Newsletter for July 8, 2018

The Bearing Fruit

July 8, 2018

Upcoming Events:

July 8    – Halcyon House Service, 2:30pm

July 28  – Saturday Kitchen, UP Church

Nov 8-10 – WMC Dinner Theatre

Washington Mennonite

▪ Halcyon House Service, 2:30pm, TODAY – Come worship along with the Halcyon House residents and help us sing!  Mike Bates is a team player, so don’t make him sing a solo!

▪ At the end of the "Preaching the Vision" sermon series (July 8), we'll put out a set of "preaching the vision" sermons for those who missed Sundays and would like to hear the sermon from those days.

Iowa Mennonite School

▪ THANK YOU | Our fiscal year has ended and IMS would like to thank all of our supporting churches, those that support IMS through their congregations, and especially those that have chosen to go beyond this commitment and give directly to IMS. Without your collective dedication to the mission of IMS, we wouldn't be able to provide the IMS experience for our students. We truly appreciate the significant level of support we receive year after year from our generous community. We look forward to a new year including many exciting things in the next several months. These are things you all can be a part of - things that will make the future of IMS bright!

SundaySucCentral Plains Conference

▪ See highlights from the Central Plains Annual Meeting in Lincoln! Go to www.centralplainsmc.org and click on 'Annual Meeting 2018' for photos, a summary video and videos of Rachel Springer Gerber's sermons. Delegates welcomed two new congregations, studied the Bible together, heard stories from the global church and approved the spending blueprint. 

▪ CHOOSE JOY! It isn’t too late! You can still register for Youth Escape 2018, a retreat for youth in grades 7-12, held July 20-22 at Hidden Acres near Dayton, Iowa. The camp features lodge-style accommodations, homestyle meals, an indoor pool and gym, and a lake and other fully equipped outdoor fun situated on 600+ wooded acres. Join us – and bring your friends – for this fantastic weekend focused on building deeper relationships, digging deeper into Scripture, and enjoying the glory of nature, memorable meals together, compelling messages and heart-moving music, and lots of time for leisure and active fun. Details are available at www.centralplainsmc.org.

▪ Central Plains Mennonite Conference Prayer Request:  Pray for Anabaptist sisters and brothers in the Congo who are experiencing untold hardship in the midst of a brutal war; pray for sisters and brothers in Venezuela experiencing economic hardships; and pray that the Villatoro and Huesca families can be reunited.

Mennonite Agencies

▪ The Iowa Mennonite Relief Sale is happy to announce that the current sale proceeds toward the ministries of Mennonite Central Committee comes to $150,000, with more funds still coming in. This was made possible by the outstanding support from the community. We greatly appreciate each and every contribution, and that includes everything from the extra pies to the hours of volunteer work to your monetary donations throughout the year that enabled us to pre-pay our sale expenses. 

▪ All are invited to attend the Iowa Mennonite Relief Sale Annual Meeting at Kalona Mennonite Church on Tuesday, July 10 at 7:00pm.

▪ Girls ages 13–18 and women of all ages, please join Mennonite Women USA and Dove's Nest July 26-27, 2018, in Omaha for “Empowering Women: Claiming Healthy Personal Boundaries,” an intergenerational gathering to provide practical resources and support on healthy boundary management. Find out more at https://doves nest.net/Claiming-Healthy-Personal-Boundaries or call 402-577-0866.  

▪ Join MCC on a Learning Tour to Explore the Root Causes of Migration in Guatemala and Honduras, November 7-17. Guatemala and Honduras, are countries from which the US, and increasingly Mexico, are receiving the majority of its immigrants. Honduras and Guatemala are both within the top 10 most violent countries in the world, plagued by gang presence, political corruption, and lack of economic opportunity that permit the realities to exist that drive people from their homeland. MCC seeks to educate and expose Learning Tour participants to the realities that many people face that result in migration, internally and to foreign countries. This Learning Tour will provide firsthand stories, opportunities to meet the people as well as the organizations that are walking with them, participate in the rich culture, and witness the efforts of Guatemalans and Hondurans who are striving for positive change in their communities. Throughout the course of the tour, we hope to explore various perspectives on the topic, learn about how our decisions impact migrants, plant the seeds for ongoing connections, and learn about practical ways to support and advocate for the people and communities that we encounter. Approximate cost will be $700 (plus airfare). For more information or to sign up for this trip please contact chrislandes@mcc.org.

 ▪ Mennonite Mission Network Prayer Request:  Soon after Connie and Dennis Byler began their retirement from four decades of ministry with Mennonite Mission Network, Dennis was diagnosed with cancer. Dennis underwent surgery last month. Pray for signs of God’s presence and peace for the Byler family in Spain as they discern treatment protocols.