BETHEL COLLEGE MENNONITE CHURCH
WORSHIP SERVICE AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
October 12, 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 for Sunday, October 12:
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/WS8keKkDDeg?feature=share
BETHEL COLLEGE MENNONITE CHURCH
October 12, 2025
World Communion & Immigration Sabbath
Christ Candle Lighting
Centering Music—Fairest Lord Jesus (Kinyon)—Chancel Bell Choir; Verlene Garber, director
Welcome—Dianne Epp
*Hymn—Here in This Place—VT 10
Children and Youth Conversation—Esther Kreider Eash
Worship Music—I Sing the Mighty Power of God (Dobrinski)—Chancel Bells
Scripture Reading—Matthew 14:13-21; 15:29-38—Bill Swartley
*Hymn—In Christ There Is No East or West—VT 390
Sermon—The Hungry Crowds and the Compassion of Christ—Joanna Harader
Communion— Nathan Koontz and Joanna Harader
*Hymn—Seed, Scattered and Sown—VT 477
Prayer of Confession
Leader: Divine Parent who creates diversity,
People: Forgive us when we lack curiosity about the world beyond us and the people around us.
Leader: Migrant Christ who crosses borders,
People: Forgive us when we honor the boundaries you would have us transgress.
Leader: Holy Spirit, ever expanding and uniting,
People: Forgive us when we limit our love and compassion.
Leader: As we follow your path of peace, O God,
May we listen to diverse stories,
Be open to unexpected relationships,
And meet the world’s fear of the stranger with sacred compassion.
All: Holy One, forgive our sins and lead us in love. Amen.
Assurance of Pardon
Invitation to the Table
Sharing the Meal
Prayers of God’s People
*Hymn—Go, My Children—VT 830
*Benediction
Postlude—Mary Jo Preheim
* You are invited to stand
VT—Voices Together
Keyboard—Mary Jo Preheim
Audio visual—Ken Lamp
Bring your pets to the church playground for a pet blessing on Sunday, October 12, at 3 p.m.! This event is a special request from one of our younger community members and will be a fun time to gather, appreciate our animal companions, and give thanks for God’s creation. All animals (that do not pose a danger to people or other animals) are invited to come with their people to receive a blessing. You are also welcome to bring a picture of your pet or one of their toys.
The Week at BCMC: October 12—19, 2025
Sunday, October 12, 2025
Worship 9:30 a.m.
Live-Stream Link: https://youtube.com/live/WS8keKkDDeg?feature=share
Tuesday, October 14, 2025
7:30 p.m. Finance Committee—Room 14
Wednesday, October 15, 2025
8-10 a.m. Pastor Joanna will be at the 1887 Café— Bethel College campus
9:30 a.m.—12 noon Life Enrichment in the Sanctuary
6 p.m. Task Force on Immigration Issues—Chapel
7:30 p.m. Chancel Choir rehearsal—Sanctuary
Thursday, October 16, 2025
4 p.m. Witness Commission—Room 14
6:30 p.m. Abuse Prevention & Response Committee—Room 14
7 p.m. Bethel College Women’s Association—Fellowship Hall
Sunday, October 19, 2025
9:30 a.m. Worship with sermon by Trent Voth; music by Chancel Choir; 3rd Grade Bible Presentation
Please continue to remember the family of Lela Schmidt in your prayers. Lela died September 17. A private burial will occur on October 25, 2025. A reception will follow at 2 p.m. in the fellowship hall of Bethel College Mennonite Church, where all who knew her are welcome to attend. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to Community Playschool at PO Box 364, North Newton KS 67117.
For the Lela Schmidt obituary, press here.
Women’s Fellowship for men and women will be Tues., Oct. 21, at 7 p.m. in Fellowship Hall. Join us in welcoming Pablo Escanilla, a 24-year-old from Zaragoza, Spain and a Master’s colleague of Sarah Turner. Pablo comes from a family with over 50 years in the beef industry, raising and finishing more than 4,000 cattle each year. Come hear his inspiring story and learn about his family’s work and passion for agriculture.
Conscientious Objection – Christian Peacemaker Registration Form
During September we had three Sunday School sessions focused on conscientious objection. Most of the resources that were shared in that class are available on this web page. We encourage all young adults (aged 16-25) to fill out and file the “Christian Peacemaker Registration Form” that is available on that page. Pastors Nathan and Joanna are happy to answer any questions and the church office can provide stamps, envelopes, and copies as needed.
GOING BEYOND LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
· Pray for justice on Indigenous Peoples Day October 13. Watch and share the livestream of an upcoming vigil at Oak Flat. A delegation of multi-denominational Faith Leaders from across Turtle Island have been invited to join Apache Stronghold at Oak Flat, holding a vigil on Mon., Oct. 13, Indigenous Peoples’ Day, at 1 p.m. AZ Time/4 p.m. ET. Join the livestream at:
https://www.facebook.com/events/798998996108398/
· See the poster about “Historical Injustice, Decolonization and Service: An Observance of Anabaptism @ 500” at Prairie View on Oct. 24, 9:30 to 4 p.m., including a Keynote by Healing Haunted Histories writers Elaine Enns and Ched Myers and also the Loss of Turtle Island experience. Free and open to the public. REGISTER BY OCTOBER 13.
You are invited to join Prairie View for our Anabaptism@500, a day of reflection and learning on Friday, October 24, 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., at our Newton campus (1901 E. First St.). This free community event explores how Anabaptist values can help communities address historical injustice, nurture healing, and strengthen ministries that serve neighbors in practical ways.
Highlights
- Teaching and conversation rooted in “whole-person” care and the Anabaptist tradition
- Keynote reflections from the authors of Healing Haunted Histories, connecting discipleship with justice and reconciliation
- Space for prayerful reflection, practical takeaways you can bring back to your congregation
Register
Please register here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSftdweL_A9ZalB6F9W_hEeusc0rtncE_z2PPo8PlDa_xhpj2A/viewform
We encourage pastors, deacons, small-group leaders, youth leaders, and lay members to attend. If possible, please sign up by October 13 or as soon as you are able so we can plan seating and materials.
Nominate a community servant
Prairie View will announce the recipient of the Dr. Gary Fast Service Award during the event. Nominations are open now through October 15. Please submit a nomination for someone whose quiet, faithful service has made a real difference to zz_ExecutiveTeam@pvi.org by October 15.
Questions
Reply to this email or call 316-284-6350. We hope you and members of your congregation can be with us.
Best regards,
Collin R. Munson, MBA
Marketing Officer
Prairie View Mental and Behavioral Health Services
(316) 281-6783 | 
munsoncr@pvi.org
· Kansas Repair Communities, a coalition of local Mennonite churches has had several meetings and is committed to focus our first advocacy/legislative campaign on the subject of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women/People. At this point we are at work to educate ourselves on this issue, nationally and in the state of Kansas, by first reading local bestselling writer Laurie Dove’s novel, Mask of the Deer Woman, in preparation for meeting with her in November to discuss her interest in this issue. She will provide us with discussion questions. You can begin to do your own research on MMIW/P. A list of resources for study is coming. Read the novel as we all begin to learn together about the issue in preparation for taking further action together in Kansas.
BCMC Offering for October 5: General $7,398; Library Reserve Fund $35; Kitchen Fund $13; Solar Fund $1,050. Ilene Schmidt Mem. $500; Doug Penner Mem. $50; Dorothy Unruh Mem. $100.
From the Finance committee
As the 3rd quarter of the financial year of our church ends, we offer gratitude for the generosity shared in donating monetary offerings toward our annual budget. Each gift is important to the process of fulfilling our mission. A brief report is listed below.
The following is a BCMC financial report of the general fund income and expenses on September 30, 2025 (75% of the year).
Total income $ 341,795 61% of budget
Total expense $ 398,763 72% of budget
Net income/expense -$ 56,968
Camp Mennoscah Announcements
· Camp Mennoscah’s Annual Meeting will be held at Hope Mennonite Church, 868 N. Maize Rd., Wichita, Oct. 19, 6:30 p.m. All are invited to attend in person or by Zoom. To join the Zoom Oct. 19 go here: (https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83727344903?pwd=NRqvZwzuai9X8QoeCfU9GVFWYToKDZ.1) A silent auction for a few items will take place. (This link is in the Oct. 11 church email.)
· Welcome to Eric Litwiller! Eric is the new Development Director for Camp Mennoscah. He has already started making contacts. Eric can be reached at eric.litwiller@campmennoscah.org
· Verenike Casserole Meal Returns!
Camp Mennoscah will be having a Verenike Casserole Fundraiser on November 8 at Faith Mennonite Church. The meal consists of verenike casserole, seasoned green beans, zweiback, and fruit crisp. Meals will be available at Faith Mennonite Church between 5:30-6:30 p.m. on November 8. You can drive-through and pick up your meals or dine in. Watch Camp Mennoscah’s Facebook page and check your email for any changes. Suggested donation of $20 per meal or $40 per pan. Additional donations are welcome!
Please use the link below to reserve your meal(s).
· The retreat center at Camp Mennoscah has provided many folks with the opportunity to participate in a multitude of camp activities and we are looking to jump start the renovation project with new management, fresh volunteers, and renewed financial assistance. To complete the project, we need your help. We’d like to create a list of people who we can email for specific work day projects as they come up. Please call or text Tom Gaeddert at 316-288-7766 with your name and email address if you are willing to help and we will send out info for projects a week or two in advance of work to be done.
Donations are also greatly appreciated and can be sent directly to camp
designated for “Retreat Center”. Thanks for your help!
Bethel College Announcements
· Sun., Oct. 12: As part of the annual KIPCOR Film Series, the Kansas Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution at Bethel College and Peace Connections are co-sponsoring a screening of the documentary Join or Die, 2 p.m., Krehbiel Auditorium in Luyken Fine Arts Center. Based on the book Bowling Alone by Robert Putnam (Simon & Schuster, 2000); followed by a mini-fair of local nonprofits and community organizations
· Now in the Regier Gallery in Luyken Fine Arts Center: “Made for you by a professional seamstress,” fiber art by Karen Reimer, through Oct. 27. Gallery hours are Mon.-Fri., 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Sun. 2-4 p.m. (closed Oct. 12-14 for fall break).
· Sun., Oct. 19 & Mon., Oct. 20: Annual Menno Simons Lectures, with Dr. Kat Hill. The overall theme is “Diasporic Lives: Mennonites, Migration and the Search for Home.” First lecture: Oct. 19, 7 p.m., “People, Places, Pasts: Mennonite Meanings of Home Across Time and Place”; second, Mon., Oct. 20, 11 a.m., “Diasporic Lives and Dispersed Archives: Reading the Records of Mennonite Belonging”; third, Mon., Oct. 20, 7 p.m., “Contested Homes and Conflicted Belonging in Mennonite Pasts.” All in Krehbiel Auditorium in Luyken Fine Arts Center, with audience discussion following each lecture. Free and open to the public.
· Registration is now open for Bethel College’s Worship and the Arts Symposium, “Preaching Good News in a Troubled World,” Nov. 2-4 on the Bethel campus. There is no fee, but registration is needed to get accurate numbers. Go to https://www.bethelks.edu/academics/worship-and-the-arts-symposium/ and click the “Registration” button. The focus of the 2025 symposium is homiletics, with Dr. Luke Powery from Duke Divinity School in Durham, N.C. Of particular interest to pastors but open to everyone is a preaching masterclass from 9 a.m.-noon on Tues., Nov. 4. The featured visual artist is Merrill Krabill, Goshen, IN, a former professor at Bethel and now retired from teaching at Goshen College. Use the link above to see a complete schedule.
Life Enrichment is a series designed for adults age 60 and over. Note that this session is in the Bethel College Mennonite Church Sanctuary, Wednesday, October 15 at 9:30—11:50 a.m.
9:30 a.m. “Flour Power: the History of the Tortilla,” Gene Chavez, president of Chavez & Associates, Topeka, Humanities Kansas Speakers Bureau presentation.
10:50 a.m. “The Organ: for Worship, the Public Sphere, and Personal Enjoyment,” Dr. Will Wiebe-Friesen, Bethel College associate professor of chemistry, and co-coordinator of music, and organist, Bethel College Mennonite Church.
Mennonite Central Committee Meat Canning is Nov. 5, 6, & 7
Sign up to be one of the volunteers at the mobile meat cannery in North Newton on November 5, 6 or 7 at https://tinyurl.com/MeatCanning2025
If you wish to make a monetary contribution please write your checks to “MCC Central States” with “Newton Area Meat Canning” in the memo line.
The Goessel Arts Fund Committee is hosting an Arts Soirée on Sun., Oct. 19, 2-5 p.m. at Tabor Mennonite Church north of Newton. There will be an art show in the hospitality hall that will feature local and regional artists. A concert at 3 p.m. in the sanctuary will include performances by the Salina Symphony Brass Quintet, Holly Swartzendruber (soprano), and a piano duo extravaganza that will feature Goessel area pianists Russell Adrian, Marcia Brubaker, Jason and Renae Peters, and Karen Unruh performing works for 4-10 hands! Following the concert at 4 p.m. refreshments will be served in the hospitality hall. Plan now to attend this free event! (The Goessel Arts Fund Committee is a subsidiary of the Goessel Community Foundation)
FREE Authors Speaking Series will be Oct. 13 starting at 10 a.m. in Kidron Hall at Kidron Bethel Village, 3001 Ivy Dr. Two speakers will discuss the published books they have written. Both are amazing stories based on their lives. They will share those stories with a question-and-answer session following.
· Mon., Oct. 13: Justina Neufeld will discuss her book, “A Family Torn Apart”, about her escape from Ukraine in her youth after WWII.
Wilma Loganbill will discuss her book, “A Very Fortunate Woman”, about
the tragedy of losing her husband and son and how God gives us the strength
to go through what we could never survive on our own.
· Mon., Nov. 10: Lauren Friesen, discusses his two new books coming out in October, “The Anabaptists: a Comedy in Two Acts” and “Acting Up: An Anthology of Mennonite Playwrights” Lauren has spoken around the globe, has awards from the Kennedy Center, and many other awards and degrees.
Janice Pauls will discuss her children’s book “Dandelions are Beautiful”
A Fair Trade “pop up shop” is coming to the area just in time to start your holiday shopping! Paula Brunk Kuhns, owner of Just Cause, a fair trade store based in Portland, OR, will be setting up her store at Hesston Mennonite Church, 309 S Main St. Hesston for a 2-day event, Oct. 24-25. The store will be open from 10 a.m.-7 p.m. each day. Find beautifully crafted baskets, jewelry, home decor, kitchenware, metal art, cards, Christmas nativities and ornaments, and so much more from over 30 countries around the world. When you shop Fair Trade, you’re not just buying a beautifully crafted item. You’re partnering with artisans around the world as they preserve their craft, support their families, and build a sustainable future. Each piece holds a story, and you become part of it. This is also a fundraiser for the Hesston Mennonite Church Youth Group.
Hoffnungsau Church, 43 13th Ave, Inman, invites you to our annual Mission Supper on Saturday, October 25, 5:00 – 6:30. It will be curbside pick up with tables also available if you want to stay and eat. Please text or call 620-585-6733 to order a meal of German sausage, mashed potatoes, creamed peas, zwiebach and pie. Payment is by donation with all proceeds going towards McPherson Housing Coalition.
For Mennonite Church USA Upcoming Webinars press here
For Mennonite Mission Network “News and Beyond” press here
Ready for a life-changing gap year?
Dive into Service Adventure, a 10-month volunteer journey ages 17-20, now accepting applications for the term starting August 2026. Live in community with peers and unit leaders, serve with local nonprofits and deepen in your faith alongside a supportive church congregation. Embrace adventure, grow in purpose and make a difference. Apply at MennoniteMission.net/ServiceAdventure.
For Mennonite Central Committee “In Touch” press here
Western District Conference invites you to visit our website to read the latest news, stories and announcements.
For Anabaptist Disabilities Network press here
Mennonite Church USA Announcements
News
MC USA has awarded the 2025 Bring the Peace award to Legacy Peacemaker Joe Roos and Young Peacemaker Ciela Acosta. The award, sponsored by MC USA’s Church Peace Tax Fund, highlights the peace and justice work of people within MC USA. Read more here: https://www.mennoniteusa.org/news/btp/
Menno Snapshots
Duncan Smith, director of The Corinthian Plan, looks at changing governmental priorities and their impact on health and health/medical insurance — and how we can respond, in his Menno Snapshots blog, “Healthcare and the ‘perfect storm’ on the horizon.” https://www.mennoniteusa.org/menno-snapshots/health/
Mennonite Mission Network Prayer Request: Christy Harrison and Peter Sensenig, jointly serving with Eastern Mennonite Missions and Mennonite Mission Network, were not able to renew their visas to continue ministry in Chad. Pray for them and their three children as they move to Montbéliard, France, for the coming school year. Pray that the family can make a smooth adjustment and that they can contribute to La Prairie Mennonite Church’s ministry to Muslim immigrants.
Western District Conference Prayer Request: Give thanks for Hope Mennonite Church, Wichita, KS, as it celebrates its 40th anniversary this weekend, with gratitude for God’s faithfulness in the past, present and future of this WDC congregation.
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.