Zion E-News (12-19-2019)

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Last night, one of our kids wanted to figure out how to write 70 on base 8. (Imagine if we only had 8 fingers, so we would have a base 8 counting system instead of base 10.) Computers think is base 2, everything is either a 1 or a 0, on or off, like s light switch. In base 8, 8 is written as 10, 16 as 20, and 64 as 100. This morning, someone asked how we would write 100 in base 3. It was fun to figure out a math problem in a new way and a little bit of a mind bender. 

I have been reading the gospel of Matthew over the last few weeks and it gives me much of the same mend twisting feel. We live in a world that says the people with money and influence have all the power, but in Matthew the power lies with a baby in Bethlehem. In our world, religious people hear from God first, but in Matthew it is the pagans who first recognize Jesus as the true king. 

And then you get to the sermon on the mount and we are told the poor, the mourner, the meek, the hungry, the merciful, and the pure in heart are the ones who are blessed by God.. Our world tells us it is the wealthy, the powerful. those willing to bend the rules and compromise their values that get ahead. God’s ways are not the ways of our world. It takes some work to wrap our minds around his values and begins o make them our own.

Over Christmas, we remember that our world sees a scandal in an unwed pregnant 14 year old, but the gospel sees the coming of the savior. May our minds be more and more shaped by this upside down gospel that we might see the world as our God does.

Have a Merry Christmas from the mind bent Browers!

PS. For those who are curious, I think the answers to the two math questions are below:
70 written in base 8 is 106.
100 in base 3 is 10,201.

Connect to God
“It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, all around the world.” At some point during the upcoming holiday season we will almost certainly hear those familiar lyrics on the radio, on a TV special, or at the mall. For many, Christmas means thousands of shimmering lights gracing trees, bushes, front porches, and sometimes entire houses, transforming the familiar landscape of our neighborhood into a cozy fantasy kingdom. Christmas means  scented red candles, the shining eyes and flushed faces of children as they come alive to the wonder of the season, and mustering an attitude of “good cheer” as we all strive to create an aura of serenity, stillness, and peace on earth. But what do we do when Advent doesn’t feel like Christmas? When life is not all warm and aglow with the joy of the season? This week, we encounter the God who moves into the neighborhood and loves us amid all the messiness of our lives.

After all the shopping, gift wrapping, and holiday events, it’s easy to get lost in the flurry of the season. But there is more to Christmas than the hurry and the scurry. Bring your whole family to Zion for a night of candles, carols, and reflection to rediscover the hope and joy of celebrating the true meaning of Christmas. Join us Christmas Eve at 6:30 pm.

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
Thelma VanderZouwen continues to remain in the hospital awaiting surgery to heal a broken vertebrae. Gary Osterink had knee replacement surgery yesterday and will be returning home today. Katie Bremer also remains hospitalized on bed rest as they monitor both her and the baby’s vital signs. Please keep all of these people and their families in your prayers.

We extend our sympathy to Fred and Gwen Wallace and Mackenzie Wallace in the loss of their father and grandfather, Terrill “Terry” Wallace on Wednesday, December 18. Funeral services were held in Ohio on Saturday. Please pray for peace and comfort for the family during this difficult time.

Serve the World
At our Christmas Eve service, we will be holding an offering to support the ministry of United Church Outreach Ministry in Wyoming. For about 10 years now, we have partnered with UCOM through our Personal Care Pantry. UCOM provides material and educational assistance to meet basic needs, improve quality of life, and promote self-sufficiency in Southwestern Kent County.

Administrative Details
Last week, our Consistory met with Mike Stadelmayer from Church Growth Services (CGS) to decide if we should go ahead with a capital campaign to fund our building remodel. After interviewing about a dozen members in our church, surveying our staff and Consistory and another 140+ people through a paper survey on a Sunday in November, CGS formed an assessment of our ability to move forward with a building campaign. According to their surveying of our congregation

  • over 80% of those surveyed are already planning to support the campaign and just under 80% think now is the right time for a capital campaign.
  • Of those who are unsure, the reasons given were a need more information, a concern about our present giving levels, or a personal worry about their own ability to give.
They ended with the following comment: “Seldom In our recent experience have we seen a congregation as totally enthused to proceed with their project as we have at your church! We could attribute this extraordinary support to many things. However, in our observation, we believe it boils down to a trust of leadership and appreciation for their efforts on this project, a sense of growing momentum and unity within the church body, and a strong desire to  reach more people in the community for Christ. God has blessed your ministry with growth and vibrancy. CGS believes the time is right in which to proceed.”

As a Consistory, we agree with CGS that now is the time to move forward with a capital campaign and so have appointed Ken Johnson and Steve Landstra as Co-chairs of the campaign. They will be recruiting and training their team with CGS over the next few months and we anticipate conducting a campaign pledge drive in April or May of 2020. We will continued to share more information as it becomes available.

We have recently begun accepting donations to the General Fund and Building Fund online or via text. If you are interested in supporting the ministries of Zion financially, you can do so from our website www.zionreformed.org by clicking on “Give Online Now” or text 1-616-219-2181 using one of the commands listed below:

  • Text ‘give’ to be prompted on how much you’d like to give.
  • Text ‘update’ to change the credit card or bank account you give from or to modify recurring gifts you’ve set up by text
  • Text ’50 weekly’ to set up a weekly gift of $50. Replace 50 with the amount you’d like to give. You can also replace ‘weekly’ with ‘biweekly,’ ‘monthly’ or ‘yearly’.
  • Text ’50 fundname‘ to give $50 to a specific fund. Replace ‘fundname’ with the keyword General or Building to designate to specific fund. Replace 50 with the amount you’d like to give.
  • Text ‘unlink’ to unlink your phone from the text giving service so that your phone is no longer authorized to make donations

You can also give directly from our website by clicking on the  “Give Now” button below.

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: $321,662.78
Fiscal Year to date contributions: $296,007.19