This Sunday at COS:

Before worship, you can attend the 9 am Hour in the church living room. This week’s meeting is Cultivate with Ruth Lemmen. Each Cultivate gathering will focus on a spiritual practice–some ancient, some newer, some involving creativity or movement. Learn more about the 9 am Hour at COS.

On this Trinity season Sunday, Rev. Len Vander Zee will preach in the Tree of Life service in the large sanctuary, focusing on selected verses highlighting Saul and Barnabas’s work. Rev. Andrew Mead will preach from Acts 9:22-30 in the All Nations Worship Service in Room 4.

Following worship, stick around for Sunday School for all Ages. GPS will meet in the large sanctuary this week to hear and share more about the Flourishing Forward report.

The 10 am Tree of Life service will also be broadcast via Zoom. Sign up for our Newsletter to receive the Zoom links.


Worship:

Preaching Schedule
November 3      Prism Combined Service – Ben Videtich
November 10    ANWS – Rev. Andrew Mead, TOL – Rev. Len Vander Zee
November 17    ANWS- Albert Strydhorst, TOL – Ruth Padilla DeBorst
November 24    ANWS – Debbie Jin, TOL – Rev. Andrew Mead

Holiday Service Changes – This year we are experimenting with a few changes to our “traditional” holiday services. 

Thanksgiving Day – 10:00am Worship at Radical Grace Church (formerly Coit Community Church – 600 Lafayette NE) – For many years we have worshiped together with Radical Grace/Coit on Thanksgiving Day, and we have hosted the service at COS. This year Radical Grace has offered to host the service, with Rev. Andrew Mead preaching. Please join us in worship that morning as we continue to support the work of this church. 

Christmas Eve – 7:00pm Communion and Candlelight Service – This year we will have one worship service on Christmas Eve rather than two. The service will be similar to the service formerly held at 11:00pm, but earlier to accommodate families and elderly who were not able to attend a service as late as 11pm. The service will also include some child-friendly elements and is hopefully early enough for young families to attend. The intergenerational story-telling that formerly happened at 5pm on Christmas Eve, will move to the final Sunday of Advent. 

Christmas Morning – 10:00am Carol Singing – The time of this service remains the same as in past years, but the format will become less formal, with extended time for singing Christmas carols together.

All Saints’ Service at Church of the Servant – November 3 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.


Faith Formation:

GPS This Sunday: Sunday, October 27 at 11:45a, GPS (God’s People Seeking – adult Sunday School) will meet in the Tree of Life worship space to hear more about the Flourishing Forward report. Most of the time will be for the congregation to listen to each other sharing thoughts and giving input to Council on the report, especially regarding the one congregation – two overlapping worshipping communities (ANW and TOL) and the proposed pastoral staffing model. A link to the report is HERE.

COS Women – the Women’s Winter Non-Retreat is back!  It a ‘non retreat’ because we have no speakers and no agenda.  What we DO have is fun, food, conversations, and time to renew old friendships and form new ones.  Mark your calendars for Feb. 7 – 9 (technically, we can stay until the morning of Monday, Feb 10 for those who would like to stay that long).  Questions?  Call/text Deb Zondervan.

COS Food Pantry Item of the Month: Toothbrushes. This month the children’s ministry is collecting toothbrushes to help restock this essential personal care item in our food pantry. If you are able to donate a new toothbrush, you’ll find a basket on the children’s cart next to the front door of the church.


Office and Facilities:

To save space in the foyer, we are not putting out the portable coat racks. Instead, we encourage everyone to use the designated coat areas near Door A, Door D, Door M, and outside Room 3 or keep your coat with you as you worship.

October 2024 Directories are available in the back of both worshipping spaces.


Outreach and Congregational Life

October is Pastor Appreciation month. At COS, we would like to recognize Pastor Andrew and Pastor Len with notes and cards of appreciation. For the four Sundays in October, a basket will be on the café counter in which to put your cards.

Medicare Presentation November 3: Are you retired, or about to be? Do you wonder which Medicare plan to choose? Does open enrollment [currently underway] bring you a sense of overwhelm? If any of these apply, come learn from an expert in the field: Dan Sherman. Dan works for Saint Mary’s, and his years of professional experience in the field have equipped him with a thorough understanding of our country’s Medicare system. The up-to-90-minute seminar will be held at 12pm on November 3rd. It’s a Prism Sunday, so bring your food to room 17 [in the ESL hallway] where Dan will present and answer questions. So, bring all your Medicare-related queries! If you’d like to join, please RSVP to Ben: ben.videtich@coscrc.org

New Members Classes: Are you new or relatively new to Church of the Servant? Or, are you wanting to take a further step in commitment to our congregation’s mission? Whether you’re interested in either learning more about our mission and ministries or officially joining COS, you’re warmly invited to participate in 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, at 11:45am-12:30 pm four Sundays in a row beginning October 20th and continuing until November 10th. Childcare is provided most days. Questions are welcome throughout. Apart from learning about COS, this is also a great opportunity to grow in relationship with others. Contact Ben Videtich at ben.videtich@coscrc.org to join or to ask any questions. 

Counting our blessings… One blessing many of us enjoy is good health. You can return thanks for being healthy by giving back and donating blood. Blood donors play a crucial role in fighting cancer, surviving an accident, dealing with a chronic condition like sickle cell anemia, facing surgery, and more. You can donate at the next Blood Drive in our building on Monday, November 18, 2-7pm. We still have 13 openings available. Schedule online at https://donateblood.versiti.org/donor/schedules/drive_schedule/11404512 You will be someone’s lifesaver! Questions? Contact Beth Karanicola or Ruth Huisman.

There is now a COS Together West Michigan (TWM) team that reports to the deacons, with Carol Rienstra as organizer-leader and Janice McWhertor as the deacon member.  Six COS members – Arend VanderPols, Carol & Rich Rienstra, Natalie & Heather Drew, and Joan Huyser-Honig – attended the Candidate Accountability Session on Saturday, October 12. If you are interested in more information about how to be involved in this exciting and powerful movement for improving the lives of families in our community, talk with any one of them.