Verse of the Week:
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
Romans 15: 13
Worship leader: Rudy Franz
Song Leader & Pianist: Ang Fehr
Welcome & announcements
Prayer
Worship in Song
Lighting of the First Advent Candle – Dorothy Hildebrandt
Offertory –
Prayer Time
Worship in Song
Message – Hope – Esther Zacharias
Service of Communion
Closing Song
Benediction
Prayer & Praise
~ Welcome to this first Sunday of Advent, the time of year when we are drawn again to the story of God’s coming to dwell among us, beginning as a child, born in a lowly stable. To us a Child of Hope has been born. We rejoice in the gift of new life in Him for now and all eternity.
~ Donations to our mitten tree are gratefully welcomed, and will be distributed to various local schools. Thank you, in advance, for your generosity.
~ Tuesday, December 5 is our day of 24 hour prayer support for Eagle Wings Children’s Village in Uganda. May we continue to pray for them as they pray for us. Across this wide world, God hears us and them as we pray for one another.
~ We want to remember those for whom this season of the year also brings along with it the continued focus on health concerns. We pray for Nettie Ginter, Tenley Falk and Tim Wiebe and their families. We also want 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
~ 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 in Altona Hospital
~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:
We await Your coming to us, O God. We know You work wonders, You announce mysteries, You choose the surprising, You startle the unexpecting, You keep hope, joy and peace alive, and You fulfill Your promises. May we not only know, may we also practice believing while we await Your coming. 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 21, 7:30pm. 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.
~ Church Council meeting at 7 pm on December 4.
~ 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 old youth room this week and additional childcare will be available during the communion service in the basement. All children are welcome!
~ Clubs @ 7 pm on December 6, 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: $ 263,366.17
Expenses to November 30: $ 312.007.62
Expected expenses to December 31: $ 44,000.00
Needed before year end: $ 93,000.00
Thank you for all your generous gifts throughout the year.
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
OPPORTUNITY: We NEED 2 more prayer partners! If you are interested in signing up to pray for someone, check out the sign up sheet after the service by the coffee station in the foyer.
Youth Calendar:
December 6 – Christmas Carolling
December 13 – Christmas Party – Supper starts at 6:30pm. Bring a $5 Grab Box Gift. Dress Formal. Bring a Friend!
Community
~ TEN THOUSAND VILLAGES, ALTONA, is currently seeking a volunteer manager. Send applications to Altona@Villages.ca
~ Advent Service at Salem Home – Dec. 7, 2017 @ 6:45 p.m., in the Salem Home Chapel. Everyone is welcome to join the residents and staff for this special service and stay for refreshments.
~ Eastview Place volunteer drivers needed ASAP: We are in need of volunteer drivers for our Adult Day Program. The volunteers will be accompanied by an Eastview Place staff member to bring seniors to and from the care home. Volunteers work on a rotation basis and would be needed approximately three days a month (Tuesday, Wednesday andThursday) at 9:00 am and 2:50 pm. Please contact Jonathan Sawatsky at Eastview Place at 324-2375 for more information. We appreciate all of your support for our seniors in the community and would be grateful to have that continue through volunteer drivers.
~ Come and listen to a delightful mix of seasonal music sung by a multigenerational choir. Southern Manitoba Choral Society will present concerts on Saturday, December 9th @7:00 pm at Winkler Emmanuel Church and 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.
BOWEN PRESENTS: A MERRY LITTLE CHRISTMAS (December 8th,)
A benefit concert in support of Central Station in Winkler
On December 8th, the third annual “Merry Little Christmas show” will be held at the P.W. Enns Centennial Concert Hall. The show will be an evening filled with great musical entertainment from Bowen, Leora Hamm, Warren Friesen, Henry Abrams, Dale Wiebe and more! All proceeds will be donated to Central Station in Winkler. Visit www.bowenmusic.org/events to purchase tickets.
~ 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 is now accepting referrals for Christmas Hampers. These referrals can be called in to 204-324-7167. When calling in referrals please have the following information: name of referral, number of children in the family with age and gender of child, address and phone number. Deadline for referrals is December 8. Just a friendly reminder that the referrals must live in the R.M. of Rhineland; December 9, at 9:00 a.m., volunteers will be needed to help wrap Christmas gifts for these hampers. This wrapping will take place at the former Sawatzky Furniture building across from the Altona Mall; December 16, at 9:00 a.m., 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
Church Calendar
December 10 – Speaker – Rudy Franz
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