Verse of the Week:

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government will be upon his shoulder, and his name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9: 6


Worship leader: Jake Friesen
Song Leader: Esther Zacharias
Pianist: Kristina Zacharias

Welcome & announcements

Prayer

Worship in Song

Lighting of the 2nd Advent Candle – Nettie Dyck

Offertory – Garry Klippenstein

Prayer Time

Children’s Story – Karla Fehr

Worship in Song

Scripture Reading – Isaiah 40: 1 – 11, Garry Fehr

Message – “Peace at the Center” – Pastor Rudy

Closing Song

Benediction


Prayer & Praise

 ~ Donations to our mitten tree are gratefully welcomed, and will be distributed to various local schools.  Thank you, in advance, for your generosity.

~ As we continue to await the arrival of Emmanuel, God-with-us, we also recognize the continued presence of the Holy Spirit in all of our everyday lives, including our dealing with health issues.  So we continue to trust in God’s leading as we uphold Nettie Ginter, Tenley Falk and Tim Wiebe and their families in our prayers.  We also continue to uphold Austin Penner, who is at the Agassiz Youth Centre in Portage la Prairie. He values our prayer support. Updates for Tenley can be found at: www.tenleysjourney.wordpress.com

~ Eric Bueckert appreciates our ongoing prayer support as he continues to recover from his heart attack. Bueckert

~ Those in various care homes that we remember in our prayers include: Trudy Harms, Helen Janzen, and Jake Rempel, Mary Klassen in the Rock Lake Personal Care Home in Pilot Mound, and Peter E Hildebrandt, who moved into room 103 at the Gardens on Tenth Apartments.

~We continue to offer our prayer support for Laure and her family, as well as for the Paroisse Missionaire Congregation in Kinshasa, DR Congo; Ryan Thiessen in San Carlos, Mexico; Murray and Carol Honsberger in Papua New Guinea, Eagles Wings Children’s Village in Uganda, Jon & Natalie Neudorf in Chiang Mai, Thailand working with YWAM,  and Andrea Fehr with YWAM in Hawai’i

Prayer for the Week:

Show us, O Lord, the peace we should seek, the peace we must give, the peace we can keep, the peace we must forego, and the peace You have given in Jesus our Lord.  Amen.


Announcements:

~ Audio services and bulletins are now available at our CHURCH website.  We are working at streamlining this, and keeping it current.  Please be patient with us as we continue to update our web presence.  Go to: http:.//www.blumenortchurch.com to see what’s new online.

~ Candlelight Service practices, December 16, 9:30am and December 20, 7:30pm (this is a change from December 21). We are asking all those men who are involved in the male choir to meet at the church at 9 am on the 16th, so we can practice our music. Take note: The Candlelight Service time has been changed to 7:30pm on December 24 instead of 7 pm.

~ Just a reminder to complete your BMC Finance Survey by December 10. Paper copies of the survey are available at the back of the church and can be submitted to Mitchell Peters’ church mailbox. The survey is also available online at https://goo.gl/forms/4CkfYkFIsATocR4x1 Your feedback is greatly appreciated!

~There is children’s church for 1 – 6 year olds, in the youth Centre starting at 10:15

~ Clubs @ 7 pm on December 13, 2017.   There is a sign-up sheet on the bulletin board for cookie bakers.  Call Ang Driedger 204-327-6674, if you need more information.

~ Stop in at the library between November 26th and December 17th for our VHS movie sale.

We have classics ranging from Veggie Tales to The Buttercream Gang. All the movies will be selling for $ .50.

 

Financial update:

Income to November 30:                      $ 275,877.09

Expenses to November 30:                  $ 333,025.89

Expected expenses to December 31: $   24,400.00

Needed before year end:                      $  76,500.00

Thank you for all your generous gifts throughout the year.


Youth Announcements

BMC Youth is for youth in grades 7-12, and happens Wednesdays from 7:00pm-9:15pm

For updates follow us on Social Media:
instagram: @bmcyouthmin
facebook: facebook.com/groups/BMCYouth (Group)
facebook.com/bmcyouthmin (Page)
twitter: @bmcyouthmin

We have prayer partners for all the Youth!!  Thank you to everyone who signed up.

Youth Calendar:

December 13 – Christmas Party – Supper starts at 6:30pm. Bring a $5 Grab Box Gift. Dress Formal.  Bring a $5 gift!  Invite your friends!

Youth resumes on January 10, 2018


 

Community

Community Announcements

~ TEN THOUSAND VILLAGES, ALTONA, is currently seeking a volunteer manager.  Send applications to Altona@Villages.ca

~ Mennonite Collegiate Institute invites you to attend the Christmas Concert, Thursday December 21 @ 7:30 in Buhler Hall, Gretna.

~ Come and listen to a delightful mix of seasonal music sung by a multigenerational choir. Southern Manitoba Choral Society will present a concert Sunday, December 10th @2:30 pm at Altona Bergthaler Church. Everyone is welcome. A freewill offering will be received

~ “Dec 21, 7pm – “The Longest Night Service” at the Altona Mennonite Church.  If you are grieving the death of a family member or friend, separation, or any difficult loss, you are invited to attend.  Coffee & refreshments to follow”.

~ From the MCC newsdesk:  Get started on your Christmas shopping with our Christmas Giving catalogue! We’ve got 33 gifts in different price ranges, something for all your family and friends.  You can pick these up at the TTV store in the Altona Mall from 9-5 Monday – Saturday.

~ SALT – If you’re interested in a yearlong cross-cultural internship or work experience in a faith-based context, consider applying for SALT 2017-18! We’re looking for communicators, educators, French or Spanish speakers, development grads, peacebuilders, nurses, IT experts, social workers, and more. Young adults ages 18-30, apply today at mccmb.ca/salt.

~ The Mennonite Disaster Service All-Unit Meeting is being hosted by Region 5 (Canada) from February 9-10, 2018 in Winkler, MB. This event is open to all who are interested in the work of MDS. For more information or to register for the event see our website mds.mennonite.net/all-unit-meeting or call our Winnipeg office at 1-866-261-1274.

– The Rhineland Empty Stocking Fund. The hampers will be delivered on December 16, at 9:00 a.m., when volunteers will once again be needed to deliver these Christmas hampers to the recipients.  Again these deliveries will be co-ordinated out of the former Sawatzky Furniture building across from the Altona Mall; many people have reached out with a helping hand over the years with the RESF, and we sincerely “Thank You”.  If you would like to be a part of this mission, donations can be hand delivered to Rexall Drugs in the Altona Mall, at the Access Credit Union – Gretna, Altona or Plum Coulee locations or simply by mailing the donation to Rhineland Empty Stocking Fund, Box 2255, Altona, MB R0G 0B0

~ WC Miller Christmas Concerts take place at Buhler Hall in Gretna on Thursday & Friday, December 14 & 15 at 7:30 pm

~ Faith & Life Men’s and Women’s Christmas Concert in our area takes place on Sunday, December 17 at 3 pm in the Altona Bergthaler Mennonite Church.  There will be a freewill offering.


Church calendar

December 17 – Speaker – Gerry Giesbrecht

December 24 – Sunday school Christmas program

December 24 – Candlelight Service at 7: 30 pm

December 25 – Christmas Day worship service at 10:30 am

December 31 – Sharing Sunday, no Sunday school