Saturday, March 4
- 7:30pm CCMC Coffee House with Andi and I
- Doors open at 7:00pm
- Kathryn’s Kettle Corn will be available
Sunday, March 5
- 9:30am NSMC Hybrid Worship at Civic Center and Zoom (contact Anne for details on how to join Zoom)
- Communion
- 10:45am Congregational Meeting (see announcement below)
- 12:00pm Potluck
Thursday, March 9
- 7:00pm Bible Study with Shane (contact Anne for details on how to join Zoom)
Saturday, March 11
- Illinois Mennonite Conference, Sonido de Alabanza, 5540 W 25th St., Cicero
- Open House at the Schaumburg Islamic Center
Sunday, March 12
- 9:30am CCMC Worship with Zoom connections (contact Anne for details on how to join)
- Speaker: Suzanne
- 10:45am Sermon Discussion
Congregational Meeting This Sunday
Plan to attend the NSMC Congregational Meeting following worship on Sunday, March 5. The purpose of the meeting will be to receive a brief update on finances and ministries and to explore together our experience of collaboration with CCMC. Focus questions have been emailed to you. If you didn’t receive them, please let Anne know.
Pastoral Team at AMBS
Anne, Shane, and Suzanne will be at AMBS in Elkhart, Indiana, March 10-12. Shane will begin the Journey program for potential pastors to explore their calling.
Ted & Company Theater Group on March 17 and March 18
Reba Place Church will be hosting the theater group Ted & Company for a show on Friday, March 17 at 7:00pm & Saturday, March 18 at 3:00pm. Led by veteran actor and playwright, Ted Swartz, Ted & Company TheaterWorks “uses humor and professional storytelling to talk about issues of faith and social justice through live shows.” Their team of dynamic actors and musicians are “passionate about creating art that provokes both laughter and reflection, as all good comedy does.” They will be presenting a 2-person show entitled We Own This Now that looks at love of land, loss of land, and what it means to “own” something. You can learn more about the company and the show on their website.
Hungry World Farm
Join Hungry World Farm staff in reading, reflecting, and inviting transformation of our relationships with the land, with our neighbors, with ourselves, and with God. Author Sarah Augustine is a Pueblo (Tewa) woman with a profound faith and passion for justice, Jesus-style. Through personal stories, historical accounts, and reflection on scripture, Sarah invites us to wrestle with the ongoing implications of 15th-century laws known as the Doctrine of Discovery.
We will gather four times (in person in the HWF Learning Center, or via Zoom) to reflect on our reading: March 14, 28, April 11, and 25, 2023, from 7:00pm to 8:00pm. Participants are encouraged to join in as many sessions as they are able. Karla Stoltzfus Detweiler, Executive Director of Hungry World Farm, will facilitate the gatherings. For more information and to register, go to Book Study on the Events page of the HWF website.
The African American Mennonite Association (AAMA), one of the racial ethnic groups that make up the Racial Ethnic Council of Mennonite Church USA, has prepared a new master class curriculum for Black Mennonite church leaders. Learn more here: mennoniteusa.org/news/aama-curriculum
Mennonite Central Committee and Mennonite Church USA are partnering in a year-long focus on alternatives to the current prison system and mass incarceration. A four-part webinar series, “Beyond Incarceration,” will be followed by learning tours across the U.S. Register for the learning tours here:mcc.org/get-involved/events/pipeline-prison-learning-tours Register for the webinar series here: mcc.org/get-involved/events/beyond-incarceration-webinar-series
Registration for MennoCon23 is now open. Mennocon23 will be held in Kansas City, Mo., July 3-6, immediately followed by the Mennonite Church USA Delegate Assembly and the new Youth & Young Adult Climate Summit. Register here: convention.mennoniteusa.org/registration/ View a downloadable printer-friendly flier here: mennoniteusa.org/mennocon-flyer-print-friendly
Change and transformation is a constant in life. For Lorraine Stutzman Amstutz, Mennonite Church USA’s denominational minister for Peace and Justice, relationships have been an important part of the transformation in her own life and have sustained her throughout those changes. Read more of her reflections here: mennoniteusa.org/change-and-transformation
–from Creation Justice Ministries 52 Ways to Care for Creation
Climate Resilience
What affect is climate change having/going to have in your community? Learn how your church can be a hub for climate resilience by watching our webinars on Creation Justice Ministries YouTube channel.
–from Creation Justice Tips | United Methodist Church
World Water Day on March 22
World Water Day on March 22 points to a creation justice issue: Across the globe, according to the United Nations, 2.2 billion people are without access to safe water. Help make clean water a reality. Learn about and support any of these 15 nonprofits. Clean water prevents death and disease.
Time to Switch to a New Toilet
The greatest consumer of water (about 40%) in your house is your toilet. Older models use about 5.5 gallons per flush. Switch to a new toilet that uses only 1.6 gallons.
MCC Thrifty 50 Challenge
Do you want to help our planet but aren’t sure where to start? MCC (Mennonite Central Committee) Thrift is celebrating their 50th anniversary by issuing 50 challenges to help us be more equipped to care for our planet. We’ll include one challenge each week for the next 50 weeks.
Week 38 | Eco-friendly Christmas decorations
Editor’s Note: Please excuse the timing of this challenge. It was several weeks into the series before I found out about it. Learn from these ideas and put them to use next Christmas.
You’re hosting Christmas dinner at your house and you’re thinking, “Lori, I’m already stressed out about MAKING an entire dinner for my family. Now you’re asking me to make it SUSTAINABLE?”
Don’t worry! These tips are created to help LOWER your stress level as you cook up a scrumptious meal.
According to The United States Environmental Protection Agency, the amount of waste produced in the United States increases about 25% between Thanksgiving and New Year’s. Yikes!
Here are a few tips to help you be sustainable with your food prep and reduce waste this holiday season:
- Make less | What if this year, you simply reduced the amount of food you buy and make? I’m guessing a lot of your guests will thank you as they’ll go home feeling a lot better. Other benefits? Your stress level goes down because you don’t have as much to make and your budget will go further too.
- Get creative with leftovers | If you do have leftovers, make a Christmas dinner lasagna. Simply layer your chicken, stuffing and potatoes into a freezable casserole dish, making sure to use your leftover gravy between the layers. End with a layer of potatoes and pop it in the freezer for another meal you can easily heat up. Looking for more leftover meal ideas? I’ve got some more for you!
- Have guests bring their own re-usable container for leftovers | An alternative to the leftover lasagna, ask your guests to bring a re-usable container. If anything is leftover, they can fill it up, take it home and have another meal so nothing goes to waste!
Kitchen Tip of the Week
–from The Washington Post
Dehydrate Scraps
I love dehydrating citrus rounds, peels, and whole fruits and vegetables. And you don’t need a fancy dehydrator to do so ― an oven on low temperature setting or setting it out to bake in the sunshine works perfectly! They can be turned into concentrated powders that can then be used in recipes and as garnishes.
A creative take on dehydrating tomato peels can be found here by my friend Carleigh Bodrug. Dehydrated citrus rounds and peels can be used in cocktails, as garnishes, or even dipped in chocolate and eaten as a snack.