Verse of the Week:
Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and His greatness is unsearchable. One generation shall praise Your works to another, and shall declare Your mighty acts. Psalm 145: 3-4
Worship leader: Esther Zacharias
Song Leader & Pianist: Erica Rempel
Welcome and Announcements
Call to Worship
Prayer
Worship in Song
Offertory –
Prayer Time
Worship in Song
Scripture Reading – Jonah 1, 3, 4: 1-5, Caroline Ens
Message – “The Word of the Lord and Jonah” – Pastor Rudy
Closing song
Benediction
Prayer & Praise
~ We are looking forward to the return of Jared & Kaitlyn Rempel from their trip to Thailand, on Tuesday, May 23. We trust that your time with family will have been meaningful. God’s blessings on your return home.
~ Thank you to Jaime, Tenley and Ang for your part in our Songs of Praise Worship Service last Sunday. Thank you for sharing another piece of your ongoing journey and speaking to us about the importance of prayer and song. Updates can be found at htttp://www.tenleysjourney.wordpress.com
~ Pray for the thousands of Mennonites in the Democratic Republic of Congo who have gone into hiding to escape the violence that has claimed hundreds of lives. Pray that God would provide life’s necessities for those who have fled their homes, for stable national leadership and for an end to the fighting.
~ From the World Council of Churches: Join churches worldwide on 21 May 2017 to pray for an end to famine.
More people face famine today than any time in modern history. Famine has been declared in areas of South Sudan, with Somalia, Nigeria, and Yemen on the brink of famine. More than 20 million people are at risk of starvation in these four countries alone. Globally, millions more suffer from drought and food shortages. The UN is calling this the largest humanitarian crisis since 1945. Churches have a prophetic role in calling its members, wider society and governments to make a difference during this unprecedented period of suffering. On 21 May 2017, we are joining together across countries, languages and traditions to respond to the global hunger crisis in our churches, in our prayers and through our actions. Join us.
To learn more, please visit: www.praytoendfamine.org
~ Those in various care homes that we remember in our prayers include: Trudy Harms, Helen Janzen, and Jake Rempel.
~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:
God of truth, save us from a religion of mere words; from repeating pious phrases which have lost their meaning; from uttering empty prayers which have no soul; from calling Jesus ‘Lord, Lord’, when we fail to own His sovereignty. We pray that the Gospel may come into our lives not in word only, but also in the power of the Spirit and that our love may not be a matter of words or talk, but that it is genuine and show itself in action. Help us, our Father, to mean this prayer as we ask it in the name of Jesus our Lord. Amen.
Youth
~ Go to http://blumenortchurch.com for updates regarding youth events. For the most recent updates, check out the groups on Facebook named “BMC Youth”, and “BMC Jr Youth” or contact Youth Pastor Gerry Giesbrecht @ 204-362-7262
Senior Youth:
May 24 – Bible Study – John 17: 20-26
June 2 (Friday): Who stole the Borscht (episode 2) with Junior Youth
Junior Youth:
May 22 – No Youth – Victoria Day
May 29 – Windup, Grade 6’s are invited to join us. Location to be announced.
A Young Adult event is scheduled for Saturday, May 27 at the Elevaro Escape Room. Cost is $25.00 per person. Contact Gerry or Cassie for more information.
Church
~ 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;//blumenortchurch.com to see what’s new online.
~ During VBS kids will discover that the God who created everything there is—the knowable and the unknowable, the visible and the invisible—wants a relationship with them! Be sure to mark your calendars for July 3-7, 6:30-8:45 pm. Ages 3-grade 8 welcome. Check the insert for ways to help. Contact Sara Wall or place completed inserts into her mailbox.
~ The Sunday school is doing a one-month giving project in support of the Canadian Foodgrains Bank. All monetary offerings to the Sunday school, for the month of May, will be designated to the Foodgrains Bank, and will be matched by some generous sponsors, to aid in feeding those who are hungry. Each donation, in any amount, is gratefully appreciated. Please consider joining us in supporting this very worthwhile project.
~ Sunday, May 28 is the date for our church picnic. We would ask that you bring lawn chairs for the worship service as well as a salad or dessert that can be shared for our noon meal. Meat, buns and refreshments will be provided. Please note there will be no Sunday school next week.
~ June 4 is Pentecost Sunday. This year we do not have any baptismal candidates. However, we would like to give time for affirmation of our lay ministers, Walter Dyck, Jake Friesen and Esther Zacharias, who have accepted an additional term of five years. We have valued their work among us these past 3 years and would like to show our support for this next term of service.
We would also like to give time for anyone to share how the Spirit has been active in their lives or in the lives of others. What is it that would be important for the rest of the congregation to hear. Perhaps a word of encouragement, a challenge, scripture, a prayer, whatever form of sharing would be acceptable. We would like to end our service with sharing communion together as the body of Christ.
Community
~ The Salem Foundation Annual meeting will be held on Monday, June 19 at 7 pm in the chapel followed immediately by the Annual Membership meeting of Salem Home Inc. scheduled for Monday, June 19, 2017 at 7:30 p.m. in the Salem Home Chapel.
~ Winkler Bible camp will be hosting a + retreat on June 2-4 at the camp. Guest speaker is Glen Siemens. To register call the camp 2 204-325-9519
~ A Family Day will be held at Winkler Bible camp on June 4. This is an Open House event and all activities are free, from 2 – 5 pm with a free BBQ at 5:30 pm.
~ 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, and Eagles Wings Children’s Village in Uganda, Jon & Natalie Neudorf in Chiang Mai, Thailand working with YWAM, Andrea Fehr, working with YWAM in Hawai’i, leading an outreach team to Uganda.
~ MCC MB is inviting delegates for their upcoming Annual Meeting on Thursday, June 8, 2017 from 7 – 9 pm at the Emmanuel Mennonite Church in Winkler. There will be reports from local and international programs, plus MCC’s Migration and resettlement Co-ordinator: Arisnel Mesidor will present a keynote address relating to experiences of trauma & resilience in migration. We are allowed five delegates. However anyone is invited to attend. To register contact Nikki Hamm by email: nikkihamm@mccmb.ca or phone 204-261-6381
~ The Eden Foundation is inviting people to register for their Iron Man Golf Tournament on Monday, June 19, 2017 at the Winkler Centennial Golf Course. Registration is free. Call 204-325-53555. Participants are encouraged to secure sponsorship for their efforts.
~ Mennonite Collegiate Institute (Gretna) invites applicants for the following term positions available for the 2017-2018 school year: ½ time Art teacher, ¼ time Dance instruction. Ability to contribute to co-curricular programmes, including our musical theatre production, is an asset. Please send resume and cover letter to Cheryl Braun at principal@mciblues.net or Box 250 Gretna, R0G 0V0, due date May 15. For more information call MCI @ 204-327-5891.
~ MCI is also seeking applicants for Male Dean. This full-time position is part of the Residence Staff Team. Primary responsibilities involve supervising the res. life of the school and fostering spiritual, personal, and social growth of students. The successful candidate will have demonstrated ability to relate to teenagers, willingness to learn and enjoy team work. Experience in Camp, Youth or Discipleship Ministries is an asset. For more information, contact Director of Student Life,haroldschlegel@mciblues.net or call MCI @ 204-327-5891
~ Mennonite Collegiate Institute in Gretna invites you to join us for our annual Saengerfest celebration on June 11. The Worship service begins at 10:30am, followed by lunch (by donation), and a 2:00pm Concert featuring all of MCI’s choral groups in Buhler Hall. Hope to see you there!
Mennonite Collegiate Institute’s 3rd Annual Golf Tournament is now accepting registrations. The event takes place on Saturday, June 3rd at the Oakview Golf Club in Gretna, for more information or to register contact MCI at info@mciblues.net.
Church Calendar
May 28 – Church Picnic – no Sunday school
Speaker – Katrina Schulz
June 4 – Pentecost Sunday & Communion
June 11 – MCI Saengerfest – worship service at 10:30am, concert at 2 pm. No Sunday school or worship service in Rosetown
June 18 – Father’s Day – Speaker – Kaitlyn Rempel
June 25 – Child Dedication Sunday