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This Week's Newsletter
Newsletter Berkey Avenue Mennonite Fellowship February 7, 2010
Berkey Avenue community garden organizational meeting following Sunday school. (See the announcement below.) This Week Tuesday – Mission Commission, 7:00 p.m. Wednesday – Youth coordinating meeting, 7:00 p.m. Friday – JYF supper at Neufelds, 6:00 p.m. Friday – Kenyan meal, 5:30 p.m. followed by a folk dance at 7:00 p.m. (See announcement below.) Upcoming Worship Services February 14: Last in the series on family life: “Loving A Spouse, Caring for Creation,” Song of Songs 4:1-3, 5:10-13. February 21: The first Sunday of Lent: “Holding on, letting go.” Scriptures for the morning are: Deuteronomy 26:1-11; Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16; Romans 10:8b-13; Luke 4:1-13. February 28: The second Sunday of Lent: “Holding on, letting go.” Scriptures for the morning are: Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18; Psalm 27; Philippians 3:17-4:1; Luke 13:31-35. From the Elders Plan to attend the congregational meeting scheduled for Sunday, February 21, following a fellowship meal. The agenda includes: 1. Approval of Minutes 2. Introduction of the Recalibrated Vision for the Future (in your mailboxes this morning) 3. Discussion of the elders’ recommendation to increase Dan Schrock’s employment to full-time 4. Reports:
For the fellowship meal before the meeting, please bring two dishes (a main dish and another) to share. Our World (courtesy of Ron Good I am a landlocked country and the 28th largest with nearly 10 million people. I do have access to the Atlantic Ocean by a river. I became a democratic republic in 1825, gaining my independence from Spain. My capital is at the highest elevation of any in the world. I have lost over half of my territory to neighboring countries in wars since my independence. In addition, my neighbor persuaded the state of Acre (a rubber producing area) to secede in 1903. I have many ecological zones within my borders. These include mountains, rainforests, Lake Titicaca, and the world’s largest salt flat called Salar de Uyuni. I am divided into nine departments, the largest being Santa Cruz. The weather varies drastically from one climatic zone to another. The rainforest is wet and hot as opposed to the cold in the highlands. Although I am rich in natural resources my people are generally poor. Nearly two thirds of the population, many being subsistence farmers, live below the poverty line. I have large natural gas reserves. I have 50-70 percent of the world’s lithium, the light metal used to make batteries for electric cars and such. However, to mine for it would involve disturbing the country’s salt flats, which boost tourism, and the government doesn’t want to destroy this unique landscape. The U.S. is my largest trading partner. Soybeans are my major cash crop. My ethnic distribution is 55 percent Amerindians, 30 percent Quechua-speaking and 25 percent Aymara-speaking. Thirty percent is mestizo (mixed Amerindian and European), 15 percent is white, and less than one percent has some African heritage. Some 40,000 German-speaking Mennonites live in the eastern part of the country. About 80 percent of my people speak Spanish as their first language. Life expectancy is 64 years for men and 67 years for women. UNICEF reports that 230 babies die each day through lack of proper care. Most people have no health insurance or access to healthcare. Seventy-eight percent of the people are Roman Catholic, 16 percent Protestant, and three percent other Christian groups. About 90 percent of the children attend primary school but often for a year or less. The literacy rate is debated, but UNESCO says that as of 2008 I am illiteracy free. My military is comprised of three branches: an Army, a Navy (despite being landlocked), and an Air Force. Although the legal age to volunteer is 18, it is estimated that almost 40 percent of those in the military are younger than this. My folklore is rich. The best known annual “Carnaval de Oruro” is famous for the “devil dances.” My national sport is soccer. Who am I? (The answer is hidden somewhere in this week’s newsletter.) Berkey Avenue Announcements If you are interested in participating in a class to explore the meaning and practice of baptism, please see Anita or Dan. The class will likely begin on February 28. If you are interested in participating in a Membership Exploration Class, especially for those who may be interested in transferring membership to Berkey Avenue, please see Dan or Anita. We want to begin the class in the next few weeks. A thank-you note from Susan Garboden is posted on the bulletin board for you to read. A big thanks to all the volunteers who hosted our Goshen Interfaith Hospitality Network guests this past week. We’re very grateful to be part of a congregation committed to sharing our building and serving the homeless in our community in this way. – Berkey GIHN committee (Susan Garboden, Gail Heusinkveld, Linda Liechty, Ruth Roth) Community Garden Meeting: Today, February 7, there will be an organizational meeting for the 2010 Berkey Avenue Mennonite Fellowship Community Garden. Anyone interested in gardening can take part. We will meet after Sunday school, and lunch will be provided. If interested or having questions, please email David Heusinkveld at davidhgoldenrodonline.org. The MYF will be serving a Kenyan meal (made by Elijah and Priscilla) prior to our church gathering (aka FOLK DANCE NIGHT led by Gwen and Les Gustafson-Zook!) on Friday, February 12 at 5:30 p.m. All are welcome – any age, littlest to biggest, singles, couples, everyone – to come enjoy an evening of good food and fellowship. If you wish to donate money to help the people of Kenya who are suffering because of a long drought, you are welcome to make checks payable to Berkey with “Kenya Relief” as the memo. PLEASE SIGN UP FOR THE MEAL TODAY (SUNDAY) SO THAT WE CAN PLAN ACCORDINGLY! The Goshen Clay Artists’ Guild will hold their annual Soup Bowl Project, which benefits the GIHN (Goshen Interfaith Hospitality Network) on February 27 from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Goshen Farmer’s Market. Choose your own handmade bowl and fill it with delicious soup provided by area restaurants. Enjoy great food, live music, and lots of fellowship. All proceeds will go to GIHN. Berkey Avenue’s MCC Representative (Curt Wenger), the Fellowship and Caring Commission, and the MYF are collaborating in an effort to encourage, collect, and deliver MCC Relief Kits. If you are able, please consider donating the supplies for a whole kit or share the list with a friend. This would also be a great project for small groups! The Relief Kit items (new only!) include:
Bring your items to the church in a bag or box, and they will get delivered to MCC. How many Relief Kits can Berkey Avenue donate? The MYF assembled 28 relief kits this past Wednesday from the donations given last Sunday. How many more will we make? We will keep you posted. Thanks! MMA COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIPS – MMA is offering 36 college scholarships ranging from $500 to $2500 to students enrolled this Fall in a two- or four-year undergraduate college or trade school program. Scholarship recipients will be chosen based on meeting eligibility requirements and submitting an essay on a specified stewardship theme. Applications must be postmarked no later than 2/28/2010. You can find the application on the MMA website (mma-online.org), by typing College Scholarship Grant in the search box of the home page, or by contacting Lisa Nussbaum, your MMA Advocate. If you would like to discuss purchasing an MMA product, Richard Litwiller, our congregation’s MMA Counselor would be happy to help. He can be reached at the MMA Goshen office at 537-8773. Our Schools Music of every style and era uses love as a frequent topic, whether it be unrequited, reciprocated, sacred or secular. Join the Goshen College Chamber Choir, directed by Professor of Music Debra Brubaker, in a program featuring choral ensembles of various sizes and configurations at the February 9 Goshen College Afternoon Sabbatical at 1:00 p.m. in the Music Center's Sauder Concert Hall. The event is free and open to the public. A Valentine’s Day Organ Recital will be performed by organist Frederick Hohman on Sunday, February 14, at 4:00 p.m. in Goshen College Music Center’s Rieth Recital Hall. All are welcome to this recital which will include works by Bach, Mendelssohn, Schumann, and other pieces selected to highlight the Valentine's Day theme. Admission is $7 / $5, with tickets available at the door one hour in advance of the recital. Community Announcements Christian Resources International Road Trip is coming through Goshen on February 19, 9:00 a.m.-12:00 noon. The First Presbyterian Church at 251 East Lincoln Avenue is the drop-off point (use the 5th Street entrance). The purpose of the trip is to collect Bibles, and Study Bibles, and meaningful books that will help Christian growth. They ask for a donation of $1 to ship each book donated These Bibles and books will all be sent to Nepal. (Bolivia) Environmentally-conscious Christians will gather on February 12-14 at Laurelville Mennonite Church for Center for Creation Care: Stewards of the Earth. The event represents a joint effort by the Church of the Brethren, Mennonite Mutual Aid, and Laurelville, and it will allow participants to explore ways that churches can more fully care for the earth. For more information, visit laurelville.org/creationcare.html. Save the date! The Beyond Borders Conference at Bluffton University will be March 19-21. Anyone with interest in the issue of immigration is invited to attend. Bringing together the academic community (students, staff, and faculty) from Bluffton and neighboring institutions, the church community and immigrants, Beyond Borders will feature keynote speaker Daniel Carroll Rojas, author of Christians at the Border: Immigration, the Church and the Bible. Starting with Friday evening’s keynote by Danny Carroll and ending with a bilingual worship service at Lima Mennonite Church Sunday morning, the weekend will be filled with workshops, discussions, videos, and a cultural event Saturday evening. Baldemar Velasquez, President of the Farm Labor Organizing Committee, is also an invited keynote speaker. Workshops will include immigrant mental health, enforcement issues, immigration in Midwest rural communities, immigrant experiences and stories, congregational stories, the new sanctuary movement, and videos on immigration produced by Rev. Ryan Grace (Bluffton First United Methodist) and Goshen College students. For more information contact Paul Neufeld Weaver at (419) 358-3327 or . Our Church Office Hours: Tuesday - Friday 8:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. 12:00 noon - 2:00 p.m. Statistical Report for January 31, 2010 Attendance: 185 Today, February 7, 2010 Greeters: Tim and Tracy Thorne Bulletins: Nathan Hostetter Nursery: Tracy and Tim Thorne Offering Counters: Eleanor Nafziger Greg Smucker Audio/Visual: Phil Bauman
Next Sunday, February 14, 2010 Greeters: Tim and Tracy Thorne Bulletins: Nathan Hostetter Nursery: Jan and Peter Shetler Offering Counters: Ron Good Rick Hostetter Audio/Visual: Phil Bauman ___________________________________________ Pastors: Anita Kehr, Dan Schrock Youth Coordinator: Lois Mast Elders: Evan Bontrager, David Heusinkveld, Dan
Nafziger, Laverne Nafziger, Trish Shenk, and Renae Yoder Called to be Christ’s loving, healing, caring presence
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Berkey Avenue Mennonite Fellowship 2509 Berkey Ave Goshen, IN 46526  Map & Directions
E-mail: office@berkeyavenue.org Founded: 1979 Pastor(s): Daniel P. Schrock, Pastor Anita Yoder Kehr, Pastor 
Weekly Schedule
Sunday: Worship - 9:00 am Fellowship - 10:20 Nurture - 10:40 Office Hours: T-F 8:30 am -11:30 am 12 noon - 2:00 pm 
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