Season of Jubilee, November 6, 2022

This Sunday:

November 6 Marks the end of Daylight Saving time. Remember to “Fall Back” and set your clocks back one hour prior to Sunday

This Sunday, November 6, Rev. Karen Campbell will preach from Deuteronomy 15:1-11 and Luke 4: 16-19 in the large service. Rev. Andrew Mead will preach in the All Nations Worship Service in Room 4. Following the service, stick around for our All-Church Meal beginning at noon.

Sunday evening: join at 6 pm for our All-Saints’ Testimony Service. This Sunday evening service will include testimonies in which a few people give a brief testimony about a person—dead or living—who has modeled the Christian life for them. This year we will hear testimonies from Cele Mereness, Gary Burge, and Ruth Bouma.

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Church News:

Estimated Giving for the month of October: $123,059

Current Giving for the Month of November: $20,532

Giving for October 2021: $103,092

Monthly budgeted General Fund Giving is:  $118,873

Giving Statements went out on Monday, October 17 via email. Please review them and contact AJ Zahrt with any questions. Members that are not signed up to receive statements via email can look for hard copies in their COS mailbox in the next week.

Looking for ten more good people – We need a few more donors for our Blood Drive on Monday, November 7, 2-7pm. Versiti Blood Center informed us they are currently experiencing real challenges with their blood supply. This means that every single donor is so important! In this season of Thanksgiving, would you give thanks by sharing your precious gift of life? The donation process takes about one hour, and will mean a world of difference for someone needing blood. Reserve your appointment by registering online https://donate.michigan.versiti.org/donor/schedules/drive_schedule/140735  Or, you can contact Ruth Huisman who can help with an appointment. A sincere thank you to all who have already signed up!

Prayer Requests for Our Congregational Journey after Synod 2022 and Suggestions for Education Series. Please continue to pray for our own congregation as we respond to Synodical actions. In the August letter to the congregation, Council reiterated our commitment to be a congregation open to a range of responsible, biblically based views on LGBTQ+ questions, united by our shared commitment to Christ, to vibrant worship and discipleship, and to our service in the world. We also want to honor the requests coming from our recent listening circles to provide continuing education and discussion around the theology presented in the human sexuality report. To this end, we plan to offer a variety of opportunities for learning over the fall and winter. We will explore additional views than those presented in the HSR to inform our discussions and to encourage us to approach those holding different views with respect and grace. If you have speakers, articles, or videos that you found helpful and would like to suggest to the committee working on this series, please contact Janice McWhertor, Pam Bratt, or any member of the Next Steps Task Force.

Donate dry food to Well House. On Sunday, November 20, you have the opportunity to bring dry food offerings to church for Well House. Residents coming out of homelessness live in 15+ houses in southeast Grand Rapids. They keep food in their rooms to cook in shared kitchens. They need shelf-stable food such as peanut butter (small jars); canned vegetables, meat, fish, soups, and stews; cereal; and mac and cheese. This is a great opportunity for kids to spend their own money to buy food for others. COS council members Hope Bradley and Clare Elgersma have volunteered at Well House and can vouch of its housing-first approach.

CORE (Community Organizing for Racial Equity) has a workshop planned for November 10, 11 and 12. These Understanding Racism workshops are open to everyone in our congregation. We hope and pray that COS people continue in this work of understanding racism, becoming an ever brighter light in the community as to what God-led antiracism looks like. By attending a workshop and joining in the ongoing task of dismantling racism as a Christ follower, we can do good work together. We will hold this workshop at Church of the Servant. Registration costs are covered by our COS budget. Future workshops scheduled: Six Wednesday evenings on zoom from 6-9pm starting on January 11 and, another in person workshop is scheduled for March 9-11. Please prayerfully consider attending. Register at COREnow.org  

We draw your attention to last week’s letter from Council, detailing our discernment process and opportunities to engage together, remaining rooted in Christ and committed to the flourishing of all God’s people. If you missed last week’s letter, or wish to revisit it, you can find the full letter here.

Seeking seekers: Alpha is an opportunity for anyone on the journey of faith and doubt to engage life’s biggest questions in a safe and honest context. If you or someone you know may be interested in gathering in a small group setting for 10 sessions, please email Pastor Andrew. Additionally, if you’re willing to commit to praying behind the scenes for this group, please let Pastor Andrew know. A start date will be determined by responses.

O Antiphons Advent service at Church of the Servant – December 18, 2022 at 6 pm. The COS O Antiphons Advent service makes use of a series of medieval prayers referred to as the O Antiphons. They were composed for use in evening prayer services on the last seven days of Advent. They are best known to us as the seven verses of the advent hymn, O Come, O Come Emmanuel. Each antiphon is a petition for Christ to come, addressing the Messiah with a title from Old Testament prophecies. In anticipation of this year’s service, we invite members of the congregation to contribute artwork for our worship. If you would like to contribute artwork for this year’s service, please contact Maria Stapert, COS Worship Coordinator. Artwork is not limited to paintings nor limited to professional artists. Learn more here.

As is our tradition, we will worship together on Thanksgiving Day at 10:00 am. We will have space in our service for brief thanksgiving testimonies, and our Joyful Noise Orchestra will accompany the singing of a few Thanksgiving hymns at the end of the service. Anyone who plays a band or orchestra instrument is invited to play with the orchestra for this service.

Position Opening – Music Assistant. Summary of Position: To provide support to our music coordinator, worship team, and pastors to enable a lively, diverse, liturgical, multicultural, multilingual worshipping community. This requires creating space for the spiritual gifts of many congregants to be offered in the service. While most of this position is administrative, a solid musical background is highly desirable. Find the complete job description here. To apply for this position please submit your letter of interest and resume to: karen.campbell@coscrc.org This position will remain open until it has been filled.

We are setting a goal to print a new Church Directory in January 2023. We need the help of everyone by sending an updated photo. Secondly, if you have moved, new phone number, email, etc., we would appreciate those updates as well. Send photos and updates to monica.smith@coscrc.org.

Advent Calendars: Remember the Advent Calendar show in the Artery last year? Good news! This year we have the calendars for sale in time to use during Advent. Their interactive element makes them appeal to the whole family. The QR code lets the phone users get involved in their own way. Each page has artwork and a short inspiration to take you into Advent on the journey to Christmas. Look for the table in the Cafe. Cost is $20 including a complementary ribbon for hanging on the wall if you wish. Limited quantity so pick yours up today. Cash or check at this point. Questions? contact Betsy Ratzsch. View an interview with Pastor Karen Campbell and artist Carol Kane discussing the Advent calendars.