On Sunday, May 31, as we continue to worship in homes through zoom, we will celebrate the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Church at Pentecost. Our Old Testament reading will be read in several different languages, representing both the Church universal and the wide diversity at COS. Pastor Karen Campbell will bring us a message for Pentecost based on the scriptures of Psalm 104:24-34,35b and Acts 2:1-21. Each week there will be a new post that includes a house church liturgy, messages from the pastors, resources for leaders, and media to accompany worship. Go to
https://www.churchoftheservantcrc.org/category/housechurch/
to participate in these worship activities with other COS members.

Youth

Middle School: Reminder: we have implemented a “point system” for our
WNZ meetings. You can earn points by showing up at meetings, winning
games, or doing something that impresses a leader. And then at our Epic End of-Quarantine Party (EEofQP), you can use those points to “purchase”
prizes! As if you needed more reasons to spend your Wednesday nights with
us! Here is the Zoom link we will continue to use every
week: https://us04web.zoom.us/j/71796320218?pwd=L3ZLVmNIZFB1Nkpxc
nd5WlJDeVg0UT09 And remember: your leaders are praying for you and available to talk if you need encouragement or just an ear to talk

High School: Congrats to our seniors who have wrapped up their
high school academics! My hope is you are finding meaningful ways to
celebrate this significant achievement. We are proud of you!
Seniors: COS will be taking a moment to recognize you during the worship
service on June 7. If you haven’t done it yet, please send me:
A senior picture
The name of the HS you are graduating from
The college or job you plan to pursue next
If attending college, what will you be studying and what extracurriculars will you be participating in?
I need this no later than Sunday, May 31!

High School Youth Group this week! Our high school Zoom gatherings are
now scheduled for 8 pm, every other Monday. We will meet again on June 1.
Here is the link for those meetings:
https://us04web.zoom.us/j/76225676340?pwd=WVpoMHlRbytEWXF4SUxHZ0
dLWkhzZz09
Also, please remember that your small group leaders care about you and are praying for you. If you need someone to talk to or pray with you, don’t hesitate to reach out to Annette or one of your small group leaders.

Children’s Ministry

Thank you Children’s Ministry Leaders! (See below) It’s incredible the number of loving people who share the stories of faith with our kids all throughout the year! Thank you to all those who work to ensure our kids will grow up knowing the Word of God and surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses! Please know how deeply I appreciate you. On this Pentecost Sunday I’m so aware of the many gifts of the church expressed through God’s people in action!

Summer Children’s Ministry – I’m collecting ideas from families on ideas for Summer faith formation. Please send your thoughts to me at Jo.Howe@coscrc.org, or give me a call at 616-238-1324.

Sunday Sing-Along from 9:40am-9:50am: Join the Sunday worship Zoom call a little early to sing along with Karen Saupe, John Verbrugge, and Meg Voetberg! This is a great way for the kids to sing songs they love and see church members they miss.  

Kid Zoom Calls with Karen: Check the COS Facebook page for Zoom invites from Karen Saupe for kids, often offered on Wednesday afternoons!

                                                Church News
Join Ruth Lemmen at a Zoom gathering to conclude her service in China. The
time together will feature a game, a few of Ruth’s favorite photos, and time
for questions and conversation. Bring your own beverage or snacks and join her on Tuesday, June 2 at 8:30pm, or Thursday, June 11 at 7:30pm (all Eastern time). Find the “join meeting” button in the Zoom app or at www.zoom.com and enter the Meeting ID: 567 621 2641 and then the password: 224466.

Financial Update – Last week’s offering and online giving $19,410.26. Total Giving for the month of May (includes monthly ACH) $90.881.51 (1 Sunday left). Our monthly General Fund budget is $119,028.

Celebrating our High School Seniors – extended and revised! COS is committed to celebrating the accomplishments of the 13 seniors who have been a part of our church family for all or many of the past 18 years—and you can help! One of our traditions is to give Bibles to our graduates that include notes of encouragement or congratulations as well as favorite Bible verses from members of COS. In lieu of writing these messages directly into their Bibles, I invite you to email personal notes to annette.ediger@coscrc.org  so that I can collect them and distribute them to the graduates along with their Bibles. This is one of the many ways we plan to recognize our students over the next several weeks.
To summarize:

  • Select the student(s) to whom you would like to send a note of
    encouragement/congratulations/favorite Bible verse from the list
    below. Choose one, a few, or maybe even all of these students!
  • EMAIL this note to (or if you prefer US postal service, 6244 New Holland St., Hudsonville 49426): Annette.Ediger@coscrc.org by Sunday, July 12 (note new date)
  • Annette will distribute them to the students when they receive their
    Bibles.

High School Seniors: Rellian (formerly known as Lana) deGraaf, Anna
Devarenne, Calvin Kooyer, Graham Kort, Elena Roberts, Phoebe Ryckbost,
Rachel Sepa, Lindesy Stinton, Ella Stremler, Deborah Uredi, Jacob
Vandenbosch, Naomi Vandervelde, Rebecca Zoetewey.

A word from the Missions Support Team: The Faith-Promise pledge drive for COS missions support is being launched today, Pentecost Sunday!  Please check out coscrc.org/missions for an updated, colorful, and inspiring overview of the missionaries we support.  The coscrc.org/missions link is also on the COS House Church Resources, along with the Pledge form coscrc.org/faithpromisepledge and the Faith-Promise Brochure coscrc.org/faithpromise2020.  We are hoping to raise $27,750 in this year’s pledge drive.  Thank you for your Faith-Promise support for 2020! 

You can still contribute funds for Covid19 Relief. Together with recent
additional donations to the Benevolence Fund, the deacons continue to
respond to needs of those in this crisis, to needy persons both within and
outside of our congregation. For those who are able, you continue to have the opportunity to donate to our relief fund. All contributions for the relief fund will go to partners with whom COS has a relationship in mission.

On April 17, floods devastated the city of Uvira in the Democratic Republic of Congo. About 40 people died. 3,500 homes were destroyed, about 75,000 people are homeless. This disaster has a particular connection to COS through Alex Majaliwa (his brothers living in Uvira lost their home) and through the Sepa family (the home they owned was destroyed). The Sepa family also planted a church in Uvira, Calvary Church. This congregation is currently sheltering about 20 families who lost homes and possessions. Calvary Church is providing water, food, cooking fuel, clothing, etc. You are welcome to partner with Calvary Church in their ministry of relief by donating to the Benevolence Fund with “Uvira Relief” on the memo line. You can send a check by mail or give online at https://www.churchoftheservantcrc.org/giving/