This Sunday at COS:
On this Pentecost season Sunday, Lucy Gitau, one of our seminary interns will preach from Psalm 1 and Matthew 5:1-12 in the Tree of Life service in the large sanctuary. Rev. Andrew Mead will preach in the All Nations Worship Service in room 4.
On Sunday, July 21, Tony and Allison Westrate will worship with us at the Tree of Life Service and give a brief presentation about their work after the service in the Youth Room. Please join us to catch up on what’s happening in their ministry and in their family, and to encourage them. Snacks will be provided.
The 10 am Tree of Life service will also be broadcast via Zoom. Sign up for our Newsletter to receive the Zoom links.
Faith Formation:
Summer Club Ministries on Wednesday, July 24. Club ministries resume next week with Next Generation and Wednesday Night Hype for children entering 2nd grade-6th grade, and combined WNL and WNLX programming for 7th – 12th graders. Pizza dinner will be available from 6:00-6:30 pm with programming from 6:30 pm-8:00 pm.
Food Pantry Item of the Month: Shampoo. Each month the children’s ministry invites everyone who is able to donate a much-needed personal care item to the COS food pantry. This month’s item is Shampoo. Please deposit new, unused shampoo in the basket labeled, “Shampoo.” at the children’s check-in station cart next to the front door of the church. Involving children in giving is a great way to remind them that God takes care of us and gives us what we need. Our food pantry is one of the ways God provides for our needs.
Stewardship:
Great News! In the month of June, we all gave generously to COS. Our total giving of nearly $112,000 was almost $33,000 more than in June of last year. We also reduced our total expenses last month. Due to our low General Fund balance, we withheld our most of our denominational ministry shares. We have also completed our Christian education tuition support for this calendar year, and that reduces our expenses by another $16,000. As a result, we ended up with a net surplus income of more than $50,000! And our General Fund balance is just short of $70,000. The Council and Finance Committee are very grateful for this development. With your continuing support, we hope we can reach a $100,000 balance by the beginning of September.
Contribution statements for the period January 1 to June 30 2024, were emailed to you on Tuesday, July 16. If you do not have an email on file with COS, you can find a hard copy of your statement in your cos mailbox. Please review the statement and let AJ Zahrt know by email aj.zahrt@coscrc.org or phone 231-736-6829 if you have questions or concerns.
Office and Facilities:
COS provides Sunday transportation to 30-40 people using two vans. The Transportation Ministry is looking for additional drivers to assist the current two drivers who make this ministry happen. Routes are already determined, leaving COS at 8:30am. The return trip leaves COS at 12:45pm. If you have a valid driver’s license, are over 25 years old, and are interested in more information, contact Monica Smith.
COS has a Security Team and a Medical Team scheduled for each Sunday service. The Security Team walks through the campus observing activities and is available to assist with any security issues which may arise. The ST wears an orange nametag. The Medical Team is the point person for any medical emergencies. The MT wears a white nametag with a red cross. If you would like more information about these Teams or would like to join their important work, contact Dave Stransky and Isaac Young.
Updating the Directory: As you take photos this summer, submit your pictures for the next directory printing to office@coscrc.org. Have you updated your address, phone, and/or email since the last directory printing? If so, send that updated information to the church office as well.
Outreach and Congregational Life
Saved a life lately? That’s what blood donation does…saves lives! And that’s why ordinary people like you donate blood. It’s not because they love to get poked with a needle…not because they have more time than they know what to do with…not because they get paid big bucks. It’s because human blood cannot be manufactured, and it’s a gift of life from one person to another who needs it. We are hosting a blood drive here in one week – Monday, July 29, from 2-7pm. Consider joining with those that share life. We still have 16 available time slots open. You can sign up for an appointment at https://donate.michigan.versiti.org/donor/schedules/drive_schedule/156038 Any questions? Contact Ruth Huisman or Beth Karanicola. Thank you!
Mobile Food Pantry: We are looking to add people to the Team Leader rotation for 2025 Mobile Food Pantry truck dates. Are you interested in being a Team Leader for this ministry? Have questions about what is involved with being a Team Leader? Contact Monica Smith or Greg Snow for more information.
The COS Anti-Racism team is spear-heading our congregation’s engagement with the broad-based organization Together West Michigan. Along with 20 other members, Classis GR East churches are learning how to build relational power across the lines that often divide us, and bring citizens’ concerns to those who have the resources to address those concerns – especially related to childcare, housing, mental health, and immigrant/refugee wellbeing. There will be a large delegates assembly (with translation into Spanish and Swahili) on Saturday morning, July 27, at Neland Ave. Church, to report on how things are going, and make decisions about next actions. If you are interested in attending here is the link to sign up. Please contact Carol Rienstra or Jolanda Howe if you have questions.
Friendship ESL needs a morning nursery care associate, September 10-11 and one or two mornings a week thereafter. Can you do this for a month? ESL needs a driver to transport Afghan women living near Breton and 44th to English classes. Can you do this for a month, once or twice a week? (Driving is covered as secondary insurance through COS.) Every small gift of time is an act of fellowship. Call/text Mark Fackler.
Camelot Block Party – Saturday, July 27 from 11:30a-1:30pm, we will join with other churches in our community and Ridge Park Charter School to host the annual Camelot Park Block Party. At this event, we give away backpacks to about 200 students, along with food, music, and activities. This year, we will start with a brief training event at 10:15am at COS. This training is based on the YES program principles designed to help us see the “face of Christ” in those in need. If you would like to learn more about YES, click here. Immediately following the training, we will complete any food prep and head over to the park for setup. If you are available to help with this event, contact the church office.
Worship:
Preaching Schedule
July 28 ANWS – Rev. Andrew Mead, TOL – Rev. Len Vander Zee
August 4 ANWS – Lucy Gitau, TOL – Rev. Andrew Mea
August 11 ANWS – Debbie Jin, TOL – Rev. Len Vander Zee
August 18 ANWS – Makema Lwenge, TOL – Rev. Len Vander Zee
Sunday morning scripture readers wanted! All are invited to participate in leading our worship by signing up for reading scripture. We encourage a wide variety of people to participate in this role! Parents, consider signing up with your children and helping them prepare during the week. This is a great way to help children engage in the worship. High school and college-age attendees, consider signing up with a friend. You can access the signup through our website, or directly through this link. You will receive and email reminder and the scripture passage from Maria Stapert on the Wednesday prior to the Sunday when you will be reading so you can prepare at home ahead of time. You can also read the Scripture Readers Guide on our website for more ways to prepare for this important role.