Table of Contents
Today, or sometime this week, I invite you to spend some time praying with this paraphrase of Psalm 23 from The Message (by Eugene Peterson). May it bring you comfort and hope as you journey through this week!
1-3 God, my shepherd!
I don’t need a thing.
You have bedded me down in lush meadows,
you find me quiet pools to drink from.
True to your word,
you let me catch my breath
and send me in the right direction.
4 Even when the way goes through
Death Valley,
I’m not afraid
when you walk at my side.
Your trusty shepherd’s crook
makes me feel secure.
5 You serve me a six-course dinner
right in front of my enemies.
You revive my drooping head;
my cup brims with blessing.
6 Your beauty and love chase after me
every day of my life.
I’m back home in the house of God
for the rest of my life.
— Pastor Tonya
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!
STATEMENT FROM CMT to the congregation regarding the Delta variant:
We are a caring congregation. We recognize that health and life are gifts that we honor for ourselves and others. Because of the rapid increase in our community of the Delta-variant, the virus’ ease of transmission, and the recommendations from the CDC, we are strongly recommending that everyone wear a mask while inside the church building and practice social distancing as we did several months ago. We want to protect our children and those individuals at high health risk and/or are unable to receive the vaccine. It is anticipated that the next 4-6 weeks are critical in slowing down the spread of this mutant. Let each of us do our part to mitigate the potential serious consequences to our church family and our community during this time. (Delon Martens, Jennalee Boggs, Julie Esau, Kevin Martin Nisly, Carol Moore, Tonya Ramer Wenger, Jim Unruh)
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 24: I’ve Been Meaning to Ask… where do we go from here?
(Ruth 1:1-22; Acts 10)
- Preacher & Scripture Reader: Tonya Ramer Wenger
- Worship Leader: Elsie Wickliffe
- Children’s Time: Micah Wenger, Sadie Nisly
- Guest “Mission Moment”: Jeff Thomson & Clint Nelson from Interfaith Housing & Community Services
- Poetry Prayer Reader: Jean Gaeddert
- Pianist: Peggy Stucky
- Ushers: Russ Wedel & Diane Ziemer
- Sound: Murray Reimer
- Live Stream: Jonathan Wenger
SHARING JOYS & CONCERNS
During each worship service, you are invited to text your prayer joys and concerns – usually to Pastor Tonya, but sometimes it will be someone else, and we’ll give you that info at the time!! You are also welcome to send prayer joys & concerns during the week. Since our worship link is now public, when you submit prayer requests be sure to let us know if you’d prefer it NOT be shared on Sunday morning. We can keep requests more private by only sharing them in the weekly prayer email sent out on Tuesdays.
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 by Thursday each week.
CALENDAR – LOOKING AHEAD
- October 20 – Refreshments & Storytelling for 100th Anniversary History update
- October 21 – Congregational Ministry Team (CMT) – 4:30pm
- October 26 – Service & Outreach Coordination Team – 7:00pm
- November 7 – Mission Festival with Linda Shelly, guest preacher. Linda is Area Director for Central America, with Mennonite Mission Network. (No potluck.)
- November 14 – M&M meets during the Sunday School hour and for lunch
DEEPENING in Christ…
PRAYER GROUPS
Meets Thursday mornings from 10-11am in the Prayer Room. All are welcome.
A small ecumenical Centering Prayer group meets on ZOOM Tuesdays and Thursdays from 12:30-1:30pm. If you’d like to learn more and receive the link to participate, contact Pastor Tonya.
“I’VE BEEN MEANING TO ASK… where do we go from here?” – OCT 24 WORSHIP
Worship this coming Sunday is rooted in the following convictions: “We believe courageous conversations have the power to change and transform us. We believe God bridges connections in unexpected ways. We commit to continuing the conversation.” And so we ask, “where do we go from here?” Scriptures for this Sunday are Ruth 1:1-22 and Acts 10. We’re looking forward to welcoming guests (Jeff Thomson and Clint Nelson) from Interfaith Housing & Community Services to share with us about the LightHouse Project we’ve decided to participate in as part of our 100th anniversary celebration next year. Our official celebration is October 22-23, 2022 which means we are almost exactly one year away from our celebration weekend. 2022, the year we celebrate 100 years in Hutchinson, is a good time to be thinking, praying and asking “…where do we go from here?”
There is one more Sunday in this worship series, coming up on October 31: I’ve been Meaning to Ask… what would you love to do, create, contribute? Pastor Jim preaching.
MISSION FESTIVAL – SUNDAY NOVEMBER 7, 2021
We are looking forward to hosting Linda Shelly from Mennonite Mission Network as our 2021 Mission Festival speaker in worship and Sunday School! On this Sunday, our regular offering will go to support Mennonite Mission Network. You can learn more about their ministry and work here: https://www.mennonitemission.net/
Linda Shelly was appointed as the Mennonite Mission Network director for mission relationships in Latin America in February 2002. She relates to workers, churches and other partners in 10 countries in Latin America. Mennonite Mission Network supports the work and developing visions of Mennonite church conferences in the region, and also relates to independent indigenous churches and holistic ministry programs. Prior to this appointment, she served for nine years as Latin America/Caribbean program director for Mennonite Central Committee. She previously served in other roles with MCC, including in the personnel office and three terms in Latin America. Shelly worked with rural non-formal education in Bolivia and as country representative in Honduras. She also served in a regional peace role while collaborating with a family sent by the Honduran Mennonite Church to form a new faith community in a rural city. Shelly graduated from Bethel College, North Newton, Kan., with a bachelor’s degree in history and the social sciences, and from Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary with a master’s degree in peace studies. Shelly is from Newton, Kan., where she is a member of First Mennonite Church.
FALL 2021 SUNDAY SCHOOL @ 10:45am
Sunday School classes are now meeting every Sunday, with the exception of the 5th Sundays when we’ll hope to have some all-church fellowship time after worship instead of Sunday School!
CHILDREN & YOUTH: Living as God’s People (SHINE Curriculum from MennoMedia)
- PreK-Kindergarten (basement, room 3 – or outside)
- 1st-5th grade (basement, rooms 1-2 – or outside)
- 6th– 7th grade (all the way upstairs in the Jr Youth room – or outside)
- 8th -12th grade (all the way upstairs in the Sr Youth room)
ADULTS:
Younger Adults Class – meeting in the basement adult Sunday School Room
Adult Bible Study/Discussion – through October 24, gather in the basement fellowship hall for discussion around the sermon, scripture and ‘question of the day’ from worship. Facilitated by Star Gipson.
Reminder: No Sunday School on the 5th Sundays of the month!!
SUNDAY SCHOOL TEACHER UPDATE
We’re seeking volunteers beginning in December!! Please contact Pastor Tonya or Cheryl Warkentin if you would be willing, or sign up on the signup sheet in the foyer (on the “Sign Up” bulletin board).
UPPER ROOM and REJOICE! devotional magazines
REJOICE! and UPPER ROOM . . . new issues are available above the mailboxes. Please let us know if you would like a copy mailed to you.
STRENGTHENING Community Connections…
CONGREGATIONAL BUDGET & ANNUAL MEETING COMBINED – DECEMBER 5, 2021
Mark your calendars and plan to attend FMC’s Budget & Annual Meeting Sunday December 5!! More details to come closer to the date.
CALL FOR STORIES FOR 100TH ANNIVERSARY HISTORY BOOK!
Have you been thinking about a short story or two to share for our updated history book? Or looking through your pictures for some you could share (including more recent ones!)? We now have a quick and simple way on our website for you to submit your stories and photos! Go to our homepage, or click on this link https://hutchfmc.org/centennial-history-book/ to access a form you can easily fill out and submit. Or, you can email your response or put your stories and/or photos in the respective boxes available at church in the foyer.
Please consider sharing your stories, even if you may think they are insignificant! We need many voices and types of stories to make this book come alive with the spirit of First Mennonite Church. Also, please share the above link freely with those you know who were at First Mennonite once upon a time and might have a story and/or pictures to share … maybe friends, relatives, children, etc.??
AND!!! On WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 20 @ 7:00pm come to the church for a time of fellowship, cookies, and an opportunity to write, type, or have your story typed up for you while you talk.
BEAUTIFUL SALT CITY PODCAST
A future story tells us what we want (vision), why we want it (values), and how we will create it (resources). Our own Pastor Jim Unruh talks with people in our community to learn their life stories and to dream together for a future story for our beautiful salt city. Find it here: https://hutchfmc.org/beautiful-salt-city-podcast/. While new episodes are not being added right now, this is your chance to catch up on previous compelling conversations!
CHURCH OFFICE HOURS
- Tuesday and Thursday 9:00am – 2:00pm
- Wednesday 10am-1pm
- Office hours may vary from this schedule October 26-November 4.
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)
- UPCOMING VACATION SCHEDULE: gone November 19-23, 2021
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.
STRETCHING to Serve as Christ Served…
SOUP KITCHEN – ADMINISTRATIVE COORDINATOR NEEDED!!
First Mennonite prepares, serves and delivers a meal at the soup kitchen every other month on the 4th Saturday of the month. We are in need of a volunteer to help primarily with the administrative tasks related to this ministry … coordinating the signup sheet, communication with the congregation, recruiting volunteers as necessary, sending reminders to volunteers, etc. This person would NOT be as involved in the hands-on work required to prepare and serve the meal. Please let Pastor Tonya know if this is something you’d be willing to take on for the next year.
NEXT OPPORTUNITY TO SERVE AT THE SOUP KITCHEN…
…is Saturday November 27, 2021!! Help is needed to cook (starting around 2:00pm), deliver meals around 4:00pm, and serve the meal at 5:00pm. Watch for a sign up sheet at church early in November.
FINAL TOTAL FOR RENO COUNTY CROP WALK
$10,918.85!!! This is nearly twice what we raised last year! FMC’s total stands at $1530. Thanks to everyone who donated and/or walked!!
OUR SUNDAY MORNING DONATIONS FOR FIRST CALL FOR HELP
Personal care/hygiene items such as these are appreciated: 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. Food bank donations may be brought to the Salvation Army. At this time the Food Bank is particularly in need of the following: tomato soup, cream of mushroom soup and green beans.
MENNONITE FRIENDSHIP COMMUNITIES
Support Mennonite Friendship Communities – did you know that when you shop at Dillons or Amazon, you could be supporting MFC? Each of these companies have programs that give a portion of sales back to local non-profits. Check out Dillon’s Community Rewards – https://www.dillons.com/i/community/community-rewards or Amazon Smile – https://smile.amazon.com to sign up. Call Susan Nisly at MFC 620-663-7175 if you have questions.
FIRST MENNONITE CHURCH of HALSTEAD . . Hog Roast for WDC Hope Fund
Sunday, October 24 from 5-7pm, serving a pulled pork meal (donations accepted with proceeds to WDC Hope Fund). Bring lawn chairs and enjoy music provided by the Smokey Valley Bluegrass Band. Location is South Park Gazebo at 3rd and Locust Street in Halstead.
WESTERN DISTRICT CONFERENCE Hope Fund
Consider making a donation to the Western District Conference Hope Fund! The Hope Fund issues grants to churches in Western District Conference that are suffering hardship related to COVID-19 and other disasters. As the pandemic continues to affect our churches, the Hope Fund has proven to be incredibly important to supporting churches in need. You can find out more, and make a donation, by visiting mennowdc.org, or by sending a check to Western District Conference, PO Box 306, North Newton, KS 67117. Please consider contributions to the Hope Fund as above and beyond regular giving to WDC, which supports ongoing staff, programs and resourcing for congregations and leaders.
KANSAS COALITION AGAINST THE DEATH PENALTY EVENT
“United Against the Death Penalty: All Roads Lead to Repeal,” a virtual event will be held Saturday, November 6, 1:00-3:00pm on Zoom. Register and get the Zoom link by sending an email to info@ksabolition.org and include your name and address. Mennonite churches in Western District Conference support this event in support of the resolution passed in 2009 by WDC delegates speak out against the death penalty.
CAMP MENNOSCAH announcements
Fall Scrapbook and Crafts Retreat, November 5-7, at Camp Mennoscah!
Register at www.campmennoscah.org! There is only one Fall Scrapbook and Crafts Retreat. Lodging will be in the Retreat Center and cropping/crafting will be in the Main Camp dining hall. Space heaters will be available for both areas since the repairs for the furnaces will not be complete by the beginning of November. Fees for the Scrapbook and Crafts Retreat have increased to $150 to meet higher costs and the use of multiple facilities. For those who find the increase prohibitive, there is an option to receive up to $25 in scholarship funds per person as part of the registration process.
BETHEL COLLEGE announcements
Fall choral showcase, “Bethel Sings,” featuring the Concert Choir, Women’s Ensemble, Woven and Open Road, Sunday, Oct. 31 at 4 p.m. Memorial Hall.Bethel’s current COVID-19 protocols require physical distancing and mask-wearing indoors for groups of 10 or more people, regardless of vaccination status.
“Joining Voices Together,” a new art exhibition with original artwork from the Voices Together hymnal, will open on Friday, October 29 in the Regier Gallery. With the cooperation of the Menno Simons Lecture Endowment, Jan Kraybill, Kansas City, will be speaking twice on the Bethel campus on Nov. 5 – at 11 a.m. (regular Friday convocation in Memorial Hall) and at 7 p.m. in Krehbiel Auditorium in Luyken Fine Arts Center. A reception for the exhibit will follow the evening lecture.
HESSTON COLLEGE announcements
Bel Canto Singers Fall Concert – October 24, 2:00 p.m. – Hesston Mennonite Church
Sunflower Performing Arts: Sunflower Soiree – October 31, 3:00 p.m. – Hesston Mennonite Church. This is the first in the 2021-2022 concert series (formerly known as the Hesston-Bethel Performing Arts Series). Consider a season ticket and take in the wonderful variety of music in five concert events this year.
MENNONITE CENTRAL COMMITTEE (MCC) announcements
Take action to advocate for Haitian asylum seekers by urging President Biden to immediately halt deportation flights to Haiti. Following the biblical call to welcome the stranger, MCC is asking that all deportation flights to Haiti be halted immediately and is seeking respect for basic human rights at the U.S./Mexico border. Take action today!
MCC in North Newton currently has over 800 sets of comforter tops and backs that need to be tied, as well as kits of fabric that can be sewn into more tops. MCC’s partners all around the world value these handmade comforters as useful, beautiful and tangible expressions of love. If you or your sewing group would be interested in tying or sewing for MCC, or if you have questions and are curious about how to make a comforter, please contact Kate Mast at the MCC Material Resources Center at katemast@mcc.org, or 316-283-2720.
Mennonite Central Committee service opportunities . . . persons called to be the hands and feet of God in a global context. We hope you will prayerfully consider the following service opportunities.
- Seek Discipleship Program – Jordan, Palestine and Israel – six-month program, young adults (18-20 years of age. To learn more and apply for the Seek program, visit mcc.org/seek.
- International Program Safety and Security HR Specialist – manages safety and security.
- External Grants Coordinator – Lebanon, Syria & Iraq – provides support for humanitarian assistance.
- Program Coordinator – Lebanon, Syria & Iraq – tasked with managing the program’s Planning, Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting (PMER) for projects in Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq.
For more information about our current openings, including those listed here, please visit mcc.org/serve.
MENNONITE CHURCH USA announcements
MC USA provides these announcements for your prayers and action. Click on this link: by sharing the link to these announcements. Here’s one that might be of particular interest. Sign up to participate.
Anabaptist History Today is hosting Virtual Relationships Past & Present on Tuesday, Oct. 12 at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. Experts from North American Anabaptist heritage organizations, including Mennonite Church USA Archives, will show and discuss historical documents relevant to current issues. Register here: https://www.mennoniteusa.org/virtual-relationships
MENNONITE DISASTER SERVICE (MDS) Learning and Service Trips
The Kansas MDS Unit is sponsoring two Learning and Service trips to McAllen TX. The dates are October 16-23, 2021, and February 19-26, 2022. Participants will leave on Saturday morning traveling to San Antonio TX, staying overnight, visiting San Antonio Mennonite Church on Sunday morning, then traveling to McAllen TX for the MDS project. Cost will be two nights lodging and meals on the two weekends while traveling. MDS is covering the remainder of the expenses. To make your reservations or for more information contact Cleo Koop at cleohkoop@gmail.com or call 316-282-0797.
MENNONITE DISASTER SERVICE ANNUAL MEETING
Annual Meeting – November 12 and 13. You will have opportunities to meet/greet some of the MDS binational staff and learn about MDS activities. Online registration is at https://tinyurl.com/2xa9bys9. There are no registration fees.
- Location: Hesston Mennonite Church, 309 S Main St, Hesston, KS 67062
- Meeting in a hybrid fashion (both local and virtual)
- Local — masks and social distancing
- Virtual — zoom meeting at https://tinyurl.com/2e4v6ups
- Theme: MDS-Deep Roots-New Growth, A house is not always the answer
ANABAPTIST MENNONITE BIBLICAL SEMINARY and MENNONITE MEN
Knowing Your Narrative: Unpacking Our Stories of Masculinity and Equity. On Oct. 26, Nov. 6, and Nov. 16, Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary and Mennonite Men are co-sponsoring this three-part series of events, facilitated by Ben Tapper with the Kindred Collective. It seeks to unpack narratives around masculinity, faith, and equity. After completing the series, participants will be able to coherently articulate their own personal narratives, identify the ways they’ve been shaped by masculine messaging, and reframe their own masculine identity so it is more inclusive and holistic. The series will be composed of two webinars and one daylong on-campus event (also available online). For more info and to register visit ambs.edu/narrative. Early registration ends October 19. If you have any questions or we can be of assistance, feel free to reach out to Steve Thomas at stevet@mennonitemen.org.