BETHEL COLLEGE MENNONITE CHURCH
WORSHIP SERVICE AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
August 17, 2025
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/CabHpZiHFlw?feature=share
BETHEL COLLEGE MENNONITE CHURCH
August 17, 2025
Bethel College New Student Sunday
Christ Candle Lighting
Centering Music–My Soul Cries Out [VT 412] (arr. Wiebe-Friesen)–Will Wiebe-Friesen
Welcome Brad Kohlman
*Hymn–Come, Thou Fount–VT 563
Children and Youth Conversation–Esther Koontz
Worship Music–Waitin’ for the Light to Shine (Roger Miller)
Ben Lichti, trumpet; Suzanne Burch, guitar
Kin-dom Report–Ani Koontz
Scripture Reading–Matthew 1:18-25–Adah Hodge
*Hymn–Helpless and Hungry–VT 268
Sermon–God-With-Us–Joanna Harader
*Hymn–Joy to the World–VT 240
Prayers of God’s People
*Hymn–The Lord Lift You Up–VT 832
*Benediction
Postlude–Toccata on Joy to the World (Brenda Portman)
*You are invited to stand
VT—Voices Together
Audio visual—Francis Toews
Waitin’ for the Light to Shine is from the musical Big River, based on Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Born to an abusive father and then taken in by seemingly pious people whom he watches mistreat enslaved persons, Huck has decided to run away and help his friend Jim escape enslavement. He laments that he has “lived in the darkness for so long,” not realizing that he himself is a bearer of the light that he seeks. — Ben Lichti
Hymn Requests this Sunday
· The Lord Lift You Up is a blessing hymn which fills my soul. I miss her very much–but love her gift of music! —Dorothy Nickel Friesen
· “I sat with a good friend while she was in a coma and dying from brain cancer. I held her hand and sang this song to her several times over four days as she passed away. Patty Shelly gave us this beautiful gift.”
–Pam Epp
· Come Thou Fount–Jake Robb’s favorite hymn
The Week at BCMC: August 17—24, 2025
Sunday, August 17, 2025—Worship 10 a.m. with sermon by Joanna
Harader
https://youtube.com/live/CabHpZiHFlw?feature=share
2:30—4:30 p.m. Newton Community Children’s Choir Parents’ Meeting in the Sanctuary
Monday, August 18, 2025
6:30 p.m. Community Playschool Board meeting—Fellowship Hall
Tuesday, August 19, 2025
3 p.m. Deacon Commission meeting—Room 14
Wednesday, August 20, 2025
8-10 a.m. Pastor Joanna will be at the 1887 Café on the Bethel College campus. Stop in and visit!
7:30 p.m. Chancel Choir first rehearsal of the season—Sanctuary
Thursday, August 21, 2025
1 p.m. Library Committee—Room 14
6:30 p.m. Abuse Prevention and Response Committee meeting—Room 14
6:30 p.m. Chancel Bells first rehearsal of the season—Room B7
7 p.m. Bethel College Women’s Association meeting—Fellowship Hall
Sunday, August 24, 2025—Backpack Sunday
Worship 9:30 a.m. with sermon by Nathan Koontz
For Backpack Sunday bring to church worship service your backpacks, briefcases, tote bags, whatever you might carry to school or to work, for a special blessing.
BCMC Offering for August 10: General $5,117; Caring Fund $500; Bethel College Scholarship Fund $500; Kitchen Fund $12; Solar Fund $1,000; Mary Gaeddert Mem. $100.
All people aged 16-25 are invited to participate in three Sunday School hour sessions on Creating a Conscientious Objector File. In the event of a draft, a c.o. file is a great support for those who do not wish to participate in armed military service. Sessions will be held after worship on September 7, 21, and 28 in the chapel. We will go over both theological and practical considerations for creating a file and have time to work on materials for your files. For questions, contact: Joanna Harader (joanna@bethelcollegemennonitechurch.org)
Are you new to the Bethel College Mennonite Church community? Join Pastor Joanna and other new attenders for a special “getting to know each other” Sunday School session after worship on August 31 in Joanna’s office
Upcoming Memorial Services at BCMC:
· August 30, 11 a.m. Keith Rhoades Memorial
· September 15, 11 a.m. Ilene Schmidt Memorial
Mennonite Central Committee School Kits—Thank you for your generous donations over the last few months! We collected almost $2,000 which will make around 350 school kits. THANK YOU! Please come down to Fellowship Hall August 24 during the Sunday School hour to help assemble kits.
Pastor Joanna will host a board game night at her house on Tues., Aug. 26, from 7-? (Email Joanna for address/directions.)
Joanna’s 1887 Cafe office hours this semester will be from 8-10 a.m. on Wednesdays beginning Aug. 20. Stop in and say “hi”!
Thank you, all, for the many get well cards, visits, and meals as I recover from my emergency appendectomy. As I am balancing getting well and preparing for my upcoming semester at Bethel, not having to worry about fixing meals has been a real gift to John and me. I am doing well and hope to be back on the organ bench like normal soon!
— Will Wiebe-Friesen
The BCMC Bell Choir is beginning practice on August 21, 2025. Persons who have some experience reading and counting music, are invited to come and “give it a try.” We meet at 6:30 p.m. on Thursdays in BCMC Room B7.
Calling youth and adult singers: The BCMC Chancel Choir welcomes you! We sing two Sundays each month with Director Joel Garber and Organist Will Wiebe-Friesen. Rehearsals are Wednesday evenings from 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in the sanctuary. FIRST REHEARSAL is August 20. There are no auditions — just come and join the fun!
It’s that time of year for our Sunday School year to begin and our youth need your help to teach Sunday School! Faith Formation is looking for teachers and helpers for the 2025-2026 school year. If you feel the nudge to spend an hour with our amazing elementary or middle/high school youth please email Jill Robb at jill@bethelcollegemennonitechurch.org.
Save the date of September 14 for a Congregational Meeting during the Sunday School hour followed by a fundraising lunch served by the
Senior High Youth Group.
Messy Church starts September 10! We will gather the second Wednesday of each month at 6 p.m. to share a meal and a time of all-age, interactive worship. The Faith Formation Commission is excited to offer Christ-centered, all-age worship that values creativity, hospitality, and celebration. You can learn more about the Messy Church USA organization on their website. Contact Joanna Harader or Jill Robb with any questions. (Note that we will not be charging a fee for these Wednesday evening meals. There will be a basket out and donations toward the cost of food are welcome.)
BCMC SUMMER READERS: Be Part of the Picture—Between now and the end of August, take a digital photo of you and your book or of you reading with others. Send the photo as an attachment to office@bethelcollegemennonitechurch.org Become part of the BCMC photo collage of summer readers on display in the Gathering Place.
NEED SOMETHING TO READ THIS SUMMER? Visit the BCMC library to check out a book from the display of books most checked out by BCMC readers. ALSO, ask to see our wish list. Perhaps you own and have already read a book on the list. We appreciate donations. And, one last request. If you have the book, King by Jonathan Eig, please leave a note on our desk or return it. The computer did not properly check it out.
BCMC Mission quilters are looking for more hand quilters for our group. Experienced quilters are welcome and we are willing to teach new quilters. We meet on Mondays from 1-5 p.m. Carol Flickinger comes to read to us for one hour while we quilt. We also have a snack at 3 p.m. If you are interested, contact Rose Haury at : haury@juno.com or 316-288-0079. Please join us.
The board is pleased to announce that we have formed a pastoral search committee to fill an opening created by Elizabeth’s upcoming retirement. Megan Leary will serve as chair. Karen Ediger, Mary Ellen Hodge, Mara Oswald, and Francis Toews are additional committee members. They will soon begin their thoughtful work alongside Western District Conference, our staff, and the board. Brad Kohlman will serve as a liaison between the committee and the board/congregation. Please keep the committee members in your prayers as their work begins.
From the Education Service and Scholarship Committee: BCMC is helping to support seven students at Bethel College this coming academic year! We are grateful for the choice our high school and college age youth are making to attend Bethel. As a result, however, the scholarship fund needs $3000 to make up the difference between the church’s budget amount and what will be needed for this year. Please consider supporting Bethel in this way. Make checks out to BCMC with Bethel College Scholarship Fund in the memo line. Thank you.
As Bethel College welcomes students for the fall semester, we would like you to be aware of several events coming up in the next few months:
· Sat., Oct. 4: (during Fall Festival): Internationally renowned theologian Miroslav Volf, Yale University, will speak at Bethel College Mennonite Church, 10 a.m.
· Sun., Oct. 19, and Mon., Oct. 20: Dr. Kat Hill, a religious and cultural historian from Scotland, will give the annual Menno Simons Lectures
[please note that these dates are different from some previously printed material]
· Sun.-Tues., Nov. 2-4: The biennial Worship and the Arts Symposium will focus on homiletics (preaching) with special guest Dr. Luke Powery from Duke Divinity School at Duke University. The symposium will also feature an art exhibition by Merrill Krabill and the fall choral concert “Bethel Sings.”
All events are free and open to the public. More information will follow in the coming weeks.
August 29 is the due date for registering for Western District Women & Girls Retreat! Join us at Camp Mennoscah Sept. 6 & 7. Register and pay online at westerndistrictwomeninmission.org or print out the registration form online and send in your payment to the address on the form. This year’s theme is Courageous Women of the Bible with Katherine Goerzen and Laura Goerzen as our speakers. Girls age 8 and up are welcome to attend with an adult. Questions: email westerndistrictwomen@gmail.com
As part of the Salt City Film Fest in Hutchinson at the Fox Theater Sept. 25-27, the film “Where the Cottonwoods Grow” by Dale Hildebrand (Canada) will be shown at 7 pm on Thursday, September 25th. Tickets are $5. The film tells the story of the Mennonite migration from Ukraine and Russia to North America. This is the same film that Kauffman Museum earlier sponsored for screening at Bethel College. Please join us!
—SCFF Programming Director, Sheri Kaufman-Marsh.
For Mennonite Mission Network “News and Beyond” press here
Western District Conference invites you to visit our website to read the latest news, stories and announcements.
| From: Mennonite Central Committee U.S. National Peace & Justice Ministries Dear Bethel College Mennonite, Jeremiah 29:7 (NIV) “Seek the peace and prosperity of the city… Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.”We invite all young adults to be a part of MCC’s Seeking Shalom Peace Camp, November 1–8! Come explore the meaning of shalom as a wholistic sense of peace that is not just the absence of violence, but the presence of life-giving relationships and dignity for all people. Jeremiah’s call for “peace and prosperity of the city” is a call of shalom for everyone, understanding that the wellbeing of any one of us is dependent on the wellbeing of all of us. Jesus amplifies this call to love our “enemies,” knowing that shalom requires us to work together as God’s people. |
| This camp will begin at Camp Friedenswald in Cassopolis, Michigan, November 1–4, diving deep into God’s word, and into practical tools of peacebuilding, as we dream possibilities of shalom for our communities and gain tools for engaging conflict effectively. For November 5–8, we will transition to Grand Rapids, Michigan, and participate in the Christian Community Development Association’s (CCDA) annual conference. This is a rich opportunity to hear from leaders across the country, connect with community development organizations, experience worship and attend workshops.When: November 1-8, 2025 Where: Camp Friedenswald in Cassopolis, Michigan, and Grand Rapids, Michigan Who: Young adults aged 18–30 How: Register here by October 5 Registration Fee: $250.00 (includes CCDA registration fee) guarantees your spot at the campView and download the flyer.During this Peace Camp you will:Reflect on issues of inequality and violence in a broken worldEngage components of shalom such as healing, justice, power and identityExplore theological grounding for Jesus-centered peacebuildingParticipate in the annual CCDA conferencePeace Camps are one way to encourage and support the next generation of the Church to live out an active faith as peacemakers. Young adults, ages 18-30, and church leaders who work with young adults, are invited to apply. MCC covers all costs of travel, lodging and meals beyond the $250 registration fee. We encourage churches, schools, families and friends to support participants in the registration fee where possible. This is an opportunity not to be missed, so tap someone on the shoulder or come join yourself!Please reach out with any questions or concerns. Otherwise, head over to our website to register. Don’t miss the incredible opportunity to put theory into practice with an MCC Peace Camp! Shalom, Nathan Toews Peace Education Coordinator MCC U.S. National Peace & Justice Ministries |
From Mennonite Church USA
The MC USA Executive Board thanked four outgoing members for their service to the denomination at an abbreviated Executive Board meeting in Greensboro, North Carolina, on July 10, 2025. Read more here: mennoniteusa.org/thanks-members-service
On behalf of Mennonite Church Canada, Executive Minister Doug Klassen extended a warm welcome to the MC USA Delegate Assembly gathered in Greensboro, North Carolina, on July 11, 2025. Read more here: mennoniteusa.org/greeting-at-convention
Menno Snapshots
Sally Weaver Glick, a spiritual director, writer, photographer and a graduate of Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary, Goshen, Indiana, and some of her spiritual directees find it difficult to pray during these troubled times, but she finds hope in the idea of the river of prayer. Read more here: mennoniteusa.org/menno-snapshots/river-of-prayer/
Mennonite Mission Network Prayer Request: Mennonite Mission Network requests prayer for Pamela Obonde, who has joined the administrative team of Africa Inter-Mennonite Mission (AIMM), as a church and donor relations coordinator. AIMM and Mission Network collaborate closely in ministries on the African continent. Pray for Pamela, who is based in Manitoba, Canada, as she builds bridges across agencies, cultures and nations.
Western District Conference Prayer Request: Pray for WDC congregations in pastoral transition, for candidates considering a call to ministry, and for congregational leaders as they nurture church life and witness in times of change and uncertainty.
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.