ZION E-NEWS (10-19-23)
“I lift up my eyes to the hills – where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.”  Psalm 121:1

Late yesterday afternoon, I enjoyed a beautiful drive northwest along US-31 toward Norton Shores for Lauren’s OK-Green Cross-Country Championship meet. The sun had finally peeked out after several days of clouds and rain. And the trees were just ablaze with color. As I drove along, I was stunned and delighted by the radiant hues of reds and yellow, mixed throughout with the deep greens of evergreen trees.

The Cross-Country meet was held at Oak Ridge golf course, which backs up to PJ Hoffmaster State Park. While waiting for the runners to begin, I looked around at the sweeping views of rising hills around me, full of color. And the verse above came to mind.

There are many things I love about nature. Certainly fresh air is good for my body, and reveling in the beauty of creation is good for my heart. But there is something else that happens when I’m in nature. My mind and spirit calm. Because as I look around at the majestic world around me, I am reminded that we have a God who made all of heaven and earth. And that same God holds all of it, including us, in his all-powerful hands. When I spend time in nature, I remember again that the Lord who created is also the one who helps and sustains me.

We are in the height of fall beauty right now in West Michigan. I encourage you to take some time this weekend to get outdoors if you can, and to delight in the beauty of the trees. And while you do, breathe deeply and remember the promises of our creating, loving, helping God.

~Pastor Marcia

CONNECT TO GOD
AS WE GATHER in person for Worship each Sunday at 9:30am the service can also be viewed on our website 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 10:30AM on Sunday. The service will continue to be available on YouTube to watch at your convenience.

ZION KIDS: All kids birth through 5th grade must be signed in at the Zion Kids Check-In Kiosk located in the lobby before the service. The nursery will be staffed for kids birth – 3 yrs.  Preschoolers meet in room 206.  K-2nd graders meet in room 205. 3rd – 5th graders meet in room 207.  Please bring the corresponding tag to pick up your child after worship. We’re excited to begin the year!

ZION YOUTH: Regular Weekly youth group meetings are on Sunday’s at the following times:
High School Youth(9-12 grade) meet from 4:00 – 5:30 pm.
Middle School Youth (6-8th grade) meet from 5:45 – 7:15 pm.

GROW IN COMMUNITY
PRAYER REQUEST: Pray for Nancy Doornbos as she recovers from hip replacement surgery. Continue to pray for those in our congregation who are dealing with ongoing health problems.

THIS SUNDAY, October 22 we celebrate the Installation of our new Lead Pastor, Rev. Marcia Pratt during our morning worship service. We are excited about the future ministry of our church under Pastor Marcia’s leadership and look forward to celebrating this occasion as a church family. A cake reception will be held in the narthex following the service.

WHO LOVE A good fall potluck?  Join us on Sunday, November 5th after the morning service for a “Potluck Plus.”  Potluck: please bring a main dish and salad/side or dessert. Drinks and paper products will be provided. “Plus”: we will have some entertainment to help us get to know the pastors better!  And this is a wonderful chance to share a meal and get to know others at Zion better too. To RSVP on SignUp Genius click here or use this QR code.
There is also a sign up available on the bulletin board by the church office, or you can call the church office to RSVP as well. We hope you will join us!

YOUTH FUNDRAISERS: Our youth are selling 2024 God’s Creation Calendars ($10) and Key Card Books ($30).  If you haven’t been contacted and would like to purchase one please contact any one of our youth or call the church office at 616-534-7533.

THIS PAST September we had a great time camping at Dunes Harbor Family Campground. It was a great weekend with lots of food, fun, and stories around the campfire. Believe it or not, we are already planning next years camping weekend. Currently we have we have four cabins and ten campsites on the dates of June 6-9 being held for us. What we need to know is how many of you are interested. There is a sign up sheet on the bulletin board by the office or let Pastor Rick or Jonell know if you are interested. I know it is a ways off but it’s never to early to think about camping next year!

SERVE THE WORLD
DONATIONS of the following items (full size – not travel size) are needed for the Personal Care Pantry and can be placed in the box in the narthex marked “pantry donations”.  Laundry Soap,  Bar Soap,   Dish Soap,  Disposable Razors,  Shampoo,  Conditioner,  Toothpaste,  Paper grocery bags, Deodorant, Tampons, Maxi Pads, Paper towels (1 or 2 pack) and  Toilet paper (1-4 pack).

HAND2HAND: We are currently serving 100 kids each week! We could use food donations of the following: pudding cups, 100% juice, juice boxes, beef stick, granola bars, Lance brand or that type of sandwich cracker and microwave popcorn. Also, now-December 3 we are collecting Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie Mix and ready to use frosting (16oz) to include in the last bag delivered before Christmas. Donations can be placed in the shopping cart in the narthex by the Welcome Center.

IF YOU need help, either with food, personal care items, help grocery shopping, or with financial needs, please contact Tom MacGraw, our chair of deacons, and he can help connect you with the appropriate resources at Zion. His e-mail is thomas.m.macgraw@gmail.com and his phone number is (616) 315-7938.

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 2023/24 Budget:  $219,316.05
Fiscal Year 2023/24 Contributions:  $194,992.68
Giving Last Week: $16,927.73

 

ZION E-NEWS (10-12-23)
Last weekend, my husband Jonathan and I traveled to Plymouth, Michigan for a very unique experience. We were there to celebrate the wedding of my cousin Michael to his wonderful new wife, Roberta. However, this was no usual wedding weekend, Roberta is Nigerian by birth. Her parents immigrated to the United States when Roberta was just 8 years old, so in most ways, Roberta considers herself fully “Americanized.” But when it came time for Roberta’s wedding, it was important to her family and larger Nigerian community to follow some of the traditional Nigerian wedding customs. Therefore, a Nigerian ceremony was held on Friday night, followed by a “white wedding” on Saturday with (their words, not mine!). 🙂

We were invited to order traditional Nigerian clothing for the Friday night ceremony. (Unfortunately, there was a mistake with ours and they didn’t fit.) It was incredible to see everyone in the beautiful Nigerian dress. Friends were in gold; family members were in teal. The bride and groom wore navy. Traditional formalities between families were exchanged; it was basically a modernized form of offering and accepting a dowry. A full buffet of Nigerian food was served.
I will admit, while we absolutely enjoyed the evening, the culture shock was real. Nigerians have a very different sense of time. The ceremony was scheduled to begin at 6:30 PM; it actually started at 8:30 PM. Dinner was served at 10 PM, which frankly is past my normal bedtime!  :). And although I am generally a pretty adventurous eater, I struggled to enjoy the Nigerian dishes.

Similarly, on Saturday, the Nigerians felt the culture shock of a “white wedding.” Things that felt so normal to my family and me were confusing to the Nigerian community.

 

 

 

 

The most beautiful part of the whole weekend, though, was how gracious everyone was. Certainly, we were living out a fairly significant clash of cultures and expectations. Yet everyone recognized the primary purpose for being there was to celebrate Michael and Roberta. Both families are fully supportive of this marriage. Yes, Michael and Roberta have different ethnicities and family histories. But they share the most important thing: a deeply-rooted faith in Christ. Their love story is beautiful, and everyone wanted to celebrate that together.

And so, we all leaned into a spirit of curiosity and grace. We asked questions to learn more about the culture we didn’t understand. We were patient when things felt confusing or even frustrating. We laughed a lot. And it was a great weekend.

There are many times we encounter something or someone different in our daily lives, in our workplaces and schools, and even in our church. Sometimes those differences make us uncomfortable or even frustrated. But I wonder if we could encourage one another to lean into a spirit of curiosity and grace. Ask questions. Attempt to learn something new, or see from another point of view. Celebrate the beauty of common humanity. And within the church, let’s celebrate our unity as the larger, diverse family of Christ.  ~Pastor Marcia

CONNECT TO GOD
AS WE GATHER in person for Worship each Sunday at 9:30am the service can also be viewed on our website 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 10:30AM on Sunday. The service will continue to be available on YouTube to watch at your convenience.

David: The Complicated King David was known as the “Man After God’s Own Heart” but he was anything but perfect. His life was filled with courage, joy and success, but also many heartaches and personal failures. Yet through it all, one thing was constant: his dependence on God and trust in God’s unfailing love. Join us at Zion this fall as we explore the life of David and find encouragement to bring our own complicated lives to the God who loves us.

ZION KIDS: All kids birth through 5th grade must be signed in at the Zion Kids Check-In Kiosk located in the lobby before the service. The nursery will be staffed for kids birth – 3 yrs.  Preschoolers meet in room 206.  K-2nd graders meet in room 205. 3rd – 5th graders meet in room 207.  Please bring the corresponding tag to pick up your child after worship. We’re excited to begin the year!

ZION YOUTH: Regular Weekly youth group meetings are on Sunday’s at the following times:
High School Youth(9-12 grade) meet from 4:00 – 5:30 pm.
Middle School Youth (6-8th grade) meet from 5:45 – 7:15 pm.

GROW IN COMMUNITY
Prayer Request: Continue to pray for those in our congregation with ongoing health issues.

We express our sympathy to Mike and Carol Taylor in the passing of Mike’s father, Bud (Ralph C) Taylor. Bud passed away into the arms of his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ on Friday, October 6, 2023.

THE MOTT FAMILY has been dealing with a lot lately with the recent passing of Amy’s mom and the health problems and hospitalization of Steve’s mom Carolyn. Steve’s mom was released from the hospital and will be living with Steve and Amy as she recovers. A friend started a meal train for them to try to help lighten the load. If you would like to help out with a meal you can sign up here: https://takethemameal.com/CYZU9241?fbclid=IwAR3mW8dchPHr4TEsm1XrP-POxRZO_CsCp_Z4UoR9K3jwRtwnstZTXKm_XxE

THE INSTALLATION SERVICE for our new Lead Pastor, Rev. Marcia Pratt, will be held on Sunday, October 22 during our morning worship service. We are excited about the future ministry of our church under Pastor Marcia’s leadership and look forward to celebrating this occasion as a church family.

YOUTH FUNDRAISERS: Our youth are selling Key Card Books ($30).  If you haven’t been contacted and would like to purchase one please contact any one of our youth or call the church office at 616-534-7533.

SERVE THE WORLD
DONATIONS of the following items (full size – not travel size) are needed for the Personal Care Pantry and can be placed in the box in the narthex marked “pantry donations”.  Laundry Soap,  Bar Soap,   Dish Soap,  Disposable Razors,  Shampoo,  Conditioner,  Toothpaste,  Paper grocery bags, Deodorant, Tampons, Maxi Pads, Paper towels (1 or 2 pack) and  Toilet paper (1-4 pack).

KEEPING KIDS SAFE: If you are working with children & youth in any of our ministry programs and have not yet attended the mandatory Keeping Kids Safe training please meet with Rachel Verbrugge in the youth room following worship on October 15.

HAND2HAND: We are currently serving 100 kids each week! We could use food donations of the following: pudding cups, 100% juice, juice boxes, beef stick, granola bars, Lance brand or that type of sandwich cracker and microwave popcorn.  Also, now-December 3 we are collecting Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie Mix and ready to use frosting (16oz) to include in the last bag delivered before Christmas. Donations can be placed in the shopping cart in the narthex by the Welcome Center.

IF YOU need help, either with food, personal care items, help grocery shopping, or with financial needs, please contact Tom MacGraw, our chair of deacons, and he can help connect you with the appropriate resources at Zion. His e-mail is thomas.m.macgraw@gmail.com and his phone number is (616) 315-7938.

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 2023/24 Budget:  $219,316.05
Fiscal Year 2023/24 Contributions:  $178,064.95
Giving Last Week: $5,233.73