From: Laura Pauls-Thomas, MCC East Coast <EastCoast@mcc.org>
Date: Thu, Sep 17, 2020 at 5:00 PM
Subject: September Church Announcements from MCC
To: info@gehmanmennonitechurch.org <info@gehmanmennonitechurch.org>
| September 2020 Church Announcements from MCC No images? Click here New Bulletin Announcements Virginia Mennonite Relief Sale online auction and events Join the Virginia Mennonite Relief Sale on October 1 - 3 as they raise money for MCC's ministries! You can contribute to their fundraising efforts online or at the Rockingham County Fairgrounds (4808 S Valley Pike, Harrisonburg, VA 22801).
To bid on auction items, view the full relief sale weekend schedule, reserve drive-thru dinners and/or register for the 5k Race for Relief, please visit mcc.org/virginia-mennonite-relief-sale.  Volunteers needed to check canned meat at the Ephrata MRC The MCC East Coast Material Resources Center in Ephrata needs your help to check cans of meat! MCC needs to have approximately 10,000 cartons of meat checked and banded by January. There are 24 cans per carton. That means quality control for 240,000 cans of meat! These cartons are sitting in the warehouse waiting for this final part of the process before being ready for shipment to Ethiopia and Ukraine. Please consider coming with people in your "pandemic bubble" to work at this. We also have tables spaced so that 5 individuals can safely work simultaneously. Daytime hours for this activity are Monday through Friday 8:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. Evening hours can be arranged for Tuesdays or Thursdays from 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. Strategies are in place to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. To sign up, please contact Marilyn Peters, Ephrata MRC Volunteer Coordinator, at MarilynPeters@mcc.org or (717) 733-2847.  Tackling the Global Inequality Pandemic: Online Seminar for Students UN Secretary General Antonio Gúterres has said COVID-19 is like an x-ray, revealing fractures in the world. Inequality defines our current time – in health, economics, and racial injustice. Join MCC's United Nations office for a two-day, five-hour seminar focusing on the intersection of global inequality, UN public policy, and faith-based advocacy. The November 5-6, 2020 seminar is for students attending Anabaptist universities and colleges in the U.S. and Canada. Through a mix of plenary sessions, small groups, and mini-seminars offering high interaction with experts, students will connect and learn with students from other schools across the U.S. and Canada and apply learnings to their own context. Spots are limited. For more information and to apply by October 1, visit mcc.org/un or email unoffice2@mcc.org. Download and share the poster  Celebration 2020: MCC at 100 livestreamed event Mennonite Central Committee invites you join Celebration 2020: MCC at 100, a livestreamed event commemorating a century of MCC's ministry on Saturday, Oct. 17, starting at 6:50 p.m. (EDT). The event will feature photos, videos and storytelling that highlight MCC's work over the years. Former MCC leader and pastor Leonard Dow of Philadelphia will inspire participants to walk boldly into the next century of MCC's ministry while talented musicians will lead in prayer and thanksgiving. Find more information about MCC's centennial and log in for the livestreamed event at mcc.org/celebration-2020.  Five ways to show compassion to asylum seekers What causes people to leave homes, families and communities that are dear to them in order to seek refuge in the U.S.? And how should the U.S. respond? Throughout 2020, the MCC U.S. Washington Office is going deeper into these issues, taking a look at the root causes of migration, immigration and asylum policy, and how each of us can be part of working toward safe homes for everyone, and safe refuge for those who need it.Visit mcc.org/safe-refuge to learn five practical ways that churches and individuals can demonstrate compassion to asylum seekers. Download and share the fall/winter edition of MCC's Washington Memo on U.S. asylum policy.  Open positions Executive Director for West Coast MCC - Reedley, CA (salaried): MCC is seeking candidates for West Coast Executive Director. The director is responsible for promoting and encouraging support of MCC; for giving leadership and vision to MCC programs within the region; and for strengthening relationships between MCC and MCC's sponsoring denominations represented with the Region's constituency. The position requires considerable cooperation and coordination with many MCC/MCC U.S. departments. The director participates in discussions involving MCC policy, structure and vision. The deadline to express interest is September 30, 2020. Administrative Assistant for U.S. National Advocacy and Program - Washington, D.C (salaried): The Administrative Assistant for U.S. National Advocacy and Program provides administrative and program support to the Director as well as National and Advocacy Staff in MCC U.S. This includes coordinating logistics and publicity for training events, conferences and meetings; assisting in the production of resources and newsletters; and other administrative duties to assist National and Advocacy Program staff in their work. Representative for Haiti (stipend) - The MCC Representative for Haiti provides leadership and programmatic direction to the work of MCC in Haiti within the MCC Latin America/Caribbean regional strategic vision. This position also maintains relationships with MCC partners in the country and represents MCC to churches, agencies, community groups and leaders, and the government. To learn more and to view more open positions, visit mcc.org/careers. Ongoing Bulletin Announcements Relief for Beirut, Lebanon Mennonite Central Committee is responding to the need for food and other assistance in Beirut, Lebanon, following the massive explosion of ammonium nitrate on Aug. 4 that destroyed the country's main port and silos filled with grain. Food was already in short supply in the country because of an existing economic and political crisis. Download and share the poster.  PA Relief Sale online quilt auction Didn't get your 'quilt fix' in this past April? Join the PA Relief Sale for their ONLINE quilt auction on October 24 featuring 100 quilts for MCC's 100 years! As cool weather approaches, you can purchase a beautiful and warm quilt while supporting MCC's ministries. For more information and to stay up to date on the status of this event, visit mcc.org/events or contact Ken Martin at (717) 697-1929.  Help MCC meet the material needs of our partners! When you go shopping, what does your list look like? Imagine needing the following over the course of the next year: This is the desired humanitarian aid that Mennonite Central Committee needs to ship from the U.S. Fortunately, we are in it together! To learn more about how you can help meet the needs of MCC's partners, visit mcc.org/kits or contact the MCC East Coast Material Resources Center in Ephrata at (717) 733-2847.  Mobile meat canner operator needed Want to travel around the U.S. and Canada, meet new people and touch lives around the world? Apply to be an MCC mobile meat canner operator today! Each year since 1946, MCC has sent out a mobile meat canner, which MCC workers and volunteers use to preserve hundreds of thousands of cans of meat for communities in need across the globe. Canner operators travel with the meat canner to 34 different locations across the U.S. and Canada, canning beef, turkey, chicken, and pork. Canners are responsible for all aspects of the project including: operating steam and pressure vessels, coordinating volunteers, maintaining and communicating USDA regulations, and the maintenance of all machinery in the canning process. Lifelong relationships are forged, opening new doors for life after canning. For more information and to apply for this unique opportunity, please visit mcc.org/careers.  Seed program openings in Colombia and Guatemala/El Salvador Did you know that MCC has a 2-year international service program for young Christian adults called Seed? The Seed program brings together a diverse cohort of young adults ages 20-30 from around the world to reflect, serve and work for peace. The Seed program currently has openings in Colombia and Guatemala/El Salvador with a start date of February 2, 2021. For more information and to apply for this opportunity, visit mcc.org/seed.  Share your story: Postcards to MCC MCC is made up of thousands of people sharing their gifts in their home communities and around the world. And each MCC experience is unique, made up of small moments that tell a larger story. As MCC celebrates its centennial year, we want you to help piece together this story. Upload a photo or video with a short 750-character description, or submit a text-only story. Then, browse through more stories from our MCC community! To get started, visit mcc.org/centennial.  Sign up for 100 stories for 100 years MCC has a rich history of storytelling. For our centennial year in 2020, we've curated a collection of 100 stories that explore the breadth of MCC's work over time. To mark 100 years of sharing God's love and compassion, and your generosity and partnership through the decades, we invite you to explore these images and stories from MCC's decades of work around the world. Sign up for email highlights or share your own story at mcc.org/centennial. Resources for Church Leaders Peace Sunday Packet 2020 Peace Sunday is an annual occasion to preach, teach, reflect upon and witness to the gospel of peace as revealed in Jesus Christ. This year's Peace Sunday resource, "A Refugee People," centers on how the church can choose welcome in the face of global displacement. This resource was created by MCC in Canada to encourage congregations across Canada to observe Peace Sunday on November 8, 2020. We hope congregations in the U.S. will also find this resource useful. Download and share the 2020 Peace Sunday packet.  Invitation to collect a Centennial Celebration Offering - October 2020 Thanks to your support, MCC is at work in more than 50 countries around the world, sharing God's love and compassion for all. As when MCC began in 1920, this is a chance to come together with churches throughout the U.S to care for those in need. It's an opportunity to celebrate the dedication of churches like yours that have touched so many lives through the decades, and to give thanks together for what God has done and is doing through MCC. We invite you to plan for an MCC Centennial Celebration Offering on Sunday, Oct. 4, Sunday, Oct. 11, or another date that works best for your congregation. Then join us in giving thanks for this offering and the work of MCC on Saturday, Oct. 17, during Celebration 2020: MCC at 100, a national livestreamed celebration.Has your church recently taken a centennial offering that should be counted in this total? Please let us know by emailing donate@mcc.org.  Digital worship resources for churches In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, MCC continues to work for relief, development and peace in the name of Christ. We thank you for your continued support as we respond creatively around the world. As a way to thank you and your faith community, we've prepared pre-recorded digital worship resources in English and Spanish for you to share with your congregation or small group. At mcc.org/digital-worship-resources you'll find pre-recorded sermons, greetings, children's stories, Sunday School presentations and other MCC resources for your faith community to enjoy and discuss as you gather in person or virtually in the coming months.  MCC centennial worship resources In 2020, MCC is celebrating 100 years of sharing God's love and compassion with people in the name of Christ. We invite you to use these worship resources as you reflect on God's work of reconciliation in your life, in the church and around the world. Whether your church is planning an MCC-based worship service, taking an offering for MCC or just looking for an MCC story to demonstrate reconciliation, you can get started here. In this packet, you will find a litany of thanks, a historical reading, sermon ideas, stories from MCC's work, children's resources, prayers, videos, giving options and more. Please contact MCC East Coast at EastCoast@mcc.org for any additional resources, including guest speakers. Download the worship resource packet and consider taking an special offering for MCC in our centennial year. (En español) |
