A Postcard and a Prayer from 
Mennonite Women USA: May 2017
 
Prayer for Crossing Barriers  
by Anna Liechty Sawatzky

God, 
   We confess to being closed to your people 
      as we go about our daily tasks. 
   We admit to putting your mission in a box, 
      confining it to particular places and times. 
   We pray now for openness to your Spirit 
      to respond to the people, questions, and needs around us. 
   We commit ourselves to crossing barriers in our daily lives 
      that we might find more of your people, listening and responding 
      to them in new and loving ways. 
Go with us into the world to love and to serve all we encounter, 
   wherever they may be.

Anna Liechty Sawatzky is
the writer for the 2017 Bible study guide,  Live Your Call: Embracing God's Mission.
This
prayer is adapted from one she uses in the study guide. Anna lives with her husband and four sons in Goshen, Indiana. Anna works as a home visitor in a child abuse prevention program and spends most of her free time knitting at her children's sporting events.
SPECIAL INVITATION FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Dear friends,

2017 is a BIG year for us as we celebrate 100 years of Mennonite Women 's organizations. Over the past 10 decades, women gathered offering fellowship, support and empowerment to each other. 

Mennonite women prayed together, studied scripture, served their church and community, sewed, quilted, baked and provided financial support for mission and service workers around the globe.  Mennonite Women have been faithful to Christ's call to be fruit from the vine.

Nurtured in their home congregations, these women became leaders, administrators, pastors, chaplains, professors, teachers, musicians and scientists. Many are sisters, mothers, mentors, confidants and caregivers. Today, we celebrate as we look back with grateful hearts. We revel in what we are and anticipate a thriving future, with God's help.

So ... let's party!
  • Watch for the June 2017 issue of The Mennonite, which will focus on our 100 years.
  • Plan and participate in a local celebration by using the amazing resources (songs, poems, prayers,  dramas) available on our website: mwusa.org/centennial
  • Shop at mwusa.org/shop to indulge yourself with a cool centennial T-shirt, the brand new Bible  study Live Your Call, or the wonderful Circles of Sisterhood book.
  • Attend our variety show-style celebration on July 5 at the Orlando convention.
  • Give a gift in honor or in memory of a beloved mentor or family member.
  • Memorize John 15:5, our theme verse.
And ... let's thrive!
  • Become a new Lydia, giving $500 a year. As a new member of the Lydia Circle, you receive a Timbrel subscription, the annual Bible study, Live Your Call by Anna Liechty Sawatzky, plus a centennial T- Shirt. Please contribute by July 10. 
  • Become a new Miriam , giving $1000+ a year. As a new member of the Miriam Circle, you receive the above three items plus a copy of the new Mennonite Women history book, Circles of Sisterhood by Anita Hooley Yoder. Please contribute by July 10.
  • Give to the Endowment! There is no better way to celebrate our past than with a gift that will help secure our future. There are many simple ways to support our endowment or place Mennonite Women in your estate plan. Contact me personally at marleneb@mwusa.org
Thank you to each of you for being Fruit from the Vine in your own unique way. Our ministries depend solely on the generosity of women like you.

Warmly,

Marlene Bogard, 
Executive Director 
NEW + NOTEWORTHY

     

Get Your Study Guide
Live Your Call will be available June 15. Visit the MW USA shop to purchase your copy.

Official Theme Song
Did you know there's an official centennial theme song? Download the Fruit from the Vine music from our website.


Sister Care Seminar 
A Sister Care seminar for black women was held in April. Read about it on the blog. 


Have a blessed month!

Sincerely,
Mennonite Women USA staff

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