Reminders June 18-21
This Sunday June 21 is our outdoor worship service at 10:30am at Highbanks Metro Park. There will not be a service in our church building or on Zoom.
More details:. Please pack up and come to our outdoor worship service and fellowship meal at Highbanks Metro Park Northern Shelter. Coffee will be ready at 10 with the service at 10:30 (note the later-than-regular time!) and shared meal following. Things to bring to Highbanks:
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Chairs, games, and blankets if you like (there are benches inside the pavilion but not usually enough for everyone)
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A potluck dish to share in proportion to your family size
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Mugs for coffee and all other dishes and utensils your family might need
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No nuts please and a list of ingredients is appreciated! (Lists will be available to fill out on site)
HERE is a link to the map location for Highbanks. Hope to see you there!
Christian Education reminder: No Christian Education classes will meet this week. Most classes will not meet again until September 13, but the Aging Well class still has one more meeting time – June 28.
CMC will once again participate in Columbus’ annual Pride Freedom March, THIS Saturday, June 20. If you have signed up to participate, please make sure to check your email for detailed instructions. If you didn’t sign up but are still interested, we still have room for more additions but you need to be in touch if you want to join the group! Contact Jori Fuller (614-286-2897 or joricfuller@gmail.com) for info and instructions.
Concert Tonight: Please note the final Contrary Motion chamber music concert in honor of Pride Month is tonight (Thurs June 18) at 7pm in the CMC sanctuary. It was announced during the June 14 Sunday service that another concert would be on Friday, but this was an error. Apologies for the confusion! All details can be found HERE. Come enjoy a beautiful evening of music tonight!
General CMC Announcements
CMC Office Updates: Pastor Joel is out of the office today. Pastor Robin will be out of the office through Monday June 22. If pastoral care needs arise today, please contact Shepherding Team member Jerry Nussbaum (call or text 614-404-8425). Building Caretaker Kevin Condon will be off June 25-July 1. The CMC office will be closed on Thurs and Fri June 25-26 as office staff participate in the Central District Conference Annual Meeting in Harrisonburg, VA.
Take note – early deadline for next week’s bulletin email. If you have announcements you would like included in next week’s bulletin email, please email them to laura@columbusmennonite.org by Wednesday June 24 at 9am, as the bulletin will be prepared early next week. Thank you!
Mennonite Action is asking us to contact our representatives. Because support for the Israeli military is low, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) bill provides undisclosed financial support, a portion of the bill called “United States-Israel Defense Technology Cooperation Initiative” (section 224), would advance the war machine collaboration in unprecedented ways, providing enmeshment of military sectors with little congressional oversight and use of AI to survey, target and kill Palestinians with dystopian-esque technology. This is a grave situation that needs our collective voices. With bi-partisan efforts to strike it down, it is not too late to use our collective voice against this amendment. For more information and to write letters, use this link: Action to lessen the military enmeshment US and Israel. –Mary Yoder
Worship Commission is seeking additional Zoom hosts for our Sunday morning services. Hosts can engage this role from the church building, or virtually. Interested? Please reach out to Carmina Suter at carminasuter@gmail.com.
New Spiritual Growth Groups: Are you looking for a group for sharing, spiritual connection, prayer, and reflection? Several of us are participating in such a group and would be delighted to help start others. Each group will have its own character and process, but if you would like to hear how our group is structured, please see the Lamplighter article on page 14-15 of the Dec 2025-Jan 2026 issue. If you might be interested in joining a Spiritual Growth group, please contact Lawrence Needleman at needleperson@gmail.com, or reach out to Robin Walton at robin@columbusmennonite.org.
Let’s help stock the staff lounge at Camp Friedenswald! As summer camp season gears up, CMC has been invited to help support the summer staff at Camp Friedenswald. These dedicated young adults spend their days pouring energy, love, and mentorship into every camper who walks into the peaceful woods. It is rewarding work, and requires nearly endless energy! Special note that two CMC young people will be on the camp staff this summer – Graciela and Eli! A collection bin will be in the foyer beginning this Sunday. Here are some ideas (but feel free to get creative!): granola bars/protein bars; fruit snacks; cookies (homemade* or store bought); beef jerky; twizzlers, gummy bears, or other sweets; chips or pretzels; trail mix / mixed nuts; goldfish or cheese crackers; fresh fruit; soft drinks or soda water. *If bringing homemade items, please no nuts! And a list of ingredients would be appreciated. Items due by Sunday June 28.
Vacation Bible School: Our VBS this year is themed “Kids Connect” and will take place Wednesday evenings (July 15, 22, 29, and Aug. 5). A light meal will be offered from 5:30-6 and the program will run from 6-7:30. VBS is for children who have completed Preschool through 4th grade, and older youth are invited to participate as helpers. Please register both children and youth HERE no later than July 5, and for more information, contact Hannah Kelley hannahjkelley@gmail.com.
Opportunities in the Wider Community
North Danvers Mennonite Church (a fellow Central District Conference Church) will be celebrating their 175th anniversary and have a special weekend of events planned for September 11-13. If you are interested, a save-the-date flyer with more information can be found HERE.
Milwaukee Mennonite Fellowship Summer Bible Study invitation on the Gospels and Acts. Chris Gooding, a member of Milwaukee Mennonite Church, is a professor in the Theology Department at Marquette University and spends a couple Sundays a year worshipping at CMC with growing up here and family remaining in Columbus.
For the past 10 years Chris has been leading a Summer Bible Study at Milwaukee Mennonite that focuses on treating books of the Bible as whole books (as opposed to chopping them up in verses or segments). Each week a different book of the Bible is read in its entirety, then conversations about its major themes happen as a group on the day they meet. “After 10 years, we’ve covered every narrative book of the Bible, and this summer, we’re focusing on the Gospels and Acts. Over the last 10 years, people from other congregations that are not located in Milwaukee have opted to join our group, and so we offer sessions in a hybrid format (in-person/Zoom). This is why I am reaching out to y’all: if anyone in the congregation wants to join us this Summer via Zoom, we have a tentative meeting time of 7pm CT/8pm ET on Wednesday evenings (starting June 10th). If you’d like to join us via Zoom, simply send me an email (cmgooding@gmail.com), and I can send you a Zoom link before our meetings.” A tentative meeting schedule for our times together is below:
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June 10: Intro to the Gospels (no reading)
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June 17: Matthew
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June 24: Mark
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July 1: Luke
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July 8: John
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July 15: Acts
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July 22: Wrap-up (no reading)
Sessions are open to all ages (we’ve had both high schoolers and octogenarians participate). Chris usually supplies some insights about the text from biblical scholarship, but discussion is driven by the participants, and they try to make it open to people at all levels of familiarity with the biblical narrative.
June 26-28 Workshop: Nonviolence, Hope, Courage, and Strategic Defiance at the Grand Wayne Convention Center, Fort Wayne, Indiana. Join On Earth Peace for a training open to members of the Church of the Brethren and interested members of the public. Join us for a weekend of strategic nonviolence analysis, skill-building, and spiritual power. This training is meant to help Christians and people of goodwill build spiritual and practical grounding for the work ahead. RSVP USING THIS LINK. AND for more information about the workshop!
Calendars
Sunday, June 21
***NO SERVICE IN THE CMC BUILDING!***
10:30 am Outdoor Worship Service at Highbanks Metro Park Northern Shelter (coffee beginning at 10:00 am) (note the later-than-usual time)
Potluck following the service
CMC Activities Next Week
Tuesday, June 23
1:00pm SHARE Commission Meeting via Zoom
Wednesday, June 24
12:00pm Rohr Zoom group https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86487158321
5:00pm Worship Commission Meeting via Zoom
Thursday, June 25
CMC OFFICE CLOSED (CDC Annual Meeting in Virginia)
Friday, June 26
6:30 am Men’s Breakfast via Zoom https://zoom.us/j/313623317
CMC OFFICE CLOSED (CDC Annual Meeting)
Sunday, June 28
9:30am Worship Service – Hymn Sing
11:00am Aging Well Class in the sanctuary
Office Contacts and Schedules for June 21-28
*Reminder: the CMC office will be closed on Thurs-Fri June 25-26 as staff attend the CDC annual meeting.*
Laura: office@columbusmennonite.org, 216-870-0119, Mon-Wed: 9:00a-3:00p, Th-Sa: CDC Annual Mtg
Mim: mim@columbusmennonite.org, 614-745-5150, Tues: 9:30a-3:30p, Th-Sa: CDC Annual Mtg
Mark: mark@columbusmennonite.org, on sabbatical May 18-Aug 16
Joel: joel@columbusmennonite.org, 614-940-7839, Mon: Sabbath, Tues & Wed: 9:00a-5:00p, Th-Sa: CDC Annual Mtg
Robin: robin@columbusmennonite.org, 614-406-1766, office time TBD, Th-Sa: CDC Annual Mtg
Upcoming CMC Special Events
June 20 Pride Parade
June 21 Outdoor Service at Highbanks Metro Park (no service at CMC)
June 25-27 CDC Annual Meeting in Harrisonburg, VA (CMC office closed)
June 28 Hymn Sing during worship
July 15, 22, 29, and Aug 5 Vacation Bible School
Sept 13 Christian Education classes resume
Sept 25-27 CMC Fall Retreat at Kirkmont Center
Nov 1 Congregational Meeting and Harvest Potluck
Nov 29 Advent begins
Dec 6 Congregational Meeting (Budget Vote)
Last Sunday | June 14
Attendance: 192
Offerings Received (last week): $11,740.00
Offerings Received (June): $19,519.00
Offerings Needed (June): $44,795.00
Christian Education Classes
There will be no Christian Education classes this week. Most classes for children, youth, and adults are on summer recess and will not meet again until September 13. The exception to this is the Aging Well class for adults, which will meet one more time on June 28.
Aging Well (April/May/June): 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 in the sanctuary.
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!