Zion E-News (7-3-2019)

There are some things you simply don’t learn and can’t know you need to learn when you attend seminary. Becoming a pastor you expect to officiate at many funerals and weddings. You know there will be counseling appointments and many visits at hospitals. But they never tell you about the ducks.

This spring, a mother duck made a nest and laid 7 eggs in the courtyard at church. Those eggs have hatched and 7 little ducklings had become trapped in the courtyard, unable yet to fly and with no way to walk out. The mother duck has been looking for a way out for a couple of days now and has been seen peering in through the glass door near the youth room. But, she was trapped.

Until this morning. Pastor Rick set up a barricade of tables and assorted other furniture to block off the education wing, opened the door the courtyard and Door ‘D’ by the kitchenette. But, the ducks were frightened by all the people in the hallway. So, we shooed everyone away. We tried laying out bread crumbs (I know they are bad for ducks, but so is being trapped in the courtyard), but they were not interested. We waited. Camp Zion kids started watching the courtyard through the windows in the lobby and when the ducks disappeared into the building they came running to tell Pastor Rick. he gently shooed the mother duck out the door and she and her children are making a new home in the bushes near Rm. 205. The courtyard is officially a duck-free zone.

There are some pretty obvious analogies we could make about how we were all trapped in in our sin, but Jesus has shown as the way to true freedom with God. But, I will leave those for you to make and, instead, simply enjoy the delight of the children watching the ducks, the joy Rick found in solving the Courtyard Duck problem, and the humor of a mother duck and her 7 ducklings walking through our church.

I hope you all have as great a 4th ion July as we have had a 3rd of July.

Connect to God
An angry prophet. A fearsome and hated enemy. An overwhelming storm. And a surprising message of a merciful God to his people. The story of Jonah is one of the most well-known stories in the Bible. It is also one of the most misunderstood. Many people, even those who are not religious, are familiar with Jonah: a rebellious prophet who defies God and is swallowed by a whale. But there’s much more to Jonah’s story than most of us realize. As we begin our study of Jonah, we encounter a prophet, like many of us, running away from a God he doesn’t fully understand.

If you would like a copy of the worship service, you can receive a complete copy by contacting Tom Verbrugge or you can find the weekly messages on our website.

Grow in Community
We extend our sympathy to Maurie and Lorraine Lemmen in the passing of their nephew Jason DeJongh on Sunday night at the age of 63. Please hold Maurie and Lorraine and the entire family in your prayers.

We hold Loren and Myra Renkema in our prayers as Loren continues under hospice care. Prayers for peace and comfort during this difficult time are appreciated.

Hayley Moore continues receiving both chemotherapy following a recent cancer diagnosis and surgery. Chemotherapy is expected to last about 6 months. The family asks for continued prayers for healing, for strength during this journey, and for minimal side-effects from the chemotherapy. Due to a peanut allergy, the family cannot accept food from homes, but you can donate a gift card through grub hub if you would like. You can follow this linkto learn more.

Our church recently signed up to give everyone access to RightNow Media. I want to share just a couple of resources you can find on the Zion Reformed Church channel on the app. One great resource for kids is What’s int he Bible. Over 13 episodes, Phil Vischer (the creator of Veggie Tales) leads kids through an overview of the Bible and answers some really difficult questions in ways kids can understand. And, the other resource is titled “Read Scripture” and it provides great summaries of the books of the Bible. We use this in our home before reading a book together with our older children and I encourage everyone in my discipleship triad to watch the appropriate video before we read a book together. They provide engaging and solid backgrounds and summaries. They are well worth your time.

As a member or regular attender of Zion you get free access to all these resources. RightNow media can be accessed through a computer, your smart phone or tablet, apple tv, Roku, Fire TV, and more. If you would like to sign-up for Right Now Media, you can do so here.

During the summer, we take a break from our regular children’s programming to allow our teachers have a break from prepping lessons each week. Instead, we show age appropriate Christian videos for kids ages 3 years old through 3rd grade. We are still looking for a few volunteers. Please consider volunteering to help over the summer! It’s a great way to get to know some of the awesome children in our church! You can sign up via the link below, or there’s a sign-up sheet outside of Room 205. Rachel Brower will meet with volunteers each Sunday before church so they know how to run the video. You must have gone through Keeping Kids Safe training and a background check in order to volunteer. If not, Rachel can meet with you to go over our policy. You sign-up through the link below:
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e044cafad2ca2ff2-summer1

Serve the World

Camp Zion is having another great week and there is an opportunity for you to be a part of all god is doing through Camp Zion. We are looking for people willing to help drive our campers to lunch and local field trips next week. We need drivers from about 11:30 until 2:15. If you are willing to help out, please contact Rachel Verbrugge.

Also, we will once again be collecting donations for School Supply Santa. You can learn more about what is needed in the announcement at the end of this e-mail.

Administrative Details
Last week, I shared a little abut the Vision 2020 team and potential changes for our denomination. Much more happened at the General Synod meeting last month and you can learn about it here.

We continue to thank God for his provision of all of our needs and for the generous support of our congregation with their time, talent, and treasures.

Fiscal Year to date budget: $55,459.10
Fiscal Year to date contributions: $53,797.00