BETHESDA NEWS. December 28, 2014

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1 BETHESDA NEWS A community caring for all God s people, being transformed by Christ's love, serving others as a witness of God s grace and peace. Bethesda Mennonite Church December 28, 2014 Thank you so much for all your words, hugs, cards and gifts of appreciation to me this past month. My life has been enriched by knowing you and ministering with you these past five months. Thank you for letting me be a part of your life even for such a short time. Stop and say hello if you are ever in my area. ~Grace and peace, Pastor Luann Yutzy Current Address: 2615 Park Ave. Apt 507 Minneapolis, Minnesota You are invited to Pastor Andrea Wall s Ordination Service on Sunday, January 11, The service will take place at 9:30 a.m. during the morning worship service, followed with a noon meal in the Fellowship Hall. Central Plains Mennonite Conference Pastor Tim Detweiler, will conduct the ordination service and CPMC Pastor Shana Peachey Boshart will give the morning message. Members of the congregation are asked to RSVP to the church office to secure a reservation for the catered meal. We look forward to seeing you there! ~Board of Deacons, Blaine Friesen, Chair The Nominating Committee is again in the process filling open board and committee positions for If you have currently completed your first three-year term but are eligible to serve another three years, please give it serious consideration. Also, if you are willing to serve Bethesda in any way, please let me know; don t wait to be asked. To do all of the things that happen at Bethesda, takes involvement from everyone. Thank you for your willingness to serve! If you have questions, please call me at ~ Jeff Peters - Nominating Committee The Deacons will be available to respond to pastoral needs in the church, the hospital or in one of the care centers where our members reside, in the absence of Pastor Jim Voth and Pastor Andrea Wall. December 28 Blaine Friesen or December 29 Laura Steingard or

2 WEEK AT A GLANCE SUNDAY, December 28 Fifth Sunday in Advent 8:30 A.M. Deacons 8:55-9:15 A.M. Prayer Time 9:30 A.M. Worship Service 10:40 A.M. Sunday School 12:00 P.M. Potluck TUESDAY, December 30 8:30 A.M. Staff Meeting 12:00 P.M. Bulletin Announcements Due (Please note change of date.) WEDNESDAY, December 31 6:00 P.M. New Year s Eve Worship & Communion Service Child care will be provided. THURSDAY, January 1 Church Offices Closed Happy New Year s Day! Next Sunday, January 4 Sermon Pastor Jim Voth Offering Mennonite Church USA Pianist Sandra Quiring Reminder: If you are participating in a Sunday morning worship service, please arrive at the church office early enough (preferably by 9:00 a.m.) to receive instructions from sound personnel and to receive your microphone. Additional Poinsettia Donation In Memory of Eugene Siebert, James Kroeker Donated by Effie Kroeker & family

3 OUR CHURCH FAMLY Please pray for those with health concerns, grief or family needs. Hospitalized: Kazutomo Epp, son of Ray and Akiko Epp, continues to be hospitalized in Japan. Prayer: Dinah Siebert Elsie Friesen Deloris Rempel Thank You: To the members of Bethesda for their prayers and voices of concern during my recent health issues, I give you my thanks and appreciation. ~ Ron Ulrich The Prayer Board, located near the church office, is a place to post prayers that come to the office. If you wish to have a prayer matter posted, please call the church office, Pastor Jim Voth, or him at jim@mainstaycomm.net. These may be prayers of praise, thanksgiving, or intercession. If you wish to post a prayer for someone other than yourself, please request their permission. Thank you! Take note of the Christmas card from Pastor John and Mary Gaeddert posted on the office window. A letter of greeting from Sam and Sherri Evans of REACH International is also posted on the office window. Sign up on the east bulletin board for the Backpack Program. The Backpack Program helps families meet the nutritional needs of their young student so that they can study and learn without hunger getting in the way. It s a great way to minister to local needs right here in Henderson! Information sheets are located on the east bulletin board. If you have any questions, please contact Gary Buller at or at gary@bspray.net. Coming Events: Bethesda Bible Series is scheduled for January 2015! Featured speaker is Michelle Hershberger, chair of the Bible and Ministry Division at Hesston College. She joined the faculty in 2000 after receiving a Master of Arts degree in theological studies at Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary, Elkhart, Indiana, and has been a frequent speaker and playwright for

4 Mennonite youth conventions; a youth pastor with her husband, Del, in Hubbard, Oregon; author of God s Story, Our Story: Exploring Christian Faith and Life, a catechism resource for Mennonite Church USA; the project associate for The Giving Project; a renewal speaker/preacher; and a college and high school teacher. She has assumed additional leadership roles in youth ministry and drama and written several other books as well as curricula and articles for periodicals and academic journals. She will present two sessions January 23 and three sessions on January 25. Reserve these dates! More information to follow in the coming weeks. The Sunday Evening Committee is preparing for their 3rd annual SOUPER BOWL family fun night to be held Sunday evening, January 25. The evening will include a soup meal, special entertainment and games. More details to follow. Mark your calendars! KC2015 We are excited as we get closer to seeing all our friends and family members in Kansas City at the Mennonite Church USA Convention! Check out the website at When you read through all the information, you ll be able to see all the great things that are in store as things come together for KC2015 (June 30-July 5, 2015). Instructions for registration, which begins January 15, Information about programming for people of all ages. Helpful tips for fundraising and an out-of-the-box idea from Goshen College to help your youth group get to KC2015. A listing of convention worship speakers. At its core, convention is a faith formation event. It is about gathering together for worship, work and play, and about seeing the ways that God is transforming lives across our church. Our prayer is, that as we gather together, we too will find our hearts burning within us, just like the disciples who met Jesus on the road to Emmaus in Luke 24. AMBS-Kansas Center will be hosting a Rural Ministry Course January at Whitestone Mennonite Church in Hesston, Kansas. This course will be taught by S. Roy Kaufman, author of Healing God's Earth: Rural Community in the Context of Urban Civilization. You may contact registrar@ambs.edu to register for the course or more information is available at The Central Plains Mennonite Conference Ecuador Partnership is organizing a work team to travel to Ecuador late February-early March, 2015, to work on a church building located two hours outside of Quito, Ecuador. There is still room for you to join this work and fellowship

5 group! For more information contact Doyle Roth at , or by at Please read the letter posted on the east bulletin board from Join Hands, a Mennonite Church Building Program. This program continues to be the only church wide program in Mennonite Church USA that provides grants to new churches building or those buying their first meeting house. Three churches are approved for grants. Two additional churches have submitted applications. If you feel lead to support this program, more information is provided in the letter. Swan Lake Christian Camp Schedule 5 th & 6 th Grade January 16 18, 2015 Junior High Winter Retreat January 30 February 1, 2015 Senior High Winter Retreat February 6 February 8, 2015 Check the bulletin board for more details or call You may also register online at or campoffice@myslcc.com. SHINE Sunday School Curriculum Parents, grandparents and friends of our children: Each Sunday we will list the story, Bible verse and thoughts for the week to discuss with your children. Ages three through junior high will have the same Bible stories and verses for memorization. Please support your child by helping them learn the verse. Thank you! Bible Verse: A voice cries out: In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level and the rough places plain. Isaiah 40:3-4 Our story is a continuation of the birth of Jesus. Today, the shepherds become the focal point as they get a visit first from one angel and then a heavenly host telling them of the Messiah s birth. They hurried to Bethlehem to see and afterward told everyone they met of this wonderful news. When we look at the shepherd s reaction to the angel and to Jesus birth, do we react as they did, hurrying to see what the angel had told them and then telling everyone we see about these amazing things? Or do we keep quiet? The angels sang of the Messiah s birth but also glory to God and peace on earth. This message of God s peace is a clear sign that God s peace is meant

6 for the whole world, not just the Israelites or us. Remember this week to pray, not only for ourselves and our country, but all the nations of the world, giving God the glory and thanking Him for sending His peace. Also this week, share in our children s wonder at Jesus birth, the angel s message and the shepherds. Remember the messages of hope, peace, joy, love and praise that we have felt and heard during this Advent season. Read Song of the Stars: A Christmas Story by Sandy Lloyd-Jones or One Night on Earth: The Story of Christmas by Leanne Kilpatrick. Do an internet search about shepherds in Jesus time or Christmas celebrations in other parts of the world. Bethesda Preschool has a Facebook Page! Be sure to like us for preschool updates and happenings at Please remember Bethesda Preschool in your year-end giving! Bethesda Preschool serves children between the ages of 3-5 at Bethesda, in the community and in surrounding communities. The Preschool Committee is continuing to raise funds for some larger items on our list. Your help would be most appreciated! 1. A handicapped rail is required, per our license, and will go on the cement ramp just inside the west door to the preschool courtyard. Cost is approximately $3, We would like to add one more play item to the playground, perhaps a climbing wall or stationary riding toys. Cost is around $3, To follow the guidelines of our play structure for safety reasons, we still need to add two inches of mulch throughout the playground. Cost of the mulch is $800. If you would like to give to any of these projects, please label your offering envelope Bethesda Preschool Special Projects. Thank you for your support!!

7 Bethesda Preschool has openings for January! If you have a child who is ready for preschool (a child who turns three by January 1 and is potty trained), contact director, Kori Lewis, at bethesdapreschoolers@gmail.com for enrollment information! Space is limited, so contact us soon! Women s The January birthday party will be held in the Crossroads Coffee House on Monday, January 19, 2015, at 7:00 p.m. If you have a January birthday, please sign up on the east bulletin board. Shirley Buller and Leanna Kroeker will serve as hostesses for the evening. Powerhouse (senior high and CORNERSTONE (junior high) will not meet this week. High school and junior high youth groups will resume on Wednesday, January 7, High school youth considering joining the 2015 Catechism class need to contact the church office by January 7, Be intentional. Be transformed! Serve for a year with DOOR. Dwell in urban areas like Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, Miami, or San Antonio. Join other young adults (ages 19-30) from many Christian backgrounds! Go to MennoniteMission.net/Serve for more information.

8 FINANCIALS Worship Offering Sunday, December 21, 2014 Worship Attendance 383 Sunday School Attendance 115 Temporary Holding Accounts Central Plains Mennonite Conference... $4, Swan Lake Christian Camp... 1, Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary Dayspring Thailand... 1, Grace Children s Home... 1, Prison Ministries... 1, Mennonite Disaster Service Reach International Sam & Sherri... 1, MCC Canner... 2, Preschool Special Projects Angel Tree Messiah Performance Youth Ministry Support... 1, Sunday School Offering General Operating Receipts....40, Worship Offering $56, Messiah Performance Offering -Messiah Expenses $6, Bethesda Operating Fund January 1 December 23, Approved Operating Budget $633, January 1 December 23 98% of Year Offering Receipts 534, **We have received 77% of our Approved Budget. Operating Expenses 604, ** We have spent 95% of our Approved Budget. Bethesda Operating Balance 12/23/14 88, Fiscal Management Plan: 3-Month Cash Flow Reserve Needs $144, Operating Reserve: (Shortage) (-$55,424.50)

9 Merry Christmas from Pastor Andrea, Pastor Luann & Pastor Jim! God created laughter and joy. So to keep in step with our Advent theme this past week of joy, we decided to bring you Awkward Pastor Photos for your Christmas card this year. We hope you can enjoy and can laugh with us as we wish you a Joyous Christmas! P.S. The cat actually just wandered into our photo what are the chances!

10 SERMON NOTES