Can we today participate in the freedom and justice work that Martin Luther King led in the middle of the 20

th century? Regina

Shands Stoltzfus was our guest preacher the Sunday before Martin Luther King Day. She is a professor of peace, justice, and conflict studies at Goshen College.

Martin Luther King Jr. was a remarkable leader: a prophetic peacemaker who gave his life for God’s love and justice. He spoke at Goshen College in 1960, when the U.S. civil rights movement was just beginning. Some Mennonites, including Vic Stoltzfus of our congregation, participated in marches and demonstrations in southern states during the 1960s, peacefully demanding justice and civil rights for all Americans, regardless of skin color. Each year, Goshen College honors King’s holiday with activities that teach and celebrate his legacy. CMC worship is part of that celebration.

Dr. Shands Stoltzfus’s sermon was titled “Daring to Believe Again and Again.” She compared Jesus’ call to his first disciples with our call today to enact the “beloved community” that Dr. King described. More than 50 years

after King’s death, our country is still in a transition period. We are still striving toward racial and economic justice, still striving to counter militarism. When we have the courage to tell hard truths about lingering injustice, when we work to create true harmony and justice across racial and economic lines, we say “Yes” to Jesus’ call and we join in God’s continuing creation.

Children’s time with Talashia Keim Yoder focused on “doing what is right,” which sometimes might mean working to change unjust laws that separate people because of their skin color or nationality.

The worship service also included inspiring piano arrangements by Robina Sommers: the gospel song “His Eye Is on the Sparrow” and “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” often called the black national anthem.

After worship, Dr. Shands Stoltzfus engaged in a question and answer time with the Sojourners adult Sunday school class on the theme “Unapologetically Just: Rooted in the Way of Jesus.” —Becky Horst

Celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at CMC

College Mennonite Church Winter 2020

As a congregation we receive many blessings from each other. We also have the opportunity to hear each other’s stories, challenges, prayers, and dreams. In November 2019, Pastor Talashia introduced the Encircling Exchange Board with the children during worship, sharing that as, a family of God, we all have needs and we all have gifts to offer. This special bulletin board is a way to recognize both realities in a very tangible way. It is a way we can see each other, bear each other’s burdens, and build community. It is a simple concept of making needs known, taking what you need, and giving what you have to offer.

Through the Encircling board, we provided assistance to 12 CMC families over the Christmas season to purchase gifts for their children, food for their tables, and more. Near Christmas, a person had an important prescription to fill, but was without the funds at the time to do so. The gift of a gift card was a surprise and a blessing. Others are making connections over washing machines, herbs, furniture, clothing, transportation needs, and more. If you have a story to share of how the Encircling Exchange has

touched your life, share it with a pastor or another CMC friend.

We want people to have what they need for daily living, taking care of their families, and even thriving in life. Together we can each have enough! Our hope is that beyond the exchange of items and services, relationships will be built and deepened. —Pamela Yoder

Encircling Exchange Board An Experiment in Meeting Needs and Building Community

2 SING! Winter 2020

We worship together

Every Sunday

9:15 a.m. – Songs for Gathering

9:25 a.m. – Worship Broadcast

Radio: WGCS 91.1 FM: the Globe

Online: www.collegemennonite.org

Greencroft Communities: Ch.13

9:30 a.m. – Worship service

Interpretation in Spanish and, on

request, American Sign Language

11 a.m. – Fellowship and Christian

education classes for all ages

Pastoral Team Phil Waite, Pastoral Team Leader

and Worship

Daniel Yoder, Christian Formation – youth

Pamela Yoder, Pastoral Care Talashia Keim Yoder, Family

Ministry

David Maldonado, Outreach

Madeline Maldonado, Outreach

Rex Brake, Pastor of Deaf Christian Fellowship

Luis Tapia, Guest Pastor

College Mennonite Church is a welcoming congregation of Mennonite Church USA,

an Anabaptist community of believers.

To learn more go to:

www.collegemennonite.org www.mennoniteusa.org

Lent Worship:

Jesus Confronts the Powerful Jesus spoke with a prophetic voice confronting the powerful of his day. He used all the rhetorical means available to the Hebrew prophets to confront those “devouring widows’ houses” (to use his language). If Lent is about journeying with Jesus to the cross, we cannot avoid the angry, bold, sarcastic, confrontational Jesus. He was, in fact, a grave danger to the rich and powerful of his day. Jesus was a threat, so they killed him.

This Lent, we turn our attention to the prophetic Jesus, and we ask ourselves what it means to be his disciples. What does it mean to follow the prophetic Jesus to the cross? What does it mean to make the prophet Jesus Lord of our lives? What does it mean to be the body of that Jesus in our world today?

—Phil Waite

In this issue:

Celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Encircling Exchange Board

Lent Worship

Christmas Events 2019

Family Gift & Luncheon

Baby Reception & Shower

Housewarming for Dixie Clotter Ramos

Wednesday Night Skill Swap

Angel Tree 2019

Vacation Bible School 2020

Winter Youth Retreats

Texts for Lent: March 1 Mark 11:15-19 March 8 Matthew 24:1-2 March 15 Matthew 23:23-24 March 22 Mark 10:17-31 March 29 Luke 11:45-54 Easter Services: April 5 Palm Sunday 9:30 am. April 9 Maundy Thursday 6:00 p.m. April 10 Good Friday 7:00 p.m. April 12 Easter Sunrise service 7:30 a.m. Breakfast 8:00 a.m. Easter activities 8:20 a.m. Hymn sing 9:00 a.m. Worship 9:30 a.m.

SING! Winter 2020 3

Christmas Events 2019

Christmas Eve

Service

Christmas Day Meal

Christmas Pageant

Epiphany

Advent Candle Lighting

Longest Night

Service

4 SING! Winter 2020

Family Gift and Luncheon

Every year, College Mennonite Church gives gifts to families with children age birth through grade 5. This gift has ranged from books to prayer boxes to the Bryan Moyer Suderman concert. This year, we gave families a book of scripture-based practices to do together at home. The practices are pulled from the content Talashia has written for buildingfaith mecn.weebly.com. The book was illustrated by children from our church. Twenty-six families (about 100 people) gathered on January 12 to eat lunch together, receive the book, and do one of the faith practices together. It was noisy and chaotic and beautiful!

Why create and give a gift like this? Both common sense and research tell us that an hour or two per week of intentional Christian formation is not enough. When compared to the amount of time dedicated to extracurricular activities and recreation, an hour or two is a drop in the bucket. Develop-ment of lifelong faith needs something beyond our time together on Sunday mornings.

And research tells us that involvement of parents or caregivers in a child’s faith formation is the number one factor in adulthood discipleship. Most parents and caregivers feel ill-equipped for this task. Fortunately, we don’t need to be experts to explore the Bible together. We just need a few prompts to get us going.

Church family, you can be a part of this. Invite one of these families over for a meal and ask them to bring their book to share a faith practice with you. Ask a child or family about what faith practices they have tried lately. Ask a child what the phrase “It’s all God’s” means to them. Invite someone in

our church family of a different age to join you in a faith practice you have found meaningful.

God places us in communities of faith with people of all ages. We are created to grow together. Thanks be to God.

—Talashia Keim Yoder

The baby shower receptions offered by CMC are hosted by the Community Life Commission. They are celebra-tions of new little ones in our midst and a way the congregation offers support to young families. Special treats are shared, families are greeted, and donations of diapers and other baby supplies are brought. Each family receives a larger gift from the congregation that is arranged with the family before the shower. This year a baby swing, a stroller, and gift cards were given.

—Pamela Yoder

Baby Shower Reception Clayton & Allie with twin sons, Corby and Wells

José & Geraldine with Joseph

and baby Scarlett

Prishyla with baby Esmeralda

Jacob & RJ with baby Miah

SING! Winter 2020 5

Housewarming for Dixie Clotter Ramos Dixie began attending CMC in November 2018. She was baptized and

became an official member this past September. Born in Honduras,

she migrated to the United States a few years ago, fleeing abuse and

seeking a better life. She and her two sons have experienced wel-

come and love in our congregation that she cannot put into words.

This love was demonstrated in November when she moved into a

rental home. Not only was she gifted with everything she needed in

her new place, but also so many people came to the housewarming to

bless her and her boys that she was overwhelmed with joy. Thank

you, College Mennonite, for demonstrating God’s love to all!

—Madeline Maldonado

Wednesday Night Skill Swap

Bread-making

Making Detergent

Come to Wednesday night “Skill Swap” to gain some new skills

and make some new friends! This is a time to share life with each

other as we trade knowledge about everything from phone apps

to bread-baking to money-saving. It has been great fun to watch

people of all ages and languages pair up to work on a project

together.

—Talashia Keim Yoder

6 SING! Winter 2020

Angel Tree: Blessed by Giving

I needed to share something that made my whole Christ-

mas season today. I had tracked the box containing gifts

that I sent to a family this week. She is a grandmother I

made initial contact with for Angel Tree, and I decided I

wanted to shop for the two boys and two girls she has

been caring for. Her address included both a street

address and a box number, so today when I called her

she was on her way to pick up the box at the Post Office.

She said she’d call me after she got it.

About twenty minutes later she called to say she had the

box, then said she had someone she wanted me to talk to

with her in the car. It was her son—released early from

prison!!! I heard him say in the background “What should I

say?” But when he got on the phone, he was easy to talk

with. I told him how wonderful it was to hear his voice and

to know he was back home for Christmas with his chil-

dren.

I thought how neat it would be for him to see in person

what he was giving them through Angel Tree, and I

shared how much fun I had looking for gifts for them. He

told me he had been scheduled for a mid–January re-

lease, but had never had a “write-up” so was released

early, in time to be home for Thanksgiving.

I told him about the letter I had sent to his prison address,

but that he would soon see for himself what he was giving

his children instead of just reading my descriptions. Then I

let him know that we would be thinking of him and praying

for him in the months ahead as he spent time with his

family again and adjusted to new opportunities. He was

so nice to talk to—a wonderful experience for both of us

and something I will never forget!

—Jan Smucker

A Personal Blessing

Read the joy on Bob’s face after

accepting the gifts his incarcerated

father wanted to give him. “Wish I

could be there,” was his father’s

message on the Angel Tree tags

attached to the gifts. Sharing Christ’s

love through gift giving at Christmas-

time strengthens family ties when

parents are separated from their

loved ones.

Bob, who lives within a few miles of

College Mennonite Church, was one

of the 90 children for whom CMCers

purchased Christmas gifts their

incarcerated parents wished to give

them. One of those purchasers reflected on the 23 years

her children received gifts when she was incarcerated. As

she shopped, she realized, “I was becoming a recipient of

the blessing of giving.”

Mathew Lind, member of a father/daughter delivery team,

was thankful “to receive the gift of story from those who

live, often invisibly, among us,” he confided. “We had the

privilege of delivering presents to the six beautiful children

of an incarcerated father. However, he was no longer in

jail, but had, without the mother’s knowledge, been

deported to his country of birth.” Matt continued, “This

mother’s story, permeated with tough questions and

indictments against a system more concerned with politics

than justice, more with prejudice than the restoration of

family, she told with simple truth and straightforwardness.

Yet with grace and dignity, facing an uncertain future, this

mother, fortified with love, forges ahead into the unknown.

Indeed, a gift of story!”

In 2018, a volunteer from Tanzania

participated in gift deliveries. In

succeeding years a caregiver

continues to ask about Takasa who

has returned home to Africa. So this

year a picture including the caregiver,

the gift recipient, and the local current

deliverer was sent to Tanzania. An

international connection!

In late November this year, we

learned gift purchasers for 1,979

Angel Tree children in our three-state

region had not been identified. With

additional fortitude and involvement of

many of you, we sent gifts to 12

additional families outside of Elkhart County.

Three families we served live in Berne, Indiana, 100 miles

from Goshen. Justin Gillette unhesitatingly agreed to

deliver their ten gifts. And, he informed his mother-in-law,

a Berne resident, about the need for more purchasers.

She responded to the challenge of arranging to purchase

gifts for 35 families! God at work!

Angel Tree aimed to serve 310,000 children during the

2019 Christmas season. We have been blessed to be a

part of this ministry. “I have everyone at College

Mennonite Church in my prayers!” assured one of the

inmates.

The search is on for a coordinator for the CMC Angel

Tree Team. Contact David or Madeline Maldonado for

more details.

—Kathryn Aschliman

SING! Winter 2020 7

Vacation Bible School 2020 Here at College Mennonite, our

congregation’s convictions about

who God is calling us to be have

led us to exciting changes. Our

church family is growing in its

diversity and in its capacity for

outreach. As each of us ministers

in our dynamic settings, we must

adapt and evaluate what we do.

Does what we are doing serve the

congregation we are and the

congregation we are becoming?

Recently, we had the opportunity to exercise our adaptive

muscles with vacation Bible school (VBS).

For 36 years, College

Mennonite Church has

been part of a collabora-

tive VBS with other

Mennonite congregations

in Goshen. This has been

highly successful, an

example of people coming

together to do something

that we couldn’t do on our

own. Many children and

adults have participated in

this ministry, and we are

grateful for the heart and

soul poured into it!

Since this collaboration

began, our context has

changed. We see changes in our community, our

churches and staffing, other summer activities, and

volunteer patterns. These changes have prompted us to

take a look at whether this collaborative VBS should

continue. VBS requires vast resources from each church,

but particularly from CMC, which last year invested not

only a budget line item but also time from eight staff

people and 33 volunteers. As only a third of our children

were able to participate, we knew we needed to consider

how VBS might serve more of our families.

We have been dreaming big dreams, and we are excited

about

where God

is leading

us! We will

offer a

Bible camp

weekend,

scheduled

for June

5-7, culmi-

nating in a

Sunday

morning worship service, potluck,

and celebration. This Bible camp

will be bilingual, will be structured

for maximum participation of both

children and families, and will

welcome children who do not yet

have church homes. Many details

are still coming together, but we

hope many people from this church

will be willing to minister together

for a weekend.

More information about details and volunteer sign-ups will

come soon! For now, put June 5-7 on your calendar.

This new

thing means

that we will

no longer be

part of the

VBS collabo-

ration. The

other col-

laborating

congrega-

tions have

expressed

appreciation for CMC initiating change and are consider-

ing how they also might make decisions about VBS that

align with their congregational priorities. When something

this good comes to an end, it needs to be honored and

celebrated, so stay tuned for information about how and

when that will happen.

Thank you, College Mennonite Church. Thank you for

being a church that has developed something that had

such lasting

effects.

Thank you

for being a

church that

gave of your

time and

other

resources to

make the

collaboration

happen. And

thank you for being a church that dares to dream of who

we might be, who dares to follow the leading of the Holy

Spirit, even when that leads to change. Here we go, off

on a new adventure together!

—Talashia Keim Yoder

8 SING! Winter 2020

Winter Youth Retreats Each winter, the MYF and Genesis groups go for a weekend retreat that gives us a chance to connect with God, with each other, with creation, and with other churches in new ways. Our retreats had more mud than snow this year, but we made the most of the time together. —Daniel Yoder

Genesis

MYF

Sing! is a publication of College Mennonite Church. Send inquiries to communications@collegemennonite.org. Marie Clements, Managing Editor Don Garber, Copy Editor Photographers include Dottie Kauffmann, Rex Hooley, Marie Clements, Higinio Luna

COLLEGE MENNONITE CHURCH 1900 S Main St. Goshen IN 46526-5218 Office hours: 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Mon.–Thurs. Phone: (574) 535-7262 E-mail: cmc@collegemennonite.org Web site: www.collegemennonite.org