Table of Contents
Praying for the School Year (written by Illustrated Ministry):
God of fresh starts and new beginnings, we bring ourselves, our big feelings, and our backpacks to you. In our backpacks, we carry blank pages, sharpened pencils, and pointy crayons, and in our hearts, we carry big feelings, unanswered questions, and hopeful expectations. There are endless possibilities of what this new year might bring— of what we might learn, who we might meet, and who we might become.
God, our friend who is always with us, be with us through it all. Be with those who are homeschooled and those who go to public or private schools.
Be with us as we ride the bus, or in the car, or as we walk or bike. Be with us as we buckle seat belts, zip-up jackets, and tie shoes. However we get there, and whatever we wear, bless this journey into something new.
For the grown-ups going back to school, With-Us God, be with them too.
Thank you for our teachers, helpers, caregivers, and leaders, and for all they do to help us learn and grow.
God, our friend who’s full of wonder, fill their hearts and bless their hands.
AMEN.
SUNDAY MORNING Worship In Person & Live Stream @ 9:30am
The link for Sunday morning worship (as well as archives of past worship services) is found on our website: www.hutchfmc.org! Join at 9:25am to see the announcements!
COVID-19 case increase prompts suggestions for safety for ourselves and others
CMT affirms these recommendations offered by the CDC: Stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccines. Get tested if you have symptoms. Wear a mask if you have symptoms, a positive test, or exposure to someone with COVID-19. Wear a mask on public transportation. You may choose to wear a mask at any time as an additional precaution to protect yourself and others. If you are at high risk for severe illness, consider wearing a mask indoors in public and taking additional precautions.
FELLOWSHIP TIME is on hold for the month of August.
We will return to regular fellowship time in September when our regular Sunday School schedule resumes (Sept 11).
SUNDAY, AUGUST 21: CITIZENS OF GOD’S KINGDOM AS LIGHT: Relationships, Economics, Conflict
Matthew 5:14-16; Mt 6:24-34; Luke 22:25-27
“God’s strategy to transform societies was to form a new people, an alternative community that would attract other nations by its ethics. … by creating an alternative, tangible society of new ethics, God brought salvation to a whole community. That was the kingdom of God …[where] God is king, and citizens live in just relationships.” (Cesar Garcia. What is God’s Kingdom and What Does Citizenship Look like?)
- Preacher: Pastor Tonya Ramer Wenger
- Worship Leader & Scripture Reader: Carol Moore
- Children’s Time: DeAnna Goering
- Organist: Pauline Buller
- Ushers: Russ Wedel & Diane Ziemer
- Nursery Attendant: Kris & Joyce Lindenberger
- Sound Tech: Adam Pounds
- Live Stream Tech: Jay Gehring
SHARING JOYS & CONCERNS
During each worship service, you are invited to text your prayer joys and concerns – usually to Pastor Tonya. You are also invited to send prayer joys & concerns during the week. The recording of our worship service is public, so let us know if you’d prefer your request to only be shared via email during the week.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Announcements are scrolled Sunday mornings before (beginning around 9:25) and after the worship service. There will be no spoken announcements unless there are pressing announcements that did not make it into the PowerPoint. Please send any announcements you’d like to have included to the church office by Thursday each week.
OFFERINGS
We welcome, and are grateful for, your financial donations to our ministry here in Hutchinson. Instead of collecting an offering during worship, an offering plate is placed at the back of the sanctuary for your Sunday morning donations. You are also welcome to send a check to 52 Rambler Rd Hutchinson KS 67502.
CALENDAR – LOOKING AHEAD
- August 18 – Congregational Ministry Team (CMT), 1:00pm
- August 21 – Senior Youth Kick-off @ Camp Mennoscah (afternoon-early evening)
- August 28 – M&M Kick Off @ 11:00am, after worship
- September 4 – Sr. Youth fundraiser breakfast @ 9:00am; worship @ 10:00am
- September 7 – Congregational Ministry Team & Coordination Teams gathering, 7:00pm
- September 11 or 18 – Guess Who’s Coming to the Yard? – sign up sheet on the foyer table
WANTED: FMC MEMORABILIA . . . FMC CENTENNIAL MEMORY MUSEUM
As we prepare for our church’s 100-year celebration (Oct 22-23), we are wanting to set up a display of FMC Memorabilia. Please check your closets, bookshelves, filing cabinets, drawers, attics, etc. for items that highlight life at FMC over the years! Treasures may include (but are not limited to): caps, t-shirts, hymnals, pictorial directories, wedding attire (if you were married at FMC), bulletins, Sunday school materials, etc. We plan to have these items on display throughout the celebration weekend. Please contact Marlene Thode or Jean Gaeddert if you have items available for this Memory Museum display. Thank you.
FMC CENTENNIAL . . . LightHouse Service Day and Giving Opportunities
The Centennial Committee of FMC hosted a service day at LightHouse on Saturday, August 13. Thank you to those who came out on Saturday morning to work at LightHouse. Our plans changed a bit from what we had originally planned to do, but we got exterior painting and caulking accomplished. Thanks to Richard, Delon, Dohn, Allen, Calvin, Juliet, Jasper, Adam and Arlo for your help!
To date, the total raised for the LightHouse project is $26,875, which exceeds the goal we set of raising $22,000! Thank you for your tremendous generosity! The $22,000 will be used for construction costs and furnishings for the apartments. But we are not finished! More dollars are needed for ongoing maintenance needs, so your donations are still very much appreciated from now until October and beyond. As contractors complete their work, we anticipate inviting volunteers for painting, trim work, cabinet installation, floor work, etc. Interfaith’s goal is to have the building finished by sometime this fall or winter.
REMINDER: If you are last one out of the church building, be SURE the doors lock behind you when you leave. Go out, watch the doors latch, give both door handles a tug, and make sure they are locked! Thank you.
DEEPENING in Christ…
FACES OF OUR FAITH INVITATION for SEPTEMBER 11 FAITH FORMATION SUNDAY
As I read the names recently on the visual in the foyer, I felt a lot of curiosity about the stories behind those names as I’m sure each one has its own well of memory and meaning. SO … I want to invite any of you to send me a sentence or two or three (or a couple paragraphs) telling more about how it is this person shaped your faith, describing the ‘face of faith’ they showed you. If there are some willing to share stories, I’d like to include them (with your permission!) in our “Faith Formation” worship service in September. This is the Sunday we bless our Sunday School teachers and dedicate Bibles for any kindergarteners, 3rd graders, and 7th graders in our congregation. — Pastor Tonya
UPCOMING WORSHIP IN AUGUST: LIVING AS CITIZENS OF GOD’S KINGDOM
“But our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Phil 3:20) “You are the salt of the earth … You are the light of the world.” (Mt 5:13a, 14a)
As we head into the last weeks of summer, and toward an election season, worship at FMC will center around questions of what it looks like to live as citizens in God’s Kingdom. Pastor Tonya will be resourcing for her preaching a small book written by Cesar Garcia who is General Secretary of Mennonite World Conference. The book is part of Menno Media’s The Jesus Way: Small Books of Radical Faith series and is titled: What is God’s Kingdom and What Does Citizenship Look Like?
August 21 – Citizens of God’s Kingdom as Light: Relationships, Economics, Conflict
August 28 – Citizens of God’s Kingdom as Salt: How Christians Influence Societies
PRAYER GROUPS
- A Prayer group meets Thursday mornings from 10-11am in the Prayer Room. All are welcome.
- A small ecumenical Centering Prayer group meets on Thursdays (in person @ FMC) from 12:30-1:30pm. If you’d like to learn more, contact Pastor Tonya.
WEEKLY SUNDAY SCHOOL @ 11:00am FOR ALL AGES will resume on SEPTEMBER 11!
SUMMER SUNDAY SCHOOL SCHEDULE
Sunday School will be offered for children (preschool-6th grade) on the SECOND and FOURTH Sundays during the summer from 11:00-Noon. The Younger Adults Class will meet at the same time as the children.
August 28
The children’s group will gather in the fellowship hall from 11-Noon on the dates listed above. Senior Youth, check with Jonathan Wenger or Tanya Martin Nisly for youth group plans on these Sundays.
The two Adult Bible Study groups will take a break during the summer and begin again in the fall when weekly Sunday School for all ages will also resume ON SEPTEMBER 11!!
UPPER ROOM and REJOICE! devotional magazines
REJOICE! and UPPER ROOM . . . new issues for September are available above the mailboxes. Please let us know if you would like a copy mailed to you.
STRENGTHENING Community Connections…
FMC YOUNG ADULTS PARTICIPATING IN MISSION NETWORK SERVICE PROGRAMS (FALL 2022)
This fall both Michaela Esau and Micah Wenger are participating in Mennonite Mission Network voluntary service programs. Michaela will be serving with Mennonite Voluntary Service (MVS) in Tucson AZ (leaving August 27). Micah has begun his assignment with Service Adventure in Colorado Springs, CO. Thank you for helping to send them with your prayers and blessings.
THANK YOU to all who have donated financially to support their service terms. You can still do so if you wish, either through the church, directly to Mennonite Mission Network, or on their personal fundraising pages:
Micah https://igfn.us/vf/SAColorado/MicahWenger
Michaela https://igfn.us/vf/MVSTucson/MichaelaEsau
BREAKFAST FUNDRAISER SEPTEMBER 4 @ 9:00AM (WORSHIP AT 10:00)
Plan to come for a fun time of fellowship and good food provided by the youth group on Sunday, September 4 at 9:00am. Then stay for worship, beginning at 10:00am that morning.
GUESS WHO’S COMING TO THE YARD? – SEPT 11 OR 18, 2022
You are invited to join a small group for a social gathering . . . we call it “Guess Who’s Coming to the Yard?” These events will be September 11 and September 18, at 5:30pm. You choose one evening and sign up to be either a guest or a host (for a group of 6-8 people). Sign up in advance on the sheet on the table in the foyer – and please indicate whether you would like to be a guest or a host. Signup deadline is August 28. Then you will receive information about your group and location. This is such a wonderful way to get to know others in our FMC family . . . you don’t want to miss it!!
BOOK STUDY GROUP . . . invitation to join new book study – anyone is invited!!
If you are interested in joining the study group on the book, The Book of Hope: A Survival Guide for Trying Times, by Jane Goodall and Douglas Abrams, you can still join, but you may need to locate a copy of the book on your own. Talk to Julie Goering if you are interested. The group meets Wednesdays at 1:00pm beginning September 21.
CHURCH OFFICE HOURS
- Tuesday and Thursday 9:00am – 2:00pm
- Wednesday – 10:00am – 1:00pm
PASTOR TONYA’S HOURS/SCHEDULE
- Monday: Sabbath Day
- Tuesday-Friday: generally working 9:00am-5:30pm
- Office Hours: 9-2 Tuesday and Thursday; 10-1 on Wednesday
- Available other times by appointment.
- Available evenings and weekends (cell phone is most reliable)
STRETCHING to Serve as Christ Served…
SUNDAY MORNING DONATIONS FOR RENO COUNTY FOOD BANK – AUGUST . . . Peanut Butter.
Personal care/hygiene items such as these are appreciated anytime: toilet paper, laundry detergent, bath soap, Kleenex, deodorant, disposable razors, paper towels, shampoo, dish soap, hand/body lotion, tooth paste and tooth brushes. Travel size – new & unopened – are desirable.
WESTERN DISTRICT CONFERENCE announcements
Women and Girls Retreat is Sept. 10-11 at Camp Mennoscah. Theme is “Women’s Voices.” Registration information is on the table in the foyer or at WDC website https://mennowdc.org/wdwm-women-and-girls-retreat/. This event is planned by WDC Women in Mission.
CAMP MENNOSCAH announcements
Work & Play Day on August 20! Camp Mennoscah has projects to complete and plenty to do after a busy, fun summer. You are invited to be part of this camping ministry through fellowship and service! Projects for all ages and weather are available. Let us know you’re coming so we can be prepared for you! Bring your lunch and a water bottle. The day will start at 8:30 at the maintenance shed. End your day with a leisurely kayak ride or stroll to the sandbar. Contact Olivia at 620-297-3290 or olivia.bartel@campmennoscah.org to sign up. Want to volunteer either before or after August 20? Give us a call!
MENNONITE FRIENDSHIP COMMUNITIES invitation to support Family Fun Day!
We are reaching out to all of our supporting churches asking for some assistance. We are planning a Family Fun Day for all staff and their families on September 25th, from 2p-5p. This will be full of excitement with a dunk tank, food trucks, yard games and a fishing contest. We thought it would be a great way to bring staff together for something other than work. We are planning to raffle off small gift baskets ($25-$40 value) and would like to know if your church would be interested in providing a basket. If so, please reach out to Stacey Frager, VP of Human Resources, at 620.560.6754. If you are willing to provide a basket, we would like to have them by September 8th. This will give employees who cannot make the event an opportunity to see the basket and buy a raffle ticket in advance.
BETHEL COLLEGE announcements
Life Enrichment returns to Bethel College with the start of the fall semester – but it will be on a different day. Life Enrichment resumes Thursday, Aug. 25; Krehbiel Auditorium, 9:30 a.m. See https://www.bethelks.edu/academics/convocation-lectures/life-enrichment for more information.
Kauffman Museum at Bethel College is seeking a graphic designer who has experience with digital and print design, as well as social media, web and IT. Interest or experience in museum exhibition design and fabrication preferred. Go to the https://www.bethelks.edu/about/who-we-are/career-opportunities/current-position-openings/graphic-designer-kauffman-museum For more information, contact Andi Andres at Kauffman Museum: asa@bethelks.edu or 316-283-1612.
MENNOMEDIA (the publications arm of Mennonite Church USA)
We’re writing with gratitude to thank you for being one of the 107 congregations in Mennonite Church Canada and Mennonite Church USA that have supported MennoMedia with financial gifts so far in 2022. We invite you to consider giving additional gifts to our ministry as we continue to develop thoughtful Anabaptist resources to enrich faith in a complex world. We love being able to equip congregations with books, curricula, and periodicals for ministry and faith formation. Thanks for your ongoing partnership. – Joe Hackman, Director of Development and Partner Engagement (excerpts from his letter)