This Sunday:
This Sunday, October 9, Rev. Karen Campbell will preach from Leviticus 25:8-24 and Hebrews 11:13-16 in the large service. Rev. Andrew Mead will preach in the All Nations Worship Service in Room 4. Following the service, stick around for Sunday School for all ages. Adult-ed GPS will meet in room 3.
The 10 am large service will be streamed via Zoom.
Sign up for our Newsletter to receive the Zoom links.
Children’s Ministry News:
Please register your kids for Children & Youth Programming! We’ve only received a small number of families, so if you haven’t already registered your kids, please click this link to begin. It should only take a few minutes and will really help us plan well for the ministries we offer. Thank you!
Reminder: Please Use Pickup Tickets for Little Lambs and Children’s Worship. Our new check-in safety system is important for the safety of all our children, and it communicates to families who are visiting that we care about children and want to keep them safe. We have several new leaders and children in our program this season, so it’s more important than ever to use your pickup ticket to get your child(ren) from their rooms after worship. Leaders are instructed to keep the children in their classroom until a parent/caregiver presents the ticket with the proper code. So please stick your pickup ticket to your shirt or bag (it is a sticker too!) so you can keep it handy to show the leader at pickup. If it’s hard to remember your code for the new nametag system, Jo Howe can change your code to something more memorable. Just send a note at jo.howe@coscrc.org. If you forget to check in and print nametags when you arrive, simply follow your child when dismissed and so you can get nametag and pickup ticket then. So please use the system for your sake and the sake of others.
Sunday School, 11:45am-12:30pm! (Ages 4 to Adult) Sunday school is a chance to learn together and grow in faith. It’s offered on all but the first Sunday of the month, when there is an all-church meal instead. Please enjoy a cookie and juice in the café before dropping your kids off or sending them to their Sunday school rooms at 11:45am. (No food or drinks in the classrooms, please!) Maps showing these Sunday school room locations will be available at the children’s welcome station on Sunday:
- The 4-year-old through 1st grade class is in room 9, in the children’s wing.
- 2nd-4th grade is in room 19, just down the hall from the nursery.
- 5-6th grade is in room 22, located in the hallway behind the mailboxes in the sanctuary.
- Middle school is in room 17, just down the hall from the nursery. Sometimes the middle schoolers start in the youth room, so check with Brian or Annette for more details.
- High school is in room 12, the Youth Room.
- GPS (Adult Sunday school) is in Fellowship South, room 3, just past the café.
- Nursery is available for children ages 3 and under.
Jo would love to have two more people who love the Lord and love children to serve as a teaching team for the 4-year-old-through 1st grade class 1-3x per month. All supplies and materials are already gathered and set up for our teachers, so your job would be to prayerfully read through the lesson, and arrive ready to share and explore the day’s Bible story together! Contact jo.howe@coscrc.org or find her after church to learn more.
Wednesday Nights at COS: Please Sign Up for One Cleanup Date. Girls Club and Boys Club for 2nd-6th grade and Wednesday Night Live for 7th-8th grade will meet on the first 3 Wednesdays in October and Nov. and the first Wednesday of Dec. before a winter break and returning in February. All ages are welcome to join in the meal, and nursery is available for younger children during the program time, 6:30-8:00pm. Cooking and cleaning up after a crowd requires a team. Please consider signing up here for just 1 Wednesday night to help with dishes, wiping down tables, and vacuuming after the meal while your kids are in programs. This would be a tremendous help to the staff and kitchen volunteers. If you’d like to join Ellen and her team as they prepare and serve meals, please reach out to Ellen Westrate.
Church News:
Current Giving for the month of October: $20,911
Giving for the month of September: $70,833
Giving for September 2021: $75,587
Monthly budgeted General Fund Giving is: $118,873
Giving receipts through September 30 will be sent out by email the third week of October. Please plan to review the statement for discrepancies in your contributions and review your pledge for the calendar year 2022. Please contact AJ Zahrt by email (aj.zahrt@coscrc.org) with any questions.
God’s People Seeking: To follow up on our wonderful observance of the Season of Creation at COS, join Dave Koetje and Debra Rienstra during the month of October to explore the concept of refugia. On October 9 and 16 (after the worship services), Debra will present and lead discussion on her book Refugia Faith: Seeking Hidden Shelters, Ordinary Wonders, and the Healing of the Earth. (No need to read the book ahead of time!) We’ll learn about seven transformations that can prepare us as people of faith to become healers and people of refugia in a crisis-stressed world. On October 23 and 30, Dave will lead us on an informative walk around COS’s nature trail (23rd), where you can see how COS is engaged in ecosystem restoration. The next week (30th) we’ll learn about and discuss Dave’s research into “refugia gardening.” Join us for a thought-provoking and encouraging time of responding to our call to be earth-healers. Copies of Refugia Faith are available at a special COS rate: $15 for one book, $10 for each additional book. Consider purchasing an extra copy to give as a thoughtful gift to someone you know. Cash, check, or Venmo (Venmo to @churchoftheservant). Make checks/Venmo transactions payable to COS with “Refugia” in the memo line.
Fall New Members Class. If you’re new or newer to Church of the Servant, you’re not alone. New Members class is an effort to enfold people into the life and ministries of COS. During the course of four gatherings, the hope is to get to know more of the landscape of this particular congregation – a bit of our history, some [though certainly not all] of our ministries, and a few key leaders. There is of course no pressure to formally join if, by the end, it becomes clear COS isn’t the right fit. Either way, it’s an excellent way to grow into this church. The first meeting is on October 23rd after church from 11:45-12:30pm, and lasts four Sundays in a row ending November 13th. A full meal will be served on November 6th, and the other three weeks we’ll have simple hospitality – coffee/fruit/pastries/etc.
Sundays in November, we would like to offer a photo booth at church where individuals and families could have their photo taken for the 2023 Church Directory. However, we need a photographer(s) willing to take the pictures. No fancy camera is required, a phone and the willingness to email the pictures to Monica is all that is needed. If interested, contact Monica or call the church office.
Thank you for your faithful commitment to our community through the support of the Feeding America Mobile Food Truck. This is a monthly ministry that takes boxes of food, repacks them, and distributes to people who drive through the distribution line. If you have given to this ministry in the past, there has been a change in the donation structure: checks are no longer to be sent to FEEDWestMI but given through the church instead. Every month in which COS hosts a FAMFT, we pay $500 for the truck’s food. If this is a ministry in which you would like to give of your time, contact Dan Voetberg or Deb Wood to be on the schedule.
Parents of young children: there is an intergenerational Bible study that meets on Thursdays with childcare available. There has also been a request for a time when dads/moms with a baby or preschoolers have an opportunity for conversation while the children play together. So how about getting together on Tuesdays from 9:30-11. Meet in Room 5 (beyond the café toward the end of the hall). Contact Nancy Remelts with questions.
Your Chance to Save a Life! Volunteer donors are absolutely essential to provide that for which there is no substitute: human blood. Share your gift of life. Become a blood donor. Sign up to give at our next blood drive on Monday, November 7, 2-7pm. Follow this link to the schedule. Thank you for being someone who cares. And shares. Questions? Contact Ruth Huisman or Beth Karanicola.
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.
Scripture Reading – Anyone is welcome to sign up to read scripture for our worship services. We need two readers every Sunday, and we value seeing a variety of people participating in this way. Children who are confident readers are welcome to sign up. Scripture texts will be emailed to you on Wednesday afternoon. To sign up for a date, go to the church website: https://www.churchoftheservantcrc.org/worship/ and click on the link for scripture reading.
October is Pastor Appreciation month. At COS, we would like to recognize Pastor Karen and Pastor Andrew with notes and cards of appreciation. For the five Sundays in October, baskets will be on the café counter in which to put your cards.
The first of several Monday Restorative Justice conversations sponsored by the COS Prisoners in Christ team will take place on October 17th, from 5:30-7:30 p.m. in the church living room. Paula Creswell, program manager of 70X7 Life Recovery “Cards for Prisoners” and “Restoring Hope Congregations” will be the featured speaker. All are welcome to join us for a light supper and conversation. To sign up, or for more information, send an email to info@prisonersinchrist.org or contact Arend VanderPols.
FAQs: Staff Edition
Who do I ask to reserve a room for a COS function or a family rental? Monica
Who do I make aware if a restroom or room needs to be cleaned? Monica
Who do I contact if I see an issue with the facilities (leak, heat, broke)? Monica
Who do I send bulletin announcements to? office@coscrc.org (by 8:30 am Thursdays)
Read future bulletins for more Staff FAQ’s.