The following is a snapshot of congregational life at First Mennonite Church of Champaign-Urbana, IL  provided by Rebecca Bare. If you would like more information on news shared here, please contact the congregation directly. We’re sure they’d love to hear from you.

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First Mennonite Church of Champaign-Urbana

Barb Shenk and Dannie Otto were given our blessing on August 6, as they begin a two-year stint as directors of the World Friendship Center in Hiroshima, Japan.

On August 13, Katherine Crosby shared with the congregation her experience with CPT in Hebron.

August 20 was a music service. Amanda Heinsman and Matthew Klopfenstein were received as new members.

John Otto entered hospice care mid-August and died August 27, age 71. A memorial service was held for him on September 6.

September’s worship theme was Seasons of Creation: forest, land, river, and wilderness. Our service on the 3^rd was held outdoors, with a picnic following.

Harold Heiser turned 93 on September 3.

Brian Sauder gave the sermon on September 10.

Nine women attended the Women’s Retreat held at Camp Friedenswald on the weekend of September 15-17. Many people who stayed in Champaign participated in the CU Pride Parade which took place on the 16^th.

On October 1^st, worldwide communion Sunday, Leslie Deem and Cheryl Koranda were received as new members.

On October 15, we held a joint service with our sister church, El Divino Redentor, in Bucaramanga, Colombia. We were able to do this via Skype. It was a blessed experience to share songs and have a joint sermon. Because our sister church is Lutheran, the service included a confession of sins perpetrated by Lutherans against the Anabaptists 500 years ago.

November 5 was our Remembrance Sunday. We remembered and prayed for our friends and family who died this past year.

Long time member, Conrad Wezel of Overland Park, KS died on Oct. 17.