Reminders Feb 5-8
Open Mic Coffeehouse cancelled, Game Night scheduled! The Open Mic Coffeehouse originally scheduled for Saturday February 7 has been cancelled. Instead, Community Life Commission will be hosting a Game Night on Saturday, March 21 in the evening. Mark your calendars for this fun, intergenerational evening – more details to come soon!
Pastor and Congregational Review Process Beginning. Every three years, the CMC congregation engages in a process to reflect on our growth and challenges as a congregation, to share with our pastors about ways that we appreciate and value their work, and to offer feedback that will contribute to our pastors’ ongoing growth. All CMC members and attenders are invited to participate in this process, and several opportunities to provide feedback will occur in February, March, and April. The first opportunity will be an open discussion group during the Christian Education hour this Sunday, February 8 at 11am in the library. The discussion will be led by Leadership Team members Josh Davey and Marty Troyer, and questions are available HERE if you would like to prepare ahead. Additional meetings and an online survey will be available soon. We will conclude the process at our April Congregational Meeting.
General CMC Announcements
We will hold a congregational meeting during the Sunday school hour on February 15th (approximately 11am -12pm) to vote on our new Pastor of Congregational Care and to offer feedback on design proposals for the restroom and office remodels. More details will be forthcoming. Children and youth Sunday school will be held as usual that Sunday, with nursery care offered during the meeting.
Immigrant Support: If you are interested in ways that you can be further involved in community defense and supporting the immigrant community in central Ohio, please reach out to Cindy Fath, Bethany Davey, or Elisa Stone Leahy. See the church directory for contact information. If you would like to discuss supporting more sensitive needs within the immigrant community, please request an in-person meeting.
CMC Pilgrimage Group – Seeking One More Participant. Several CMCers are participating in the Mennonite Mission Network Underground Railroad Pilgrimage/Tour March 22-28 in the Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia area. The cost of the tour (which covers all room, meals and transportation) is $1000. We have 11 CMCers already signed up and room for 1 more female. If you are interested in more information, please contact Julie or Phil Hart ASAP.
From CMC Financial Team: Most of you should have received an email on Wednesday from the CMC Financial Team with a statement of your 2025 contributions attached. If you did not and think you should have, or if you have any questions, please contact treasurers@columbusmennonite.org.
Rental Registry Hearing: Our CMC BREAD group would like to invite CMCers to attend and support the final City Council Hearing on the new Rental Registry at 4pm Thursday February 19, in the City Council Chambers 90 West Broad Street. We anticipate that Columbus Landlords will be attending the meeting to stop the Registry which we hope will protect renters from the worst landlords. The Registry will provide information each year on how to contact landlords and will provide for inspections on properties with significant code violations. For more information contact Melonie Buller or Julie Hart.
Winter Dinner Groups are back! It is time for the 2026 Winter Dinner Groups! This is a wonderful opportunity to get acquainted with the CMC family. How does it work? Interested hosts pick a date and time, the number of guests to host, and whether it is kid friendly or adult(ish) only. Notify Ruth Massey this week at Ramassey53@gmail.com. Hosts will schedule dinner from February through mid-April (19th). Signup will start THIS Sunday, February 8th, and new hosts names can be added.
If you would like to be a guest, look for future announcements in Thursday’s bulletin with a Signup Genius link or sign up on the board in the lobby. This is a fun way to get to know other people in the congregation and we hope that you sign up! – Ruth Massey (sponsored by Shepherding Commission).
Women’s Coffee Hour: Thursday, February 12 from 10:00 a.m.-11:30 a.m. All are welcome to join us every second Thursday of the month in the fellowship hall for coffee/tea, a light snack, and conversation.
Young Adult Dinner Group: Chris and Tim McCarthy will be hosting the next Young Adult Dinner group on Saturday, February 21st at 6:30pm at their home. Anyone who identifies as a young adult is welcome. Please let Chris and Tim know at tckmccarthy@gmail.com if you would like to join.
Save the date! CMC’s annual Knotting Party and Soup-er Pie Supper will be on Friday, March 6th from 4pm-9pm. Supper will be served starting at 5:30 pm. Come to eat! Come to knot! Come for children’s activities! And most important, please come to support CMC Piecemakers and MCC! Knotting will continue on Saturday, March 7th from 9am-12pm – with donuts served!
Thank you from HEAL (Health, Education, Aid, Leadership) Palestine. Billy Pietrykowski from HEAL Palestine reports that Saturday night’s event raised over $2200. “Thanks so much for your positive energy, hard work, big hearts and amazing community of people. We couldn’t be happier to know you all! Here’s to many more great events and memories to come!!” If you didn’t get a chance to attend and want to support this work, brochures are on the SHARE table in the foyer or go healpalestine.org.
New Christian Education class begins February 22: Composting Faith for Lent. We will explore the weekly scriptures and daily devotions of the Lent season. What does reading these texts, and our lives, through the theme of compost have to teach us? No prior reading necessary. Facilitated by Joel Miller and Sarah Zwickle in Room 22 and over Zoom. Meets Feb 22-Mar 29 (no class Mar 1).
Seeking CDC delegates for Annual Meeting: Calling anyone interested in worshiping, learning, meeting with other Mennonites from our region. The Central District Conference annual meeting is June 25-27 (Thurs evening through Saturday noon) in beautiful Harrisonburg, Virginia. CMC gets nine delegates and we’d love to hear from you if you’re interested. Contact Joel Miller, joel@columbusmennonite.org
CMC Building Caretaker Kevin Condon now has a CMC email address! Please begin using kevin@columbusmennonite.org for emails related to his work at CMC. Thank you!
Events and Opportunities in the Wider Community
Men’s Retreat at Camp Friedenswald. When the world feels unstable it can be very helpful to step away and get re-grounded so that we can show up to our lives, our families, and to the world from a place of solid, centered, sacred footing. The MEN’S RETREAT, a collaboration between Mennonite Men and Camp Friedenswald, offers just such an opportunity for the men / those who identify as males in our lives. REGISTER NOW for this unique gathering to be held the weekend of March 6-8 in the peaceful woods. Scholarships are available.
Calendars
Sunday, February 8
9:30 am Worship Service
11:00 am Christian Education Classes
12:00 pm Youth Groups in the fellowship hall/kitchen/Room 22
CMC Activities Next Week
Tuesday, February 10
12:45 pm Worship Commission meeting
7:00 pm Leadership Team and Ministry Council joint meeting in Room 22
Wednesday, February 11
12:00 pm Rohr Zoom group https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89881884175
Thursday, February 12
10:00 am Women’s Coffee Time in the fellowship hall
Friday, February 13
6:30 am Men’s Breakfast via Zoom https://zoom.us/j/313623317
Sunday, February 15
9:30 am Worship Service
Special Congregational Meeting following worship*
*Children/Youth Christian Education Classes will still meet during the congregational meeting.
Office Contacts and Schedules for February 8-15
Laura: office@columbusmennonite.org, 216-870-0119, Mon-Fri: 8:30a – 2:30p
Mim: mim@columbusmennonite.org, 614-745-5150, Tues: 9:30a-3:30p
Mark: mark@columbusmennonite.org, 419-392-0610, Mon: off, Tues-Thurs: 9:00a-3:00p, Fri: Sabbath
Joel: joel@columbusmennonite.org, 614-940-7839, Mon: Sabbath, Tues-Fri: 9:00am-5:00p
Upcoming CMC Special Events
Feb 15 Special Congregational Meeting following worship
Feb 18 Ash Wednesday Service at 7pm, Lent begins
March 1 Cookie Sunday
March 6 & 7 Knotting Party and Soup-er Pie Supper
March 21 Game Night
March 29 Palm Sunday
April 3 Good Friday
April 5 Easter Sunday
April 19 Congregational Meeting
Last Sunday | February 1
Attendance: 243
Offerings Received (last week) $2,865.00
Offerings Received (February) $2,865.00
Offerings Needed (February) $44,795.00
Christian Education Classes
Christian Education classes for children, youth, and adults will meet this Sunday beginning at 11am. The descriptions of classes for this season are below.
Unless otherwise noted, classes will meet on the following Sundays: Jan 11, 18, 25; Feb 8, 15, 22; Mar 8, 15, 22, 29; April 12, 26; May 10, 17. Due to Cookie Sundays, holidays, and other special events, most classes will not meet on Jan 4, Feb 1, Mar 1, Apr 5, Apr 19, May 3, or May 24. Contact the class leaders for schedule updates as the season progresses.
Children/Youth Classes
Children’s Classes (Pre-K through 4th Grade): Children meet together for a snack, story time, and a self-directed creative response time. All children gather in Room 1, then younger children (Pre-K to 1st Grade) move to Room 2, and older children (2nd to 4th grade) move to Room 4.
Junior High (5th – 8th Grade): Middle grade youth meet in Room 23 for Bible study, snacks, and other activities. This class will explore stories and scriptures that connect to topics relevant to young people’s lives.
High School (9th – 12th Grade): High school youth meet in Room 25 for conversation around a wide variety of topics, including an exploration of the stories and scriptures used during worship.
Adult Classes – Beginning in January
My Soul Cries Out (Jan-May): This informal gathering will provide space for lament, connection and creativity in the midst of political turmoil and widespread fear. Each gathering will ground itself in a particular intention such as lament, nourishment, humor. We will offer an opening ritual, followed by moments of meditative quiet, open conversation, crafting/creating/coloring options and a closing ritual. Participants are encouraged to engage in the ways that feel most personally restorative. Join every week, or drop-in as you wish. Facilitated by Cindy Fath and Adam Glass in Room 21.
Four Minor Prophets: Hosea, Joel, Jonah, and John (Jan 11-Feb 8): In this brief (four-week) Bible study, we’ll get acquainted with a sampling of 4 minor prophets, two real and two nominal: Hosea, a real 8th Century BCE prophet of Israel; Joel, a real 5th Century BCE prophet of Judah; Jonah, a 5th-4th Century anonymous story about an unknown 8th Century BCE prophet to Israel; and John, a 1st Century CE post-prophetic apocalyptic “prophet.” Facilitated by Jim Fredal in Room 22. Meets Jan 11, 18, and 25 and Feb 8.
*Special note for February 8: A Pastoral/Congregational Review Feedback Session will occur in the library during the Christian Education hour this Sunday February 8. Please see further information in announcements above, including a list of discussion questions. Facilitated by Leadership Team members Josh Davey and Marty Troyer.
Adult Classes – Beginning Later in the Winter/Spring
Composting Faith for Lent. We will explore the weekly scriptures and daily devotions of the Lent season. What does reading these texts, and our lives, through the theme of compost have to teach us? No prior reading necessary. Facilitated by Joel Miller and Sarah Zwickle in Room 22 and over Zoom. Meets Feb 22-Mar 29 (no class Mar 1).
End of Life Class (Spring): What kinds of things do we need to be thinking of in regard to the final chapter of our lives? There’s all kinds of planning to think about: medical, financial, burial, funeral, living situations, in-home care, reliance on family vs complete autonomy. How do we prepare ourselves? Let’s start talking about these issues, learn what we can, share with each other our hopes, fears and dreams. Facilitated by Verdene Thompson and Robin Walton. Class schedule and room location TBD, likely beginning in April.
Additional classes may be added as the season progresses. More details to come!
Donations and Giving
Interested in giving financially to Columbus Mennonite? Follow THIS LINK to donate online. Donations are also accepted by cash, check or Zelle. Contact the church office or financial team if you need assistance with setting up Zelle or any of the payment options. Thank you for your gift!