BETHEL COLLEGE MENNONITE CHURCH
WORSHIP SERVICE AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
May 24, 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, May 24:
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/P0rWzf_gLbc?feature=share
BETHEL COLLEGE MENNONITE CHURCH WORSHIP SERVICE
May 24, 2026: Pentecost
Christ Candle Lighting
Centering Music— Then Sings My Soul (arr. Lanier)
Valerie Klaassen, Kathleen Rich, Carolyn Rich Voth
Welcome and Opening Prayer—Dianne Epp
*Hymn–Holy Spirit, Come with Power—VT 57
Children and Youth Conversation— Kathy Stucky
Worship Music—Let There Be Peace on Earth (trad.)
Valerie Klaassen, Kathleen Rich, Carolyn Rich Voth
Scripture Reading—Acts 2:1-21
*Hymn–New Earth, Heavens New—VT 377
Sermon—A Different Birthday Celebration
Joanna Harader
*Hymn—Like the Murmur of the Dove’s Song—VT 56
Communion
Prayer of Confession (from Lisa Pierce, Along the Arc)
Silence
Assurance of Pardon (from Lisa Pierce, Along the Arc)
Invitation to the Table
Sharing the Meal
Prayer of Thanksgiving
Receiving the Offering and Prayers of God’s People
*Hymn—Could It Be That God Is Singing—VT 42
[Those with May birthdays are welcome to come forward during this hymn to receive a birthday blessing.]
*Benediction
Postlude–Lily of the Valley (arr. Dempsey)–Valerie Klaassen, Kathleen Rich, Carolyn Rich Voth
* You are invited to stand
VT—Voices Together
Keyboard–Kathleen Rich
Audio visual—Ken Lamp
Bulletin cover is by Bob Regier
Thank you to Valerie Klaassen, Kathleen Rich, and Carolyn Rich Voth for bringing us the centering music, worship music, and postlude Sunday morning.
Acts 2:1-21 (New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition)
(English) When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.
(American Sign Language)3 Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.
(German)5 Now there were devout Jews from every people under heaven living in Jerusalem. 6 And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. 7 Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language?
(English)9 Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 11 Cretans and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.”
(Koine Greek) 12 All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13 But others sneered and said, “They are filled with new wine.”
(French)14 But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, “Fellow Jews and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. 15 Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. 16 No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:
(Spanish)17 ‘In the last days it will be, God declares,
that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.
18 Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit,
and they shall prophesy.
(Low German) 19 And I will show portents in the heaven above
and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and smoky mist.
20 The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood,
before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day.
(English)
21 Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’
The Week at BCMC: May 24—31, 2026
Sunday, May 24, 2026
9:30 a.m. Worship with sermon by Joanna Harader
Scripture Readers: Jake Robb, Joanna Harader, Lottie Boschmann,
Lauren Friesen, Dianne Epp, Ron Flickinger, John Wiebe-Friesen
YouTube Link for the worship service:
https://youtube.com/live/P0rWzf_gLbc?feature=share
Monday, May 25, 2026—Memorial Day—Church office will be closed
Tuesday, May 26, 2026—VBS at BCMC
9:30 a.m. to noon—Library work day in Room 14 and the Library
5—7:30 p.m. VBS at BCMC
Wednesday, May 27, 2026
5—7:30 p.m. VBS at BCMC
Thursday, May 28, 2026
3 p.m. Cancer Support Group in the Nursery
5—7:30 p.m. VBS at BCMC
Friday, May 29, 2026
5—7:30 p.m. VBS at BCMC
Sunday, May 31, 2026—VBS Worship in Athletic Park
10 a.m. VBS Worship in Athletic Park: VBS concludes with Sunday worship for ALL ages in Athletic Park (700 W 1st St), followed by a potluck meal. We will gather in the northeast part of the park between the tennis courts and the Mennonite Settler Statue. Please bring lawn chairs or a blanket to sit on, picnic plates and forks to use if you have them, and a potluck dish to share. We hope you’ll join us as we worship and fellowship out in God’s beautiful creation this Sunday! In case of inclement weather, the joint worship and potluck will be moved indoors at Bethel College Mennonite Church (2600 College Ave., North Newton).
Upcoming Memorial Services:
· June 6, 10 a.m.: Memorial Service for Dorlan Bales. Dorlan died March 31.
· June 19, 3 p.m.: Memorial Service for Marles Preheim. Marles died May 5.
· June 20, 11 a.m.: Memorial Service for Lavern Stucky. Lavern died September 29, 2025.
We offer sympathy to the family of Ann (Preheim) Regier, a Wider Fellowship member of BCMC. Ann Regier, Grant, NE died January 29, 2026 at Covenant Village Rehabilitation & Care Center of Colorado in Westminster, CO. Her memorial service was May 1, 2026 at Grant United Methodist Church, Grant, NE. An obituary for Ann can be found at:
https://www.bullocklongfuneralhome.com/obituaries/ann-regier
For last Sunday’s (May 17) link to the worship service press here: https://youtu.be/ztfY7UeNy-0
The Worship Commission is planning for a hymn sing service on July 26. If you have a hymn request, you can send it to Pastor Joanna by July 13. Please include a sentence or two about why you appreciate the requested hymn.
The Worship Commission still has some summer openings for worship leading scripture reading, and children’s conversation volunteers. Please contact a pastor or Adam Robb if you would like to volunteer.
Members of the church board will be leading brief (or not) discussions in Sunday School classes sometime in the next few Sundays, including June 7, to give an opportunity for feedback about changing the order of Worship and Sunday School. For those not currently affiliated with a Sunday School class, a board member will be in the chapel for the first 15 minutes (or longer, if needed) of the SS hour to visit about this. Comments and questions can also be left with any board member. The board will meet June 11 to discuss feedback on this possible change. For the BCMC Board -Margaret Toews
Save the Date for a Brass and Organ Concert on July 29, 7 p.m. at BCMC. The concert will feature Christopher Shaw at the organ and the brass quintet from Wichita, Intrepid Brass. From the Intrepid Brass website: “INTREPID BRASS is an incredibly versatile organization of brass and percussion musicians serving communities in and around the greater Wichita area. We are passionate about bringing easy access of brass music to our friends, neighbors, and music lovers alike!”
BCMC Offering for May 17: Gen. Fund $7,492; Library Reserve Fund $8; Adult Choir Fund $50; Kitchen Fund $6; Jack Brubacher Mem. $150.
BCMC has two church benches (pews) available. You may have one for your very own. These benches are located in the chapel. One bench is 6 ft.6 in. and the other is 3 ft.11 inches. You will have to make arrangements to remove the benches. Come take a look.
Parents of BCMC Youth! Camping season is coming up soon! If your child will be attending camp this summer, Faith Formation would like to support them in two ways. As a congregation we would like to know when your child is at camp so mail can be sent to them at camp. We would also like to know in regards to providing a church scholarship to help offset some of the cost of the camping week. Happy Summer!
Email Jill Robb
jill@bethelcollegemennonitechurch.org
Mennonite Central Committee Mini Blitz, Fri., June 26 from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. and Sat., June 27 from 8 a.m.-2 p.m. at MCC Central States, 121 E. 30th Street, North Newton. You’re invited to bring a friend, grandkids or come and meet new friends, all are welcome! If you can tie a knot, you can help complete comforters at MCC, no sewing required. Bring a snack to share and your own sack lunch for Friday. Questions? Please contact brociamueller@mcc.org or find out more at mcc.org/mini-blitz.
Please join us for the Newton Mid-Kansas Symphony Summer Chamber concert on Sunday, June 7 at 3:00 p.m. in the Hesston Mennonite Church. Winds and brass take the stage as a flute quartet, woodwind trio, wind sextet, and brass quintet play works by Barber, Mozart, Weber and Castérède. 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/
Be part of something special at the first-ever NAMIWalks Mid-Kansas Event on Saturday, June 13 in Hesston! This event brings our community together to raise awareness, support mental health, and remind others they are not alone. Proceeds help fund free, local programs through NAMI Kansas.
NAMIWalks is NAMI’s (National Alliance on Mental Illness) major fundraiser of the year. Registration and check-in opens at 9 am at Hesston Mennonite Church, 309 S. Main, Hesston. The 1.4 mile walk around the Hesston College Campus will begin at 10 am. Please consider a donation to this vital organization. If you prefer to donate by check, make it payable to NAMI Mid-Kansas. You may donate securely online by using the link below.
Register, walk, or support the cause at namiwalks.org/midkansas
Questions? Contact Deb Penner, NAMIWalks Mid-Kansas Walk Manager, at 316-288-0354 or 620-869-1143.
Camp Mennoscah Announcements
It’s a Re-open House for the Retreat Center! If you would like to see the new PTAC units in the rooms and see what changed (and what didn’t), there will be an open house on May 31 from 2pm-5pm. Come see the hard work that many volunteers have put into making a comfortable space! Questions? Contact 620-297-3290 or olivia.bartel@campmennoscah.org.
Head cook needed for PreJunior 1, June 21-25! We have kitchen helpers, but we need someone to lead them in preparing meals for the campers and staff. This is a stipend or parent discount position. We can joke and giggle about Olivia, your friendly camp staffer, serving bread and butter for every meal, but a head cook keeps campers energetic and having fun. The head cook can stay in either the Cottonwood staff house or, though further away, the Retreat Center. Both have A/C. Please contact Olivia at 620-297-3290 or text 316-293-7313. She’ll answer your questions and give you a menu, help train staff, and get you instructions on what needs to be done.
Nurse needed for Junior 2, July 19-24! An RN, ARPN, or someone with a similar license can fill this position. A camp nurse can receive a stipend or parent discount. Lodging is in the Cottonwood building with A/C. Contact Olivia at 620-297-3290, olivia.bartel@campmennoscah.org or text 316-293-7313. A partial week is fine–we’ll find another nurse to fill the other part. We can’t do camp without you!
Scholarship funds needed! Several campers have requested scholarships, but more funds are needed to meet these needs. A scholarship can provide a camper a needed break from the world and electronics and towards another step on their faith journey. Contact 620-297-3290 with questions. If sending a check or donating online, please put “scholarship fund” in the memo.
Summer Youth Camps! There is still space for YOU! And, assuming it’s a parent or guardian reading this, we mean campers from grades 3-12. The theme for the summer is “In the Wilderness.” Through the new, strange and unknown of “wilderness,” we will discover the sacred within each person and all creation and meet God there. Register at https://campmennoscah.campbrainregistration.com/ Faith and fun times are waiting!
Welcome to Charlie Major, a former summer staffer, who will be helping over the summer as the office assistant! He has been helping from a distance, but will trade his remote help for in-person. If you contact or visit Camp Mennoscah, you may get the opportunity to say hi. Thanks for helping out, Charlie!
Bethel College Announcements:
· Sun., May 24: Sunday-Afternoon-at-the-Museum program with Sara Judge Keckeisen, Topeka, “The Cost of Conscience: One Mennonite Family’s Experience in World War I,” 3 p.m., Kauffman Museum auditorium. This is also the final day for the special exhibit “Voices of Conscience: Peace Witness in the Great War.” The museum is open May 24 from 1:30-4:30 p.m.
· Sat., June 6: The public is invited to Walk Sand Creek Trail Day, 6 a.m.-8 p.m., as part of National Trails Day®. Water will be available for people and leashed dogs at the trailhead at Memorial Grove on the Bethel College campus, courtesy of the Sand Creek Trail Committee, with members there to answer any questions about the trail.
· Bethel College’s Host Family Program is looking for local individuals and families who would enjoy offering friendship, encouragement and a sense of connection to Bethel students who are far from home. Being a host family does not require housing a student — support can be as simple as inviting a student for a home-cooked meal, delivering homemade cookies, offering a ride to the store or sending a quick text to check in. It’s a meaningful way to extend hospitality, build relationships across cultures and generations and help students feel at home in our community. To learn more or sign up—www.bethelks.edu/host-family-program/ or email karinkw@bethelks.edu
Hesston College will host the annual Lark Open golf tournament on Sat., May 30, at Hesston Golf Park. Check-in is at 7:30 a.m. for the four-person scramble event with a shotgun start at 8 a.m. The tournament features many team and individual prizes, hole-in-one prizes and raffle prizes. For more information visit hesston.edu/lark-open-info. The deadline to register is May 27.
Join Brethren Mennonite Council’s 50th Anniversary Celebration from Afar:
- Two BMC 50th events will be livestreamed on May 30th, a Saturday afternoon Sacred Space service and evening Storytelling Showcase, inspired by the Moth Storyhour. Register for these events here! (same link for both)
- All are invited to share a short story, memory, or photos from BMC’s 50 years here! Help us add to BMC’s archive and bless this special gathering.
See www.bmclgbt.org/50th for links and details.
Thanks for your prayers and blessings as we travel and gather for BMC’s 50th next weekend!
Webinar on Hearing and Understanding Transgender Experiences
Join Brethren Mennonite Council’s colleagues at In This Together (an LGBTQ Mennonite network in Canada) on Sunday, May 24 at 5pm Mountain / 7pm Eastern for Hearing and Understanding: What We Should Know About Being Transgender. Registration is required at the link above.
For Mennonite Mission Network “News and Beyond” press here
For Mennonite Women USA “Women’s Voices” press here
Western District Conference invites you to visit our website to read the latest news, stories and announcements.
For Anabaptist Disabilities Network “Opening Doors” press here
Just Peace Pilgrimages — South Africa Racial Justice Pilgrimage
Hosted by Iziko Lamaqabane — This South African solidarity learning pilgrimage will explore the long history and legacy of settler colonialism and apartheid, which was an unjust socio-political policy that fostered racial segregation. The pilgrimage will focus on the social constructs created around race, land dispossession and how they so thoroughly defined, and continue to define, South African society. Join Mission Network’s director for Africa and Europe Sibonokuhle Ncube and former executive director Stanley Green on this pilgrimage!
Dates: September 8-22; the optional safari extends the trip by 3 days.
Registration deadline: July 15
Contact Stephanie Weaver at StephanieW@MennoniteMission.net or visit MennoniteMission.net/JustPeace to learn more!
From Mennonite Church USA
Spiritual director Rebeka Moeljono invites us to explore how liminal space — in-between seasons of transition — can become sacred ground for spiritual discernment. Read her Menno Snapshots blog here: https://www.mennoniteusa.org/liminal-space/
For Mennonite Central Committee “School Kit Challenge” press here
From the Moundridge Historical Society
Immigrant House, Museum, and Cultural Center Fundraiser
A bake sale with turkey red wheat products will be held on June 6 at the Moundridge Black Kettle Festival. The bake sale will be located north of Goering Hardware starting at 8:30.
We are asking for people to volunteer to help make the baked goods for the fundraiser. Turkey Red Wheat flour will be provided with the recipes ahead of time and can be obtained from Marla Gillmore 620-921-0428 or Glen Goering 620-242-3100.
Reach out and let them know of your interest in helping provide goods for this fundraiser.
Mennonite Mission Network Prayer Request: The Venezuela Global Mission Partnership supports the Network of Mennonite Missions of Venezuela. Pray for their ministries in church planting, biblical and theological education, and food distribution to people in need.
Western District Conference Prayer Request: Pray for WDC congregations as they accompany youth and young adults to register peace convictions and conscientious objection to war in the face of increasing militarism and automatic draft registration beginning December 2026.
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.