On this Trinity Season Sunday, Rev. Gary Burge will preach from Colossians 3:1-12 in the Tree of Life service in the large worship space. Lucy Gitau, one of our Seminary Interns, will preach in the All Nations Worship service in room 4. Following worship, stick around for Sunday school for all ages including GPS Adult-ed in room 3 and the All Nations Bible Study in room 4.
Our GPS adult-ed Sunday school this Sunday will be a presentation and discussion looking at “COS as a Refugium.” Nick Wolterstorff will give a presentation and lead a discussion by reflecting on the origins and history of COS through the lens of Refugium.
The 10 am Tree of Life Service will also be broadcast via Zoom. Sign up for our Newsletter to receive the Zoom links.
Children’s Ministry News:
Could You Lend a Knitting Loom? If you have circular or rectangle knitting looms of any size you’d be willing to lend, Jo Howe is looking for several for an upcoming club ministry project. Please send Jo a note at jo.howe@coscrc.org to let her know you have a loom to share, or simply label your loom and drop it off at the church office. Thank you!
Update: Children’s Worship Leaders Gathering Now Scheduled for January 2024. If you’re a Children’s Worship Leader, or interested in learning more about the program, Jo is rescheduling our fall gathering for January 2024. This will be a chance to remember or learn key elements of Children’s Worship, exchange best practices for circle times and response time, hear stories shared, and troubleshoot anything that could be going better. Lunch will be provided, and we’ll be finished by 2:00 pm. If you aren’t currently a CW leader but would like to be included in updates about this event, please reach out to Jo at jo.how@coscrc.org.
Church News:
The general fund giving for September 2023 was $80,197. Additional building use income was $1,807. September expenses were $127,975. The monthly deficit was ($45,971). The current general fund balance is $19,602.
MTD October Giving (including monthly ach) $33,145
2022 October Giving $122,219
Communion circles are the irreplaceable centerpiece for our weekly gathered worship. Jesus has given himself for us, and we receive the gift with joy and gratefulness. However, for some, it is difficult to make it all the way to the front of the worship space. For others, even if it’s possible to get to the front, memory and coordination sometimes falter. For this reason, we assign one of our Council members to be Communion Rover every week. If you’d like to be included on an informal list for the Communion Rover to look for on a regular basis, please let Ben know and he will add you – or your loved one – to the list. ben.videtich@coscrc.org
Sunday, December 3, we will have the COS Annual Christmas Brunch. We are asking for volunteers for a set-up team and a clean-up team. If you are willing and able to participate in either team, contact the church office.
Friends of New Americans and ESL students, can you help as a volunteer driver? Rahima and Nasima, two Afghan ladies living in the Breton Village Green apartments (at Breton and Burton) will need to be picked up and drop off at COS for ESL classes at 9:30 am on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. They started class last week, but we will need additional drivers to ensure they can attend through the end of the term. If you can help get the ladies to class, they will be provided rides home. Please contact Joel Westmaas. Thank you!
Fall Workday: Saturday, October 21st, 9-11 am. This fall we are assisting the COS Community Garden in replacing the deer fence. We need strong backs to dig the fence up and lots of hands to put up the new fence. The gardeners are contributing to the cost of the fence but need more help than they have available for this task. There are other skills needed as well: Reducing the wood at the fire pit, refreshments, laying mulch in the garden paths, trimming the hedges, power washing the M door sidewalk, to name a few. We welcome families to attend. Please let Hope Bradley know if you are available.
The Reparations book discussion scheduled for Wednesday evenings in October and November is being rescheduled to take place at a different date and time TBD. Contact Janice McWhertor or Carol Rienstra for your free copy of the book Reparations: A Christian Call to Repentance and Repair by Duke L. Kwon and Gregory Thompson, and to put on a list for updated information.
October is Pastor Appreciation month. At COS, we would like to recognize Pastor Andrew with notes and cards of appreciation. For the five Sundays in October, a basket will be on the café counter in which to put your cards.
Study the parables. This fall we will study the parables of Luke in six sessions. The first session begins this Sunday. Everyone is welcome! The Bible study will meet in the glass room on the west side of the church.
The Racial Justice Team of Classis Grand Rapids East invites you to Calvin CRC, 700 Ethel Ave SE, on Monday, October 23, from 7:00 – 8:30 pm for a time of fellowship and sharing of ideas. Meet the team and learn more about their mission. Calvin University’s Jodi Van Wingerden will grace us with a presentation entitled “The Danger of a Good Story” in which we’ll learn about an often-overlooked piece of Classis Grand Rapids East’s history and why it’s important to embrace, rather than turn away from, our messy stories.
Are you new or relatively new to Church of the Servant? Whether you’re interested in either learning more about our mission and ministries or officially joining COS, you’re warmly invited to participate in the Spring New Members Class. We will meet in the Living Room at the COS building, just to the left of the main entrance as you enter, from 11:45 am to 12:30 pm all four Sundays of November beginning November 5th. Childcare is provided. Questions are welcome throughout. Apart from learning about COS, this is also a great opportunity to grow in relationships with others. Contact Ben Videtich at ben.videtich@coscrc.org to join or to ask any questions.
COS HR Committee needs assistance from a member who has some HR experience. We meet about four times a year, that’s all. If you can serve in this way, please contact Corrie Vos. We really need you.
All Saints’ Service at Church of the Servant – October 29 at 6 pm. You are invited to our annual All Saints’ service to honor the “cloud of witnesses”—those faithful servants of Christ who have gone before us. Making worship inclusive of the whole community of saints—the living and the dead, however and whenever it’s done—broadens our understanding of the church, reminds us of those who went before us on the journey of faith, and reinvigorates our trust in Christ’s ultimate victory over sin and death. 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.