Zion E-News (6-10-2021)

Sometimes, we can all fall into the trap of thinking church is all about the building or the worship service or the kids or youth programming. And, those are all wonderful activities, but the church is not an activity or a building, it is people. You and me.

While we put a lot of time and energy into worship services and youth and children’s programming (and we should because these things deeply matter), they are not the mission of the church. They are tools to help prepare us for the mission of the church, but they are not the goal. They are a means to an end.

The mission of every church and every believer is to love our neighbor. To value their needs, their fears and anxieties, their hopes and dreams in the same way we value those things in our lives. A couple months ago now, I read in a commentary that when Jesus summarizes the law as being loving God and loving others, he does so in the Greek in a way that implies the way you love God is by loving others. In other words, the way we worship God best is in serving others. When we feed hungry people and house homeless people and mentor kids struggling in school and provide clothes for those who need them, we are loving God. This fits so well with the worldview of the prophets who tell us repeatedly in the Old Testament that God was upset with his people for two reasons: worshiping false gods and not caring for the poor and powerless among them. God has always linked our love for him with our love for others.

I mention this because on Tuesday night, one of our Consistory members shared how they had heard about our Kids Hope ministry and care for teachers at Bursley this year from a co-worker. I regularly have people tell me about ways they have been impacted by Hand2Hand, Camp Zion, and the Personal Care Pantry and I am sure we will soon add stories from Threads. Zion has an out sized impact on our community because of the huge hearts you all have for God and the people who bear his image.

In my office, I have our 7 year vision written on a white board and it reads: Zion will overflow with new and developing leaders to flood Grandville, Wyoming, Jenison, and Hudsonville with gospel conversations leading to life transformation and new faith communities.

Just this week, I saw us live into this vision as people swarmed the stage to affirm and encourage the youth who led us in worship Sunday night and as Rachel Verbrugge and Jeremy Zoet poured into our Camp Zion staff and as Jill Austin steps up to lead Threads after praying for God to show her what was next for her. God is working among us. Let’s keep our eyes open to see and our feet ready to chase after and join God in his great work.

Greg

Connect to God
This Sunday we will gather in person at 9:30 am and online at 9:30 and 11 am. 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 confronts the false teachers who say Jesus is not coming back to judge the world and set things right and we consider what it means to live in the hope of the day when God’s will is done on earth as it already is in heaven.

Communion, also called The Lord’s Super or the Eucharist, is the family meal of Christians.  We invite all committed followers of Jesus Christ to partake of this sacrament: those who are baptized members of a congregation that proclaims the gospel, who are at peace with God and with their neighbor, and who seek strength to live more faithfully for Christ.  If you are not a Christian, or if you are not prepared to share in this meal, we encourage you to spend this time in prayer.  We hope that this time is helpful to you as you consider your relationship with Jesus Christ and with His people, the church.

Grow in Community
We will be hosting a Park Playdate on June 16 from 6:30 to 8 pm. Come on out to connect with others in person!  We’ll have water balloons & bubbles for the kids, and ice cream treats for everyone. All ages welcome. Feel free to invite friends to join us!

After church this Sunday, we hope you will stay to enjoy some cookies and maybe even a little kickball for all ages. Last week, we almost lost the ball on the roof of a neighboring building (some dads have strong legs) and had fun playing with kids from ages 5 to 50 or so. We would love to have you join us for some cookies and drinks and some great conversation with friends from church.

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 8
Tuesday:1 Corinthians 9
Wednesday: 1 Corinthians 10
Thursday: 1 Corinthians 11
Friday: 1 Corinthians 12

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

Serve the World
Camp Zion starts next week! Earlier this week, Rachel Verbrugge and all the staff were busy preparing for the first day, learning some dances, organizing activities, and praying for the kids. This year, Camp Zion will be held in the mornings Monday through Thursday. We have a great group of kids planning on attending and look forward to another great summer.

As we prepare for another great season of Camp Zion, we have built a little wish list for the summer. If you would like to help purchase some supplies and resources for the summer, you can do so from the list at this link.
https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/M4D5CKCROXH5?ref_=wl_share

Camp Zion still has some volunteer slots available for the summer, If you would like to help out in the summer and invest in the kids in our neighborhood, you can sign up at the following link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/8050949a9a82aa2fd0-camp

We also 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. 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 616-791-7718.

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:  $11,210.27
Fiscal Year 2021/22 Contributions: $6,553.00
Giving Last Week: $6,553.00
Bathroom Building Fund (total given): $2,405.00

Thank you to everyone who gave money to support the Nepalese Speaking Community Church building project a check for $3,440 was sent earlier this week to them.