For 2010, MCC has asked Love Joy Piece to focus on the themes of: 1) Peace; 2) AIDS; 3) Global Family and 4) Food/Agriculture and Water.
LJP has chosen to focus on one of those themes for 2010 with the focus on “Peace”. The symbol is “the dove” and we ask you to submit a quilt block with a dove. With your creativity and the symbol being smaller or bigger, no specific size requirements are being given. You decide what size your block should be and the design of the Traveling Quilts will be designed and created. Once blocks are received, a traveling quilt will be available in the United States and Canada this year. Please send your blocks to Bev or Marlys. Last year, a deadline for the US traveling quilt was met but couldn’t include your blocks. Your involvement in a traveling quilt is so important to bringing awareness and excitement to a Traveling Quilt.
The theme of “Peace” has many meanings and begins in our homes. Our goal is to bring awareness and reduce violence and sexual abuse in our communities, in our countries, and around the world. Being in Bolivia this summer, the Mennonite Colonies families suffered from the acts of violence and the communities suffered as the news traveled the globe. “Peace”, as we also remember so many people living in war torn countries.
We look forward to your creations and involvement in making a Traveling quilt happen. In the US, Texas has the first sale of the year in February and Canada’s first sale is in April. We look forward to your blocks to have a Traveling Quilt for the Relief Sales!
“Peace” Block Instructions:
Blocks will be used to make a US and Canadian Traveling Quilts for MCC Relief Sales use.
When: Immediately – make it a special Christmas project with your family and/or church group.
Size: To fit your project
We encourage hand or machine work, appliqué or pieced, or colored (from the children)
We ask for your quality blocks, whether complex or simple.
Time Period: Collecting throughout 2010
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Kick Off for Minnesota's: "Bread for All" Theme
“Bread for All” Intergenerational Sunday School Experience
A Planning Committee composed of members from Emmanuel and Faith Mennonite Churches in the Twin Cities have been planning an Intergeneration, Sunday School hour to highlight the “Bread for All” auction segment at the November TCMCC.
The cooperative planning and implementation are designed to provide the intergeneration Sunday school experience for both congregations. The purpose of the Sunday school hour is to learn about the struggle for food and injustices and to focus on how to best use our wealth of finances, resources and knowledge to alleviate suffering throughout the world. The bread and basket theme for the TCMCC sale is based on John 6 and the feeding of the 5,000. This theme will be woven through the auction activities but will be especially prevalent during the 1:00-1:30 “Bread for All” segment. The money raised during that time will go to the Kenya food project.
On the scheduled Sunday, the morning worship will incorporate the “Bread for All” theme. After the worship hour, all ages will gather in the fellowship area to participate in various, center activities. These will include basket weaving, a science experiment, involving yeast, and a MCC, information video, a representative from a local, homeless shelter and an Ethiopian Injera demonstration. Browsing centers will provide resource books and a preview of the “Bread for All” sales item.
A simple, meal of soup and bread will provide a time of fellowship and sharing. A gift of a dinner bun and card with a Columbian table grace will be sent home with each participant as an ongoing reminder of the link between peace and justice.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
A Story That Goes Round in Circles
NEWSLETTER
FIRST MENNONITE CHURCH
NOVEMBER 2009
BOX 473
305 NORTH 7TH STREET
MOUNTAIN LAKE, MN 56159
ELAINE KAUFFMAN, PASTOR
seekfrst@frontiernet.net
PASTOR’S PAGE
A STORY THAT GOES ROUND IN CIRCLES
or
When We All Work Together
It’s hard to know where to begin when a story goes in such circles. I guess the best I can do is probably to tell the story as I learned it…
I’ve been going to the Twin Cities MCC sale as often as possible since it began. Colleen Graber works with children’s activities at that Sale. I had first learned to know Colleen because she was related to someone in the First Mennonite Church of Mountain Lake congregation. So now it’s always fun to poke my head in and see what she’s cooked up for the kids to do at the Twin Cities Sale… even if I’m not a kid nor have any kids to get involved there.
Last year Colleen asked me if any of our ladies liked to sew kit bags. One of the activities for the children was to assemble school kit materials, but then she always needed bags to put them in.
Well, I knew that MaJean Heide, who lives in Sioux Falls, likes to sew these bags. How many has she already sewn for us? We were so impressed with the ones made of “parachute” nylon. I don’t know if parachute nylon is even the right term for it, but it was something like that.
So one time when I talked to MaJean I mentioned this need for kit bags. Then I kind of forgot about it. Well, I didn’t exactly forget, but I let it go and didn’t really think about it as I had made the contact I thought might bear fruit.
MaJean loves to hear the hum of the sewing machine as she puts together pieces that match and contrast making useful totes for such things as school kits and health kits. This year she had no parachute material, but she had a whole lot of upholstery samples. Methinks that must be a little more work to sew, so my hat’s off to MaJean. My hat’s off in any event because I am not much of a seamstress!
This fall MaJean called me and asked if I thought 50 bags would be good for Colleen. I couldn’t remember what, if any, number Colleen and I had discussed, but I thought 50 would probably be a gracious plenty. I asked Mary and Martin Harder if they would take the bags from Mountain Lake to the Twin Cities MCC Sale. If you know the Harders, you already are sure the answer was in the positive. Of course, they would take the bags along; they actually do a good bit of transport from Mountain Lake for that sale. Hats off, again!
Now comes the fun part!
When MaJean brought me the bags to send to Colleen, she told me they were made from upholstery material that Edie Tschetter had provided. Apparently, Edie also knew that MaJean sews kit bags. Over the years that Edie was in the MCC office in Freeman (MCC Central States, Northern Tier), she received sample materials that a Mennonite business woman would send to Freeman—to the MCC stockroom and to Freeman’s Et Cetera Shoppe—from her business in the Twin Cities. She often had a lot of upholstery samples that are useful for a variety of projects. They make wonderful kit bags.
Twin Cities made my ears perk up. How about that! The woman from the Twin Cities was none other than Marlys Wiens, one of the people involved from the very start in establishing the Twin Cities MCC Sale. Marlys continues to support, help plan and staff the sale. She also works with MCC in other ways, including a web-log with MCC stories. The stories are found at lovejoypiece.blogspot.com for those who may like to check it out.
So the story comes full circle! Colleen has school kit bags for the children’s activities, the upholstery samples have a new, useful life, and the rest of us have had a whole lot of fun making connections in the journey from upholstery sample to school kit. Wouldn’t it be fun if one of those kit bags could talk and tell us the story of its travels?
-- Elaine Kauffman
I thank my God every time I remember you,
constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you,
because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now.
I am confident of this,
that the one who began a good work among you
will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ.
Philippians 1:3-6
FIRST MENNONITE CHURCH
NOVEMBER 2009
BOX 473
305 NORTH 7TH STREET
MOUNTAIN LAKE, MN 56159
ELAINE KAUFFMAN, PASTOR
seekfrst@frontiernet.net
PASTOR’S PAGE
A STORY THAT GOES ROUND IN CIRCLES
or
When We All Work Together
It’s hard to know where to begin when a story goes in such circles. I guess the best I can do is probably to tell the story as I learned it…
I’ve been going to the Twin Cities MCC sale as often as possible since it began. Colleen Graber works with children’s activities at that Sale. I had first learned to know Colleen because she was related to someone in the First Mennonite Church of Mountain Lake congregation. So now it’s always fun to poke my head in and see what she’s cooked up for the kids to do at the Twin Cities Sale… even if I’m not a kid nor have any kids to get involved there.
Last year Colleen asked me if any of our ladies liked to sew kit bags. One of the activities for the children was to assemble school kit materials, but then she always needed bags to put them in.
Well, I knew that MaJean Heide, who lives in Sioux Falls, likes to sew these bags. How many has she already sewn for us? We were so impressed with the ones made of “parachute” nylon. I don’t know if parachute nylon is even the right term for it, but it was something like that.
So one time when I talked to MaJean I mentioned this need for kit bags. Then I kind of forgot about it. Well, I didn’t exactly forget, but I let it go and didn’t really think about it as I had made the contact I thought might bear fruit.
MaJean loves to hear the hum of the sewing machine as she puts together pieces that match and contrast making useful totes for such things as school kits and health kits. This year she had no parachute material, but she had a whole lot of upholstery samples. Methinks that must be a little more work to sew, so my hat’s off to MaJean. My hat’s off in any event because I am not much of a seamstress!
This fall MaJean called me and asked if I thought 50 bags would be good for Colleen. I couldn’t remember what, if any, number Colleen and I had discussed, but I thought 50 would probably be a gracious plenty. I asked Mary and Martin Harder if they would take the bags from Mountain Lake to the Twin Cities MCC Sale. If you know the Harders, you already are sure the answer was in the positive. Of course, they would take the bags along; they actually do a good bit of transport from Mountain Lake for that sale. Hats off, again!
Now comes the fun part!
When MaJean brought me the bags to send to Colleen, she told me they were made from upholstery material that Edie Tschetter had provided. Apparently, Edie also knew that MaJean sews kit bags. Over the years that Edie was in the MCC office in Freeman (MCC Central States, Northern Tier), she received sample materials that a Mennonite business woman would send to Freeman—to the MCC stockroom and to Freeman’s Et Cetera Shoppe—from her business in the Twin Cities. She often had a lot of upholstery samples that are useful for a variety of projects. They make wonderful kit bags.
Twin Cities made my ears perk up. How about that! The woman from the Twin Cities was none other than Marlys Wiens, one of the people involved from the very start in establishing the Twin Cities MCC Sale. Marlys continues to support, help plan and staff the sale. She also works with MCC in other ways, including a web-log with MCC stories. The stories are found at lovejoypiece.blogspot.com for those who may like to check it out.
So the story comes full circle! Colleen has school kit bags for the children’s activities, the upholstery samples have a new, useful life, and the rest of us have had a whole lot of fun making connections in the journey from upholstery sample to school kit. Wouldn’t it be fun if one of those kit bags could talk and tell us the story of its travels?
-- Elaine Kauffman
I thank my God every time I remember you,
constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you,
because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now.
I am confident of this,
that the one who began a good work among you
will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ.
Philippians 1:3-6
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