Zion E-News (10-15-2020)
This morning in my devotions, I came across Hebrews 10 which reads:
And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another…
– Hebrews 10:24-25a
I have personally been feeling the strain and sadness over the past 7 months of not meeting together like we used to do. While we have been meeting together in-person for the last 3 months now, many people have chosen to not come back to physical church yet. There are so many different rationales that can lead people to make that decision.
For some people, not gathering is a health decision. We have members of our church with depressed immune systems, chronic lung issues, heart disease, and others who are simply older or care for a person at-risk who have chosen to stay home for their own safety. I want to affirm your decision today to take your health seriously. And, I want to encourage you to continue reaching out to fellow believers in ways that are safe for you: phone calls, face-time, small outdoor gatherings so that you can both encourage others and be encouraged in your spiritual life.
Other people have chosen to not come back to a physical in-person gathering because they are worried about spreading Covid-19. They do not want to catch it or spread the disease to others. I want to affirm your concern about this disease as well. Just in the last 3 weeks, we have seen more than a 50% increase in new cases in our state. And, I want you to know that we take the health risks of gathering seriously at Zion, too. This is why we are requiring people to wear masks, limiting attendance, social distancing, and providing hand sanitizer throughout our building. Just Tuesday, the CDC Director said we are seeing more outbreaks from small gatherings in homes than in the public sector. Coming to church, given all our precautions, may well be safer than gathering in the home of a friend.
Other people have chosen to stay home because of young children and the lack of a nursery. I get that. As the father of four children, who has had a child run up in the middle of a sermon to get a hug, I can understand how taking young children to church can be stressful. (Honestly, Rachel gets this way more than I do.) If it makes sense to stay home and watch online so you can listen and pay attention during church and your child can play, that is a good decision for your family. Just know, no one else will care if you have a child fussing in the back of church. It’s OK for kids to be kids in church. It is part of being the family of God.
Others are simply overwhelmed with jobs and distance learning with kids. The thought of sleeping in or simply having a little slower day sounds awfully good. If that’s where you are at, sleep in some Sundays, but consider coming some Sundays to not only worship, but see some other adults who care about you and remember you are not the only one struggling in these times. We can encourage each other together.
Other people have chosen to stay home because all of these Covid requirements suck the fun out of coming to church. They don’t like to wear masks and find it harder to breathe. They miss shaking hands and giving people a hug. They miss singing with a packed sanctuary. I miss all those things, too. And, I still find so much joy and comfort gathering with the people of Zion on Sundays together. It is different, but it is also still good.
I have also had a few conversations with people who are angry about Covid and the response to it. They feel it is overblown and not that big of a risk. They worry about government overreach and perceive the guidelines established as a type of persecution and a loss of their rights. While I do not share those opinions, I know those feelings are there and strongly held. I suppose the CDC, WHO, and the MDHHS could all be wrong about Covid. Maybe it is all overblown. Maybe all these precautions aren’t really needed. Maybe it is a type of persecution of the church. Even if all that is true, are we really the type of people who would stop gathering for worship because of the need to wear a mask or sit 6 feet apart from our friends? Is that all it takes to keep us from encouraging one another and celebrating our God? My experience of Zion is that you are all a whole lot tougher than that. If this is where you are at right now, I want you to know it is OK to be upset, it is OK to not like masks, it is OK to think your pastor is a bit of a worrywart, you can still come to church. You don’t even need to bring your own mask. We have disposable ones you can use right by door ‘B’ on the south side of the church. Use one of our masks, gather on Sunday and refuse to let something like a mask or government overreach keep you away from the people of God.
I hope to see you soon!
– Greg
Connect to God
This Sunday we will gather indoors at 9 and 11 am. In order to ensure we are able to practice social distancing indoors, we are asking people to sign-up for the service they are planning to attend. You can sign-up to attend worship either using the links in below or on the front-page of our website beginning on Monday mornings. Following are the links to sign-up for worship this Sunday:
9 am service:n https://zionreformed.churchcenter.com/registrations/events/579886
11 am service: https://zionreformed.churchcenter.com/registrations/events/579887
If you are not able to join us in person or would simply prefer to not gather in a large crowd yet, you can still join us for online worship. We will be live streaming both our 9 and 11 am services at zionreformed.online.church and Zion’s Facebook Page. We will also rebroadcast the service on WCET at noon on Friday and 4pm next Sunday. I apologize for a technological glitch at our 9 am service this past Sunday. We are getting used to some new software and hardware and a minor error on my part caused the loss of our livestream for a few minutes. We are still learning and hope to do better next week!
This week, we continue a series entitled “Christians at Our Best,” inspired by the book Christians in an Age of Outrage by Ed Stetzer. Living in a culture addicted to anger and outrage, it is easy to begin to take on the habits and practices of a world consumed with picking sides, dividing groups, and creating scapegoats. In this series, we will think together about how we can live as Christians in a way that brings the light and hope of Jesus to a world moving from one temper tantrum to another. In the midst of the outrage of our world, we can often struggle to differentiate between righteous anger that seeks to bring about God’s justice and the outrage of our world. This week we consider how to better leverage our online presence for the glory of God and in service of his kingdom
During both our 9 and 11 am services, we will be sending the McAnally family to Walker Harbor Church. Sarah was recently hired as the new worship director at Walker Harbor and will begin her new role there on October 25. Sean and Sarah have been active members of Zion over the last 10 years, both served as Deacons, led multiple small groups, discipleship triads, and served in our worship team. Sean has also served in children’s ministries and as the chair of our mission committee. It has been a joy to see God grow and develop them as leaders and servants in his church and we are delighted to be able to bless and send them as God calls them to a new ministry opportunity.
Grow in Community
We have recently started a closed Zion group on Facebook to create a place to discuss sermons, share prayer requests, and stay connected asynchronously when direct face-to-face connections are more challenging. If you want to join the group, you can request to join at this link:www.facebook.com/groups/ziongrandville/
Children’s programming for kids Pre-school through 5th grade begins this week at both our 9 and 11 am services. Kids will begin in the church service as in prior years and will then be dismissed to their classrooms. They will be in 3 classrooms and we will practice social distancing by requiring masks for children in K-5th and attempting to keep unrelated children 6 feet apart. We intend to follow the recommendations in the MI Safe Start for Schools documentation.
Serve the World
Our Hand2Hand began ministry is currently serving 52 students in the Grandville school district. If you want to support Hand2Hand or learn more about the ministry, please contact Sheila Johnson (sheilaj2494@yahoo.com) or Shawn Sanders (joshandshawn@hotmail.com).
If you would like to support our Personal Care Pantry, following items (full size – not travel size) are needed and can be dropped off on a Sunday morning or during the week Monday through Thursday:
Laundry Soap Bar Soap Dish Soap Disposable Razors
Shampoo Conditioner Toothpaste Paper Grocery Bags
Deodorant Tampons Maxi Pads Paper towels (1 or 2 pack) Toilet paper (1-4 pack)
Donations can be placed in the box in the narthex marked “pantry donations”.
If you need help, either with food, personal care items, help grocery shopping, or with financial needs, please contact Chip Harkes, our chair of deacons, and he can help connect you with the appropriate resources at Zion. His e-mail is chip@harkeslandscape.com and his phone number is 616-299-4804.
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. We are especially grateful this week for all those who have adjusted their means of giving to give online, through the mail, and via text.
Fiscal Year to Date Budget: $199,619.32
Fiscal Year to Date Contribution: $167,410.51
Giving Last Week: $8,174.00
Cash on Hand: $163,557.46
Zion E-News (10-8-2020)
On Tuesday night this week, I had the privilege of meeting with the team overseeing City Chapel, our downtown church plant. As you can imagine, this season has had some significant challenges for a new church with no building. Do to restrictions on gathering indoors, there has been no place for them to meet inside and there may not be for quite some time.
They have been meeting outside while the weather has remained good at a local park and they continue to stream their worship services. They are doing all they can to continue gathering in some form for worship. But there are many things they simply cannot do.
But, they have not been focused on their limitations, Instead, they have focused on what they can do. They can meet in small groups. They can meet virtually. They can financially support a family in particular need. They can pray for each other. They can gather outside. And God has been blessing that work.
Following is just one example. At the beginning of March, they had two small groups meeting, while they met with about 80 people in worship each Sunday. When everything shut down in March, several of their members started organizing new small groups to stay connected. Today, they have 7 small groups and about 55 people are meeting regularly to encourage each other, study scripture, and pray.
As they shared this story, Mike Hoogeboom (from LaGrave) and I both expressed our jealousy as almost no church we know has over 2/3 of their weekly attendance regularly gathering in smaller groups. Sometimes, there are advantages in having limited options because it forces us to find new ways to do life together as Christians.
How have you been finding ways to embrace the yeses of life when so many are focused on the limitations?
– Greg
Connect to God
This Sunday we will gather indoors at 9 and 11 am. In order to ensure we are able to practice social distancing indoors, we are asking people to sign-up for the service they are planning to attend. You can sign-up to attend worship either using the links in below or on the front-page of our website beginning on Monday mornings. Following are the links to sign-up for worship this Sunday:
9 am service: https://zionreformed.churchcenter.com/registrations/events/570301
11 am service: https://zionreformed.churchcenter.com/registrations/events/570302
If you are not able to join us in person or would simply prefer to not gather in a large crowd yet, you can still join us for online worship. For at least the first couple of weeks, both our 9 and 11 am services will be live streamed We will be live streaming both services at zionreformed.online.church and Zion’s Facebook Page. We will also rebroadcast the service on WCET at noon on Friday and 4pm next Sunday.
This week, we continue a series entitled “Christians at Our Best,” inspired by the book Christians in an Age of Outrage by Ed Stetzer. Living in a culture addicted to anger and outrage, it is easy to begin to take on the habits and practices of a world consumed with picking sides, dividing groups, and creating scapegoats. In this series, we will think together about how we can live as Christians in a way that brings the light and hope of Jesus to a world moving from one temper tantrum to another. In the midst of the outrage of our world, we can often struggle to differentiate between righteous anger that seeks to bring about God’s justice and the outrage of our world. This week we consider how to tell the difference and James’ wise counsel to be slow to speak and be quick to listen.
Grow in Community
We have a few congregational care updates to share this week.
1. Barb Overweg is recovering from kidney surgery on Wednesday and is doing well.
2. Teresa Beute was hospitalized this week with some pressure in her chest. She is currently waiting for a heart catheterization sometime during the day on Thursday.
3. Harv Berens had a pacemaker put in this week and is recovering at home.
4. We extend our sympathy to Bea VanHouten in the passing of her sister, Eleanor Van Leeuwen, on September 30 and to Harv and Harriet Berens in the passing of Harv’s sister Janice Elliston earlier this week. Please pray for peace and comfort for these families during this difficult time.
5. We also pray for Kim Little and Rachel Montgomery as the memorial for their son and brother Josh Montgomery will be this Sunday at 2 pm at English Hills Terrace, 5179 West River Dr. NE, Comstock Park.
We have recently started a closed Zion group on Facebook to create a place to discuss sermons, share prayer requests, and stay connected asynchronously when direct face-to-face connections are more challenging. If you want to join the group, you can request to join at this link: www.facebook.com/groups/ziongrandville/
Children’s programming for kids Pre-school through 5th grade begins this week at both our 9 and 11 am services. Kids will begin in the church service as in prior years and will then be dismissed to their classrooms. They will be in 3 classrooms and we will practice social distancing by requiring masks for children in K-5th and attempting to keep unrelated children 6 feet apart. We intend to follow the recommendations in the MI Safe Start for Schools documentation.
Serve the World
Hand2Hand began delivering food for the weekend to Grandville students recently. If you would like to get involved in Hand2Hand or learn more about the ministry, please contact Sheila Johnson (sheilaj2494@yahoo.com) or Shawn Sanders (joshandshawn@hotmail.com).
If you would like to support our Personal Care Pantry, following items (full size – not travel size) are needed and can be dropped off on a Sunday morning or during the week Monday through Thursday:
Laundry Soap Bar Soap Dish Soap Disposable Razors
Shampoo Conditioner Toothpaste Paper Grocery Bags
Deodorant Tampons Maxi Pads Paper towels (1 or 2 pack) Toilet paper (1-4 pack)
Donations can be placed in the box in the narthex marked “pantry donations”.
If you need help, either with food, personal care items, help grocery shopping, or with financial needs, please contact Chip Harkes, our chair of deacons, and he can help connect you with the appropriate resources at Zion. His e-mail is chip@harkeslandscape.com and his phone number is 616-299-4804.
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. We are especially grateful this week for all those who have adjusted their means of giving to give online, through the mail, and via text.
Fiscal Year to Date Budget: $189,113.04
Fiscal Year to Date Contribution: $159,236.51
Giving Last Week: $17,533.00
Cash on Hand: $163,166.51
Fall Fundraiser
Fall Fundraiser 2020 Document
Zion E-News (10-1-2020)
Due to in person church not occurring last week, one of our families was at home Sunday morning to participate in worship online. They were about to start the kids worship sent by our Kids Ministry when a 9 year old neighbor stopped by.
But first you need to know about this neighbor girl. She is new to the neighborhood. Her family just moved in. They do not go to church and are not Christians. But, this Zion family has been looking for ways to love their neighbors and God keeps opening the door. So, this little girl, whose family does not know Jesus comes to the door. One of the kids asks if this girl could join them for “church” (meaning the kids worship materials). She wanted to join and so she learned a little about God and listened to these songs about God she didn’t know. She got to learn about the Holy Spirit because that was the topic this week.
And, when it was all done, the family was planning to pray together, as they have been doing each Sunday as part of their church time with the kids. They normally all take turns praying, parents and kids, but they let the neighbor girl know she didn’t have to pray. She said she wanted to pray and asked the dad how to pray. So, the dad explained how to pray and even gave her some words to pray. And, as the whole family prayed, this little girl from a non-Christian home talked to God for maybe the first time in her life. She thanked God that she had moved into this neighborhood.
The Holy Spirit is at work in our community opening doors, softening hearts, and drawing people who are far from God closer to him.
What doors is God opening in your life? With whom have you had an opportunity to talk about Jesus lately? I would love to hear your stories. Send me your stories so we can thank God together for the way he is moving among us.
– Greg
Connect to God
This Sunday we will gather indoors at 9 and 11 am. In order to ensure we are able to practice social distancing indoors, we are asking people to sign-up for the service they are planning to attend. You can sign-up to attend worship either using the links in below or on the front-page of our website beginning on Monday mornings. Following are the links to sign-up for worship this Sunday:
9 am service: https://zionreformed.churchcenter.com/registrations/events/560165
11 am service: https://zionreformed.churchcenter.com/registrations/events/560170
If you are not able to join us in person or would simply prefer to not gather in a large crowd yet, you can still join us for online worship. For at least the first couple of weeks, both our 9 and 11 am services will be live streamed We will be live streaming both services at zionreformed.online.church and Zion’s Facebook Page. We will also rebroadcast the service on WCET at noon on Friday and 4pm next Sunday.
This week, we continue a series entitled “Christians at Our Best,” inspired by the book Christians in an Age of Outrage by Ed Stetzer. Living in a culture addicted to anger and outrage, it is easy to begin to take on the habits and practices of a world consumed with picking sides, dividing groups, and creating scapegoats. In this series, we will think together about how we can live as Christians in a way that brings the light and hope of Jesus to a world moving from one temper tantrum to another. In the midst of the outrage of our world, as ambassadors of God’s kingdom we approach our world with a compelling kindness rooted one empathy, humility and a desire to the honor the image of God in others.
This Sunday, we celebrate the profession of faith of Olivia Zoet. We rejoice with the Zoet family as Olivia makes this important decision in her journey with God.
We will also be celebrating communion this Sunday. Communion, also called The Lord’s Super or the Eucharist, is the family meal of Christians. We invite all committed followers of Jesus Christ to partake of this sacrament: those who are baptized members of a congregation that proclaims the gospel, who are at peace with God and with their neighbor, and who seek strength to live more faithfully for Christ. If you are not a Christian, or if you are not prepared to share in this meal, we encourage you to spend this time in prayer. If you are planning to participate in communion, we urge you examine your life, confess any sin, forgive those who have sinned against you, and to resolve any division or estrangements you have experienced in the church so that we can come as one body in joy to our God’s table.
Grow in Community
We have a few congregational care updates to share this week.
1. Austin Kwiatkowski had an appendectomy on Tuesday night and is currently recovering at home.
2. Barb Overweg will have kidney surgery on October 7. She asks for prayers for a quick recovery and minimal pain until the surgery.
3. Mike and Sharilyn VanWyhe’s daughter Alison and their grandchild Emerson are both doing well. Emerson was born premature and so will remain int he hospital for a while as she continues to grow and strengthen.
4. Gary Osterink is at Mary Free Bed Hospital undergoing therapy to improve strength and mobility.
We have recently started a closed Zion group on Facebook to create a place to discuss sermons, share prayer requests, and stay connected asynchronously when direct face-to-face connections are more challenging. If you want to join the group, you can request to join at this link: www.facebook.com/groups/ziongrandville/
Children’s programming for kids Pre-school through 5th grade begins this week at both our 9 and 11 am services. Kids will begin in the church service as in prior years and will then be dismissed to their classrooms. They will be in 3 classrooms and we will practice social distancing by requiring masks for children in K-5th and attempting to keep unrelated children 6 feet apart. We intend to follow the recommendations in the MI Safe Start for Schools documentation.
Serve the World
Our downtown church plant, City Chapel was recently profiled by the Christian Reformed Church as it is a “union” church. A union church is one that is part of both the Reformed Church in America and the Christian Reformed Church. You can learn more about City Chapel at the link below.
https://www.crcna.org/news-and-views/union-church-focusing-millennials
Hand2Hand began delivering food for the weekend to Grandville students this week. If you would like to get involved in Hand2Hand or learn more about the ministry, please contact Sheila Johnson (sheilaj2494@yahoo.com) or Shawn Sanders (joshandshawn@hotmail.com).
If you would like to support our Personal Care Pantry, following items (full size – not travel size) are needed and can be dropped off on a Sunday morning or during the week Monday through Thursday:
Laundry Soap Bar Soap Dish Soap Disposable Razors
Shampoo Conditioner Toothpaste Paper Grocery Bags
Deodorant Tampons Maxi Pads Paper towels (1 or 2 pack) Toilet paper (1-4 pack)
Donations can be placed in the box in the narthex marked “pantry donations”.
If you need help, either with food, personal care items, help grocery shopping, or with financial needs, please contact Chip Harkes, our chair of deacons, and he can help connect you with the appropriate resources at Zion. His e-mail is chip@harkeslandscape.com and his phone number is 616-299-4804.
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. We are especially grateful this week for all those who have adjusted their means of giving to give online, through the mail, and via text.
Fiscal Year to Date Budget: $178,606.76
Fiscal Year to Date Contribution: $141,203.51
Giving Last Week: $7,358.00
Cash on Hand: $159,702.91
Zion E-News (9-24-2020)
Yesterday, a member of Zion called to talk about a recent sermon and living under quarantine after a recent Covid diagnosis. It was one of those conversations that makes my day. It was so good to reconnect with someone who hasn’t been able to gather with us in church in several months. (Have I mentioned how much I miss seeing so many of you?)
Near the ends of the conversation, they shared a story I want to share with you. Recently, they drove past their old house. It was the house they had raises their family in, but they hadn’t been down that particular road in several years. Over the years, the house had changed. The grass wasn’t well maintained. Weeds were overgrowing the landscaping. It was painted a new color and needed a paint job again. The porch was full of stuff, just lots of stuff. The house they had lived in and maintained for 30 years was falling into disrepair.
Honestly, I thought I knew where the conversation was heading, because i was thinking about how sad I would be to see something I had invested in and cared for not be treated the way I would like. I expected to hear about sadness and maybe even a little anger that their home wasn’t being loved like they have loved it.
But then the story took a surprising twist. There was a man on the porch working at a little desk. And know I will do my best to paraphrase/quote the conclusion to the story:
“Seeing the man,I wondered if that man knew Jesus. Did he know God loved him? As you get older you start realizing the things we worry about don’t matter as much as we thought. The decorations. The perfect lawn. The cute home. I still like those things. But what really matters is that the man knows Jesus.”
The things we worry about. The things that stress us out. The things that fill our days to full and overflowing. In the scheme of eternity, they simply do not matter as much as this simple question: do you know Jesus? Do you kids know Jesus? Do your neighbors?
May we all have eyes to see the people around us through the eyes of God and love them as he does.
– Greg
Connect to God
This Sunday we will gather indoors at 9 and 11 am. In order to ensure we are able to practice social distancing indoors, we are asking people to sign-up for the service they are planning to attend. You can sign-up to attend worship either using the links in below or on the front-page of our website beginning on Monday mornings. Following are the links to sign-up for worship this Sunday:
9 am service: https://zionreformed.churchcenter.com/registrations/events/541818
11 am service: https://zionreformed.churchcenter.com/registrations/events/541794
If you are not able to join us in person or would simply prefer to not gather in a large crowd yet, you can still join us for online worship. For at least the first couple of weeks, both our 9 and 11 am services will be live streamed We will be live streaming both services at zionreformed.online.church and Zion’s Facebook Page. We will also rebroadcast the service on WCET at noon on Friday and 4pm next Sunday.
This week, we continue a series entitled “Christians at Our Best,” inspired by the book Christians in an Age of Outrage by Ed Stetzer. Living in a culture addicted to anger and outrage, it is easy to begin to take on the habits and practices of a world consumed with picking sides, dividing groups, and creating scapegoats. In this series, we will think together about how we can live as Christians in a way that brings the light and hope of Jesus to a world moving from one temper tantrum to another. This week, we remember we are ambassadors of the kingdom of God, sent by God, with a message for our world and that this mission must remain first in our lives.
We will also be welcoming Andrew Moore for our moment for mission this Sunday. Andrew is a church planter from Community Reformed in Zeeland. He and his wife have felt a call to plant a new church in Grandville. Our staff and Consistory have been in conversations with Andrew about how we can be both a support and encouragement in this endeavor. We look forward to hearing about Andrew’s next steps in this planting effort.
Grow in Community
We had a lot of congregational care needs and celebrating recently at Zion
1. We extend out sympathy to John and Kim Little and Rachel Montgomery and family in the passing of Josh Montgomery, Kim’s son and Rachel’s brother, on Friday evening in a car accident.
2. We ask for prayers for Bernie Grooters father who was recently hospitalized after suffering a stroke.
3. We also ask for prayers of Mike and Sharilyn VanWyhe’s daughter Alison who is hospitalized with pre-eclampsia at 30 weeks pregnant.
4. And, we extend our congratulations to Bronson and Ashley Swan in the birth of their son SawyerMatthew Swan. Sawyer was born on Tuesday, September 22 weighing 7lbs 13oz and was 21″ long. We praise God for a safe and healthy delivery and that mom and baby are both doing well.
We have recently started a closed Zion group on Facebook to create a place to discuss sermons, share prayer requests, and stay connected asynchronously when direct face-to-face connections are more challenging. If you want to join the group, you can request to join at this link: www.facebook.com/groups/ziongrandville/
Children’s programming for kids Pre-school through 5th grade begins this week at both our 9 and 11 am services. Kids will begin in the church service as in prior years and will then be dismissed too their classrooms. They will be in 3 classrooms and we will practice social distancing by requiring masks for children in K-5th and attempting to keep unrelated children 6 feet apart. We intend to follow the recommendations in the MI Safe Start for Schools documentation.
Youth group begins this week for both Middle and High School. High school youth meet at 4 pm and the Middle school youth meet at 5:45. Both groups will be having a paint war as part of their kick-off meeting. Students are encouraged to wear old clothes and to bring an extra set of clothes they can change into after the paint war. The paint is washable, but we cannot guarantee it will all wash out so please keep this in mind when choosing what to wear to the kick-off meeting. It’s going to be great!
Serve the World
Our downtown church plant, City Chapel was recently profiled by the Christian Reformed Church as it is a “union” church. A union church is one that is part of both the Reformed Church in America and the Christian Reformed Church. You can learn more about City Chapel at the link below.
https://www.crcna.org/news-and-views/union-church-focusing-millennials
We also received an update recently from Albino and Sandy Rodriguez, missionaries whom we support in Peru. You can read their update at the link below. There is also an opportunity to help provide food to struggle families at the end of their update. So, please check it out.
https://mailchi.mp/62a0d1e38c17/rodriguez-family-update?e=03ac51f875
If you would like to support our Personal Care Pantry, following items (full size – not travel size) are needed and can be dropped off on a Sunday morning or during the week Monday through Thursday:
Laundry Soap Bar Soap Dish Soap Disposable Razors
Shampoo Conditioner Toothpaste Paper Grocery Bags
Deodorant Tampons Maxi Pads Paper towels (1 or 2 pack) Toilet paper (1-4 pack)
Donations can be placed in the box in the narthex marked “pantry donations”.
If you need help, either with food, personal care items, help grocery shopping, or with financial needs, please contact Chip Harkes, our chair of deacons, and he can help connect you with the appropriate resources at Zion. His e-mail is chip@harkeslandscape.com and his phone number is 616-299-4804.
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. We are especially grateful this week for all those who have adjusted their means of giving to give online, through the mail, and via text.
Fiscal Year to Date Budget: $168,100.48
Fiscal Year to Date Contribution: $133,845.51
Giving Last Week: $6,958.00
Cash on Hand: $152,557.92
Zion E-News (9-17-2020)
For several years now, Rachel and I have had a couple of CDs that we keep rolling over at the bank. They are our emergency fund. It’s not a lot of money, but it is a little cushion if something goes wrong. They came due last week and we had to go down to the bank and decide what to do with this money.
If you have any money in the bank, you know interest rates are really low. This is great if you are buying a house, but not so great when you are trying to save. So, we looked at several options: longer term CDs, putting it in the stock market, just putting it in savings or investing with the Reformed Church in America Church Growth Fund. (They loan money to churches when they need to remodel or build a church.) Investing with the Church Growth Fund is directly investing in the future of churches in the US.
This got me thinking about all the ways we invest in our lives: time, relationships, skills, money, and more. I invest in my kids when I sit down and listen to their days, offer some guidance, and cheer them on as they explore this world. I invest in my skills when I learn something new, seek out feedback, or simply admit I don’t know something and ask people for help. I invest my time in literally anything I do, so sometimes I invest it well in other people, in accomplishing tasks, in connecting with God, and sometimes in simply resting.
Jesus tells us in Matthew 6 to store up our treasure in heaven where moth and rust do not destroy rather than to store up our treasure on earth where thieves break in and steal. The last several months have reminded us all that nothing is certain. We do not know how long we have on this earth. We do no know the challenges we will face. We do not know what will happen in our relationships, our health, our nation. But there is one place we can invest our lives and expect an eternal reward. How are you investing for eternity today?
– Greg
Connect to God
This Sunday we will gather for worship both in person and online. We will gather by the playground for our final outdoor service at 9 am. If there is a likelihood of rain, we will cancel our 9 am service. We will try to announce any change in venue by Saturday night on our Facebook page.
If you are not able to join us in person or would simply prefer to not gather in a large crowd yet, you can still join us for online worship. Our 11 am service will be live streamed and you are welcome to attend worship at 11, though the focus will be on the live stream participants. We will be live streaming our 11 am service at zionreformed.online.church and Zion’s Facebook Page. We will also rebroadcast the service on WCET at noon on Friday and 4pm next Sunday.
This week, we begin a new series entitled “Christians at Our Best,” inspired by the book Christians in an Age of Outrage by Ed Stetzer. Living in a culture addicted to anger and outrage, it is easy to begin to take on the habits and practices of a world consumed with picking sides, dividing groups, and creating scapegoats. In this series, we will think together about how we can live as Christians in a way that brings the light and hope of Jesus to a world moving from one temper tantrum to another. This week, Paul urges us in Romans 12 to not be conformed to this world but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. How are you renewing your mind? What voices are discipling you in this age of outrage?
Next week, we will begin worshipping indoors at both 9 and 11. In order to ensure we are able to practice social distancing indoors, we are asking people to sign-up for the service they are planning to attend. You can sign-up to attend worship either using the links in our weekly E-News or on the front-page of our website beginning on Monday mornings. Following are the links to sign-up for worship on the 27th are below:
9 am service: https://zionreformed.churchcenter.com/registrations/events/541818
11 am service: https://zionreformed.churchcenter.com/registrations/events/541794
Grow in Community
If you are interested in joining Zion or simply learning more about the life and ministry if our church, we will be holding a new members class beginning this Monday night at 7 pm. Door ‘A’ on the East side of the building will be open for you to join us in the Sanctuary. You do not need to join ur church to attend the class, but you do need to attend the class to join the church. While you do not need to sign-up to attend, it would be helpful so we can plan accordingly. You can sign-up by sending me an e-mail at gbrower@zionreformed.org.
We have recently started a closed Zion group on Facebook to create a place to discuss sermons, share prayer requests, and stay connected asynchronously when direct face-to-face connections are more challenging. If you want to join the group, you can request to join at this link: www.facebook.com/groups/ziongrandville/
Beginning on September 27, we will hold worship at 9 am indoors. This service will also be live-streamed. We also hope to begin holding Children’s Ministry for kids ages 3 through 5th grade during worship. We will not hold a large group gathering for children and will instead have them go immediately to their classrooms. They will be in 3 classrooms and we will practice social distancing by requiring masks for children in K-5th and attempting to keep unrelated children 6 feet apart. We intend to follow the recommendations in the MI Safe Start for Schools documentation. We hope to begin holding nursery closer to Christmas, but no firm date has yet been set.
If you are volunteering in Kid’s Ministry this year, we’re having a separate training for each class. It will include room specific children’s ministry training for teachers & helpers, new Covid guidelines, and our annual Keeping Kids Safe training, which is required for anyone 18 years old and older to be eligible to serve with children. We’re excited to open up our kid’s ministry later this month. Thank you for serving in these uncertain times! The training dates are as follows:
- Sunday, September 20th at 10:30am – Training for the Preschool team in Room 206
- Sunday, September 20th at 4:00pm – Training for the 3rd-5th team in Room 207
Serve the World
If you would like to support our Personal Care Pantry, following items (full size – not travel size) are needed and can be dropped off on a Sunday morning or during the week Monday through Thursday:
Laundry Soap Bar Soap Dish Soap Disposable Razors
Shampoo Conditioner Toothpaste Paper Grocery Bags
Deodorant Tampons Maxi Pads Paper towels (1 or 2 pack) Toilet paper (1-4 pack)
Donations can be placed in the box in the narthex marked “pantry donations”.
If you need help, either with food, personal care items, help grocery shopping, or with financial needs, please contact Chip Harkes, our chair of deacons, and he can help connect you with the appropriate resources at Zion. His e-mail is chip@harkeslandscape.com and his phone number is 616-299-4804.
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. We are especially grateful this week for all those who have adjusted their means of giving to give online, through the mail, and via text.
Fiscal Year to Date Budget: $157,594.00
Fiscal Year to Date Contribution: $126,887.51
Giving Last Week: $4,808.00
Cash on Hand: $158,114.13
Youth Group Kick-Off
Here is a link for filling out an online release/registration form (new this year!). You will need insurance and doctor/medical info. If your child is bringing a friend, please forward this email to their parents and have them fill out the online release/registration form. Also, please let me know if they are thinking of bringing a friend.
September 27 we will be kicking off youth group for the year!
We will meet during our normal youth group time of 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm for High School and 5:45 pm – 7:15 pm at church.
We will be playing some games to get to know one another, as well as having a “Paint War.” For the paint war, we will be splitting into different teams and playing something similar to a capture the flag game, except instead of tagging others, we will throw watered down washable tempera paint from small cups onto each other.
Youth will need to wear clothes that they are okay with getting paint on (with a chance of it not washing out) and will need to bring an old towel or 2 (that could also get pain on it), as well as a clean change of clothes (OR you could pick them up with their paint clothes still on them, but you’ll want something on your car seat to keep the paint from getting on your car). Youth will not be allowed to go inside church to change clothes. We will set up portable changing tents for youth to change clothes. They will also not be allowed to go inside for any reason once they have paint on themselves.
Also please bring a mask just in case we need them at some point.
Youth will also need a mask for regular youth group meetings, which will start the following Sunday, October 4 from 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm for High School (9th -12th grade) and 5:45 pm – 7:15 pm for Middle School (6th-8th grade).
If we have bad weather on the day of the kick-off, we will still meet for youth group inside church. We will reschedule the paint war for the following week if possible.
