Zion E-News (7-28-2022)
After spending a week in Alaska this summer and soaking in the beauty of God’s creation, you would think I’d pay attention as well to God’s creation returning to Michigan. Yet, I don’t think I did until within the last week. On Friday, I decided to go to Holland State Park beach by myself (Olivia was gone to her cousin’s house and Kim wasn’t feeling the beach that day). When you go to the beach by yourself, it is a much different experience than going with others. You observe much more when you’re not chatting with someone else, or worried about your kids being swept up in a dangerous current. You can truly relax, listen to the soothing crash of waves against the shore, pay attention to the sensation of sand between your toes, feel the breeze against your face, admire the beautiful horizon, and maybe even be reminded of what it was like to have small children at the beach (fun, cute, adventurous) but be glad that you’re not responsible for anyone for a few hours.

On Tuesday I had an early morning hospital visit to make so I was awake earlier than usual. As I drove from Holland to Grand Rapids the sunrise was unique. It seemed to change by the minute with a rainbow of colors flowing across the horizon and beyond. The way the colors flowed, spread, and faded, it reminded me of the Northern Lights.  As I drove, Joy 99 FM was talking about how beautiful it was and how people were posting pictures of the sunrise. As most of us know, pictures will never do justice to what we see in person, but I’ll post one from Joy 99’s Facebook anyway.

The beauty of God’s creation should always create awe, wonder, and praise of our creator. Praise is so good for the soul. It reminds us that there IS a Creator God, that we are nothing without our God, and that our magnificent Creator God is not distant, but loves to have a relationship with us and give us good gifts (like an afternoon at the beach and a glorious sunrise. It also takes the focus off of ourselves and our problems and puts the focus on our good God.

Could you benefit from some alone time, some admiring of God’s creation, and some praise? I encourage you to find a way to make that happen soon and be blessed by what God does through that time you give to God.

-Jeremy

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.

WE NEED more volunteers to help at the Child Check-In on Sunday mornings. Training will be provided. If you’d be willing to help on a Sunday this summer, please contact Kelly Osterink at 616-446-6704. Thanks!
We will not be having a sermon series for the summer. Instead we look forward to stand alone messages from a variety of voices:

July 31: Andrew Moore (Zion Member who is an ordained pastor in the RCA)

August 7: Eddy Aleman (General Secretary of the RCA)

August 14: Randy Weener (RCA Director of Church Multiplication)

August 21: Transition Pastor: Steve Petroelje

August 28: Transition Pastor: Steve Petroelje

Grow in Community
MOTT FAMILY UPDATE: Ellie (19 y/o) had surgery on Tuesday to remove a mass on her brain that had been causing headaches and blurry vision. The surgery and recovery went well, but the preliminary pathology showed it was cancer. Another MRI is being done to see if her spine has spots as well. This was likely something very new and fast growing. She will need treatment, some combination of chemo and radiation. Next week they hope to know more. Ellie is home now.  Sydney (16 y/o) continues chemotherapy to fight the Hodgkin’s Lymphoma she found out she has back in May. Please pray for the entire family during this difficult time! A meal train was recently started. If you’d like to contribute, follow this link.  There is also a gofundme started to help with costs for Ellie’s brain surgery. You can find that here.

WILLIS KUIPER will be celebrating his 90th birthday on August 5. If you would like to send birthday wishes his way, his mailing address is: 2589 44th St SE Room 113, Grand Rapids, MI 49512

A PARK PLAYDATE at Zion’s playground is being planned for Tuesday, August 2 from 10 to 11:30am. There will also be a bounce house and popsicles! This is a great opportunity to invite a friend!

Summer is a great time to try out new ways to serve in at Zion. If you are interested in serving on one of our welcome teams, now is the time to try it out a few times over the summer! If you are already on a team or want to try it out, you can sign up to serve as an usher, greeter, or to help at the child check in station here.

We have switched to our summer mode in Zion Kids! We’ll be running a nursery, and a simplified program for kids 3 yrs.-going into 3rd grade (all together). We read Bible stories to kids in small groups, pray, do crafts & play with them.  It’s really fun, and a great way to get to know the kids!  To make this happen, we need your help! Would you be willing to serve In kids ministry two times over the summer months?  We’re looking for young grandparents, teenagers, parents, and people who enjoy being around kids.  We’ll make sure to pair summer volunteers alongside our regular kids ministry people.   All adults over 18 years old must go through Keeping Kids Safe training and a background check prior to serving with kids.  If needed, Pastor Jeremy will contact you to set up a time to go over our policies. These really are fun Summer Sundays with extra time to get to know the kids a bit more! You can sign up through the links below, or via a sign up sheet outside of Room 205, or by texting Katie Wagner at 616-994-2880 or Jacki Deiter at 616-437-4791.  Thanks for considering supporting our kids & young families!
Summer Kids Ministry  
Nursery

Serve the World
THREADS: We will be having an end of the season sale at Threads on Saturday, August 13 from 9am-1pm.  All summer clothing items and accessories will be $1 each (Cash or checks only).  All the profit from this sale will be used to purchase new needed items for the ministry.

CAMP ZION: One week left of camp! It’s been a great summer and the staff has worked very hard. Feel free to say thank you to them for serving our community on behalf of Zion. A big thanks to all those who have volunteered and donated items to Camp Zion!

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

CHILDREN’S MINISTRY DIRECTOR SEARCH: The search for a new Children’s Ministry Director is underway.  With the help of consistory, a search committee of Rick Vanderwall (as a non-voting advisory role) Shanda VandePol, Emily Morehouse, Matt Eling, Heidi Ondersma, and Jerrod Holzgen was formed.  The job description was updated and is now posted in several locations include the RCA and CRC websites and on the banner of Zion’s home page.  This is a part time (approx. 20 hours per week), salaried position.  If you or someone you know is interested, or if you have questions, please contact Jerrod at jholzgen@yahoo.com or 616-520-1771.  Thank you for your support during this period of transition and will keep you posted as the search proceeds.

ROOM/OFFICE CHANGES: The season of having a church library is coming to a close. Why? Besides it rarely being used by less than a handful of members, and because of a more complex reason why: Threads is exploding with donations on a regular basis and needs more storage, which led to a multi-room switch. Camp Zion’s storage is moving from the basement, to the “Library” (double doors on the front east side of the sanctuary). Camp Zion’s office is also moving into the old library for one big Camp Zion office/storage space. The Children’s Director’s office is moving to the Camp Zion office (Northwest corner of the building our the front right side of the sanctuary). The old Children’s Director office is becoming the new music supply closet (formerly getting extra music stands, mic stands, and cables, etc. required climbing up in the open space where the organ’s pipes used to be – which is behind the right screen in the sanctuary – I almost ripped my pants too many times on a Sunday morning climbing on a stool to get up there). Now that Camp Zion has overtaken the library,  the Camp Zion staff helped Pastor Rick move all the books to room 207 (last classroom on the south side of the hall). The books are free for the taking until the beginning of October, when the remaining books will be donated. A big thanks to Pastor Rick for moving so many things this week to start this transition!

We look forward to our Transition Pastor, Steve Petroelje, starting at Zion on Monday, August 15.

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: $82,089.36
Fiscal Year 2021/22 Contributions: $66,776.97
Giving Last Week: $4,205.50