Zion E-News (4-25-2019)

Yesterday evening, on my way home from work, I stopped by Aldi’s to pick up some hamburg buns for supper. I thought it would be a real quick in and out trip. My favorite. But then, something more significant happened.

As I was walking to the checkout, an older gentleman, stooped by age, went ahead of me in line. His wife was waiting on the other side and they were both looking a little overwhelmed. They needed regular cottage cheese and couldn’t find any. The cashier patiently explained where it could be found as the line grew longer and the man’s wife went back to look again. She couldn’t find it either. The line was growing longer. The cashier calmly asked what kind of cottage cheese for which they were looking. And the line grew longer. The cashier left his post and found the cottage cheese and got them checked out.

In a culture that values youth, strength and competence, it was a delight to see this young man treat this older, slightly overwhelmed couple, with such dignity and care. He could have ignored their need, He could have spoken gruffly to them when they couldn’t find what they needed. He could have pointed to the long line. He could have done all sorts of things to make this couple feel inadequate or unimportant, but instead, he stayed present to them, saw and responded to their needed, and treated them with dignity and respect. It made my heart happy.

It reminded me just a little of the Isaiah’s vision of the new heavens and earth in Isaiah 65, we he sees s world where rich and poor, men and women, and young and old all live in dignity and with enough. I wanted to tell this young man he was doing kingdom work yesterday, showing a glimpse of this better world to come, but the line was getting longer and longer. So, I thanked him for the kindness he showed and hurried along with my small purchase.

I am reminded today as I remember the short moment that each of us has many opportunities everyday to point to the coming kingdom by how we treat and talk about other people. May our lives reflect and point to this greater reality to come.

Connect to God
On Thursday, Jesus was a famous teacher. On Saturday he was dead in the grave and the movement he had started was as good as dead. But when he burst forth from the tomb, Christianity came to life as well. We are and always will be an Easter shaped people. Over the next few weeks, we will be looking at the last few stories from the Gospel of John to catch some glimpses of the kinds fo people God has called us to be as we follow our risen Savior. This Sunday, as we reflect on John 20:19-23, we discover we are a sent people.

We will also celebrate with three of our High School students and their families as Emma DeVries, Joshua Verbrugge, and Kimberly Verbrugge all make profession of faith.

If you would like a copy of the worship service, you can receive a complete copy by contacting Tom Verbrugge or you can find the weekly messages on our website.

Grow in Community
There is still time to sign up as a Shareholder to support our high school students on their mission trip to Immerse at F Street Church in Nebraska this summer. For a mere $30 donation you will receive an information card about the student you are supporting, a copy of the student written pre-trip devotionals, contact from your student both before and during the trip, and an invitation to the Shareholders dinner where you will not only enjoy great food, but also be able to talk with your student about their trip. More information can be found in your mailbox at church!

It’s that time of year again. Things are starting to grow and hopefully we have seen the last of the snow. With the change of seasons also comes opportunities. Here at Zion our annual church grounds clean up will be Saturday, May 4, from 8AM till about noon. Come on out and help make our church grounds look great. As always, we will have donuts. Join us for some fellowship and some work. Thank you.

Buck Creek Run: On Saturday, June 29, (I know. It’s a ways off) Grandville will have its annual Visser Family YMCA Buck Creek Run. I know there are a number of you that enjoy running (and probably a bigger number of you that wonder why) so I thought, wouldn’t it be fun if a bunch of us got together that morning to run that 5K. If you are interested please contact Pastor Rick and we can see about getting Zion T-shirts to wear. For more information check out www.visserfamilybuckcreekrun.com

Serve the World
Camp Zion is an amazing, fun-filled, summer time adventure that all of our youth group students and adults from Zion are invited to be a part of. Anyone interested in volunteering at Camp Zion this summer is encouraged to attend our leaders meeting this Sunday April 28 from 5-7pm. At the leaders meeting we will have time as a team to get a sneak peek of our plans for the summer, review the volunteer job description, get permission slips & choose the dates you would like to volunteer. Dinner is provided. Camp runs for seven weeks: June 17 – Aug 1, Monday through Thursday each week, 9am-3pm each day. In particular, we are always open to adults who are willing to drive students to and from lunch and field trips. If you would like to more, please contact Rachel Verbrugge to learn more.

Sean McAnally and I had a very encouraging lunch with Yakuv Gurung from Jibit Asha last week. Yakuv has recently returned from a trip to Nepal and shared many stories with us about the evangelistic and church planting work occurring in the southern part of the country. Included was a story of a teacher who prayed over a sick man (he was the last one the family approached after trying a doctor and multiple shamans). He prayed and the man became well and 22 people decided to follow Jesus. Another man came to faith and stopped building a temple in his backyard. The temple remains half-finished, but converted into a garden.

If you are interested in learning more about what God is doing in Nepal, there is an opportunity to travel to Nepal and meet with the church planters we support. Yakuv will be leading people from their supporting churches to Nepal from September 29/30 to October 10. If you are interested in going, please contact Pastor Greg soon as participation will be set by mid-May.

Administrative Details
Our next Leaders Meeting, this Sunday from 5-7 pm, will be a great opportunity to reconnect with your ministry teams, review the past year, and look forward to how God will be working among us in the year to come. Everyone who serves in any capacity is welcome to attend the meeting. Part of our night be focused on how to lead through criticism. if you lead your family, in your job or here at church will both learn something and have something to contribute to our discussion. We will provide child care for children 3rd grade and under. We are still looking for people to serve in childcare that evening. You can sign-up for both the Leaders Meeting yet this Sunday or e-mail Pastor Greg prior to Sunday to let him know you will be attending.

As we continue working with Elevate Architecture to develop a plan for remodeling our building to create a larger gathering area and children’s spaces, the Consistory has formed a building remodel team. The team includes: Pastor Rick, Andy Boeskool, Brian Davis, Sandie Dunn, Kyle VandePol, Roxie VanderHeide, and Arlyn Zoet.

Our Children’s Ministry redesign team has wrapped up their work and presented a proposal to Consistory at their April 9 meeting. Their goal is to reshape our Children’s programming to align more closely with a vision of raising up leaders in our church and reaching our community with the gospel through church planting. The team includes Rachel Brower, Sean McAnally, Heidi Ondersma, Jackie Deiter, and Megan Taylor. They presented their recommendations to Consistory and will be meeting with Consistory again in May to continue their productive conversation.

We continue to thank God for his provision of all of our needs and for the generous support of our congregation with their time, talent, and treasures.
Fiscal Year to date budget:  $511,134.40
Fiscal Year to date contributions: $508,688.27