Sunday, May 6, 2018 Every Creature Singing The Creation of Adam Michelangelo Sistine Chapel c. 1509 A Presence of Love at the Heart of Creation VOL. 31 NO. 18 WATERLOO-KITCHENER UNITED MENNONITE CHURCH 15 George Street, Waterloo, ON N2J 1K6 Telephone: 519-578-0660 E-mail: office@wkumchurch.ca www.wkumchurch.ca Staff: Pastor Ben Cassels E-mail: rev.cassels.ben@gmail.com Phone: 519-588-0939 Karen Watson - Parish Nurse parish.nurse@wkumchurch.ca Phone: 519-578-0660, then press 2 when voice mail picks up Laura Enns Worship and Neighbourhood Engagement Coordinator Phone: 519-578-0660 Ext. 13 laura@wkumchurch.ca Katharine Borch Office Administrator office@wkumchurch.ca Andrew Tubb Church Custodian andrewtubb@gmail.com
Welcome to our worship service. May you be blessed as you meet God and be empowered for the week ahead. Sunday, May 6, 2018 9:30 a.m. Worship Leader: Laura Enns Congregational Prayer: Pastor Ben Cassels Scripture Reader : Laura Enns Nursery Volunteer: Jessica Staller Page 1 Speaker: Pastor Ben Cassels Organist: Ryan Légère Choir: Laura Enns Reflection: Pauline Weiland Children s Story: Pastor Ben Cassels Children are welcome in the worship service or younger children may be taken to the Nursery along the Administration Hallway following the Children s Story. Worship Focus: As we continue our exploration of Scripture through the lens of Creation Care, we discover in Jesus Christ a presence of love at the heart of creation. Prelude GATHERING Welcome/Work and Care of the Church Hymns: We worship God the rock STJ # 28 Call to Worship: Let all creation bless the Lord HWB # 61 Leader: Come and worship Christ, People: the visible image of the invisible God, the firstborn of creation, the eternal God: the one through whom all things were created, and in whom all things are held together. Leader: This is our God! Let s worship together. Prayer of Invocation PRAISING Scripture I: Psalm 148 (Old Testament) page 452 Reflection: Seeing the Face of Jesus Hymn: You are all we have STJ # 29 (Children come forward) Time with the Children
Song of Blessing: Take good care Sabbatical Blessing for Karen Watson Page 2 B.M. Suderman, Arr. C. Nafziger See song sheet Leader: Karen, as our Parish Nurse you know many of us well and are often present with us in times of struggle, illness, fear, and uncertainty. People: We are grateful for the compassion you offer us, the care you give to us, and the kindness you extend to us in these vulnerable times. Leader: We know that this can be a heavy burden to carry. As a church family we offer our care to you by sending you on sabbatical, giving you permission to put down the load in order to care for yourself and nurture your walk with God. People: We release you from your ministry with us for these weeks. Go and rest. Go and play. Go be renewed. Go with God. Leader: You go with our prayers and our love. Let us pray Welcome for Karen Ehlebracht Leader: Karen, we are grateful for your presence among us in these coming weeks and the gifts of ministry you are offering us. People: We welcome you with us into this congregation, into our homes, and into our lives. We offer you our support, our prayers, and our warm welcome. Leader: May your ministry here be a blessing to you and to us as we experience God s love and care together. Let us pray Congregational Prayer Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours now and forever. Amen. Offering and Prayer Anthem: You are holy Per Harling from STS # 34 HEARING GOD S WORD Scripture II: Luke 9: 57-62 (New Testament) page 54 Sermon: RESPONDING Colossians 1: 15-20 (New Testament) page 155 A Presence of Love at the Heart of Creation Hymn of Response: God, who stretched HWB # 414 Affirmation: A New Creation Leader: We believe that God creates all things, renews all things, and celebrates all things. People: We believe Earth is a sanctuary, a sacred planet filled with God s presence, a home for us to share with our kin. Leader: We believe that God became flesh and blood, became part of Earth, a human being called Jesus Christ, who lived and breathed and spoke among us, suffered and died on a cross for all human beings and for creation. People: We believe that the risen Jesus is the Christ at the core of creation reconciling all things to God, renewing all creation, and filling the universe. Leader: We believe the Spirit renews life in creation, groans in empathy with a suffering creation, and waits with us for the rebirth of creation. Page 3
All: SENDING Benediction Postlude We believe that with Christ we will rise and with Christ we will celebrate a new creation. Welcome to our visitors! We hope our time of worship has been an encouragement to you. Please sign our guest book in the front foyer and join us for coffee and fellowship along the gym hallway. God bless you and we hope to see you again! 9:00 a.m. Choir Rehearsal TODAY AT W-K 9:30 a.m. Worship Sabbatical Blessing for Karen Watson Welcome for Karen Ehlebracht 10:00 a.m. Sunday School for Children 10:30 a.m. Coffee Break 10:45 a.m. Youth Sunday School Youth Room Adult Sunday School Lounge We continue with our Creation Care theme. 7:00 p.m. Youth Room Rental 9:00 a.m. 9:30 a.m. Lectionary Readings: 10:00 a.m. 10:30 a.m. 10:45 a.m. 1:00 p.m. 7:00 p.m. Choir Rehearsal Worship Service Next Sunday May 13, 2018 Nathan Mantey Psalm 104 Revelation 5: 13-14 Job 38-41 Leviticus 25: 1-28 Sunday School for Children Coffee Break Sunday School for Youth and Adults Creation Care Worship Planning Team - Lounge Youth Room Rental Page 4
CONGREGATIONAL NOTES Church Office Hours Tuesday Wednesday to Friday Parish Nurse Clinic Hours Page 5 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Please note adjustments to the usual clinic hours May 10 th to June 22 nd. Waterloo Mennonite Homes Tuesday, 9:30 10:30 a.m. No Change Thursday, May 10 th No Clinic at the church W-K Mennonite Church Friday, May 18 th June 22 nd 10 11 a.m. A reminder items for the bulletin should be into the office by Thursday morning at 9:00 a.m. Financial Report: Thank you for your offering of April 29 th An Evening with the Deacons: On Wednesday May 9th at 7:00pm, everyone is invited to attend an evening with deacons in the lounge to hear about their work, vision, and dreams for us as a congregation. We're looking for lots more people to join with us, either by being a deacon or by partnering with us on specific areas of interest. All levels of participation are welcome. Come learn what we're doing and how you can be involved! Quilters will meet on Tuesday, May 8 th at 1:00 p.m in the basement. This Week at W-K Sunday, May 6 1:00 p.m. Worship Planning Team - Lounge Tuesday, May 8 Noon Silver Spoons 1:00 p.m. Quilters 6:00 p.m. IMCC Rehearsal 7:00 p.m. Women s Bible Study Rm 7 Wednesday, May 9 9:00 a.m. Noon Mission Circle 1:00 3:30 p.m. Fleisch Piroshki Baking 7:00 p.m. Meet the Deacons - Lounge 7:30 p.m. Jubilation Choir Rehearsal
Thursday, May 10 10:00 11:00 a.m. WALC Exercise in the gym Friday, May 11 1:00 p.m. House of Friendship 7:00 p.m. Wedding Rehearsal Saturday, May 12 1:30 p.m. Stewart/Pennings Wedding Fleisch Piroschki Project for the Mennonite Relief Sale, May 26, 2018. Volunteers from WK and a variety of places, will make over 3000 fleisch piroshki to raise funds at the Mennonite Relief Sale in New Hamburg, Ontario. We need about 50 volunteers to accomplish all this! All ages welcome, male and female. No experience needed---on the job training provided! Please contact Janice Harder to volunteer on the following days: Meat Sausage (at church) Buns (at City Café Bakery) Wednesday May 9 1:00-3:30 Wednesday May 9 6:00-9:00 Tuesday May 15 2:00-4:30 Tuesday May 15 6:00-9:00 Wednesday May 16 1:00-3:30 Wednesday May 16 6:00-9:00 Spare Change Please donate your spare change to the work of Mennonite Central Committee to help with their work around the world. We will be collecting coins until May 20 th after which they will be taken to the New Hamburg Relief Sale. Thanks from Community and Outreach. A heartfelt thank you to the Servettes and friends who attended the salad luncheon held on April 26 th. Our guest speaker, Elizabeth McNair reports that donations will support the Stephen Lewis Foundation in their efforts to provide caring services to families struggling to meet daily needs. Your support is greatly appreciated. For more information, please visit www.omas-siskonakw.org Page 6
ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR GRANTS FROM THE MEMORIAL FUND The Memorial Fund will be disbursing grant funds again in December. Applications can be submitted until May 13th and are available from the plastic bin on the office door. Funds will be distributed in June. Anyone attending our church may apply for a project in our church or for a mission/service/outreach project in which you are involved outside the church. The Memorial Fund Committee tries to disburse funds so that there is some equity between those funds that support our church and those which support projects outside the church. Please feel free to contact a committee member if you have a project in mind and wonder if it might fit the criteria. Applications and brochures about criteria are available in the church office. ~ Committee members are Rita Witt, Pauline Weiland and John Harder. CHILDREN, YOUTH, YOUNG ADULTS, YOUNG AT HEART Vacation Bible Camp is almost here again! Our theme this year is 'Peace Lab', learning God's ways of peace together. It is open to all children (whether from a church or not) aged 3 to grade 8 and is from 8:50 am-12noon July 16-20. This is a partnership with Erb St MC, Waterloo North MC, W-KUM Church and Knox Presbyterian Church. It will be hosted at Knox. Cost is just $25 for the week and scholarships are available. Many volunteers are needed for everything from crafts to songs, snacks to sports, Bible to childcare. If you're somewhere between Grade 9 to age 99 and you'd be willing to volunteer please talk to Pastor Ben. Page 7
HEALTH AND WELLNESS Parish Nursing Notes May 2018 Most of you know that I will be away on sabbatical leave starting May 10 th until Sunday, June 24 th. Following is my schedule (God willing): May 11 th to 21 st Christian Peacemaker Teams delegation in Kenora, Ontario May 24 th to 28 th - Canadian Association of Parish Nursing Ministry in Edmonton, Alberta conference and AGM May 28 th to June 20 th Haida Gwaii and Vancouver Island, British Columbia Thank you so much for your prayers of support and blessing during this time of study, reflection and rest. Please welcome Karen Ehlebracht, Registered Nurse and Parish Nurse. Karen E. has been assigned a specific role focusing on pastoral visiting, spiritual care, and urgent health and wellness concerns within the congregation and at Waterloo Mennonite Homes. She will work half the usual Parish Nursing hours. Please pray for her in her calling to be with us during this time. Karen will monitor email and phone messages and can be reached through the church office, by email at parish.nurse@wkumchurch.ca or by phone as usual. You can expect to find her at the church most Tuesday and Friday mornings. Please note adjustments to the usual nursing clinics effective May 10 th until June 22 nd. Clinic at Waterloo Mennonite Homes each Tuesday morning 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. no change Thursday May 10 th there will be no clinic at the church The Thursday morning clinic at the church will be changed to Friday from 10:00 11:00 a.m starting May 18th May God bless and keep you; being gracious to you and making his face shine upon you, may he grant you peace. (paraphrase Numbers 6:24-26) Karen Watson Parish Nurse Page 8
WIDER CHURCH AND COMMUNITY The WLU Alumni Choir presents Handel s Messiah featuring alumni and current students on Sunday, May 6 th beginning at 3:00 p.m. The performance will take place at St. Andrew s Presbyterian Church, corner of Queen and Duke Streets in Kitchener. Admission is by donation all proceeds will support the WLU Alumni Choir Voice Award. Rescue Junction Concert A fundraiser for Silver Lake Mennonite Camp. Join us on May 12 th at 7:00 p.m. for a fundraising concert at Mannheim Mennonite Church featuring Award winning Canadian bluegrass band Rescue Junction, also featuring The Little Mannheim Band. Tickets $10 available in advance or at the door. For tickets and more info visit mannheimmennonite.ca Poster on Bulletin Board # 4. Seeking Clarity Workshop: When we need to make significant life decisions it can be tough to find clarity and a sense of God s guidance. Join PiE as we learn about a Quaker discernment tool called the Clearness Committee - a sacred circle called together to support an individual trying to make a decision. Patricia Wagler will facilitate as we practice deepening our capacity to listen without judgement, trying to fix, save or advise! The event will be held Saturday, May 12 th from 1:00 5;00 p.m. at Church of the Good Shepherd, 116 Queen Street N. in Kitchener. Please email Tamara Shantz (tamara@pastorsinexile.org) for more information or to register before May 7th. Cost is $25 (the fee will be waived if it is a barrier to participation). The Enneagram is a tool to help us increase our self-awareness. It articulates 9 different journeys of the soul: how we experience disconnection from God and our deepest self, and how we might participate in God's work of calling us home. The workshop will take place on Saturday, June 2 nd from 9:00n a.m. 4:30 p.m. at Stirling Ave. Mennonite Church. Join Tamara Shantz for a day of learning about this approach to understanding the personality. Cost is $100 (includes lunch). Email Tamara to register (tamarashantz@gmail.com) by May 25th. Page 9
Rockway Spring Concert will take place on Tuesday, May 15 th. Grades 7 & 8 will perform at 6:45 p.m. Grades 9-12 will perform at 8:00 p.m. A freewill offering will be taken at both performances. Rockway Mennonite Collegiate is Growing! Due to increased demand, Rockway will have 2 sections of Grade 8 for the 2018-2019 school year with class sizes of 14-16 students. If you know anyone interested in switching for Grade 8, please have them connect with us at admissions@rockway.ca Tuition Assistance is available if needed. SEE TED & COMPANY S DISCOVERY: A COMIC LAMENT - May 31- June 3, 2018; a play about the Doctrine of Discovery, about love, and loss, of land; discovery nudges us to question our stories with honesty and integrity. Four performances at four different venues throughout our communities. All are welcome. For tickets and information please visit uwaterloo.ca/grebel/events/discovery-comic-lament. The 23 rd Annual Rockway Golf Classic will take place on May 30, 2018 at Willow Valley Golf Course, Hamilton. Sign up at www.rockway.ca or connect with advancement@rockway.ca for more information. Proceeds will support Student Tuition Assistance. The New Hamburg Mennonite Relief Sale is May 25 th and 26 th. Volunteers are needed to help with various activities. Please visit the web site www.nhmrs.com for more information. Hidden Acres Mennonite Camp will be hosting Family Camping Weekend June 29 th July 1 st. More information is available on the bulletin board along the gym hallway. There are several job postings on Bulletin Board # 5. Page 10