FIRST MENNONITE CHURCH - OPEN HEARTS, OPEN MINDS, ROOTED IN CHRIST
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  • Home
  • Welcome
    • Location and Hours
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    • Sunday Services
    • Christian Formation >
      • Kids and Youth
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    • Small Groups
    • Library
    • Newcomers
    • Contact Us
  • Church Life
    • Order of Worship
    • Announcements
    • Listen to/View a Sermon
    • Church Calendar
    • Sunday Volunteer Calendar
    • Church Ministry Minutes
    • Contact Info Update
    • Facebook Policy
    • Directory
    • Photo Gallery
  • Who We Are
    • Who Are the Mennonites?
    • Who is First Mennonite Church?
    • Statement of Environmental Stewardship
    • Missions >
      • Across the Street
      • Around the World
    • Safe Church Policy
  • Parking
    • Football Parking >
      • Football Parking Maps
      • Make a Payment
    • Weekday Parking >
      • Make a Payment
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Announcements

February 3 - 11, 2023
OUR CHURCH FAMILY
MYF-- Join us on Wednesday, Feb. 8 from 6:30-8:30 PM for supper and bowling at SpareMe Bowl and Arcade (404 East College Street, IC).
 
Please complete the Communication Assessment Survey emailed to you by February 10. Thank you.

February is Black History Month and the Beloved Community Initiative has developed an interactive map that is growing in telling a more truthful account of Iowa's history with race. Take some time this month to expand your historical knowledge of our state. (This website also has many other resources, including telling/recording a congregation’s history with a lens on how the church engaged or didn’t engage the racial issues of its history). 

​As Maya Kehr Yoder has informed us, she will be ending her work with the Leadership Council in March. Galen Graber has agreed to step into this position which will continue through August 31, 2025. Galen's appointment to Leadership Council requires approval from the congregation. A brief congregational meeting will be held immediately following the worship service on February 12 for this purpose. --Leadership Council
 
We are excited to host the Goshen College Chamber Choir on Tuesday evening, February 28. We need hosts for 21 females and 17 males, plus the 5 adults (and a baby!) who will be accompanying them. If you can provide lodging on Tuesday evening, February 28 after their concert, there is a sign-up sheet near the stairs in the Sip & Chat area. More specific information will follow. If you have questions, please contact Donna Darby, 319-430-6171 or ddarby1290@aol.com
 
Show Your Heart -- Our Mission Team invites your food contributions to a Valentine Day (Month!) project/drive supporting Table to Table. Two large bins are in the Sip & Chat area near the education wing door to receive your donations of any non-perishable items. Examples recipients find most useful are canned beef stew, tuna or chicken, peanut butter, dry beans or rice, diapers sizes 3,4 or 5. Let’s see how many bins our church family can fill! Questions may be directed to Vicki Green or Arden Miller. 
 
February is Black History Month and the Beloved Community Initiative has developed an interactive map that is growing in telling a more truthful account of Iowa's history with race. Take some time this month to expand your historical knowledge of our state. (This website also has many other resources, including telling/recording a congregation’s history with a lens on how the church engaged or didn’t engage the racial issues of its history).

It’s Coins for Camp fundraiser time! The money raised from this fundraiser will be used to purchase new climbing wall equipment and swimming pool supplies; both are favorite activities of our summer campers and guest groups as well. As an added incentive to collect coins, Crooked Creek Christian Camp is offering a free 2-hour pool party OR 2 free hours in the Activity Center to your church if you can raise $450 or more! We have until March 11 to collect coins. You'll find the collection cans on the Sip & Chat Coffee table throughout the month. Please add your coins (or bills!) to support this event.
 
An invitation to book reading and conversation on prayer. You are welcome to join in this informal gathering as the Lenten season begins, hosted by Shuji Moriichi, at his house, on February 25 (Sat.), 9-10:30 AM. The main book is With Open Hands (forward by Sue Monk Kidd), by Henri J.M. Nouwen. (Please purchase and read the book before the gathering.) If you have questions or are interested but have difficulty in obtaining a copy of the book and/or joining the gathering, please contact Shuji (and he will reach out to you.) smoriichi43@gmail.com or 612-462-1726.
 
Spring Cleaning! In the next few months we’ll be removing all items from a few rooms and closets, wiping everything down, and then putting back just the items that qualify to stay. The first project is a turnout of the nursery behind the sanctuary on February 18 at 10 AM. If you’d like to donate an hour of your time to this project, sign up on the Church Life bulletin board in the Sip & Chat area or contact Margaret Yoder at fmcmargaret@gmail.com.
 
Thank you:  Dear First Mennonite Church, we are truly blown away by your generosity! Thank you for your financial contribution as well as your donation of fully stocked backpacks! These back packs are a much-needed item for those returning from incarceration. This past year we doubled the amount we gave to returning citizens, so these backpacks are arriving at the perfect time to reach those in need! Thank you for supporting Inside Out Reentry Community and the members we serve. This means so much! – Michelle Heinz, Executive Director

CONFERENCE AND COMMUNITY NEWS
​Everyone is invited to a Book Reading by Kalona native, Evie Yoder Miller, on February 13 at 7 PM. at the Kalona Public Library. Evie's most recent books are the Scrupples on the Line trilogy consisting of Shadows, Loyalties, and  Passages. These are historical fiction books taking place from 1864-1865 during the Civil War. There are five different perspectives, from the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia to Chicago and Iowa, telling the experiences of Amish, Mennonite, and German Baptist communities of conscience during the war. The event is hosted by the Kalona Library and the Mennonite Historical Society of Iowa.

Ways to support Inside Out ReEntry:
  • Art from the Inside Out is a multi-media show featuring 25 works by currently and formerly incarcerated men and women. The art can be seen Jan. 24 - Feb. 20, on Saturdays or by appointment, at the Artifactory, 120 N. Dubuque, IC. There will be a reception and gallery talk on Friday, Feb. 10 at 7 PM. You can cage a person's body but not their imagination -- come take a look! 
  • The Mystery Hour tickets are now on sale at The Englert Theater box office (https://ci.ovationtix.com/36399/performance/11204889  Use promo code: MysteryPresale) for Inside Out Reentry's biggest fundraiser ever! Iowa City native and very funny guy Jeff Houghton will bring his Emmy-winning and New York Time's reviewed "late night" talk show, The Mystery Hour, to The Englert on Friday, March 24 at 7:30 PM to benefit Inside Out. James Tutson and The Rollback will perform and Inside Out staff and participants will share stories, along with special guest IC Mayor Bruce Teague. Reserved seats are $28 and VIP seats, including a post-show reception, are $53. You can learn more about The Mystery Hour at www.themysteryhour.com and about Inside Out at www.insideoutreentry.com.
 
The Anabaptism at 500 project invites photographers of all levels to submit inspiring photos and stories capturing Anabaptist Christians living out their faith. Selected photos and stories will be featured in a stunning full-color photo book. Contributors will receive a complimentary copy. This book will showcase creative expressions of contemporary Anabaptist witness in the world. Your photos and stories will help us celebrate our shared faith providing a glimpse of God at work among us. Submit your photos and stories or those from your faith community at www.AnabaptismAt500.com. More details are available on the Following Jesus narthex bulletin board.
 
From Central Plains Mennonite Conference: 
  • Amanda Bleichty has resigned as the Conference Minister for Faith Formation effective March 1, 2023. She has challenged our conference to think about what it means to continue to grow into faith regardless of the stage of life we find ourselves in. She has worked hard at intercultural development work and made space for many of us in leadership to think more deeply about how we engage our own culture of origin and other cultures around us. We will miss her gifts here at CPMC but we wish her well as she begins a new role as co-director of Crooked Creek Christian Camp. – Nathan Luitjens
 
From Crooked Creek Christian Camp (CCCC):
  • It’s Coins for Camp fundraiser time! The money raised from this fundraiser will be used to purchase new climbing wall equipment and swimming pool supplies; both are favorite activities of our summer campers and guest groups as well. As an added incentive to collect coins, Crooked Creek Christian Camp is offering a free 2-hour pool party OR 2 free hours in the Activity Center to your church if you can raise $450 or more! We have until March 11 to collect coins.
  • Our Spring Craft Retreat will be held March 3-5. A super fun way to spend your weekend! Come craft with us. To register visit our website at www.crookedcreekcamp.org
  • See photos and read about the fun Winterfest 2023 Retreat as well as other information in the January Creekline Newsletter.
 
From Crowded Closet:
  • Choose to serve at Crowded Closet Thrift Shop this year where your service supports local relief agencies and the global work of Mennonite Central Committee. Apply to join our staff team or to volunteer in a role to fit any interest and schedule. Flexible schedules for any lifestyle! Plan a shop visit with Christine Maust Beachy, Volunteer Coordinator, to learn more about joining staff leadership or volunteering now! Contact 319-337-5924, crowdedcloset.volunteer@gmail.com, or crowdedcloset.org.
 
From Hillcrest Academy:
  • Pray for Us! It's an exciting time to be a part of the Hillcrest community and we thank you for considering to join us with purposeful prayer. Please pray for God's leading to fill faculty and staff positions, wisdom for the middle school team as they plan for new students and families, discernment for tuition and financial planning, and God's love and guidance for students, faculty, staff, and board members. Click HERE to select prayer options. Questions, email hillcrestpto@hillcrestravens.org.
  • Open Gym for 5th-8th graders on Sunday, February 12 from 2-3:30 PM (please note time change). Activities include: basketball, volleyball, matball, dodgeball, etc. Mitchell Drey (Hillcrest Academy Girls Basketball Coach) will head up the activities. Please bring a water bottle. Sign up at hillcrestravens.org/5-8events to join in the fun. 
  • Leave the childcare to us on Valentine's Day! On February 14 from 5:00-8:00 PM, drop your kids off at Highpoint Church while you enjoy the evening. We will provide activities and snacks for children ages 1-12. Suggested donation of $25 per child will benefit the Hillcrest Academy (Service And Learning Term) mission trip to Costa Rica. Please RSVP to Sierra at scheney@hillcrestravens.org. 
  • The annual Chili Supper is hosted by the Hillcrest Academy senior class and has been a tradition since 1960. The historic menu of chili, cheese sandwiches, potato salad, and pie or other dessert varieties, along with the Mexican soup, Pozole [po'sole], will be served on Saturday, February 18 from 4:30-7:00 PM in Hillcrest Union (gymnasium). Cost per meal is Adults $10, Seniors 65+ $9, Children age 4-12 $5, age 3 and under free. Tickets can be purchased ahead of time from ANY Hillcrest Academy student or at the door. (See Seth Ours, Maria Fernanda Portillo, or Jace Rempel for tickets.) Takeout is available.
 
From the Iowa Mennonite Relief Sale Committee:
  • Because we are not having an MCC Sale, the quilt committee has found a way to get quilts to the Kansas or Nebraska MCC sales. Quilts are needed by March 1st so they can be processed and advertised. Collection points and contacts will be arranged. MARK them well. Must have name of quilt, history (if any), and donor name. For more information call: Donna Rinner 319 256 3961; Karalee Martin 319 461 3018; Karen Mast 319 256 765. Thank you for supporting MCC.
 
From Mennonite Church USA (MCUSA):
  • February is Black History Month. Be sure to check out Mennonite Church USA’s timeline honoring “Black History in the Mennonite Church.” mennoniteusa.org/resource/black-history
  • Mennonite Church USA and Mennonite Central Committee are partnering in a new, four-part webinar series on mass incarceration, beginning Feb. 7 at 6:30 CST. Join us to learn about the ways the faith community is actively understanding and working against these complex systems of confinement. Learn more and register here: mcc.org/beyond-incarceration-webinars 
  • #MennoCon23:  Registration for MennoCon23 will open on March 1. Mennocon23 will be held in Kansas City, Mo., July 3-6, immediately followed by the Mennonite Church USA Delegate Assembly and the new Youth and Young Adult Climate Summit. Subscribe to MC USA’s PeaceMail weekly newsletter for the latest updates. Mennoniteusa.org/peacemail View a slide for PeaceMail: mennoniteusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/PeaceMail-slide.pptx View a MennoCon23 slide: mennoniteusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/MennoCon23.pptx
 
From other Mennonite Organizations:
  • Read the January issue of Seeking Peace With Creation from Mennonite Creation Care Network to find internship opportunities, a plan to plant 9000 trees, and more.
  • Find book discounts and read the latest in Staying Connected from MennoMedia.
  • Mennonite Men is supporting tree planting in Michigan and more. Read all about their vital work at Engage, their periodic newsletter.
  • Read news from Mennonite Mission Network (MMN) at Network News & Beyond.
  • January News from MMN workers around the world can be read here.
  • Discover what’s new for Mennonite Women in Grapevine, their monthly newsletter.
  • The January issue of Info from Mennonite World Conference features a review of 2022 and news from the new year.
 ​
From Pleasantview:
  • Pleasantview is now taking apartment reservations for their new Assisted Living! Assisted Living is expected to open on June 1. If you are interested in receiving information, please contact Mikayla at 319-656-2421 or mfisher@pvkalona.com. Apartments are reserved on a first come first serve basis. 
Birthdays (Feb. 4 - 11)      
Saturday    Alexandra Carlon
Sunday       Ruth Peterson
Monday      Eli Gingerich
                     John Yoder-Schrock
Saturday    Gene Nissley


Events for the coming week
( Feb. 5 - 12) 
 
Wednesday: 6:30 PM MYF
7 PM Missions Team meeting
Sunday: 9:30 AM Worship, Karen Martens Zimmerly, proclaimer
10:30 AM Congregational Meeting
​10:45 AM Christian Education

Variety Soup & Show  Jan. 29, 2023

Christmas Eve Service 2022 

FMC LIBRARY
See WHAT'S NEW in the LIBRARY since FALL 2022. (Click WHAT'S NEW  [above] or  LIBRARY under the WELCOME tab.)
Search the FMC library catalog  https://17027.rmwebopac.com/search. 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.

Picture
First Mennonite Church of Iowa City
405 Myrtle Ave  Iowa City, Iowa  52246
319-338-0302  firstmenno@msn.com