Zion E-News (8-20-2020)


The last couple of weeks, I have shared some ideas about evangelism. This week, we will take a little break from discussing evangelism and talk about something else instead. Grief and healing.

It has been a little over 5 months now since the world got turned upside down for many of us. For a while, we could get by on adrenaline and denial and wishful thinking. But it is becoming clear to many of us that we will not be getting back to our life in February 2020 anytime soon. And it is hard. It is OK to grieve and be sad. Acknowledge the losses. Recognize the hard changes you have had to make. Do not pass over the stress of balancing caring for parents you cannot visit and helping kids with online school while also working at home. Life has been hard for many of us. Grieve those losses. Allow yourself permission to be sad.

More and more, I am talking to people about depression, addictions, or  a general frustration with life. These are all signs of losses that still need to be grieved. It’s OK to not like the way life is going right now.

And, we also need to figure out how to live healthy lives in the world we are actually in not the world as we wish it was. All the signs are that we will be living with masks and social distancing and quarantines and uncertainty for a while yet. So, what can you do to move forward even in this time of grief and loss? I have three suggestions, inspired by an article I read this morning about changes churches need to make this fall

1. Focus on what you can do rather than on what you can no longer do. For all of us, we have had to set aside plans or traditions that are simply not feasible right now. We can choose to focus on those losses or look for what we can still do. I love how the Eriks family at our church handled a loss this summer. They had a long planned vacation that involved Canada, which was not an option his summer. So, they planned a different trip and made different memories. They could have gotten stuck on what they couldn’t do, but they focused on the options they still had. At church, this is true for worship. Like in many churches, many of us are not comfortable yet gathering in a large group. We could focus on the loss of a large Sunday gathering, or see the opportunity for one-on-one discipleship this time has provided.
2. Focus on relationships, not big events. We may not be holding concerts or sporting events or even church with large crowds for several months or longer yet. We can’t make it safe to gather in large groups by sheer force of will, but we can focus on the things we can do, like spending time with important people in our lives. So, spend time with your kids, with your friends, get to know your neighbors. As a church, our outreach in the community can no longer happen through big events either, it will happen through the relationships you build and the ways you love people in Jesus’ name.
3. Get outside more. It is good for us to get outside. You can see people and build relationships. You naturally get more exercise. Get outside and look for ways to connect with people outside instead of indoors.  As the weather gets colder in the next couple of months: go apple picking, have bonfire, go on a hike, take a bike ride, go to a park or sit at a park and admire the changing leaves. And, while you are outside, get to know your neighbors or fellow walkers. This is an opportunity to connect with people and love people you might not otherwise get to know. I love how my neighbors are inviting several families to come watch a movie in their front yard this weekend. Rachel and I have intentionally built a new friendship with some neighbors who seem to have no church connection. How is God opening new doors for relationships and evangelism by us simply getting outside more often?

There is something healthy in acknowledging the losses of this time, but there is also health in looking to see what God is still doing and how we can join him because we know God uses all things for the good of those who love him. Even Covid. Even these days.

Connect to God
This Sunday we will gather for worship both in person and online. We will gather by the playground for an outdoor service at 9 am. If there is a likelihood of rain, we will cancel our 9 am service. We will try to announce any change in venue by Saturday night on our Facebook page.

If you are not able to join us in person or would simply prefer to not gather in a large crowd yet, you can still join us for online worship. Our 11 am service will be livestream and you are welcome to attend worship at 11, thought the focus will be on the livestream participants. We will be live streaming our 11 am service at zionreformed.online.church and Zion’s Facebook Page. We will also rebroadcast the service on WCET at noon on Friday and 4pm next Sunday.

This week, we continue our series entitled 20 Minute Theology as we think through the purpose of the church. People are made for relationship, to live in community. The church which has been given to the followers of Jesus often provides the community and support we need in life. Perhaps after 5 months apart, we are experiencing anew the importance of gathering together. But,is this the primary function of the church? To be a social club, a spiritual respite, and fortress to protect the avid form the world? Or, did God have something else in mind when he created his church? Join us this Sunday as we consider the Biblical purpose of the church.

Grow in Community
If you are in a small group and are looking for a study for the fall, I have a few recommendations from RightNow Media. These video teachings can either be watched physically together or stream synchronously to your whole group so you watch in real time together.
1. Get Out of Your Head by Jennie Allen. During anxious times, many of us can struggle with controlling our thought patterns and these patterns often lead to depression and negative thought patterns. Through a study of Philippians, Jennie offers wise counsel on redirecting our thought lives in ways that lead to health and honor God.
2. The Color of Compromise by Jemar Tisby. If you are curious to think more about racial issues in the US and the role of the church. Jemar offers a great look at the church’s response to slavery, Jim Crow laws, and racism through our history. I personally found sessions 6, 7 and 9 on Reconstruction, the Complicity of the North after the Civil War, and the rise of the religious Right in the latter half of the 20th century to be challenging and informative.
3. This one is not on RightNow Media, but it is free through the Billy Graham Center for Evangelism. This have a great small group curriculum on personal evangelism entitled Our Gospel Story. If you are unsure how to share your faith, need some encouragement or vision for shaken your faith, or want a refresher on the importance of evangelism, this is a great study.

We have recently started a closed Zion group on Facebook to create a place to discuss sermons, share prayer requests, and stay connected asynchronously when direct face-to-face connections are more challenging. If you want to join the group, you can request to join at this link: www.facebook.com/groups/ziongrandville/

Beginning on September 27, we will hold worship at 9 am indoors. This service will also be live-streamed. We also hope to begin holding Children’s Ministry for kids ages 3 through 5th grade during worship. We will not hold a large group gather for children and will instead have them go immediately to their classrooms. They will be in 3 classrooms and we will practice social distancing by requiring masks for children in K-5th and attempting to keep unrelated children 6 feet apart. We intend to follow the recommendations in MI Safe Start for Schools documentation.

Serve the World
Hope Eriks, through the Girl Scouts, was distributing personal care items to people through Dégagé Ministries. Through this week, she learned many homeless people in Grand Rapids are in need of warmer clothes as the summer ends. To help meet this need, we need your help. Do you have gently used sweatshirts or t-shirts you don’t need? If so, beginning Sunday, we will have two boxes in the lobby of church to accept your clothing donations.

I met yesterday morning with Andrew Moore. Andrew is a pastor at Community Reformed Church in Zeeland who has felt called by God and all called by Community, to plant a new church in Grandville for the city of Grandville. As you can imagine, Covid-19 has made these plans more challenging. But, he is still hoping to launch this new church sometime in the fall of 2021 and will begin forming his launch team this winter. With that end in mind, I have two things for you to pray about:
1. If you live in Grandville, could God be calling you to join this plant effort?
2. They are beginning to look for a space to both eventually hold worship, but also use as a ministry center during the week. Please join in praying for and maybe looking for the right possible location for them in the next year.

If you need help, either with food, personal care items, help grocery shopping, or with financial needs, please contact Chip Harkes our chair of deacons and he can help connect you with the appropriate resources at Zion. His e-mail is chip@harkeslandscape.com and his phone number is 616-299-4804.

Administration
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. We are especially grateful this week for all those who have adjusted their means of giving to give online, through the mail, and via text.

Fiscal Year to Date Budget:$115,569.08
Fiscal Year to Date Contribution: $99,102.14
Giving Last Week: $7,605.00
Cash on Hand: $154,137.19