Congregational Announcements
Tabor Church’s week at New Hope Shelter is January 30 to February 5. The beginning of a new year is a good time to try something new! Join us in volunteering at the shelter. Training for volunteers happens the third Monday of each month from 6:30 to 8:00 pm at New Hope. If you are at all interested, or have any questions, please let Austin Unruh or Barb Abrahams know. It is truly a rewarding experience and you will get so much appreciation from the residents.
Coins for Mennonite Relief Sale: We will begin collecting coins on February 3, so bring all those coins you’ve been saving since last year!
The MCC fellowship meal at Tabor is scheduled for Sunday, February 17 at noon. Cost is a donation of $20 for adults and $6 for children 6-12. The menu will be lasagna, green beans, bread and dessert. There will be a sign up sheet and we would encourage persons to sign up by Sunday, Feb. 10. If you have questions contact Kris Schmidt or Leann Toews.
Coming to a church very near you! The Hesston College Bel Canto Singers AND the Bethel College Concert Choir will be performing here at Tabor on February 17 at 7:00 p.m. Bringing these two choirs together for a concert is a dream come true for their directors, and it will be a very special evening indeed. Save the date for this fundraising concert to support the building fund!
2019 Tabor Wellness Challenges: The 2019 Wellness Challenges have been posted and you can find a log sheet with details in the Wellness Mailbox. Challenge yourself to a 10 Week Step or Stroke challenge for a Dicks Gift Card or log healthy habits for a year at a chance for a free night stay at a Kansas Bed and Breakfast! See Kevin Nickel for any questions. Good Luck! Fruits and Veggies Clarifications: "New" fruits and vegetables are starting with a clean slate from the beginning date of this challenge, not what you’ve eaten in the past. Also, different varieties of fruits/veggies (i.e. gala, fugi, honeycrisp apples) DO count for different points but beverages do not. Please find attached to this email an excel spreadsheet for use as a DAILY tracker (instructions included) to this years challenge.
Got questions? The Men’s Community Bible Study in Goessel would like to invite men of any age to join us as we start a new 9 part series called Everyday Questions, a study aimed at helping us learn how to respond to questions that we may encounter as we share our faith with those around us. Some of these may be questions we have ourselves. We will be starting this series on Monday, January 28 at 7 p.m. in the southwest room of the Ratzlaff Building in Goessel. Please enter through the door on the west side of the building. If any questions please call Nate Ashley at 620-960-3114, or Austin Unruh at 620-386-4129. Thank you.
Reminder! Camp Washunga registrations are due on February 1. They can be turned in to the school office, any church office, or Michelle Unruh or Laura Unrau’s church mailboxes. Junior highers, invite your friends! Don’t have a Junior Higher? Tell one that you know how great camp is! Also, save the date – our annual spring fundraiser will be March 3. Thanks for your support!
Is there anything better than a Vacation Bible School package that helps children discover signs of God in the Bible and in their lives? Well, yes! What’s even better is making those discoveries available to all age groups in the church! Come to a launch event for Detectives of Divinity VBS PLUS on February 23, 9-10:30 a.m. at Bethel College Mennonite Church. VBS directors, pastors, teachers, leaders, and parents—all are invited to come, AND everyone who RSVPs by February 15 will receive a free devotional book, Now It Springs Up. Come see materials for preschoolers, children, youth and adults, featuring Bible stories and lots of games, crafts, activities, skits and ideas for you to make it happen in your congregation. RSVP to springsforthfaith
A membership meal is being planned for Sunday, April 7 or 14, from 12 – 3 pm. Please let a pastor know by the end of March if you are interested in joining Tabor as a member.
Directory Updates and changes to the church directory are requested at this time. Please contact the church office at kfunk.
Conference Announcements
Prayer Requests:
« Western District Conference: Pray for WDC’s Resource Commission meeting this week, as they promote faith formation resources for people of all ages and help congregations connect to God’s mission in the world.
« Mennonite Mission Network: Naomi Tice of MMN serves with Urban Light in the United Kingdom. Pray for wisdom and patience in this ministry of engaging with young adult volunteers who help lead youth and children’s clubs.
« Mennonite Education: Pray for all the Mennonite institutes, schools, colleges, universities, seminaries, particularly for SeBAH. Pray that they focus on new discoveries and the pursuit of wisdom in the word of God.
Western District Conference Year-End Snapshot: The WDC Resource Library now has almost 100 Spanish-language resources in the Texas branch in addition to the 12,400 resources in the Kansas branch to help individuals, families, small groups, and congregations grow in faith. The Resource Library is just one way your gifts to WDC empower congregations to witness and invite others to faith in Jesus Christ, dwell in just and loving relationships and connect to God’s mission in the world! As we work together to meet WDC’s budget goal for the year, we request your donations online at http://mennowdc.org or sent to WDC at PO Box 306, N. Newton, KS 67117. Thank you for planting these seeds of hope!
Mennonite Church USA:
—Early registration for MennoCon19 opens on Feb. 6, 2019. Visit convention.
mennoniteusa.org/registration now to find rates, forms and additional information.
—Step Up 2019: Youth ages 16-21 are invited to join the MennoCon19 delegate sessions in Kansas City. Early delegate sessions will seek to approve these youth representatives as official voting delegates for the remaining sessions. Congregations may nominate one youth delegate. A “youth delegate” option will be available on the registration form. More programming to come for youth delegates to connect and to prepare for their delegate role!
Mennonite Central Committee:
—The MCC Comforter Blitz Committee is urgently seeking a kitchen coordinator and volunteers to prepare and serve lunch during the Blitz ( March 4, 5, & 6). If you are interested or willing, please contact Shirley Jost at (785) 250-7437 or jostshi. No sewing skills required!
—Join us for an MCC Lunch & Learn with John Sharp on Wed., Jan. 30 from 12pm-1pm at MCC in N. Newton (121 E. 30th St.). John will share his presentation, Changing the World One Life at a Time: the MJ Sharp Story. MJ and his colleague Zaida Catalán, part of a U.N. panel of experts investigating conflicts that have been ongoing in Congo since the mid-1990s, were abducted and killed in March 2017. MJ served with MCC in the Congo prior to his work with the U.N. John is passionate about telling MJ’s story and he and his wife Michelle’s journey with him. John will also share updates to the investigation that is ongoing in Congo. Please RSVP to this event by January 25 to patsydirksen. Lunch will be catered by Mojo’s Coffee Bar, please list food sensitivities when you RSVP.
—MCC welcomes alumni to host reunions at the Welcoming Place in Akron, Pennsylvania, in 2020 as we celebrate our 100th anniversary. To see if a reunion is already scheduled for the country where you served or to organize a reunion, contact alumni.
—The Mennonite Central Committee Central States board of directors invites you to their Annual Meeting on February 23 at 10 a.m. at MCC in North Newton, Kansas (121 E. 30th).
Bethel College:
—The Life Enrichment program at Bethel College for Spring semester begins on February 6 and ends on May 1. This program is designed especially for persons 60 and above.
—Sat., Jan. 26 – Kauffman Museum annual Kansas Day event: 11 am; 1-4 pm – special activities and programs. See Kauffman Museum website or Facebook page.
—Sat., Feb. 2 – 2019 High School Honor Band and Honor Orchestra joint concert, 7 pm, Memorial Hall at Bethel College
—Thurs., Feb. 7 — KIPCOR, the Kansas Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution, offers “Building a Trauma-Informed Culture at Work and Beyond,” 6:30-8:30 pm, KIPCOR office (2515 College Ave., N Newton), with Joyce McEwen Crane, Ph.D., of Friends University. Cost: $25; come at 6 for snacks and networking. Register at kipcor.org (click the workshop link) or by calling 316-284-5217.
Hesston College’s annual Anabaptist Vision and Discipleship Series (AVDS) conference, Feb. 1 to 3, on the Hesston College campus. “Growing More Like Jesus from the Outside In: Transforming Heart and Mind.” Register before Jan. 28. Learn more and register now at hesston.edu/avds
Social Security and retirement income workshop scheduled for February. Everence® will hold an informative workshop on Thurs., Feb. 7, at 6:30 pm. The workshop will cover when to begin taking Social Security benefits, risks that can impact your savings and strategies to help your income last throughout retirement. Presented by Everence staff and held at the Everence office at 3179 N. Main St., N. Newton. Reserve your spot soon by contacting Michelle Ramer at (316) 283-3800; (877) 467-7294 or michelle.ramer.
Kansas Mennonite Relief Sale
April 12 & 13, 2019
KMRS’s purpose is to raise funds for MCC (www.mcc.org). It takes a whole host of individuals playing their part in order that we might carry out the Lord’s bidding to care for the “least of these” found in Matt. 25. We call upon our supporting churches to donate toward the sale budget so that every dollar raised at the sale can go to MCC. We call upon quilters to complete their quilts and to gather extra supplies to donate to Quilters’ Corner. Consider donating items to the General, Silent and even our Kid’s Auction. During the cool winter months, divide house plants and start vegetable plants to sell at Plants & Things and tea towel sets completed for Kansas Crafts. Challenge yourself to participate in the Run for Relief, a 5K run/walk the Saturday of the sale and spend the winter months gathering your pledges. After the sale in May, Motorcyclists are invited to participate in the MCC Ride for Relief. Go to: www.kansas.mccsale.org or like us on Facebook at Kansas Mennonite Relief Sale.
—Fellowship Meals, in area homes, are scheduled March 3 & 10. Registration deadline is Feb. 8. Please see the Fellowship Meal brochure for additional details.
—Looking for your donations of old cars, trucks, tractors, motorcycles, mowers and most ANYTHING of value for the KS MCC Sale this coming April. If you are thinking of buying a new car, consider donating your old car to the MCC Sale. Vehicles do not need to be running. We will pick them up, clean them up, and get them running. Your donations can change peoples lives and give them hope. Call Jerry Toews 620-367-8257.
—Quilters Corner Opportunities: Volunteers are welcome and needed each Tuesday evening 7-9 pm at the MCC Center in North Newton to help sort and price items for the Sale as well as each third Saturday of the month (Feb 15, Mar 15) any time between 9 am – 3 pm. Quilting donations are also welcome and needed i.e. quilting fabrics, quilting supplies, vintage linens, unfinished quilting projects, etc. Questions, contact Ann Yoder Smith, 919-604-3282, rws.ays.
—Deadline for your quilt donations to be listed in buyers guide is March 11.
—Service Opportunities: By tithing a little bit of your time each year, you have an amazing opportunity to impact your world by furthering the work of Mennonite Central Committee. There are variety of committee openings:
– Urgent Need Vereniki Making Committee – 2 people
– Domestic Arts Verenike Booth Committee Members
– Feeding The Multitude Sausage Baking on Saturday
– New Year’s Cookie committee.
For more information on all of the above, please see Jerry and Leann Toews, Archie and Kristin Schmidt or Eric Litwiller.
