This Sunday at COS:
Before worship, you can attend the 9 am Hour in the church living room. This week’s meeting is Contemplate with Harry Plantinga. Each Contemplate gathering will help us discover the profound wisdom of Julian of Norwich’s “Revelations of Divine Love”. Learn more about the 9 am Hour at COS.
This Sunday morning also includes the return of Intergenerational Sunday School. Meet in room 5 at 9 am for a time of fun, learning, and fellowship with all generations.
On this Trinity season Sunday, Ben Videtich will preach from Acts 15:1-21 in the Prism combined service in the large sanctuary.
Following worship, stick around for an all-church meal in the café.
Sunday Night, return to COS for our annual All Saints’ Testimony Service at 6 pm in the large sanctuary. This Sunday evening service will include testimonies in which a few people give a brief testimony about a person—dead or living—who has modeled the Christian life for them. We will hear testimonies from Sonali Bola, Helen Harper, and Barbara Carvill. There is also a time to remember the saints in all our lives with candle lighting.
The 10 am Tree of Life service will also be broadcast via Zoom. Sign up for our Newsletter to receive the Zoom links.
COS Staff:
After more than 8 years of service, Dave Hartwell will be ending his ministry as Communications Coordinator at COS on November 8. A season of discernment has led him to accept a new position as Senior Account Manager with Kynda Marketing.
As COS’s first Communications Coordinator, Dave helped us grow in our life as a community by nurturing fruitful patterns of communication within and beyond our church. Dave has been instrumental in the weekly newsletter and bulletin, Setting the Table, sermon videos, Sunday A/V, Zoom worship, and much more. It’s hard to imagine COS’s journey through the pandemic without Dave, who did so much to enable us to transition to online worship and fellowship.
After a time away, Dave plans to continue as an active member of COS. While we are sad to see Dave leave this role at COS, we are deeply grateful for his faithful service and are hopeful for what God has in store for him ahead. Please take a moment to express your thanks to Dave.
Worship:
Preaching Schedule
November 10 ANWS – Rev. Andrew Mead, TOL – Rev. Len Vander Zee
November 17 ANWS- Albert Strydhorst, TOL – Ruth Padilla DeBorst
November 24 ANWS – Debbie Jin, TOL – Rev. Andrew Mead
December 1 ANWS – Rev. Andrew Mead, TOL – Rev. Len Vander Zee
Holiday Service Changes – This year we are experimenting with a few changes to our “traditional” holiday services.
Thanksgiving Day – 10:00am Worship at Radical Grace Church (formerly Coit Community Church – 600 Lafayette NE) – For many years we have worshiped together with Radical Grace/Coit on Thanksgiving Day, and we have hosted the service at COS. This year Radical Grace has offered to host the service, with Rev. Andrew Mead preaching. Please join us in worship that morning as we continue to support the work of this church.
Christmas Eve – 7:00pm Communion and Candlelight Service – This year we will have one worship service on Christmas Eve rather than two. The service will be similar to the service formerly held at 11:00pm, but earlier to accommodate families and elderly who were not able to attend a service as late as 11pm. The service will also include some child-friendly elements and is hopefully early enough for young families to attend. The intergenerational story-telling that formerly happened at 5pm on Christmas Eve, will move to the final Sunday of Advent.
Christmas Morning – 10:00am Carol Singing – The time of this service remains the same as in past years, but the format will become less formal, with extended time for singing Christmas carols together.
Faith Formation:
Intergenerational Sunday School (IGSS) at 9:00am this Sunday! Join us in the cafe at 9:00am for the first IGSS of the season! IGSS is a chance to connect with people of all ages and make memories together as we dive into a Bible story or theme. Table groups work together on challenges, projects, or artwork designed to nurture our faith and build community. This week we’ll explore how we build fellowship here at COS. Can we build it? YES, WE CAN!
GPS Self-Guided Prayer Journey, Nov. 10 Next Sunday we’re making space for prayer and reflection on Scripture passages from the book of Hebrews. We’ll bring our post-election hopes, fears, dreams, and longings to God as we fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith. We’ll begin at 11:45am with a shared liturgy from Our World Belongs to God, a contemporary testimony, followed by a time of self-guided prayer. You’ll receive a prayer guide with Scripture, invitations, and prompts to use at prayer stations around the GPS room. Care will be taken to ensure the space is accessible for all. If you prefer to pray outside, consider taking the prayer guide with you to the nature trail.
COS Women – the Women’s Winter Non-Retreat is back! It a ‘non retreat’ because we have no speakers and no agenda. What we DO have is fun, food, conversations, and time to renew old friendships and form new ones. Mark your calendars for Feb. 7 – 9 (technically, we can stay until the morning of Monday, Feb 10 for those who would like to stay that long). Questions? Call/text Deb Zondervan.
Office and Facilities:
To save space in the foyer, we are not putting out the portable coat racks. Instead, we encourage everyone to use the designated coat areas near Door A, Door D, Door M, and outside Room 3 or keep your coat with you as you worship.
October 2024 Directories are available in the back of both worshipping spaces.
Outreach and Congregational Life
Christmas Brunch – December 22: Christmas Brunch following our Prism combined worship service. To remind all of how this works: you will be assigned to contribute something based on your last name. Place your food in the café on one of the serving tables before the service. Have the food ready to be served—cut, sliced, and uncovered. The ovens and fridge in the kitchen will be available, as will serving spoons and knives. Enjoy the worship service and then head to the café to enjoy fellowship together. Your serving dish will be on a table near the kitchen. Please note that this year’s brunch is later than in past years.
Volunteers are needed to help with serving punch and to clear empty serving dishes. Please contact Jill Frazee-Eitman if you would like to help
Last names beginning:
A – E something “brunchy” —egg dish, deviled eggs, etc
F – K bread, muffins, bars or cookies
L – R veggies
S – Z fruit
Medicare Presentation November 3: Are you retired, or about to be? Do you wonder which Medicare plan to choose? Does open enrollment [currently underway] bring you a sense of overwhelm? If any of these apply, come learn from an expert in the field: Dan Sherman. Dan works for Saint Mary’s, and his years of professional experience in the field have equipped him with a thorough understanding of our country’s Medicare system. The up-to-90-minute seminar will be held at 12pm on November 3rd. It’s a Prism Sunday, so bring your food to room 17 [in the ESL hallway] where Dan will present and answer questions. So, bring all your Medicare-related queries! If you’d like to join, please RSVP to Ben: ben.videtich@coscrc.org.
Counting our blessings… One blessing many of us enjoy is good health. You can return thanks for being healthy by giving back and donating blood. Blood donors play a crucial role in fighting cancer, surviving an accident, dealing with a chronic condition like sickle cell anemia, facing surgery, and more. You can donate at the next Blood Drive in our building on Monday, November 18, 2-7pm. We still have 13 openings available. Schedule online at https://donateblood.versiti.org/donor/schedules/drive_schedule/11404512 You will be someone’s lifesaver! Questions? Contact Beth Karanicola or Ruth Huisman.
There is now a COS Together West Michigan (TWM) team that reports to the deacons, with Carol Rienstra as organizer-leader and Janice McWhertor as the deacon member. Six COS members – Arend VanderPols, Carol & Rich Rienstra, Natalie & Heather Drew, and Joan Huyser-Honig – attended the Candidate Accountability Session on Saturday, October 12. If you are interested in more information about how to be involved in this exciting and powerful movement for improving the lives of families in our community, talk with any one of them.