This Sunday:

This Sunday, April 10, Palm Sunday worship begins today at 10am, with a service in the large Sanctuary and the Basic English Service in Room 4. The service will begin with a palm processional, after which we will turn our focus toward Holy Week with a reading of the Passion narrative. The reading will be interspersed with hymns.

Following the services, you’re welcome to join us in the sanctuary for a GPS session with Gail and Ken Heffner. See the announcement below for “Truth and Reconciliation in Northern Ireland: An Artistic Response”

Both the 10 am Standard English Service and the 11:45 GPS adult ed session will be streamed via Zoom.

Sign up for our Newsletter to receive the Zoom links.

Holy Week:

Palm Sunday – April 10, 10 am – Palm Processional and Passion Reading

Maundy Thursday – April 14, 7 pm – Service of the Upper Room with communion in the Fellowship space

Good Friday – April 15, 12:15 and 12:30 pm – Walk the Stations of the Cross along the COS Nature Trail

Easter Sunday – April 17, 10 am – Prism worship beginning with a flower processional, and Easter Brunch following the service

Easter Evening – April 17, 6 pm – Testimonies of Easter Resurrection

Learn more about these services on the COS website.

For the Easter Brunch: It is once again time for our annual Easter brunch after a 2-year hiatus. This is held in the café right after the morning service on Easter Sunday. As is our tradition, the brunch will be held from 10-11am between the worship services and everyone is welcome! Please bring delicious food to share. Breads, muffins, veggies, fruit, egg dishes, or brownies, are all welcome. Have things cut and ready to be served. Punch and coffee will be available.

And check out this video invitation to our Easter Brunch

Church News:

Are you new or relatively new to Church of the Servant? If you’re interested in either officially joining COS or in learning more about the mission and ministries here, you’re warmly invited to participate in the Spring New Members Class. We will meet in the Living Room at the COS building at 11:45am-12:30pm four Sundays in a row beginning April 24th, ending on May 15th. If you choose to join as a member, vows are on Pentecost – June 5th. Even during these late pandemic days the church is moving forward, so if you are interested in learning more or signing up, contact Ben Videtich at ben.videtich@coscrc.org. Note to families: child care is provided.

Easter Choir – On Easter Sunday, April 17, you are invited to participate in the COS Choir. Newcomers are welcome and there is no future commitment attached. You may come sing with the choir for just this one service (though you might get hooked and want to join the choir regularly in the future!) There will be rehearsals on Wednesday, April 13 from 6:30pm – 7:30pm, Saturday, April 16 from 9:00am – 10:30am, and Sunday, April 17 from 9:00am – 10:00am.  Music will be available by Sunday, April 10 and can be picked up in the music room or it can be emailed to you as a PDF. If you are interested in participating, please sign up in the music room or email Maria Stapert Vander Berg (maria.stapert@coscrc.org).

Easter is coming on April 17 and this means we’ll hold our annual Easter Brunch. But, we need your help! We need 3 teams of helpers to pull off this grand event. this is what we need:

Saturday, April 16:

  • 2-4 pm. we need 4 people to help move tables and put tablecloths on them.

Sunday, April 17:

  • 9:45-10:00 —help people place their contribution on the serving tables.
  • 11:30-12:30—we need a team of 6-8 to keep the tables stocked and organized and serve punch
  • 12:30-1:45—we need a team of 6-8 to put tables and chairs away and vacuum

Contact Nancy Remelts if you can help out.

It’s Grad Basket season! Every year, COS has the tradition of giving gifts to our graduating high school seniors to prepare them for the next step of their journey. This year we will be celebrating 15 graduates! Armed with a Bible, a laundry basket, and gift cards we are hopeful that our seniors will take their next steps knowing that their church family loves them and that God will be with them. For the month of April, Annette will be collecting money for these graduates. The money will be used to purchase gift cards, Bibles, and laundry baskets for each of the students. Donations can be made by the grad basket table in the Café, through Venmo (@churchoftheservant), online (Grad Basket link), or by writing “Grad Basket” in the memo line of a check made payable to Church of the Servant. Thanks in advance for caring so well for these children of the church!

Tree of Life artwork…..Sept 17-18, 2022. Save the date. Start creating !

COS Artists/creatives: You’re invited to be part of the COS Anniversary celebration by creating a wonderful work with the theme “Tree of Life.” The Artery is reserved for this special exhibit for September and October. Paintings, drawings, weavings, fiber—-all kinds of 2-D art. If you have 3-D work you would like to exhibit, please let us know so we can figure display issues. Reserve Sept 17 and 18 for the 50th Anniversary celebration. Many wonderful, memorable events will take place then. The show itself will go up the week before Sept. 17 and remain on display thru Oct. 23.

More details will follow, but art takes time to create so the committee wanted you to get the wheels turning. If you have questions before that contact Betsy Ratzsch. Be saving your pennies so your beautiful art can be framed and presented for the big event. Liturgical art from the past will also be on display as well throughout the church.  

Social Seniors continues to meet on Tuesdays at 10:00 via Zoom. All are welcome. For more information, contact Corrie Vos.

Meeting Link

Meeting ID: 832 6366 9013

Passcode: COS  

Truth and Reconciliation in Northern Ireland: An Artistic Response

The COS Artery has mounted a new exhibition developed in response to study abroad in Northern Ireland. In January 2019 and 2020, two groups of Calvin University students along with instructors, Gail and Ken Heffner traveled to Belfast, Northern Ireland, to learn about reconciliation and peace building. We learned about the religious roots of the conflict in Northern Ireland and the political, social, and economic factors which led to the Protestant-Catholic conflict. We also learned about the important work of reconciliation that has been unfolding in Northern Ireland and the role the Christian community has played in the peace-building process. We also had the privilege of listening to the stories of many people from all walks of life in Northern Ireland. Students worked in small groups to develop an artistic response to what they experienced and learned in Northern Ireland. This exhibition portrays students’ collaborative artistic responses to what they gathered from this rich learning experience and includes visual art, music, film, and poetry. The exhibition will run from March 28 – April 20, 2022.

Please join us for an artist conversation after morning worship on Palm Sunday, April 10 at 11:30 AM in the worship space. This will be a good introduction for anyone considering the COS trip to Northern Ireland in 2023.

COS Spring Work Days – Saturday, April 23, 10am till 4pm and Monday, May 2 4pm till Dusk. We will be Raking Winter debris, Weeding border gardens, Planting new plants, Trimming hedges, Building a new compost bin, and Removing brush. All ages welcome. Bring garden tools, gloves and hat. Arrive when you can and enjoy fellowship as we prepare the COS grounds and the Community Garden for the Summer. If it is raining or below 40 degrees, the event will be canceled. Coordinator: Hope Bradley.

“Hungering for God” – GPS Series (April 24-May 22, 2022). We have been created with the incredible means to be in communion with God. This series will examine some foundational principles and practices of Christian spirituality. Whether this is your first time to explore the spiritual life or you are further along the journey there will be new insights for all. Each week we will discuss a different aspect of cultivating one’s relationship with God and practice a specific spiritual discipline. Meeting time 11:45-12:30pm in the large worship space. Presenter: Tom Schwanda, ordained RCA minister, professor of Christian spirituality, and spiritual director.

This past week, our community witnessed another lethal police shooting of a young Black man, Patrick Lyoya. He was a member of the Grand Rapids Congolese refugee community. Please pray for his family, and for God’s peace and justice. Also, Joel Westmaas reports that Kiron Curry, an African American man held in the Kent County jail for nearly three years is scheduled for a jury trial next week. Joel got connected with him through Prince Tuyishime, a member of COS, during Prince’s two-year incarceration in the jail. Joel has had regular video visits with Kiron over the last 18 months. Please pray for him, and for the Lord’s guidance through the trial and on the path ahead.