Cincinnati Mennonite Fellowship
February 28, 2010

Gathering Hymns Blessed assurance HWB 332
                         I need thee every hour HWB 555

Welcome
(Visitors are invited to fill out a welcome card and place it in the offering basket.)

Call to Worship
Leader: Sometimes we stumble in deep darkness.
People: Even then, God is our shelter.
Leader: Sometimes we clutch the things of this world.
People: Even then, the Spirit can pry us loose.
Leader: Sometimes we insist on staying the way we are.
People: Even then, Jesus can transform our lives.

Affirmation of Faith HWB 711

Hymn My hope is built on nothing less HWB 343

Scripture Psalm 27

Offering Prayer

Offering

Scripture Luke 13:31-35

Children's Story

Hymn Herr, füll mich neu (God, fill me now) STS 63

Sermon Hen in the foxhouse OR Why didn't Jesus listen to the Pharisees for once? OR Why was Jesus crucified?

Confession
God of truth, often the darkness is of our own making.
We find that we have fallen in love with the shadows,
and would rather blame someone else than face our weakness.
(silence)
Help us to open our eyes to you, the source of light. Amen.

Assurance HWB 707

Response Hymn The Lord is my light STJ 97

Moment for Mission Safe Sanctuary

Sharing Joys, Concerns and Reflections and Introduction of Visitors

Prayers of the Community

Benediction
Leader: God of light, you are the source of all true seeing.
People: Let our families see your light.
Leader: Let our communities see your light.
People: Let your light spread throughout the world. Amen.

Hymn The peace of the earth be with you STJ 77

We warmly welcome all who are visiting with us today!

A supervised nursery, located next to the main entrance, for newborns through age 3
Children's Circle, which meets in the basement during the second half of the worship service, for children ages 3 through 7

Sunday, February 28-- Safe Sanctuary Brown Bag Luncheon , after church, first of two dates for discussion, please attend if possible. (See NOTES for complete details.)

New City Presbyterian continues their weekly 5pm worship services in our building on Sunday evenings. To aid in the process of leaving the church in a clean and orderly condition for them , please set in order the books in your pew and remove bulletins and any stray items from the worship area. Thank you.

Wednesday, March 3-- City Gospel Mission

Sunday, March 7-- IHN Volunteers Potluck Training Lunch (See NOTES for complete details.)

Sunday, March 14 --PJOS (8:30am, Peace House)
Sunday, March 14 --Safe Sanctuary Brown Bag Luncheon, after church (second date, replaces Second Sunday Potluck for this month)

Pastor Joel's Whereabouts
Beyond congregational duties, below are some of Pastor Joel's present activities:

Recent:
Saturday, February 13th - CDC regional gathering, Bluffton, OH

Upcoming :
Ongoing work with Healthy Sexuality resource through Mennonite Publishing Network
Tuesday, March 2nd- Oakley Community Council re: Food Pantry expansion
Friday-Saturday, March 5th-6h -In Atlanta for consultant work with Fund for Theological
Friday-Saturday March 12-13 - Ohio Conference Annual Conference Assembly, Arch i bold, OH
Mondays are Sabbath.

Our Lenten worship theme this year is "Holding on and letting go," a reminder to hold on to what is most important and let go of that which hinders our walk with God. This week's lectionary readings for meditation are: Isaiah 55:1-9; Psalm 63:1-8; 1 Corinthians 10:1-13; Luke 13:1-9.

Church Council has reviewed the Safe Sanctuary draft proposed by the Safe Sanctuary committee, and affirmed the draft at the January Council meeting. Council is ready to get congregational feedback in the form of brown-bag lunches on Feb. 28 and March 14. Members of Council and the Safe Sanctuary committee will be leading discussion groups in which all teens and adults are invited to raise questions and concerns about the Safe Sanctuary Plan. Please mark your calendar to join a brown-bag lunch one of the two dates. Once these questions and concerns have been addressed, and any necessary modifications made to the Plan, at a later date this winter/spring, Council will be asking for congregational approval of the Plan. If you are unable to attend a scheduled brown-bag lunch, and have questions/concerns about the Plan that you would like answered, please contact any member of Church Council: Beth B., Rosella C., Jim M., Anne H. or William B.. Do not wait to ask your questions until the congregational approval meeting (late winter/early spring), as Council hopes to have all questions/concerns raised before this time. Hard copies of the Safe Sanctuary Plan are in each mailbox. Please read this document thoroughly prior to attending one of the brown-bag lunch discussion meetings.
Please note that there is also a set of supporting documents which have been drafted by the Safe Sanctuary committee. The supporting documents are working documents which are not a part of the Plan per se, and require no congregational action . These supporting documents provide one way to implement each part of the Plan and have been drafted in an attempt to make initial implementation easier for the permanent Safe Sanctuary committee. However, the committee and Council welcome feedback and suggestions on any of these working documents. Hard copies of these are available by the church mailboxes and anyone is welcome to take a copy.

In preparation for the brown bag lunches about the Safe Sanctuary Plan, please be aware that there are copies of a DVD from the congregational meeting in November, 2008, where the first congregational discussion about a safe sanctuary plan occurred. The DVD provides a valuable introduction to the ideas and questions that CMF'ers raised and that the Safe Sanctuary committee subsequently considered in the drafting of a plan. In a basket next to the mailboxes, there are several copies of the DVD which can be checked out.

We are one of five Oakley congregations who support and help operate the Oakley Community Food Pantry which feeds 150+ people/month. These congregations will be collecting food throughout the year and focusing on particular items each month. March is cereal month. All donated items (cereal and other pantry items) can be placed on the desk top in the kitchen. Thanks for helping support the pantry and contributing to Oakley household food needs.

Ten Thousand Villages of Cincinnati is in need of more volunteers' hours. If you or anyone you know is interested in volunteering in the store, please contact Elizabeth Russ at tenthousandvillagesofCincinnatifuse.net phone: 513-871-5840.If you are already a volunteer and have some time to give the store, now is a great time to help out.

Our Advent/Christmas offering of coins for MCC's Penny Power project totaled $227.58. Thank you for donating your spare change to create global change! Penny Power raises money for Mennonite Central Committee projects of peace, relief and development around the world.

Book Club will meet on Saturday, February 27, 6pm at Jim & Joy M.'s home. A meal will be served. The book to be discussed is "Alex & Me" by Irene Pepperberg.

All of our church IHN volunteers are invited and urged to attend the Potluck Training Lunch at First Unitarian on Sunday, March 7 at 12:30 pm. Please bring a dessert to share.

The PJOS committee will meet on Sunday, March 14 at 8:30 am in the Peace House.

Nick Miller will be participating in the Equality Ride for the next two months. This bus trip visits universities all across the country with policies that expel students who come out as GLBT. The mission of the Ride is to reach out to these schools, from a place of non-violence and engage in productive and meaningful dialogue with the hopes of changes in, minds, and policy. For more information, or to donate visit www.soulforce.org/nick_miller .

A message from Elizabeth NN:
Daniel, Douglas, and I (Elizabeth NN) are in a local children's choir, Young Voices ( www.young-voices.org ). We have all learned lots and lots from this program, and is one of my favorite activities. In our upcoming move, it will be one of the hardest things to leave. As our spring fundraiser we are selling flats of flowers. They are from a good company, McCabe's Greenhouse and Floral in Aurora, IN. I need your orders and money by Sunday, Feb 28, and the flowers will be delivered to you on May 3. We have Jumbo flats (36 plants) of begonias, marigolds, impatiens, petunias, vinca periwinkles for $15. We also have Flats (12 plants) and ½ flats (6 plants) of zonal geraniums and wave petunias; the flats are $45 and the ½ flats are $25. We rely on community support, and so I would really appreciate your support. Thanks!

Try on service this summer with Youth Venture
Get ready for a new adventure and be a part of what God is doing around the world. If you are between the ages of 14 and 22, and are interested in spending some time serving and learning alongside other young adults, Youth Venture may be for you. Youth Venture gives you a chance to try new things, meet new people, and learn about a new culture through the eyes of a local church or host community. During summer 2010, you can travel with teams and a leader to locations like Bolivia, Botswana, France, southern California and Montreal, among others. For more information about Youth Venture, visit Service.MennoniteMission.net or e-mail ArloaBMennoniteMission.net.

Prayers for Faith and Learning:
Pray for the 24 students taking courses online through Eastern Mennonite Seminary. Many of these students are balancing careers, families and congregations along with their studies.

Prayers for the Mennonite Mission Network:
Evangelist Yukari Kaga completes her fourth two-year term with the Tokachi-area Mennonite churches in Japan next month. Pray that God may provide financial support and accountability structures to enable her continued ministry.

Journey Groups

Art & Spirituality
March 21, 5:30pm @ home of Tiffany M.
Spiritual Journey
March 16, 6pm @ Peace House
Men's Group (Open)
TBA
Open Group (Open)
February 25, 6:30pm @ home of Christine S.