• FMC Retreat: Join us this afternoon at our retreat property in Geauga county. We will gather at 4pm for hiking, games and fellowship and have a potluck dinner around 5pm. Please bring a dish to share as well as your own table service. All are welcome!

• Outdoor Worship Next Sunday: Next Sunday, July 19, join us for an outdoor worship service at FMC. We will gather near the playground at 11:00am. Please consider bringing a lawn chair or blanket to sit on. The worship service will not be live-streamed.

• Celebration 2026 Registration: Today is the last day to register for this year’s Allegheny Mennonite Conference Celebration weekend at Laurelville, July 31- August 2. Scan the QR code below to register. This year, they are offering special discounts to welcome first-time attendees.
• MMN Prayer Request: Kalonda Bible Institute is a seminary that trains Mennonite pastors in the Democratic Republic of Congo. As their academic year ends this week, pray for the graduates returning to their home communities and stepping into new positions of leadership. Pray also that the school will be able to raise enough funds to pay their professors’ salaries and provide scholarships for students next school year.

• Welcome, Rev. Dr. Glenn Nestletrode! Glenn was born and raised in Southern Californian where he loved playing on the beach, reading, watching classic movies, singing in the church choir, acting in plays, and performing humorous sketches.  He graduated Summa Cum Laude from California State University in Dominguez Hills majoring in psychology and minoring in communications. He graduated from Claremont School of Theology with Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry degrees. He has founded, written and acted in drama troupes performing humorous sketches on the themes of peace and social justice issues at many churches as well as Regional and National Church Assemblies. He has worked as a campus minister, local pastor, and Hospice Chaplain.  He retired from Hospice work at the end of May.

• FMC Retreat: Join us Sunday, July 12 at our retreat property in Geauga county. We will gather at 4pm for hiking, games and fellowship and have a potluck dinner around 5pm. Please bring a dish to share as well as your own table service. All are welcome!

• Lauren Out-of-Office: FMC Secretary Lauren Hurley will be out of office June 27-July 5. During this time, Ben Speros will act as the point of contact for FMC.

• Celebration 2026 Registration: Registration is open for this year’s Allegheny Mennonite Conference Celebration weekend at Laurelville, July 31- August 2. Scan the QR code below to register. This year, they are offering special discounts to welcome first-time attendees.

• Welcome, Amy Yoder McGloughlin! Amy serves as the Conference Minister with Allegheny Mennonite Conference and is the Denominational Minister of Education with the Mennonite Church USA.

• Last Summer Sunday School: Today was our last Sunday school gathering for the summer. Sunday school classes will resume after Labor Day.

• Lauren Out-of-Office: FMC Secretary Lauren Hurley will be out of office June 27-July 5. During this time, Ben Speros will act as the point of contact for FMC.

• FMC Retreat: Join us Sunday, July 12 at our retreat property in Geauga county. We will gather at 4pm for hiking, games and fellowship and have a potluck dinner around 5pm. Please bring a dish to share as well as your own table service. All are welcome!

• Celebration 2026 Registration: Registration is open for this year’s Allegheny Mennonite Conference Celebration weekend at Laurelville, July 31- August 2. Scan the QR code below to register. This year, they are offering special discounts to welcome first-time attendees.
• MMN Prayer Request: Ben and Laurel Woodward-Breckbill are serving as the directors of the Paris (France) Mennonite Center. They and their two children will soon be traveling back to the United States for their two-month North American Ministry. Pray for them as they spend July visiting churches and supporters on a cross-country road trip, and August in Kansas.

• Welcome, Chibuzo Petty! Chibuzo N. Petty is a minister, organizer, and author living in Cleveland, Ohio with their wife and two daughters.

• Next Sunday – My Coins Count: Sunday, June 28 we will have our monthly My Coins Count collection during the worship service. Please bring your cash, coins, and checks to help support the mission and ministries of the Mennonite Central Committee.

• Lauren Upcoming Vacation: FMC Secretary Lauren Hurley will be out of office June 27-July 5. During this time, Ben Speros will act as the point of contact for FMC.

• Final Summer Sunday School: Next Sunday is our last Sunday school gathering for the summer. Join us at 10:00am in the Fellowship Hall.

• FMC Retreat: Join us Sunday, July 12 at our retreat property in Geauga county. We will gather at 4pm for hiking, games and fellowship and have a potluck dinner around 5pm. Please bring a dish to share as well as your own table service. All are welcome!

• Celebration 2026 Registration: Registration is open for this year’s Allegheny Mennonite Conference Celebration weekend at Laurelville, July 31- August 2. Scan the QR code below to register. This year, they are offering special discounts to welcome first-time attendees.

• Welcome, Alfred Cleveland! Alfred Cleveland is a passionate advocate, speaker, and survivor who turned tragedy into triumph after being wrongfully convicted for 25.5 years and fighting his way out. Having endured the depths of injustice, Cleveland emerged not only with his freedom but with an unshakable mission—to reform the justice system and bring the families and those wrongfully convicted inspiration and hope to continue in their fight. Cleveland was one of four men convicted in 1991 of a murder in Lorain, Ohio, on a date when alibi witnesses confirmed that Cleveland was in New York. The convictions were based on the testimony of an alleged eyewitness who demanded $10,000 to testify and repeatedly changed his story.  Cleveland served over 25 years in prison before finally being released. In 2024, the Lorain County Prosecutor filed a motion to grant the four men a new trial, stating that after an extensive review he found “serious flaws in the case that cast overwhelming doubt” on the validity of the convictions. Today, Cleveland is a member of “Voices of Injustice,” a local organization of wrongfully convicted individuals who now use “their experiences with wrongful conviction to educate others and drive reform. Through personal stories and advocacy, [they seek to create] pathways to justice for those who need it most.” Today, Al Cleveland travels the country, empowering audiences with his message of strength, faith, perseverance, and the power of truth. Through his work as Stage Director for their new play, “The Lynched Among Us”, Cleveland challenges society to rethink justice, be properly enraged, and believe in the human spirit’s ability to overcome even the darkest trials. 
• FMC Retreat: Saturday, June 20, join us at our retreat property in Geauga county. We will gather at 4pm for hiking, games and fellowship and have a potluck dinner around 5pm. Please bring a dish to share as well as your own table service.

• Welcome, Glenn Black! Glenn Black has served as Stewardship Consultant for Everence since 2022.  Prior to his work at Everence he pastored congregations in Indiana, Arizona, and Ohio and served as Vice President of Enrollment at Ashland Theological Seminary.  Glenn loves music, movies, the Olympics, and the rarest of things…a perfect Ohio spring.  Life is kept busy by being dad to eight- and ten-year-old boys.  

• Celebration 2026 Registration: Registration is now open for this year’s Allegheny Mennonite Conference Celebration weekend at Laurelville, July 31-August 2! Visit the Events section of the AMC website or scan the QR code below to register. This year, they are offering special discounts to welcome new participants: first-time attendees will receive $100 off per adult, $25 per child, and youth grades 7-12 can attend for an all-inclusive price of $50. Last year’s Celebration brought together participants from 13 of the 18 congregations of the AMC for a joyful time of worship, music, outdoor activities and community building.
• MMN Prayer Request: Laura and Nick Sharp, and their two children, are nearing the end of their time in Colombia. Pray for this family as they navigate the difficulties of leaving behind the friends and culture they have grown to love, while also eagerly anticipating being reunited with their friends, family and home in Kansas.

• Rescheduled FMC Retreat: Join us this afternoon at our retreat property in Geauga county. We will gather at 4pm for hiking, games and fellowship and have a potluck dinner around 5pm. Please bring a dish to share as well as your own table service.

• Gifts Discernment – Due Today: It is Gifts Discernment season at FMC. If you have not yet filled out a “Sign up to Serve” form, there are copies at the back of the sanctuary, along with the current volunteers list. Forms are due TODAY and can be emailed/handed to members of the Elder Team or Lauren Hurley.
• MMN Prayer Request: Menno Village is an 80-acre farm near Sapporo, Japan, that emphasizes sustainable agriculture and provides food for their neighbors via a community supported agriculture program. Pray that this ministry is able to challenge the systems that exploit people and land by caring for all creation.
• Celebration 2026 Registration: Registration is now open for this year’s Allegheny Mennonite Conference Celebration weekend at Laurelville, July 31-August 2! Visit the Events section of the AMC website or scan the QR code below to register. This year, they are offering special discounts to welcome new participants: first-time attendees will receive $100 off per adult, $25 per child, and youth grades 7-12 can attend for an all-inclusive price of $50. Last year’s Celebration brought together participants from 13 of the 18 congregations of the AMC for a joyful time of worship, music, outdoor activities and community building.

• FMC Retreat: Join us this afternoon at our retreat property in Geauga county. We will gather at 4pm for hiking, games and fellowship and have a potluck dinner around 5pm. Please bring a dish to share as well as your own table service.

• Gifts Discernment: It is Gifts Discernment season at FMC. If you have not yet filled out a “Sign up to Serve” form, there are copies at the back of the sanctuary, along with the current volunteers list. Forms are due Sunday, May 31 and can be emailed/handed to members of the Elder Team or Lauren Hurley.

• Celebration 2026 Registration: Registration is now open for this year’s Allegheny Mennonite Conference Celebration weekend at Laurelville, July 31-August 2! Visit the Events section of the AMC website or scan the QR code below to register. This year, they are offering special discounts to welcome new participants: first-time attendees will receive $100 off per adult, $25 per child, and youth grades 7-12 can attend for an all-inclusive price of $50. Last year’s Celebration brought together participants from 13 of the 18 congregations of the AMC for a joyful time of worship, music, outdoor activities and community building.
• MMN Prayer Request: The Venezuela Global Mission Partnership supports the Network of Mennonite Missions of Venezuela. Pray for their ministries in church planting, biblical and theological education, and food distribution to people in need.

• Gifts Discernment: It is Gifts Discernment season at FMC. After the worship service today, please consider staying for a few minutes to fill out a “Sign up to Serve” form.  

• You are invited to Encounter! Encounter meets once a month on Sundays at 7pm, led by Ted and Anita in a small space at First Baptist Church (3630 Fairmount Blvd, Shaker Heights). It’s an opportunity to be with one another in prayer, silence and reflection. Everyone is welcome, even if you’ve never attended before. Our next meeting date is TODAY.
• Children’s Activity Volunteers Needed: The last Sunday for regular children’s Sunday school is TODAY. Starting next Sunday, there will be no regular Sunday school for these ages. Instead, there will be an informal time for games, playing, fellowshipping and fun on the playground. We still need volunteers to coordinate these 10am times with our children while the youth and adults participate in the story-sharing project for the following Sundays: May 24, May 31 & June 28
• FMC Retreat: Join us next Sunday (May 24) at our retreat property in Geauga county. We will gather at 4pm for hiking, games and fellowship and have a potluck dinner around 5pm. Please bring a dish to share as well as your own table service.

• Welcome, Jonathan Cahill: Jonathan Cahill is an ordained minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). He’s currently a part-time minister at Archwood United Church of Christ in Cleveland and a full-time stay-at-home dad in Cleveland Heights.

• You are invited to Encounter! Encounter meets once a month on Sundays at 7pm, led by Ted and Anita in a small space at First Baptist Church (3630 Fairmount Blvd, Shaker Heights). It’s an opportunity to be with one another in prayer, silence and reflection. Everyone is welcome, even if you’ve never attended before. Our next meeting date is May 17.

• Children’s Activity Volunteers Needed: The last week for regular children’s Sunday school is Sunday, May 17. On Sundays from May 24-June 28, there will be no regular Sunday school for these ages. Instead, there will be an informal time for games, playing, fellowshipping and fun on the playground. We still need volunteers to coordinate these 10am times with our children while the youth and adults participate in the story-sharing project for the following Sundays: May 24, May 31, June 21 & June 28.
• MMN Prayer Request: This Mother’s Day, pray for all those who experience pain or grief due to loss, broken relationships or a yearning to become a parent. Pray that they would find comfort and love in the warm embrace of our heavenly parent.