April 19 - 27, 2024
OUR CHURCH FAMILY
Our April and May worship theme is inspired by the traditional indigenous practice of the Three Sisters, where the bean, squash, and corn plant each contribute their gifts for the well-being of all. You may have noticed that with this worship theme, there have been some changes in worship! All of this is intentional. Worship Planning Team decided last fall that instead of the occasional unique service on the 5th Sunday of the month, we would plan a series for after Easter where we would experiment and try some different things in worship. This includes being more intergenerational, more music, shorter reflections that allow for more community engagement. This series will continue until the end of May when Worship Planning Team asks for your feedback. Each Sunday in April, we’ll continue collecting the annual Coins for Camp (Crooked Creek). This year's projects are pool toys, life jackets, and LED lanterns for each cabin. In the Fellowship Hall during the Christian Formation hour SUNDAY, you are invited to hear Barb Freyenberger share about her February 2024 experience on the Global Mercy ship docked at the port of Freetown, Sierra De Leon. Mercy Ships is a nonprofit Christian organization that provides surgical care to those in need. Please bring your questions! Don’t forget to attend the Spring Church Retreat, next weekend, April 27-28 at the pavilion at Crooked Creek Christian Camp. Check-in is 5 PM on Saturday; check-out is at 2 PM on Sunday. Saturday night’s activities include a Baked Potato bar supper followed by S'mores around the fire and unstructured fun and fellowship – chatting, games, and hiking. On Sunday morning, breakfast pizza will be served at 9am before the 10:30 AM hymn sing service--ALL ARE WELCOME even if you didn't sign up. Following the service, we will have a potluck lunch. From 2-4pm the Activity Center will be open for FMC. There will be no worship service at our Myrtle Ave. building on Sunday. Contact Emily, Lisa, or Daniel if you plan to attend any meals but didn't sign-up. Attention Jr. MYF youth and families! Our area Jr. MYF group will be volunteering at Crooked Creek on Saturday April 27 (perfect timing for First Mennonite folks who plan to participate in the Spring Church Retreat!). Wear your "working outside" clothes and shoes and join us for 2-3 hours of work, followed by pizza in the activity center for lunch. If you plan to participate, please contact Angie Lamb ASAP for more information. As someone who lives in Canada, Nathaniel De Avila has traveled through the Middle East multiple times and met with many organizations. He has carefully considered the issues. Mennonite Action invites everyone to hear De Avila on Tuesday, April 23 at 7 PM in room A of the Iowa City Library. Come with your thoughts and questions. If you have any further questions about this event, please contact Jane Yoder Short or Rebecca Hovde. You may also find more information about the bi-national organization, Mennonite Action, at www.mennoniteaction.org Have questions about the conflict between Israel and Gaza? What is the geopolitical situation and whose interests are involved? Who benefits from potential breaches of international law in the Middle East? How do we respond? Kids, you're invited to join East Union & Washington Mennonite who are hosting Vacation Bible School, Seekers in Sneakers. VBS will be held July 26-27 from 9 AM - 3 PM at East Union, for ages 4 years to 6th grade. Seekers in Sneakers VBS Registration information is available on the East Union website, VBS tab. COMMUNITY & CONFERENCE NEWS Have Fun & Win! Come relax and have some fun with the Open Heartland community playing a group game like bingo. Stop by Big Grove Iowa City from 6-8 PM Thursday, April 25 to play a few rounds, and bring the family! $1 per card. Pot is split 50/50 with Open Heartland, so everyone wins! There will also be a very special performance by our children's folklorico dance class during this event! All are welcome. No RSVP needed. Food & drinks available to order. See you there! And read more about Open Heartland’s mission and their current needs at their website: openheartland.org Homers for Hartzlers Benefit: The benefit for the Chris Hartzler family will take place on May 4 in Riverside. For more information, see the flier on the narthex bulletin board or find information on Facebook. From Crowded Closet:
From Crooked Creek Christian Camp:
From Hillcrest Academy:
From Iowa Mennonite Historical Society:
From Mennonite Education Agency (MEA):
From PEACE Iowa:
From Pleasantview:
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Birthdays (April 19 - 28)
Friday Isaac Miller Saturday Maya Kehr Yoder Wednesday Julia Bartel, Rachel Annapureddy Friday Diane Funk Saturday Kate Brenneman, Karen Martens Zimmerly Events for the coming week
(April 19 - 28) Fri - Sun, Apr. 19-21 Central Plains Mennonite Conference Leadership Retreat, NE Sun, Apr. 21 9:30 AM Worship, Taylor Pajunen, reflection 10:45 AM Barb Freyenberger's Mercy Ships presentation, fellowship hall 10:45 AM Christian Formation hour Sun, Apr. 27-28 All-Church Retreat @ Crooked Creek Christian Camp, Washington, IA . No Sunday morning services at 405 Myrtle. 2023 Children's Christmas Program, Dec. 17
All Church Putt Putt Golf Outing, September 2023
PRIDE parade & Festival 2023
LIBRARY
See WHAT'S NEW in the LIBRARY for Fall/Winter 2023. (Click Fall/Winter above) or LIBRARY under the WELCOME tab. Search the FMC library catalog HERE. (No password required) Images from Virtual Services 2020 - 2021
Photos from our annual All Church Retreat at Crooked Creek Christian Camp,
Oct. 11-12, 2019. |