NLC Connect - August 27, 2025
connect with God's Word
The planning team for our 100-anniversary celebration are making some amazing plans for the upcoming celebration on September 21st.
LIFT had their final summer Bible study on August 19th. They are already gearing up for a phenomenal Fall study!
Pastor Brad is back at Dinuba High for the new school year. He ran into some familiar faces on the campus!
So much excitement on Sunday as Andy Mondragon made the decision to follow the Lord in baptism. Our youngest attenders look forward to baptism days.
LIFT had their final summer Bible study on August 19th. They are already gearing up for a phenomenal Fall study!
Pastor Brad is back at Dinuba High for the new school year. He ran into some familiar faces on the campus!
So much excitement on Sunday as Andy Mondragon made the decision to follow the Lord in baptism. Our youngest attenders look forward to baptism days.
connect your calendar
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 27
6:30 p.m. - Prayer Gathering - Room 113
THURSDAY, AUGUST 28
6:00 p.m. - CELEBRATE RECOVERY small groups
SUNDAY, AUGUST 31
9:30 a.m. - CONNECTING POINT
11:15 a.m. - Family Meal - Dining Room (bring a dessert large enough to serve 10 -- the rest of the meal will be provided)
5:00 p.m. - Youth Leaders' Meeting (no youth group)
MONDAY, SEPT. 1: Office closed for Labor Day
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2
6:00 a.m. - Men's Bible Study - Dining Room
6:30 p.m. - GriefShare Support Group - Room 114/115
6:30 p.m. - Healing Room Ministry - Library
WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 3
6:30 p.m. - Prayer Gathering - Room 113
THURSDAY, SEPT. 4
6:00 p.m. - CELEBRATE RECOVERY small groups - Education Center
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 7
9:30 a.m. - CONNECTING POINT
5:00 p.m. - Youth Group - Room 207
TUESDAY, SEPT. 9
6:00 a.m. - Men's Bible Study - Dining Room
9:00 a.m. - LIFT Women's Bible Study starts new series - Room 114/115
6:30 p.m. - GriefShare Support Group - Room 114/115
6:30 p.m. - Healing Room Ministry - Library
6:30 p.m. - Prayer Gathering - Room 113
THURSDAY, AUGUST 28
6:00 p.m. - CELEBRATE RECOVERY small groups
SUNDAY, AUGUST 31
9:30 a.m. - CONNECTING POINT
- Come meet and encourage others over coffee and snacks - Patio
11:15 a.m. - Family Meal - Dining Room (bring a dessert large enough to serve 10 -- the rest of the meal will be provided)
5:00 p.m. - Youth Leaders' Meeting (no youth group)
MONDAY, SEPT. 1: Office closed for Labor Day
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2
6:00 a.m. - Men's Bible Study - Dining Room
6:30 p.m. - GriefShare Support Group - Room 114/115
6:30 p.m. - Healing Room Ministry - Library
WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 3
6:30 p.m. - Prayer Gathering - Room 113
THURSDAY, SEPT. 4
6:00 p.m. - CELEBRATE RECOVERY small groups - Education Center
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 7
9:30 a.m. - CONNECTING POINT
- Come meet and encourage others over coffee and snacks - Patio
- Communion
- Deacon Care Fund offering
- Donations welcome for Sharing Hands pantry - barrels available in foyers
5:00 p.m. - Youth Group - Room 207
TUESDAY, SEPT. 9
6:00 a.m. - Men's Bible Study - Dining Room
9:00 a.m. - LIFT Women's Bible Study starts new series - Room 114/115
6:30 p.m. - GriefShare Support Group - Room 114/115
6:30 p.m. - Healing Room Ministry - Library
Do you have pictures from past church events to help tell our story? Please share them with the planning committee! Pictures or other memorabilia may be loaned to Judy Brown or the church office as soon as possible. Thank you!
connect through giving
Offerings Received last week (8/24): ................ $3,135
Offerings Received this year to date: ........... $332,011
Additional Income received (Ministries, Facility
Rental & Interest) this year to date: …......... $32,975
Total Income this year to date: ………......…… $364,986
Estimated Expenses to Fiscal Year End
(Aug. 31):……………...………...................………. $376,000
Needed to meet expenses (estimate): …..……. .$11,014
Offerings Received this year to date: ........... $332,011
Additional Income received (Ministries, Facility
Rental & Interest) this year to date: …......... $32,975
Total Income this year to date: ………......…… $364,986
Estimated Expenses to Fiscal Year End
(Aug. 31):……………...………...................………. $376,000
Needed to meet expenses (estimate): …..……. .$11,014
connect to God through prayer
- Pray for Anissa Almaguer as she recovers from a c-section. We are thankful for the arrival of a healthy, 8 lb. baby girl! Pray for Neida Roa, who is also recovering from a c-section. She delivered a healthy baby girl!
- Also remember: Marilyn Chappell and other residents in Palm Village Healthcare, Harold Kruger and others in Sierra View, and Mary Salazar.
- Pray for those who have lost loved ones and those attending the GriefShare support group.
- Pray for those who are seeking employment.
- Pray for the undocumented in our community as they navigate life under this administration.
- Pray for our missionaries: Pablo & Maricela Chavez in Peru, Cecil & Tracy Ramos in Thailand, Jonathan & Joanna Gutierrez in Portugal, and Johnny & Denise Esposito who are home on furlough.
- Pray for peace as violence and war affect so many families and children in Ukraine, Israel, Gaza, in the Middle East, and in parts of Africa.
Connect to MCC School Kits
Several of our kids and youth spent Sunday morning packing school kits that will be sent to kids on the other side of the world. We are grateful to Judy Brown for organizing the assembling of these kits and those who sewed bags or donated money to purchase the supplies. Here is a story about the impact of school kits from MCC.
PC: Judy Brown and Jessica Aquino
Many children and teens in the Tigray Region of northern Ethiopia returned to school last fall after being unable to go to school for three or four years. Their schools, homes and communities were destroyed or devastated by war from November 2020 through November 2022.
As Tigray People’s Liberation Front fought against the Ethiopian Defense Forces in a struggle for political power, many students fled their homes with their families. Some teens joined the fighters. Other students were killed or traumatized during the war.
“The devastation is hard to describe,” says Gidey Zerabruk, a member of Enda Ferensay Elementary School’s parent-teacher association. “Some families have lost everything, including their homes. Those who still have homes have lost children, and the economic situation has become crippling. Most can’t even afford daily meals, let alone school supplies.”
Inflated prices have made school supplies more expensive than they used to be, he says. A school bag and notebooks cost about 1,000 birr (US$8) for each child. For a family of five, school supplies would cost about 5,000 birr (US $40) per family.
That’s why Meserete Kristos Church Development Commission (MKCDC), a Mennonite church partner of Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) in Ethiopia, distributed 15,000 MCC school kits to students in 65 Tigray schools in late September. The school kit contains multiple notebooks, pencils, pens and colored pencils as well as a ruler, eraser and sharpener in a cloth bag.
Recipients were determined based on their level of vulnerability, including those without a father or sufficient income and those who are living in temporary shelter or with a disabled family member.
Kalkidan Fistum, 13, was one fatherless student who came to the school kit distribution held at Rama Secondary School. She says the kits have been helpful to a lot of people.
“We didn’t have anything, and without the donations, our families would have had to borrow money to buy supplies for us,” says Fistum. She says she was out of school for three or four years.
“I felt terrible when I was sitting at home without attending school. Not going to school slows your mind down because you are not learning anything,” she says.
Another student Frewyni Abrahaley Teklay, 14, says she is also glad to be back in school.
“I felt stuck at home, but I was afraid to leave because of the soldiers. Now that school has resumed, I’m happy to see my friends again.”
Getting school supplies is encouraging, Teklay adds. “They will assist me in my studies, and they help my family by reducing their expenses. I want to be a pilot and help lift my community out of these difficult times.”
PC: Judy Brown and Jessica Aquino
Many children and teens in the Tigray Region of northern Ethiopia returned to school last fall after being unable to go to school for three or four years. Their schools, homes and communities were destroyed or devastated by war from November 2020 through November 2022.
As Tigray People’s Liberation Front fought against the Ethiopian Defense Forces in a struggle for political power, many students fled their homes with their families. Some teens joined the fighters. Other students were killed or traumatized during the war.
“The devastation is hard to describe,” says Gidey Zerabruk, a member of Enda Ferensay Elementary School’s parent-teacher association. “Some families have lost everything, including their homes. Those who still have homes have lost children, and the economic situation has become crippling. Most can’t even afford daily meals, let alone school supplies.”
Inflated prices have made school supplies more expensive than they used to be, he says. A school bag and notebooks cost about 1,000 birr (US$8) for each child. For a family of five, school supplies would cost about 5,000 birr (US $40) per family.
That’s why Meserete Kristos Church Development Commission (MKCDC), a Mennonite church partner of Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) in Ethiopia, distributed 15,000 MCC school kits to students in 65 Tigray schools in late September. The school kit contains multiple notebooks, pencils, pens and colored pencils as well as a ruler, eraser and sharpener in a cloth bag.
Recipients were determined based on their level of vulnerability, including those without a father or sufficient income and those who are living in temporary shelter or with a disabled family member.
Kalkidan Fistum, 13, was one fatherless student who came to the school kit distribution held at Rama Secondary School. She says the kits have been helpful to a lot of people.
“We didn’t have anything, and without the donations, our families would have had to borrow money to buy supplies for us,” says Fistum. She says she was out of school for three or four years.
“I felt terrible when I was sitting at home without attending school. Not going to school slows your mind down because you are not learning anything,” she says.
Another student Frewyni Abrahaley Teklay, 14, says she is also glad to be back in school.
“I felt stuck at home, but I was afraid to leave because of the soldiers. Now that school has resumed, I’m happy to see my friends again.”
Getting school supplies is encouraging, Teklay adds. “They will assist me in my studies, and they help my family by reducing their expenses. I want to be a pilot and help lift my community out of these difficult times.”
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