This Sunday at COS:
On this Eastertide Sunday, Rev. Len Vander Zee will preach from Isaiah Ezekiel 37:1-6 and John 20:19-31 in the Tree of Life worship service in the large sanctuary. Ntarambirwa Alexis will preach from Romans 8:18-25 in the All Nations Worship service in room 4.
Following worship, stick around for Sunday School for all ages. In Adult-ed G.P.S, we welcome Steven Bouma-Prediger, professor of Religion at Hope College, presenting from his book Beyond Homelessness: Christian Faith in a Culture of Displacement.
The 10 am Tree of Life service and GPS will also be broadcast via Zoom. Sign up for our Newsletter to receive the Zoom links.
Council:
Council Nominations: At this time of the year each of our members is asked to prayerfully consider leading and caring for our congregation by serving as an elder or deacon. The council needs to nominate four elders and two deacons for a new term. If you feel so called and/or have questions about this opportunity please contact a member of the council or the nomination committee which consists of Kurt Schaffer, Jolene Vos-Camy and Suzanne Van Engen.
Last chance to fill out the Flourishing Forward questionnaire! Thanks to everyone who has filled out the questionnaire so far! It’s important that we hear from as many members as possible as we move forward in the discernment process. If you haven’t yet had a chance to fill it out, please take a few moments to complete it this weekend. The form will close on the morning of Monday, April 8. You can access it here.
Faith Formation:
GPS April 7: Beyond Homelessness. GPS welcomes Steven Bouma-Prediger, professor of Religion at Hope College. This presentation will focus on the big picture of homelessness and the three distinct kinds of homelessness discussed in his book Beyond Homelessness: Christian Faith in a Culture of Displacement: Socio-economic homelessness, ecological homelessness, and post-modern homelessness.
GPS April 14: Decisions to Be Made. The COS Council will update us about COS’s quest to discern our place in God’s kingdom—we are not without a home, but we are in a time of transitions.
Summer Mission Trip for students currently in grades 8-12: Join 100 other students from around the US as we participate in a LOCAL MISSION TRIP the week of June 22-29. Our base camp for the week will be LaGrave Ave. CRC and we will spend our week helping our neighbors and local organizations, worshiping “energetically” every night with 100’s of other HS students, and having fun. Students will need to commit to staying on this local mission trip 24/7 from June 22-29. Cost is $400. Assistance and fundraising opportunities are available, if needed. Contact Annette for more information or to reserve your spot.
Wednesday Night Meal & Programming in April. April 17 will be the grand finale of our school year programming with the Pinewood Derby! We’ll take a break and start summer programming again in June.
Worship:
Preaching Schedule
April 14 ANWS – Lucy Gitau, TOL – Rev. Andrew Mead
April 21 ANWS – Rev. Andrew Mead, TOL – Rev. Jack Roeda
April 28 ANWS – Charles Rugiramarora, TOL – Rachel Park
May 5 ANWS – Nola Galluch, TOL – Rev. Andrew Mead
Baptism: Sunday, April 14 in the Tree of Life service, we will celebrate the sacrament of baptism of Nolan Remelts as he is welcomed into the family of God at Church of The Servant. We will receive the promises God makes to his children and heirs, hear the commitments of the family, and together, promise to pray for and encourage Nolan as he grows in his faith and life.
Sunday, April 14 in the Tree of Life service, we will welcome into membership at COS the Remelts family, Nick, Stephanie, Olivia, and Nolan.
Office and Facilities:
April is Staff Appreciation Month at COS. Throughout the month of April, there will be a box in the café to place cards of thankfulness and encouragement.
Outreach and Congregational Life:
Are you new or relatively new to Church of the Servant? Whether you’re interested in either learning more about our mission and ministries or officially joining COS, you’re warmly invited to participate in the Spring New Members Class. We will meet in the Living Room at the COS building, just to the left of the main entrance as you enter, at 11:45am-12:30pm four Sundays in a row beginning April 14th and continuing until May 5th. Childcare is provided. Questions are welcome throughout. Apart from learning about COS, this is also a great opportunity to grow in relationship with others. Contact Ben Videtich at ben.videtich@coscrc.org to join or to ask any questions.
Friendship ESL says goodbye often. Last week, Kaori, mother of two, said this to her student colleagues and tutors at cafe break on her last day in the US: “We came to America three and a half years ago, for my husband’s company. I wanted to make American friends. But for two and a half years, I did not make friends. A year ago I started learning English here, and you have become my friends, from America and from all over the world. We return to Japan tomorrow. I will miss you all. Thank you so much.” Wiping a tear, she surrendered her youngest, Sora, to the nursery staff for a final hour. They will miss him. Life at Friendship ESL.
Faith Promise Missionary Support: Have you pledged to support our COS missionaries? Please take a few minutes today to help us reach our goal of raising $26,000 to support our missionaries so that they can keep doing work in so many vital ministries! Your support can make a critical difference. Please help support this work by pledging online here. We need to raise $26,000 through Faith Promise giving for 2024.
You can be a Beacon of Hope! In four weeks we will host another Blood Drive at Church of the Servant. You can be the hope that is needed for a surgery patient, an infant in the NICU, a cancer patient…and the list goes on. Human blood cannot be manufactured. It is only available when someone like you shares that gift of life. Please consider if you would offer that hope to another person. Our drive is Monday, May 6, 2-7pm, and you can make an appointment online by following this link. Thank you!
The Creation Care Team will again collect clean hard white Styrofoam at church on Sundays April 7th and 14th. Volunteers will take your Styrofoam to Michigan Foam for recycling. Contact Hope Bradley if you need any more information.
In the Artery: This quarter you will see art work by Carol Roeda. Enjoy a stroll through the Artery after church! Anyone who is interested in working on bringing art into the Artery should contact Betsy Ratzsch. With our hanging system putting an exhibit up is fairly straightforward. Please think about how you might participate in this ministry at COS. Thank you.
Together West Michigan News: COS has been engaged in the Together West Michigan organization (formerly the Micah Center) for several years and we were represented at the Delegates Assembly on March 16. As one of several congregations from Classis GR East, we committed to gatherChildcare Voter Pledges and participate in the April Broad-based Organizing Training which will be held at Oakdale Park Church on Friday evening, April 12 and Saturday, April 13. For more information, contact Jo Howe, Carol Rienstra, or Janice McWhertor.