This third Sunday of Epiphany, Rev. Karen Campbell will preach from Isaiah 43:1-7; 1 Corinthians 1:10-18 in the large worship space. Rev. Andrew Mead will preach in the All Nations Worship Service in room 4.
Following the worship services, we invite you to attend the GPS session in the large worship space, to hear Council members walk through Our Vision: A Community of Belonging.
The 10 am Standard English Service and GPS session will also be broadcast via Zoom. Sign up for our Newsletter to receive the Zoom links.
Children’s Ministry News:
New Date for the All-Ages Sledding Meetup at Mulick Park: Saturday, January 28, 2-4 pm. COS’s children and youth ministries are joining together to host this event for our COS family! Bundle up and come out for hot chocolate, conversation, and lots of slip-sliding fun!
- Mulick Park is located at 1632 Sylvan Ave. SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49506. A parking lot and street parking are available. The park also has a public restroom.
- Our meet-up lasts from 2-4pm, but the hill will be open all day. Feel free to drop by for as little or as long as you like!
- If you have sleds, bring them to use or share. If you don’t, come anyway! Others will have sleds to share.
- When you arrive, please stop by our hot chocolate table to check in with Jolanda and find out who else is on the hill. Our table will be at the bottom of the hill–straight walk from the parking lot past the little playground and tennis courts.
- After checking in, you may want to make your way to the middle section of the top of the hill, where adults can chat and supervise kids who are enjoying the shallower slope on one side and the steeper edge on the other.
- When you’re ready for a break (or if you’re watching, not sledding) stop by the COS table to enjoy hot chocolate and a light snack.
- Friends are welcome! Feel free to invite other families to enjoy sledding along with us.
- Please bundle up for cold weather by wearing boots, hats, snow gloves, coats, and snow pants. We’ll bring along as many extra gloves, hats, coats, and snow pants we can find for those who need them.
Parents please note: this meetup is a parent-supervised event. Please do not drop off your children and leave. Stay to enjoy the fun! Or, send along a responsible high-school-aged sibling to supervise your younger kids! If you need a ride, please contact Jolanda Howe or Annette Ediger.
Church News:
Current Giving for January: $49,612
Giving for the Month of December: $135,304
Monthly budgeted General Fund Giving is: $118,873
NOTE: Our 2023 giving envelopes have been delayed by our vendor and we expect to receive them by February 1. We apologize for this inconvenience but appreciate your grace as we patiently wait for them to arrive.
The 2022 tax receipts will be going out in the mail late next week so please look for it and once received, please contact AJ Zahrt, Treasurer with any questions.
The COS Stewardship Team – Andrew Zwart, Michael Zahrt, Carol Rienstra, Joan Huyser-Honig and Chuck Hampton – is grateful for all the responses to the 2023 General Fund Pledge Drive. The team reports 150 pledges toward the 2023 general fund, totaling $848,080, averaging $5,654 per pledge. This is almost 60% of the 2023 general fund budget ($1,446,618). Please check the giving page on the COS website for updates on giving at COS, including ways to give instead of, or in addition to, fulfilling pledges. If you have questions about how to adjust your pledge, your auto-payments,or anything related to giving to COS, contact treasurer Angelica Zahrt at aj.zahrt@coscrc.org.
We have two young mothers in our All Nations Congregation about to give birth mid-February and mid-March. We would like to bless them with some newborn supplies. If you can donate any of these items (preferably new or in very good condition), please leave them in the church office. Alternatively, if you want to provide a small donation to cover the cost of these please give it into the church office marked clearly ‘Newborn’.
Vision for COS: As Council continues to work through the process of COS’s response to Synod’s decision on the Human Sexuality Report, they are now inviting the congregation to see the current draft vision statement and give feedback through Listening Circles, One-on-one meetings, and in writing. Please see this letter.
The Executive Team of classis will be sponsoring a Town Hall meeting later this month. The purpose of the meeting is to provide information about overtures and appeals and about ongoing interactions with the synodically-appointed in loco committee, all of it connected to the recent Human Sexuality Report and related decisions made by Synod 2022.
Date: Thursday, January 26
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Place: Oakdale Park CRC, 961 Temple St SE
Join the GR Classis East Racial Justice Team for a showing of “Till” and discussion following. The showing will take place at 5:30 pm on Sunday, February 5 at Celebration! Cinema: North. Learn more and purchase tickets here. The Classis GR East Racial Justice Team thanks Celebration Cinema for sponsoring this event.
Mental Health Support at COS: Have you, or someone close to you, been feeling bad lately, like so many others, and thought about getting mental health support? The COS Mental Health Committee has good news: COS has resources to help you, including a fund to help pay for counseling from any licensed mental health professional, for those who have difficulty paying for it. All a person needs to do is ask either Rev. Karen Campbell, Rev. Andrew Mead, or Ben Videtich. Your information will be kept confidential. To find a list of recommended Christian therapists (all outside of COS), go to the COS website at https://www.churchoftheservantcrc.org, click on “Congregational Life” at the top, and then click on “Mental Health” to find the list of therapists and a brief description of their work.
Since our mental health fund depends on the generosity of donors, the committee invites those who can and wish to support this important work to make donations to our fund. (Just give to COS and indicate that it is for the Mental Health Fund.)
CORE (Communities Organizing for Racial Equity) will offer an understanding racism workshop here at COS on March 9-11 (Thursday evening, all day Friday and Saturday). These Understanding Racism workshops are designed for our local congregations and Christian organizations. We hope and pray that COS people continue in this work of understanding racism, to deepen our insight as to what God-led antiracism looks like. Our times are always fraught with racial tension. As Christ followers joining in the ongoing task of dismantling racism, we can do good work together. Registration costs are covered by our COS budget. Please prayerfully consider attending or coming back for a refresher. Register at COREnow.org
The Joyful Noise Orchestra will be leading the music for worship on Sunday, January 29. If you play a band or orchestra instrument you are encouraged to join us. We will rehearse Wednesday, January 25 at 6:30pm in the sanctuary. There will also be a rehearsal on the 29th prior to the service starting at 9:00am. Music is ready to be picked up in the music room. Please either sign up in the music room or by emailing Maria Stapert Vander Berg (maria.stapert@coscrc.org).
King in the Wilderness: As people of faith, we recognize that institutional and systemic racism lives everywhere – in health systems, education systems, municipal systems, mental health systems, social services and in our places of worship. As we commemorate Martin Luther King Jr. Day this year, the COS Antiracism Team recommends viewing this documentary on the life and work of Dr. King, “King in the Wilderness” (2018). There is so much about Dr. King’s conviction, hope and vision that is applicable and inspiring for us as believers. As Congressman John Lewis states at the end of the video, “When we see something that is not right, not fair, not just we have a moral obligation to speak up, to do something.”
Books to Borrow! The Next Steps Task Force has gathered some books on the topic of human sexuality for our congregation to read. You will find them on a table in the café. Come browse! Come borrow!