This Sunday:
This Sunday, March 27, in worship at COS, Rev. Andrew Mead will preach from 1 Timothy 3:1-4, 6:17-19 and Isaiah 53:2-5 in the standard English service. Rev. Karen Campbell will preach from 1 Timothy 3:1-4, 6:17-19 in the Basic English Service in Room 5.
Following the services, you’re welcome to join us in the sanctuary for our panel discussion of chapter 4 of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Life Together.If you missed last week’s discussion of chapter 3, you can view a recording here
Both the 10 am Standard English Service and the 11:45 GPS adult ed session will be streamed via Zoom.
Sign up for our Newsletter to receive the Zoom links.
Church News:
Giving Update:
Weekly Giving: $18,718.16
Current Giving for the month of March: $70,440.59
Giving for the month of February: $99,382.23
Monthly budgeted General Fund Giving is: $118,873
YOU ARE INVITED to participate in the THURSDAY BIBLE STUDY. The group meets Thursdays from 9:30-11 am and will be studying the Sermon on the Mount from Matthew 5-7. This week we will be reading and learning from Matthew Matthew 56:1-6, 16-18. You are invited to listen to the group presentation on COS YoutTube after Friday of the week and arrange your own electronic small group discussions if you wish. If you need CHILDCARE, or have further questions, contact Mary Loeks. Everyone is welcome!
Seeking Shalom: Affordable Housing and Immigration Practical Next Steps: Do you long for your church to do more about justice issues such as affordable housing and immigration? If so, please save 7 to 9 p.m., Tuesday, April 26, 2022 for this important event featuring Keynote Speaker: Artie Lindsay, TCC pastor of spiritual formation and Grand Rapids Nehemiah Center president, and Panelists who include: Affordable housing experts from ICCF, LINC UP, and 70×7; Immigration experts from Church World Services, Interfaith Immigration Coalition, and Samaritas. This event provides the opportunity for your church to Learn together about specific ways your congregation can promote affordable housing and welcome immigrants and refugees in West Michigan. Registration is free. Register online here.
CORE: To our brothers and sisters in Christ, CORR (Congregations Organizing for Racial Reconciliation) has changed its name to reflect our current emphasis and vision. We are now CORE (Community Organizing for Racial Equity)!
We continue to offer Understanding Racism workshops and for 2022, we hope to offer a mix of virtual and in-person workshops. These workshops are open to everyone in our congregation. Our hope and prayer that as COS people continue in this work of understanding racism, Church of the Servant will reveal what Godly antiracism looks like in the community. Our times are always fraught with racial tension and this is one important opportunity for us to work together to address it.
The first (in a long time) in-person Understanding Racism workshop is being offered from Thursday- Saturday, April 21 -23. This workshop will be held at Church of the Servant.
Please prayerfully consider taking advantage of these opportunities. Register at COREnow.org
We invite you to subscribe to “Setting the Table”. “Setting the Table” is our weekly worship email that provides recipients with a snapshot of where we are in the liturgical calendar, a glimpse of the upcoming sermon, the week’s scripture passage, and interesting bits of information about our current liturgy. These emails help to prepare ourselves for Sunday worship and can be used as part of your weekly devotions. Learn more and subscribe here.
We continue to be so grateful for the diverse and myriad forms of service our volunteers offer to the life and witness of the COS community. After the recent resignation of Lori Wiersma as church administrator, some of our congregation may be wondering who the first contact person is for different groupings. For this interim period, please take note of the following people should you have needs:
Food Truck and Food Pantry – Gatwiri Mwenda to coordinate with volunteer leaders
Minibus Transportation – Annette Ediger
Refugee support and outreach – Andrew Mead
Mercy and Benevolence – Gatwiri Mwenda to serve as first point of contact alongside the mercy benevolence team of deacons
ESL – Mark Fackler
Camelot Community Partners – Andrew Mead
Facilities – Sandy Palmatter
If there are other needs or concerns please do not hesitate to get in touch with a member of the executive team of council (Stacy Steen chair, Marc Beversluis chair of deacons, Rhonda Mejeur chair of elders, Pastor Andrew Mead, Pastor Karen Campbell)
In all these things, we continue to hold on to Paul’s encouragement to:
‘Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.’
Update from HSR Task Force. COS has been offering listening circles for members of the congregation to respond to the study committee report prepared for Synod on the theology of human sexuality. Now that many of the initial circles are finishing, we may offer additional groups or sessions depending upon interest.
You may complete an online interest form here Interest cards will also be available in the sanctuary this week, Sunday, March 27. Completing this form does not commit you to participation and does not enroll you in a circle. Completing these cards helps COS anticipate interest and plan accordingly. Official signups for any listening circles will come later after we review the input from the cards and online responses.
No firm dates are set yet, but tentative plans are for any new circles to start this spring and finish prior to Synod 2022, which begins on June 10, 2022.
Council plans to listen to the feedback from each completed listening circle in a special Council meeting held after the morning service on Sunday, June 4. Council invites any interested members of the congregation to attend. More details to come.
Next Mobile Food Pantry is Saturday, April 2; 9-11 am in the COS parking lot. Many folks will be on spring break, so we need at least a dozen volunteers.
Fabric and Fellowship Quilting Group Canceled. From Hope Bradley: “Claire Elgersma and I feel that the primary goal of fellowship through quilting during COVID recovery has been met and that many of us have fellowship and giving opportunities in other avenues. We have decided to cancel the remaining Monday meetings. Please feel free to contact either of us with your opinion.”
Are you new or relatively new to Church of the Servant? If you’re interested in either officially joining COS or in learning more about the mission and ministries here, you’re warmly invited to participate in the Spring New Members Class. We will meet in the Living Room at the COS building at 11:45am-12:30pm four Sundays in a row beginning April 24th, ending on May 15th. If you choose to join as a member, vows are on Pentecost – June 5th. Even during these late pandemic days the church is moving forward, so if you are interested in learning more or signing up, contact Ben Videtich at ben.videtich@coscrc.org. Note to families: child care is provided.
Social Seniors continues to meet on Tuesdays at 10:00 via Zoom. All are welcome. For more information, contact Corrie Vos.
Meeting ID: 832 6366 9013
Passcode: COS