Grace Mennonite Church Worship Service Lent February 25, 2018 10:00 am
VOL 57 February 25, 2018 No. 08 Grace Mennonite Church 10:00 a.m. Worship Service Pastors Mel Letkeman & Kyle Penner www.gracemennonitesteinbach.ca 204-326-3707 Lent Between Me and You Praise, praise, praise the Lord! STJ# 11 Welcome & Announcements ``Here in this place HWB# 6 Praise, I will praise you, Lord HWB# 76 Call to Worship Genesis 17:1-8 As the Deer Time with children / Our coins count Children's Church for age 3 through grade 8 will meet in the foyer Prayer of Confession John 13:1-17 The St. Lawrence River, Life Sentences, and Super Bowl Commercial Flops I heard the voice of Jesus say HWB# 493 Congregational Prayer and Offering Lead me, Lord HWB# 538 Benediction Participants in today s worship service: Worship Speaker: Kyle Penner Worship Leader: Alyssa Lord Song Leaders: Leroy Penner, Ron Dick, Shara Dueck, Kristy Rempel, David Graham Accompanist: Laurie Wiens Children s Time: Kyle Penner & Mel Letkeman Sound Tec: Jessica Boese Computer Tec: Matt Boese Children s Church: Stephanie Allan, Hanh Rempel, Andrea Dick, Joy Neufeld Ushers: Doug Kathler, Sarah Neufeld Coffee Servers: Kurt & Pearl Barz
Looking ahead to next Sunday s Worship Service: Please read John 18:12-27 Why do you think Peter denied knowing Jesus? Worship Speaker: Mel Letkeman Coins Count for MCC - February 18 to April 1 During Lent, we re collecting coins for MCC Grow Hope again. So bring your coins, because the kids are going to be collecting them! Children s Church Children s Church for ages 3 to Grade 8 is held during the worship service. You may pick up your children following the worship service, in the upper level, classrooms 10,11,12 & 14. Introduction to the Enneagram, Session II February 25, 11:15am-1:00pm (Bring your own lunch). We ll be gathering with Valerie Regehr to learn about the Enneagram, an ancient personality typing system that gives us deeper knowledge about ourselves, compassion for others, and love for God. Lenten Formation - March 4 25 11:15 am You are all invited to 4 weeks of Lenten Formation. We will be going through a few chapters of We Make the Road by Walking. Many of you have the book and can read ahead in preparation. For those who don t, we will be reading the chapters out loud as our way to begin, so come anyways. Next week, Mar 4 th, we will be looking at Chapter 29, followed by Chapters 40, 32B and 32C as we approach Passion Week. So, grab a coffee and join us for good time of conversation together. Prayer Requests this week at Grace: We pray for Patricia Ladobruk and Marie Dyck in Bethesda Hospital. ~ We pray for our community resources and those who use these resources that help with their lives on a daily basis. Agape House, Soups On, Southeast Helping Hands, Today House, Steinbach Community Outreach ~ A prayer for this week: Help us be so concerned about the well-being of the human community that we don t have to worry about our place, our church, our class, our values, our vested interests. Our Condolences: Our Condolences go out to Curtis & Debbie Krahn and their family on the passing of Curtis s mother Margaret Krahn, who passed away on February 20. The memorial service was held on February 24 in Winkler.
Grace Opportunities: Baptism/Membership at Grace: If you are interested in baptism and/or formal membership at Grace, please talk to Mel or contact the church office. Grace Women's Retreat: We are beginning to plan for our biennial retreat which will take place at Camp Assiniboia on October 26-28. If you are interested in attending, please email either Shannon Gerbrandt (srgerb@mymts.net) or Enid Letkeman (meletkeman@gmail.com). Please indicate if you are interested in helping to organize this event. All women, all ages are invited! Little Bits of Grace Coffee: Wednesday, March 4, 9:30-11:30 All mothers, fathers, caregivers etc. with young children are invited to join us for a Come and Go coffee, snacks and playtime in Room # 10, located in the upper level. Worship at Bethesda Place: You are invited to join singers from Grace as we brighten the lives of people who live at Bethesda Place on Wednesday, February 28 at 2:45 pm. We start by serving coffee and buns to the residents, followed by a devotional and signing for about ½ hour. Then the Grace singers gather in the volunteer lounge for coffee and fellowship. All are welcome. A note from the Grace Library: We are continuing to add new books to our library and we thank you, especially the children for being such faithful patrons. In the future when you check out books, please fill out the cards and leave them in the green basket. Happy Reading! Patti Penner & Vi Brown A Cry for Home: March 1 st 10:30-11:30am at the Atrium at the Red River College Building, 385 Loewen Blvd Steinbach. This is a time to learn more about Palestine and Israel, hear about what MCC is doing in the region and find out what resources MCC is offering to help your congregation engage. We will hear from a special guest, Rabbi David Mivasair, and two MCC staff that have recently visited Palestine and Israel. Please RSVP by Feb 26 th. Rick Neufeld, rneufeld@mennochurch.mb.ca. Mennonite Church Manitoba Invitation to the MCM Gathering Worship: All are welcome to worship and communion at the First Mennonite Church, March 2 7:00 pm. Brian Bauman is our guest speaker. All are welcome (not just delegates).
This week at Grace: Sunday: (25 th ) Worship at Woodhaven, 9:30 am Monday: Red River classes and child care - Monday thru Friday Sandwich making for HSD students, 9:00am Tuesday: Soup s On, 5 pm Wednesday: Worship at Bethesda Place, 2:30 pm Friday: Soup s On, 5 pm Junior Youth Retreat Vespers: Our local Vespers choir will present a service on March 4, 7 pm at the Mennonite Heritage Village Museum. It s an evening of choral music, prayer, scripture and other applicable readings. Admission is free and all are welcome. Bulletin Board Announcements: (located in the foyer) Loewen-Rudgers, John & Karen Friesen, and Mike & Cheryl Nimz Reports Updates from Mennonite Church Manitoba and Mennonite Church Canada AMBS, CMU, MCC announcements and information Providence Public lecture: The beginning in Light of the End: Re-thinking Evolution Theologically. Patrick Franklin Tuesday February 27, 7:00 pm. Grace is part of the CARE program The program provides professional counseling for any person, couple, or family in our congregation. See the poster in the foyer for information if you would like to make an appointment. If you have any questions please feel free to talk to one of the pastors. May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you: wherever he may send you: May he guide you through the wilderness: Protect you through the storm; May he bring you home rejoicing: at the wonders he has shown you; May he bring you home rejoicing: once again into our doors. Celtic Blessing Construction at Grace: When exiting Grace, please take note of the exit doors being used during construction. In case of emergency these will be the only doors available. Thank you Grace contacts: Pastor: Mel Letkeman mel.grace@mymts.net Associate Pastor: Kyle Penner kyle.grace@mymts.net Administrative Office: office.grace@mymts.net Administrative Assistant: Tuesday & Wednesday Cathy Barkman cathy.grace@mymts.net Administrative Assistant: Thursday & Friday Audrey Frey audrey.grace@mymts.net Administrative hours: 9:30 1:30. Bulletin submissions are due Thursday 9:00 am
Ash Wednesday February 14, 7 pm All are welcome to join us for a service of Praise! Palm Sunday March 25, 10 am All are welcome to join us for a service of Praise! Service of Shadows Handwashing, Music & Reflection Thursday, March 29, 7:30 pm All are welcome to join us for a peaceful evening of reflection and music. Good Friday Service March 30, 10 am Steinbach Mennonite Church All are welcome to join SMC for Good Friday worship service. Communion will be served. Easter Morning Service April 1, 10 am Our Easter Sunday morning worship service. All are welcome to join us for paska and coffee following the service.
Encountering God during Lent Lent is the period of 40 days leading up to Good Friday and Easter. It begins as we impose Ashes on our foreheads at the Ash Wednesday service this coming week. It is a time to reflect on the pain of Christ s Sufferings and our own, leading to the hope of new life found in Easter Resurrection. We can facilitate this reflection through self denial, repentance, prayer, works of love and meditating on Scripture. Ideas for Lent Remove something you frequently experience from your life while adding something that is difficult, but good to do. By removing and adding that which is difficult we symbolically enter the suffering of Jesus and learn that in the Kingdom of God, Glory comes through suffering. Mel will go down to 1 cup of coffee in the morning and no sweets. Kyle will be giving up some sleep to wake up early and practice centering prayer (you can download the app called Centering Prayer) and read A Way Other Than Our Own by Walter Brueggemann And you? What favourite daily or week-end enjoyment might you decline? What difficult activity will you embrace with new resolve? ~ However you say yes or no, and regardless of whether you do or not, may you meet God and God meet you in the story of Jesus Sufferings, Death and Resurrection during Lent.