The Buzz newsletter | Updated Weekly
The Slow Work of God
In the season of Advent
we join with millions of Jesus followers in a deeply meaningful of time of reflection and celebration. Here at Butler, our theme is “The Slow Work of God” and, for the next 5 Sundays, our gatherings will explore what it means to partner with God patiently and faithfully in the restoration and healing of our world.
This week is centered around HOPE. The art piece from this past Sunday brings us hope that comes when we make 'war no more.' You can reflect on the art piece and the artists' reflections. If you missed this past Sunday, livestreams from our English services are available on our YouTube channel.
from the artist statement:
"...both of these tools are used in the process of regeneration, but they are not in themselves symbols of a bountiful harvest. Like gardening, “learning war no more” is a daily practice requiring dedication and lots of trust that we are truly cultivating an environment for Godʼs peace to one day bloom.
And so, in this Advent season, what needs to be plowed or pruned?
What daily acts of regeneration will provide for you and the generations who come after you?"
Food Distribution this Friday
Our monthly breakfast ministry and food distribution is this Friday Dec 5! Clients are served starting at 9:00 AM until food runs out around 10:30am. Additional volunteers are always welcome; if you can help out please contact us
and let the church office know. Please continue to pray
for opportunities to build connections with individuals we serve.
Church Business Meeting
Our annual Church Business Meeting will be THIS Sunday, December 7
@ 3:00 pm in the Family Center. You are invited to bring snacks to share before our meeting and during the conversation time afterward. The meeting packet (including the proposed budget for 2026) will be available again this Sunday and an updated version can be found online as annual reports are added.
Pastor Ron writes: "I look forward to the opportunity to share updates and invite feedback on the strategic planning process as we discern God’s desired future for our church family."
Blue Christmas service
Butler Church will host a Blue Christmas service this year on Sunday, December 21 at 2:00 pm. This service will be a quiet, reflective space in which to honor memories and bring together our burdens of loss. Anyone who has lost someone / something dear in 2025 or simply wants the opportunity to remember and reflect on loss from longer ago – all are welcome.
Community Festival Highlights!
There was a big turnout for the Community Festival last Saturday! A big THANK YOU
to Nzash Lumeya, Pastor Bruce Hood, and Teen Challenge, and the 50 volunteers – many resources were made available to our community! This included free food, shoes, bicycles, a car and motorcycle show, and support for addiction recovery.
Brother Nzash’s top highlights were (1) Gratitude:
for this vision becoming a reality and the great weather….the sun came out just as the event started! (2) Many Butler people serving together: setting up early; organized with shoes; tracts and Bibles given out (all available Bibles were taken!); Butler pastors opening and closing the event with a powerful message and prayer (3) Surprises of how God provided
more than we could ask or imagine: FPU offering use of the land; assistance from FPU campus safety; preachers in Spanish; extra food that wasn’t planned for; and a young man who committed his life to Christ and is now connected with the recovery program….join us in praying for Isaac.
This Saturday (Dec 6)
Nzash is hosting another prayer gathering to give thanks for this event and seek God’s continued guidance in ways to reach our community with the love of Jesus. This outreach prayer gathering is every first Saturday at 10AM
in Room 16.
Update on Anul
Thank you to all who have been praying and supporting our sister, Anul Ram, who has been detained by ICE since August. She has been in a legal process to be able to return to Fresno and her ministry and family here at Butler Church. Unfortunately the immigration judge recently ruled that she is "subject to removal" and will be sent to her birth country of Fiji. She does not know how soon this will happen but likely within the next 2-6 weeks.
Anul is thanking God for the love and family she has here in Fresno and trusting God for what will come next. We are thanking Him for connections that have been made in Fiji where she may be able to stay and rebuild her life. Please continue to pray for peace and guidance for Anul.
Missions Offering Update
What a great Missions Sunday we had! If you missed the service, you can catch the livestream here. We are giving thanks for what has already been generously given toward the Mission Offering: $17,891! We’re at 89% of our goal to support our missionaries and local mission initiatives in 2026. If you made a giving pledge or were not yet able to give, you can do so online or give this Sunday.
Be sure to mark your gift “Missions Offering.” Thanks!
More news items....
Update from Pastor Ron
This holiday week represents many different and divergent traditions and concerns for the American family. For some, it is a time of family and friends, gratitude and generosity. For others, it is much more difficult – a reminder of a world where scarcity and insecurity are far too common. Our calling as God’s family includes making room for others and embodying the radical "neighborliness” of Jesus
amid the complexity of such different experiences. As Jesus urged his followers: “Freely you have received, freely give!” (Matt 10.8 TNIV).
Advent 2025:
This coming Sunday we join with millions of Jesus followers by entering the season of Advent. I anticipate this to be a deeply meaningful of time of reflection and celebration here at Butler Church. Our theme is “The Slow Work of God”
and, for the next 5 Sundays, our gatherings will explore what it means to partner with God patiently and faithfully in the restoration and healing of our world. God’s work is always underway, but the hectic pace and endless distractions of our lives can obscure our vision and hinder our faith. The good news is that we can choose to slow down and reconnect with God’s never-ending project of loving this world into wholeness. Let’s grow together in HOPE, PEACE, JOY, and LOVE this Advent season!
A final reminder: Butler Church’s annual congregational meeting will take place on Sunday, December 7
at 3:00 pm; I look forward to the opportunity to share updates and invite feedback on the strategic planning process as we discern God’s desired future for our church family.
Christian Leader News and Magazine
A new issue of the Christian Leader is available! This bimonthly magazine features articles and news stories to help connect the US Mennonite Brethren churches with each other and our broader MB family.
You can
receive the Christian Leader
by mail or find it online.
(If you are not currently on the mailing list but would like to be added, please let the church office know!) News stories, feature articles and columns are published on their website, like these recent pieces:
ABCs of Partnership
(featuring Butler Church literacy mentors!)
Assistance Fund Donations
Through the Butler Church Benevolent Assistance Fund, we have been able to help with several time sensitive needs recently. Given the upcoming cuts in SNAP funding even more requests may be coming in soon. Please consider making an additional donation to the church benevolent fund, by designating for this in the offering or through giving online. We also work with partner agencies like MB Foundation and Everence to expand our capacity through matching grants.
If caring for needs of folks in our community in very practical ways is something close to your heart, please also talk with your pastor or contact the church office. We would like to build a social action response team that can respond to needs as they are made known. If you have a personal need, please also talk with a pastor.
Text Updates from Butler Church
If you find an occasional text reminder helpful,
be sure to “Opt In”
so our “Breeze-butler” text messages get through! To share your preferences for text or email updates, you can complete the Butler Subscriptions form. Thanks!
Note: If you have signed up, but are no longer receiving text updates - try texting START to 87447. Remember that "msg & data rates may apply." Details are in the Butler subscriptions form.
Spanish Translation Available!
Our Butler website is also available in Spanish! Click the upper left corner to switch between English and Spanish. (If you notice any translation errors, please let us know!)
¡Nuestro sitio web Butler ahora también está disponible en español! Haga clic en el ícono de arriba para cambiar entre inglés y español. (Si nota algún error de traducción, ¡avísenos!)
¡Nuestro sitio web Butler ahora también está disponible en español! Haga clic en el ícono de arriba para cambiar entre inglés y español. (Si nota algún error de traducción, ¡avísenos!)
Updated on: 11/27/2025
Looking for earlier Butler news stories? You can visit our news archive here.