Season of Lent, Week of Palm Sunday, April 5, 2020
Check your Friday newsletter email or the Church of the Servant website by
Friday or Saturday for a complete schedule and a list of links to connect with these different opportunities for worship.

Happening Sunday
Sunday, April 5, we celebrate Palm Sunday, which marks the beginning of
Holy Week. We continue to worship in homes, individually, but still as one
body. On Sunday morning at 10am, we’ll gather for worship via Zoom for a
reading of the passion narrative, led by Chad Engbers. (See the Friday
Newsletter for details or visit House Church Worship Resources on the COS
website.) Or if you prefer, download a liturgy from the church home resources website and watch the video meditation by Pastor Karen followed
by discussion questions. Families are encouraged to make palm branches to
use in worship with any available resources. Go to the COS facebook page to
see Jolanda’s suggestions.

April 6-12 Holy Week schedule (subject to possible change)
Monday through Wednesday at 7 pm – participate in lectio divina livefeed on COS facebook group.
Maundy Thursday – watch midweek meditation video via COS vimeo page
Good Friday – follow the stations of the cross liturgy
OR – listen to the St John’s Passion

Easter Sunday
7 am Easter Vigil doing facebook livefeed with Pastor Karen
10 am Easter zoom worship
12pm – opportunity to upload your own Easter Testimony videos to
the COS facebook group

Youth
Summer Mission Trip Registration Extension: if you are in grades 8-12 and are
thinking about participating in our SERVE summer mission project here in
Grand Rapids from June 20-27, the registration deadline has been extended 2
weeks! Please let me know by Monday April 13 if you would like to attend.
Church News

Food Pantry: Due to the stay at home order, COS has changed our Food Pantry protocol. We will not have open pantry hours on Monday and Wednesday mornings. Instead, access to food pantry will occur via appointment. Please call either Ellen at 901-5684 or Lori at 291-6132 to schedule an appointment. They will meet you at Door E of the church to assist with giving food, personal care items, and hand-crafted face masks. Thank you!

While we are not meeting together as one body, the church staff is working
to create ways for us to continue to worship and continue to feel connected.
In addition, we continue to serve the needs of the community and world in a variety of ways ranging from our food pantry to mission support. Some in our congregation are concerned about the economic impact of the outbreak–whether in terms of retirement funds, business income, or employment. COS is committed to maintaining full compensation for both our salaried and hourly employees in these challenging times. As a result of these factors, it is more important than ever that those of us who can support the work of COS financially continue to do so. Those of you who give through automatic debit (ACH) may continue to do so. You can also give directly online (https://bit.ly/cos_offering), or via text or mobile apps (find more information at https://www.churchoftheservantcrc.org/giving/ways-to-give-to-cos/), or mail in your check. Our staff, neighbors, and world are grateful for your faithfulness in these unusual days.

Financial Update – Last week’s offering and online giving: $15,856.51. Total
Giving for March: $134,584.95. Our monthly General Fund budget is
$119,028.

Phone connection: We know how important human contact is, for not just
our mental well-being but for our spiritual well-being. Rather than send
emails or texts, we encourage many of you to pick up the phone and be in
touch with members in our church family so that no-one feels alone. Pastor
Karen is available during the hours of Monday 2-4 pm and Wednesday 6-8 pm on the following number: 516-7086 (note change from last week). She would love to hear from anyone and welcomes any kind of conversation, so please feel free to give her a call. Pastor Andrew will also be very happy to converse, preferably on Tuesday and Thursday from noon-2pm, at 401-0321 (note change from last week). Voicemail on the church phone is also being checked.

Facility Coordinator Opening: Church of the Servant is looking to hire a parttime (up to 25 hrs /week) person to join our staff team and be responsible for our building’s operation and maintenance needs. Strong Facility Management experience preferred. Start date: May 26, 2020. See the position description at www.coscrc.org/employment Please send your letter of interest and resume to lori.wiersma@coscrc.org by April 30, 2020

For one of our BES attendees: A young woman will be delivering her baby boy soon. This is her first child. Infant clothes, blankets and other baby items, or a gift card would be greatly appreciated.

Registration is still open for the June 5-6, Understanding Racism Workshop.
A two-day workshop from 8:30-5pm each day, this workshop experience i
designed to explore the deep racial complexity of the United States and to
begin to explore paths for restoration. Register online at CORRnow.org.
Questions?