Verse of the Week:
In Him was life and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.
John 1: 4-5
Worship leader: Jake Friesen
Song Leader & pianist: Harley Dyck & Katrina Schulz
Welcome & announcements
Call to Worship
Worship Litany
Prayer
Worship in Song
Offertory
Prayer Time
Children’s Story – Ang Driedger
Worship in Song
Scripture Reading – Isaiah 65: 17 – 25; 1 Corinthians 15: 12-19; John 20: 1-18
Message – “The Empty Tomb” – Pastor Rudy
Closing Song
Benediction
Prayer & Praise
~ Welcome to our Easter Sunday Worship Service. We come to celebrate not only the empty tomb, but also the presence of the risen Christ in our lives and in this world. Thanks be to God for the possibility of fresh starts, new beginnings, life abundant and life eternal.
~ Reminders of prayer items for this week:
– Nettie Ginter finished her last radiation treatment on Wednesday, March 28. She is grateful to reach this milestone and is thankful for all the prayer support.
– Tenley Falk’s end date for her maintenance schedule of treatments was on Saturday, March 31st. The family is also grateful to have reached this milestone. Once a month checkups will be ongoing, yet the regular routine of medications and appointments will be discontinued.
– Tim Wiebe continues his regular treatment of chemotherapy.
– Harv Thiessen and his family appreciate our ongoing prayer support for his very gradual recovery.
– Austin Penner at Agassiz Youth Center in Portage la Prairie also values our prayer support.
~welcome back to Shania Ginter, Josh Dyck and Cynthia Krahn after your spring break involvement with SOAR Heartland. We trust that this has been a meaningful experience of ministry.
~ Thursday, April 5 marks the date for our 24 hour prayer vigil for Eagles Wings Children’s Village in Uganda. We want to continue to uphold one another before the throne of grace.
~ Those in various care homes that we remember in our prayers include: Trudy Harms, Helen Janzen, Jake Rempel, Mary Klassen, and Peter E. Hildebrandt
~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, Andrea Fehr who is home working on VISA requirements before she can head back to Hawai’i, and Tyler Loewen in Cambodia with MCC.
Prayer for the Week:
Triumphant God, we rejoice together in the resurrection of Jesus the Christ. We give thanks for the faithful women who traveled to the tomb early in the morning and carried their fragrant spices. We give thanks for the heavenly messenger whose good news amazed the women and transformed them into evangelists. We give thanks for the glorious hope that death has lost its sting and joy comes forth from sorrow. Renew your life in us, O God; grant us courage to live as people empowered by the resurrection all the days of our lives. We pray in the name of the risen Christ. Amen.
Announcements:
~ Audio services and bulletins are now available at our Church website. The address is http://blumenortchurch.com
~ On Sunday, April 15, we as a congregation would like to recognize the end of current cancer treatments for Tenley Falk and Nettie Ginter. The larger context for our service would center on the faithfulness of God’s ongoing presence with us and a sense of thanksgiving for allowing these families to reach the end of what has been a life changing journey. It is important to give thanks to God. After the service, we want to invite the congregation to celebrate around the tables, sharing a noon meal, which will include elements of Tenley’s favorite foods. We invite your participation.
~ To those who participated in the 2018 “I Love to Read” month, please submit your reading trackers to Megan in the library to receive a prize! The deadline for submission is April 30th, 2018.
~ Ministerial Meeting scheduled for Sunday, May 6 has been rescheduled for Sunday, April 29. This way it does not conflict with the deacons meeting which has also been scheduled for May 6. If this is not suitable, please check with Rudy.
Youth
~ 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
or contact Gerry Giesbrecht @ 204-362-7262
Youth Calendar:
April 4 – “The River” – worship evening at Winkler Bergthaler. We leave at 6:30 pm from BMC and will be back by 9: 45 pm
April 11 – Bible Study – PVBC presentation
April 18 – Small group fun night
April 25 – Bible Study
Community
Annual Gideon banquet: Tuesday, April 10 at 6:30 pm. at the Altona EMMC Church. All are welcome and invited. See Garry or Karla for complimentary tickets (204-327-5551).
Blood Donor Clinic at Altona – Rhineland Pioneer Center
Thursday, April 5, 2018 – 3:00 pm – 7:00 pm
~ Salem Foundation invites you to enjoy an afternoon of “Faspa, Fellowship and Song” on Sunday, April 15th at the Winkler Bergthaler Mennonite Church. The Program, featuring the male voice harmony of the WINKLER COMMUNITY MALE CHOIR begins at 3:30 pm in the sanctuary; Faspa will be served from 4:30 to 5:15 pm in the fellowship mehall. Proceeds from the freewill offering are for Salem Home Resident Room Blinds – All Care Areas.
Your support provides Residents with a positive lived experience … making this chapter of their life journey meaningful!
~ An evening of music and stories of hope: Generation Rising presents Christian touring band Double Portion! Featuring the testimony of Pastor Jose from Honduras – who will share how he continues to boldly proclaim God while surviving terrible gang violence. Free admission with a freewill donation. All funds raised will help children in Honduras receive quality Christian education. Friday April 13th at 7:00 p.m. at the Winkler MB Church, 120 Pineview Drive, Winkler, MB.
~ Annual Palliative Care Soup & Pie Fundraiser will take place on Tuesday, April 17th, 4:30 – 6:30 p.m. Altona Bergthaler Church.
Bring a friend. All are welcome! All proceeds go towards Palliative Care.
~ The Spiritual Care Advisory Committee, for the Gardens on Tenth, is pleased to announce that we have hired, Marlene Wiebe,(she is the wife of MCI teacher, Tim Wiebe), as the new chaplain for Eastview Personal Care Home and the Apartments at the Gardens on Tenth. Marlene is completing a Masters of Theology (Specializing in Chaplaincy), and did her practicum at both locations, so she knows the residents and staff. Peter Bartel is retiring in May, after 18 years of service. We will be celebrating at a retirement tea on Friday, May 4, in the Gardens MPR at 10am.
~ You are invited! Providence Theological Seminary Graduation Exercises on Saturday, April 21 and Sunday, April 22 @ 2 pm at Hanna Centre, Jubilee Auditorium, Otterburne. Speakers: Patrick Franklin,(PhD McMaster Divinity College), and Jeff Banman, (MA Providence Theological Seminary).
~ Providence Theological Seminary has a variety of summer courses available for credit or to audit. Courses include: “Radical Reformation: History, thought and Practise”, “Contemporary Anabaptism: Theology & Theologians”, “Counselling and mental health support for marriages and families in congregations and communities”, and “Leadership Theory and Practise in diverse ministry contexts”. For more information contact rj.mackenzie@prov.ca
~ Coming together through Truth & Reconciliation – Seeds church is offering classes, open to the public, on Sundays, April 8 – May 7, 9:30 – 10:30am, @ the eXchange 116 Main St, Altona. Topics to be explored: April 8 – Our words/Perspectives
April 15 – Our treaties – we are all treaty people
April 22 – Our land, the Mennonite settler legacy revisited
*Blanket exercise at 6:30pm
April 29 – Our Schools -The residential school legacy
May 7 – Our relationships – Making Jesus real in our reality.
For more info contact: info@seedschurch.ca
Church Calendar
April 8 – Youth led worship service
April 15 – Celebration service for Tenley Falk & Nettie Ginter and their families
April 22 – the Winkler Community Male Choir will be leading us in our worship service
April 29 – Speaker – Justin Rempel
April Anniversaries
April 4 – Ryan & Jodi Friesen
April 9 –Sheldon & Sherry Fehr
April 12 – Ray & Corinne Peters
April 18 – Abe & Viola Fehr
April 21 – Ken & Corry Rempel
April Birthdays
April 1 – Megan Hildebrandt, Shaelyn Fehr
April 4 – Monica Ens
April 6 – Elvina Peters, Joe Giesbrecht
April 8 – Karissa Falk, Austin Penner
April 10 – Vincent Rempel
April 15 – Macey Friesen
April 17 – Ingrid Dyck
April 23 – Elfrieda Peters
April 25 – Dale Klippenstein
April 26 –Kirsten Friesen, Christopher Klassen
April 27 – Bill Rempel
April 30 – Verna Martens