This Sunday:

This Sunday, July 18, we’re delighted to continue our return to indoor worship at COS. Rev. Andrew Mead will preach from 1 Samuel 30: 1-25 in the standard English service. Chris Hanak will preach in the Bilingual/ Basic English Service in Room 5.

Please join us in celebrating Jana Brasser after the worship services this Sunday. Jana is retiring after rocking, cuddling, and loving our babies in the nursery for the last 11 years! We will gather in the COS courtyard for cake and a time to say thank you to Jana for her years of joyful service.

We also extend a special lunch invitation to our college students and young adults this Sunday. Please join us following the services as we make tamales and share time together.

We invite you to sign up to attend the morning service. The 10 am service will also be live via Zoom. Sign up for our Newsletter to receive the Zoom links.

Children’s Ministries:

Celebrating Ms. Jana! Our beloved nursery director, Jana Brasser, is retiring after rocking, cuddling, and loving our babies in the nursery for the last 11 years! Please join us in celebrating Jana after the worship service on Sunday, July 18. We hope to get a nice photo outdoors of Jana surrounded by all the kids who love her! Please encourage your children to visit the art station, which will be set up during the coffee time this week and the next two Sundays to make a card or picture for Jana to express their love and thanks. You’ll find a basket to put the cards in (or leave them on the table to dry, if needed).  

Church News:

 
The Camelot Block Party with our neighbors across the street along with our Camelot church partners will be on Saturday, August 7 at 11 am-1:30 pm at the Camelot Park, 2230 Rowland SE. Please take your kids and join us for a fun time of soccer, bounce house, yard games, chalk art, and a beef hot dog lunch. Let’s meet and build relationships with our neighbors!

We also need volunteers to help. If you can help, please contact Lori Wiersma to volunteer or meet at COS at 10:30 am on August 7 or  at 1:30 pm at Camelot park to take down.

To our brothers and sisters in Christ, CORR (Congregations Organizing for Racial Reconciliation) continues to offer Understanding Racism virtual workshops in 2021.   These workshops are open to everyone in our congregation.  It is our hope and prayer that as we continue in this work of understanding racism, Church of the Servant will reveal what Godly antiracism looks like in the community. CORR has two upcoming workshops, one starting in August and another starting in October. The August will consist of six sessions from 6-9 p.m. on August 4, 11, 18, 25, September 1 and 8. The October workshop will be October 21, 22, 28 and 29 from 8:30am-1pm. Please prayerfully consider taking advantage of these opportunities. We will meet in person for workshops in 2022, but for now this is a wonderful format for all of us to continue to do the Lord’s work in antiracism. Register at CORRnow.org   


You will be a hero! Participate in our COS Blood Drive in two weeks. There is no substitute for blood…it is precious, perishable, and the need for it is vital. Give an hour of your time, and share your gift of life on Monday, August 2, 2-7pm. Many of our longtime, faithful donors are unable to give blood – for various reasons – and we encourage new members and young people to come and join the COS team. It’s satisfying and a true gift to our community. Schedule your appointment on the Versitiwebsite. Many thanks!  –Ruth Huisman & Beth Karanicola

As we move back to in-person, indoor services, we invite more people to serve as Sunday morning scripture readers. If you would like to read scripture during a morning worship service, please sign up here.

Very good Samuel Shen 16″ Viola for sale. Cele Mereness, who played viola in our church orchestra for years, is no longer able to play this wonderful viola from China. These Chinese violas are very well made with a beautiful tone. The viola and bow both come from The Guarneri House. They are in very good condition and they come with a nice case. For more information on the viola and her asking price, please contact Amy Heeringa.

Social Seniors meet every Tuesday morning from 10:00 to 11:00. Designed to provide opportunity for church family camaraderie, Social Seniors is open to anyone who would like to attend, regardless of age. We seek to be spiritually encouraged and to provide opportunities for sharing, humor, expression of our sorrows and joys, and prayer for one another and our church. The Zoom link below will work for every Tuesday. 

Topic: Social Seniors

Time:  10:00 – 11:00 AM

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83263669013?pwd=UzE4Z1czT2h2Q0lsck0zaXV4T1NMdz09

Meeting ID: 832 6366 9013

Passcode: COS  

You can also join by telephone: 1 312 626 6799. When prompted, enter the meeting ID plus #, and then when asked for your participant ID, merely enter #, and you will be connected to the group.

You may have heard that the COS parking lot is being resurfaced this year.  But, have you heard about the “islands” in the parking lot?  Using funds raised through the Houses of Worship Rewards program in which many of us participated (Thanks!), the CCT is partnering with Plaster Creek Stewards to replant the islands with native grasses and flowers.  Next year, we hope to augment those plantings with native shrubs provided through a grant from PCS. The native plants will be delivered in the next few weeks.  We are planning several work events for volunteers to put them in the ground.  Please contact Steve Mulder with questions/comments and to sign up to volunteer.   

Wanted: COS Nursery Supervisor for Sundays: With Jana Brasser’s retirement later this summer, the COS Nursery Supervisor position is opening and will need to be filled.  This is a vital, year-round, paid position.  The Nursery Supervisor should be someone who loves children and loves Jesus.  This person (or team of persons) will be responsible for overseeing the check-in/check-out procedures, supervising weekly nursery volunteers, regular cleaning practices, and attending annual trainings that empower them to implement “safe church policies” to ensure that our youngest members and visitors have a safe space to be during worship services and Sunday school classes. This position requires approx. 2 hours of work on Sundays in the summer (9:40-11:40am) and approx. 3 hours of work most Sundays during the school year (8:45-11:45am).  This position can be filled by an individual or by a pair of people who rotate coverage on Sundays.  If you would like more information, or if you are interested or know of someone who may be interested, please contact Annette Ediger: 616-308-0143/Annette.ediger@coscrc.org

Fabric and Fellowship: Join a group that likes to sew and enjoy a time of fellowship. Our next meeting is July 26th from 10am to 2pm in room 5 of COS. We have a stash of fabric that we are using up in quilts for ministry organizations. You can bring your machine or come to design, cut pieces or iron for others. Also bring your lunch. Contact Claire Elgersma or Hope Bradley for more information.