East Zorra Mennonite Church
Volume 66 Sunday January 22, 2023 No. 4
Worship Service – Sunday January 22, 2023 at 10 a.m.
Join Sunday Morning Worship Gathering
The Story of God, the Story of Us: Reading the Bible Together
We will begin a new Worship and Sunday School series
Prelude: Glorify Accompanist: Chantelle McNeish
Song Leader: Melanie Wiegand Worship Leaders: Hannah & Dylan Yantzi
Message: Pastor Ray Audio/Visual: Todd Bender/Brian Wagler
Pre-Service Singing: This is Amazing Grace; My Lighthouse; Lord I Need You; Yes and Amen
Welcome & Announcements
Call to Worship & Opening Prayer
Songs of Praise: Goodness of God; Remind Me who I am
Prayer for the Offering
Time with Children
Scripture Readings: 2 Kings 22:1-13; 2 Kings 23:1-2; Luke 4:14-17; 1 Timothy 4:13
Message: Rediscovering the God of the Bible
Song of Response: VT 420 God of the Bible
Sharing Time & Prayer of the Church
Sending Song: This I Believe (The Creed)
Benediction
Today
Coffee Time Hosts: Shirley & Phil Ruby
A note about Coffee Time – We will continue to have coffee every other Sunday. We would welcome a few more volunteers that would make it possible to serve coffee every week. We would ask that everyone provide their own coffee 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. Please contact Lisa if you would be willing to volunteer to be a coffee time host. A coffee host prepares the coffee and cleans up after coffee time. Thanks so much.
Sunday School classes
Nursery to Grade 5 classes are being held downstairs.
Junior Youth class meets upstairs in Room #9
Youth class meets upstairs in the MYF room (Room #11)
Adult Sunday School
God’s Story, Our Story: Reading the Bible Together
Following the service and a time of fellowship, you are invited to the basement for a time of discussion as we reflect on the Bible story for the week. Using the questions from the reading schedule to guide us, we will try and figure out what each story means to us today as God’s people. Paper copies of the reading guide are available on the table outside the nursery.
We will plan to keep the Zoom link open and will have a leader to guide discussion for Zoom participants.
This Coming Week
Wednesday January 25th
10:30 – 11:30 a.m. Unwrapping Scripture over Coffee – Please see the announcement for more details about this weekly bible study opportunity.
Thursday January 26th
9:30 a.m. E Z Play Group
7 p.m. Health Ministry Team Meeting
7 p.m. MYF
Next Sunday – January 29, 2023
The Story of God, the Story of Us: Reading the Bible Together
Prelude: Worship Band Accompanist: Heidi Wagler
Song Leader: Connie Yantzi Worship Leaders: Marlow Gingerich
Message: Pastor Mike Audio/Visual: Dathan Bender/Larry Kropf
EZMC Announcements
The EZMC 2022 Annual Meeting will held on February 26, 2023.
- The meeting will be held in person and available virtually on Zoom.
- Please submit your Annual Reports to Lisa by Friday January 27th by email at office@ezmennonite.ca. Some of our church programs were paused but many areas of ministry continued. Please report as it makes sense for your specific area. If you have questions, reach out to your Lay Minister for guidance. Thanks so much!
- The annual report will be sent by email but if you would prefer a paper copy, let Lisa know by Thursday February 9th. Please note that paper copies of the report will be delivered to those who receive a printed copy of our Sunday bulletin each Friday.
Unwrapping Scripture over Coffee
Wednesdays 10:30-11:30 at the Church
Winter blues got you down? Are you bored? Do you miss getting out of the house? Then come drop-in at the church and join us on Wednesday mornings as we open and read the Bible together over a hot cup of coffee or tea. Bring your Bibles and your questions as we reflect on a story from the Bible and what it teaches us about ourselves and God. Whether you are a Bible expert or completely confused, everyone is welcome!
It’s cold out there.
On February 25, Operation Sharing is hosting the Coldest Night of the Year, a 2 & 5 km winterrific walk hosted in 170+ cities across Canada, in support of their work in Oxford County with people experiencing homelessness, hurt, and hunger.
Our Missions Committee has registered a team (EZ Walkers) and plan to walk in Woodstock on February 25. If you would like to join our team of walkers and/or sponsor us to help raise funds please speak to one of the members of our Missions Ministry Committee: Susan Schmitz, Dan Matthews, Sheryl Leis, Jessie Yantzi, Pastor Ray or use the following link:
https://secure.e2rm.com/registrant/TeamFundraisingPage.aspx?teamID=993747
Our goal is to raise $2000 or more to help respond to the growing needs in Oxford County. Thanks for your support!
The Nursing Homes of Tavistock have requested that our ministerial churches begin offering Sunday afternoon services again. It feels important that East Zorra be involved in this important ministry to our seniors in Long Term Care. The ministerial is working on scheduling and response to this request. If your family, small group or group of friends, would be willing to be involved please speak to Pastor Ray or Susan Schmitz. The services are about 30 minutes and involve music, readings, prayers. Thank you for considering sharing in this ministry.
Junior Christian Education Team (JCET) needs teachers January-June! Please Sign-up sheet in the basement, or use the link below, or call anyone on the team (Jess Yantzi, Holly Barron, Erin Yantzi or Sue Martin) for dates that work for you! Thanks for helping in faith formation to our children!
Used Stamps – Thankfully four members have offered to trim the accumulated used stamps so they may be forwarded to the Canadian Bible Society! Should you continue to receive snail mail, please clip leaving 1/4″ around the entire stamp and place the trimmed stamps into the box marked “Stamps” in the coat/mail room.
Beyond Our Church Community
Monday January 23rd 9:30 a.m. NHMRS Feature Quilt Reveal at 50 Kent Ave, Kitchener or Online. 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 and a journey through Africa, among other innovative designs. On January 23, the curtain will be removed and the 2023 feature quilt will be revealed. Go to mcco.ca/events for more info.
Wednesday January 25th 7 p.m. Grebel Gallery – Your Wall Can (Not) Divide Us. (Opening). This interactive exhibition at Conrad Grebel University College includes photos of street art pieces from a range of conflict-affected societies and an opportunity to leave your own ‘mark’ on the gallery walls. Come explore topics of resistance, political communication, commemoration, and identity expression. More information at: uwaterloo.ca/centre-peace-advancement/grebel-gallery
Thursday January 26th 7:00-9:30 p.m. Online – Training Active Bystanders
If you witness a violent situation, will you know how to respond? Training Active Bystanders shows you how. Join us on Thursday, January 26 for our next workshop. Participants learn to analyze harm-doing and respond in everyday ways. For more info and to register, go to mcco.ca/events.
Thursday February 2nd 7:30 p.m. Sawatsky Lecture | The Power of Misfitting: Disrupting Sinner, Saint, and Super Crip Controlling Images | | Dr. Darla Schumm will identify prevalent controlling images that religious communities ascribe to people with disabilities, and will offer ‘misfitting’ as a deliciously disruptive concept against the existing controlling imagery, while reorienting thinking about disability in both general and religious contexts. This lecture will be held in-person and livestreamed. Register to attend at: grebel.ca/sawatsky
Saturday February 4th 7:30 p.m. Menno Singers and artistic director Brandon Leis present a new composition by local composer Justin LaPierre, ‘Messe de Sainte Anne ’, a weaving together of Québécois hymns and folk music, at St Matthews Lutheran Church (54 Benton St, Kitchener).
$25 Adults. $5 Children/Students. www.mennosingers.com
Walking Together Book Study – MCEC Truth & Reconciliation Working Group
Join the MCEC Truth and Reconciliation Working Group in this 4-part book study, Walking Togther: Intercultural Stories of Love and Acceptance. We will begin our study with Edith and Neill von Gunten, the authors, on Wednesday, February 15.
We will meet every other Wednesday evening from 7 – 9 Eastern time.
(Wed Feb 15, Wed Mar 1, 15, & 29). Walking Together invites the church to grapple with questions of racism and Christian supremacy in order to see that all peoples and cultures bear Creator’s beauty and gifts, and that our reconciliation—even our salvation—depends upon embracing that truth.
More Information and to Register
The constituency-based MCEC Truth & Reconciliation Working Group serves the MCEC constituency by promoting awareness and education on specific issues and topics. The information and links are those of the Working Group and do not necessarily represent MCEC as a whole.
Call for German Mennonite Poetry – Do you or your relatives have self-composed German Mennonite poetry that you’re interested in sharing with the community? Brubacher House Artists-in-Residence are collecting previously untranslated German language poems for a bilingual collection of German Mennonite poetry from the Waterloo Region. Email submissions to brubacherpoetryproject@gmail.com. More information at uwaterloo.ca/brubacher-house
SEVEN PRINCIPLES WORKSHOP FOR COUPLES
At Interfaith Counselling Centre, we are excited to be offering an 8 week Gottman “The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work”. This is a group for Pre-Marital; Common Law; and Married Couples. The Seven Principles Workshop for Couples is based on the internationally acclaimed research of Dr. John Gottman as presented in his New York Times bestselling book – The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work. This educational workshop is designed to help couples improve their friendship and conflict management skills. This workshop will be offered via Zoom.
Please see the poster on the bulletin board for more information.
MCC’s Applied Peacebuilding Skills Certificate Program, Online, January to May 2023. Learning the skills of peace is a lifelong adventure. Wherever you are in the process of learning the skills of peacemaking, the latest MCC program will help you to further develop and apply these skills within your home, work and community. Register for MCC’s nine-session program, which takes place every other Wednesday evening from mid-January to May 2023. Learn more at mcco.ca/events.
Hidden Acres Mennonite Camp is hiring! We have an opening in early February for a part time (about 15-20 hours a week) member of our housekeeping staff. The successful applicant will be responsible to ensure our facilities are kept clean and in good condition for our guests. They should have an interest or experience in a variety of housekeeping skills, be able to adapt their schedule to meet the requirements of Hidden Acres’ program and be willing to support the mission of the camp. Please visit www.hiddenacres.ca for more information. To apply, please send a resume to info@hiddenacres.ca. Deadline January 24, 2023.