East Zorra Mennonite Church
Volume 67 Sunday September 22, 2024 No. 38
Sunday September 22, 2024
What is the Gospel?
The Gospel is about a God who Loves and Forgives
Prelude: Brandy Sell Accompanist: Bethany Zehr
Worship Leader: Caleb Leis Song Leader: Myron Ruby
Greeters: Jessica & Tyler Yantzi Offering: Local Ministries
Audio/Visual: Drystan Bender/Larry Kropf Message: Pastor Ray
Coffee Hosts: Kristen & Daryl Cressman
Welcome & Announcements
Call to Worship & Opening Prayer
Song of Gathering & Praise
VT # 1 “Summoned by the God Who Made Us”
VT #76 “Holy, Holy, Holy!”
Offering – Local Ministries
Time with the Children Sheryl Leis
Scripture Reading: Luke 15:11-32
Message Pastor Ray
Song of Response VT #156 “There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy”
Commissioning of New Lay Ministers
Caleb Leis begins as Lay Minister if Christian Education
Marv Yantzi begins as a Care Team Member
Prayer of the Church Pastor Mike
Sending Song VT #841 “As You Go Out from Here”
Benediction
Today
Coffeetime in the basement immediately following worship. Everyone is welcome. We would ask that everyone provides their own mug to help simplify the preparation and clean up time. We will provide mugs for those who forget theirs or who come as guests on a Sunday morning.
11 a.m. Attention Parents: During Coffeetime please take advantage of the opportunity to fill out registration/waiver forms for your children in the basement. Our Safe Church Policy requires that parents complete a separate form for each child involved in Sunday School, Junior Youth, and MYF who are under the age of 18.
Attention Volunteers: Our Safe Church Policy requires all volunteers that work with children, youth, seniors and other vulnerable persons complete and sign a volunteer commitment form for each program year (ie. Sept 1 2024 – Aug 31 2025). Copies of the forms are available downstairs during coffee time. The EZMC Safe Church Policy and Social Media Policy are available if you need to read them before signing.
Junior Sunday School classes JK to Grade 8 will meet in the assembly room and then move to the green space. Please dress for the weather. Nursery/Preschool children are welcome to join us outside accompanied by a parent.
Junior Sunday School teacher meeting during the last half of the Sunday School hour.
Senior Sunday School classes continue.
This Coming Week
Tuesday September 24th
- 6 p.m. SCRC Meeting
Wednesday September 25th
- Play Group set up
Thursday September 26th
- 9:30 – 11 a.m. E Z Play Group
- 7 p.m. Worship Committee Meeting
Friday September 27th
- 7 p.m. MYF – Welcome Night
Next Sunday – September 29, 2024
What is the Gospel?
The Gospel is about a God who rescues
Prelude/Accompanist: Worship Band Song Leader: Lindsay Zehr
Worship Leader: Krista & Kris Matthews Offering: Leadership
Message: Pastor Mike Greeter: Diane Gerber
Audio/Visual: Dathan Bender/Brian Wagler
Coffee Hosts: Megan MacDonald & Russ Schumm
Children’s Blessing of Hobbies and Passions
September 29 During the Worship Service
“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.” 1 Peter 4:10
A new year is upon us and with that comes the return of the many activities, sports, hobbies and interests that our children take up each year.
We want to celebrate all that our kids are passionate about by having a special time of blessing during the Children’s story next week.
Each child is welcome to bring or wear an item that represents what they are passionate about. This can be their hockey, soccer, or baseball jersey. It can be their dance uniform, musical instrument whatever they participate in – we want to bless, give thanks, and bring honor to God with it.
EZMC Announcements
The Anabaptist Community Bible Orders are due soon on Monday September 30th
Celebrate 500 years of Anabaptism with the Anabaptist Community Bible. This study Bible features commentary from 60 Anabaptist scholars, biblical insights from 16th-century Anabaptists, and marginal notes from nearly 600 study groups from Anabaptists around the globe. The Anabaptist Community Bible uses the Common English Bible (CEB) translation. There are 3 editions available. Please see the bulletin board for more info. If you would like to pre-order a bible please put your name on the sheet posted on the main bulletin board or email Lisa at office@emennonite.ca. Ordering in bulk will mean savings on shipping costs. Payment will be due when our order is placed in early October. Publication date is January 2025.
JCET is excited to welcome all the children back to Sunday school. We are looking forward to another fun year of learning and growing together in our faith in Jesus.
Sunday September 22nd, all children from Kindergarten-Grade 8 will meet in the assembly room at the beginning of the Sunday school hour. We will have a short devotional time and then head outside to enjoy time playing together in the Green Space. Nursery/Preschool children are welcome to join us with the accompaniment of an adult.
Formal classes will begin September 29th.
We are still in need of teachers and helpers! The sign up sheet is on the bulletin board in basement near the teacher desk. We encourage you to consider how you could help support our program this year. Please see the link below.
Please note there will be a short teacher meeting for grades 1-8, on Sept. 22nd, during the second half of the Sunday school hour. During this time we will walk you through how to use the curriculum and answer any questions you may have. New this year, the Grades 1-5 and JWalkers (Junior Youth) will all be doing the same “Think Orange” curriculum.
If you have any questions please reach out to one of us.
Erin Yantzi, Sue Martin, Holly Barron, Jess Yantzi.
A reminder that all who volunteer with children during Junior Sunday School are required to submit a Vulnerable Sector Check (VSC) and Volunteer Commitment Form before volunteering. If you have a VSC that was done within the last 6 months (because you volunteered with another organization ie. school or sports team) you can submit it to update your EZMC file. Please check in with Lisa in the office to see if your VSC is current or if you need to apply for a new one. Thanks so much.
Save the date! Saturday December 7
(Inclement weather date Sunday December 8)
The Christmas Story – Live Nativity!
We are hoping to do this again. Please talk to Sheryl Leis or Kim Leis if you are interested in being a part of this special day. We look forward to another fun time.
Beyond our Church Community
***NEW DATE*** Monday September 23rd MCC Ontario annual general meeting
7 p.m. Grounded in the church, our Annual General Meeting (AGM) is an opportunity for us to be accountable, transparent and responsive to you. We invite you to join in celebrating the impact you’ve made of sharing God’s love and compassion in the lives of so many in Ontario and around the world. Delegates from constituent congregations are invited and authorized to vote. The meeting will take place over Zoom. For more information, go to mcc.org/Ontario-AGM.
The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation was included in the 94 Calls to Action in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s final report. This federal holiday is intended to recognize and commemorate the legacy of residential schools, honour Survivors, their families and communities and ensure that public commemoration of the history and heritage of residential schools remains a vital component of the reconciliation process. We’ve created a learning resource on how we can all participate in reconciliation. Go to mcc.org/resources/national-day-truth-and-reconciliation to download the resource.
MCC Ontario will recognize this important day on Tuesday September 24th. All thrift shops and offices will be closed, and staff will spend this day in learning activities related to the ongoing impact of this dark chapter in Canada’s history.
Montreal River Alternative Service Camp Historical Plaque to be installed!
The Mennonite Historical Society of Ontario and the Ontario Heritage Trust will install a commemorative historical plaque at the site of the WW2 Alternative Service (Conscientious Objector) Camp at Montreal River, just north of Sault Ste Marie, Ontario. All are invited to the official unveiling of the plaque on Thursday, September 26 at 4:00 pm at Conrad Grebel University College. The next day, September 27, the MHSO has arranged for two buses to go from Waterloo to Montreal River for the installation of the plaque on September 28. Overnight accommodation has been reserved for bus participants for Friday, September 27 so they can take part in the Plaque installation the next day at the Montreal River site. The buses will then return to Waterloo.
For further details, and to reserve a spot on this trip (accommodation deadline is August 27), go to https://www.mhso.org/content/montreal-river-alternative-service-camp-bus-trip
Saturday October 5th 10 a.m. – 2 p.m., Bucket of Thanks at Material Resources Warehouse, 65 Heritage Dr, New Hamburg. This fall, the Material Resources warehouse is opening its doors and welcoming visitors to an event for the whole family with games, snacks and hands-on activities for all ages. Enjoy activities for kids, pack a kit or two and experience the joy of community service. Admission is free, but we kindly ask for donations of large bath or laundry bars of soap (in original wrapping) to help fill our kits. Learn more at mcc.org/events/bucket-thanks.
Monday October 7th Fall Seniors Retreat at Hidden Acres
You are invited to the beautiful Hidden Acres Camp to explore the theme of Falling in Love with Creation – For God so loved the world. What does loving God’s good creation look like? What changes in us when we pay loving attention to creation? Come join us for a day of encouragement, reflection and good food. To register visit hiddenacres.ca/programs/seniors-retreat. See poster for more details.
The September edition of On the Level from MDS is now available. In this edition, you’ll read about Mario Cruz, an MDS Service Scholarship recipient whose love for camp ministry intertwined with an MDS response this summer.
Read On the Level: https://conta.cc/4esqtQj
Thank you to the hundreds of dedicated volunteers and donors who supported MDS responses across Canada this spring and summer! Because of your support, five houses were rebuilt and four homes repaired for wildfire survivors in the North Shuswap and Lytton communities of BC. And in Bancroft, ON, the family project built cabins to support a summer camp’s programs.