COMMUNITY IN ROSEDALE, by Dorothy Nickel Friesen, has been published by Rainbow Mennonite Church. The book will be launched at Rainbow Aug. 10 and 11 and at Kidron Bethel/Kidron Hall on Thurs., Aug. 15 at 2 p.m. (Faith and Life Bookstore will sell books.) The public is invited to hear Dorothy share, sign books, and tell this unique urban ecumenical ministry history.
FreedUp: Everence® is offering a new stewardship training program. The FreedUp program is a way for everyone to get their finances in order – and gain a deeper faith perspective on your money. Everence facilitators will lead the group sessions, including the first get-acquainted session. There are two upcoming options for participants to choose from:
· Tuesdays at 2 p.m. ET beginning Aug. 20; ending Oct. 1 or
· Mondays at 8 p.m. ET beginning Oct. 7; ending Nov. 18.
Register at everence.com/partners.
If you’ve been a nursery volunteer in the past or would like to become a new nursery volunteer, please notify Sara Dick, new nursery schedule coordinator, at saradick1@gmail.com. The schedule is posted in the nursery and will be updated as folks volunteer. Please notify Sara rather than sign yourself up for shifts directly on the schedule, so she knows where we need helpers and where we’re all set. Thank you for caring for our youngest attenders and their families!
A reminder that the next Women’s Fellowship Executive Board meeting will be Wednesday, August 21, at 9 a.m. in Room 14 for a planning meeting.
The memorial service for Marilyn Stucky (Marilyn died June 20) will be Saturday, Aug. 31, 11 a.m. at BCMC, with a lunch in fellowship hall following the service.
Save the Date: Peace Witness Event, Sept. 15-16
The BCMC Witness Commission is very pleased to announce plans for a peace witness event around Peace Sunday on September 15-16. Our church along with the Bible and Religion Dept. Bethel College and in collaboration with area churches invites you engage with Christianity and Democracy led by well known author, academic, and presenter, David P. Gushee (https://davidpgushee.com).
Bethel College Announcements:
· Sun., Aug. 18 – Sunday-Afternoon-at-the-Museum, 3 p.m., with Lorna Harder, professor emeritus of biology at Hesston College and former curator of natural history at Kauffman Museum, on the 40th anniversary of the museum’s tallgrass prairie reconstruction; museum auditorium (corner of Main & 27th streets, North Newton).
· The 2024 issue of Bethel College’s online journal Mennonite Life can now be viewed at ml.bethelks.edu The issue includes articles by Rod Ratzlaff, Mark Jantzen and Rachel Pannabecker related to the 150th anniversary of Mennonite immigration to North America from the Russian Empire, as well as the text from last spring’s Bible Lectures by César García and Sandra Báez, several other articles, and book reviews.
Western District Women in Mission invites women and girls to the annual retreat Sept. 7-8 at Camp Mennoscah. Theme: Peaceful Practices; Kristine Regehr keynote speaker. Girls’ Programming for 5th grade-high school with Janna Duerksen. Registration is due Aug. 30. Retreat brochure and registration form are available at: https://www.westerndistrictwomeninMission.org/register Come early at 10 a.m. on Saturday morning to tie Camp Mennoscah t-shirt comforters which will also be available to tie throughout retreat. We hope to get 6 comforters tied and give them to Camp to sell as fundraisers. At least 15 years of past camp T-shirts are in the comforters!
Western District Conference invites you to visit our website to read the latest news, stories and announcements
Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) Announcements
· The MCC Sale Quilter’s Corner is looking for donations of quilts, quilt tops, fabric, books, magazines and vintage linens for our next sale. We hope to have an October sale if we receive enough donations. Donations can be dropped off at the MCC Center in North Newton labeled for Quilter’s Corner or at Stitches Quilt Shop in McPherson. If you have questions, please contact
Ann Yoder Smith at 919-604-3282.
· Mennonite Central Committee Material Resources Center in North Newton critically low on inventory: An MCC kit cannot be distributed until each item for the kit is assembled, but some supplies in the Material Resources Center are so low that kits cannot be processed for shipping. You can help by filling the following needs: new infant sleepers (6-12 month sizes); hand towels (dark colored); bar soap; bath towels (dark colored, light to medium weight); wide toothed combs (6-8 inches long); laundry soap (such as Fels Naptha or Zote brands); and shampoo (20 oz min). Buy online and ship it to MCC or bring items to MCC in North Newton (121 E. 30th St, North Newton, KS 67117). Questions: phone 316-836-5045 or email brociamueller@mcc.org A full list of MCC kit contents can be found at mcc.org/kits.
· WANTED: Cars, Tractors, Pickups, Farm Machinery, Motorcycles, etc. We are collecting items for next year’s KS Mennonite Central Committee Sale. Your donations are tax deductible and help feed and clothe thousands of people in need around the world. Call Jerry Toews at 620-367-8257 for more info.
· MCC immigration-focused learning tour in South Texas, Aug. 18-23: MCC learning tours are an opportunity to engage directly with the work done by MCC and partner organizations. The tour gives participants the chance to meet with law enforcement officials from Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), gain insights into the complexity of immigration enforcement, including deportation and apprehensions, and visiting migrant response shelters. It will shed light on the challenges faced by migrants on their journey and raise awareness about the asylum process, and conditions faced by displaced and uprooted individuals. Find out more and register for the trip by Aug. 9. Questions, contact Abraham Diaz Alonso, MCC Central States Immigration Program Coordinator at abrahamdiazalonso@mcc.org
· URGENT OPENING: Would you or someone you know consider serving a two-year term as an MCC mobile canner operator? Do you want to gain new skills while traveling across the country? To learn more, contact Joe Miller at joemiller@mcc.org or call 717-808-2417.
Janet Harder Stucky’s emails from Mercy Ships
Janet Harder Stucky has returned to Mercy Ships, a surgical ship currently docked in Toamasina, Madagascar. Janet has joined the medical team as a clinical dietitian collaborating with the medical staff to treat local surgical patients. In this role she is responsible for the overall nutrition management of the patients in preparation for surgery, during hospitalization, and as outpatients during their healing process. Her assignment continues through mid August 2024.
Janet is a member of Bethel College Mennonite Church. When she leaves Mercy Ships she will return to her home in Chanhassen, Minnesota. She is the sister-in-law of Steve and Jeanette Stucky.
Dorothy Nickel Friesen is sharing her emails from Janet. If you wish to read emails from Janet about her work on the ship click here.
For Mennonite Mission Network “Seeds of Peace” press hereFor Mennonite Mission Network “News and Beyond” press here
For Mennonite Mission Network “Urgent Prayer Request” press here
For Anabaptist Disabilities “Opening Doors Blog” press here
For Mennonite Men “Engage” press here
For an Anabaptist Biblical Seminary short course “Dive deeper into Anabaptism press here
As a supporter of Anabaptist World, we invite you to join Creation Justice Ministries for the upcoming Season of Creation. Season of Creation is a time to renew our relationship with our Creator and all creation through celebration, conversion, and commitment together. During this time, we join our siblings in the ecumenical family in prayer and action for our common home.
Join us this year in celebrating the Season of Creation. Find resources and opportunities below and on our Season of Creation Hub: creationjustice.org/seasonofcreation
The 150th Celebration of the Swiss Volhynian Mennonites Coming to U.S. in 1874 will open on Friday night, August 23, 2024, at 7:00 p.m. at Eden Mennonite Church, rural Moundridge, with the Keynote Speaker, Dr. Wynn Goering, speaking on “The Use of Memory.” Wynn grew up on a farm that was literally in Moundridge. He graduated from Moundridge High School and Bethel College and earned masters and doctoral degrees at the University of Chicago. Wynn farmed with his father and taught at Chicago, McPherson, and Bethel before becoming Bethel’s academic dean in 1991. Wynn and his wife Ardie moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico. They manage a Christmas tree farm near Goessel.
Dr. Austin McCabe Juhnke, Assistant Professor of Musicology at Ohio State University, will lead attendees through a music-historical journey on “Singing 150 Years of Schweitzer Mennonite Heritage” as Dr. William Eash, Professor Emeritus of Music at Bethel College, will lead a hymn sing.
Saturday morning, August 24, will begin with “Schweitzers Talking” Readers Theater, a cross-generational dialogue based on (probably) true and (mostly) entertaining stories told by Schweitzers. Conceived and directed by John McCabe-Juhnke and featuring the dramatic talents of Jerod Kaufman, John McCabe-Juhnke, Leann Toews, Julianna Schrag Kaufman, Aaron Tschetter, Karin Kaufman Wall. A full day of seminars is in store for Saturday with lunch at Food Trucks and supper Ethnic Meal by reservation. Children’s activities are planned. Vans are available to take visitors to see the Mennonite Monument, 1943 Marker, Hopefield Cemetery and Church. And to top off the day at 7:00 p.m. will be Menno Night Live; Schweitzers and Friends Edition: Six Swiss Sisters, Christopher Shaw, Flannelbacks, and September River.
Community Worship Service at Eden Mennonite Church. Dr. Nathan Stucky will bring the message Sunday, August 25, at 9:30 a.m. Dr. Stucky is Director of the Farminary Project at Princeton Theological Seminary. He grew up on a farm in Kansas where his love for Christian faith and agriculture first took root. A Mass Choir accompanied with brass will sing. Worship open to all.
For more information and to register, go to www.swissmennonite.org. The only cost is for Ethnic Meal ($25/plate, $10/plate children) that can be paid by credit card on the web or at the door. Schweitzers and Friends is our theme — that includes you too.
“Travels to Ancestral Lands” seminar at 150th celebration August 23-25, 2024.
At the Swiss Mennonite 150th Anniversary on August 23-25, 2024 at Eden Mennonite Church, Moundridge, one seminar, Travels to Ancestral Lands, features the European history and ancestry of the Swiss Volhynian Mennonites. Using pictures, maps, and stories from travels, on Saturday, 9:00-10:00 a.m., the panel will explore the emigration routes from the 1500s to 1874, when our ancestors arrived in Kansas and South Dakota. Panelists will focus on1500-1600 in Switzerland, journey on to Alsace, Montbeliard in France, Poland, and Volhynia in Ukraine. You might expand your vision. Register at www.swissmennonite.org and check out the full schedule.
Mennonite Church USA Announcements
MC USA responded to the July 13 assassination attempt with a statement that called for prayer. Read the statement here: mennoniteusa.org/prayer-assassination
Season One of MC USA’s “Lead/Follow” podcast for pastors and leaders is now complete! Watch all 10 episodes on YouTube or listen on Apple or Spotify! Watch or listen here: mennoniteusa.org/lead-follow View the PDF here: mennoniteusa.org/leadfollow-pdf2
Menno Snapshots
In 2018, Ardean Friesen, a member of Silverwood Mennonite Church, asked his church to begin the process of discerning whether the congregation would become open and affirming. The two-year inclusion process let him know that he has a seat at the table. Read more here: mennoniteusa.org/journey-inclusion
Mennonite Mission Network Prayer Request: Sibonokuhle Ncube, one of Mennonite Mission Network’s regional directors for Africa and Europe, is spending the summer on the African continent. Pray for her as she gets acquainted with African partners and builds on the agency’s more than 100-year-old legacy.
Western District Conference Prayer Request: Give thanks for the WDC Annual Assembly this weekend, and pray that we would all be open to God’s transforming work as we join together in community.
Bethel College Mennonite Church is an open and affirming congregation
centered in the life and teachings of Jesus. Embracing the divine within each person, we warmly welcome any and all into fellowship without regard to race, ethnic background, gender identity, sexual orientation, ability,
economic status, marital status, or age.
Our backpack blessing for our youth (and adults) will be this Sunday, August 25 during the children’s story. Please have your child(ren) bring their backpack to have our congregation bless their year.
The Chancel Bells will begin practicing September 5 for our fall music. But, I need several players to complete the choir. This commitment ideally would be for the entire year, but I can work with a month at a time. We are easy to work with and very forgiving if you are a new player. Please consider making this contribution to the worship of our church. I am excited to get going again with some new music and some that hasn’t been done for several years. Our library has many options. Contact Verlene: