Newsletter for October 9, 2016

The Bearing Fruit

October 9, 2016

Upcoming Events:

Oct 9   – MYF, 5:30pm at Amy’s

Oct 16 – Baptism Class, 11:30am

Oct 19 – Monthly Quilting, 10am

Oct 24 – Central Plains Webinar, 7:30pm

Oct 30 – Grant’s Retirement Celebration

Nov 2  – Council Meeting, 7pm

Nov 5  – Saturday Kitchen, UP Church

Washington Mennonite

 
▪ Offering for 10/2/16:  $3,412 (Regular); $250 (HACAP);

$50 (Crooked Creek Christian Camp) Financial Report: Our new fiscal year started on Sept. 1, 2016. As of the end of September the balance is -$2523.42. Your generous gifts are very much appreciated. If you have questions, contact Mary Lou Farmer. Thank you.

▪ October 30, Grant's Retirement Celebration Plan to attend a church service, potluck, and program honoring Grant's years of service to Washington Mennonite! Let us say "farewell" to Grant (and Edie) well!

▪ The second Central Plains Bible Study Webinar is around the corner! We had a great turnout for the first one--join us at 7:30pm on Monday, October 24 in our church sanctuary. In A Two-Edged Sword: Reading the Bible Like an Anabaptist, we will look at some of the difficult texts in the Bible. These webinars are especially for Sunday School teachers and Bible study leaders, but anyone is welcome.  

Crooked Creek Christian Camp

▪ WOOD CUTTING DAY is Saturday, October 15 at 8am. Meet at the office for details about location. Bring chainsaw and log splitter if you have one. Call Tim if you have questions or plan to attend.

Iowa Mennonite School

▪ TODAY Sunday, October 9 is the Fall Music Concert in Celebration Hall on the campus of IMS.  The Chorale, Concert Choir, and Symphonic Band will perform at 3:00PM.  Harvest Party: 6th-8th graders and families are invited to stay after the concert for games led by our FFA, hot dog roast and a sing-a-long with our praise band. Please RSVP at www.iowamennonite.org/party.  

▪ One night only, December 17 at 7:30 PM, the beloved one act Christmas opera Amahl and the Night Visitors by Gian-Carol Menotti, will be on the Celebration Hall stage. This IMS sponsored alumni and community event features the talents of Dr. Lara Troyer ('90), vocal instructor at Kent State University, as the Mother; her 3rd grade son Henry as Amahl; and Dr. Bill Eash (IMS music teacher, '76-'78;’79-’84) and currently Choral Music Department chair at Bethel College, KS); Dr. Scott Hochstetler (Choral Music Department Chair at Goshen College, IN); and Nathan Swartzendruber ('05) graduate assistant in the U of Iowa choral department as the three Kings. Stuart Yoder ('00) of Jefferson City, MO will play the Page. Call the IMS office to reserve your tickets today!

SundaySu

Central Plains Conference

▪ Central Plains Mennonite Conference Prayer Request:  Recently Beth Peachey Miller was installed as part-time pastor at Pleasant View Mennonite Church in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa. Pray for Beth and the congregation as they begin their ministry together.

Mennonite Agencies

▪ Kauffman Museum at Bethel College seeks artifacts, letters, photos and documents that tell the story of conscientious objectors during World War I. To learn more, or if you have an item for donation or long-term loan, please contact museum director Annette LeZotte at alezotte(at)bethelks.edu or 316.283.1612.

▪ Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) welcomes donations of money for its disaster response in Haiti, where people are suffering the effects of Hurricane Matthew, which crossed the country Oct. 4. Matthew's high winds and extensive flooding caused significant damage and increased already heightened cholera concerns in the Artibonite Valley, where MCC's long-term reforestation program operates. To donate, visit mcc.org/hurricane-matthew;  call  1.888.563.4676 or send a check to MCC, 21 S. 12th St., PO Box 500, Akron PA 17501.

▪ Join MCC on a Learning Tour to Kenya Feb 27-March 11, 2017! Tour highlights include seeing a sand dam in action, learning more about sustainable food projects, meeting the kids at MCC supported education programs and enjoying a 1-day safari. Contact Anna Yoder annayoder(at)mcc.org or 316.283.2720 for more information.

▪ Mennonite Mission Network (MMN) Prayer Request:  Tomorrow is Indigenous Peoples Day. Pray for North American Mennonites of European descent to confess their complicity in the oppression of the original inhabitants of this continent. Pray also for Mennonite Mission Network personnel who support marginalized people groups to reclaim their land, their language, and their dignity.

Area Announcements

▪ Parkview Fall Fundraiser!  Sunday, October 9^th from 11:30 to 1:30.  Soups and Sundae Bar with a free will offering.   Community room in the lower level at Parkview.

▪ Spoken4 Quartet from Branson, MO will be in concert on Saturday, October 15, 6 pm at Lower Deer Creek Mennonite Church. You will enjoy some new songs as well as some old time favorites. Come hear how one group member had to deal with suicide in his immediate family. There will be a freewill offering.

▪ Join Kalona MOPS for a Haystacks Fundraiser Meal at Upper Deer Creek Church on Sunday, October 16^th, serving from 11:30-1:30. Freewill donation.

▪ Kalona Coaches is offering a trip to Ark Encounter and Creation Museum in Northern Kentucky.  We will be boarding the coach Monday October 17^th and will be home Wednesday evening, October 19^th.  Deadline date to register is Monday, October 3^rd.  If you have any questions, call Marcia Miller at 319.430.3376.

▪ Community Blood Drive – Thursday, October 20, 1:30-6:30 PM  United Presbyterian Church, 209 East Washington Street, Washington, Iowa.  Optimist Club of Washington is the host to this event.  Contact is Don Pfeiffer  319-653-4912 or Jim Cluney  319-653-1735.