This Sunday at COS:
Before Worship, join us in the COS café at 9 am for Intergenerational Sunday School (IGSS). We will spend time around tables connecting with new or familiar faces of COS as we explore and celebrate Pentecost. And yes, coffee & donuts will be provided. Note: weather permitting, we will spend some of our time outdoors—so dress accordingly!
On this Pentecost Sunday, Lucy Gitau, one of our seminary interns, will preach from Ezekiel 37:1-14 and Acts 2:1-22 in the Prism combined service in the large sanctuary. During the service, we also have the joy of welcoming new members into the life of the church. This Sunday we will welcome Bob & Ellen Alderink, Jack & Eileen Kooreman, and Randy Blacketer.
Following worship, stick around for an all-church meal in the café. This is a great opportunity to enjoy food and fellowship with the church community.
The 10 am Prism service will also be broadcast via Zoom. Sign up for our Newsletter to receive the Zoom links.
Faith Formation:
Wednesday Night Programming Reminder: Wed. Night Dinners and all our programs for students in grades 2-12 (WNL, WNLX, Wed. Night Hype—formerly known as Boys Club, and Next Generation—formerly known as Girls Club) are on a break until Wednesday, June 19.
Bibles for 2nd Grade Graduates on June 2 – On June 2 our 2nd graders will each receive a New International Readers Version (NIRV) Adventure Bible to mark the milestone of graduating from our Children’s Worship program. This will be the last day they’ll be dismissed to continue worship in the children’s wing, where they’ll explore their new Bibles and prepare to join in congregational worship the following week. If your child is in 2nd grade but doesn’t attend Children’s Worship, please send Jo a note at Jo.Howe@coscrc.org, so she can be sure they’re on the list to receive a Bible.
Children at the Lord’s Supper Class on June 2, 11:45pm-12:45pm. Through our baptism we are welcomed to the table for the Lord’s Supper, but most COS children spend part of the worship service in Little Lambs and Children’s Worship through the 2nd grade. So, we offer this class for graduating 2nd graders and baptized children of any age who would like to participate in the Lord’s Supper. Together we explore the meaning of the sacraments and how God meets us in the sacraments. We practice how we participate in communion at COS, and we invite the children to join in the feast! Please send Jo Howe an email at jo.howe@coscrc.org, if you and your child(ren) plan to participate. She will respond with further details about the class. We plan to welcome children to the table on June 9.
Stewardship:
Thirteen refugees have benefited from the Jack and Carol Roeda Refugee Higher Education Fund since it was begun in 2012, many of them having graduated from college. For this we thank God. In the last several years, however, COS has welcomed many more refugees with large families. Seven of our many teenagers and one working father are hoping to attend GRCC this coming fall! We do not have enough funds to support all these students and so we need to refill our coffers for this next year and the following ones. To assist these students is one way in which you can be part of COS’s mission to “share gifts of refugee, fellowship and hope.” Please designate any gift you can give for the “Jack and Carol Roeda Refugee Higher Education Fund.”
Online Giving Portal at COS has a new look. If you give or have given to COS through our online portal and it looks different, that is because our giving portal has been updated. The new look includes Church of the Servant in the top left-hand corner and our contact information in the bottom left corner. Your credentials to access the portal are still the same, but the way you choose to give has changed. You will use the drop down to select which fund you would like to donate to and then the frequency of the donation and if you plan to give to more than one fund, you will add the chosen fund and frequency for that gift to your basket. If you are donating to only one fund you will choose the fund and frequency and click, give now. If you are unsure if you completed the process correctly or have any questions, please feel free to contact AJ Zahrt by email or phone.
Council:
Sexuality, Gender, and Life of the Church resources. You may have heard that our church website has relevant resources about sexuality, gender, and the life of the church—and for spiritual disciplines to help us understand other points of view. The website has now been updated to make those resources easier to find. Start here.
Outreach and Congregational Life
ESL at COS: Sunday June 2, 9am in the Family Room — “fellowship-ers” for Fall 2024 — meet for prayer and orientation with current ESL tutors. Needed for the fall (opening September 10) are tutors, drivers, and nursery care, mornings and evenings. Hundreds of people from dozens of countries have found help and friendship at COS. New volunteers every term keep the program going. Come and see.
Camping – Mark your calendars! After a nearly 30-year hiatus, COS will again be inviting all church members to join us for a COS Camping Trip. We have reserved a block of camp sites and cabins at Wabasis Lake Campground for this coming fall, Sept. 27-29. Details are still being worked out, but if you want to reserve a campsite now, contact Annette (Annette.ediger@coscrc.org) or Ben (Ben.videtich@coscrc.org).
Toothbrushes & Toothpaste: The May COS Food Pantry Items of the Month: Please consider donating toothbrushes and/or toothpaste during May to help restock our food pantry with these essentials. Baskets for collecting these items are at the children’s check-in station between the main church entrance and the coat racks.
Meijer Simply Give: COS is delighted to once again partner with Meijer Simply Give in support of our in-house Food Pantry. Simply Give runs until June 29, 2024. During this time, you may purchase $10 Simply Give cards at the Cascade Meijer, and that money goes to the COS food pantry. The Double Match Day will be June 15. This means that every $10 card purchased on June 15 will result in $30 for the COS food pantry. If you would like COS to purchase the cards on the double match day on your behalf, please drop your donation in the Sunday offering and label your gift “Simply Give.”
Looking for a new recycling opportunity? The COS Creation Care Team will be recycling oral care products through a program established by Crest and Oral B. Bring your toothbrushes, electric toothbrush heads, toothpaste tubes (caps on), dental floss containers, floss string, floss picks and mouthwash containers to the marked collection bin in the cafe area, near the library. These products can be recycled as roofing or insulation materials. For more information, visit their website. Any brand of these products will be accepted. Thanks for participating in our effort to reduce plastic waste. If you have questions, contact Ginny Kuilema.
From COS and Together West Michigan: There is a childcare crisis in Kent County. More than 20,000 children do not have adequate childcare or early childhood education. COS is joining dozens of other congregations and organizations in a Together West Michigan movement to gather commitments to collect and activate Childcare Voter Pledges toward a goal of 5,500 by August 6th, 2024. That means committing to vote on August 6th to renew our Kent County “Ready by 5” millage and committing to hold candidates for office this year accountable for taking action on affordable, quality childcare. Check with Jolanda Howe, Carol Rienstra, or Janice McWhertor if you have questions.
Office and Facilities:
Tomato Cages: Do you have tomato cages you no longer need? If so, we could use them for the COS community garden, the COS fire pit fruit and herb garden, and berry bushes at the Welcome Home. You can put the cages in the wood chip area surrounding the fire pit (behind the church building). Thanks in advance!
Booklet by Pastor Karen Campbell: As part of her work in the Irish Council of Churches, Pastor Karen Campbell has worked with others on writing a booklet: From Every Nation? A Handbook for a congregation’s journey from welcome to belonging. We are trying to purchase hard copies to make available to borrow through the COS library, but in the meantime, if you would like to read it, it is available as a PDF at this link:https://www.irishchurches.org/cmsfiles/From-Every-Nation-.pdf
Worship:
Preaching Schedule
May 26 ANWS – Rev. Andrew Mead, TOL – Rev. Len Vander Zee
June 2 ANWS – Albert Strydhorst, TOL – Rev. Andrew Mead
June 9 ANWS – Mtarambirwa Alexis, TOL – Rev. Len Vander Zee
June 16 ANWS – Rev. Andrew Mead, TOL – Rev. Len Vander Zee
Summer Jam Sessions – Wednesday evening programming is finished for this school year, but the demand for jam sessions continues! If you like to strum, pick, sing, hit, shake, or play folksy/Americana melodies by ear, you are welcome to join these summer jam sessions. Observers and learners are welcome, too! Chords and lyrics will be provided. The jam sessions will be held in the sanctuary from 6:30pm-8:00pm on Wednesdays, June 5, June 26, July 10, and August 7. (Summer Wednesday evening programming will also take place on June 26 and July 10. So come at 5:30 for dinner before jamming.)