April 26 - May 4, 2024
OUR CHURCH FAMILY
Don’t forget to attend the Spring Church Retreat, this 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. 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. This is our final Sunday of collecting the annual Coins for Camp (Crooked Creek). This year's projects are pool toys, life jackets, and LED lanterns for each cabin. 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 (319-321-3245 or lambangie4@gamil.com) ASAP for more information. MYF: We would like to do the roadside clean-up Wednesday (May 1). Meet at East Union at 6 PM for a meal. Hopefully we’ll be out picking up trash around 6:45. Bring gloves and wear clothing that can get dirty. We'll be done by 8ish PM. The Gifts Discernment Team and the Leadership Council are glad to announce that Tony Brenneman and Lance Miller have each agreed to serve a 3-year term on the Leadership Council through August 2027. If affirmed by the congregation, Tony will join the Leadership Council early in May to fill the open seat resulting from Libby Conley's resignation so that the council will have its full voting membership of five persons. Lance will join the council in September. A brief congregational meeting will take place immediately following the worship service on May 5 for the purpose of voting on affirmation of these two appointments to the Leadership Council. Faye Gerig has also agreed to remain on the Leadership Council for one additional year to fulfill the final year of Libby's term. FMCLCF V: Town Hall Meeting on the Spending Plan, May 5 at 10:45 AM in the Sanctuary. The Leadership Council and the Stewardship Committee invite everyone to gather for an update and discussion about our current year's Spending Plan and to hear your thoughts, concerns, hopes, and aspirations as we prepare to construct our 2024-2025 Spending Plan. All are welcome. 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 From Central Plains Mennonite Conference:
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 Mennonite Action:
From Mennonite Church USA:
From other Mennonite Organizations:
From PEACE Iowa:
From Pleasantview:
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Birthdays (April 26 - May 5)
Friday Diane Funk Saturday Kate Brenneman, Karen Martens Zimmerly Monday Vicki Green Wednesday Sara Brenneman Friday Caleb Gingerich, Nicole Elliott, Micah Moriichi Sunday John Halder, Avery Hershberger Events for the coming week
(April 26 - May 5) Sun, Apr. 27-28 All-Church Retreat @ Crooked Creek Christian Camp, Washington, IA . No Sunday morning services at 405 Myrtle. Wed, May 1: 7 PM Worship Planning Team meeting Sun, May 5: 9:30 AM Worship, Karen MZ, proclaimer 10:45 AM Christian Formation hour: Town Hall Spending Plan meeting, sanctuary 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. |