All children and emerging youth are invited to attend VBS May 31 to June 3!
The theme of VBS this year is Surprise! Stories of Discovering Jesus.
At VBS, children and emerging youth learn more about the Bible through creative teaching, arts, music, and active play. All participants enjoy spending time with one another and making new friends!
Here is the Registration Form for 2016! It is due to the church office by May 15.
BCMC uses several email lists to keep in contact with members and friends. You can sign up or change your preferences by clicking on the subscribe button below.
9:30 a.m. Worship
10:30 a.m. Fellowship time
10:50 a.m. Faith Formation
Worship with sermon by Dorothy Nickel Friesen; music by Chancel Choir.
BCMC’s annual ice cream and dessert social for Bethel College students will be August 23, 7 p.m. on the BCMC front lawn. BCMC members, please bring a dessert or ice cream topping! Ice cream, dishes, and beverages are provided. We look forward to a fun evening and a chance to welcome students back to campus!
Christian Churches Together (an ecumenical association of which our denomination, Mennonite Church USA, is a member) is calling Christians to wear black to church this Sunday, Dec. 14, as a symbol of solidarity with the message that “Black Lives Matter” and a witness for racial justice in our nation.
For more information see:
http://www.mennoniteusa.org/christian-churches-together-not-a-time-to-be-silent/
http://christianchurchestogether.org/
Sunday’s reading from Isaiah 61 states: The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor…to comfort all who mourn.
In that spirit, let us join us in wearing black to BCMC this Sunday!
Keep Awake! is the theme for worship at BCMC during the season of Advent 2014 through Epiphany 2015. During this season we await and celebrate the coming of Christ. Through the birth of Jesus and the in-breaking of God’s shalom, God reveals the divine mystery and sheds new light on all things! Join BCMC to observe this season through worship, scripture study, and other special events. Look for discussion and reflection questions in the bulletin and on the website each Sunday.
Here is the schedule of Sunday scripture readings and worship:
Nov. 30, 1st Sunday of Advent: Isaiah 64:1-9; Psalm 80:1-7,17-19; 1 Corinthians 1:3-9; Mark 13:24-37. 9 a.m. Prelude by string quartet – Rebecca Schloneger and Jason Wong, violin; Keith Neufeld, viola; Danny Friesen, cello. 9:30 a.m. Worship with Communion, music by Chancel Choir
Dec. 7, 2nd Sunday of Advent: Isaiah 40:1-11; Psalm 85:1-2,8-13; 2 Peter 3:8-15a; Mark 1:1-8. 9 a.m. Prelude by Christopher Shaw, organist. 9:30 a.m. Worship with music by Junior Choir
Dec. 14, 3rd Sunday of Advent: Isaiah 61:1-4,8-11; Psalm 126; 1 Thess. 5:16-24; John 1:6-8,19-28. 9 a.m. Prelude by Howard Glanton, guitarist. 9:30 a.m. Worship with music by Cherub Choir and Chancel Choir
Dec. 21, 4th Sunday of Advent: 2 Samuel 7:1-11,16; Psalm 89:1-4, 19-26; Luke 1:26-55; Rom. 16:25-27. 9 a.m. Prelude by Chancel Bells. 9:30 a.m. Worship with music by Menno Ringers and Chancel Bells
Dec. 28, Sunday after Christmas: Isaiah 61:10-62:3, Psalm 148, Galatians 4:4-7, Luke 2:22-40. 9:30 a.m. Prelude of vocal solos by members and friends of BCMC. 10:00 a.m. Worship with Christmas carol singing. 11:00 a.m. Fellowship and coffee – bring goodies to share (no Sunday school).
Jan. 4, 2015, Epiphany (regular Sunday morning schedule resumes). Isaiah 60:1-6, Psalm 72:1-7, 10-14; Ephesians 3:1-12; Matthew 2:1-12. 9:15 a.m. Prelude by Mark Kreider, pianist. 9:30 a.m. Worship
Participate in this year’s Advent giving project by supporting Harvest of Love. This annual campaign sponsored by Newton Ministerial Alliance and Salvation Army gathers non-perishable food and donations to assist households in need in Harvey County. To contribute make checks payable to “Harvest of Love” and send to Salvation Army at 208 W. 6th, St., Newton, KS 67114. You may also bring non-perishable food items to BCMC and place them on the first pew under the balcony, near the south entrance of the sanctuary. Thanks to Kathy Stucky and members of Witness Commission for taking items to Salvation Army.
Other special events at BCMC and Bethel College:
Wednesday, December 3 – 11 a.m. – Bethel College Messiah-sing. Community members are welcome to come sing or listen – BCMC Sanctuary
Friday, December 5 – 8 p.m. – Christmas Gala Jazz Concert – Krehbiel Auditorium, Bethel College
Saturday, December 6 – 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. – Five Places of Christmas includes Luyken Fine Arts Center and Kauffman Museum at Bethel College
Sunday, December 7 – 8:00 p.m. – Lighting of the Green at Bethel College
Wednesday, December 24, Christmas Eve – 7 p.m. Worship led by children and youth, BCMC Sanctuary. 11 p.m. – Candlelight service of Lessons and Carols with anthems by Chancel Choir and congregational singing– BCMC Sanctuary
Sunday, January 4, 2015 – Epiphany Sunday – 7 p.m. Communion service and candle-lighting in memory of BCMC members and friends who died in 2014 – BCMC Sanctuary
To read previous posts, click on “Current Happenings” below.
It’s time for the Harvest of Love! The Harvest of Love is an annual campaign in our local community (Newton and surrounding Harvey County) to raise funds and food to stock the food pantry located at Salvation Army, 208 W. 6th Street in Newton.
The Harvest of Love campaign runs during November and December, and is co-sponsored by the Salvation Army and the Newton Ministerial Alliance. Local congregations, individuals, schools, businesses and other organizations are encouraged to contribute financial contributions and non-perishable food to support the pantry. These food supplies provide groceries for hungry families and individuals in our community.
At Bethel College Mennonite Church, we support the food pantry throughout the year, by collecting non-perishable food items on the first Sunday of the month. (Just bring items to worship, and put them on the front pew under the balcony in the sanctuary, and a member of the congregation will take them to Salvation Army). During the season of Advent (November 30 – December 28) food items will be collected weekly at BCMC as our Advent giving project.
Financial contributions should be made out to “Harvest of Love” and sent to Salvation Army at 208 W. 6th St., Newton, KS 67114.
Let’s all join in the Harvest of Love!
Walter Sawatsky will present the Menno Simons Lectures at Bethel College October 26-28 on the theme Going Global with God in the Third Millennium. All are invited to the lectures which will take place in Krehbiel Auditorium on the Bethel College campus:
Sunday, Oct. 26 – 7:00 p.m. – Pluralities of Mennonite History: Why Russian Mennonites as Paradigm?
Monday, Oct. 27 – 11 a.m. (Bethel College convocation) – Reconciling Free Churches to Two Millennia of Global Christianity
Monday, Oct. 27 – 8:00 p.m. – After 500 Years: Pressing Issues on Globalization of Mennonite Witness
Tuesday, Oct. 28 – 7:00 p.m. – Full-Orbed Integration of Worship, Ethics, Nonviolence and Public Theology for the 21st Century
Walter Sawatsky is professor emeritus of church history and mission at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminar in Elkhart, IN. He is a former research scholar with Mennonite Central Committee and edited two journals, Religion in Eastern Europe and Mission Focus: Annual Review. He was coordinator of the 33-volume Russian Bible Commentary translation project (1978-93); a member of the Global Mennonite History Project Organizing Committee (1997-2011); and convener of the conference “Mirror on the Globalization of Mennonite Witness,” November 2011 at AMBS. Sawatsky has continued to teach periodically since retiring from AMBS in 2012, as well as working on numerous writing projects.