Sunday Morning Worship – 10 a.m.
EZMC 2023 Annual Meeting
Prelude: Bethany Zehr Accompanist: Bethany Zehr
Worship Leader: Brendan/Ray/Mike Song Leader: Lindsay Zehr
Greeters: Flo & Lorne Metzger Offering: Leadership
Audio/Visual: Drystan Bender/Brian Wagler
Prelude
Words of Welcome & Announcements
Call to Worship & Opening Prayer
Songs of Praise
VT120 “For the Beauty of the Earth”
Prayer for the Offering
Scripture Reading: Matthew 13:31-33
Time with the Children Sheryl Leis
Sharing by:
Lindsay Zehr, Lay Minister of Worship
Susan Schmitz, Lay Minister of Mission
Bethany Kropf & Jared Yantzi, Lay Ministers of Christian Education
Marv Leis (Care Team)
Heidi Wagler (Faith Community Nurse)
Congregational Song:
VT420 “God of the Bible”
Time of remembering led by Care Team
We will remember the lives of our congregational members who died in 2023.
Marv Leis to remember Paul Schlegel & Harold Schwartzentruber
Merv Ropp to remember Katherine Roth
Joan Yantzi to remember Geoline Bender
Prayer of the Church Pastor Mike
Congregational Song:
VT419 “Great Is Thy Faithfulness”
East Zorra Community Slideshow: Celebration of many programs & volunteers
Children dismissed to Sunday School
Sunday School Hour (immediately following worship) – Hear from our Pastors and Review of business operations of our church
- Review of the 2022 Annual Meeting minutes
- 2023 Annual Meeting Agenda Review
- Treasurer’s Report
- Review and auditor approval of 2023.
- Review and approval of 2024 commitments and offering schedule
A Conversation with Mike and Ray
Building Visioning Discussion
Opportunity for Questions
Departing to Serve – Closing Prayer
Following the meeting, everyone is invited to stay for a fellowship meal.
The MYF will be serving a soup lunch as a fundraiser for a potential youth retreat/conference this year. All are welcome to join us for lunch.
This Coming Week
Wednesday February 28th
- 10:30 – 11:30 a.m. Coffee and Bible Study
- 7 p.m. Play Group set up
- 7 p.m. Church Ministry Council Meeting
Thursday February 29th
- 9:30 – 11 a.m. E Z Play Group
- 12 p.m. Lenten Luncheon at Grace United Church at Grace United Church (Elevator and Hearing Assistance). Each Thursday during Lent beginning at noon with meditation and music in the Sanctuary followed by Soup and Sandwich Lunch at 12:30 p.m. Suggested contribution is $5-$10 for lunch. Theme is “Spiritual Practises for a Climate Crisis” Each week we will focus on an emotion that describes our relationship with creation.
Week 3: Hope.
Friday March 1st
- MYF – We will be attending the Waterloo Region Worship night at Forward Church in Cambridge on Friday March 1st from 7-9 p.m. Please let one of the MYF sponsors know if you are interested in attending this evening of praise and worship or willing to be a driver. We will be meeting at East Zorra at 5:45 p.m. to carpool and departing by 6 p.m.
Sunday March 3, 2024
Stories from the Life of Jesus – Jesus & The Unclean
Prelude: Worship Band Accompanist: Worship Band
Worship Leader: Bevin Witmer Song Leader: Connie Yantzi
Greeters: Gloria & Merv Ropp Offering: Mission Partners
Audio/Visual: Dathan Bender/Larry Kropf Message: Pastor Mike
Coffee Hosts: Megan MacDonald & Russ Schumm
EZMC Announcements
January 2024 Donations Received Summary
Offering Schedule Designations – $28,316
The 2024 Camp Subsidy Form is now available and you can complete and return to Dawn Zehr either by email (gdzehr@gmail.com) or mail (EZMC P.O. Box 997 Tavistock, ON N0B 2R0). Forms are available in the literature rack beside the main bulletin board or by contacting Lisa Suderman at office@ezmennonite.ca
If you have any questions please contact one of the Christian Education Lay Ministers – Bethany Kropf or Jared Yantzi.
Mark your calendars for this year’s EZ Women’s IF Gathering here at the church, April 12th and 13th. What is an IF Gathering?
“If Gathering exists to equip women with gospel-centered resources, events and community so they may learn more about who God is and disciple other women.”
The theme this year is- A Reason to Celebrate, A Moment to Risk Again.
Come join us as we thank God for all he has done in our past and discuss how are we going to live differently for Him going forward.
The cost for registration is $30 and this includes lunch on Saturday from Raja Thai and Indian Cuisine. Please sign up on the sheet posted on the bulletin board in the front lobby. Spread the word and invite your friends to join us! If you have any questions you can ask one of the planning team members, Erin Yantzi, Ashley Witzel, Sheryl Leis, Heidi Wagler or Jess Yantzi.
Stay tuned for more details to come!
Help build a future of peace in Mindanao: Malipayon Peace Hub
On Friday November 24 our weekly email included an attachment of the monthly newsletter from Dann and Joji Pantoja, witness workers in the Philippines who we support. This newsletter highlights the Malipayon Peace Hub Project which we heard about last month when our guests from the Philippians were here. Mennonite Church Canada is supporting this project and has a fundraising goal of $230,000. They hope to reach this goal March 2024. If you would like to donate to this project please use the link provided below or send a cheque to Mennonite Church Canada 600 Shaftesbury Blvd. Winnipeg, Man. R3P 0M4.Your support for this project will be a blessing. Donation Link: https://www.mennonitechurch.ca/philippines-transition
Beyond our Church Community
Material Resources shipments to Ukraine
Material Resources is organizing two shipments to Ukraine, one at the end of January and one in March. Our partners in Ukraine are in need of various items such as comforters, assorted kits and bars of laundry and bath soap. We are blessed to have received everything needed for January, but we still need more items for March. Your contribution can make a significant difference in the lives of those in need. Learn more at mcc.org/get-involved/kits.
Wednesday February 28th 7:30 p.m. CT Peace & Possibility, Part II: Raja Khouri is a Palestinian-Canadian; Jeffrey Wilkinson is an American Jew. Hear them discuss their 2023 book, The Wall Between: What Jews and Palestinians Don’t Want to Know About Each Other. Hosted by Canadian Mennonite, Anabaptist World and the Palestine-Israel Network.. Click here to learn more. and for the livestream link.
Thursday February 29th 8:30 to 10 am – CardiacCrash Showcase in KW. Heart & Stroke Canada has built a wonderful new program for the general public to teach CPR and AED use, and also make it engaging. Their goal is to encourage organizations/workplaces as well as schools to embrace the program, and they are hosting a free showcase of CardiacCrash in Kitchener-Waterloo at Communitech, 151 Charles Street West, 3rd Floor – Roddenberry Room. Here’s the link to register for the event: link.
Thursday February 29th 7:30 p.m. Is Reconciliation Possible? Rev. Dr. Ray Aldred, Director of the Indigenous Studies program at Vancouver School of Theology is Grebel’s 2024 Sawatsky Visiting Scholar. His free public lecture asks the question, “Is Reconciliation Possible?” and he will address sustaining efforts towards reconciliation when justice is so far away. More details at Conrad Grebel University College. grebel.ca/sawatsky.
CommonWord virtual launch of the Together in Hope resource collection for facing the climate crisis. On Thursday, February 29, 7:30 PM (CST) join members of the MCCanada Climate Action group as they launch a new collection of resources designed to help face the climate crisis in hope. Register for the Zoom event at commonword.ca/go/3801.
Saturday March 9th 7:30 p.m. Menno Singers with Artistic Director Brandon Leis present‘At the Foot of the Cross,’ with cellist Ben Bolt-Martin and Menno Youth Ensemble. The concerts includes Bach’s Jesu Meine Freude and works by Morlock, Tavener, Casarrubbios and Carol Ann Weaver. Trillium Lutheran Church (22 Willow St., Waterloo). Tickets $25, Child/Student $5 at www.mennosingers.com or at the door.
Grandparent & Grandchild Retreat at Hidden Acres Mennonite Camp
Monday, March 11th @ 9:15 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. Grandparents and grandchildren in grades 1-6 are invited to camp to “Discover God through the Creative Process” with Mike Vlaming, owner of Little Creek Pottery. Join us for a day of creativity, fun and connecting! For more information or to register go to our website www.hiddenacres.ca. Brochures are available on the main bulletin board.
Thursday March 21st 7:30 p.m. Bechtel Lecture | | A lot-Driven People: Mennonite Narratives in Age of Nationalism (1870-1945). John P. Eicher will give a free public lecture focusing on two groups of German-speaking Mennonites from Russia—one composed of voluntary migrants and the other composed of refugees—who settled in Paraguay’s Gran Chaco during the interwar years of the twentieth century. Conrad Grebel University College, Great Hall. grebel.ca/bechtel.