Bulletin

March 8, 2009

Gathering

Prelude

Welcome and Announcements

Birthday & Anniversary Offering

Opening Words

Hymns

WB # 8

Brethren, we have met to worship

WB # 438

I sing with exultation

Hearing the Word

Children's Story

David Orr

Scripture

Mark 8:31-38

Hymn

WB # 535

Who now would follow Christ

(younger children are dismissed to the nursery)

Sermon

What Do You Have In Mind?

Responding to the Word

Hymn

WB # 413

Faith of the martyrs

Tithes and Offerings

Sharing and Prayer

Hymn

WB # 580

My life flows on

Benediction

Assisted listening devices are available at the audiovisual desk.

Please stand and use a microphone during announcements and sharing

Worship Leader:  Dallas Schlegel  

Music Leader:  David Breckbill

Greeters:  Steve & Angela Nitzsche 

Children's Story Next Week:   Nancy Peters

Nursery Today:  David & Kendra Wiebe

Nursery Next Sunday:  Tom & Jennifer Burkey

Snacks Next Sunday:  Potluck

Birthdays and Anniversaries

Friday, March 13 - Sandy Conrad

Calendar

Today, 7:00 pm

Baptism Exploration Group

Mon. March 9, 9:00 pm

Campus Bible Study - UNL Union

Tues. March 10 7:00 pm

Worship Committee - J. Boshart's

Wed. March 11 7:00 pm

Be Well Group - Troyer's

Wed. March 11 7:15 pm

And/Or?! Group - Orr's

Thurs. March 12, 12:00

Women's Lunch - Spaghetti Works

Sun. March 15, 12:00

Potluck Lunch

Fri.-Sat. April 3 & 4

MCC Sale - Aurora Fairgrounds

Sat. April 25, 10:00 am

Women's Spring Tea

Record for March 1

Attendance:  89                                  

Offering  $2,284

March Budget  $10,705

March Offerings  $2,284

YTD Budget  $19,269

YTD Offerings  $20,471

Building Offering 3/1  $3,266

Announcements

BAPTISM CLASS TONIGHT - The Baptism Exploration Group will meet tonight at 7:00 p.m. at church.

POTLUCK NEXT SUNDAY - We will have a potluck lunch next Sunday, March 15 after the worship service.  Everyone is invited and encouraged to come.  Please bring a main dish and a salad or dessert to share.

WOMEN'S LUNCH THURSDAY - All women are invited to lunch this Thursday at 12:00 p.m. at Spaghetti Works (228 N. 12^th St.).  Join us for some good conversation.

BIRTHDAY OFFERING TODAY - If you have a March birthday or anniversary, you are invited to contribute to our birthday offering during today's worship service.  All the money is used to support three students in India in their education.

THE RELIEF SALE IS COMING - The 30^th Annual Nebraska MCC Relief Sale will be April 3 & 4 in Aurora, Nebraska.  There will be a Friday night Auction and Music Program.  The Saturday events include the auctioning of handmade quilts (including our very own kid-made quilt), artwork, handcrafted wood items, toys and much more.  Plus, you won't want to miss the delicious food.  All proceeds will go directly to meet human needs throughout the world "In the Name of Christ." 

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Three more Sundays!  Donation Drive for Foster Care Closet at First Mennonite Church during March!  Clean used items of all sizes are needed: infant through teen sizes, dress clothes & casual clothes, shoes & all other. Baby items also needed (blankets, etc.) Remember also that lots of teens are adult size! Items not accepted are used as undergarments. FCC also prefers modest clothing. Thank you for your donations! If you have questions, please contact Ruth Chantry or FCC Director Leigh Esau at 402.617.0667.

NOTE: Please leave items on east side of Classroom #1.

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WE'VE MOVED! - Chad, Kathy & Liz Boshart have a new address.  Please make the change in your church directory.

PARTICIPANTS SOUGHT - Carly Jacobs, a colleague and friend of Amanda Balzer and Mike Gruszczynski, will be at First Mennonite today seeking volunteers (19 and older) to participate in a research project. She will be available before Sunday school, between Sunday school and the worship service and after church.  Carly (and Mike and Amanda) would much appreciate your participation.

This project is for a class on Human Variation (ANTH 842) offered through the Department of Anthropology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Interviews with adults in the Lincoln area are used to help evaluate and explore perceptions of race and racial identity in the community at large. You will be asked 6 questions concerning your ideas and opinions on race - there are no right or wrong answers to these questions and you do not have to answer a question if you do not wish to. The interview should be relatively short (15-30 minutes at most) and your results will be completely anonymous. There is no way to identify individual responses to any of the questions. This research has been approved by the Institutional Review Board at UNL and you will be provided with an informed consent form at the time of your interview containing contact information for the faculty members serving as the primary investigators on this project.

Thank you so much for your willingness to participate!

GRANTS RECEIVED - We are thankful to the Nebraska Mennonite Mission & Benevolent Board which has provided 3 grants to our congregation: Juvenile Offender and Victim Mediation ($500), Mennonite Youth Convention ($875), and Anabaptist Lecture Series ($500).  Thanks also to Marlin Kym who represented us at their meeting last month.  Minutes of their meeting and the 2008 Annual Report are posted on the bulletin board.

PEACEMAKING WORKSHOP XXII - Conflict in the Middle East.  Tragedy in Gaza.  How can we act to support peacemaking efforts in this troubled area of our world? 

The Peacemaking Workshop XXII presents a unique opportunity.  Anna Baltzer, a Jewish American Columbia graduate, Fulbright scholar, granddaughter of Holocaust refugees, and human rights worker with the International Women's Peace Service, is the resource person for this year's Peacemaking Workshop.  Her acclaimed presentation is an account of her eyewitness experience of the conflict in the Middle East and the joint Palestinian and Israeli nonviolent resistance.  There is no cost to attend Peacemaking Workshop XXII, Friday, April 3, at 7:00 p.m. at First United Methodist Church (50^th & St. Paul); Saturday, April 4, from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. at First Mennonite Church (7300 Holdrege). 

The Peacemaking Workshop is an ecumenical gathering supported by our local faith community and other peace with justice activists.  The Workshop is held each year in Lincoln to share perspectives and foster discussion and action on peacemaking, justice, and conflict transformation.  For more information call 466-1906 or visit the Peacemaking Workshop website:  www.fmclincoln.org/peacemaking_workshop/2009.   

OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES - Wilderness Wind is offering canoe trips, cabins, yurts, and retreats this summer.  A Mennonite camp based in Ely, Minnesota near the Boundary Waters, an encounter with the Creator and creation is perfect for families, friends, and youth groups. New this year - a Writer's Retreat canoe trip with Jeff Gundy, Survival Skills (outdoor challenges) with Cheryl Mast, Seniors in Denial canoe trip, and a Quilter's Retreat.  Check www.wildernesswind.org or call 316-217-1129.