This Sunday, February 28, we will continue to worship using our zoom format, individually, but still as one body, united in Christ. Rev. Andrew Mead will bring us a message based on the scriptures of Ex. 15:22-27
 & John 4:4-15.

Join us for the following GPS sessions which take place after worship on Sundays.  To join, stay on the COS worship link at the conclusion of worship and join the “GPS Breakout Room.”


Feb. 28 – At this Sunday’s GPS session, the Refugee Support Team is pleased to offer members of COS an opportunity to engage the question, “How Will the Church Respond to Refugee Resettlement Now?”  We invite you to join us for a presentation and Q and A featuring Stacey Clack, Midwest Faith Community Organizer for Church World Services and a member of Tabernacle Church in GR.  COS has a long history of working with refugees and immigrants, and will continue to do so.  But what will this look like going forward?  The discussion will be stimulating and will help to prepare new COS volunteers to assist with the arrival of new refugees in the coming months.  Any questions? Contact Joel Westmaas at joel_westmaas@hotmail.com


Mar. 14 & 21– GPS: Kristin Du Mez, Calvin professor and author of “Jesus and John Wayne”

Children’s Ministries

Week 2 of Lent: Children’s Activities – This week’s Children story is Jesus and Bartimaeus. Families are invited to use questions in the Lent kit for kids, available here, to talk together about the story. One labeled, stamped postcard is included in each Lent kit for kids to decorate and send to a COS member. If you’d like additional postcards, so each child in your family can decorate and write their own, please send me a note at jo.howe@coscrc.org and I will set some aside for you to pick up at church at your convenience. I would love to see a flood of these postcards go out to members we haven’t seen in many months. Check out the Week 2 page in the Lent kit other ways to live into this story and remember your baptism this season. If you haven’t picked up the supplies for your Lent kit, drop by the church to grab one during the week!    

Water Drop Ice Sculptures – If the milder weather put a damper on your efforts to make an ice sculpture to remember your baptism, hang in there! We’ll likely get a chill again soon. When freezing weather comes again, please post photos of your ice sculpture on the COS Children’s Ministry Facebook Group!

All Kids Zoom Meeting March 7, 4pm –Children in preschool-6th grade are invited to join me for an All Kids Zoom Meeting on Sunday, March 7 at 4pm. We’ll be focusing on prayer as our holy habit for March, and exploring some of the ways kids can use materials in their Lent kits to help make prayer a habit in their lives. I hope to have 5th and 6th graders involved in leading again, so please reach out if your 5th or 6th grader would like to have a special role in the meeting.

To join the All Kids Zoom week next Sunday at 4:00pm, use this link:

Meeting ID: 845 0939 0414

Passcode: CLUB

To join by phone with no video dial: 1 (312) 626-6799, when prompted enter this meeting ID: 84509390414#

Clean Water Coin Challenge!- This Lent we are partnering with World Renew to raise money for water projects around the world. Collecting coins for clean water for people in other communities is one of the many ways we’re remembering we’ve been washed clean and welcomed into the global body of Christ. During Lent you’ll find a bird bath outside of COS to collect coins. You’ll also find a coin bank included in the kid’s Lenten kit to use in collecting coins at home. Check out the World Renew clean water projects  we’ll be participating in through our coin challenge!

Church News 

On Friday, March 12, we will hold a virtual service to mark the anniversary of the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. As we approach having lived through a year of pandemic, we are reminded of many of the ambiguous losses – those losses without closure – that have come during this time. Many in our community have lost loved ones, but have been unable to hold or attend funerals, memorial services, or visitations. The service on March 12 will include a time for us to acknowledge and remember these losses. If someone you hold dear has died during this year, we encourage you to share their name with Maria Stapert at maria.stapert@coscrc.org for them to be added to this portion of the service.

More details on the service are forthcoming.

COS Sponsor Team Members urgently needed! We just received word this week about the arrival of new Congolese families in early March.  We have a desire to sponsor two new families, including one family that is related to members of our BES fellowship.  However we will not be able to do this without additional volunteers to serve as “Friends of New Americans.” As a Friend of New Americans, you will become a mentor and friend to a particular family, with the main goal of establishing a relationship and serving as a guide and friend to people who are making their way in a new country.  The RST is preparing information and training sessions to help you fill this important role.  To find out more, click here or contact Joel Westmaas at joel_westmaas@hotmail.com or Nita VanderBerg at nitavanderberg@hotmail.com

Black History Month ideas from the COS Anti-Racism and Reconciliation Team (ARRT): As you consider Black History Month, consider some of the resources that have been collected on the anti-racism and reconciliation pages of the COS website. The site includes book, movie, video and website recommendations and links that might move to the top of your COVID reading list.  https://www.churchoftheservantcrc.org/congregation/anti-racism/antiracism-and-reconciliation-resources/ One new item there from Christians for Social Action is a recommended listing of resources for all ages compiled by Dominique Gilliard. This listing includes things to watch and read, broken into age categories.

Are you aware of the challenges that lower income people are dealing with during these pandemic days as they struggle to maintain employment, make their incomes stretch to pay their bills and deal with steep increases in rents and other living expenses?  Do you have a passion for serving with people as they tackle these kinds of issues and seek the knowledge and resources that will contribute to their financial security?   If so, please enroll in the sessions which COS is co-sponsoring in March.   COS plans to join with other partners to sponsor four 2-hour training sessions with Volunteers in Service (VIS) that we would like to offer to our members free of charge.  The training will help attendees become Financial Mentors who will be able to walk with folks who are on this difficult journey and provide assistance in a way that builds confidence and self-direction as well as basic financial management skills.  To sign up, please see the flyer here  or go to the VIS website at vis@gr.org

Financial Update: Last week’s offering and online giving: $16,031.88

Current Giving for the month of February: $104,330.60

Monthly General Fund Budget:  $112,926

Position Opening- COS needs a part-time (20-24 hr/wk) Office Coordinator to begin April 15, 2021. Perfect hours for a parent of school-aged children. Required gifts and skills are:  follower of Christ, hospitable, excellent verbal and written communication, organization, Microsoft Office and church database.  The position description is posted on the COS website: www.coscrc.org Please send your cover letter and resume by March 15 to: lori.wiersma@coscrc.org

Our Simply Give Campaign will be from Feb 14-April 10. Please note that the Double Match Days will be March 13 and April 3. The biggest change is that folks need to use ONE Simply Give 10.00 donation card available at COS only. And preferably On March 13 and April 3, which are the Match Days. (If you use a card from the Meijer store, the funds will not be applied only to our food pantry, but distributed citywide.) You can give money to the Simply Give account by check to COS so Ellen can purchase all the cards with that money.  Please note that you can swipe the one 10.00 Simply Give card 5 times for $50.00 or 10 times for $100.00. You do not need multiple Simply Give Cards. Thank you so much for supporting our Indoor Food Pantry.

Volunteers needed for the Saturday, March 6 COS Mobile Food Pantry.  Here is the link to sign up for Mobile Food Pantry

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0C4CABA82FA2F4C52-cosmobile1