This Sunday at COS:
On this Pentecost season Sunday, Rev. Len Vander Zee will preach from Psalm 2 and Acts 4:23-31 in the Tree of Life service in the large sanctuary. Rev. Andrew Mead will preach from Rev. 21:9-10,22-27 in the All Nations Worship Service in room 4.
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
2nd Annual COS Gardens Tour – The Creation Care Team invites you to join them on Saturday morning, August 3 for a tour of the gardens at these members’ homes:
9:00-9:45 Rienstra garden (carpooling from here is encouraged)
10:00-10:45 Kuilema garden
11:00-11:45 Koetje garden
Come enjoy these gorgeous gardens in their prime!
Last Call! You can still sign up for an appointment to Save Lives. Our Blood Drive is tomorrow, Monday, July 29, 2-7pm, and we still have about a dozen openings for donors. Type O blood, especially, is routinely in short supply and in high demand by hospitals. But all types of blood are important to the blood supply! Join a dedicated core of faithful donors at Church of the Servant. The cafe surroundings are familiar, the fellowship here is great, and the sense of doing something really worthwhile is priceless. Sign up online at https://donate.michigan.versiti.org/donor/schedules/drive_schedule/156038 Contact Ruth Huisman or Beth Karanicola with any questions.
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.
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.
Our missionaries Sam and Elizabeth Schoofs will be visiting COS on Sunday, August 4. They’ll be doing a presentation about their work in the GPS room at 11:45 after the service. Please come to welcome them and hear about their work in Chad.
Hard Styrofoam Collection: July 28th through September 4th. Please bring only hard Styrofoam to the collection point in the Cafe. If you need to deliver during the week, do not drop off outside or in the office. Contact Hope Bradley with your questions. Next collections are October 13, 2024 and December 12, 2026.
Meijer Simply Give: Our fall campaign for Meijer Simply Give began June 30 and runs through Saturday, September 28. The Double Match Day opportunities for COS will be held on Saturday, August 17th and Saturday, September 14th, 2024. (For every $10 Simply Give card purchased on these dates, Meijer will provide an additional contribution of $20, bringing the total to $30 for a single customer purchase.) If you would like to donate to support COS and its food pantry, you may do so by using our online portal to give or by giving cash or check with Simply Give in memo line at Church on Sundays.
Faith Formation:
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:
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.
Worship:
Preaching Schedule
August 4 ANWS – Lucy Gitau, TOL – Rev. Andrew Mead
August 11 ANWS – Debbie Jin, TOL – Rev. Len Vander Zee
August 18 ANWS – Makema Lwenge, TOL – Rev. Len Vander Zee
August 25 ANWS – Ruth Lemmen, TOL – Rev. Andrew Mead
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.