East Zorra Mennonite Church
Volume 67 Sunday December 22, 2024 No. 51
Sunday December 22, 2024
Prelude/Accompanist: Laurie Yantzi Song Leader: Caleb Leis
Greeters: Hannah & Dylan Yantzi Worship Leader: Pastor Mike
Audio/Visual: Dathan Bender/Brian Wagler Offering: Where Needed Most
Coffee Hosts: Michelle & Brad Brenneman
Prelude
Nursery & Preschool & JK & SK
“Away in a Manger”
“Happy Birthday”
Welcome & Announcements
Advent reading & lighting of the candles
Names of Jesus – Grades 1-5
Readers (Lydia, Ila, Hannah, Lake, Noah, Lydia, Garner, Liam, Emmett W)
Congregational Song: “O Come, O Come, Immanuel” #210 VT
“To Us a Child of Hope Is Born” #259 VT
Names of Jesus: Immanuel & Prince of Peace
Video – “The Birth of Jesus Retold”
Written, Filmed & Edited by Colton Yantzi
Acted out by Grades 1-5.
Christmas Video Word Definitions
“That’s wacked!” – That is crazy!
“Aight”- OK
“That was SICK!” – That was amazing!
“Gnarly”- Cool!
” Is this Jesus’s crib?” – Is this Jesus’s home?
“This baby is dope!”- This baby is awesome!
Names of Jesus: Son of God & Good Shepherd
Congregational Song: “What Child is this” #267 VT
“Good Christian Friends Rejoice” #261 VT
Offering – Where Needed Most
Offertory – Elise & Lydia
Names of Jesus: Friend & Saviour
Sharing & Prayer – Pastor Mike
Names of Jesus: Light of the World & King of Kings
Song – Grades 1-5 “Something about that Name” (by Anne Wilson)
Names of Jesus
Song – JWalkers (Grades 6,7 & 8) “Go Tell it on the Mountain” (by Zack Williams)
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.
Thank you to everyone who made cupcakes for today!
12 p.m. Private Party
Christmas Giving Gift Card Project
Each Sunday during Advent as you come to worship the worship committee will be collecting Gift Cards that we will distribute to Tavistock Assistance Program (TAP) and Wilmot Family Resource Centre. There will be a box in the foyer for you to place your gift cards. While any gift card amount is welcome, $25 Gift Cards (or lower) become the most useful to distribute. The Gift cards most requested are: Shell, PC, Esso, Petro-Canada, Walmart. Winners, IDA, Shoppers Drugmart. Each week, we will display ornaments on a Christmas Tree to mark the number of cards we have received. Thank you for any contribution you can make to the Christmas giving project!
This Coming Week
Tuesday December 24th
- 7 p.m. Christmas Eve Service at EZMC.
Friday December 27th
- 4 – 9 p.m. Private Party
Christmas Eve – December 24, 2024
7 p.m.
Prelude/Accompanist: Bethany Zehr Song Leader: Myron Ruby
Worship Leader: Pastor Ray Message: Pastor Mike
Audio/Visual: Todd Bender/Brian Wagler
Offering: Operation Sharing (Oxford) and United Way (Homelessness in Perth)
Next Sunday – December 29, 2024
Prelude/Accompanist: Worship Band Song Leader: Lindsay Zehr
Worship Leader: Kris & Krista Matthews Greeters: Joyce & Howard Ropp
Audio/Visual: Greg Pye/Brian Wagler Offering: Where Needed Most
Coffee Hosts: Janet & Marv Yantzi Message: Alexis Leis
Extending God’s Love
Thank you for the cards, gifts and Christmas Blessings you have shared with us this year. May the joy of the angels, the humility of the shepherds, the anticipation of the Magi, and the peace of Christ be God’s gift to you and your people this Christmas as you receive the love of God revealed in Jesus. Pastors Mike & Ray
EZMC Announcements
If you are on the EZMC Canadian Mennonite Magazine subscription list you will find the December issue in the mailbox lobby. Please take one if you would like it. Your January issue should arrive by mail now that the postal strike is over.
The EZMC Church Directory Update page is in church mailboxes. Please make the updates in your directory as we are not printing one in 2024. There are extras on the bottom row if you would like to share with family members who have a directory at home but do not have a church mailbox.
Are you looking for some reading material to enjoy over the holidays? Stop in at the library and see the selection of Christmas books for adults and children!
Wednesday January 8th – Gather at 7:30, start at 8 Women’s Bible Study in the MYF room. All are welcome. We have been studying Jennie Allen’s ‘Find Your People’”
Save the Dates – Vacation Bible School at EZMC will be held on July 7-11, 2025.
Beyond our Church Community
Urgent Financial Need – MCEC. As we approach the end of the year, we invite you to prayerfully consider making a donation to support the ongoing ministry and mission of MCEC. We face a financial challenge to meet the approved budget. Despite strong reduction in expenses, revenue has greatly declined. Our MCEC Finance Update for December (https://mcec.ca/res/pub/Documents/Financial-Statements/MCEC-Finance-Update-December-2024.pdf) outlines the details. Your donation fuels MCEC’s transformational work. Visit mcec.ca/annual-appeal to give today. Thank you.Your generosity ensures that we can continue to serve and grow as a church community, working together to embody God’s love in the world.
Mail delivery this Christmas will likely be impacted by the postal strike
While this creates uncertainty for many Canadians, we want to reassure you that Mennonite Central Committee’s work continues. Your generosity makes it possible for us to bring Christ’s love to those in need and we’re here to ensure you can stay engaged with the issues you care about. If you usually send your donations through the mail, here are some secure alternatives to consider:
💻Donate Online: Make a secure donation anytime on our website. It’s quick, easy and safe. To support MCC this Christmas season, go to https://mcc.org/christmas.
☎️Call-In Donations: Prefer to donate by phone? Call us at 1-888-622-6337, Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Our team will be happy to assist you.
This Christmas, we’re grateful to partner with you in spreading warmth, hope, and Christ’s love around the world. Thank you for your continued support during this season of giving.
Due to the Canada Post strike, Mennonite Disaster Services encourages you to consider their online and telephone giving options this Christmas season.
You can:
- Donate online at mds.org/donate-canada; or
- Make a credit card donation by calling us toll-free at 1(866) 261-1274.
Your gift will bring hope, warmth and a community of volunteers around those who need it most — so that disaster survivors don’t face a difficult journey towards recovery alone.
Mennonite Disaster Service – The December edition of On the Level is now available. In this edition, you’ll read about Executive Director Ross Penner’s inspiration from his mother’s Christmas bread, celebrate with families in West Virginia who are home for Christmas, thanks to MDS volunteers, plus details of the 75th Anniversary celebration coming in February.
Read On the Level: https://conta.cc/3BJdOe3
Thursday January 9th 12 p.m. 12 p.m. High Noon Seniors Lunch at Grace United Church in Tavistock. A homestyle lunch will be served followed by a musical entertainment by Bob Heywood. Cost: Freewill offering.
Friday January 10th & Saturday January 11th 7 p.m. Bonhoeffer: Cell 92 – | A cinematic theatre production created by Jerry Holsopple and Justin Poole. This thought-provoking single actor play focuses on the final period of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s life, a German pastor and theologian involved in the Protestant resistance to Hitler and National Socialism. Two nights only, at Conrad Grebel University College in Waterloo. Tickets: uwaterloo.ca/grebel/events/bonhoeffer-cell-92
Exciting News! The New MCC Meat Cannery is ready!
Saturday January 18, 2025 from 1:45 – 4 p.m., 65 Heritage Dr., New Hamburg
After months of hard work and anticipation, the MCC Meat Cannery in New Hamburg is complete—and it’s time to celebrate!
🎉 Join us for the grand dedication event 🎉
✨ Explore the new facility.
🌎 Discover the life-changing impact of MCC’s canned meat around the world.
🍴 Enjoy delicious refreshments and appetizers.
No need to RSVP—just come as you are and be part of this special moment.
For details, visit mcc.org/meat-cannery-dedication.
We can’t wait to celebrate with you!
Saturday January 25, 2025, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Join us for the Great Winter WarmUp!
at the MCC Material Resources Centre, 65 Heritage Dr, New Hamburg
Get ready to cozy up at the Great Winter WarmUp! We’re inviting you, your friends and your family to the MCC Material Resource Centre for a fun-filled comforter knotting blitz. Together, we’ll create handmade comforters that bring warmth and remind those in need that they are loved and cared for. No experience? No problem! Whether you’re a pro at knotting or trying it for the first time, everyone is welcome. Enjoy some hot beverages, connect with great people and help us spread warmth and comfort this winter. We can’t wait to see you there and share some warmth together! For more info, go to mcc.org/events.
Thursday January 16, 2025 7:30 pm. Anabaptism at 500: A service of Commemoration and Celebration, W-K United Mennonite Church, Waterloo. | A service of music, reading, and reflection on the 500th anniversary of the first adult baptisms in Zurich, Switzerland. uwaterloo.ca/grebel/events/anabaptism-500-service
Friday January 17, 2025 7:30 pm Bechtel Lecture | Commemorating Anabaptism’s 500 Years: Anabaptist beginnings and the stories we tell, at Conrad Grebel University College, Waterloo. Dr. Karl Koop considers our dominant communal memories and the stories we tell, suggesting that in avoiding stories from the margins and stories we have marginalized, we will be left with a situation intellectually unsatisfying, and significantly limiting in our understanding of the past. uwaterloo.ca/grebel/events/anabaptist-beginnings
Tuesday January 28, 2025 9:30 a.m. New Hamburg Mennonite Relief Sale Feature Quilt Reveal, Mennonite Central Committtee, 50 Kent Ave., Kitchener.
Each year, a talented individual or team creates the feature quilt for the New Hamburg Mennonite Relief Sale. Feature quilts have depicted historical churches, the play of colour and light across fabric, a journey through Africa, among other innovative designs. On January 28, the curtain will be removed and the 2025 feature quilt will be revealed. Join us in the lower atrium at 50 Kent Ave, Kitchener or on the NHMRS Facebook page. Learn more at mcc.org/events.
Monday March 24, 2025 6 p.m. Hope Starts at Home: An evening with Phyllis Webstad, at Bingemans Conference Centre, 425 Bingemans Centre Dr, Kitchener
Join us on March 24 along with author and speaker, Phyllis Webstad, the founder and ambassador of the Orange Shirt Society. Phyllis will share her childhood of healing and reconciliation in Canada as we seek to restore justice, foster belonging and address poverty in Ontario. Funds raised at the event will supply MCC Ontario’s new meat cannery. To learn more and order your tickets, go to mcc.org/evening-with-phyllis-webstad.
Mennonite Church Canada Gathering – July 2-5, 2025 in Kitchener/Waterloo.
This Gathering is shaping up to be an incredible experience with three unique avenues for engagement:
1.Congregational Gathering: Join delegates and congregational representatives for inspiring sessions, worship, and connection.
2.Youth Gathering: A vibrant, energetic event designed specifically for youth, hosted on the University of Waterloo campus.
3.U30 Young Adult Gathering: Engage with peers through tailored events, including a special post-Gathering celebration at Hidden Acres!
More info coming soon!