Newsweekly for Sunday, October 15, 2017

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Worship this Sunday, October 15

First Families – Shelter in the Storm

Worship Leader: Dayna Olson-Getty

Song Leader: Goshen College Parables Worship Ensemble

Pastoral Prayer: Jennifer Davis Sensenig

Scripture: Genesis 6:5-9:17

Bulletin: 101517-bulletin.docx

Upcoming CMC Events

Oct 17  Monthly Gathering, dinner at 6 pm, activities for all ages at 7 pm

Oct 21  Church Work Day, 8:30 am-12:30 pm

CMC Events and Announcements

Album for Heidi and Brendon Derstine. Last Sunday Pastor Jennifer invited children and adults at CMC to add their handprints to a memory album for Heidi and Brendon Derstine as a way to support them as we remember Ella. This Sunday there will be another opportunity for adults and children to add handprints at a table in the Fellowship Hall following the worship service.

Spreading Mulch on the Playground. The CMC Preschool would welcome assistance spreading mulch on the church playground this Sunday afternoon, October 15, at 4 pm. If you can come, please bring a shovel. Preschool parent volunteers will be there, so if CMC can provide additional helpers the job should go very quickly!

Sabbatical Report–Complexity Theory, Human Systems and the Kingdom of God (…or Jennifer's latest thoughts on scripture and being church). Pastor Jennifer will share about her sabbatical experiences during the LIT at Monthly Gathering on Tuesday, Oct 17th at 7 pm after the meal.  Everyone is welcome! –Pastoral Team

The Senior High MYF Has Moved! The Senior High MYF has moved out of the Dean House and into Room 202, as the group has been needing more space than the Dean House offered to comfortably fit everyone.  Feel free to stop by to check it out!

Sunday School Connection. Below is a weekly note for families of children (age 4 and up) who use the Shine curriculum. Each Sunday you will find faith nurture ideas that coordinate with the weekly session plans.

Genesis 6:5–9:17: “Noah and God’s promises”

Here are some ways to nurture faith at home based on this week’s story. (1) Read Genesis 9:8–11. Who did God make a covenant with? What was the promise? (2) Tell about an experience with rain or floods. (3) What kinds of promises do you make to each other?

Did you know? On March 14, 1994, the longest-observed rainbow was seen in Sheffield, England. It lasted for six hours.

Prayer for the week: Steadfast God, thank you for keeping your promises to us. May we be faithful to you. Amen.

Children’s Bible Memory passage this quarter: Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds. Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your judgements are like the great deep; you save humans and animals alike, O Lord.  Psalm 36:5–6

 

Church Work Day. Mark your calendars and plan to participate in CMC’s Church Work Day on Saturday, October 21 from 8:30 am-12:30 pm. –Sam Miller, Property Committee Chair

Pastoral coffee break with Eastern Mennonite University faculty, staff and administrators. Pastoral Team is planning a coffee break and conversation with CMCers who are also EMU folks.  If you are interested in participating, and available on Wednesday, Oct 25th at 4 pm, please contact the church office (433-2148 or cmc_office@cmcva.org).  Also, if you can't make it, let us know if you would like another opportunity like this later this fall.  Pastoral Team

Pastoral coffee break with Eastern Mennonite School faculty, staff and administrators. Pastoral Team will be providing coffee and conversation for CMCers who work at Eastern Mennonite School on Thursday, October 26 at 4 pm in Jodi Hertzler’s office (Room 106).  If you plan to be there, please RSVP by contacting the church office (433-2148 or cmc_office@cmcva.org).  If you can't make it, let us know if you would like another opportunity like this later this fall.  Pastoral Team

CMC Seniors Event. On Thursday, October 26 at 7 PM, CMC Seniors will meet at the John C. Wells planetarium on the JMU campus. We will be watching a full dome film "Back to the Moon for Good". Following the film they will raise their starball and highlight the Valley sky. The planetarium is located at 91 East Grace Street in Miller Hall, room 1103. We are allowed to park in the Mason Street Parking Deck, which is located on S. Mason Street at Martin Luther King Way. Note that regular enforcement will continue in other parking lots, and you may receive parking citations if parked in restricted lots.

The Irony of Power Available.  Dorothy Jean Weaver's newly published book, The Irony of Power: The Politics of God within Matthew's Narrative (Pickwick Publications, 2017), is available at author's discount ($23.25) directly from Dorothy Jean.  Please contact her at (540) 432-4276 (o) or (540) 433-3336 (h) if you wish to acquire a signed copy.  First come, first served, as long as they last.

Apartment for Rent. Looking for a housemate to share a 2 bedroom partially furnished apartment/house three blocks from Community Mennonite. Very reasonable rent includes utilities. Available October 1. Please contact Alex Clemens at (540) 810-4698.

Dough Raise Me. Just when you thought the photo collages on the west wall of the fellowship hall would settle in for the longer haul, they change again! Just too many good things going on! A new display this Sunday shows the many ways CMC persons served as volunteers at the 51st annual Virginia Mennonite Relief Sale, then joined in worship the following morning for World Communion Sunday. Next to it, a display remains up on the September worship theme, 'Gifts of the Spirit." Do an about face to the bulletin board on the east wall of the fellowship and relive the congregation's Sept. 22-24 retreat (or see what you missed) at Camp Brethren Woods on the theme, "Love, Joy and Resistance." Hope you can't resist! –Jim Bishop

 

Getting Engaged? CMC pastors are all trained to guide couples in a series of premarital counseling sessions using Prepare-Enrich, an excellent resource for couples. There is a $35 fee for the materials, but the counseling sessions are free for regular attenders and members of CMC.  As a congregation we are part of a city-wide effort to encourage premarital counseling, so our pastors officiate at weddings only when couples have taken the preparatory step of premarital counseling. We recommend premarital counseling for about 6 sessions, beginning 4-5 months before the wedding. Thinking of getting engaged? Talk to one of your pastors. –Pastoral Team

Events and Announcements from the Broader Community

A Celebration of Latin American Cultures. The Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, together with Harrisonburg Public Schools and NewBridges Immigrant Resource Center, present A Celebration of Latin American Cultures, Friday, Oct 13, at Skyline Middle School in Harrisonburg. An evening of music, dance, and food starts at 6:30 pm with a film screening and talk back with producer Eduardo Lopez at 7:45. Free and open to the public.

Skyline Literacy Fundraiser. You are invited to a community breakfast to benefit Skyline Literacy on Saturday, October 14 from 7:00-11:00 am at the Cross Keys-Mill Creek Ruritan Hall, 5094 Battlefield Road, Harrisonburg. Cost is $8 per person. Contact Skyline Literacy for more information, at (540) 433-0505 or skylineliteracy@gmail.com.

Community Worship Service. Join Massanutten Presbyterian Church (50 Indian Trail Rd, Penn Laird, VA) for a Community Worship Service commemorating the 500th anniversary of the Reformation on Sunday, October 15, at 3:00 pm. A message will be delivered by Dr. Michael A. King, former Dean of Eastern Mennonite Seminary, and current president of Cascadia Publishing House. Event sponsored by Keezletown Methodist Church, Massanutten Presbyterian Church, St. Jacobs Lutheran Church, and Trinity Lutheran Church.

Lifelong Learning Institute. Eastern Mennonite University has launched its Centennial year (1917-2017), and whether or not you are among the great cloud of alumni witnesses you can help celebrate this historic occasion with a Lifelong Learning Institute (LLI) class being offered by JMU. The course will meet 9:30-11:30 am on Thursdays, Oct. 19 – Nov. 16. The cost for the session is $35. The class will provide an overview of EMU's transformation from a small, insular academic community to an accredited university with a global impact. For more information and to register, contact the JMU Lifelong Learning Institute at www.jmu.edu/LLI or call 568-2823. –Jim Bishop

Contemplative Retreat for Autumn. You are invited to participate in a retreat offered through Soulence at Starry Meadows Farm on Saturday, October 21, 9 am-3:30 pm (rain or shine). Falling in Love with the Earth is a spacious, contemplative retreat to cultivate a connection to the earth through reflection and embodied prayer. Spiritual directors will accompany the small group of retreatants in order to nurture the experience throughout the day. Silence and solitude is valued and built-in as part of the experience. Cost is $25. For more information or to register, contact Chris Hoover Seidel at Soulence: (717) 602-0871.

Workshop on Racial Equity. A half-day workshop on racial equity will be held on Saturday, October 21, in Martin Chapel (EMU)  to thoughtfully explore the structural nature of racism, the characteristics of modern-day racial inequity, and the relationships between people, communities, and racial inequity. Sponsored by Faith in Action and the Harrisonburg-Rockingham NAACP. Register at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/focus-on-racial-equity-seminar-tickets-37530105556

VBMHC Lecture Series, October 22: Carol Lena Miller, “The Earth is the Lord's: An Honest Look at Faithful Stewardship”. Carol Lena is an active mom, wife, member of Montezuma Church of the Brethren, and employee of the Center for Global Engagement at JMU. However, her life passion is for the outdoors and wild places. She has worked for and volunteered with several non-profit organizations working to preserve or advocate for the natural world, and inevitably finds herself stumbling to the wild when life comes too hard and too fast. For this presentation, Carol Lena will examine the current state of our natural world and how Christians have responded to the degradation of the environment. We will then consider together: Why and how should we care and respond? Just what does faithful stewardship of God's earth look like as an integral part of our daily walk? Join us for this lecture and Q&A with Carol Lena Miller at 4:00 PM on Sunday, Oct. 22, at Immanuel Mennonite Church in Harrisonburg, VA. A free-will offering will benefit the Valley Brethren-Mennonite Heritage Center. www.vbmhc.org/events-calendar

Packaging Meals for the Hungry. The brand new EMU Rotaract Club is partnering with Rise Against Hunger, Rotary International, and Asbury United Methodist Church to combat hunger on a regional and international scale. And we need your help! Join us on Sunday, October 22nd at Asbury United Methodist Church to help package meals for the hungry. Their goal this year is reach 100,000 meals and plan to work from 9:30 a.m. until that goal is met.  We know it's during EMU Fall Break, but if you are in the area, please consider volunteering for a one to two hour shift or, even better, come for the full day! If you are interested, please contact Rotaract President Linda Ouedraogo at linda.ouedraogo@emu.edu.   –Braydon Hoover

Harrisonburg Free Clinic 26th Anniversary Celebration. The Harrisonburg-Rockingham Free Clinic is celebrating its 26th anniversary on Thursday, October 26, 4:30-7:00 pm. Drop in for a visit (25 West Water Street) while learning more about the Free Clinic and enjoy some delicious hors d’oeuvres.

Support for Refugee Families in our Community. Linking Communities collaborates with the CWS Refugee Resettlement office to partner local individuals, families or groups with newly arriving refugee families. The local families offer friendship to the refugees and help the refugees navigate their new culture and community. Learn about the world, see your city through new eyes, welcome a stranger and meet many new people who help make Harrisonburg and Rockingham County the wonderful area it is. To partner with a refugee family, at least one person from your group or family must attend a training led by the Linking Communities Committee. Our next training is Saturday, October 28, 9:00am – 12:30 pm at Parkview Mennonite Church, Fireside Room, 1600 College Ave., Harrisonburg VA. RSVP at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PRRDQTW. If you have questions, email: linkingharrisonburg@cwsglobal.org.

Mennonite Women Retreat. Mennonite Women of Virginia's annual retreat will be held November 10-12 in Natural Bridge, VA. The retreat theme is Gratitude Beyond Thank You and will feature Elaine Maust, a writer, spiritual director, and co-pastor of Jubilee Mennonite Church in Meridian, Mississippi. Scholarship funds are available. More information is available at http://virginiaconference.org/partners/mennonite-women-of-virginia/.

Job Opening for Part Time Administrative Assistant. Shalom Mennonite Congregation is hiring an Administrative Assistant for a quarter-time salaried position beginning as early as December 1, 2017. Shalom's Administrative Assistant provides financial, administrative, and communications support to Shalom Mennonite Congregation and its pastors. Qualifications include the ability to manage a wide range of administrative tasks and details, including basic accounting and budget management, proficiency with a computer (Office, Google Apps, Quickbooks or other accounting software), ability to work independently, and to maintain confidentiality and trust regarding sensitive information. Some regular work hours are needed, though some flex scheduling is also possible. For a more detailed job description visit shalommc.org/hiring. Please submit questions or your cover letter and resume to the search committee at hiring@shalommc.org.

MennoMedia Volunteer Opportunity: As MennoMedia prepares to move its offices later this fall, the organization needs help scanning old files during business hours. This simple scanning will be done using a photocopy machine. If you have time to contribute, please contact Dorothy Hartman at DorothyH@MennoMedia.org or 540-908-2438.

 

 

Community Mennonite Church
70 South High Street Harrisonburg, VA
office@cmcva.org
540-433-2148