Newsletter for May 1, 2016

The Bearing Fruit

May 1, 2016

Upcoming Events:

May 4   –  Church Council Meeting (7pm)

May 8   –  MYF (5:30pm at Amy’s)

May 17 –  Elder’s Meeting (7pm)

May 18 –  Mennonite Women Sewing (10am)

May 21 –  Saturday Kitchen (UP Church)

June 3-4 – Iowa Mennonite Relief Sale

June 16-19 – CPMC Annual Meeting (Des Moines)

Our Church

▪ Offering for 4/24/16: $1930 (regular), $40 (kitchen fund)

▪ “Thanks to each of you, our brothers and sisters in Christ, for the tremendous show of support to the Jimenez family.  They are overwhelmed by your generosity and love, and we are all deeply grateful for your participation.  Please continue to pray for Melitza and for the healing of her mind, body and spirit and for the family as they continue to walk down this path.”  – Your friends at Wellman Mennonite

▪ Remember to save your change (or bills, large and small) for MyCoinsCount, a special offering that we’ll be taking each week between now and the end of May.  This years MyCC project is wells in Lebanon for Lebanese people and Syrian refugees.  Let’s try to beat our congregations’s MyCC total from last year, $816.86!

▪ Saturday Kitchen, May 21^st – Mark your calendars and see Gloria Widmer, Phyllis Litwiller or Sandy Buhrow to help.

Iowa Mennonite School

▪ IMS is hosting a community-wide Open House on Sunday, May 1^st.  The annual children’s drama will be at 3:00pm, followed by refreshments, tours, student performances,

children’s activities, and the opportunity to meet faculty and staff.  Come and check it out!  The Open House will be from 4-6pm.  The drama will feature IMS students performing Amelia Bedelia 4 Mayor and The True Princess, under the direction of Karenza Yoder; performances are at 7pm on Sat, Apr 30 and at 3pm on Sun, May 1. 

▪ IMS’s Touring Choir, under the direction of Josh Tyson, will worship at Kalona Mennonite Church on Sunday, May 1^st, at 9:30am.  The choir will sing a repertoire that includes hymns, spirituals and a variety of other choral pieces.  All are invited to attend.

Iowa MCC Relief Sale

▪ Please turn in information on donated items for this year’s general auction at the 2016 Iowa Mennonite Relief Sale by May 1^st so that they can be included in this year’s sale book.  Talk to your church rep (Jon Widmer) or contact Lynn Yoder at 319.325.3670. 

Central Plains Conference

▪ The Sower Prayer Request:  Pray for MC USA Executive Director Ervin Stutzman as he visits Central Plains churches in the Twin Cities region accompanied by David Boshart this weekend.

Mennonite Agencies

▪ “The Basics of Medicare” webinar by Everence – Intended specifically for people approaching retirement age, this webinar will provide valuable Medicare-related information including: when and how to enroll, what is covered (and what is not), filling the coverage gap and navigating the Medicare alphabet.  Register now for the May 11 webinar by emailing Melissa.short at everence.com. 

▪ Mennonite Mission Network Prayer Request:  Praise God for the Sister Care Ministry of Mennonite Women and its partnership with MMN in offering hope around the world.  Pray for Noelie Bananzaro, Nancy Frey and Claire Traoré from Burkina Faso, as they share what they learned in Sister Care sessions last month in Kenya.

Area Announcements

▪ J-POG (Just Peace Outreach Group) invites you to hear Kathy Kelly and Ann Wright address the topic, “War and Refugees: Peace is Possible.”  Kathy Kelly is the coordinator of Voices for Creative Nonviolence and has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize three times.  Ann Wright is a retired Army Reserve colonel who resigned in protest over the US invasion of Iraq.  Join us on Sunday evening, May 1, at Wellman Mennonite Church for a finger foods potluck and conversation (please bring your own table service) or at 7pm to hear the presentation from Kathy Kelly and Ann Wright.  All are welcome to attend.  For more information please call Roger Farmer at 319.653.2547 or email Jane Yoder-Short at yodershort at netins.net. 

▪ The Seekers Sunday School Class of Kalona Mennonite Church invites you to join us for a fundraiser meal on May 1^st.  We will be serving homemade scalloped potatoes and ham.  We will feature a Sundae bar.  The proceeds will go to the International Student Aid Fund.  Our current project is helping Rudi Mucaj attend Goshen College.  Thank You!

▪ Everyone is welcome to come hear Peggy Reiff Miller speak on “The Seagoing Cowboys: Helping to Repair a Broken World” at the spring meeting of the Iowa Mennonite Historical Society.  This event will be held at 7pm on Tuesday, May 3, at Kalona Mennonite Church.  Peggy has just published a book for young readers telling the story of the large scale effort to assist Europeans in re-establishing farms and communities after World War II.  Several local Mennonites were part of this endeavor and we especially want to invite them and their families.  An offering will be taken to help defray costs and her books will be available for purchase.  This is also a great time to renew your membership or to join the Iowa Mennonite Historical Society.

▪ West Union MYF will be hosting a fundraising meal at Geyer’s Pizza Oven, 1259 Rohret Rd, Oxford, IA on Saturday, May 7^th from 6-8 pm.  The proceeds will help fund our missions trip to Omaha this summer.