Zion E-News 8-15-24

ZION E-NEWS (8-15-24)

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 view at your convenience.

WE ARE so excited to celebrate the sacrament of baptism on Sunday with three families who will be presenting their children for baptism. Baptism is a sign and seal of God’s covenant of grace with us and our children. The sacrament of baptism is done in community; we as a church make promises to help nurture these children in their faith. One way we as a church family can tangibly express this commitment is by writing and sharing a blessing with the child being baptized.  Since this is something new we will be doing with baptism, we want to give you time to reflect on this and to prayerfully learn about and think of a blessing you could write down to share with each baptism. You may write this blessing on your own piece of paper you have at home and bring it with you on August 18th, or you can write it out on the 18th on the piece of paper that we will provide.  A blessing can include words of encouragement, empowerment, commendation & protection. You can find a scripture passage to use or you can write your own blessing. If you really want to make it personal, you can use the name of the child being baptized in your blessing. Their names are: Gibson DeHaan, Ruthie Eling, and Lucy Moore. If you have questions about this, feel free to reach out to Pastor Marcia, Pastor Jeremy, or Angie.

PRAYER REQUEST: Continue to pray for those in our congregation who deal with ongoing health issues.

WE EXTEND our sympathy to Shawn Landstra, Hayley and Carly in the passing of their father-in-law and grandfather Carroll “Cal” Landstra. Cal entered his eternal home on Friday, August 9, 2024. Please pray that they feel the comfort and strength of our Savior in this time of grief and loss.

WE WILL be celebrating the sacrament of communion together on Sunday, August 25th. We invite you to take some time to reflect and prepare your hearts as we come to this beautiful table of grace. In response to God’s gift of grace to us, we will give an offering for Zion’s benevolence fund after communion. Benevolence funds are used in a variety of ways to come alongside people in our Zion family and in our local community. One of the ways we are able to meet local needs is through CarePortal. Local agencies can post specific needs to the CarePortal technology platform, and we are able to respond as we are able. Recently we were able to purchase cribs for a local mom in need. We are grateful for your continued generosity!

LAST WEEK was a busy one at Threads!  We had our open shopping day on Tuesday, August 6, and our end of the season sale on Saturday the 10th.  We made $928 at our sale!!  And, my dreams came true….we actually had a line of people waiting to get in before we opened!!  I may have done a happy dance!  All of this money will be used to purchase new socks, underwear, and other needs for the Boutique. We also had a busy day at the monthly shopping day with the Threads’ families.  Here are our numbers for that day:
50 Families shopped (3 of these were brand new)
158 People received clothes
757 Pieces of Clothing were given away
57 Accessories were given away
47 Families used the PCP store
12 Haircuts were given
August also marks the end of the third year of Threads.  Throughout this past year (September 2023 –  August 2024), we have given away 13,000 items of clothing and have 137 families that regularly shop at Threads.  This is 3,000 more clothing items than what we gave away last year.  The needs in our community continue to grow, and this clothing ministry makes a HUGE difference and is a blessing to the Threads’ families. Thank you to all of you for your love and support for this wonderful ministry.  Above all, praise and glory to our Lord for His continual provision.      ~Jill

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).

IF YOU need help, either with food, personal care items, or financial needs, please contact Austin DeHaan, our chair of deacons, and he can help connect you with the appropriate resources at Zion. His e-mail is austin331@gmail.com and his phone number is (269) 762-9748

WE CONTINUE to thank God for his provision of all of our needs and the generous support of our congregation with their time, talent, and resources.

2024/25 YTD Budget:  $126,698.09
2024/25 YTD Contributions:  $100,889.03
Giving Last Week:  $8,382.73