April 16, 2023
Prelude
Call to Worship
Prayer
All Hail the Power of Jesus Name VT 411
Praise the Lord, Sing Hallelujah VT 95
Children’s Time
John 20:19-31
Biblical Story Telling
Praise God VT 70
Gr. 12 blessing
The Lord Lift You Up VT 832
Sabbatical Blessing
Congregational Prayer
Offering
Announcements
Go, My Friends, in Grace VT 810
Benediction
Postlude
Leading us in worship:
Worship Leader: Joy Wagler
Accompanist: Susan Seyler
Song Leader: Nancy Steinmann Yantzi
Children’s Time: Ben and Sarah Winter
Biblical Story Teller: Pastor Sara Erb
Congregational Prayer: Pastor Louise Wideman
A/V: Michael Gingerich and Steve Carter
An unsupervised nursery is available across from the washrooms for children ages 5 and under.
Kids Offering: Mennonite Central Committee’s Ukraine Emergency Response: https://bit.ly/3vMq9I1.
April Special Offering: Help a team of 18 youth and adults with travel costs to Glace Bay, NS, July 9-15 to help Mennonite Disaster Service restore homes damaged by the hurricane in September. Give to Steinmann Mennonite Church, designated “MDS Travel Fund.”
Today
Coffee, tea & juice available in the fellowship hall following the service.
Christian Education (Sunday School) for all ages:
11:00 – 12 p.m. Children’s Sunday School (Age 2 – Gr. 4), basement
11:15 – 12 p.m. Jr. Youth (Gr. 5-8) & MYF (Gr. 9-12+), basement
Adult Ed: Fireplace Room. Over the next few weeks we will be engaging in a variety of topics that will help us practice our peaceful conflict skills. April 16 – Abortion, April 23 – Racism, May 7 – LGBTQ+, May 14 – Climate Change, June 4 – MAID.
Next Sunday April 23
9:45 a.m. – Livestream and in-person worship in the sanctuary.
Scripture: Acts 6:1-7
Speaker: Pastor Steve Drudge
Congregational Life
April 18 (Tues.) 3:30 pm Gifts Discernment meeting
April 18 (Tues) 4 – 5 p.m. & 6:30 p.m. Pickleball.
April 20 (Thur.) at 9 a.m. – 12 noon Steinmann members are needed to help cut rags at the MCC Material Resources Centre. Thank you for your help.
May 2 (Tues.), 7:00 pm. Core Team meeting, 7:00 pm.
National Volunteers Week 16 – 22. Thanks to all volunteers who share God’s joy, compassion, hope and peace in this congregation and community. Thank volunteers you encounter this week.
MYF (Grades 9-12+)
April 28 (Fri.) Progressive Dinner, meet at the church at 7 p.m. ready for a feast
Jr. Youth (Grades 5-8)
April 25 (Tues.) 6 – 7:30 p.m. Service Night at Wilmot Family Resource Centre. Wear closed toed shoes.
KidsLIFE (Grades 1-5)
April 19 (Wed.) 6 – 7:30 p.m. A Visit to the Roth farm
Small Groups
April 25 (Tues.) 10 a.m. The Adult Bible Study led by Wes Leis will meet in the fireplace room at the church. Studying “The Uniqueness of Jesus”. Everyone is welcome.
April 27 (Thurs.) 10-11:30 a.m. – Women’s Bible study will be meeting in person and on Zoom. Studying “Expecting Emmanuel – Eight Women Who Prepared the Way”. Read pages 140 -144. Questions – talk to Lynelle Drudge, Joy Wagler or Darlene Gingerich.
Wider Community
April 17 (Mon.) 7:30 p.m. Annual Meeting of the members of Amish Mennonite Fire and Storm Aid Union will be held at Crosshill Mennonite Church. For more information contact Don Steinmann.
April 18 (Tues.) 7 p.m. Rockway Mennonite Collegiate – Opening of student art exhibition, Ephemeral: a moment in time.
April 18 (Tues) 7 p.m. Rockway Mennonite Collegiate Grade 7&8 DISCOVER ROCKWAY. For more information https://bit.ly/3ESAfwO.
April 19 (Wed.) 7 p.m. Wilmot Death Café – Our lives are filled with death and grief. This Zoom gathering is designed as a safe space to discuss our experiences with death and learn from one another. Questions & registration contact Greg Yantzi pastor@nithvalleymennonite.com.
April 24 (Mon.) 6 p.m. New Hamburg Mennonite Relief Sale Promotion Dinner at Floradale Mennonite Church, 22 Florapine Rd, Floradale. Buffet-style dinner and update on the stationary meat canner. Tickets: $25.00. Advance reservations necessary at justinarmitage@mcco.ca or 519-745-8458 ext. 262
April 28-29 (Fri.- Sat.) – Mennonite Church Eastern Canada Annual Church Gathering at Rockway Mennonite Collegiate, Kitchener. “Transformed. Inspired. Called.” Hebrews 12:1-3. Free intercultural worship service, Friday, 7:00 p.m. Go to http://bit.ly/3zobNz6 for many details and registration.
May 1 (Mon.) Hidden Acres Spring Seniors Retreat 2023. Unlearning Loneliness: Relearning Community with Chip Bender & Cathi Watson. Join us as we reconnect and relearn how to live more fully as relational human beings created in God’s image. For more information: http://bit.ly/3yEjDEz.
May 4 (Thur.) 6 p.m. MEDA: Women Empowering Women presents, Breaking Down Barriers. Explore how employers in the manufacturing sector are working towards addressing employment barriers for women. At MEDA Waterloo Office, 595 Parkside Dr Suite 2, Waterloo. Register for this FREE event at: https://www.meda.org/events/.
May 6 (Sat.) 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. Shalom Counselling Services’ Annual Spring Brunch at Shantz Mennonite Church, 2473 Erb’s Road, Baden. This year’s topic is 40 Years of Conversations (1983 – 2023) to celebrate their 40th anniversary. Tickets $40 (Receipts provided for $20 of ticket price), order deadline May 1st, order at 519-886-9690 or www.shalomcounselling.org/brunch.
May 6 (Sat.) 2 – 4 p.m. Food and bottle drive fundraiser at Zion United Church. For more details see poster on bulletin board.
May 6 (Sat.) 7:30 p.m. Menno Singers present – ‘a light exists in spring…In nature, nothing is perfect and everything is perfect.’ at St Jacobs Mennonite Church (1310 King St. N, St Jacobs). For tickets www.mennosingers.com
May 9 – 30 (Tue.) 6 p.m.- 8 p.m. (4 meetings). Bereaved Families of Ontario (BFO) in partnership with Interfaith Counselling Centre (ICCC) is facilitating an in-person group at the ICC office. The group will offer general grief support and is free of charge to members of the community. Space is limited, register at 519-662-3092.
May 12-14 Silver Lake Mennonite Camp, Grand Paddle & Hike Fundraiser 2023. For more information on how to participate or donate go to http://bit.ly/43ufYHw
Mennonite Central Committee event:
Living Below The Line is a stereotype-busting play about struggle, resilience and hope co-created by Watercourse Theatre and fourteen individuals living in poverty. April 30 (Sun.) at Stirling Ave Mennonite Church, Kitchener and May 13 (Sat.) at Wellesley Mennonite Church, Wellesley
Grace Lao Egg roll sale. Sign up sheet on the table by the mailboxes. If you order egg rolls you are responsible for picking them up. Deadline for orders Tuesday, May 2. Pickup date is Sat. May 6.
Interfaith Annual Online Silent Auction Fundraiser Interfaith Counselling Centre (ICC) is collecting auction items such as a product, gift certificate for a service or experience to be auctioned virtually on May 15th – 28th, 2023. For more details see the letter and donation form on the table by the mailboxes.
Personal Notes
Pastor Sara will be on vacation April 17th – 30th, followed by Sabbatical May 1st – July 29th.
Remember in Prayer
We pray for College and University Students as they prepare for end of semester projects and exams.
Pray for people in Myanmar as they hide in nearby jungles and villages fearing bombardment. Mennonites there report, “We are receiving emergency assistance from Mennonite Church Canada and MWC …The mission of the church has not faded. …prayers from abroad Mennonite friends is a source of strength.”
This week join Mennonite Church Eastern Canada (MCEC) in prayer for Wideman Mennonite Church, Markham, ON.
A Sabbatical Blessing
Suzanne: God works in all of our lives, and has given us the gift of Sabbath rest. We trust that in this sabbatical time, God will be at work in the life of Sara, and the lives of the people of Steinmann Mennonite Church, while Sara practices the rhythms of Sabbath.
Joanne: Sara, as you rest from your ministry and God works in you, we pray that you experience the gift of spiritual growth in your journey and that you return renewed and energized.
Congregation: We will remember you in our hearts for these three months, praying that this time will refresh you in body, renew you in mind, and tend to your spirit, as you rest in the depth of God’s love for you.
Sara: During this sabbatical time, I eagerly look forward to seeing how God will be at work in my own life. I thank this congregation for encouraging this time for rest, reflection, and growth. And offer my prayers for you all, as Gods refreshing winds work in wondrous ways within the community here at SMC in the coming months.
Steve: We send you with our blessing. God’s peace be with you as you take this time to walk in different places.
Louise: Sara, as you journey, we recognize that God dwells within all of us while we are away from one another. May God fill you with the Holy Spirit as you study and visit new surroundings.
Kim: Spirit of God, bless Sara during her sabbatical. Renew her for ministry through this time set aside for reflection and study, the refreshment of a break from daily tasks and routine, and the excitement of new learning and direction.
Doris: Gracious God, Grant to Sara, times of reading, times of play, times of deep contemplation, of rich conversation, of both leisurely dreaming and focused reflection. And enable her time to gaze in wonder at the beauty of your creation. Amen