• Sunday School: Sunday school for children and youth will resume on Sunday, September 8. This year we will have a class for children (ages 3-grade 4) and a youth class (grades 5-12). We are looking for volunteers to teach in either class! Contact Amy Gingerich if you are interested in teaching either the children’s or the youth class. 

• FMC Open Golf Tournament: Sign up for the first ever FMC Open Golf Tournament can be found in the church foyer. RSVPs can also be emailed to the church office: friendship.mennonite@gmail.com Golfers and non-golfers alike are invited to join in on the fun!
• Join Us in the MCC School Kit Challenge: Mennonite Central Committee has issued a challenge for churches to pack 24,000 school kits during the month of August. Notebooks and pencils are a tangible message of God’s love for families around the world who have been forced to flee their homes or struggle to afford basic school supplies. Without these items, many kids can’t get the education they desperately need. What’s in a school kit? A school kit is a cloth bag filled with notebooks, pencils, a ruler, colored pencils, an eraser, pens and a sharpener that gets sent to children in need all over the world. Bring any of the following in August to contribute to our kits for MCC:
• 4 spiral or perforated-page notebooks; about 21.5 cm x 27.5 cm (8.5 in x 11 in); approx. 140 pages (70 sheets) each, totaling 500–600 pages (250-300 sheets)
• 8 new unsharpened pencils
• 1 ruler (flat, good quality; must indicate 30 cm (inch markings optional)
• 12 colored pencils (in packaging)
• 1 large eraser
• 4 new black or blue ballpoint pens
• 1 small all-metal pencil sharpener (one or two holes)

• Worship at Retreat on August 4: Sunday, August 4 we will gather at the Friendship retreat in Geauga County for our worship service at 11:00am. There will not be worship at the building or online. Following the service, we will share lunch together. Please plan on bringing your own table service as well as a dish to share.

• Sunday School: Sunday school for children and youth will resume on Sunday, September 8. This year we will have a class for children (ages 3-grade 4) and a youth class (grades 5-12). We are looking for volunteers to teach in either class! Contact Amy Gingerich if you are interested in teaching either the children’s or the youth class. 

• FMC Open Golf Tournament: Sign up for the first ever FMC Open Golf Tournament can be found in the foyer. Golfers and non-golfers alike are invited to join in on the fun!

• MCC School Kit Challenge: This week is tax-free week in Ohio (July 30-August 8) and a great time to pick up school supplies for the MCC School Kit challenge! Below is a list of the supplies needed to fill a kit:

• 4 spiral or perforated-page notebooks; about 21.5 cm x 27.5 cm (8.5 in x 11 in); approx. 140 pages (70 sheets) each, totaling 500–600 pages (250-300 sheets)
• 8 new unsharpened pencils
• 1 ruler (flat, good quality; must indicate 30 cm (inch markings optional)
• 12 colored pencils (in packaging)
• 1 large eraser
• 4 new black or blue ballpoint pens
• 1 small all-metal pencil sharpener (one or two holes)

• My Coins Count: Next Sunday, July 28 we will have our monthly My Coins Count offering. Please bring your coins, cash and checks to donate to the mission and ministries of the Mennonite Central Committee. 

• Worship at Retreat on August 4: Sunday, August 4 we will gather at the Friendship retreat in Geauga County for our worship service at 11:00am. There will not be worship at the building or online. Following the service, we will share lunch together. Please plan on bringing your own table service as well as a dish to share.

• Sunday School: Sunday school for children and youth will resume on Sunday, September 8. This year we will have a class for children (ages 3-grade 4) and a youth class (grades 5-12). We are looking for volunteers to teach in either class! Contact Amy Gingerich if you are interested in teaching either the children’s or the youth class. 

• FMC Open Golf Tournament: Sign up for the first ever FMC Open Golf Tournament can be found in the foyer. Golfers and non-golfers alike are invited to join in on the fun!
• MCC School Kit Challenge: Notebooks and pencils are treasures for families around the world who have been forced to flee their homes or struggle to afford basic school supplies. Without these items, many kids in places like Ethiopia, Ukraine and South Sudan can’t get the education they desperately need. Enter, the School Kit Challenge: 24,000 school kits to help 24,000 kids during the month of August. Plus, we’ve got a fun activity for Sunday School and VBS students! Download our free School Kit Challenge activity resource full of challenges for kids to learn how school supplies help children receive a tangible message of God’s love. To learn more about this challenge and to download this free guide, visit mcc.org/school-kit-challenge

• Retreat Picnic this Afternoon: Join us today at our retreat property in Geauga county for a time of fellowship and fun. 5:00pm is when dinner begins. Arrive by 4:00pm to enjoy fellowship, hiking and games. Please bring your own table service and a dish to share!

• Outdoor Worship Next Sunday: Next Sunday, join us for worship outside at FMC! Please consider bringing a lawn chair or blanket to sit on, and a hat or sunglasses. The outdoor worship service will not be live-streamed.  

• MCC School Kit Challenge: Notebooks and pencils are treasures for families around the world who have been forced to flee their homes or struggle to afford basic school supplies. Without these items, many kids in places like Ethiopia, Ukraine and South Sudan can’t get the education they desperately need. Enter, the School Kit Challenge: 24,000 school kits to help 24,000 kids during the month of August. Plus, we’ve got a fun activity for Sunday School and VBS students! Download our free School Kit Challenge activity resource full of challenges for kids to learn how school supplies help children receive a tangible message of God’s love. To learn more about this challenge and to download this free guide, visit mcc.org/school-kit-challenge

Retreat Picnic on Sunday, July 14: Join us on Sunday, July 14 at our retreat property in Geauga county for a time of fellowship and fun. 5:00pm is when dinner begins. Arrive by 4:00pm to enjoy fellowship, hiking and games. Please bring your own table service and a dish to share!

• Retreat Picnic on Sunday, July 14: Join us on Sunday, July 14 at our retreat property in Geauga county for a time of fellowship and fun. 5:00pm is when dinner begins. Arrive by 4:00pm to enjoy fellowship, hiking and games. Please bring your own table service and a dish to share!

• MMN Prayer Request: Mennonite Mission Network requests prayer for Kate Widmer, as she helps extend the community outreach ministries of La Prairie (The Prairie) Mennonite Church in France, through a café, a bookstore and building relationships in the Muslim neighborhood in which she lives. Pray for renewal of energy and spiritual insight, as she pours herself out in service.
• Menno Snapshot: Having grown up in Texas, Hannah Koester, an attendee at Pasadena Mennonite Church, felt distant from China — her birth country — and her cultural heritage. Her Mennonite faith has helped her feel safe to explore what it means to be Chinese. Read more here: mennoniteusa.org/finding-cultural-heritage

• Note from the Treasurer: Giving for the month of May was $7,700. The monthly church budget is $8,300.  

• My Coins Count: Next Sunday, June 30 we will have our monthly My Coins Count collection after the church offering. Please be sure to bring your change, cash, or checks! Our donations go towards supporting the mission and ministries of the Mennonite Central Committee.  

• Retreat Picnic on Saturday: Saturday, June 22 join us at our retreat property in Geauga county for a time of fellowship and fun. 5:00pm is when dinner begins. Arrive by 4:00pm to enjoy fellowship, hiking and games. Please bring your own table service and a dish to share!

• Outdoor Worship Next Sunday: Next Sunday, join us for worship outside at FMC! Please consider bringing a lawn chair or blanket to sit on, and a hat or sunglasses. The outdoor worship service will not be live-streamed.

• Church Workday: Help us beautify the front garden beds at FMC! We will have a church workday after the worship service on Sunday, June 23. Bring a packed lunch and wear (or bring) clothing that can get dirty.

• Our Graduates: Today we honor and celebrate Cara Speros and Charlotte Witmer-Rich. Congratulations to you both on your recent graduations! Cara Speros graduated from Kent State University with a Master’s degree in Library and Information Science. She is now working as Children’s Librarian at Willoughby Public Library. Charlotte Witmer-Rich graduated with honors from Kenston High School. She plans on attending Lehigh University this fall.
• MMN Prayer Request: Today, Mennonite Mission Network’s board members are worshiping in congregations in the Newton, Kansas, area, after a weekend of meetings. Pray for the board members, as they work to implement what they have discerned as the future directions for the agency.

• Menno Snapshot: Pasadena Mennonite Church helped foster Celeste Sharp’s passion for the environment. This interest has led Celeste to pursue an education in agroecology, with hopes of providing people with more sustainable food systems and practices. Read more here: mennoniteusa.org/agroecology-food

• Graduation Sunday: On Sunday, June 9, we are having our Graduation Service in the morning followed by a lunch picnic outside. We are providing the lunches, but will need you to RSVP if you plan on attending, and what kind of wrap you would like. Bagged lunches will include a Wrap or Gluten Free Sandwich, chips, cookie and fruit. The option for wraps/gluten-free sandwiches are: Turkey Wrap: Turkey, havarti cheese, lettuce, avocado, mayo and tomato; Roast Beef Wrap: roast beef, provolone cheese, lettuce, red onion, tomato, horseradish sauce; Veggie Wrap: avocado, tomato, cucumber, bell peppers, red onion, hummus, lettuce. A freewill offering will be accepted to help cover the costs of the lunches. RSVPs to Ruth with your selection and dietary concerns are due TODAY.

• Congregational Vote Results: On Sunday, May 26 after the worship service there was a congregational meeting and vote. The vote was about adopting as our position and policy the “What Inclusion Means to Us” statement that was sent out to congregants earlier this month. The threshold for adopting the statement was 75% of votes cast, following guidance from our constitution. 40 votes were cast, with 37 in favor of adopting the statement and 3 opposed. The statement which we have adopted could potentially put us in conflict with the Ohio Mennonite Conference. In preparation for this possibility, we will begin to explore other conference affiliation options this fall. 

• MMN Prayer Request: In California, where Mennonite Mission Network’s San Francisco MVS unit is located, many people who have full-time jobs are not able to pay rent on a one-bedroom apartment. Most of the MVS participants are working with agencies that provide low-income housing. They ask that we pray and work to transform the unjust systems that cause homelessness.