Happening This Sunday

Faith Promise Missions Sunday 3/10.   In our large sanctuary worship, Ruth Padilla de Borst will lead us in preaching, and the Faith-Promise pledge forms that were distributed last Sunday may be placed into the offering basket during the regular offering time.  Extra pledge forms are available on the back tables (stapled to the missionary photos).  Pledge forms may also be placed in the offering basket on any following Sunday.  Thank you for your generosity and support of global missions!

Lunch with Jim and Ruth Padilla de Borst.  There will be a light lunch, presentation and conversation with Jim and Ruth for those who signed up with Roxanne or Carolyn this past week.  If you didn’t sign up for the lunch, feel free to join.  It may not be a loaves-and-fishes moment, but there will be something for everyone.

Youth News

High School: Sunday, March 10, 17, & 24 – We will join the adult GPS sessions at 9am to hear Dr. Nick Wolterstorff share his story about his views on gay marriage.  Be there!

Small Groups should meet over the next 2 weeks.  2 possible topics of conversation: What are some ways we can encourage each other to embrace the season of Lent?

Look over & discuss the handout from Larry Borst re: “5 Christian Views on Sexuality and the Church”

Spring Break is coming! 29 people from COS will travel to Puerto Rico from Mar. 29 – April 6 for our High School Mission Trip.  Pray for us—and remember that Sunday school will NOT meet on March 29 but will be back in action on April 7

Church News

In our ministry together with Karen Campbell and Andrew Mead, the Council has committed to completing a review of their first six months with us. To assist in that process input from COS members and friends would be most helpful. You are welcome to phone, or write a note/email to Claudia Beversluis, Jonathan Bradford or Mark Stinton by Mon. March 19.  Words of appreciation, concern, encouragement or advice about their work or the new co-pastor structure will be appreciated. Please pray that this process will encourage us all to grow in the grace of God and that in all our COS ministries his love will abound.

A DAY FOR QUIET REFLECTION IN LENT: “Learning to Share God’s Holiness” (Heb 12.12), on Saturday, March 16, 10 AM – 2 PM, led by Claire Wolterstorff at their home.

Lectio Divina during Lent –Lectio Divina is a prayer form reaching back to the 6th century and used by Christian communities around the world. It is an opportunity to spend 45 minutes of facilitated reflection and contemplation on a chosen scripture text. All are welcome to join us each Wednesday of lent beginning March 13th from 12:00 – 12:45. We will meet in the Living Room for no more than 45 minutes in order to allow people to come and go within their lunch hour.

MISSING:  Sometime in early January one of the white communion table cloths disappeared. If anyone has information as to its whereabouts, please contact either Nancy Pranger (nancy.pranger@comcast.net) or Susan van Houten (susanandrich@gmail.com).

Patients Need You! Michigan Blood has issued an emergency appeal for blood donations. Snow storms and sub-zero temperatures recently paralyzed the state, causing a sharp decline in donations. The winter blast forced the cancellation of more than 80 community blood drives, resulting in 3,000 lost donations last month. Your help is needed more than ever – blood is a precious gift for which we can only rely on each other. There are a dozen appointment times still available between 4-7pm at our Blood Drive here tomorrow. Can you take one of them? Check the poster in the cafe or sign up online before midnight today (3/10) – versiti.org/michigan. Thank you!

Liz Hall, an organizer with AMOS (A Mid-Iowa Organizing Strategy) and consultant for the Micah Center in Grand Rapids, will present a 1.5 hour training about Relational One-on-One Meetings this Wednesday, March 13th at COS. The training focuses on the kind of listening and conversing that builds relational power and will be offered two times – at 11am and 5pm.  Contact Pastor Andrew Mead, Carol Rienstra, or Lori Wiersma for more information or to register for one of the sessions.  

The COS Council needs you! We are seeking nominees for the roles of elder and deacon, to serve beginning this August, 2019. Elders and deacons serve the congregation through caregiving, discernment, support for the church staff, and governance. People who have served in this way have been thankful for the opportunities to see God at work in and through the congregation.  You are asked to nominate others or signal your own willingness to be called to this task; look for nomination forms in your church box and in a special email sent to all members.

How many candles does it take to celebrate the Basic English Service’s birthday?  This year the answer is “10”! To celebrate this milestone, please plan to join in an all-church dinner and party following the PRISM service on Sunday, April 7.  And if you have friends or neighbors who want to enjoy a great time with Indonesian food, stories and testimonies, international music and dancing…invite them too!  #BES10thbirthdayparty

The Thursday Bible study meets this week Thurs. March 14.  This week’s study: RUTH 4: Redemption at the Gate. We meet Thurs. 9:30–11am, in the café area.  Childcare provided.  ALL ARE WELCOME!

The ESL Women’s Bible study meets this Thurs. March 14, 10-11:30am.   Join us for lively discussion and sweet fellowship as we study the life of Joseph. Childcare provided.

Tour the Jim Crow Museum, March 23: The COS Anti-racism and Reconciliation Team take a field trip to the Jim Crow Museum at Ferris State University on Sat. March 23 –and you are invited to join the trip. We will meet at COS at 10:30am to carpool to the museum in Big Rapids, with a guided tour scheduled from 12-2pm. This trip is for high school seniors and adults only and the guided tour is limited to 25 people. We hope a good number of COSers will join us!