Zion E-News (6-30-2022)

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Zion E-News (6-30-2022)
My wife and I have recently enjoyed watching Love on the Spectrum on Netflix (There are two seasons from Australia and one from the U.S. on Netflix). It’s a reality television show that follows people with autism and other special needs as they navigate the difficult world of dating. Some of the dates are set up by the T.V. show, some dates are found through dating apps, some try a speed dating event, and some are already dating. 

What I love most about the show is how sweet and endearing the relationships are as they form. But the reason I started watching it is the same reason I choose to watch 1/4 of the shows I watch. That reason is to understand another human’s perspective. As I watch Love on the Spectrum, I gain a better understanding of what it might be like to be a person on the autism spectrum. I better understand the mind of one of my Kid’s Hope students, some of our youth group students, and some of our Camp Zion kids. I’ve found myself more able to be compassionate and patient with those on the spectrum because of what I’ve learned. Grace shows up in me where I might have been frustrated or judgmental before. 

In addition to watching a show about people with autism, I also try to watch shows with female lead characters, people of color as lead characters, and shows with the majority of actors being people of color. I do this to support these shows, hoping to help balance the scales of a white dominated industry and culture. But I also watch to understand the world and worldview of women, people of color, and people with special needs.

We follow a God of compassion and grace. And if we want to love others well who are different from us, it is important that we set aside our worldview and culture in order to understand another’s. 

This week, my challenge to you is to try to do one thing to understand someone else’s world. Maybe that looks like watching a different kind of show, or watching something that isn’t originally in English (it may require turning on those subtitles), or reading a book with female or people of color lead characters, or attending a hispanic festival, or listening to a different genre of music, or trying to learn more about a co-worker or acquaintance. Whatever you choose, try approaching it with a posture of learning and grace over judgment and frustration. You might find that God is unlocking a passion for loving a new type of people in your life. What a great opportunity to expand God’s kingdom!

– Jeremy

Connect to God
This week we will gather for worship at 9:30 am. This weeks service will be at zionreformed.online.church and streaming on our YouTube channel. We will also rebroadcast a version of the service on WCET at noon on Friday and 4pm next Sunday. The service will continue to be available on YouTube to watch at your convenience.

We will not be having a sermon series for the summer. Instead we look forward to stand alone messages from a variety of voices:

July 3: Pastor Rick Vanderwall

July 10: Alaska Mission Trip Service – Six of our youth: Ella Bond, Noah Brower, Hope Eriks, Samantha Eriks, Emily Verbrugge, and Josh Verbrugge will be preaching 5 minute sermons spaced throughout the worship service.

July 17: Pastor Rick Vanderwall

July 24: Pastor Jeremy Zoet

July 31: Andrew Moore (Zion Member who is an ordained pastor in the RCA)

August 7: Eddy Aleman (General Secretary of the RCA)

August 14: Randy Weener (RCA Director of Church Multiplication)

August 21: Likely our new Transition Pastor, Steve Petroelje

August 28: Likely our new Transition Pastor, Steve Petroelje

Grow in Community
SHAREHOLDERS: Next Sunday, July 10 is the Shareholder’s appreciation lunch.  It will be held in the sanctuary following the youth led worship service (approximately 11:15am).  During dessert you will be matched up with your student so that you can hear all about their trip.  The only thing you need to bring is your appetite.

Summer is a great time to try out new ways to serve in at Zion. If you are interested in serving on one of our welcome teams, now is the time to try it out a few times over the summer! If you are already on a team or want to try it out, you can sign up to serve as an usher, greeter, or to help at the child check in station here.

Some of you may be wondering who will be in charge of Zion Kids now that Rachel Brower will no longer be in that role. Thankfully, many of our leaders have been quick to step up and fill the gap. Following are those who have stepped up and what they will be doing to help us in this time of transition.

Nursery Coordinator – Becky Harkes

Summer Kids Coordinator – Katie Wagner with recruiting help from Jacki Dieter

Child CheckIn Coordinator – Kelly Osterink

Summer Events – Heidi Ondersma

Pre-school Coordinator – Tami Hewitt

K-3rd Coordinator – Heidi Ondersma

Pre-teen Coordinator – Jerrod Holzgen

Christmas Program Director – Emily Morehouse

Administrative/Tech Coordinator – Matt Eling and various staff

Thank you to everyone who has stepped up to help Zion Kids continue to disciple and care for the youngest members of our church.

This week is the 4th of July Holiday weekend! Zion Kids will NOT be meeting next week Sunday. This means people 3 years and older will be staying through the entire service. We will be holding nursery as we do every week.

We have switched to our summer mode in Zion Kids! Every week (besides July 3) we’ll be running a nursery, and a simplified program for kids 3 yrs.-going into 3rd grade (all together). We read Bible stories to kids in small groups, pray, do crafts & play with them.  It’s really fun, and a great way to get to know the kids!  To make this happen, we need your help! Would you be willing to serve In kids ministry two times over the summer months?  We’re looking for young grandparents, teenagers, parents, and people who enjoy being around kids.  We’ll make sure to pair summer volunteers alongside our regular kids ministry people.   All adults over 18 years old must go through Keeping Kids Safe training and a background check prior to serving with kids.  If needed, Pastor Jeremy will contact you to set up a time to go over our policies. These really are fun Summer Sundays with extra time to get to know the kids a bit more! You can sign up through the links below, or via a sign up sheet outside of Room 205, or by texting Katie Wagner at 616-994-2880 or Jacki Deiter at 616-437-4791.  Thanks for considering supporting our kids & young families!
Summer Kids Ministry  
Nursery

Serve the World
Camp Zion started this week! Rachel Verbrugge and our Camp Zion staff and volunteers are doing a great job welcoming kids, learning names, playing games, doing crafts, learning about God and so much more.  This ministry is helping so many families in our community and is providing healthy social interaction, some learning, food (snacks), and the love of God to some kids who really need it. Currently, we have 45 kids registered for camp and have had 35-45 kids each day. Two-thirds are returning campers and one-third are new campers from West and Grandview elementary. The theme verse for the year is Luke 10:27 which says: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” In addition, the campers will be studying the 10 commandments over the 6 weeks of camp. If you are interested in helping out with Camp Zion, there are sign-ups below for donations and volunteering.
Camp Zion Snack Donations
Camp Zion Amazon Wish List
Camp Zion Volunteer Sign Ups

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
We look forward to our Transition Pastor, Steve Petroelje, starting at Zion on Monday, August 15.

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: $41,044.68
Fiscal Year 2021/22 Contributions: $40,862.30
Giving Last Week: $6,487.30

This Week’s Bulletin

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7-3-22 Bulletin

Philippians 1:3-11 ~ Thanking God for You

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This past Sunday, we celebrated the last 17 years of our life and ministry together with the Brower family. As we thanked God for the ways we have shared our lives together, we also looked with anticipation to the work to which God has called Pastor Greg and the new work God will be doing among us as we receive a new Transition Pastor in Pastor Steve and look forward to receiving whomever God has prepared to be our next pastor.
Text: Philippians 1:3-11
Title: Thanking God for You

Preacher: Rev. Greg Brower

Sermon Starts at: 45:00

This Week’s Bulletin

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6-26-22 Bulletin

Zion E-News (6-23-2022)

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Preparing to write this final E-news introduction, I reflected on all the E-news I have written over  the years. This whole weekly newsletter started back in 2014 as a way to keep our Consistory informed of what was happening over the summer. Many people enjoy camping, cottages, and vacations over the summer and I wanted to make sure our Consistory still were aware of any important events at church. Rich Ribbens, who was the Vice-President of Consistory at the time, started forwarding the weekly e-mail to his friends and then word got out and people asked to be added to the list. By August the list had grown and we switched to using mail chimp to send the E-news.

I am feeling particularly nostalgic lately and have read through many of those E-newses (what is the plural of E-news?), a little over 350 weekly updates in total. It feels a bit like reading a journal as sometimes there are reflections on current events, an article I appreciated, an important church update, or a reflection on frogs, and always an annual top ten list of books.

As I look back on these last 17 years, I am struck by one simple thought: this has been a joyous journey with you all. I have loved being your pastor. I have enjoyed each Consistory with whom I have been privileged to work. Our staff are not only co-workers, but dear friends. Coming up with a new sermon each week always stressed me out, but I am a little proud to say I never preached the same sermon twice (you might be surprised how many pastors have done so and no one noticed). Though, as a few have discovered, I did steal some sermon series ideas on occasion when my creativity ran out.

I will save my stories for Sunday, but for now, i just want to say, thank you. Thank you for taking a chance on someone who had only preached 12 sermons total before coming to Zion. Thank you for loving my family so well all these years. Thank you for trying so many new things together and having grace when some didn’t go so well. Thank you for laughing with me when sermon illustrations didn’t turn out as I expected. Thank you for being beloved co-workers in Christ.

Thank you for the last 17 years we have journeyed together.

– Greg

Connect to God
This week we will gather for worship at 9:30 am. This weeks service will be at zionreformed.online.church and streaming on our YouTube channel. We will also rebroadcast a version of the service on WCET at noon on Friday and 4pm next Sunday. The service will continue to be available on YouTube to watch at your convenience.

This week, we celebrate the last 17 years of our life and ministry together with the Brower family. As we thank God for the ways we have shared our lives together, we also look with anticipation to the work to which God has called Pastor Greg and the new work God will be doing among us as we receive a new Transition Pastor in Pastor Steve and look forward to receiving whomever God has prepared to be our next pastor.

This Sunday we celebrate with Kyle and Shanda VandePol the baptism of their son Pierce Calvin and with Austen and Olivia DeHaan the baptism of their daughter Ruby Sue. As they celebrate the life of their children, we give thanks to God for the gift of new life he has made available to all who believe. We thank God as well for the covenant he has established all the way back with Abraham to include children in his family. We honor this faithful God as we welcome Pierce Calvin and Ruby Sue into the covenant community at Zion.

We will also be celebrating the conclusion of 17 years of ministry at Zion for the Brower family. There will be a reception following church for those who desire to wish the Browers well as God calls Greg to lead our Classis.

Grow in Community
Some of you may be wondering who will be in charge of Zion Kids now that Rachel Brower will no longer be in that role. Thankfully, many of our leaders have been quick to step up and fill the gap. Following are those who have stepped up and what they will be doing to help us in this time of transition.
Nursery Coordinator – Becky Harkes
Summer Kids Coordinator – Katie Wagner with recruiting help from Jacki Dieter
Child CheckIn Coordinator – Kelly Osterink
Summer Events – Heidi Ondersma
Pre-school Coordinator – Tami Hewitt
K-3rd Coordinator – Heidi Ondersma
Pre-teen Coordinator – Jerrod Holzgen
Christmas Program Director – Emily Morehouse
Administrative/Tech Coordinator – Matt Eling and various staff

Thank you to everyone who has stepped up to help Zion Kids continue to disciple and care for the youngest members of our church.

Next week is the 4th of July Holiday weekend! Zion Kids will not be meeting next week Sunday. This means people ages 3 years old will be staying through the entire service. We will be holding nursery as we do every week.

Serve the World
Camp Zion starts Monday!! Currently, we have 45 kids registered for camp. Two-thirds are returning campers and one-third are new campers from West and Grandview elementary. The theme verse for the year is Luke 10:27 which says: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” IN addition, the campers will be studying the 10 commandments over the 6 weeks of camp. If you are interested in helping out with Camp Zion, there are sign-ups below fro donations and volunteering.
Camp Zion Snack Donations
Camp Zion Amazon Wish List
Camp Zion Volunteer Sign Ups

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
Our consistory met on Tuesday this week to sign some formal documents ending Pastor Greg’s call to Zion and to officially hire Becky Harkes as our new nursery coordinator. This is not a new position as Zion has had a paid nursery coordinator since at least 2004, with the exception of these past two years of Covid when Rachel Brower also led the nursery. We are so thankful for Becky’s sense of call to this role and look forward to the ways she will help us welcome and love the smallest members of Zion.

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: $30,783.51
Fiscal Year 2021/22 Contributions: $34,375.67
Giving Last Week: $4,642.50

Luke 4:14-30 ~ Glimpses of the Kingdom

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We have been spending the past few weeks thinking about how God’s mission for the world has a church. As we think about the role of the church in God’s mission, his deep longing to see people from every tribe, people, and language returning to God in worship, we have looked at three key teachings from Jesus that inform our role in this mission. First, we focused on the Great Commission in Matthew 28. Two weeks ago we looked to the Great Commandment in Matthew 22. And this week, we will focus on the Great Mission of Jesus in Luke 4.

Preacher: Rev. Greg Brower

Sermon begins at 44:20.

This Week’s Bulletin

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6-19-22 Bulletin

Zion E-News (6-16-2022)

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On Friday morning, I was walking from the Scholte Dorm on Central College’s campus to the gym where we met for our General Synod plenary sessions. On the way, in the rain, I walked around a pond. As I walked by the pond, I saw what looked like crickets jumping out of my way. As I looked closer, I realized they were tiny little frogs. Tadpoles had just gotten big enough to jump out of the pond and begin exploring the big wide world. Literally, hundreds of tiny little frogs were on the sidewalk all week long as we walked back and forth to meals or plenary sessions.

I spent time watching people walk through the frogs. Some people never seemed to notice and just strode through the teeming frogs and squashed a fair number of them. Others noticed the frogs and then moved on walking as if the frogs were not there. One person tiptoed around the frogs all week afraid they would kill a frog. One afternoon, two little kids stopped all excited to watch and study the frogs. They carefully picked them up and moved them to the safety of the grass. They asked their parents all about where the frogs came from and how they grew to be frogs. They were captivated by these little animals, longing to learn more and keep them safe.

I have been thinking a lot about those frogs and how people responded. How we respond to the frogs may correspond to home sometimes we respond to people. Some people go through life intent on their goal and unaware of how their behavior impacts others. Other people notice their impact on the people around them, but don’t really care as long as they get where they are going. Others live in constant anxiety that they might offend or harm another and so they go through life tiptoeing around trying to avoid any conflict. Some are like the kids just fascinated by people and wanting to know more about them. Most of us are all of these people and more depending on the situation.

In life, I most want to be and most often am the child fascinated by the frogs and other people, delighting in the beauty God has placed in each of us. Rarely am I the “tiptoer,” though I did try to avoid all those baby frogs. Sometimes, I imagine I am unaware of the ways I have stepped on others and harmed them. And sadly, on occasion, I have seen others and worried more about accomplishing my goals than caring for them. For those last two, I am truly sorry.

How might you be more aware this week of your impact on others? How might we intentionally find delight in one another?
– Greg

Connect to God
This week we will gather for worship at 9:30 am. This weeks service will be at zionreformed.online.church and streaming on our YouTube channel. We will also rebroadcast a version of the service on WCET at noon on Friday and 4pm next Sunday. The service will continue to be available on YouTube to watch at your convenience.

We have been spending the past few weeks thinking about how God’s mission for the world has a church. As we think about the role of the church in God’s mission, his deep longing to see people from every tribe, people, and language returning to God in worship, we have looked at three key teachings from Jesus that inform our role in this mission. First, we focused on the Great Commission in Matthew 28. Two weeks ago we looked to the Great Commandment in Matthew 22. And this week, we will focus on the Great Mission of Jesus in Luke 4.

This Sunday we celebrate with Ryan and Rachel Kleinjans the baptism of their son Rhett Michael.  As they celebrate his life, we give thanks to God for the gift of new life he has made available to all who believe. We thank God as well for the covenant he has established all the way back with Abraham to include children in his family. We honor this faithful God as we welcome Rhett Michael into the covenant community at Zion.

Grow in Community
Summer is a great time to try out new ways to serve in at Zion. if you are interested in serving on one of our welcome teams, now is the time to try it out a few times over the summer! if you are already on a team or want to try it out, you can sign up to serve as an usher, greeter, or to help at the child check in station here.

Starting last week, we have switched to our summer mode in Zion Kids! We’ll be running a nursery, and a simplified program for kids 3 yrs.-going into 3rd grade (all together). We read Bible stories to kids in small groups, pray, do crafts & play with them.  It’s really fun, and a great way to get to know the kids!  To make this happen, we need your help! Would you be willing to serve In kids ministry two times over the summer months?  We’re looking for young grandparents, teenagers, parents, and people who enjoy being around kids.  We’ll make sure to pair summer volunteers alongside our regular kids ministry people.   All adults over 18 years old must go through Keeping Kids Safe training and a background check prior to serving with kids.  If needed, Rachel will contact you to set up a time to go over our policies. These really are fun Summer Sundays with extra time to get to know the kids a bit more! You can sign up through the links below, or via a sign up sheet outside of Room 205, or by texting Rachel at 616-669-3412.  Thanks for considering supporting our kids & young families!
Summer Kids Ministry  
Nursery

Serve the World
Camp Zion is starting in just over a week! Currently, we have 45 kids registered for camp. Two-thirds are returning campers and one-third are new campers from West and Grandview elementary. The theme verse for the year is Luke 10:27 which says: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” IN addition, the campers will be studying the 10 commandments over the 6 weeks of camp. If you are interested in helping out with Camp Zion, there are sign-ups below fro donations and volunteering.
Camp Zion Snack Donations
Camp Zion Amazon Wish List
Camp Zion Volunteer Sign Ups

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
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: $20,522.34
Fiscal Year 2021/22 Contributions: $29,733.17
Giving Last Week: $7,897.50

Mark 5:1-20

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This Sunday, we welcomed Chris VanderZee from Intervasity to our pulpit. Chris and I have gotten to know each other over the past few years as we have been working on a partnership between Intervarsity and several churches in our Classis to raise up future leaders for the church at both Grand Valley and Davenport. Chris brings a deep passion for evangelism, discipleship, and young adults. His message will be on Mark 5:1-20.

Preacher: Mr. Chris VanderZee

Sermon begins at 33:58.

This Week’s Bulletin

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6-12-22 Bulletin