Zion E-News 12-7-23

ZION E-NEWS (12-7-23)
As we look ahead to our holiday season, we want to make you aware of some worship plans:

This Sunday, December 10th, our children will lead us in worship by sharing “Wow Christmas” – it is always a special morning, and we are excited to celebrate with our kids.

Christmas Eve falls on a Sunday this year, so our Christmas Eve worship service
will be held at our regularly scheduled time of 9:30 AM. Note: Zion Kids will not
meet. The nursery will be open but we invite our kids to join us for a family-
friendly Christmas Eve service in the sanctuary that morning.

This is a wonderful time of year as we give thanks to God for his continued
faithfulness, and marvel again at the gift of Jesus’ birth at Christmas. We
encourage you to invite others to join us as we celebrate together.

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 CHRISTMAS PROGRAM Dress Rehearsal will be held on Saturday, Dec 9 from 9am-11am.

PRAYER REQUEST: Please continue to pray for those in our congregation who are dealing with ongoing health issues.

WOW, WOW, WOW!  Tuesday was such an amazing day at Threads!  Thank you so much to the volunteers who helped the families in the boutique, in the hair salon, in the PCP store, those who sorted clothes, restocked the boutique, baked and served Christmas treats and drinks….just loved on each of the people who entered the door!  You each have such a servant’s heart, and it is inspiring to watch how you use it to be the hands and feet of Christ!  Thank you, most of all, to our Lord and Savior, who  continually provides our church with the items needed to run this clothing ministry to bless our community each month.  All praise and glory to HIM!

It was beyond busy!  Here are the numbers:

63 Families shopped at Threads
247 people received clothing
1,209 pieces of clothing were given away
209 accessories (shoes, boots, mittens, hats, purses, etc) were given away
16 People had haircuts
59 Families used the PCP store

This was the most families and people that we have served in one day thus far!

Thank you again from the bottom of my heart for all the love, support, and hard work you give to Threads!  Jill

DURING THIS Christmas season we want to bless and encourage those from Zion who are not able to join us in person for worship. A list of those individuals that includes their address and a brief update on each one of them has been placed in your church mailbox. Cards can be mailed directly to them or placed in their church mailbox and we will make sure they get delivered.

NURSERY NEEDS!  There are two ways you can bless our littlest ones (and their parents!) at Zion in this season. First, we are looking for more volunteers!  Please prayerfully consider whether you could spend a Sunday morning snuggling and playing with babies and toddlers from time to time. We make promises to raise up our children in the faith when they are baptized, and this begins in the nursery!  Second, as you sort through your toys and perhaps donate some your children are no longer using, would you consider donating them to Zion?  We would love some updated toys in the nursery, family room, and Threads kids’ zone. Please contact Olivia DeHaan at odehaan726@gmail.com to volunteer or donate items.  Thank you!

ZION YOUNG ADULTS! Save the Date: Tuesday night, January 2nd Jeremy and Marcia are hosting a gathering at Ken and Sheila Johnson’s home. Join us for a night of fun, catching up with old friends and meeting new ones. Mark it on your calendars – more details coming soon!

ZION YOUTH: No Middle School meeting this week.

HIGH SCHOOL Youth Group Christmas Party: Sunday, December 10 from 12 pm – 3 pm @ Lauren Bosma’s house (Pastor Marcia and Jonathan Pratt’s House). We will be offering a ride from Zion if you don’t want to drive out to Zeeland/Borculo. The church van will be leaving Zion at 11:35 am and returning after the party (3:20-3:30 pm).Lunch provided, games, bring a white elephant gift wrapped (White elephant gifts are random items in your home that you no longer want anymore. Many gifts are funny, some are valuable to someone, most are junk…just don’t go out to buy something).

CHRISTMAS CARD DELIVERY SERVICE: The Middle School Youth are offering a holiday card delivery service. Now through December 24 you can place your cards in the big post office box in the narthex and the youth will sort them and place them in the appropriate church mailbox. In exchange for this service, we ask that you leave a donation in the jar on top of the box to support the Jr. High Youth mission trip. Thank You!

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!

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. We will be packing this Sunday, December 10 following worship. If you would like to help please meet in the basement.

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.

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:  $311,659.65
Fiscal Year 2023/24 Contributions:  $271,838.57
Giving Last Week: $9,761.73