This Sunday at COS:
On this Pentecost season Sunday, Rev. Len Vander Zee will preach from Jeremiah 2:1-13 and John 4:7-15 in the Tree of Life service in the large sanctuary. Ntarambirwa Alexis will preach in the All Nations Worship Service in Room 4. During worship, we have the joy of welcoming children to the Lord’s Supper. This Sunday and next we’ll welcome Jude Gebben, Arden Hollemans, Anneke Honig, Ian Honig, and Olivia Remelts to the Lord’s Supper. What a joy to see God’s Spirit at work in the lives of our children!
Following Worship: we will work together to stack the chairs from the TOL sanctuary onto the carpet surrounding the space. The cement floor is being cleaned during the week. The chairs with the hymnal baskets and the red armchairs can be stacked three high. The rest of the chairs can be put on carts until we run out of carts. Then, they can be stacked ten high on the carpet. Please leave the musicians’ area and the piano as is. Nicole and Marc are the co-point persons for this task. If you can help, we would appreciate your efforts. ~ The Facilities Team
The 10 am Tree of Life service will also be broadcast via Zoom. Sign up for our Newsletter to receive the Zoom links.
Outreach and Congregational Life
Save the date: The annual Summer Block Party to give away backpacks and meet our neighbors in Camelot Park is Saturday, July 27 from 11:30a-1:30p. More details next month.
Camping – Mark your calendars! After a nearly 30-year hiatus, COS will again be inviting all church members to join us for a COS Camping Trip. We have reserved a block of camp sites and cabins at Wabasis Lake Campground for this coming fall, Sept. 27-29. Details are still being worked out, but if you want to reserve a campsite now, contact Annette (Annette.ediger@coscrc.org) or Ben (Ben.videtich@coscrc.org).
Summer Movie for All Ages: Tuesday, June 18 at 7:00pm, we will be showing Frank Capra’s Academy Award winner for Best Picture in 1938 You Can’t Take It With You. The son (Jimmy Stewart) of a snobbish Wall Street banker (Edward Arnold) becomes engaged to a woman (Jean Arthur) from a good-natured, but decidedly eccentric family not realizing that his father is trying to force her family from their home for a real estate development. But when she invites her snooty prospective in-laws to dinner to give their blessing to the marriage, Alice’s peculiar extended family — including philosophical grandfather Martin Vanderhof (Lionel Barrymore), hapless fledgling ballerina sister Essie (Ann Miller), and fireworks enthusiast father, Paul (Samuel S. Hinds) — might be too eccentric for the staid Kirbys. While this is an “old” movie, its themes are still relevant today: housing crisis, accepting and welcoming differences, love for the family you create around you. Suggested donation $1, popcorn and lemonade provided.
Meijer Simply Give: COS is delighted to once again partner with Meijer Simply Give in support of our in-house Food Pantry. Simply Give runs until June 29, 2024. During this time, you may purchase $10 Simply Give cards at the Cascade Meijer, and that money goes to the COS food pantry. The Double Match Day will be June 15. This means that every $10 card purchased on June 15 will result in $30 for the COS food pantry. If you would like COS to purchase the cards on the double match day on your behalf, please drop your donation in the Sunday offering and label your gift “Simply Give.”
Looking for a new recycling opportunity? The COS Creation Care Team will be recycling oral care products through a program established by Crest and Oral B. Bring your toothbrushes, electric toothbrush heads, toothpaste tubes (caps on), dental floss containers, floss string, floss picks and mouthwash containers to the marked collection bin in the cafe area, near the library. These products can be recycled as roofing or insulation materials. For more information, visit their website. Any brand of these products will be accepted. Thanks for participating in our effort to reduce plastic waste. If you have questions, contact Ginny Kuilema.
There is a childcare crisis in Kent County. More than 20,000 children do not have adequate childcare or early childhood education. COS is joining dozens of other congregations and organizations in a Together West Michigan movement to gather commitments to collect and activate Childcare Voter Pledges toward a goal of 5,500 by August 6th, 2024. That means committing to vote on August 6th to renew our Kent County “Ready by 5” millage and committing to hold candidates for office this year accountable for taking action on affordable, quality childcare. Check with Jolanda Howe, Carol Rienstra, or Janice McWhertor if you have questions.
Council:
Answering people with different views on sexuality, gender, and the life of the Church. Some COS people have told COS council members, “I resonate with the COS statement ‘Our Calling: a Community of Belonging.’ But I don’t know how to explain the biblical basis for an affirming view.” You can find thoughtful answers on the COS website. From this page, check out retired Christian Reformed pastor Clayton Libolt’s longer blog post addressing each of the verses that people use to uphold a more traditional view and theologian Walter Brueggeman’s essay on how you can find both traditional and affirming views in the Bible.
Office and Facilities:
Tomato Cages: Do you have tomato cages you no longer need? If so, we could use them for the COS community garden, the COS fire pit fruit and herb garden, and berry bushes at the Welcome Home. You can put the cages in the wood chip area surrounding the fire pit (behind the church building). Thanks in advance!
Downsizing? COS could use another hose cart for yard work. Contact Hope Bradley if you have one to donate.
Faith Formation:
Wednesday Night Programming Reminder: Wed. Night Dinners and all our programs for students in grades 2-12 (WNL, WNLX, Wed. Night Hype—formerly known as Boys Club, and Next Generation—formerly known as Girls Club) are on a break until Wednesday, June 19.
Beginning June 9th Little Lambs & Children’s Worship for Ages 3 through 1st Grade Graduates. Over the summer we keep kids in their current grade level classrooms for Nursery, Little Lambs and Children’s Worship. Waiting until the fall to advance the classes allows us to continue to offer ministry programming with fewer leaders during the vacation season.
Worship:
Preaching Schedule
June 16 ANWS – Rev. Andrew Mead, TOL – Rev. Len Vander Zee
June 23 ANWS – Lucy Gitau, TOL – Rev. Andrew Mead
June 30 ANWS – Makema Lwenge, TOL – Naji Umran
July 7 Prism service – Rev. Andrew Mead
Profession of Faith: Sunday, June 23, we will celebrate God’s faithfulness as Ethan Sarwar publicly profess his faith in Jesus Christ; we rejoice with him in this important decision and milestone in his life; and we welcome him as a professing member of the Church.
Summer Jam Sessions – Wednesday evening programming is finished for this school year, but the demand for jam sessions continues! If you like to strum, pick, sing, hit, shake, or play folksy/Americana melodies by ear, you are welcome to join these summer jam sessions. Observers and learners are welcome, too! Chords and lyrics will be provided. The jam sessions will be held in the sanctuary from 6:30pm-8:00pm on Wednesdays, June 26, July 10, and August 7. (Summer Wednesday evening programming will also take place on June 26 and July 10. So come at 5:30 for dinner before jamming.)