Eighteen years ago, Rachel and I flew to Long Island to meet with the search team of a church in Hicksville, NY. Only a few months after 9/11, the sense of fear and anxiety and firm resolve remained palpable. Stories were told of their members who worked in Manhattan or who came as first responders to Ground Zero. There was something healing in sharing and hearing their stories.

This week, I heard a new story about 9/11 from someone who had lived in the Middle East on 9/11. The story began with their own disbelief at the news as rumors and fears slowly became hard facts. Horns honking in celebration at first when people thought it had only been the Pentagon that had been attacked. And then an eery quiet over a large city as news of the twin towers falling spread. The first half of the story fit many of my fearful stereotypes of Islam in the middle east.

But then, the story took a sudden turn. Many Americans all gathered in one house to grieve and try to make sense of the events of the day when they heard a knock on the door, When they opened the door, a group of bearded men stood in the doorway. They were the Imams of the city (think Islamic pastors). They expressed their sympathy for the Americans and their own grief at the loss of life. And then they asked if there was anything they or their congregations could do for these Americans during such a terrible time.

They did not need to come over. They had not been involved in the attacks themselves. They could have kept thoughts and prayers to themselves. They may have worried they would be rejected by these Americans. But they took a chance and came to grieve with and offer support to those whom the extremists wanted to paint as enemies.

I am reminded of Paul today who dedicated his life to reconciling both Jews and Gentiles to God, but also to one another in Christ. He wrote of this mission in 2 Corinthians 5 when he said:

“For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. 

“So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.”

So much in our world seeks to divide and make us fear one another, may we instead be the people who see the image of God in every person and be the ones who reach across all divisions with the love and grace of our God, even when we fear others may reject our outstretched hands.

Connect to God

Have you ever felt strapped for cash? Like the money can’t quite stretch to cover all the bills? Like you keep working, but you can’t get ahead? We continue a 5 week series looking to God for his wisdom about our money so we can move from being strapped to free. In this second week, we look to scripture to think carefully about the roll of debt in our lives and how to be free.

As we begin our formal education year, we will also commission our teachers, youth leaders, and small group leaders during worship on Sunday.

We welcome Jeremiah and Mary Kuria in worship this Sunday as they share an update on their ministry in Kenya and renew friendships with Zion both new and old.

If you would like a copy of the worship service, you can receive a complete copy by contacting Tom Verbrugge or you can find the weekly messages on our website.

Grow in Community
Teresa Beute was released from the hospital and is recovering at home. Linda Tuit is recovering at home from surgery to repair a detached retina.  Continue to pray for the Moore family as Hayley undergoes  another round of inpatient chemotherapy this weekend. Continue to pray for those in our congregation who deal with ongoing health issues.

We extend our sympathy to Maurie & Lorraine Lemmen in the death of Maurie’s twin sister, Bea Feddema who went to be with her Lord on September 11.  Funeral services will be held 12:00 Noon Saturday, September 14, 2019 at 2nd Christian Reformed Church, 3015 Nichols Rd, Kalamazoo, MI. The family will greet relatives and friends from 10:00AM until time of service on Saturday at Church.

Our Sunday School ministry will begin last Sunday. Following is some important information for the year:

• Our kid’s programming will go until 10:50. If church gets out before that, feel free to grab a cup of coffee & chat until pick-up time.
• Kids ages birth-4th grade need to be checked in. (5th graders are “grandfathered” in this year, and don’t need a name tag.)  Kids 3rd grade and younger must be checked out, but 4th & 5th graders are free to leave on their own.
• We’re encouraging kids birth-age 3 to be dropped off before church starts in their classrooms.
• Kids in Kindergarten-5th will start out as a large group in Room 205, and then split into age-based small groups.

• Nursery – Room 207 (where the 3 yr. olds were last year)
• 3 yr. olds – Room 208
• 4 yr. & young 5’s – Room 206
• Kindergarten – Room 203
• 1st grade – Room 204
• 2nd/3rd grade – Room 209
• 4th & 5th grade – Chapel/Youth Room

Following Labor Day, all adults who are serving in a new role, will be invited to go through some leadership training. We have a great team of coaches to assist in this training. The training will be a combination on-line video and text resources through RightNow Media and face-to-face conversations with a coach and other members of Zion. If you are serving in a new role this year, you can expect someone to contact you in the next 7 to 10 days..

If you haven’t yet signed up for RightNow Media, a great free resource of Christian videos for kids and adults alike, you can do so here.

Youth and Worship Pastor Jeremy Zoet will be on sabbatical from August 5 to October 1. During this time he will not respond to calls, texts, or emails. In his absence please direct all communication to the following people:

Worship: Sarah McAnally at (810) 434-6841 or feelinsnappy@gmail.com.
Middle School Youth: Rachel Verbrugge at (616) 258-3291 or verbrugge.family@att.net.
High School Youth: Shanda VandePol at (616) 308-0700 or shandavandepol@yahoo.com.
If an emergency arises, contact Pastor Greg at (616) 340-7785.

Serve the World
Sarah McAnally and Tracy Lobbes are busy preparing for an upcoming trip to Nepal (they will leaven early October) to meet with and learn more about our church planting efforts in that country through our partnership with Jibit Asha. Please join in pray for them and their families for both safety and a fruitful time of learning and minsitry. We look forward to hearing about their experiences and learnings when they return.

Administrative Details
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 to date budget: $166,377.30
Fiscal Year to date contributions: $129,962.05

Consistory Communiqué
Each month, the consistory of Zion will provide a “snapshot” of their discussions, decisions, and points of information to keep the congregation better informed. You are encouraged to contact an elder for additional clarification or discussion.

September Consistory Meeting

• Vision Sunday will take place on Sunday, October 27. Pastor Greg will share in depth the vision God has laid on consitory with the congregation. A vision that includes raising up leaders who seek to share Christ in their community and to plant churches in our community to reach people for Christ. Part of our vision includes addressing our building through a remodeling project, and October 27 will mark the launch of our capital campaign. Please mark your calendars and plan on attending Zion for this exciting day!
• Andrew and Ellen Moore from Community Reformed in Zeeland met with Consistory to share their vision for planting a church in Grandville, a vision that includes using house churches to build greater community and advance the gospel! Zion’s leadership continues to discuss what a possible partnership may look like with Community Reformed and Andrew and Ellen.
• A motion was passed to approve the start of a Kids’ Hope ministry, led by Troy Austin, in partnership with Bursley Elementary. Stay tuned for more information on how you can become a mentor to an at-risk student in our community!
• If you have comments or questions for Consistory to consider, or would like an elder to reach out to you to discuss anything, please consider using this form.

For the past month, I have been trying to meet with someone from our denomination. But, due to pastoral care calls, important unplanned meetings, travel schedules, and now yesterday my accidentally putting our meeting in Mountain time rather than Eastern time in my calendar, we will be trying to meet again next week.

All these scheduling challenges have got me thinking about the challenge of maintaining relationships. Life is busy. In our family, it is rare for all of us to be home one the same evening. Between church commitments, the kids extra-curricular activities, and time with their friends, every waking moment is often full.

I have come to the not very insightful conclusion that relationships require lots of intentionality and consistency. We have to decide they matter to us. We have to put time on the calendar. Or, those moments will get eaten up by the to-do list and the other demands for our time.

This is true for small groups meeting, for discipleship triads, for youth group, for Sunday worship. Either we make these times to gather a priority and put them before all the other items pushing their way onto our agenda or our attendance will quickly become sporadic, nominal, and eventually not really hardly ever at all.

Someone once said that you can tall a lot about someone’s spiritual life and worship by looking at their checkbook. I think the same could be said of our calendars. If someone looked at your or my calendar, what would they think came first in our lives? What would they say mattered to us?

Connect to God

If you would like a copy of the worship service, you can receive a complete copy by contacting Tom Verbrugge or you can find the weekly messages on our website.

Grow in Community
Jim Oudbier is recovering at home from knee replacement surgery today. Continue to pray for those in our congregation who deal with ongoing health issues.

We extend our sympathy to Ryan and Treasure Trombley as they mourn the loss of their daughter Hope Grace who was stillborn on Sunday, September 1. Please pray for peace and comfort for the entire family in this difficult time of loss.

Our Sunday School ministry will begin this Sunday, September 8. Following is some important information for the year:

• Our kid’s programming will go until 10:50. If church gets out before that, feel free to grab a cup of coffee & chat until pick-up time.
• Kids ages birth-4th grade need to be checked in. (5th graders are “grandfathered” in this year, and don’t need a name tag.)  Kids 3rd grade and younger must be checked out, but 4th & 5th graders are free to leave on their own.
• We’re encouraging kids birth-age 3 to be dropped off before church starts in their classrooms.
• Kids in Kindergarten-5th will start out as a large group in Room 205, and then split into age-based small groups.

• Nursery – Room 207 (where the 3 yr. olds were last year)
• 3 yr. olds – Room 208
• 4 yr. & young 5’s – Room 206
• Kindergarten – Room 203
• 1st grade – Room 204
• 2nd/3rd grade – Room 209
• 4th & 5th grade – Chapel/Youth Room

Following Labor Day, all adults who are serving in a new role, will be invited to go through some leadership training. We have a great team of coaches to assist in this training. The training will be a combination on-line video and text resources through RightNow Media and face-to-face conversations with a coach and other members of Zion. If you are serving in a new role this year, you can expect someone to contact you in the next 7 to 10 days..

If you haven’t yet signed up for RightNow Media, a great free resource of Christian videos for kids and adults alike, you can do so here.

Youth and Worship Pastor Jeremy Zoet will be on sabbatical from August 5 to October 1. During this time he will not respond to calls, texts, or emails. In his absence please direct all communication to the following people:

Worship: Sarah McAnally at (810) 434-6841 or feelinsnappy@gmail.com.
Middle School Youth: Rachel Verbrugge at (616) 258-3291 or verbrugge.family@att.net.
High School Youth: Shanda VandePol at (616) 308-0700 or shandavandepol@yahoo.com.
If an emergency arises, contact Pastor Greg at (616) 340-7785.

Serve the World
Earlier this week, our church was approached by Kids Hope USA and Bursley Elementary school to consider becoming a Kids Hope partner with Bursley. Kids Hope USA connects local church with local schools to provide mentoring and tutoring of students during the school day. Consistory will be discussing this request on Tuesday and we ask for your prayers as we seek to determine our capacity to join in this work.

This Sunday, we welcome Doug McClintic, formerly on staff with our Regional Synod and now the European Church Planting Coordinator for the RCA. In that role, Doug provides support, strategic coordination, and expertise to congregations, classes, regional synods, and other agencies in European church planting efforts. He partners North American congregations with the next generation of European churches to develop a strategy of local empowerment, collaboration, and evaluation. 

Doug will also be leading a workshop on taking faith risks on September 12. The announcement and a link to sign-up are below.

Administrative Details
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 to date budget: $155,285.48
Fiscal Year to date contributions: $119,239.05

9-1-19 Bulletin

Several months ago now, Rachel’s brother’s father-in-law Dan passed away quite suddenly. Dan and I came to know each other through this in-law connection, but he also became something of a mentor to me. On occasion, he would share book recommendations and we both kept tabs on one another. He served in the Church of God in various church in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Ohio and finally Oklahoma (I think). He was a joyful and generous pastor. I am also social media friends with his wife and so I have been praying for her during this time of grief and checking in every so often. Earlier this week, she shared a post on grief by John Pavlovitz that touched me about his grief when his father died. I know several people in our church are mourning the loss of spouses and parents and friends and children and so I want to share it with you. You can check out John’s blog here, the post follows:

My dad died very suddenly three days ago.

The first few seconds of that morning phone call will be burned into my memory for the rest of my life; the one where I heard my youngest brother’s voice quivering as he told me that my father had passed away in his sleep while on a cruise with my mom on his 70th birthday. The words sent me immediately to my knees on the front lawn and sometimes I feel like I’m still there, at least a good part of my heart is.

Since then, I’ve been what I would call a Grief Zombie; walking around in an odd, contradictory haze of searing pain and complete numbness, which each like to take rapid turns overpowering me. It’s as-if I’m being sucker punched by sadness one second and bear hugged by gratitude the next.

But all the while, since that life-altering phone call (as those who have experienced the loss of someone they love, know) I’ve had to continue to dostuff; take the kids to school, buy bananas, go to the gym—partly because things still need to get done, and partly because these mundane, ordinary things help keep you from completely losing it in the face of the pure insanity of your reality.

Over the last three days, as I’ve navigated parking lots, waited in restaurant lines, and sat on park benches, I’ve done so, pushing back tears, fighting to stay upright, and in general, being just seconds from a total, blubbering, room-clearing freak out.

I’ve felt like I’ve wanted to wear a sign that says: I JUST LOST MY DAD. PLEASE GO EASY.

I mean, other than my embarrassingly bloodshot eyes and the occasional puberty-recalling break in my voice, it’s not like anyone would knowwhat’s happening inside me or around me.

And while I don’t want to physicallywearmy actual circumstances on my chest, I know that if I did, it would probably cause people around me to give me space or speak softer or move more carefully, and it would probably make the impossible, almost bearable.

But even as I’ve wished that people could see the personal hell that I’mgoing through, I’m aware of the acute blindness that I usually live with and the tremendous ego that exists in the request itself.

Why am I so special?

Why is my pain any more pressing than anyone else’s?

Why do I assume that everybody but me is alright?

Why do I expect everyone around me to be any sturdier than I feel?

This week, I’ve been reminded that I am surrounded by Grief Zombies all the time. Maybe they aren’t mourning the sudden, tragic passing of a parent, but wounded, broken, pain-ravaged people are everywhere, everyday stumbling all around me—and yet most of the time I’m fairly oblivious to them:

Parents whose children are terminally ill.

Couples in the middle of divorce.

People grieving loss of loved ones and relationships. 

Kids being bullied at school.

Teenagers who want to end their lives.

Spouses whose partners are deployed in combat.

Families with no idea how to keep the lights on.

Young moms with little help, little sleep, and less sympathy.

Yet none of them wear the signs.

None of them have labels.

None of them come with written warnings reading, FRAGILE: HANDLE WITH CARE.

And since they don’t, it’s up to you and me to look more closely and more deeply at everyone around us; at work, or at the gas station, or in the produce section, and to never assume they aren’t all just hanging by a thread.

We need to remind ourselves  just how hard the stories around us might be, and to approach each person as a delicate, breakable, invaluable treasure—and to go easy.

As you walk, drive, and click around this week, people won’t be wearingsigns but if you look with the right eyes, you’ll seethe signs.

Life is fragile. Hold it carefully.

People are fragile. Handle them gently.

You are fragile. Take it easy.

– John Pavlovitz

Connect to God

If you would like a copy of the worship service, you can receive a complete copy by contacting Tom Verbrugge or you can find the weekly messages on our website.

Grow in Community
On Labor Day weekend, the nursery will move from its current location to Room 207. This will be its new location throughout the year. Other room assignments will occur on the first Sunday following Labor Day as we begin our new education year. All room assignments will be in the bulletin.

If you haven’t yet signed up for RightNow Media, a great free resource of Christian videos for kids and adults alike, you can do so here.

Youth and Worship Pastor Jeremy Zoet will be on sabbatical from August 5 to October 1. During this time he will not respond to calls, texts, or emails. In his absence please direct all communication to the following people:

Worship: Sarah McAnally at (810) 434-6841 or feelinsnappy@gmail.com.
Middle School Youth: Rachel Verbrugge at (616) 258-3291 or verbrugge.family@att.net.
High School Youth: Shanda VandePol at (616) 308-0700 or shandavandepol@yahoo.com.
If an emergency arises, contact Pastor Greg at (616) 340-7785.

Serve the World
This Sunday, Chris Winkler of Wycliffe USA will share a ministry update. If you would like to learn how we as a church or you yourself can further support missionaries, the Zion Missions Team is hosting a discussion led by Chris on “Missionary Care 101” in the sanctuary following the service. If you would like to get involved in Zion Missions, this is a great place to start.

City Chapel continues to meet throughout the summer and recently celebrated the completion of a Vital Worship grant that helped fund their worship leader and some cool art events this past year. Like many churches in not on the lake shore, they have seen their attendance drop a little this summer, but continue to see new people each week. Please continue to pray for Ron and Anna and the entire City Chapel team as they strive to reach the downtown community with the gospel of Jesus.

Administrative Details
Mark your calendars, our next Leaders Meeting will be on Sunday, August 25 from 5-7 pm. This will be a great night of food, worship, ministry specific training, and great time with friends. In addition, we will be conducting our annual training about our child protection policies this night. If you volunteer with children or teens in any capacity in our church, you are strongly encouraged to attend this meeting. You cannot serve in these roles without going through this training and a background check. We look forward to seeing you there. In addition, Rob Holland from Lifeline Community Church will be with us to share some stories of what God is doing through your support of Lifeline to change lives in Wyoming.

We still need adults to serve in our childcare for this evening. If you attend Leaders Meetings regularly and your children enjoy the childcare, I would urge you to consider taking a turn to serve during the meetings as well. You can sign-up through the Connection Card this Sunday. Currently, no adult has volunteered to serve.

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 to date budget: $122,010.02
Fiscal Year to date contributions:     $97,131.05

Consistory Communiqué
Each month, the consistory of Zion will provide a “snapshot” of their discussions, decisions, and points of information to keep the congregation better informed. The minutes are included as an attachment. Comments and questions can be easily shared using the Google Form included below. These comments and questions will be shared as points of information during our next Consistory meeting. Furthermore, you are encouraged to contact an elder for additional clarification or discussion.

August Consistory Meeting

• The Reformed denomination continues to wrestle with questions on sexuality, among other issues. Multiple options to resolve this debate were proposed during Synod 2019 and will be voted on during Synod 2020. As Synod 2020 approaches, consistory is looking at providing more insight and possible teaching on these topics.
• Following an audit on Camp Zion, Consistory is considering changes that include an increased focus on targeting more academically and socially at-risk kids through West and Central Elementary Schools.
• One of Zion’s goals for the next 90 days is to begin the process of reviewing and redesigning the youth group ministry.
• Andrew Moore from Community Reformed in Zeeland has begun the process of planting a church in Grandville. Andrew will be sharing more on this church plant with Consistory in September.