BETHEL COLLEGE MENNONITE CHURCH
WORSHIP SERVICE AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
March 1, 2026
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 for Sunday, March 1:
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/uIgNzut6y0w?feature=share
BETHEL COLLEGE MENNONITE CHURCH
March 1, 2026
2nd Sunday of Lent: Disruptive Blessings
Christ Candle Lighting
Centering Music–O Power of Love, All Else Transcending (arr. S. Vincent)–Will Wiebe-Friesen
Land Acknowledgement & Call to Worship–Marshall Anderson
One: Come into God’s presence, you who imagine and you who seek, you who disrupt and you who repair.
All: By the Spirit, we gather in hope.
One: Come into God’s fellowship, you who are broken and blessed, you who show mercy, as God has first been merciful to you.
All: In Christ, we gather in blessing.
One: Come into God’s presence, singing for joy and for justice; bringing prayer and worship, your most faithful acts of resistance.
All: To God be the glory! We gather to praise!
Opening Prayer
*Hymn-We Are People of God’s Peace–VT 797
Kin-dom Report–M-2 Prison Ministry OVM–Laura Garvin
Children and Youth Conversation–Barb Koontz
Worship Music–Festival Prelude on Thaxted [VT 814] (Holst), (arr. Pettit)–Ben Lichti, trumpet; Will Wiebe-Friesen, organ
Scripture Reading–Luke 6:17–36–Lindsay Anderson
*Hymn–Make Me an Instrument of Your Peace– VT 713– Doyle Preheim, soloist; William Eash, song-leader
Scripture Reading–James 1:19–27
Sermon–This Is Not For Sale–Nathan Koontz
Breath Prayer–I am vulnerable / I am blessed
*Hymn--Blessed Are You–VT 290
Receiving the Offering and Prayers of God’s People
*Hymn–Heart with Loving Heart United–VT 813
*Charge and Benediction
Postlude–We Are People of God’s Peace (arr. A. Fedak)
* You are invited to stand VT—Voices Together
Keyboard—Will Wiebe-Friesen Audio visual—John Thiesen
Note: O Power of Love, All Else Transcending has long been a favorite hymn for many Mennonites, appearing in multiple Mennonite and Mennonite Brethren hymnals in North and South America and Europe. Unfortunately, it does not appear in Voices Together. The original text, Ich bete an die Macht der Liebe, is drawn from a larger poem by German hymnist Gerhard Tersteegen and has been paired with the tune “St. Petersburg” by Russian composer Bortiansky since at least 1825. It is of little surprise that this hymn was deeply loved by Mennonites in present-day Ukraine or that it continues to be loved today.
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 Kansas Repair Communities, a group of local churches and organizations, is growing. We meet virtually and in-person on alternating months to talk about our work for Missing and Murdered Indigenous People (MMIP), especially Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW). We are connecting with Indigenous groups in Kansas already at work on this issue and learning to know Indigenous friends who would appreciate our voices on this issue. To help us in our work, the National Repair Coalition for Dismantling the Doctrine of Discovery, of which BCMC is a member, is conducting a training, “Moving Toward Right Relations” at BCMC April 24-26. If you have thought you would like to join this work, this training about power and assumptions and privilege would be a good way to enter the work. Or, if you know someone who might like to join us through this training, see Ada Schmidt-Tieszen, Dale Schrag or Raylene Hinz-Penner. Persons are welcome within and outside BCMC or any church or denomination.
The Week at BCMC: March 1-7, 2026
Sunday, March 1, 2026—2nd Sunday of Lent:
9:30 a.m. Worship 10:30 a.m. Coffee/water/tea in the Gathering Place
YouTube Link for the worship service this Sunday:
https://youtube.com/live/uIgNzut6y0w?feature=share
2:30 p.m. Newton Community Children’s Choir Event in Fellowship Hall—Talents & Treats Dessert Auction Fundraiser—Come bid on wonderful desserts and see talented members from Newton Community Children’s Choir perform!
Tuesday, March 3, 2026
4 p.m. Staff Congregation Relations meeting—Room 14
Wednesday, March 4, 2026
6 p.m. Wednesday supper in Fellowship Hall—Please bring your own tableware to facilitate the clean-up—Menu: Cheeseburger macaroni, peas, pudding
6:30 p.m. Gifts Discernment Committee meeting—Room 14
7:30 p.m. Chancel Choir Rehearsal—Sanctuary Chancel
Thursday, March 5, 2026
6 p.m. Chancel Bells Rehearsal—Rm B7
7 p.m. Church Board meeting—Room 14
Saturday, March 7, 2026
11 a.m. Memorial service for Al Penner—Sanctuary
Sunday, March 8, 2026—Third Sunday in Lent
9:30 a.m. Worship with sermon by Joanna Harader; music by Chancel Choir
You are invited to an ecumenical Good Friday worship service on April 3, 7 p.m., at St. Matthew’s Episcopal church (2001 Windsor Drive, Newton). This service will be planned and led by Bethel College Mennonite, Shalom Mennonite, Salem United Methodist, Trinity Heights United Methodist, and St. Matthew’s Episcopal. We are excited to connect with others in our community during this sacred season.
The family of Joan Brubacher thanks the congregation for all of the kindness — in thought, deed, prayer and gesture—extended to them during the illness and death of Joan. They are sincerely grateful.
This Lent, we will explore The Work of Imagination, led by material from Illustrated Ministry.
“This is the work of imagination: to envision a world remade by mercy, to trust that healing is possible even in the shadow of empire, and to practice love that outlasts despair.”
Please plan to join us for Sunday morning worship, and consider participating in these special Lenten opportunities:
· Sundays, Feb. 22-March 29 during Sunday School hour: elective Sunday school class using The Work of Imagination devotionals, in the Chapel
· Wednesdays, Feb. 25-March 25 @ 6 p.m.: Church Community Suppers in Fellowship Hall
· Thurs., Apr. 2, 5:30 p.m.: All-Age Maundy Thursday Worship in the Chapel
· Thurs., Apr. 2, 7 p.m.: Maundy Thursday Worship with communion in the
Sanctuary
· Easter Sunday, Apr. 5: NO Sunday School
* Easter Sunrise Worship @ 7 a.m.
* Worship Service @ 10 a.m. to include welcoming new members!
Poems and Prayers Group for Lent
You are invited to poems and prayers in the BCMC chapel on Tuesdays at 11 during lent, an informal time to bring a poem or prayer that speaks to you and share it with the group. Readings will be followed by silence and discussion. Your selection could be something that you have written, or something that someone else has written. You do not need to consider yourself a poet to attend. Simply bring an open heart and joy for the truth revealed when words and phrases rub in illumined ways. Next session begins at 11 on March 3.
Bethel College Announcements
· Mar. 6 & Mar. 7, 7 p.m., Sun., March 8, 2 p.m., Krehbiel Auditorium: Bethel College music and theater departments present: Alice by Heart, a retelling of Alice in Wonderland set during the London blitz of World War II. Friday night performance interpreted for the D/deaf community. Ticket purchase required, at https://www.bethelks.edu/fine-arts/theater/theater-department-presents/#tickets, at Thresher Shop weekdays 8 a.m.-5 p.m., or at the door. Contains adult content and is not intended for young audiences.
· Sat., March 7: Kauffman Museum bird walk, 8 a.m. meet in the museum parking lot at the corner of Main and 27th streets, 2801 N. Main St., North Newton. Experienced birders lead a walk of 1-1.5 hours in Chisholm Park and on Sand Creek Trail.
· Tues., Mar. 10 [change from Feb. 26]: Bethel College Wind Ensemble concert, Chris Miertschin, director, 7 p.m., Krehbiel Auditorium
· Thurs., Mar. 12: Bethel College Jazz, Chris Miertschin, director, 7 p.m.
Krehbiel Auditorium
· Thurs., Mar. 12: Ceramic artist Isaac Shue, owner of Gallery Mostaza in Newton, will present an artist talk, 7 p.m., Ad Building chapel at Bethel College,
(underwritten by the Greer Lecture Endowment).
Life Enrichment, at Bethel College for adults age 60 and older, meets Wednesday mornings in Krehbiel Auditorium. This week’s programs (March 4): 9:30 a.m., “Giving Garden Donates Produce to Salvation Army,” Scott Eckert, Harvey County Extension horticulture agent and master gardener; 10:50 a.m., “‘Voices Not Forgotten’: MMIP (Missing/Murdered Indigenous People) Community Awareness and Action,” Sharron Fisher and Laurie Dove, indigenous advocates.
Now in the Regier Art Gallery in Luyken Fine Arts Center at Bethel College, “Daily Commitments,” an exhibit by Rachel Epp Buller, through March 12. She will be creating a new work every day the exhibit is open, so plan to go back several times! Gallery hours are Mon.-Fri. 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Sun. 2-4 p.m.
Hesston College Announcement
Recital: Solomia Soroka & Scott Hochstetler
Goshen (Ind.) College faculty artists violinist Solomia Soroka and baritone Scott Hochstetler present an evening of music for voice and violin, exploring a rich and diverse repertoire. The program features both beloved works and rarely heard gems, including unknown and rediscovered compositions by Ukrainian composers, highlighting music of deep lyricism, cultural heritage and expressive beauty. This recital invites listeners to discover meaningful music that bridges traditions, histories, and artistic voices. Tuesday, March 3, 7 p.m. at Hesston Mennonite Church, 309 S. Main St., Hesston. Free admission.
Kansas Mennonite Relief Sale (KMRS) is April 10 & 11 at the Kansas State Fair Grounds in Hutchinson. Did you know that in 2025, relief sales across North America provided over 5 million dollars to fund Mennonite Central Committee’s relief, development, and peace initiatives in 46 countries?
· The My Coins Count jug is returning this week (jug is in the Gathering Place)—bring your bills and coins! The filled jug will help transform lives by funding MCC’s education projects.
· Donations: Turn cool items into cash to fund MCC projects! BCMC members have already donated many items to KMRS to be sold at one of 4 different auctions. If you have something to add, simply donate it, and the auction committees can decide the best location for your item. Talk to a BCMC sale liaison today!
· Volunteer Opportunities: Sign up to make VERENIKA (in Hillsboro on March 21) or BOHNE BEROGGI (in Moundridge on April 4) for the sale. To sign up, go to the volunteer page at https://kansas.mccsale.org/
· Urgent Service Opportunities: KMRS is looking for persons to chair or support the following: New Year Cookies Frying Committee, Pork Tenders, Friday Verenike Frying, Borscht Making, Feeding the Multitude Committee. For more info, see the flyer on the table in the gathering place or speak with Jim Robb.
· Sunday School Classes: Last year many contributed to help underwrite KMRS costs to cover all expenses before the sale so proceeds go directly to MCC programs. The next round of bidding on items like eggs, cream, shortening, pork tenders is on March 12. Please identify your contributions in the next few weeks! Info has been sent to Sunday School contacts.
· More Information:
*KMRS posterboard & table in the Gathering Place for information and forms for Run for Relief, as well as the My Coins Count jug.
* KMRS website: https://kansas.mccsale.org/
* BCMC liaisons: Steve & Elaine Schurr, William & Esther Kreider Eash, and
Brad & Diane Born.
Join Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) Central States for their Annual Meeting to hear an update from MCC U.S. Board Chair Emerson Lesher. The meeting will be Sat., March 7, 9:30 a.m. at MCC Central States, 121 E. 30th, North Newton. If you would like to join via Zoom, email tinaschrag@mcc.org for a link to the meeting.
More BCMC Announcements
Margaret Toews and Barb Voran, along with Faith Formation, are looking for more volunteers for our BCMC nursery during worship on Sunday mornings. Fifteen people volunteered to spend time with our young ones this past year. We would like to have 18 people who are willing to spend one Sunday every other month in the nursery. This is a wonderful opportunity – never a dull moment! Let Margaret Toews, Barb Voran or Brad Kohlman know if interested.
The Gifts Discernment Commission is at work to connect willing workers to the following open positions: moderator-elect, Church Board, Hospitality Commission, Faith Formation Commission, and Deacon Commission. If the Spirit moves you to a new experience, please contact a GDC member: Francis Toews, Jerry Buller, Dorothy Nickel Friesen, Barb Koontz, or Jeanette Stucky.
“Mennonites in Poland” is currently being highlighted in the church library along with the Mennonite Polish Studies Association Newsletter. This newsletter summarizes the 2025 Poland trip led by Mark Jantzen and John Thiesen which many in the congregation have taken or will take this summer. We also have many new books that were donated and are now ready for checkout.
Eleven of Camp Mennoscah’s partner churches now have active matching challenges being offered within their congregations, doubling the impact of every dollar given by households who attend that church. If you are not aware of a challenge within your congregation, we would welcome your involvement in this initiative that has raised over $130,000 in just a few weeks! To inquire about starting this challenge within your church, to add to the initial challenge amount, or to give toward the challenge, text “Match” to 620.755.2583 for additional information!
The Swiss Mennonite Cultural and Historical Association’s annual meeting will be Mar. 8, 2:30 p.m. at Hopefield Mennonite Church, 1823 Aztec Lane, Moundridge. Guest Speaker, Glen Ediger, a Bethel College graduate, will speak on “Mennonites,Farming, Wheat and Threshing Stones”. Entertainment will be provided by Sam Shilts. There is no need to rsvp. Poppyseed rolls will be served after the meeting.
Join guest conductor Anya Pogorelova for the Newton Mid Kansas Symphony Orchestra spring concert Sat., Mar. 21, 3 p.m. in the Newton High School Auditorium. This concert is designed for the whole family with a special family ticket price of $20 to families of all sizes! Advance tickets for sale online, and at Faith and Life Bookstore. Tickets will also be available the day of the concert at the door. https://nmkso.org/tickets/
Rocky Mountain Mennonite Camp Announcement
Women’s Retreat Mar. 6-8, 2026 will be led by Anita Amstutz exploring “Breathing through Transition”. Please visit rmmc.org for more details and for registration.
On Saturday, March 7, the Dyck Arboretum of the Plains will host a “Kansas Water Symposium 2.0”. Building on the water symposium hosted at Dyck Arboretum in 2015, this second Kansas water symposium brings together a panel of leading hydrogeologists, state water managers, and conservation experts to provide a comprehensive update on the state of the state regarding water.
The day will begin with registration and a continental breakfast at 8:30 a.m., followed by introductions at 8:50 a.m., and will end at approximately 4:00 p.m.
The cost of registration is $25 for those who register by February 27, and includes a full day of presentations, breakfast, and lunch. After February 27, registration will increase to $30.
To register, visit dyckarboretum.org/events, or contact the Arboretum office at 620-327-8127 or arboretum@
Rooting our Stories: Reveling in 50 years of Queer and Trans Anabaptist Resilience
Join the Brethren Mennonite Council for LGBT Interests (BMC) for a gathering rooted in sacred story and joyful revelry, as we mark our 50th Anniversary on May 29-31 in Minneapolis! This festive weekend will include storytelling, singing, ritual/worship, workshops, artmaking, games, shared meals, and honoring this incredible 50-year legacy of LGBTQIA+ Anabaptist resistance and resilience. Find event details, safety/accessibility info, and registration on our 50th webpage. www.bmclgbt.org/50
Western District Conference invites you to visit our website to read the latest news, stories and announcements.
For Mennonite Mission Network “News from around the world” press here
For Mennonite Mission Network “News and Beyond” press here
Become a Service Adventure leader! Are you sensing God’s call to mentor young adults as they grow in faith, service and community? Imagine living in beautiful places like Anchorage, Alaska, or Colorado Springs, Colorado? Answer the call and become a Service Adventure unit leader! Unit leaders mentor the young adults in the unit and provide some oversight and guidance for the household. Ages 24+ should contact Michael Oyer at MichaelO@MennoniteMission.net!
From Mennonite Central Committee press here
From Mennonite Church USA
This Women’s History Month, journey through the stories of Mennonite women who have shaped our faith — from the first women’s mission groups and early educators to today’s pastors, peacebuilders and organizational leaders. Explore MC USA’s Mennonite Women’s History Timeline and be inspired by their courage, leadership and enduring witness: https://www.mennoniteusa.org/mennonite-womens-history-timeline/
Do you know someone who embodies Christ-centered peacemaking in your community? Mennonite Church USA is seeking nominations for a Legacy Peacemaker, who has demonstrated a lifelong commitment to peace and justice, and a Young Peacemaker, who is beginning to make a meaningful impact, for its 2026 Bring the Peace awards. The deadline for nominations is March 27 and may be submitted via this online form: https://www.mennoniteusa.org/btp-nomination
Beginning March 1, 2026, Mennonite Church USA is implementing an enhanced screening protocol as part of its Prevention and Accountability Resource initiative. MC USA’s Ministerial Leadership Information process now includes more comprehensive background checks designed to protect congregations and ensure qualified, trustworthy leadership. Read more here: https://www.mennoniteusa.org/news/new-screening-protocol/
Michael Danner and Rachel Ringenberg Miller, hosts of Mennonite Church USA’s “The Competent Pastor” podcast, reflect on five key lessons from Season 1, as they launch Season 2 for pastors and congregational leaders. Read their MennoSnapshots blog here: https://www.mennoniteusa.org/what-makes-a-competent-pastor/
Mennonite Mission Network Prayer Request: Beginning tomorrow, the Anchorage, Alaska, and Colorado Springs, Colorado, Service Adventure units will gather in San Angelo, Texas, to serve with Mennonite Disaster Service. Pray for a great week of serving and learning together, as well as safe travels for the participants as they travel.
Western District Conference Prayer Request: During this season of Lent, pray for all WDC congregations as they seek to walk in the way of Jesus and nurture faithful discipleship.
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, immigration status, gender identity,
sexual orientation, ability, economic status, marital status, or age