This Sunday at COS:
On this Pentecost season Sunday, Naji Umran will preach from Acts 2:43-47 and Jeremiah 29:1,4-14 in the Tree of Life service in the large sanctuary. Makema Lwenge will preach from Malachi 3:13-4:6 in the All Nations Worship Service in Room 4.
Following worship, we will hold a congregational meeting to vote on the 2024-2025 Budget. In anticipation of this meeting, you are invited to read the Draft Summary for the 2024-2025 Budget here as well as the full budget and a list of FAQs regarding the budget and process.
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
Our next Blood Drive is four weeks away! Summertime is a slow time for blood donations – high schools and colleges are on break and vacations take many people out of town, but the need for blood is constant. If you’re not signed up for our drive, please consider if you would be available to help save lives. Find our drive online here and be someone’s hero! If you’re already signed up, THANK YOU!
The COS Prisoners-in-Christ Restorative Justice team is developing partnerships with inmates at Muskegon Correctional Facility to start a Restorative Justice book group, as well as continuing to support the club at Handlon Correctional Facility in Ionia. We are planning with a member of the board of RawTools to host an event next spring to help move communities away from violence by making tools from guns AND teaching each other new ways to solve problems through relationships, dialogue and alternative means of justice. In addition, we are holding relational meetings and raising awareness about the need to vote in the August primary. For more information, contact Carol Rienstra.
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 invites all church members to join us for a COS Camping Trip. We have reserved a block of campsites and cabins at Wabasis Lake Campground for this coming fall, Sept. 27-29. Find more details at coscrc.org/camping.
Back by popular demand, Summer Movie Night: Take 2 will be Tuesday, July 16 at 7:00pm in the Living Room “Theater”. Save the date – movie to be announced soon.
Stewardship:
Capital Campaign Update – The Building Fund Capital Campaign for campus upgrades has received gifts and pledges of $468,000, of which $208,000 has already been received and the rest have been pledged over the next three years. Thank you for your faithfulness in making those future payments! The BFCC Team is most grateful for your responses. We fell short of our target, but with generous gifts you did give, the Facilities Team will be able to complete about 90% of the projects targeted. Projects already completed include the handrail on the TOL platform, the new camera system for online worshippers, upgraded controls for our heating and cooling systems, and a wi-fi systems upgrades. We have ordered replacements for our old wooden doors, with a new card access system. If you had planned to pledge or give, but let it slip by, there is still an opportunity. Go to the giving tab on our website here or find a pledge form in the café area. Adding another $50,000 to our pledges will cover all but a few projects. A heartfelt thanks to all who joined or will yet join in this effort.
Do you have 2 hours on Tuesdays to help with counting and recording the Sunday offering? We are looking for additional people to add to the current roster of volunteers. The primary job task is to ensure all checks and donations are entered into the donor software and a deposit is ready to go to the bank. If you have two hours free on a Tuesday and are looking for a way to support COS’s ministry, please contact AJ Zahrt to get into the weekly rotation.
Office and Facilities:
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.
Faith Formation:
No Summer Club Ministries on Wednesday, July 3- Next Generation, Wednesday Night Hype, WNL, and WNLX will continue July 10, 17, and 24 from 6:30-8:00pm with pizza at 6:00pm!
Summer Club Ministries Started on June 19! Summer club ministries for 2nd through 12th graders will meet on 5 Wednesdays this year: June 19 & 26, and July 10, 17, and 24. Children entering 2nd grade in the fall are welcome to begin attending Wednesday Night Hype or Next Generation—our clubs for 2nd -6th graders this summer! 6th grade graduates may move up to Wednesday Night Live (WNL) or remain in the Hype or Next Gen for the summer and move up in the fall. The Middle and High school ministries are combined in the summer. 7th – 12th grader will meet in the youth room. Please arrive at 6:30pm for club ministries (ending at 8:00pm) or come early for Little Caesar’s pizza at 6:00pm! No childcare is available for younger children during summer programming.
Worship:
Preaching Schedule
July 7 Prism service – Rev. Andrew Mead
July 14 ANWS – Rev. Andrew Mead, TOL – Rev. Len Vander Zee
July 21 ANWS – Rev. Andrew Mead, TOL – Lucy Gitau
July 28 ANWS – Rev. Andrew Mead, TOL – Rev. Len Vander Zee
Gluten-Free Communion Bread: On Sunday, July 7 we will be switching to all Gluten-Free bread for communion. This coming ministry year, our theme as a congregation will be Fellowship – the second gift in our vision statement. As we share the gift of fellowship (“koinonia”) as a community, we are looking not to our own interests, but to the interests of others. (Phil. 2:4) In our celebration of the Lord’s Supper, we desire that those with gluten allergies and those without can all partake of the same loaf. In this small but significant way, we embrace the oneness we share in Christ and give honor to one another. (1 Cor. 10:17; 12:26) You can read more about our communion practices in this liturgy lesson.
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.
Sunday, July 7 in the Prism service, we will celebrate the sacrament of baptism of Pilar Meyer-Dunning, Levi Dunning, Ruby Dunning, Rosezitta Tennie, Favor Tennie, and Rosmanie Tennie as they are welcomed into the family of God at Church Of The Servant. We will receive the promises God makes to His children and heirs, hear the commitments of the families, and together, promise to pray for and encourage Pilar, Levi, Ruby, Rosezitta, Favor, and Rosmanie as they grow in their faith and life.
Sunday, July 7 in the Prism service, we will welcome into membership at COS the Dunning family (Chris, Pilar, Levi, and Ruby) and the Tennie family (Rosezitta, Favor, and Rosmanie).
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.)