March - April 2003 Newsletter

Windows Into Zion is the monthly newsletter of Zion Mennonite Church. The publishers are Dorothy Hartman, Julie Hottinger, Fern Nisly, and Myrna Piper. Return to the Newsletter Archives.

March/April 2003

Volume 8

Number 5&6

March & April 2003

Seminary internship
--Clyde Kratz

Mennonite Church USA has been calling congregations to develop a culture of call for pastoral ministry. The church needs trained pastors for the leadership needs of congregations and the broader church. Zion Mennonite Church has participated in two significant ways to develop leaders for the future. One ways has been by affirming Ben Risser’s call to ministry and providing financial support for his pastoral training at Eastern Mennonite Seminary. The congregation also has a long history of utilizing seminary students at Eastern Mennonite Seminary through an internship program. This past year John Jacobs participated in pastoral ministry in our congregation as a seminary intern.

Many persons have affirmed John’s gifts for ministry. For example, the Meadville Mennonite Church affirmed him in his desire to be trained for ministry and has been supportive of his educational preparation for ministry. This congregational affirmation led to John moving his wife and family to the Harrisonburg area and into our congregation. Many of us have found John to be a warm, caring and enthusiastic person. He has natural talents for ministry and continues to value discernment for strengthening his gifts and abilities for pastoral ministry.

Over the last seven months, John has been diligent in exercising his ministry gifts by providing 12-17 hours of his time to the practice of ministry. As part of his preparation for pastoral ministry, Eastern Mennonite Seminary requires Master of Divinity students to engage in a practicum or internship in a local congregation. It is believed that the academic learning is enhanced through exposure to pastoral ministry opportunities with supervision by a local pastor.

Pastoral ministry is often an invisible ministry to the majority of members. Ministry is carried out through personal contacts, participation in congregational events, worship leading, sermon preparation and delivery and a significant amount of planning. Members do not always notice these types of activities. John’s ministry to our congregation has occurred primarily through teaching the MYF Sunday School class, periodically relating to the youth of our congregation, pastoral visitation, worship leadership, preaching and participation in a number of committee meetings. In addition, he has developed an itinerate preaching ministry to congregations that need someone to fill the pulpit on a Sunday morning. These activities of ministry have given John first hand experience to pastoral ministry.

One of the components of an Eastern Mennonite Seminary internship is a weekly supervisory meeting with the pastor of the congregation. John meets has met with me each week for one hour to review a ministry experience or personal issue that has occurred as a result of ministry. During these conversations, John has been open and transparent with his life and challenges as he sought to develop his ministry skills.
As John’s internship comes to a close in our congregation, I want to express deep appreciation for John’s significant contribution to ministry during his internship. He continues to be an avid student of pastoral ministry and will be a valued minister in a local congregation in the years ahead. As members of Zion Mennonite Church, we have provided a significant dimension for his preparation in pastoral ministry. I invite you to provide affirmation and encouragement to John, Dianna and their children as John continues his preparation for pastoral ministry.

Name that couple
--Dawn Mast

We'd like to recognize those who played the "Name that Couple" game in the February issue of Windows. If you missed the game, you can check it out on the Zion Website.

Thank you to Bob and Betty Lou Buckwalter, Jeremy and Diann Beach, Jim Rush and Amy Rush.

The winners were tied between Diann and Jeremy Beach and Betty Lou Buckwalter!

Congratulations to them!. They will both win a prize! In case you missed the answers posted on the bulletin board they are as follows:

1. E
2. J
3. G
4. M
5. F
6. C
7. H
8. L
9. A
10. D
11. N
12. B
13. I
14. K

Membership Transitions
· Doug and Dawn Slabach are transferring to the Bonneyville Church in Bristol, Indiana.

· Daryl Hartman is withdrawing his membership.

· Autumn Risser Fraits is transferring her membership to Covenant Presbyterian.

· Larry and Thelma Halterman attend the Pine Grove Church of the Brethren.

Meet the Brubakers
--Dawn Mast

If you haven't had a chance to meet Eric and Peggy Brubaker then you are missing out on getting to know a remarkable couple. They are energetic, fun and quite multi-talented.

Eric was born in Oregon, but he has lived most of his life in the Park View area of Harrisonburg. He is the second oldest of four siblings and his family even spent one year in Puerto Rico with MCC. Eric attended EMU and majored in social work.

Eric may look familiar and you may have even confused him with his brother Daryl. Although Eric and Daryl do look alike, their musical abilities are a bit different. While Daryl was a vocalist with Full Table, Eric enjoys singing as well as playing the fiddle and the guitar. These talents come in handy in his job at Huss & Dalton in Staunton where he makes acoustic guitars. He is also making plans to build his own guitar some day.
Peggy was born in Germany, but she grew up in Westminster, Maryland with her parents and two younger brothers. She attended EMU as a social work major and after graduation she took a job at VMRC as a Marketing Representative for Supportive Living. She and Eric even lived at VMRC during their first year of marriage!

Speaking of marriage...it should also be noted that in addition to being musical Eric is also romantic. When he wanted to propose, Eric had live music from Full Table (where he was a singer) to serenade Peggy during a candlelight dinner. While Full Table sung the song "Kiss the Girl" from the popular Disney movie "The Little Mermaid" Eric proposed. They were married at Zion on June 16, 2001.

In addition to enjoying Bluegrass, Old Time and Folk music, Eric and Peggy like to spend time with their Frisbee catching dog, Abby, as well as fixing up the house they just purchased. Peggy admits that she doesn't quite know what to do with the English garden that came with the house, but she's eager to get in the dirt and dig and have fun!

It seems that we have already helped Eric and Peggy feel welcome at Zion as their first Sunday here Eric was asked to help with music! So if you have a chance, spend some time getting to know the Brubakers. They are certainly a couple that we are blessed to have at Zion.

Flower power!
--Susan Stoltzfus & Marci Myers

When Amy Shrock suggested selling carnations for Valentine's Day as a Girls' Club fundraiser, we never anticipated how many orders we would actually get. After totaling our first group of orders the first Sunday we were surprised when the numbers were close to 400. We were even more surprised when the final count came in just under 1,000! The biggest surprise came to us, though, when a huge snowstorm hit the valley, canceling church, and we were in a quandary knowing what to do with those thousand flowers!

Thank you to each Girls' Club member and some moms who helped to separate the flowers into groups and tie special Valentine's notes to each group. An even bigger thank you to each of you who bought flowers and wrote special notes to others in the congregation. What a great way to let others know you care! We appreciate your understanding in receiving flowers a week later than planned.

We ordered 990 flowers and made a profit of $545. Since we have never had any significant amount of money to work with as a Girls' Club, we are grateful that we now have this money in an account and will be able to use it toward our monthly activities.

Flying high
--Paul and Eva Glanzer

Paul and Eva Glanzer flew to Arizona to visit their sons and wives, David and Tina at Tucson and Dennis and Judy at Flagstaff.

When they checked in at America West the ticket agent found out it was Eva’s first flight and asked, “Wouldn’t you like to step up to first class and give your wife a good experience the first time she flies? It’s only $150 more.” “No thanks,” I replied, “I don’t have that kind of money.” At that point our conversation stopped.

While we were waiting in the loading lounge, the same lady came to us and said, “What’s your last name?” She asked for our tickets and said, “I want to do something special for you.” Shortly she came back and handed us two first class tickets and said, “We want you to have a good experience the first time so you’ll come back and fly with us again.” We were overwhelmed, but thanked her graciously.

We embarked into our first class wide executive seats, being served a full meal. Before we were served, we were brought a warm washcloth to wipe our hands and mouths. Next they brought a linen tablecloth, and a linen napkin containing our silverware. We were first class passengers with one exception—we had two silver spoons, two silver forks, but only one plastic knife!

That’s my highway
You have heard about Route 66. That was a famous highway from Chicago to Los Angles. It was made famous in a movie. There is another highway famous in my life—it is Route 42.

It must have been an early Indian trail. Farmers find beautiful arrowheads and tom-a-hawks as they cultivate their land. There is a large Indian burying mound along Linville Creek. Smithsonians from Washington, DC excavated it and found artifacts and approximately 800 bodies of men, women and children.

Finally the white settlers came and built homes. Primitive roads were needed to take the grain to the many mills scattered along the creek. These were water-powered mills. Have you seen the sign Kline’s Mill Road and Wenger’s Mill Road? Grain was made into flour and ground for feeding livestock.

Then the automobile came. There were ruts and more ruts. First one wheel and another was caught in the deep mud. You just can’t imagine how difficult it was for the driver to try to steer out of one rut only to be caught in another. The passengers were swaying first one way and then the other way. There were only antique springs and no shock absorbers.
In the summer women wore dusters. These were long lightweight over garments worn to protect the clothing from dust. Can you believe this? At one farmhouse you opened gates and went through the farmer’s barnyard. If you met your neighbor on the road, he was either on a wagon or driving a surrey or buggy.

Needless to say a new road was needed. There were no public rock quarries. A Mennonite farmer offered a limestone outcrop on his land. His oldest son would rise early to fire the boiler on the rock crusher.
Foreigners were brought in to do the work. Where would they room and board? There were no boarding houses in Broadway. One community minded man, a Mennonite minister offered to take them into his home. He already had a large family.

Finally, Route 42 became a one-lane highway. Now the Zion and Trissels church members could get to Lindale, then to Harrisonburg and beyond.
One thought—don’t forget—the Lincolns lived on this highway.
Route 42, that’s my highway!
--Martha S. Whissen

Valentine’s day dinner

A scrumptious home cooked meal awaited Zion members on Valentine’s Day at Marjory Rohrer’s home. No one went home hungry, and the entertainment was just as scrumptious!

When is the last time you sang You are my sunshine, A bicycle built for two, Precious memories, or Love at home? For 30 Zion members, these old familiar songs came to life again on February 14; however, A bicycle built for two had a new twist. The men sang the first verse and the ladies sang the second verse, which no one had heard before, but I don’t think any one will forget! Thank you to Clay Showalter for finding the lyrics for the ladies to sing.

Interspersed throughout the evening, Katherine Goins read love poems for the group’s inspiration. After the poetry and singing, everyone ventured home before the big snowstorm.
A special thank you to Welby Showalter and Jim Rush for arranging such a delightful evening.

???March-April’s
who am I???
· Born in Richmond

· Left home at the age of 15

· Only sibling attended Zion several years ago

· Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower

· Visited almost every state on the East Coast

A prize from Dairy Queen will be given to a person who correctly identifies the mystery person. If more than one person is correct, the winner’s name will be drawn from the correct entries. Only one prize will be awarded each month. Give your answer to Myrna Piper or email pipermr@aol.com by April 27. Family members of the mystery person are not eligible.

???Did you know???

· Robin Fletcher and Nate Yoder are members of the 2003 EMHS Touring Choir. Robin was also selected to be in Chamber choir.

· David Brenneman, Jason Lantz and Robin Fletcher were members of the District Band on February 1.

· Anna Henderson and Robin Fletcher were members of District Choir on February 8. Allison Fletcher played in the orchestra for the District Choir.

· Chloe Shrock has an art picture on display in the lobby at Rockingham Memorial Hospital.

· The MYF raised $1,016 at the Super bowl soup and sandwich fundraiser and the Jr. MYF raised $630 at the baked potato bar.

· Fifth grade students Anna Gant, Katherine Pence, Rebecca Pence, Kaitlin Stauffer, Hannah Stoltzfus, and Philip Yoder each read the Gospel of John individually at home during the months of January and February? Way to go!

· Paul Leaman accepted the position as principal at EMHS for the coming year! Paul, Mary and family will be moving back to the states from Nairobi, Kenya in mid-June, and Paul will begin at EMHS on July 1. They are currently looking for a house near the school. Please contact Grant Stoltzfus if you are aware of available housing.

Music and worship forum
--Elwood Yoder

What?
A forum to discuss worship and music topics at Zion.

When?
Saturday morning, April 12
Breakfast served from 8:15-9 AM
Forum runs from 9-10:15 AM

Who?
All music and worship leaders are encouraged to attend
Anyone in the congregation who would like to come is welcome to attend
Hosted by members of the Worship Commission

Why?
To get feedback, receive input, and discuss music and worship at Zion
To review “Raising up a vision for music at Zion”

Where?
In the fellowship hall at Zion
Sign up on the bulletin board in the lobby

During the December and January Worship Commission meetings, committee members discussed “Raising up a vision for music at Zion.” We will review this list at our April 12 Forum meeting. As a Worship Commission we intend to...
· promote musical literacy through using music for songs when possible
· utilize many instruments in worship
· provide young adults with meaningful arenas for musical performance
· perpetuate four-part a cappella singing
· give young children the chance to share their musical gifts
· use a variety of styles in music
· invite quality choirs and musical groups to sing at Zion
· encourage our own choirs on a seasonal basis
· foster creative musical composition by Zion members
· host special musical programs occasionally, such as Vespers, handbells, visiting choirs, etc.
· seek to develop song leaders among younger members

Worship Commission members during 2002-2003 are Clyde Kratz, John Jacobs, Anna Dintaman, Matt Hunsburger, Welby Showalter, Celah Pence, and Susan Stoltzfus and Elwood Yoder, co-chairpersons.

Snowy Sunday
--Kristen Myers

On February 16, 2003 church was canceled because of the really big snow! Well, I was, of course, planning to sleep in and then go play out in the snow, but my plans were ruined, but the day turned out really good!
Well, we were invited to Elwood and Joy Yoder’s house for a little church service and that was all right with me…but, of course (there always has to be a catch), we had to walk. So, we got in our warmest clothes and began our journey through the cold snow to the Yoder’s house.

The first few minutes of walking were so miserable…but then everything just kind of got numb, so, that was kind of nice. At least we didn’t have to feel the cold! Then, we decided to make something out of this. We arrived at Route 42 and no cars were on the street, so, Jessica and I decided to sit in the middle of the road so that we could tell all our friends that we actually sat in the middle of route 42!

But, at last, we finally made our way down the street onto the Yoder’s walk and into the house! It was a wave of heat! It felt wonderful! We took off our wet boots and coats and made our way downstairs where the church service was about to start! We found seats and began. We sang hymns and shared with the people around us! We requested some of our favorite songs, which Maria had a lot of fun doing…. haha! Then, we went upstairs to eat. We ate the very delicious food until we were full and then…well back downstairs again!

A bunch of us played a game called Mad Gab. It’s really fun to play and it’s hilarious…if you have played it, you know what I mean. But, others learned how to crochet. That looked like a lot of fun and Sara Neuenschwander taught them.

But, in the end I enjoyed going there because I met a lot of new people and also had fun with the people I already knew! I thought, at the beginning, my day was ruined but, actually, it was a lot of fun and I am glad I went! Well, I am glad that we have friends among us that we can spend time with and have fun with!

More snow blessings!
--Barbara Risser

Canceling church because of snow and ice did not stop "Church" on February 16. When an invitation to meet at Elwood and Joy Yoder's home, we jumped at the chance to experience worship something like the early Anabaptists practiced. A small group of 24 gathered in the basement and sang songs, shared scripture and prayer requests together. We only had to cross the road. The Daryl Myers family waded snow for 1/2 mile carrying a basket of food for the potluck meal to follow services.

The quartet who had practiced for singing at Zion sang for the group. Glen and Galen Kauffman and Radell Schrock filled their jeep with college students and each brought a dish to share. Did you know that Matt Hunsberger could bake bread? He brought a loaf of honey-wheat bread warm from the oven that was lip-smacking good. Grant and Susan Stoltzfus family came in their four-wheel-drive pick-up and the snow kept falling!

The snow kept coming all morning. The group that joined hearts and minds in praying for peace (Pastor's request) in our world situation had the assurance that God would answer in His own time. It was a day of encouragement and blessing when no one could go to Zion Church.

MYF famine
Spending the night at the 30-hour famine is something I will never forget. We had fun collecting cans for the Broadway Food Pantry, going bowling, watching movies and, for some of us, never going to sleep!

For me, the hard part of the famine was not that I didn't get any sleep or that I didn't eat for 30 hours; in fact, this was quite easy. The hard part for me was that I sprained my ankle while playing a game at the church! Luckily, the people I was with knew what to do and did a great job! Although I was out of the action the remainder of the night, I had great satisfaction knowing that I was helping someone in need and that I was serving God. --Sarah Gant

On Feb. 20-21 the MYF had a 30-hour famine. We all arrived at Zion around 6:30pm, played some soccer and drove around collecting cans of food for the Broadway Food Bank. Then we went to participate in midnight bowling at Valley Lanes.

We all were just getting started at around 12:30 with a video game/movie marathon that lasted until 2:30-3:00 a.m. The few people who did fall asleep soon regretted it. Some "unknown peoples " played a few practical jokes involving a marker, whipped cream and a flashlight. The average amount of sleep was probably around 1-3 hours per person, but we raised some money for hunger relief and had a good time.
—Michael Snader

Junior department project

Marci and Diann want to say a big thank you to parents and children for doing such a great job with our offering project for the second quarter in the Junior Dept. The goal we had was $100 to send to a Hopi Indian Reservation in Arizona where Heidi Rahn- a recent EMU grad- teaches. The money was to go to the school for a fund for new playground equipment. Going into the last Sunday we needed twenty more dollars to meet our goal, and we got $24.60! We were so excited!!

Our third quarter project, which started a few Sundays ago, is to collect dry or canned goods for Patchwork Pantry in Harrisonburg. So remember to bring food for offering, but if anyone brings money that is ok too. We will take any money we get and buy food with it.
Thanks again for such a great job!! The children in Arizona will really appreciate all your generosity!

Home with Amy
--Amy Shrock

Are you ready for spring to come as much as the Shrock house?! I think everyone is suffering from cabin fever, all ages alike!

The last week in February, Jim's brother, Joe, wife Jessica, and 3-month-old Dylan stopped by for a visit on their way home after vacationing in Florida. We had a very enjoyable time together. Abigail and I took them to Ben Franklin Crafts in Broadway, which Jessica loved. Spending time with our families means so much more since we moved away from where we grew up.

Kathy Alderfer, Jen Showalter, and I were pleasantly surprised when our husbands masterminded a surprise 30th party for us. Our whole Sunday School class attended, and brought gifts in the amounts of 30. Thank you from the three birthday ladies to all who came, and made our birthdays special!

The following recipes are favorites in our house:

Enchiladas
3 10 oz. cans of enchilada sauce
1 lb. of ground beef
¼ cup chopped onions
1 16 oz. can refried beans with green chilies
1 package taco seasoning
8 soft taco shells
1 bag Mexican blend shredded cheese

Fry hamburger with chopped onions. Add taco seasoning. Pour half of the enchilada sauce into a 9x13 cooking dish. Layer refried beans, seasoned meat on soft taco shell, roll together and place in dish. Repeat until dish is full, Pour remaining enchilada sauce over rolled shells. Top with cheese. Cover and bake for 25-30 minutes at 350. Omit onions and green chilies if you don't like it spicy.

Oatmeal Cookies
2-cup margarine
4 eggs
2 cups brown sugar
2 cups white sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
4 cups flour
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. soda
6 cups quick oatmeal

Cream together eggs, margarine, sugars and vanilla. Add flour, salt and soda. Mix oatmeal in by hand. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes.
*Hint: Cookies with oatmeal make a better cookie when it is refrigerated overnight.

Apple Crumb Pie
6 cups diced apples
1 1/2 cups water
2 Tbsp. Clear Jel
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. margarine
1 unbaked pie shell
Crumbs
1 cup flour
1/2 cup margarine
1/2 cup brown sugar

Combine 1 cup water, sugar, cinnamon, and salt in saucepan. Cook until boiling. Combine clear jel and remaining water; stir into boiling mixture. Cook for 1 minute. Add margarine, then diced apples. Pour into pie shell. Combine crumb ingredients and spread on top. Bake at 400 for 35-40 minutes.

Birthdays
March 1 Keith Morris, Jennifer Showalter
March 2 Andrew Landis, Alma Hottinger
March 6 Katherine and Rebecca Pence
March 7 Christopher Hollinger, Velma Stauffer
March 8 David Brenneman, Wayne Detwiler
March 9 Matt Goins
March 11 Kevin Leaman
March 12 Jeremy Baker, Henry Showalter, Alex Truong
March 13 Karena Showalter
March 17 Kristina Snader
March 18 Alex Morris
March 19 Jill Halterman
March 21 Jessica Hess, Heather Risser
March 23 Dave Alger
March 24 Julie Hottinger
March 29 Debbie Gullman
March 30 Rebekah Kratz

April 1 Sara Brenneman
April 2 Bill Baker
April 4 Ray Kuykendall
April 7 Dave Lantz, Hannah Stoltzfus
April 8 John Gullman, Drew Hartman
April 9 Robert Juarez
April 16 Anna Henderson
April 17 Retha Alger
April 19 Ben Risser, Sr., Steve Bridges
April 20 Jill Fidler, Kenric Hartman, Zachary Stoltzfus
April 21 Ellie Pence
April 22 Joseph Harder
April 23 Jonathan Dixon
April 24 Marie Morris, Sharon Showalter
April 25 Jeremy Beach
April 28 Tara Williams, Matt Yoder
April 30 Anne-Callie Skillman

Anniversaries
March 6 Dave & Cheryl Lantz 27th
March 19 Ron & Myrna Piper 37th
March 24 Keith & Marie Morris 24th

Worship schedule

March 16 God promises faithfulness
Scripture: Genesis 17:1-7, 15,16
Speaker: Clyde Kratz
Worship Leader: John Jacobs
Song Leader: Celah Pence
Pre-Service and Offertory: Celah Pence

March 23 I am the Lord your God
Scripture: Exodus 20:1-17
Speaker: John Jacobs
Worship Leader: Ben Risser
Song Leader: Welby Showalter
Pre-Service and Offertory: Celah Pence and Ed Gant

March 30 God's great love pursues us
Scripture: John 3:14-21
Speaker: Clyde Kratz
Worship Leader: Sarah Bixler
Song Leader: Matt Hunsberger
Pre-Service and Offertory: Matt Hunsberger

April 6 God's covenant
Scripture: Jeremiah 31:31-34
Speaker: Clyde Kratz
Song Leader: Ben Risser
Pre-Service and Offertory: Daphna Creek

April 13 Palm Sunday
EMU Chamber Singers will be singing during our morning worship hour.
Song Leader: Matt Hunsberger

April 20 Easter Sunday
8:00 Sunrise Service at Dave and Cheryl Lantz’s farm.
9 – 10 Breakfast in fellowship hall (no Sunday School)
10-10:30 Singing
10:30 Easter worship service
Scripture: Isaiah 25:6-9
Speaker: Clyde Kratz
Song Leader: Matt Hunsberger
Special Music: Adult Choir

April 27 Peace be with you
Scripture: John 20:19-31
Speaker: Clyde Kratz
*We will celebrate Communion during our worship service.
Song Leader: Dorothy Hartman
Pre-Service and Offertory: Allison Fletcher

May 4 EMHS Touring Choir will be singing during our morning worship hour.

May 11 Mother's Day
Broadway High School Choir

May 18 Do you understand?
Scripture: Acts 8:26-40
Speaker: Clyde Kratz

May 25 The spirit of truth
Scripture: I John 5:1-6
Speaker: Clyde Kratz

Coming Up

April 3 CEC Meeting 6:30 a.m. at Mr. J’s

April 3 ZMWM

April 10 CLT

April 12 Worship and Music Forum 8:15-10:15 a.m.

April 13 EMU Chamber Singers
College appreciation Sunday with fellowship meal

April 17 Maundy Thursday meal, communion and foot washing

April 20 8 am Sunrise service, 9-10 am breakfast, 10 am singing, 10:30 am service

April 26 Men’s breakfast

June 12-14 Virginia Mennonite Conference Assembly, Harrisonburg, Virginia

July 3-8 Atlanta 2003, Mennonite Church USA Assembly

August 11-17 Mennonite World Conference, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe

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