6-27-21 Announcements

Rick Warren, the soon to be retiring pastor of Saddleback and author of the Purpose Drive Life, wrote a word of encouragement to pastors in one o this latest e-mails. I found his counsel wise and so share some excerpts and a  link to the full article below:

“Wind is one of the most powerful forces of nature. Kay and I live in a canyon and experience canyon winds for several months every year. In the windy season, it can be brutal.

“The winds of life can be powerful too. They can knock you off balance. So, to have an effective ministry, you’ll need to learn to withstand the powerful, rogue winds of life. Ministry isn’t a problem-free life. That’s why it’s critical to have a firm foundation.

“Proverbs 10:25 says, “Storms can blow away unrighteous people, but the godly have a foundation that keeps them standing firm” (NLT).

“When the storms come, you want a foundation that you can stand on. Here is what you can do to build that foundation in your life and ministry:

“Stay connected to your spiritual family.
“God never intended for you to withstand the destructive winds of life on your own. Whether you experience a ministry struggle, the death of a loved one, an illness, or a family crisis, God wants you to go through these periods with the support of your spiritual family…

“Keep putting God’s Word into practice.
“You’ve likely been studying and applying the Bible for years (and teaching others to do the same). Don’t stop doing this—especially during painful periods…

“Turn your focus on how great God is.
“Stressful situations often feel like they’re out of control. But they’re not out of God’s control. Worship—which is what you’re doing when you turn your focus toward God—is the secret to withstanding hard times…

“Remind yourself that Jesus cares.
“There’s another famous boat incident in the Gospels—in Mark 6. Once again, the disciples were in a boat when a storm hit. This time Jesus wasn’t with them, but the Lord saw the pain of the disciples, and he came to their rescue—walking on water. Jesus didn’t just stand on the sidelines. He came right to the disciples in their pain..

“Storms can actually be helpful if you respond correctly. A kite rises against the wind. It doesn’t fly with the wind. The stronger the opposing wind, the higher the kite can go.

“That’s my prayer for you. That no matter what wind you’re facing, God would use it to take you to new places.”

The full article can be found here.

– Greg

Connect to God
This Sunday we will gather in person at 9:30 am and online at 9:30 and 11 am. If you are joining us outside, you will want to bring chairs. The online service will be pre-recorded and abbreviated as we will not be live-streaming our outdoor services over the summer. You can find the services either on our Facebook page or at zionreformed.online.church. We will also rebroadcast a version of the service on WCET at noon on Friday and 4pm next Sunday.

In Peter’s second letter, he is once again writing to the churches of Asia-Minor, but this time he does so as a final farewell. He knows his life is drawing to a close and so he urges them to both keep growing in the faith and to be on their guard for false teachers, to stay true to Jesus and reject the lies of cheap grace. This Sunday as we continue our study of this letter, Peter warns us about the dangers of false teachers and highlights three signs of false teachers: they don’t follow the teachings of Jesus, they engage in depraved conduct, and they are greedy. As a result, the truth of Jesus is brought into disrepute.

Grow in Community
Please pray for both Corinne VanHorn and Barb Peterson as each have been experiencing fatigue as their hearts have been out of rhythm. Corinne VanHorn is expected to have an  AV cardio ablation and a pacemaker procedure done on Thursday morning. Barb expects to have cardioversion done on Thursday. Prayers for healing and energy are appreciated for both.

We had a great time at our park playdate on Wednesday night that included not only the park and ice cream, but also a couple of slip and slides borrowed from Camp Zion. While we expected between 30-40 people, we had somewhere between 80-100 adults and children attend. (The kids move quick and I kept losing count.) It was a great evening to reconnect with friends from Zion, Camp Zion families, and some new friends as well.

LOST AND FOUND: If you left a key fob at the playdate last night, we found it and you can pick it up from the church office next week.

Weather permitting, our kids ministry will be outside all summer long. This is for kids ages 3 through going into 3rd grade. We’ll be meeting by the picnic tables to read Bible stories, pray together, do other outdoor crafts/games, and play on our church playground!

The nursery is open again this summer. Nursery is for children ages 0-3. The nursery check-in will be inside at the nursery. Young children are also welcome in the main worship service. Thank you to all those serving in the nursery!

We are reading through the New Testament over the next year as a congregation. The reading schedule for this coming week is below:
Monday: 1 Corinthians 13
Tuesday:1 Corinthians 14
Wednesday: 1 Corinthians 15
Thursday: 1 Corinthians 16
Friday: 2 Corinthians 1

You can also find the reading schedule on our website under the Ministries tab.

Serve the World
Camp Zion started this week! They had a great first week of games, slip and slides, Bible stories, and building relationships. We have a great team working and volunteering this summer including all of our Camp Zion staff, Tom Boeve, Andrew Moore, Mackenzie Wallace, and numerous teens.

We continue to make preparations to open Threads, a clothing ministry, this fall. Jill Austin and Rick VanderWall were going over details and plans to prepare the basement to host this ministry earlier in the week.Troy Austin ripped out some carpet earlier this week and Jim Peterson is getting ready to do some painting. If you would like to be involved in any of this preparation work please contact either of them.

If you need help, either with food, personal care items, help grocery shopping, or with financial needs, please contact Jerrod Holzgen, our chair of deacons, and he can help connect you with the appropriate resources at Zion. His e-mail is Jholzgen@yahoo.com and his phone number is 616-520-1771 (Please note, it has been listed incorrectly the last two weeks. My apologies to Jerrod.)

Administration
The Consistory approved remodeling our bathrooms at our April meeting. If you have been in our bathrooms recently you may have noticed they not only look dated, but also have a particularly uncomfortable scent and are in need of some significant repairs. The approved plan will intentionally fit with the larger building remodel plan we approved prior to Covid rather than simply updating the bathrooms. By doing so, we leave open the possibility of moving ahead with the building remodel after Covid and as the financial impacts of this past year become more clear. This small project, however, will cost about $125,000. We will not move forward with this remodeling step until at least half of those funds are raised. If you would like to give to the bathroom remodel, you can do so by donating to our building fund. We do ask that anything given to the building fund be in addition to your regular support of Zion ministries through the general fund so we  can still effectively fund our ongoing ministries.

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 2021/22 Budget:  $22,420.54
Fiscal Year 2021/22 Contributions: $15,163.76
Giving Last Week: $8,610.76
Bathroom Building Fund (total given): $2,405.00