Trinity Season, Week of Sunday, November 1, 2020
On Sunday, November 1, we will continue to worship using our zoom format, individually, but still as one body, united in Christ This week Rev. Karen Campbell will bring us a message based on the scriptures of Habakkuk 1:5-11
and Romans 2:5-11.
Resources, videos, and liturgies can be found on the Church of the Servant website at coscrc.org/category/housechurch
All Saints Service –This Sunday, November 1, at 5:30 pm, we will hold a brief, outdoor service in the COS Courtyard. We will stand for the service as we remember those who are with the Lord, and will pay particular remembrance for those in our midst who have died in the last year. The service will conclude with a chance to plant bulbs that will bloom in the spring.
While there will not be a time of testimony during this service, there will be pre-recorded video testimonies made available during the coming week.
Children’s Ministry
Girls Club this Sunday, Kids Club next Sunday, and Boys Club the following Sunday! Our club leaders are so eager to start meeting with the younger members of COS again. And we’ve spent a lot of time mapping out how to do this safely! The biggest change we are making is dedicating the use of the church to different clubs on Sundays from 4:30 to 5:30 PM.
1st Sunday – Girls Club and WNL
2nd Sunday – Kids Club, HS Youth Group, and college group
3rd Sunday – Boys Club and WNL
4th Sunday – HS Youth Group, and college group
Temperature checks will be given to each child and leader before they enter the building, masks are required, protocols will be established to maintain social distancing, and, weather permitting, outdoor activities will be included for these meetings – so dress appropriately!
Questions? Contact Jo Howe or Annette Ediger
Church News
A COS Blood Drive in one week! We are hosting a blood drive in our building on Monday, November 9, 2-7pm. So many Versiti mobile blood drives have been cancelled since March, and the need for donations is great. Will you help?? Please schedule your appointment to donate on the Versiti website by using this link: https://donate.michigan.versiti.org/donor/schedules/drive_schedule/121464. All donors and staff will wear masks, and social distancing will be observed as much as possible. More information about Versiti safety protocols can be found here: https://www.versiti.org/home/coronavirus-information.
Also, please note that the Covid antibody test will be performed on all successful donations as part of Versiti’s standard testing. This test will inform donors if they have antibodies reflective of a prior COVID-19 infection and is not to inform donors if they currently have COVID-19.
If you have questions or need help with scheduling, please contact Ruth Huisman. Thank you for sharing your gift of life!
Financial Update- Last week’s offering and online giving:$25,459.99
Estimated Giving for the month of October: $97,858
Our monthly General Fund budget is $112,926.
Contribution statements for the first three quarters of the calendar year were sent out on Monday, October 26. Please review them and let AJ Zahrt know if you have any questions. She can be reached at (616) 956 7611 ext 29 or by email aj.zahrt@coscrc.org
Dark Times, Deep Grace continues Wednesday evenings at 8.30 pm on our COS facebook group. We simply read God’s word together and encourage you to draw and use the vehicle of art as an opportunity to slow down and notice how God is present through his word. Our guest artist this week will be Gene Ellens. We know that this is a time requiring deep wisdom from each one of us. As it says in James, a wisdom that is from on high is pure, peace loving, considerate, full of mercy and good fruits. Therefore, our passages will come from the Wisdom literature of Proverbs. The session is recorded so if you miss it on Wednesday nights you can catch up during the week by looking for the recording on the COS facebook group. You can also view the videos on the COS website online here.
The Living Word in Action – The pastoral theme for this year is The Living Word: Translated for Us. For our fall pledge drive, the stewardship team invites you to consider with us how we translate the Living Word into actions in service of Christ. Over the next several weeks, we will be sharing testimonies about many of our members are trying to live out their calling in faithful action. Please check out our introduction to the pledge drive on our COS web site.
November 8 and 15, 6:30-8 p.m., Anti-racism zoom discussions with Coit Church. Week 1 will focus on “Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption” by Bryan Stevenson. Even if you haven’t watched themovie and/or read the book by Nov. 9, you are welcome to sign up and listen in to the discussion. Week 2 will give opportunity for personal responses to the themes of proximity and forgiveness during a time of physical isolation and political polarization.
Deacons approved Coit Church as the designated recipient of this year’s Thanksgiving offering and invite all COS members to give generously between now and the end of November via the online giving portal.
Your help is needed for an updated directory! We are going to be printing a new directory, but we need your help to update your family information. The Online Member Center can be accessed here: https://servantkeeper.com/member-portal/church-of-the-servant The “Members and friends” link on the COS website should direct members to this same page. If you haven’t already done so, on your first visit you will be asked to log in. This requires entering your FAMILY email. There is one login per family, rather than individual logins for each person. Once you have logged in, you can look at your personal family profile, view contribution history, etc. You can also access the online congregational directory.
Please update incorrect information and provide a current family photo!
If you are not sure what your family email is, or if you have other questions, please contact diane.jonker@coscrc.org or dave.hartwell@coscrc.org
Mobile Food Pantry – On Saturday, November 7 from 9 am-11 am Our Mobile Food Pantry will be happening in our COS parking lot in a drive-thru format during this COVID time and as winter sets in. If you would like to volunteer, please email Deb Wood. Deb has joined the team of Food truck coordinators as the administrative assistant.
Thank you to her and to the coordinators: Dan Voetberg, Ross and Hugh Buitendorp, Flint and Stephanie Sacket. We appreciate your faithful and important service in coordinating the 5000 lb of food distribution to nearly 140 families each month.
Our Meijer Simply Give program has begun! This COS food pantry benefit will run a total of ten weeks through Saturday, Jan. 2, 2021. If you give online before December 12, COS staff will automatically apply your funds to Double Match Days. You may give here: https://tinyurl.com/y4qn27n4
Meijer Simply Give Double Match days are Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2020 and Saturday, Dec. 12, 2020. On those days, for every $10 card purchase, Meijer will match this with $20, so the COS food pantry will benefit with a $30 gift! If you buy a $30 Meijer Simply Give card, it will turn into a $90 gift to the COS food pantry. Give easily online OR you may purchase your Simply Give cards in person at the Cascade Meijer, anytime during the campaign, but preferably on the Double Match Days.
Angel Tree is coming! It will be virtual of course, but our Prisoners in Christ team will be giving the children of prisoners presents in the form of gift cards, sent virtually by Prison Fellowship. We have asked for 10 children and will need to raise $220 to do this. If we raise more, we can give to more children. These will be local children and we intend to follow up with their families. If we raise more, we will put it in our Angel Tree fund so we can help send Angel Tree children to Camp Tall Turf when that becomes possible again. Please send donations to COS and mark them as “Angel Tree.” Any questions? Contact Lucie Marsden.
Children’s winter hats, gloves, and sock drive – It’s that time again, to begin collecting new and hand-knit hats, gloves, and warm socks for the students at Ridge Park Charter Academy. The students are in grades K-8th grade. Many of the children live in the Camelot neighborhood. COS will have a container in the entryway of the front doors. We will collect these winter items in October, November, and December, bringing the items to the school each month. Thank you to all of you who help keep our neighborhood kids warm this winter!