Congregational Announcements
Bethesda Hymn Sing: Tabor will be leading a chapel service at Bethesda on Sunday morning, November 12 from 11-11:30 am. For this chapel service, Pastor Katherine will be leading a hymn sing with Bethesda residents, and we hope that others from Tabor will also head to Bethesda to join in this service! If you would like to participate in the hymn sing that morning, please plan to drive to Bethesda right after our morning worship service. Please let Pastor Phil or Pastor Katherine know if you have any questions and let Pastor Katherine know if you plan to attend.
Christmas in Ecuador: The program that Karina Brandt is working with this year in Ecuador is hoping to receive some financial donations to go toward the purchase of toys for children of refugee families and other children connected to the local church. Please consider giving money for this purpose during one of our special offerings that will be collected on Sunday mornings, November 12, 19, and 26. Make checks payable to Tabor Mennonite Church, with Ecuador on the memo line, and place in the Christmas gift bags during the offering.
Everyone is invited to join us for the Community Thanksgiving Meal this evening, at the Goessel Elementary Gymnasium. The meal is free. If you wish, you may give a donation to support the ministries of Goessel Ministerial Alliance. Thank you for sharing with us in this community event! ~Goessel Ministerial Alliance
Stories & Stuff: Come celebrate the season of Thanksgiving on Thursday, November 16, at 10:00 a.m. Bring a friend to share in the food and fellowship!
MCC Youth Group Event: BBQ, Beans and Bikes: Plan to meet at the church building on November 15 at 5:50 (or as close to this as possible) to travel together to attend MCC’s Youth event at their North Newton offices from 6-8pm. Pizza supper will be served. We will also pack school kits and hear from Alli and Ben Rudeen Kreider about their recent service experiences.
Tabor Thanksgiving Meal and Service: Plan to join us on Wednesday evening, November 22 for a Thanksgiving meal provided by the Reception Committee followed by a Thanksgiving service in which we will share and sing heart songs and receive a special offering to support our Mennonite Mission Network Mission Partners, Dan and Kathryn, John-Clair, and Jacob Smith Derksen. The meal will be in the Fellowship hall beginning at 5:45pm and the service will be up in the sanctuary following the meal. Everyone is welcome!
You are invited to come out to a Christmas Hymn Sing at Tabor on December 3 at 6:30p.m. Please come out for an evening of singing and a cookie fellowship to follow. Any questions, please ask Elaine Unruh.
The Tabor Trading Post is Back! Some of you will create something wonderful to sell, and hopefully all of you will come buy! (Think Christmas). The Trading Post will be open for business Sunday Dec 3 after church, and then after Cynthia’s piano recital and during the parsonage open house. Sellers collect the money for their products and then give a minimum of 50% to the building fund. Contact Carol Duerksen if you will be participating as a seller and if you have questions.
Are you looking for delicious dessert options for your Sunday meals or to satisfy your sweet tooth? If so, the Tabor Mennonite Youth Group will be selling homemade desserts on the 2nd and 4th Sunday of every month to help raise money for our summer service trip to Rocky Mountain Mennonite Camp in 2018. Suggested donations for the desserts are $10. Thank you, as always, for your support, prayers, and encouragement for our youth group!
Our “Getting to Know Each Other” project has been extended until the end of November, so please join the 20 people who have already shared a little bit about themselves. When we put the booklet together, we will give copies to those who sent in responses or others who request it, and there will be another copy in the library available for everyone to read. You received a list of questions regarding this project. When you’ve completed your answers, return them to Diana Schmidt’s mailbox (or email to her at jd77schmidt).
Please Help: A Meal Train website has been set up for the Ben Davis family. Ben is a young father diagnosed with Stage 4 colon cancer. He and his wife have four children in the Goessel schools. Tabor is encouraged to sign up for at least 3 meals: https://www.mealtrain.com/trains/98omlo
A Museum Christmas: Get “Red”ey for Christmas Open House on Saturday, November 18, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. We’re decked out in RED at the store. Come enjoy a cup of hot chocolate and receive a lesson from Fern on how to make a professional bow and take it home. Stop in and see what the store has to offer. Think about a museum membership for that person that has everything. Shop local first. Store open Tuesdays through Saturdays, 12 to 4 p.m. until December 16 (closed Thanksgiving Day) www.goesselmuseum.com
The Tabor Food Pantry needs your help! Groceries on the shelves are running low. When you do your grocery shopping, buy a little extra for the food pantry. Every item helps. There is a box under the table in the foyer where you may place your items, or simply place them in the food pantry room, 113. We also need non food items such as toilet paper, laundry soap and shampoo and paper grocery bags. Monetary donations are also welcome. Thanks for your continued support.
Conference Announcements
Prayer Requests:
« Western District Conference: Pray for the WDC Church Planting Commission as they meet next week, and in their support of church planters and emerging congregations in WDC.
« Mennonite Mission Network: For the past months, Connie and Dennis Byler have been visiting congregations in the United States. Pray for them as they return to Spain for the final weeks of their 45-year ministry through MMN and as they continue to share the gospel in “retirement” in Spain.
« Mennonite Education Agency: Give thanks for those who contributed to the development of a new free app for Take Our Moments and Our Days: An Anabaptist Prayer Book. Pray that this app would reach users worldwide with this resource for morning and evening prayer from AMBS’s Institute of Mennonite Studies.
Discovery: A Comic Lament: On November 19 at 7 pm, Faith Mennonite Church, Newton, KS, in partnership with Western District Conference, MCC Central States, and Bethel College, is sponsoring the Kansas premier production of “Discovery: A Comic Lament” produced by Ted & Co. TheaterWorks. The production will take place in Krehbiel Auditorium on Bethel College Campus. Tickets are $10, available from the Bethel College Bookstore, 316-283-2500.
Anabaptist Witness, the Year of Evangelism kick-off event, sponsored by the WDC Resource Commission, will be January 19-20, 2018 at the Alexanderwohl Church in Goessel. We’ll gather for this two-day event starting Friday evening for vibrant worship, inspiring teaching from Marvin Lorenzana and Heidi Roland Unruh, and practical workshops meant to equip your congregation for outreach. On Saturday, congregational leaders will have a chance to brainstorm outreach ideas with a coach so that they can return to their mission fields with a practical plan for sharing the good news. All of this great resourcing is only $30/person ($25/person for groups of 4 or more from the same congregation). To register, go to: http://mennowdc.org/year-of-evangelism/. Join us as we’re equipped to spread God’s healing and hope in the world!
The WDC Israel Palestine Task Force is encouraging members across the Western District to show solidarity and support for one of our members, Esther Koontz, who has been denied employment by the State of Kansas because of her Anabaptist convictions. Find out more and support Esther at http://mennoniteusa.org/menno-snapshots/support-esther-koontz/.
Camp Mennoscah:
—Scrapbook and Crafts retreat, Nov. 17-19
—Christmas Gathering at Camp Mennoscah! December 16 at 2:30pm-ish for conversation, games (indoor or outdoor), and cookies!
—Remodeling of the Camp Mennoscah kitchen begins this December, and we will need volunteers! Contact Jim Yoder at 316-284-3890 (call or text), jdyoder.
Information for all events at Camp Mennoscah or to register:
Online at www.campmennoscah.org Telephone: 620-297-3290.
Email: office.
Contact: olivia.bartel.
The Mennonite Worship and Song Committee is developing a new collection designed to succeed Hymnal: A Worship Book, Sing the Journey, and Sing the Story. The Committee calls on authors (of worship resources and hymn texts), songwriters (who compose words and music as a unit), and composers (of hymn tunes) to submit original work intended to enhance congregational worship in Anabaptist-Mennonite faith communities. We welcome submissions for consideration in this new collection. We expect the submissions portal at http://www.Mennonite
WorshipAndSongCollection.org to be active throughout 2017. More information at: http://mennoniteworshipandsongcollection.org/. Contact Resonate@Menno
Media.org with questions.
Fundraiser for refugee resettlement! On Sunday, November 12, at 12 noon, there will be a lunch featuring Congolese food served at the Hesston Mennonite Church. All proceeds will benefit the Hesston Area Refugee Resettlement Committee and Episcopal Migration Ministries, our supporting organization.
Sexual Abuse Prevention Training at the MCC Center will be held on Nov. 16, at 6:30 p.m. Offenders in the Church: Who They Are and How They Operate. Charissa Sloan Dvorak, attorney and investigator for GRACE (Godly Response to Abuse in Christian Environments) will give a presentation based on her experience prosecuting abuse cases and her extensive knowledge of sexual offenders. For information about the workshop or to register call 316-587-7244 or email kathywiens59. This training is free and open to the public. Registration is helpful, but don’t let that stop you from coming.
Ten Thousand Village/Fair Trade International Gift Festival is coming to Newton at the Mezzanine above Prairie Harvest, 601 N Main. It will be open on
November 24-25, December 1-3, 8-10, 15-17. Hours on Fridays and Saturdays: 10 am-5 pm. Hours on Sundays: 1-4 pm.
Hesston College Talent Show on November 18 at 8 p.m. in the Hesston Mennonite Church sanctuary. Many of our students, and maybe even some faculty and staff, will showcase their talents, quirks and sense of humor. Join us before the show for cookies and refreshments in the church Community Center from 7:15 to 7:45. This event is free for the whole family.
The Hesston-Bethel Performing Arts series welcomes the internationally-acclaimed Vienna Boys Choir Thursday, Nov. 9 at 7:30 p.m. at Hesston Mennonite Church in the second performance of this season’s concert series. Tickets $25-$29, online tickets, 620-327-8158
Bethel College: Sun., Nov. 12
—The KIPCOR Film Series presents the Kansas premiere of Healing Justice, addressing the school-to-prison pipeline and the need for comprehensive criminal justice reform, 2 p.m., Krehbiel Auditorium in Luyken Fine Arts Center.
—“The Organ in Ensembles,” a recital with Karen Bauman Schlabaugh, organ, Richard Tirk, trumpet, Suzanne Tirk, clarinet, and Donna Hetrick, organ, 4:30 p.m., Administration Building chapel at Bethel College
German Supper: First Mennonite Church in McPherson will be hosting a German Supper December 2nd, 2017 from 4:30p – 7pm. This will be a free will donation dinner. We will be serving verenika with ham gravy, sausage, green beans, bohne beroggi, zweiback, and cherry moos. In addition to the dinner, we will be having a bake sale so you can get some goodies to enjoy after the dinner. We will have poppy seed rolls, and peppernuts, and a variety of other goodies for sale at the bake sale. First Mennonite Church in McPherson is located at 1161 E Ave A (Corner of Maxwell and Ave A).
Nov. 12 announcements
