Zion E-News (3-24-2022)
God must be trying to get my attention regarding social media, because I have two different videos or podcasts pop up directly addressing the negative side effects of social media (depression, increased polarization, anxiety, lost productivity, and so on). The first showed up when I was editing the video of our service on YouTube. It was a video made by a comedienne who struck my funny bone during the early days of the pandemic. The video was all about how we use social media to numb the pain of sadness and to fill the void of loneliness and all it does is increase both those feelings. And then the video ended with an ad for counseling. I thought that was a great partnership!

The second was a podcast I frequently listen to hosted by Heather Thompson Day who is a communications professor and talks with people about using social media to have an impact for Jesus. (Sort of.) But this week, her guest was a social scientist who studies social media and who because of her study is no longer on social media. Yes, she really thinks it is that bad for most of us.

But what struck me in that interview was a comment the guest made about mono-tasking. Simply doing one thing at a time rather than two or three of four things at once. She used the example of driving. Just driving. Not listening to the radio or a podcast. Not calling people. But simply paying attention to the act of driving. Her counsel was that mono-tasking helps our brain slow down and focus better and as a side effect can also help us get more done.

I have been feeling particularly busy the past couple of weeks as evenings have been full with church and kids activities and several of my days have been eaten up by extra church meetings, including this Saturday. When I feel busy, my mind rushes from one thing to the next and I find it difficult to focus, not only on the task at hand, but also the people with me.

For the past couple of days, I have been working hard to mono-task. As a simple example, I did not check e-mail while brushing my teeth or scroll on twitter while eating breakfast or call anyone while driving across town for a meeting on Tuesday. When I came home for the day Tuesday a little after eight, normally I would have chose to watch TV or surf the internet news sites, but instead, I chose to sit and chat with the kids for an hour and be present with them.I chose to be fully present to each activity and I could feel my anxiety and sense of hurry slow down. The same has been true in my devotions as I have worked hard to be present with God. As I have been thinking about mono-tasking, I keep coming back to Psalm 46:10 which says, “Be still and know that I am God.”

In a world of both frenetic hurry and the artificial hurry of social media distraction, it is good for me to be still and present to God, to those around me, and the work God has placed before me at that moment.

– 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.

During Lent we will be looking at the life and ministry of Jesus to see both how he was tested and found true and how we have been given a faith that can both endure and help carry us through every test of life. This Sunday, we consider The Parable of the Lost Son, often referred to as The Parable of the Prodigal Son. As we look at this story, we contemplate which characters we relate to most, and what we can learn about who God is and who we are from these characters and their story.

This Sunday, after church, we will be distributing “You’ve Been Egged” bags to our children. Every family who participates in kids ministry is welcome to take one for themselves, and we also encourage everyone to take one or more to “Egg” another person or family, by dropping it off at their home. There are a couple of reasons we’re doing this. First, we want to give our kids (and all of us!) an opportunity to do something to bless our friends & neighbors. And second, we know that around Easter, some people are looking for a place to worship. We simply want to extend a personal invitation to them to join us at Zion. If you decide to “Egg” someone’s house, be sure to write your name on the gift bag if you leave it by their front porch, or personally deliver it to them. A huge thank you to the high school youth group who put together each of the “You’ve Been Egged” bags.

Grow in Community
Denice Kooiker, Dianne’s daughter-in-law,  continues to improve this week and was able to have two drainage tubes removed, is hoping to have another one removed today, and is praying to return home sometime this weekend.

Thank you to all those who attended the Alaska Mission Trip Fundraiser at Culver’s on Monday this week. Through your generous support, we raised $1,402 from the tip jars plus however much we earned in the percentage of sales. Thank you for your support of our youth.

Our youth are looking for Shareholders for our 2022 Alaska Mission Trip.Becoming a shareholder means that you will donate $40 or more to help offset the costs of the trip. As a shareholder, you will be matched up with one student and commit to praying for them before the trip, during the trip, and after the trip. There are all sorts of benefits for shareholders like: a meal with your student after the trip, an update from the student during the trip, a copy of their pre-trip devotionals, the knowledge you played a role in a student’s spiritual growth and so much more.

Serve the World
Chris and Christie Winkler, missionaries whom we support with Wycliffe Bible Translators will be hosting a virtual meeting tomorrow at 12 pm. This session will be on Zoom but you do not need a Zoom account in order to participate. At the specified time, please use this link to visit with us. (If you don’t do video conferencing, that’s fine–for either session you can call 312-626-6799  and use meeting ID 960 093 2513 to access by any regular or mobile phone.)

So they have a rough idea of our turnout, they would like people to RSVP via Facebook Events at the link below (you do not need a Facebook account): Friday, March 25, at 12 p.m. ET

If you forget to RSVP, you are still welcome to attend. If you want to learn more about the important ministry of Wycliffe in translating the Bible all around the world, please plan on attending tomorrow at noon via zoom.

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
The remodel of our bathrooms began in January and is right on schedule! There are lights in the bathrooms, counters, and mirrors. We are hoping the work will be completed as early as next week and no later than Easter Sunday! You can check out the progress in some pictures below. The first shows the new women’s restroom and the second shows the men’s restroom.

   

As a reminder, during the remodel, the only restrooms available on the main floor of church can be accessed through the doors at the front of the sanctuary. They are single stall uni-sex restrooms.

Members of Zion Reformed Church received a nomination form in the mailbox last week Sunday. This form is used to nominate people to be considered to serve an upcoming 3-year term as an Elder or Deacon at Zion. The following people have said they are willing to be nominated for these roles: Tom Boeve, Deb Coke, Ashley Gross, Tracy Lobbes, Tim Mekkes, Adam Morehouse, Emily Morehouse, Ashley VanderWall, and Eric Zondervan. Furthermore, after using a single slate of nominees last spring, the Consistory decided to do so again this year following one of the two methods for choosing Consistory members described in our denomination’s Book of Church Order. As prescribed in the Book of Church Order, the congregation will nominate people for the offices of Elder and Deacon. Using these nominations as a significant guide, the Consistory will choose the 2 Elders and 2 Deacons to stand on this single slate. The slate of Elders and Deacons will then be approved by the congregation at our annual congregational meeting on Sunday, May 1 following our worship service.

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:  $470,831.34
Fiscal Year 2021/22 Contributions: $419,651.68
Giving Last Week: $23,752.30
Ukraine Refugee Support: $7,104.00

Early on Tuesday, I ran into Mary Veldink from Jenison Public Schools and we got to talking about Threads, its history and the impact it is having in our community. Apparently, Threads almost closed a few years ago due to a lack of demand, until the school systems stepped in to partner with the ministry. After the partnership began, Threads experienced a new problem: lots of need, but not enough clothes. Today, we have a multiplication of loaves and fishes as we have both great quantity and quality of clothes for those who can use a little help.

After our conversation, Mary sent me a few stories of how Threads has impacted people in our community.
1) A mom had a job interview, but she didn’t have any clothes that were appropriate. She was able to come to Threads and pick out a skirt, sweater, and appropriate shoes. She looked great, and you could see her confidence increase when she looked in the mirror. She felt good about herself, and that was important as she looked for a new job.

2) Another mom had an out of state funeral to attend. She hasn’t seen her family in two years. Even though things have been really rough for this family, this mom went to the funeral in a brand new black dress.  Knowing she looked good helped ease her anxiety about seeing her family.

3) It was Valentine’s Day at school. A second grader normally doesn’t participate in Spirit Week because she doesn’t have the clothing to do so. Her family had shopped the week before at Threads, and she had the cutest red outfit. I saw her peers complimenting her clothing. She said, ” You need to shop at Threads. They have all the best stuff!”

Your generous donations, time spent sorting clothes, and help on shopping days is blessing more people than we may ever know. Thank you for your faithfulness in this ministry and in our other benevolent ministries like Hand2Hand and the Personal Care Pantry.

If you are looking for another way to support this ministry, come shop with Threads this Saturday! All monies paid for clothing on this day will go directly to support the work of Threads.

– 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.

During Lent we will be looking at the life and ministry of Jesus to see both how he was tested and found true and how we have been given a faith that can both endure and help carry us through every test of life. This Sunday, we consider the story of Jesus’ transfiguration when the glory of Jesus was revealed to three of his disciples. In this story, we hear a call to be a people awake to the glory and work of God among us and to become a people of worship.

On Sunday, March 20, we will be holding a special offering to support relief efforts for the people of Ukraine, All donations will be given to support RCA Global Missions relief efforts in the region. You can choose to give during our regular offering on the 20th or at this link.

Grow in Community
We extend our sympathy to Jim and Barb Peterson in the passing of Barb’s sister Jean on Sunday. We pray with them for God in his infinite mercy to welcome her into his presence and to comfort all who mourn her passing.

Dianne Kooiker’s daughter-in-law Denice remains hospitalized battling an infection after a recent blockage in her bowels. They do not know how long she will remain hospitalized but are thankful for the many prayers and support from family and friends.

Do you want some good food, friends and fellowship? Then this is the opportunity for you! 729 groups bring 7 to 9 willing people together to meet for a meal 3x in 3 months. The goal is simply to get to know some people in church better. Once groups are formed, the host will contact members to arrange the details for the first gathering. Dinner groups are encouraged to be creative; consider picking a dinner “theme night” (i.e. Italian, dessert or soup night), and everyone can bring a dish that goes along with that theme or meet at a restaurant or church. You can sign-up through the Connection cards found in the bulletin or call the church office at 616-534-7533. Sign-up deadline is Sunday, March 13.

Mark your calendars, the Middle and High School Youth Groups will be hosting a fundraiser at Culver’s on March 21 from 5-8 pm. This is a great night to support our youth, connect with friends new and old from Zion, and enjoy some great Culver’s burgers and frozen custard.

Serve the World
Threads will be having a semi-annual sale, which will be open to the public, this Saturday, March 12 from 9am – 1pm. Each and every item in the boutique will be priced at $1. The money raised from this sale is used to self-fund our ministry and purchase needed items. All are invited to come in and shop!

On March 22 Threads will be having a pop-up Prom shop.  If you have any prom or homecoming dresses or fancy purses, shoes, and jewelry you would like to donate, please put them in the Threads wooden cart located inside the narthex.  If any of you are in need for a dress, please see Jill Austin.

We recently received an update from Albino and Sandy Rodriguez, missionaries whom we support in Peru, who wrote: The first week of February, recent high school graduates arrived for the Casa del Maestro Academy.   This program was piloted in 2021, and we were pleased with the results.  In the next 10 months, students will immerse themselves in the Word through Bible studies and personal devotions using The Bible Recap.  They receive instruction in general education classes, including Spanish, English, and computer skills.  Another main focus is vocational orientation.  Once we have a better idea of their interests, we will arrange short-term internships or observation time in their chosen fields.  Through ice-breakers and team-building activities, it is shaping up to be a good class. Together they will learn life and leadership skills.

They ask for prayers for students to live out their Christian principles and values in all areas of their lives.  And, for them to settle well into this next stage of life. And, for food donations for several students who struggle to pay for the weekly contribution.

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
The remodel of our bathrooms began in January and is right on schedule! There are lights in the bathrooms and the spaces are looking more and more like real rooms. You can check out the progress in some pictures below. The first shows the new women’s restroom and the second shows the men’s restroom.

 

The plan is to begin epoxying the bathroom floors this weekend, so please do not go into the remodeled bathrooms on Sunday. This is a two step process and the floors cannot be disturbed between the steps. The second step will not be applied until early next week. It is important no one step on the floors until after both steps of applying the epoxy are completed.

As a reminder, during the remodel, the only restrooms available on the main floor of church can be accessed through the doors at the front of the sanctuary. They are single stall uni-sex restrooms.

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:  $448,410.80
Fiscal Year 2021/22 Contributions: $390,066.46
Giving Last Week: $9,012.52

Yesterday morning I was reading Psalm 32 as part of the reading for my Discipleship Group. It is a prayer of David focused on the healing and forgiveness he found when he finally confessed his sin to God. When he was finally honest with himself about who he was.

Near the beginning of the Psalm he says, “When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.” It is exhausting to try to hide something of ourselves from others. To keep secrets. To deny the truth. To live in constant worry we might be found out. David feels the angst of trying to maintain the image of an upright king when he knows he has sinned.

But then in verse 5, he says, “Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity… and you forgive the guilt of my sin.” In being honest with God. In being honest with himself. David experiences the forgiveness and grace of God. And then he responds by telling everyone else to pray to God, confess you sins, and experience the unfailing love of God.

This seems to me to be the natural course of faith. All us of grow up learning to hide part of who we are from others. We sense, intuitively, there is some things wrong in us. We are mean, easily angered, sneaking, coveting what others have. We know these are not the right way to live and we fear if people knew we were like this they would reject us. And so we hide and live in fear that our carefully crafted masks of righteousness will fall down and we will be undone.

But when we experience the God who sees all of our messed-upness, all of our mistakes, all of the parts of us we long to hide from others, and rather than reject us, this God loves us. It changes everything. There is a new freedom to admit our flaws and failures. To try and fail. To have compassion on others for their imperfections. To live confident of our worth simply because God loves us and not dependent on what anyone else might think. And once you have experienced that life, you long for others to have that same freedom.

On this second day of Lent, may you have the courage to confess or present your full and true self to God and experience his unfailing love. And, knowing of God’s love for messed up people like you and me, may we join David in inviting others to experience this same freeing, empowering, and amazing never giving up love of God, too.

If you haven’t experienced that freedom, please reach out and I would love to tell you more.

– 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.

During Lent we will be looking at the life and ministry of Jesus to see both how he was tested and found true and how we have been given a faith that can both endure and help carry us through every test of life. This Sunday, we consider the story of Jesus’ temptation in Luke 4 and see the genuine humanity of Jesus as he struggles with the same temptations we all experience. As he passes these tests, he gives us clues to how we too can live with a tested and true faith.

Grow in Community
Do you want some good food, friends and fellowship? Then this is the opportunity for you! 729 groups bring 7 to 9 willing people together to meet for a meal 3x in 3 months. The goal is simply to get to know some people in church better. Once groups are formed, the host will contact members to arrange the details for the first gathering. Dinner groups are encouraged to be creative; consider picking a dinner “theme night” (i.e. Italian, dessert or soup night), and everyone can bring a dish that goes along with that theme or meet at a restaurant or church. You can sign-up through the Connection cards found in the bulletin or call the church office at 616-534-7533. Sign-up deadline is Sunday, March 13.

Mark your calendars, the Middle and High School Youth Groups will be hosting a fundraiser at Culver’s on March 21 from 5-8 pm. This is a great night to support our youth, connect with friends new and old from Zion, and enjoy some great Culver’s burgers and frozen custard.

Serve the World
The Pregnancy Resource Center Support Services Staff would like to thank the members of Zion for the generous donation (this was part of our 2021 Thanksgiving offering).  This will impact the lives of the mothers and families who come to the PRC offices for support.  Thank you Zion for your partnership in this ministry!

Threads held their monthly shopping day on Tuesday this week. Twenty-eight families came to shop, choosing 706 items of clothing for 132 people.  Twenty-two of the families also received items from our Personal Care Pantry.

Threads will be having a semi-annual sale, which will be open to the public, on Saturday, March 12 from 9am – 1pm. Each and every item in the boutique will be priced at $1. The money raised from this sale is used to self-fund our ministry and purchase needed items. All are invited to come in and shop!

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
The remodel of our bathrooms began in January and is right on schedule! We even began the process of ordering the new carpet for the Youth Room, hallways, lobby and sanctuary this week. You can check out the progress in some pictures below. The first shows the bathroom from the former entrance to the women’s bathroom and the second shows the same space from the former entrance to the men’s restroom.

   

As a reminder, during the remodel, the only restrooms available on the main floor of church can be accessed through the doors at the front of the sanctuary. They are single stall uni-sex restrooms.

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:  $437,200.53
Fiscal Year 2021/22 Contributions: $381,053.94
Giving Last Week: 5,595.23