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ACC Weekly Announcements October 7, 2020
Pastors, Church Administrators and Secretaries, Bulletin Editors:
 
These weekly announcements are meant to be a helpful resource, especially for those of you who put your congregations' bulletins together on a weekly basis. If there are ways we could present this information more effectively please don't hesitate to pass on your ideas or give feedback.

Some churches forward the following information and community life announcements to their members using email while others post various events in their weekly bulletin, on their church website, or Facebook page. This and past columns are available on the ACC webpage at atlanticcoastconference.net/ba.
 
Please let us know if there are additional ways we can assist you as we serve together. 

Brook Musselman
Conference Coordinator, Atlantic Coast Conference 
(717) 394-8107

Glen Guyton on Facebook Live TODAY 12:30 ET
Wednesday, October 7
9:30 am PT/ 10:30 am MT/ 11:30 CT/ 12:30 pm ET

Glen Guyton, executive director of Mennonite Church USA, will be addressing power within the church during his monthly Facebook Live chat.

In his message, "Why MC USA? The benefits of growing in community with grace, joy and peace," he'll discuss the power at each level of our denomination -- and how this structure enables us to move forward together as a community of Christ. 

Join us live on Wednesday on MC USA's Facebook page.

(If you can't make it for the live broadcast, be sure to visit us on Facebook to watch the recording later!) 
Nickels for Neighbors collection
Any funds collected for this years Nickels for Neighbors project should be received by October 16. Checks can me mailed to the ACC office (2257 Old Philadelphia Pike, Lancaster, PA 17602) or you can request that coins be picked up by emailing BrookM@atlanticcoastconference.net.

More info on the N4N program at atlanticcoastconference.net/n4n/

Appliances available for donation
Neffsville MC is updating their kitchen and has working appliances available for donation:

  • 17 cu ft refrigerator
  • 2 21 cu ft freezers
  • 36" commercial gas range (older but still works)
  • commercial convenction double door oven (older but still works)

NMC needs to move the appliacnes around the end of October. Please contact Deb Steller if interested: 717-917-5373, dsteller5711@gmail.com

ACC Fall events & projects

The Fall Assembly will be held virtually with a delegate session and voting available October 23-25. Materials and updates will be shared with delegates; congregations are asked to email any delegate changes to BrookM@atlanticcoastconference.net.
Documents and more details will be made available at atlanticcoastconference.net/assembly.
A second Assembly-weekend event will be a live webinar on Anti-racism in the Church held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, October 24. This one-hour webinar will be led by ACC’s recently-formed Anti-racism Task Group and will share about its work and what steps other ACC congregations are taking to end racism on an individual as well as organizational level. Panelists will share ways that the dominant white culture can take steps to wrestle with and own white privilege and participation in inequality. Participants should register and submit questions for the panel by emailing office@atlanticcoastconference.net.


ACC’s Peace and Justice Committee is again collecting grocery boxes for local distribution by MCC East Coast. More information, including a promotional video, can be found at atlanticcoastconference.net/groceries.
This year’s Nickels for Neighbors project will benefit The City School in Philadelphia. The school will be updating playground equipment and installing a gaga court on the Poplar campus. This will allow students to form spontaneous Gaga games, get good exercise, and include others in their play. More info, including a promotional video and a can label, can be found at atlanticcoastconference.net/n4n.
MC USA Announcements
 Menno Snapshots
Glen Guyton, executive director of Mennonite Church USA, reflects on his 27 years as a Mennonite and shares his vision for what’s working, what’s not and what opportunities lie ahead for our denomination in his blog, “The church we’re called to be.” Read it here: https://www.mennoniteusa.org/menno-snapshots/the-church-were-called-to-be/

#MennoCon21
Subscribe to Mennonite Church USA’s convention newsletter to get the latest news about MennoCon21, scheduled for July 6-10, 2021 in Cincinnati, Ohio. http://eepurl.com/gbyUCj

Learn, Pray, Join
Columbus (Ohio) Mennonite Church has provided sanctuary to Edith Espinal, a Mexican immigrant, for three years, as she fights to keep her family together. Read her remarkable story at https://www.mennoniteusa.org/news/columbus-mennonite-sanctuary/

 Menno Snapshots
Hillary Watson, a bivocational pastor in Ann Arbor, Michigan, reflects on the relationship between our war-tax-resisting Anabaptist roots and our response to current-day violence in her blog, “'Defund the police’ is deeply Anabaptist.” Read more: https://www.mennoniteusa.org/defund

Please pray for the delegates and leaders of the Constituency Leaders Council of Mennonite Church USA as they gather via vide

November is mission month. Racism harms the body of Christ and God's reconciling mission. But God has made a way to receive forgiveness — repentance that leads to life! Our mission month materials invite MC USA and everyone to engage God's plan for reconciliation.onference on Oct. 16 and 17.
New 38-minute faith-based safety training video available
This new training video is available to you and the adult volunteers at your church for a one-time fee of $75. For $200, we offer the video and a one-hour Zoom discussion facilitated by a Dove's Nest expert.


COVID-19 provides a unique space for congregations to take the time to reprioritize safety. This video can be viewed or streamed together as a group or by individuals on their own devices on their own time. This video satisfies the policy requirement many churches have for regular annual trainings for adult volunteers working with children and youth. Also, this kind of training is important regardless of whether or not children's activities are happening in person or virtually. 

Steps to access the video:
1. Pay the one-time $75 fee online or by mailing a check.
2. Notify Anna Groff, anna@dovesnest.net that you made this payment for the video.
3. A link to download or stream the training video will be sent to you in one business day. 

In 38 minutes, the video covers:
  • Child abuse and Jesus's message regarding safety for children
  • Why and how to implement a child protection policy
  • An overview of the Circle of Grace curriculum
  • Reporting suspected abuse
  • Tech safety and social media, as well as child-on-child perpetration
  • Consent and safe touch
Celebrate 100 years with MCC
Wherever you are, we invite you to be part of Celebration 2020: MCC at 100, a livestreamed centennial celebration on Saturday, October 17. The event will include videos, storytelling, music and a message of inspiration from longtime MCC leader and pastor Leonard Dow. “MCC at its best,” Dow says, “has a prophetic imagination. We are patiently persistent, and we have a willingness to get into ‘necessary trouble’ as we respond to basic human needs and work for peace and justice.” Learn more about Celebration 2020: MCC at 100 HERE.