This Week:
This Fourth Sunday of Epiphany, Rev. Karen Campbell will preach from Isaiah 29:11-14 and 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 in the large worship space. Rev. Andrew Mead will preach in the All Nations Worship Service in room 4.
Following the worship services, we have Sunday school available for all ages, or drop in for 1-on-1 council listening sessions in the staff offices.
Join us for a GPS this Sunday about Classis, the draft Vision Statement, and COS. We are offering two options. First, if you missed the walk-through of the vision statement by council last week, you can watch it in Room 3. Second, the Next Steps Task Force invites you to join us this week for an update on what is happening in Classis Grand Rapids East. Classis met last week and voted on some important overtures and appeals about the Human Sexuality Report as well as the discipline of Neland Ave CRC and Classis GRE. This is a great way to get caught up on the latest developments. We will also talk about the risks and possibilities you see going forward at COS with the draft vision statement from council. We will meet in the sanctuary after the morning service.
The 10 am Standard English Service will also be broadcast via Zoom. Sign up for our Newsletter to receive the Zoom links.
Children’s Ministry News:
Wednesday Night Dinner and Programming Starts This Wednesday, Feb. 1! The Winter/Spring season of Wednesday Night Programming starts this Wednesday with dinner from 5:30-6:30pm and these programs from 6:30-8:00pm:
- Nursery for children 0-1st grade
- Girls club for 2nd-6th graders
- Boys Club for 2nd-6th graders
- Wednesday Night Live! for 7th-8th graders
- A book study for adults
The Winter/Spring season dates are Feb. 1, 8, 15, March 1, 8, 15, and April 12 and 19. Families with children in 2nd-6th grade, please plan to stay to watch your kids race their pinewood derby cars on April 19!
Welcome to the Table: Children at the Lord’s Supper Class, Feb. 26 from 11:45am-12:45pm. In this class a parent(s) or caregiver attends with their child to help them understand the significance of the Lord’s supper and its connection to baptism. For some children this class will prepare them to participate in the Lord’s supper and serve as an invitation to the table. For children already participating in the Lord’s supper, it will deepen their understanding of the sacraments and sense of belonging in the body of Christ. If you’re interested in this class, please let us know you’ll be attending by sending a note to jo.howe@coscrc.org.
Church News:
Current Giving for January: $84,436
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 shortly. We apologize for this inconvenience but appreciate your grace as we patiently wait for them to arrive.
The 2022 tax receipts have been mailed. Please contact AJ Zahrt, Treasurer with any questions.
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.
Toward a Christian Response to Racism – Camelot Community Pastors invite you to join a conversation at Oakdale Park Church (961 Temple St. SE) on Saturday, February 11 at 9am. There will an opportunity to hear one pastor share about the impact of racism on his life and explore with other attendees how racism impacts all our lives.
The COS Anti-Racism Team invites the congregation to follow a prayer guide for the month of February that can be found here on the COS website. Daily prayers will be posted on the COS Facebook group.
Thursday Bible Study: Come be shaped by the Spirit along with fellow siblings in faith. The Winter/Spring session of Thursday Bible Study begins soon! We will be entering into the ancient yet astoundingly relevant book of I Samuel over 12 sessions, each of which will cover a fair amount of the biblical book’s 31 chapters. The first gathering is Thursday, February 9th at 9:30 to 11am in the Cafe at COS. From there, it’s every Thursday except Maundy Thursday, April 6th, all the way through May 4th.
The COS Prisoners in Christ Restorative Justice Monday supper conversation on February 6 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. is an overview of CCDA’s “Locked in Solidarity” awareness and action week theme “Addressing Trauma Caused by Incarceration” To sign up, email info@prionersinchrist.org
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
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.”
As part of the Next Steps Task Force education opportunities on human sexuality, we are offering a viewing and follow-up discussion of four video presentations by James V. Brownson. The discussion group will meet on Wednesday Evenings at 7 pm, Feb. 1, and 8, to discuss the videos from Dr. Brownson. Learn more about the discussion group, find links to the videos, and sign up to attend here on the COS website.
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!