weekly WELCOME For more information, visit www.bethesdamc.org. BETHESDA NEWS OUR MISSION: REACH GROW SERVE March 31, 2019 Greetings to Bethesda On this last Sunday with you as Pastor of Congregational Care and Worship it has been a joy working with you in the building of God s Kingdom in our relationships with one another, our witness of God s love to the world and in our preparation for eternal living. Thank you for your affirmation in this calling. Barb and I move on to uncertain adventures in Bel Aire, Kansas, knowing you have loved and prayed for us. We will carry many memories with us and will keep you in prayer as together with pastors Andrea and Seth you continue to reach, grow and serve in the name of Christ. Grace and Peace. Pastor Jim & Barb Voth Celebration for Pastor Jim and Barb! The Board of Deacons and Pastors would like to extend our best wishes and appreciation to Pastor Jim and Barb as he concludes 42 years of faithful ministry (10 years at Bethesda)! A celebration meal and program will be held following Sunday school this morning. Also, just a reminder, if you have not had an opportunity to leave written well wishes, shared memories, etc., extra paper will be available in the Fellowship Hall or outside the church office. The Bethesda youth will be participating in the Menno Coffee fundraiser through Mennonite Church USA Convention to help raise funds for youth going to convention this summer! Mennonite Church USA Convention and One Village Coffee have partnered to bring back Menno s Best Coffee in three options: Menno s Best Dark Roast, Medium Roast, and Decaf, as well as whole bean or ground. They will be available to purchase through the youth or a you can sign up at the Coffee Spot or outside the church office. We will be placing the order on April 7, however, coffee may be 1
ordered at any time through April 30 on the convention website and funds can be designated to Bethesda Mennonite Church youth at check out. SUNDAY (3/31) 8:45 a.m. Deacon Prayer Time 9:30 a.m. Worship 10:40 a.m. Sunday School 11:30 a.m. Pastor Jim & Barb Celebration (Fellowship Hall) TUESDAY (4/2) 8:30 a.m. Staff Meeting 7:00 p.m. Bethesda Women s Ministries 7:00 p.m. Preschool Committee WEDNESDAY (4/3) 12:00 p.m. Bulletin Announcements Due 7:00 p.m. Women s Bible Study (Conference Room) 7:00 p.m. CORNERSTONE 7:00 p.m. Powerhouse 8:00 p.m. Chancel Choir THURSDAY (4/4) 8:00 a.m. MCC Sale Set up (Hamilton County Fairgrounds) FRIDAY (4/5) Nebraska MCC Sale (Hamilton County Fairgrounds) SATURDAY (4/6) NO MEN S BIBLE STUDY THIS MORNING Nebraska MCC Sale (Hamilton County Fairgrounds) NEXT SUNDAY (4/7) Message: Pastor Seth Miller 9:30 a.m. Offering: Local Church Special Music: Powerhouse Pianist: Marilyn Kroeker this week Bethesda now offers the option of Online Giving. To donate securely online, visit www.bethesdamc.org and click GIVE. 2
Please pray for those with health concerns, grief or family needs. Prayer Requests Caleb Friesen (son of Rick/Brittany Friesen) Lavonne Friesen JoAnn Epp Paige Bose Jason Friesen (son of Boyd/Deb Friesen) Pauline Friesen Fred Regier Family Thank You I wish to extend my heartfelt thanks to my church family for prayers, visits, gifts, cards and phone calls following my recent hip replacement and recuperation. Also, thanks to our pastors, Jim, Andrea and Seth for their visits. May God bless you all. Inez Epp Check out the latest updates from Reach International s February newsletter on the east bulletin board. Freezer Meals If you would be interested in providing a freezer meal for Amanda (Wall) and Jake Clouse after the birth of their daughter, Emmie, please contact the church office. Freezer meals can be labeled for Jake and Amanda (please include your name) and placed in the church freezer where they will be delivered on your behalf. The annual Nebraska MCC Sale will be held this coming weekend, April 5-6. Set up for the sale will begin Thursday morning at 8:00 a.m., Hamilton County Fairgrounds. The priced food booth is looking for homemade goodies to sell. Noodles, jelly and sweet treats sell well. Meat, cheese, and nuts will be available as 3 church family Nebraska MCC Sale April 5-6, 2019
usual. Thanks for thinking of us. If you have any questions, please call Lin Friesen at 402-723-4206. MCC Sale T-Shirts If you haven't purchased a t-shirt at the MCC Sale for a few years or even if you get one every year, this is the year to get one! A special 40th anniversary graphic has been designed for this year. T-shirt booth hours are Friday, 4:00-8:00 p.m. and Saturday, 8:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. Come early for the best choice of t-shirt colors and transfer sizes! Please note, only t- shirts are sold at the sale. If you want a sweatshirt or long-sleeved shirt, you must bring your own. We can put a transfer on your shirt for $7.00. "Peacemaker" zip-up hoodies will also be available again this year! My Coins Count: Today is the last Sunday to bring any extra coins you may have for My Coins Count. Let s make it count! Fine Art: Fine art items are need for the art booth. Please contact Carrie Bergen at 402-723-4327, 402-710-0488 or by email at carrie@mainstaycomm.net. You may also register your fine art items using Carrie s e-mail address. MCC Sale Verenike Meal We are still looking for help in various areas to ensure a successful verenike meal. If you are able to assist in any of the below areas, please sign up on the east bulletin board or contact Evan and Kristen Friesen at 402-723-5826. Thanks in advance for your willingness to help at this enjoyable event! Two host couples (or four singles) A minimum of three additional table servers from 12:00-1:15 p.m. Two additional individuals to help clean up from 1:15-2:15 p.m. Verenike meal coordinators are needed beginning in 2020. Four individuals (or two couples) are needed to help coordinate various aspects of the verenike meal beginning in 2020. Ideally, these individuals will jobshadow the existing coordinators during this year s sale and then transition into the coordinator roles next year. To express an interest or request more information, contact Evan and Kristen Friesen at 402-723- 5826 or Curt and Nancy Friesen at 402-723-5339. 4
financials Worship Offering Sunday, March 24, 2019 Worship Attendance 267 Sunday School Attendance 117 Dayspring Ministries... $50.00 Ashland Fellowship... $50.00 Bethesda General Operating Receipts... $10,470.00 Total Worship Offering... $10,570.00 Sunday School Offering... $177.50 Total Sunday Morning Offering... $10,747.50 across the street/around the world SWAP Volunteers Urgently Needed MCC's Sharing With Appalachia People (SWAP) program has an urgent need for volunteer groups and individuals. Summer will be here before we know it, so make your summer plans now to join SWAP in Kentucky or West Virginia. Don't miss out on your chance to serve with this home repair ministry while learning about life in Appalachia. Individuals or groups, including families, adults or youth, can volunteer to serve for week-long opportunities. For more information about bringing a group to SWAP, visit swap.mcc.org, contact Angela Maggard at AppalachiaAdmin@mcc.org, or call 606-633-5065. 2019 Mennonite Church (MC USA) Convention The 2019 Mennonite Church USA (MC USA) convention, referred to as MennoCon19, will be held July 2-6 at the Kansas City Convention Center in Kansas City, Missouri. Visit convention.mennoniteusa.org for more information and to register. 5
youth For junior high and high school calendars visit the Bethesda Faith Formation page at www.bmcfaithformation.com. Junior high youth and 5th and 6th graders are invited to help lead the opening worship song on Palm Sunday, April 14, 2019, as children (Preschool through grade 4) march in with palm branches. We will be practicing the song during and Sunday school. Mark your calendars! CORNERSTONE (junior high) will meet Wednesday, April 3, at 7:00 p.m. in the Powerhouse room for a time of worship and to practice the song we will sing on Palm Sunday during worship. Powerhouse (high school) will meet Wednesday, April 3, at 7:00 p.m. in The Upper Room for game night. High school youth are invited following worship today to meet in the Crossroads Coffee House for a discussion on Luke 15. Catechism: We will meet today in the Crossroads Coffee House in the TV area since another class will be in the Powerhouse room this week. We will discuss Chapter 1,2 and 3 of God s Story, Our Story. Please bring your notes from the five videos you watched at home with your family for credit. Reminder to mark your calendars for April 18 as catechism youth will participate in the Maundy Thursday service in the evening. Bethesda Women s Ministries are planning a road trip to Mennonite Central Committee Material Resource Center in North Newton, Kansas, Tuesday, April 16, 2019. Join us to learn more about MCC s relief work, to work on material relief projects and to enjoy the fellowship. We will depart from the church parking lot at 6:00 a.m. and return around 8:00 p.m. Please sign up on the BWM bulletin board in the east hallway. For questions, contact Carol Janzen at 402-366-7984. 6
message notes: luke 9:28-37 First Tuesday Gathering Tuesday, April 2, 2019 7:00 p.m. Time for Worship Lesson: Florence Friesen Feature: Games following Bible lesson. (Kent Bedient is unavailable.) 7
swan lake christian camp Your child/children are invited to attend Swan Lake Christian Camp at NO CHARGE this summer through a gift from Bethesda s South Fellowship Hall Sunday school class! *When registering your child for camp, check the appropriate church scholarship amount. Bethesda Mennonite Church will be billed at the end of the summer for those who attended. Registration for camp is available online. Please go to www.myslcc.com and register by May 1 to receive a free t-shirt. Bethesda s Permission for Medical Treatment and Transportation forms are also available online at www.bethesdamc.org. Click the MINISTRIES tab and go to SWAN LAKE CHRISTIAN CAMP. The church office is the drop off location for these forms. This is the only way the office staff has of knowing that your child will be attending camp and possibly need transportation. If you do not have access to a printer, hard copies of these forms are available on the east bulletin board of the church office. All campers must fill out this form and drop them off at the church office before departing for camp. All drivers must fill out a Driving History/Release Form (found at www.bethesdmc.org). All drivers must leave a copy of their driver s license in the church office. 2019 SUMMER SCHEDULE Cottontail Day Camp (Ages 5-6)... June 10 Chipmunk Day Camp (Grades 1-2)... June 11 Third Grade Camp... June 12-13 Fourth Grade Camp... June 30-July 3 Fifth Grade Camp... June 16-21 Sixth Grade Camp... July 7-12 Junior High Camp (Grades 7-8)... July 14-19 Senior High Camp (Grades 9-12)... July 21-26 8
Litany of Release and Blessing at Retirement Deacon: As brothers and sisters in a covenanted faith community we give thanks today for the ministry of Pastor Jim Voth and celebrate his new vocation in retirement. Congregation: Praise be to God, who calls us to many forms of ministry within the body of Christ and equips the church with gifts through the work of the Holy Spirit. Deacon: Jim has used his gifts in leadership, as Pastor of Worship and Pastoral Care at Bethesda Mennonite Church, for the past 10 years. Pastor Jim: We have shared worship and work, happy and sad occasions, committee meetings and projects. We had Wednesday night Bible study together and enjoyed potluck meals on Sunday noon. We met in funeral homes, at the hospital and in homes. I retire as your Pastor of Worship and Pastoral Care with cherished memories of our times together. Congregation: God has blessed us richly through your ministry. We now bless you as you begin a new chapter in your life journey. Deacon: As you, the people of Bethesda Mennonite Church, bless Jim in his retirement, do you now release him from his pastoral responsibilities and relationships? Congregation: With the help of God, we do. We give thanks for Pastor Jim s faithfulness and acknowledge this transition in the life of our congregation. We will pray for God s continued guidance in Jim s life. Deacon: Jim, do you release the congregation from its loyalty to you as a pastor? Do you release the members from turning to you and depending on you to provide the pastoral ministries they seek? Pastor Jim: With the help of God, I do. When we meet in the future, I will be your friend, but not your pastor. I will no longer perform pastoral duties among you. I will keep the congregation, pastors and staff in my prayers. Deacon: May God bless and guide you, Jim, and this congregation, in the new relationship that you will now share. 9
And Can It Be? Charles Wesley (1738) Dan Forrest (2014) And can it be? Amazing love, how can it be? And can it be that I should gain an int rest in the Savior s blood? Died for me who caused His pain? For me who Him to death pursued? Amazing love? How can it be that Thou by God, shouldst die for me? He left His Father s throne above, so free, so infinite His Grace; Emptied Himself of all but love, and bled for Adam s helpless race; Tis mercy all, immense and free; for, O my God, it found out me. No condemnation now I dread; Jesus and all in Him is mine! Alive in Him, my living Head, and clothed in righteous-ness divine, Bold I approach th eternal throne, And claim the crown through Christ my own. Amazing love, how can it be that Thou, my God shouldst die for me? Amazing love, how can it be? Amazing Love! 10
message notes: Luke 15:11-24 11
connection card Thank you for joining us in worship this morning! For more information, complete the form below and drop this tear-off in the offering bag or at the church office. I would like more information about: Children s Activities Serving Youth Programs Baptism Bible Studies Membership Choirs Other I would like to receive the weekly e-bethesda News. Please enter your email address: I m new to Bethesda Mennonite Church. Please update/add my contact information to the Bethesda yearbook. Name Address City, State, Zip Email Home Phone Cell Phone My age range: Elementary School High School Adult Middle School College Comments Please pray for 12