| Note: this is an archive of the old 2007 Sale pages. Click Here for the newest pages. |
The annual Feeding the Multitude is located in the Cottonwood Court. Come and enjoy this German Buffet full of food and fellowship which features verenika, ham gravy, sausage, bohne beroggi, borscht, cherry and pluma moos, pies, bread and butter, relishes and bottled water, tea or coffee. The buffet is served Friday night starting at 4 p.m. and opens again on Saturday at 10:30 a.m.
Don't forget Breakfast Saturday morning from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. which is also served in the Cottonwood Court.
This building is strategically located to benefit sale attendees. It's located between Cottonwood Court and the Sunflower North Building on Cottonwood Ave. The building has a lot to offer. Going to the Feeding the Multitude? Stop and pick up a snack for while you're wait in line, such as a dozen New Year's cookies or freshly baked cookies. Need a pit stop on your way to one of the auctions? Come enjoy a plate full of verenika and sausage with cheery moos, pie or ice cream for desert.
There is cheese for purchase including Baby Swiss, Amish Butter Cheese, Mild Swiss, Longhorn Mild Cheddar and Cheese Curds. Or stock up on smoked sausage, liver sausage, summer sausage, pork ribs or whole hams. All are available in the Domestic Arts Building.
What originally began as a way of entertaining people standing in line for food at the sale about ten years ago, has now become one more way of creatively raising money for Mennonite Central Committee.
Janet Moyer Regier and Kathleen Neff, Newton, and another friend, Grace Adam of Nebraska, offer their works of art-beautifully decorated eggs. And sale guests eagerly watch them demonstrate the painstaking art of decorating psanky (Ukrainian Easter eggs). Naturally some can't go home without making a purchase or two.
The eggs are hand decorated with an ancient wax-resist process using a brass funnel tool, bees' wax, and dyes. Ideally the process starts with a farm fresh egg-its contents to be blown out when the decorating is complete. Neff prefers to begin with brown eggs, as the dyes then make for new and interesting shades.
Regier likes to do geometric designs with contrasting colors, while Neff likes her designs to reflect nature and often uses mono-chromatic color schemes. Adam bears the distinction of having personally presented First Lady Laura Bush with one of her pysanky at Easter last year, representing the state of Nebraska. Daughters Miriam (Regier) and Sheralynn (Neff) have also become adept at decorating the eggs.
Regier recalls one particular egg on which she spent about 15 hours, going through numerous dyes, wax applications, and the final varnishing. Looking toward the sale, she usually begins a couple of months before, and expects to make egg decorating a full-time job during that time. Neff also makes a sizable time commitment as the sale approaches.
From the decorators now comes the invitation, "Come and see," at the Domestic Arts Building April 13 and 14.
The women also invite persons with a working knowledge of psanky to assist them at the booth and possibly donate eggs they have decorated. To volunteer contact Regier at 316-283-6672, or Neff at 316-284-2001.
A new booth featuring baseball-style caps tipped off at last year's sale. Booth features sport team caps, brand name caps, insignia caps, company caps, and more for purchase.
If you or your company have caps to donate to the booth (seeking small quantity donations), please contact Richard K. Schroeder, booth organizer, at 620-543-2229 (home) or 620-694-9224 (cell).
The Meadowlark Building is home of the Quilt and Surplus Auctions, and the Friday night music program at 7 p.m.
The Olde Iron Junktion is located outside the main entrance to the Meadowlark Building. It includes antique items such as tools to tractor seats from kid toys to wagon wheels.
There are several food booths to choose from in the Meadowlark Building including hamburgers, pork tenders, New Year's Cookies, freshly baked cookies, home-made ice cream, pie, and Russian pancakes.
Penny Power raises money for MCC projects of peace, relief and development around the world.
Spare change can lead to global change. Mennonite and Brethren in Christ churches have adopted Penny Power as a great intergenerational activity, collecting coins year-round. Coins and larger donations are collected and taken to annual MCC Relief Sales. At the Kansas Mennonite Relief Sale, come to the Meadowlark building and watch the change being counted.
In 2004, Penny Power raised $481,505 Cdn./$392,641 U.S. for MCC's projects of peace, relief and development around the world, up more than $90,000 Cdn./$75,000 U.S. from 2003. Penny Power collection increased 31% in 2006 -- collecting a record $551.646 U.S.
The above information is from www.pennypower.org
Don't leave without a friendly reminder of all the fun your family had at the Kansas Mennonite Relief Sale. Available for purchase in the Meadowlark Building are sale caps, shirts and yardsticks.
The annual KMRS music program to feature Bryan Moyer Suderman at 7 p.m., April 13, in the Meadowlark Building, Kansas State Fairgrounds.
Bryan loves to sing, and people of all ages love to sing along. With the release of his two albums "God's Love is for Everybody" (2002) and "Can't Keep Quiet!" (2005), Bryan's "songs of faith for small and tall" have become favorites with families and churches across North America and beyond. Audiences respond to the warmth of his voice, the contagious tunes, his signature interactive style, and a spirit that invites you to join in.
Also, Bryan's songs are used in the new "Gather 'Round" curriculum, and a couple of other songs published in the recently published "Church Hymnary 4th Edition" - the new hymnal of the Church of Scotland (with John Bell, of the Iona community, as one of the editors).
Bryan lives with his wife and son in a 150-year-old farmhouse near Stouffville, Ontario (just north of Toronto), where he feeds sheep, cows, chickens, pigs, and a donkey every day before eating breakfast and making music. You can find out more about Bryan's music ministry, including how to access brand new songs, by visiting his website, www.smalltallmusic.com.
The Sunflower North Building is home to the General Auction and the Mennonite Central Committee Booth. Stop by and visit with the staff from MCC and learn about their latest projects.
The food booth in the Sunflower North offers hamburgers, nachos, bohne beroggi, ice cream, New Year's cookies, and pie by the slice.
Starting at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Chicken BBQ meals are sold in the Sunflower South Building. Meals are served until 1 or 1:30 p.m. or until food runs out. A meal includes 1/4 chicken, baked beans, choice of cole slaw or applesauce, dinner roll. Pie is available for an additional cost.
Stop and buy your spring plants at the sale. Plants, plants and more plants are available for purchase in the Sunflower South Building. A wide variety of house plants, bedding plants, perennials, grasses, bulbs, roots, shrubs and trees are sold in flats and singles.
Adopt-a-plant project takes root in HillsboroThis is the third year that the First Mennonite Church of Hillsboro is adopting plants purchased from Giessel`s Greenhouse, Hesston. For 11 or 12 weeks, young and not so young members adopt the tiny seedlings to take home and water. Rod Franzen, contact person from First Mennonite, Hillsboro, explained the project came from knowing how well plants sell in April at the sale. Plus, it gives someone, anyone the chance to contribute in a small way. "Whether weak eyesight can no longer thread the eye of a needle to quilt or a hand that isn`t steady enough to drive a nail into wood, the desire to help is as strong as ever," said Franzen. "The younger ones can learn that a small contribution much like a penny, a cup of flour, or a strand of thread by itself is not valuable to many, but the once tiny-dry seed that grows up can bring blessings to someone needing a clean cup of water or a nourishing meal. The parallel, also comes to mind, that much like the tender young plant how people need not only water and food, but we need to receive God`s light." |
The Kansas Mennonite Relief Sale Kid's Activity Center is opening in the newly remodeled Pride of Kansas Building. It includes a children's auction, carnival games, barrel rides, and a moon walk and 9-hole mini golf sponsored by MAX. Plus, children are invited to assemble a MCC school kit.
Also, don't forget about the BIG green slide located near Cottonwood Court on Cottonwood Ave. Kids can slide while a parent maintains the families spot in line for the Feeding of the Multitude.
Kids bring your parents or grandparents and all your friends and come assemble a school kit. Don't worry! Even though the word 'school' is involved, it doesn't mean there's any homework involved.
MCC provides basic school supplies to refugee and displaced children in places such as Bosnia, Haiti, Honduras, Iraq, Liberia, Nicaragua, North Korea, Serbia and Ukraine each year. Kits are also supplied to poorly-funded schools in Canada and the United States. According to MCC, over 90,000 kits were distributed in 2004. In 2005, school kits also went to the Gulf states had been hit by the hurricane.
Kids are invited to come and assemble a school kit in the Pride of Kansas Building. For a donation of $5, children are invited to pick out a drawstring bag and fill it with 4 notebooks, 4 unsharpened #2 pencils, 1 flexible ruler, 12 colored pencils in a box, and 1 large eraser. The donation covers the cost of the school supplies and drawstring bag. Children participating will receive a balloon and stickers.
Last year, the youth group from Pretty Prairie Mennonite Church pioneered sponsorship of special children's activities in a small building off the beaten track of the main sale events. The activities were popular with the younger set, and the Pretty Prairie kids plan to be back taking the lead this year, along with youth from a few other churches. Look for the activities in the Pride of Kansas Building -- along with a number of other things planned with kids in mind.
The Relief Sale offers activities for children of all ages.
The MAX sponsored moon walk and the MCC mini-golf were featured at the last two Kansas Mennonite Relief Sales.
"Community is an integral part of MAX* and every year we look at ways to become more involved with the people we are able to serve," said Denise Dietz, MAX representative. "We also look at ways to give back to the community in some way, shape or form."
"We knew the Kansas Mennonite Relief Sale was a wonderful cause but we also realized that it was a great opportunity to interact and give back. It didn't take long before the "shape" of our involvement turned into big, bouncy, air-filled fun with a fund raising moon walk."
Before the 2005 sale, members of the MAX office in Hesston expressed interest in helping at the sale. This interest sparked into a conversation between Cedric and Becky Blough, Moundridge, and members of the MAX office. Cedric and his wife had an idea for a portable 9-hole mini-golf. MAX was interested in the project. With the sale quickly approaching, only 3 holes of the course were able to be completed. MAX wanted to do more. Thus, a moon walk was rented and staffed by MAX employees.
"By the end of the sale there were many tired-happy children and a little over $500 was raised for MCC," said Dietz. "It was a great privilege and fun to be part of the Relief Sale. So much so that two other MAX offices in Harrisonburg, Virginia and Goshen, Indiana sponsored similar moon walks at their sales."
Children are invited back to the moon walk. Come burn off excess energy by jumping, bouncing, flipping and flailing for only a $1.
Also, children of all ages (5 to 105) are invited to the newly completed Mennonite Central Committee 9-hole mini-golf. Come learn about MCC projects all disguised as a mini-golf course -- a great activity for families and youth groups.
*MAX serves the Anabaptist community with a Mutual Aid Ministries program and Property and Casualty Insurance services. Visit www.mutualaidexchange.com for more information or an agent near you.
"Men were meant for singing! This concert embodies the feelings of gratitude, the joy of unity, the thrill of harmony, the passion for service."
So stated the program notes on the program for the first Kansas Mennonite Men's Chorus (KMMC) concert in Hillsboro the spring of 1969.
It had the been the dream of early innovators--the late Vernon Wiebe of Hillsboro and the late David Suderman of North Newton--to assemble a group of 500 men singing together as part of Kansas Mennonite Relief Sale activities. The offering taken would benefit Mennonite Central Committee (MCC).
While the number of singers that first year, at 140, fell far short of the goal of 500, the response to the concert was positive and chorus membership the next year tallied 495. Audience interest also spiked, with 2500 hearing the concert at Century II concert hall. (Another 1000 were turned away for lack of space.) The dream of Wiebe and Suderman was coming to pass.
Although momentum faltered in 1972 with no concerts that year, the following year 568 men came to sing together in Hutchinson's Convention Hall. At present chorus membership hovers around 300.
There has been a succession of capable directors leading in area and mass rehearsals beginning approximately two months before the spring concerts. The first director was Suderman, then Paul Wolgumuth, Jonah Baltzer, and now Ron Garber. There is a steering committee and contact men to keep singers (who pay for expenses themselves) coming back, as well as recruiting new ones.
The music used presents a pleasing variety. Some is classical and is quite challenging to the singers themselves. There are also arrangements of old hymns, spirituals, and pieces with a more modern sound. Special enjoyment came with the chorus's rendition of "Dry Bones"-this included sound effects. Much of KMMC's repertoire also consists of music composed or arranged by directors and by J. Harold Moyer of the music committee. There are also beautiful old German hymn arrangements by the late Herbert C. Richert as well as arrangements by chorus members themselves.
Director Ron Garber views the KMMC as "a choral ensemble that (has) a message--a message of hope and optimism meant for a world wrapped in turmoil and skepticism, a message encapsulated in our motto, 'we sing that others may live.'"
Since the year 2000 the chorus has not only sung its message at Kansas MCC Sale time and in surrounding states, but also has brought their songs to Europe, Canada and California. Plans call for an East Coast tour this summer. Before the chorus traveled, their well-received recordings had also traveled the world. Proceeds from these also benefit MCC. (At present total donations by KMMC to worldwide relief have passed the one-half million mark.)
While many who participate are gifted singers, there are also those who consider their musical abilities to be quite ordinary. Talented instrumentalists also join the group for various numbers.
While most KMMC members are Mennonite, the invitation is open to any man who shows "commitment to Jesus Christ, the Christian Gospel, and the desire to help provide monetary support to the needy of the world," according to Director Garber.
Now put them all together--bringing an attitude of commitment--in an atmosphere of holy discipline, with a dash of humor added. And what is the result? Larry Hatteburg of KAKE-TV in Wichita says it this way:
"It is singing from the heart, from the soul, and it reaches deep into the crevasses of the mind. It's as if a warm blanket is placed around my shoulders. It is probably the blanket of God's love." (Reprinted from the 25th anniversary history book, We sing That Others May Live, by Carol Duerksen)
This year's KMMC spring concerts are set for (the day after the sale) Sunday, April 15, 7 p.m. at Wichita Central Community Church on Maple Street, and Sunday, April 22, 7 p.m. at Presser Hall, Bethany College, Lindsborg.
Be a part of the 10th Kansas Mennonite Relief Sale Run for Relief. From when it just begun to today, come join the run and see how much fun it can be.
The Run for Relief is a running, jogging or walking event open to all ages. This year's 5K run is an out and back course on a paved path at Rice Park in Hutchinson, Saturday, April 14, beginning at 8 a.m. Last year's run had a record 234 participants and raised over $20,000 for MCC.
Two options for participation are again available: option one (strongly recommended) is to solicit your own sponsor donations; option two is to pay an entry fee. To celebrate the 10th run, participants are encouraged to find 10 sponsors of $10 each.
A pre-registration form is included in the sale guidebook as well as right here. If postmarked before March 29 the fee is $15 and includes a run T-shirt. Late registration is $18 and can be done at the Meadowlark Building (quilt building) the evening before the run, or at Rice Park the morning of the run.
Contact Amy Schmidt by e-mail at mattamy2249@sbcglobal.net or call 316-283-2791 for more details.
Tee-off for the annual MCC benefit golf tournament, a four-person scramble, is set for a shotgun start at 7:30 a.m., Saturday, April 21, at the Hesston Golf Course. More information and a registration form is available here.
For more information contact Gregg Dick at 316-283-1366 or e-mail greggd@bethelks.edu.
Everyone Welcome!
Contact person: Lelyn Peters, 620-327-2256 or (cell) 620-327-7456
Details of the ride: The ride to feature trip to area church were the group will attend the morning service. Organizers are hoping to provide a lunch at the conclusion of the ride. Donations accepted for cost of meal.
Each rider and co-rider are asked to sign a wavier concerning liability. All other expenses are bared by the participants.