Worship this Sunday, December 2, 2018
Theme: Love Revealed – Advent 1: Watching and Waiting
Worship Leader: Dayna Olson-Getty
Advent Candle Lighters: Wayne and Kathie Kurtz
Song Leader: Jeremy Nafziger
Prelude/Offertory: Nicholas Murch, Angie Clemens
Children’s Time: Dayna Olson-Getty
Preacher: Jennifer Davis Sensenig
Pastoral Prayer: Jason Gerlach
Scripture: Jeremiah 33:14-16; Psalm 25:1-10; 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13; Luke 21:25-36
Bulletin: 120218Bulletin.docx
Upcoming CMC Events
Sun, Dec 2 Congregational Meal and Congregational Meeting, 11:45 am,
Fellowship Hall and Sanctuary. Childcare for ages 3-grade 6.
Sun, Dec 2 Winter Sunday School Quarter begins
Wed, Dec 5 Women’s Bible Study, 8:30 am, Room 109
Thurs, Dec 6 CMC Seniors Christmas Potluck and Singing, 6 pm, Fellowship Hall
Sat, Dec 8 Open Circle Small Group, 6 pm, Room 109
CMC Events and Announcements
Please sign up to bring soup and cookies or help with the congregational meal this Sunday, December 2. The annual congregational meeting is this Sunday, Dec. 2 after Sunday school. For the meal, Hospitality Committee is asking the congregation to supply soup and cookies. We are asking people to sign up using Perfect Potluck. You can link to it here: www.PerfectPotluck.com/VJAU6914 The password is “cmcmeal”. We will offer two kinds of soup: chili with meat and a veggie soup with no pasta or meat (it could have beans). We need several more people to bring soup and a few more to bring cookies. Please be sure to either sign up on multiple lines or tell us how many you are making. We do need some cookies that are gluten free or dairy free or nut free. We especially need people to sign up to wash dishes and help put tables away. Please bring your own bowls and plates and silverware if possible, since that will help with clean up. Thank you! Hospitality Committee
Childcare during the congregational meeting. Childcare will be provided during the congregational meeting from 12-1:30 pm for children ages 3-grade 6. Thank you to Greta Kreider for coordinating!
Covenant Renewal. At Community Mennonite Church we annually renew our membership covenant with God and with each other in a Covenant Renewal Sunday. This year, rather than hearing a few verbal statements during worship, Pastoral Team and Council invite folks to share their “100 word testimonies” with their table group at the congregational meeting on Sunday, Dec. 2nd. The Covenant Renewal form can be found on the CMC website.
Congregational Vote for Commission Leaders and Gifts Discernment Committee. During the congregational meeting on Sunday members of the congregation will vote to affirm those nominated to serve as chair or vice chair of Worship Commission, Community Life Commission, and Administration Commission, as well as members of the Gifts Discernment Committee. Individual bios and ballots will be sent in a separate email and will also be available on Sunday at the congregational meeting.
This week’s featured Adult Ed class:
Racial Equity and the Church What is systemic racism? What can we really do about it? And what does it have to do with how we pray, read scripture, worship or serve in our community? Using resources from the Racial Equity Institute and from our own experiences of wrestling with these questions in the church, this Adult Ed class will examine how we, in our congregation, are not immune to the reach of systemic racism, focusing on the shape of white privilege and power, asking ourselves: How do we not only refuse to cave in and capitulate to racism, especially when it appears in the church, but how do we take an active stand against it? What does it mean to be a congregation committed to dismantling racism and all barriers that prohibit the full participation of God's diverse people? Everyone is welcome to the opening sessions (Dec 2, 9 and 16). Because the material is cumulative, everyone who commits to 6 of 8 sessions in January and February can participate in the class. During Jan-Feb class members are encouraged to read one of these books: The New Jim Crow, Michelle Alexander; White Fragility, Robin Di Angelo; The Cross and the Lynching Tree, James Cone; Just Mercy, Bryan Stevenson, The Trouble I've Seen, Drew Hart; Stamped from the Beginning, Ibram X. Kendi. Facilitators: Tim Seidel, Kim Copeland, Mike Brislen, Jennifer Davis Sensenig. Meet in Room 109.
The winter quarter of Adult Ed begins this Sunday, December 2. Descriptions and meeting locations of all winter Adult Ed classes can be found on the CMC website.
A flyer for our current Advent worship series, Love Revealed, can be found on the CMC website.
CMC Seniors Christmas Potluck: Thursday, December 6 at 6:00 p.m. at the church fellowship hall. Meat, bread, beverage and all table service will be provided. First letter of your last name is between A and O bring a vegetable or salad, last name between P and Z bring a dessert. We will enjoy Christmas singing after dinner.
Compassion Fund We need to replenish our Compassion Fund. If you are able to make a gift at this time to offset expenses for CMC households facing financial burdens, please put "Compassion Fund" in the memo line of your check and place it in the offering basket. Or designate your gift made through electronic giving at our website: cmcva.org
Gifts Discernment Survey. The Gifts Discernment Committee of CMC is asking you to take a few minutes to complete a Gifts Discernment Survey. The intention of the survey is to identify ways CMCers of all ages are willing to use their gifts within the life of the church. Just because you indicate that you are interested in doing something on the survey does not sign you up for doing that thing, nor does it ensure that you will be asked right away. If you are interested in getting involved with the work of a Church Commission now, we encourage you to seek out the chair of that commission. If you have any questions about the survey, please contact Brendon Derstine or another member of the Gifts Discernment Committee: Elaine Stoltzfus or Kelly McDonald. Please take a few minutes to complete the Gifts Discernment Survey by clicking this link.
Books from Ray Gingerich’s Collection. Wilma Gingerich is inviting CMCers to stop in at EMU at the Brunk House, Room 202 (Ray’s office) to take any books they are interested in. The office will be open next Wednesday, Thursday and Friday (Dec. 5-7) from 8:30–5:00 pm.
Furniture Needed. Boris Ozuna and Rebeca Barge are moving to a larger home as we anticipate the birth of our second baby (still in Harrisonburg, and actually closer to Elaine & Nathan!) and are in need of some additional furniture. We're looking for a large dining table with 8-10 chairs (that could expand); dressers; night stands; coffee table; large area rugs; and a queen bed. Contact Rebeca Barge at rebeca1c.barge@gmail.com.
Ministry Opportunity. Community Mennonite Church has been approached to join in a ministry opportunity. RISE congregation is sponsoring a Saturday program, WITH. RISE is across from the jail and is opening their doors to be a warm place for families to wait before their time to visit with a family member in jail arrives. The program is on Saturday mornings from 7:30 am until 10:30 am, and RISE is looking for partners to help be with these families as they wait for their allotted time to visit. If you are interested in volunteering for a Saturday morning please let Dennis Showalter (sdshowalt@gmail.com) or Jeff Mumaw (jamumaw@yahoo.com) know.
SAINTS BE PRAISED, just a little longer – A double-poster photo collage on the "CMC Today" bulletin board featuring scenes from the "Lessons from Jesus" fall worship series; people listening and learning in Sunday school classes and remembering CMC people who have gone before in an "All Saints Day" ritual will remain on display for one more week. Just posted – several vintage "Bishop's Mantle" Advent-flavored columns, a slice of "Virginia Ham" (MWR) and, at no additional charge, a 'congregational report' for Sept.-Oct. from the 11/19/18 issue of Mennonite World Review. Please pause and ponder. Bless you! Jim Bishop
ADVENT-TAGEOUS ADVENT-URE AWAITS – Aaaaaaaww . . . . ever wonder as you wander how CMC celebrated the Advent season seven years ago (2011)? Likely not, but the answer, my friends, is not blowin' in the wind. Simply cast a wondrous gaze upon the "CMC Yesterday" bulletin board on the east side of the fellowship hall. Jim Bishop
Greening CMC : Educating ourselves. You may remember when you were young driving through a “moth snowstorm”, and having to clean the bugs off your windshield. How often does that happen to you now? Probably less often, reflecting the increasing awareness of a global Insect Apocalypse, which mirrors the large decrease in populations recently reported for vertebrates. Help reverse this trend by creating inviting habitats for wildlife.
Announcements from Virginia Mennonite Conference, Harrisonburg area and beyond
Nurture children’s faith at home this Advent and Christmas through family worship. Find a free, downloadable guide at AnabaptistFaithFormation.org with daily scriptures, songs, activities and questions to ponder together.
Harrisonburg Mennonite’s Christmas Event “One Starry Night” will be held December 9 at 4:30 p.m. at HMC, 1552 South High Street, Harrisonburg, Va. All are invited to attend and participate in this family-friendly interactive event! There will be simple activities in a marketplace, music and food samples from Jesus’ day. Enter through the east entrance.
ACRS welcomes two speakers on Monday, December 10. Johann Zimmermann and Kevin King will be speaking about their MDS work. For more information, click on: http://www.emu.edu/acrs/events/
All are invited to gather at EMU for a Christmas Lessons and Carols service featuring EMU choir ensembles and readers from Campus Ministries. This service takes place on Monday, December 10 at 7 p.m. in Lehman Auditorium. A free-will offering for the compassion fund will be collected.
Doug Graber Neufeld will be speaking on “Caring for God’s Creation: Anabaptists and Climate Change” at the on Wednesday, December 12 at VMRC’s Detwiler Auditorium at 6:30 pm.
Eastern Mennonite School presents Antonio Vivaldi's Gloria and other choral and instrumental music at its Christmas worship program. Join us on Tuesday, December 11 or Thursday, December 13, 7:30 p.m. in the school auditorium. Program will include full orchestra of student and professional musicians, and an 85-voice choir.
Winchester Musica Viva, a chamber group directed by Ken Nafziger, will perform a concert at 7:00 pm on December 15 at Park View Mennonite Church, Harrisonburg. Learn more about the group at winchestermusicaviva.org/
Good Company and Willow Run Band invite you to their shared Christmas concert on Sunday, December 16 at 7:00 p.m. at Park View Mennonite Church. This festive event will feature a wide variety of seasonal favorites and a light reception will follow. Admission by donation ($10/person suggested). For more information about these groups, visit goodcompanyacappella.com and facebook.com/willowrunband.
"A Walk Through Bethlehem" (an outdoor live Nativity) will be Saturday and Sunday, December 15-16, from 6:00 PM until 7:30 PM at Weavers Mennonite Church. Stroll on the streets of Bethlehem the day Jesus was born: meet the wise men, shepherds, animals, townspeople, craftsmen, Mary & Joseph, and baby Jesus in a manger! Finally, end your experience in the Bethlehem Cafe with a hot drink and cookies. Invite your friends and neighbors.
The 50th annual School for Leadership Training at Eastern Mennonite University, “Thriving in the Stormy Seas of Change” is January 14-16, 2019. Pastors and church leaders are well aware of the tumultuous seas in which we serve. Significant changes and conflicts in contemporary politics, churches and denominations and in our personal lives present challenges and opportunities for preaching and leading the church today. Church leaders riding these waves of change yearn for deep communion with God’s Spirit and for inspiring worship with other leaders in order to thrive in ministry. School for Leadership Training 2019 will provide this worshipful and renewing encounter through the narrative of Jesus’ crossing the stormy sea with his disciples in Mark 4:35-41. Keynote speakers are Sue Park-Hur, John Pavlovitz and David Evans. For more information and to register https://emu.edu/seminary/slt/
Kitchen Coordinater Wanted. Our Community Place is hiring a full-time Kitchen Coordinator! The mission of OCP is to build a safe, loving community of restoration and hope for all, especially those facing homelessness and other adverse experiences. The Kitchen Coordinator oversees all food-related systems, and the ideal candidate will have experience in food service, business management and entrepreneurship, and must be able to work closely with socially, economically, and culturally diverse populations. For more information visit ourcommunityplace.org.
Looking to serve in a mentoring role to young adults? Service Adventure is seeking leaders for its unit location in beautiful Anchorage, Alaska. This is a unique opportunity to serve as a mentor and to foster community with a household of young adults through faith formation, daily living, and house activities. For more information, contact Susan Nisly at Mennonite Mission Network: susann@mennonitemission.net.
Apartment Wanted. A woman who attends church at Stephens City Mennonite Church is working in Harrisonburg and is looking for an apartment. She is looking for a room or small apartment to rent for $550 a month or less. If you know of an apartment that is available, please contact Joan Kulp at jjkulp@gmail.com.