Zion E-News (12-2-2021)
On Tuesday this week our nation experienced another school shooting. This was the 28th school shooting of 2021 and led to the 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th deaths of the year from these shootings. In the 22 years since the Columbine shootings in Colorado, there have been over 230 school shootings. This doesn’t count the accidental misfires of guns in schools or the shootings that were stopped before any violence could occur.
As I read about the shootings in Oxford on Tuesday, I felt really angry and deeply sad. Sad for the families, classrooms, and churches who are grieving the loss of their children, classmates, and parishioners. Sad for the students who will be afraid to go to their school because of their experience. Sad for the students in our community who will attend school with increased anxiety that something like that could happen here. Sad for the kids of our church who have been raised in school not only to prepare for tornadoes, but also have “active shooter” drills every year so they know what to do if the unthinkable happens in our community.
And I am angry. Angry because I know nothing will change. Angry that another community will go through the same rituals of death and grief in a few months. Angry that we, the adults in our nation, seem to care so little about protecting the lives of our children at school.
I also know school shootings are not new, though they receive more media coverage now. The first school shooting in the US happened in 1764. There were 49 school shootings in the 1800s and 207 in the 1900s. While there are more school shootings than before, this has been a problem for over 200 years.
When confronted with the deep brokenness of our world, it can be tempting to yell into the void, to blame all those other people, to through ups our hands in despair. But the Christian response is to find a way we can respond with the love of God to bring more of God’s peace and wholeness to our world. I wonder what that might look like for you and me.
In reading a research article for school counselors, I learned recently that almost 90% of school shooters experienced significant long-term bullying. They also look like many of the kids in our community. Almost all are white boys. Many come from two parent homes and get mostly As and Bs in school. They have friends and are not loners. But, they are bullied.
So what can we do?
1. We can ensure our church is a place where every person (child, teen or adult) is treated as someone of great value. We can include people in our social circles who may be new or simply be alone on a Sunday.
2. We can model kindness by how we talk in our homes about other people and on social media. Be the type of person who avoids gossip and intentionally speaks of the good in others so that our children don’t learn bullying behaviors from us.
3. We can relationally invest in the kids in our community. Then, when they face bullying or other challenges, they will have multiple adults to turn to for advice and counsel and already have a deep well of emotional strength because they know they are loved by us. That is one reason I love mentoring through Kids Hope. I get to help a child in our community see how great he is and that even if his day is going terrible he has me in his corner cheering him on.
And, maybe more broadly, we can support and cheer on the teachers and school counselors in our community. They not only teach content, but also work hard creating school environments that are safe for all the kids, especially those at risk of being bullied.
All of these thoughts put me in a particularly Advent mood, longing for Christ to return and set all things right and make all things new again. Truly, come Lord Jesus.
– Greg
Connect to God
This Sunday we will gather for worship at 9:30 am. The service will be live-streamed at 9:30 and replayed again at 11. You can find the services either on our Facebook page, at zionreformed.online.church, or streaming on our Youtube channel. We will also rebroadcast a version of the service on WCET at noon on Friday and 4pm next Sunday.
Join us this Advent season as we consider the importance of prepositions in our spiritual lives. This year we celebrate the God who has not called us to live under, over, for, or from God, but in Jesus came to be with us. At Christmas, we remember again God loves us so much he came to be like us and with us. Unfortunately, we can often unintentionally live over God, trying to assume control, rather than with the God who loves us.
We want to invite you to join us to celebrate the birth of Jesus this Christmas on either Friday, December 24 at 6:30 pm or Sunday, December 26 at 9:30 am. Both services will be very very similar (think almost identical) and will point us to the hope we have in our God who has come to dwell among us in the person of Jesus.
Grow in Community
Our High School youth group will be having their Christmas party this Sunday from 12-3 at Josh and Shawn Sanders house. And, our Middle School youth group will be having their Christmas party on Sunday, December 12, from 12-3 in the youth room. Students should make sure they bring a white elephant gift!
The Christmas Program music practice is on Saturday morning, Dec. 11. K-5th kids will rehearse from 9:30-10:00, and preschoolers will rehearse from 10:00-10:30. We’ll meet in the sanctuary. Because the “play” portion is pre-recorded this year, and the rehearsal is short parents are asked to stay with their children during rehearsal.
Serve the World
Earlier this week, Jenison Public Schools called with an emergency need for support from Threads. Apparently, two students had recently become homeless and were in need of new clothes and a third student was living in a local campground because their family was also homeless and had been wearing the same clothes to school for a few days. Today I am so thankful for teachers who pay attention to each student and care about not only their learning, but helping provide as much stability in their lives as possible. And, I am thankful for all of you and the ways you care for our community through ministries like Threads, Hand2Hand, and the Personal Care Pantry. May your work point our community to the hope of Jesus and the coming of his kingdom of Shalom.
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.
Administration
I want to share a quick bathroom update. We sent our bathroom remodel plans out for bidding this week and plan to make a final decision on contractors by the end of this year. Our tentative hope is for the bathroom remodel to begin sometime in the middle of January.
We are also preparing to update some of our live-streaming technology through a generous donation. This work will add an additional camera and likely change the company we use to provide our streaming, This may change some of our we stream our services, but will hold drastically improve the quality and consistency of our online services. We will keep you updated with any changes to our online services as we learn more.
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: $291,467.02
Fiscal Year 2021/22 Contributions: $217,081.55
Giving Last Week: $6,177.46
Thanksgiving offering $7,614.15
