Sunday, Oct. 15 is our celebration of Second Helping volunteers. Join us as we give thanks for the hard work of the many volunteers who make Second Helping possible. Linda Thurston will present a history and current state of Second Helping as the sermon. The Mission Board is organizing a reception to follow during the Fellowship Hour. We would love to have you join us!
The Board of Justice and Witness is delighted to join with co-sponsors from the wider community in bringing Fr. Shannon Kearns to Manhattan on September 24. We hope this will be a unique opportunity for education and dialogue with the wider community and hope that you will invite your friends.
Get to know Fr. Shannon (from his website): "Shannon TL Kearns is a transgender man who believes in the transformative power of story. As an ordained priest, a playwright, a theologian, and a writer all of his work revolves around making meaning through story. Shannon’s first book “In the Margins: A Transgender Man’s Journey With Scripture” is available now from Eerdman’s Books. Shannon co-founded QueerTheology.com with Brian G. Murphy. Since its start in 2013, this work has reached more than a million people all over the world through videos, articles, and online courses and community. Their Queer Theology podcast is the longest running LGBTQ+ Christian podcast." Schedule for Sunday, Sep. 24 10:45 a.m. Fr. Kearns will be our guest speaker in worship. Join us in-person, via Zoom, or catch the sermon recording later on social media. 3:00 p.m. Solo performance of "The Body's Rapture" at First Congregational In this piece Shannon shares his story about growing up in religious fundamentalism. This piece is a journey through evangelical pop culture telling stories of fear, first love, theatre, and what comes next. This piece uses personal photographs, home video, and a deeply engaging storytelling to paint a picture of trans identity and how we love one another better. Fr. Shannon will take questions and sign copies of his book, “In the Margins: A Transgender Man’s Journey with Scripture” after the performance. (Note: there is NOT an online option for the afternoon event.) Childcare will be provided by First Congregational childcare staff. Please help us share this event! Facebook event Image for social media Poster Performance of “The Body’s Rapture” is co-sponsored by ECM @ K-State The Peace Service & Witness Team of Manhattan Mennonite Church Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Manhattan Wow! ECM at K-State is celebrating 101 years of ministry! Join us on Sunday, May 8th at Long's Park as we welcome guests from ECM and celebrate with them. And then on Sunday, May 15th we'll have guests from ECM with us at 9:30 a.m. (church basement or via Zoom) to share about what ECM is up to and answer our questions. We're excited to welcome these partners in campus ministry and deepen our relationship with them. You can learn more about ECM on their website (https://www.ecmatkstate.org/) and you're encouraged to sign up for their e-mail list and/or follow them on social media. It's time for our annual Blessing of the Animals and Worship in the Park. Join us at (shady) Long's Park on Sunday, May 8th at 10:45 a.m. for this special service. Childcare staff will be on hand to care for young kids who want to explore the playground or the rest of the park. After worship we'll have a good ol' fashioned potluck and friends from ECM at K-State (our campus ministry) are coming to visit with us so we can help them celebrate 101 years in ministry. Things to bring to the park: - your own lawn chair, if you have one - a potluck dish to share - your own tableservice, to reduce our use of disposable dishes - your pet (or stuffed animal!) for a blessing ***If you have any questions about accessibility at the park, please let us know. For those worshiping at home, please use the regular Zoom link. If you have an animal you'd like blessed at home, please reach out to Pastor Caela so she can arrange a visit. With gratitude to our local educators, the School Staff Appreciation Committee wrote a letter that was shared with all administrators and board members in USD 383.
When Jesus's friend Lazarus died, he wept. Our faith compels us to mourn and bear witness to the pain that the COVID pandemic has caused. As the United States approaches one million deaths from COVID and the Deacons would like to invite you to join us in installing a temporary memorial on our church lawn. We have purchased 1,000 white utility flags (each flag represents 1,000 lives lost). When the U.S. reaches one million deaths - likely sometime in the next few weeks - we will invite people to stay after worship one Sunday to place the flags in the church yard, along with signs explaining the memorial. In doing so, we invite the community to join us as we remember, grieve, and bear witness to the image of God in every life lost.
We all know that those who work in our local schools have been under an incredible amount of stress lately and we would like to show them some love. You are invited to join us for a School Staff Appreciation Week, March 7-10. We will be hand-delivering small gifts of appreciation to USD 383 middle and high schools and writing thank you notes to school staff.
Here’s how you can participate: 1. If you’d like to help offset the costs of purchasing items for the goodie baskets, please make a special donation no later than Feb. 27th. You can write a memo on your check OR put a note in the “special instructions” box if you donate via PayPal. Checks can be mailed, dropped off at the office, or put in the offering plate. 2. If you are interested in shopping for gifts or hand-delivering the gifts, please contact the church office no later than Feb. 27th. 3. We encourage EVERYONE to think of a teacher, staff member, former teacher, neighbor who works in the schools, etc. and commit to sending them an email or handwritten note during the week of Mar. 7-10. These notes mean more than you can know. 4. Please continue to stay informed about actions in our local school board and in the state legislature that affect our schools. Contact your elected officials and/or consider writing letters to the editor to speak up about how much we appreciate our local school staff and encouraging them to create policies that support all educators. "The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight." Inspired by a visit to Bethlehem, Phillips Brooks wrote these words for a children's Christmas pageant in 1868. All these years later, Advent is still a time of gathering our hopes and fears and sharing them with God. Please visit 700 Poyntz between Dec. 1st - 25th to share your Christmas prayer. Hopes, fears, and everything in-between are welcome. Paper and pens are available for you to write your prayer and add it to the growing prayer chain.
Remembering the Victims of the Residential Schools: A Worship Service of Lament Sunday, October 24th, 5:00 p.m. at the Leadership Studies Amphitheater (rain location: LS 126)
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