Bearing Fruit Sept. 17

WMC Upcoming Events
Sunday Sept 17th	Monday Sept 18th	Tuesday Sept 19th	Wednesday Sept 20th	Thursday Sept 21st	Friday Sept 22nd	Saturday Sept 23rd
▪ Centro Cristiano (2:30)	▪ Ballet Classes (Fellowship Hall, 3:30-5:30) ▪ Crowded Closet Meeting (7:30pm)		▪ Monthly Quilting (10am) ▪ Ballet Classes (Fellowship Hall, 4:00-5:30pm) ▪ Centro Cristiano (7pm)
		Birthday -      ▪ Mike Leyden		Birthday -      ▪ Dan Widmer		Birthday -      ▪ Phyllis Widmer   Headrick
Future Events ▪ Sep 24   –  Church at Crooked Creek Christian Camp (9:30am)

Washington Mennonite

Washington Mennonite Church Washingtonmennonitechurch.blogspot.com

Bearing Fruit

September 17,2017

▪ Offering for 9/10/17 -  $3150.00, HACAP: $250.00

▪ Monthly Quilting: Sept 20, 10AM church, potluck noon

▪ If you are interested in joining a Sunday School class meeting in October and November that will study the topic Money from the new “Upside Down Living” series, let Andrea know so she can order a book for you!

▪ In March 2015, our beloved brother Max Villatoro was detained and sent back to his home country of Honduras.  There was an immediate outpouring of support for Max and Gloria, expressed in both monetary donations for the family and in advocacy for Max to be allowed to return to the U.S.  

People contributed extremely generously to the Villatoro Family Fund - some with recurring monthly donations - and Central Plains conference has been administering that fund.  The fund has supported the family with $1500 a month and has covered thousands of dollars in legal fees.  

The Villatoro Family Fund is currently in the red and the financial need remains.  In response, the Friends of Pastor Max steering committee is asking congregations throughout Central Plains Mennonite Conference to replenish the Villatoro Family Fund.  The goal is to raise $18,000 by December 31, 2017.  We fully expect that the family's

situation will reach resolution one way or the other in the next year.  

Crooked Creek Christian Camp

▪ SENIOR DAY is October 12 with musician and story-teller Paul Siebert. Paul is a musician, song writer and story-teller. Hailing from Lincoln, Nebraska, Paul travels a five state area sharing music and stories that include venues such as history re-enactments, weddings, nursing homes, schools and coffeehouses. You are likely to hear a song you love with a wide range of musical ability playing pop, rock 'n roll, country, gospel to folk music on one of his 8 instruments. Come to Crooked Creek to tap your toes and clap your hands as you listen to Paul Siebert lighten your day! Open to whoever wants to have a fun day register at http://www.crooked creekcamp.org/senior-day.html 

Iowa Mennonite School

▪ Homecoming & Alumni Family Weekend will take place on campus Oct 13-15. Events will include alumni volleyball and soccer games, Joetown Classic, food fundraiser by the PTO with outdoor music by The Young Ramblers, and the Annual Pork Supper. Campus will be open all weekend for tours and for classes to meet. *Note a change - we will not be having a worship service Sunday morning. Instead there will be a Hymn Sing in Celebration Hall at 7:30PM (after the Pork Supper).

▪ The Joetown Classic 5K run walk will take place on Saturday October 14 at IMS. Go to iowamennonite.org/joetown-classic for details and to register. 

▪ Practice has begun for the fall musical, Anne of Green Gables directed by Alisa Kandel and Michael Swartzendruber. There will be performances on Nov 4 and 5.  

SundaySucCentral Plains Conference

▪ The first Central Plains Bible Study Webinar is coming soon! Join us at 7:30pm on Tuesday, September 26, for Don’t Mourn or Weep: Goals and problems. We’ll start with how leaders can contribute to a good study and move on to addressing the biggest challenges leaders encounter.  These free webinars are especially for Sunday School teachers of youth and adults or facilitators of small groups, but anyone is welcome.  RSVP on the Bible Study Webinars 2017 page at www.centralplainsmc.org by Thursday, September 21.  

▪ Central Plains Mennonite Conference Prayer Request: Pray for those leading and participating in the Central Plains fall women's retreat taking place this weekend at Swan Lake Christian Camp.

Mennonite Agencies

▪ MCC is providing relief assistance in Nepal, India and Bangladesh after two weeks of severe monsoon rains displaced more than 1.7 million people and killed 1,246 in the region. We are working with partners to provide emergency food, water, tarps, mosquito nets and hygiene kits to those affected. MCC welcomes your support for our relief work in the area. www.mcc.org/south-asia-flood-relief

▪ Urgent! MCC Mobile Meat Cannery Volunteer Needed! MCC urgently seeks a volunteer that is at least 21 years old to work with the meat canner! Truck driving skills are ideal, but MCC is willing to provide training as well. The meat canning season starts up in October, please help MCC fill this vital need.  For more information, please contact John Hillegass at johnhillegass@mcc.org or (717) 859-1151.

Area Events

▪ Kalona MOPS is in need of childcare workers from 8:30 -11:45 AM the second and fourth Thursdays of the month. If this is something you would like to donate your time to and bless a mother with some kid-free mommy time, please call Mary Beth Miller, 319-430-9226.

▪ The Crowded Closet Association will hold its semiannual meeting at 7 pm on Monday, Sept 18, 2017, here at Washington Mennonite Church.  All volunteers and interested persons are invited to attend and learn of the latest happenings at the Closet.  If you would like to know more about Crowded Closet, or would consider volunteering, please plan to attend.

▪ WELCOME THE STRANGER: Exploring Biblical View of Immigration is a training opportunity at SUGAR CREEK MENNONITE CHURCH, 1209 Franklin Ave., Wayland, IA  on Saturday, September 23 from 10 am-3 pm.  Immigration has become one of the most important and complex issues of our day. While often portrayed as a political issue, immigration is fundamentally an issue about people including those in our churches, workplace and school.  Come hear what the Bible has to say about immigration, recent immigration policies, common questions about immigrants and ways we can respond.  To registration, complete the digital form at bit.ly/WaylandWTS.

▪ New donor engagement officer position open. Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary, Elkhart, Indiana, is seeking a part-time (50 percent) development officer to qualify and cultivate new donors. Successful candidates will have experience in fundraising and/or higher education and an understanding of fundraising as ministry. This position is based in Elkhart and will require up to 50 percent travel. Bachelor’s degree required; master’s degree preferred. Position is open until filled. Visit www.ambs.edu/jobs to see a full job description and application instructions.

▪Subscribe to Vision: A Journal for Church and Theology! Vision, published semiannually by Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary and Canadian Mennonite University, seeks to encourage theological reflection by church leaders on the identity, mission and practices of the church from an Anabaptist-Mennonite perspective. The Fall 2017 issue, on the theme “Proclaiming Christ in a Pluralistic Context,” is the final one to be edited by Mary H. Schertz, AMBS professor of New Testament, who retired in June. (Andy Brubacher Kaethler, AMBS professor, is taking on the role of AMBS editor.) Upcoming issue topics include “The Church and Young Adults” (Spring 2018) and “Gifts of a Global Church” (Fall 2018). To get your copy of the Fall 2017 issue, subscribe by Sept. 22. A one-year subscription is $15; subscribe for three years for $40. Send your check — made out to AMBS — to IMS, 3003 Benham Avenue, Elkhart, IN 46517-1999, or pay by credit card by calling the AMBS receptionist at 574-295-3726. Canadian subscribers: contact vision@cmu.ca.