Zion E-News (5-7-2020)

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. ~ Hebrews 10:24-25

On Wednesday during our morning prayer time, Hebrews 10:25 kept running through my mind. Do not give up the habit of meeting. During this time of physical distancing, we cannot be physical with one another, but let us not give up the habit of being socially close to each other.

There are people in our community grieving. Grieving the loss of a loved one. Grieving the loss of their Senior year. Grieving the plans they had for a new business. Grieving the loss of weekly game nights and coffee dates. Grieving the loss of mobility. Let us not let each other grieve alone.

There are also people struggling. Struggling with balancing the competing demands of jobs and raising kids and keeping up on school work. Struggling with being overworked as everything seems to take longer when done remotely., Struggling with not having enough work and worrying how to pay the bills. Struggling in relationships that were rocky to begin within but that have fractured even further under the stress of staying home.

There are also people finding an unexpected joy during this time. Activities and slowed and parents have connected with kids in new ways. Jobs that beat them done have been removed for a time. Children have been born and welcomed into the world.

I spent almost an hour talking with one of our missionaries earlier this week and I was reminded of the power of an encouraging phone call. I get to pray each day with people from our church on a Zoom call and am strengthened by our time together. I met with my Discipleship triad online and we shared our burdens and offered each other wisdom. And every week, I look forward to seeing who has checked in to worship online as we gather on Sundays. All these connections feed my soul and encourage me in my relationship with God, but also in my family and in my work.

We were made for relationship. None of us can go through life alone. Let us not give up the habit of meeting with one another. Gather as a small group online. Call a friend. Send a card. Saturate our friends with text messages. Even from a distance, let us go through life together and never give up the habit of meeting together.

Connect to God
This Sunday we will once again gather for worship online. You can join the service at zionreformed.online.church or from the top banner of our website at www.zionreformed.org. You will also be able to watch the live stream via our church’s Facebook page. The stream will begin at 9:15 with a few worship songs prior to the service starting just a couple minutes after 9:30. Beginning this week, our services will once again be shown a week later on WCET at noon on Fridays and at 4 pm on Sundays.

I would like to thank all the people who participated in our service this week: Rachel, Kim, and Josh Verbrugge, Sharilyn VanWyhe, Rick VanderWall, Troy Austin, our praise team, and all the kids with a Mother’s Day message for their mom.

We continue our sermon series entitled Made for More this week. Many of us have been raised in a church culture that told us, however unintentionally, that our role was to come to worship, volunteer in something, give a little money and then let the professionals do the ministry. But what if we were made for more than holding down a seat or filling a volunteer slot. What if we truly are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God has prepared in advance for us to do? What if we were made for mission, to both be a disciple and make disciples, as well as filling a unique role in God’s kingdom to show God’s love and care for this world. What if we were made for a life overflowing in the life of Jesus and guided in mission by his Spirit? This week we shift our attention to our common mission field, not across the world, not at some future time, but right here and right now.

If you are not able to watch online, but still want to read the sermon, please contact Connie Stegeman and she can mail you a hard copy of Pastor Greg’s rough draft. (You may have to endure even more than the average number of typos.)

You are also invited to join us for a coffee hour after church via a zoom call. The link will be shared during the service in the chat box. Last week, we had about 8 families join us for a brief talk in response to the sermon and just to catch up. You can learn more about how to use Zoom at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9isp3qPeQ0E

Grow in Community
Join us at 9 am this Sunday for Zion Kids Worship/Sunday School! We will be live streaming directly from the same website where you already watch our worship service. You can find the Kids Worship time at https://zionreformed.online.church.

We also hold Jim and Barb Overweg in our prayers as Jim had eye surgery this morning to replace a lens that had broken loose. Please pray for peace, a lack of discomfort or pain, and a speedy recovery.

The Elders will be meeting next week Tuesday at 7 pm. If you are interested in joining Zion,  having a child baptized, or making profession of faith, please contact Pastor Greg.

Connected to our sermon series, we are also engaging in a 30-Day devotional as a congregation. The devotionals will walk us through the book of Ephesians as we together consider  how we are Made for More. The devotionals can be downloaded here.

We also still have numerous Discipleship Triads meeting. If you would like to learn more about how you can connect with other people at Zion to encourage one another to follow Jesus well, send me an e-mail and I can help get you connected.

Serve the World
We continue accepting donations of personal care items and food on Wednesdays from 1-3 pm at church.

If you need help, either with food, personal care items, help grocery shopping, or with financial needs, please contact Shanda VandePol our chair of deacons and she can help connect you with the appropriate resources at Zion. Her e-mail is shandavandepol@yahoo.com and her phone number is 616-308-0700.

Administration
At our annual Congregational meeting on Sunday, we elected the following people to the office of Elder: Patti Grooters and Arlyn Zoet and to the office of Deacon: Jerrod Holzgen and Brandon Ondersma.

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. We are especially grateful this week for all those who have adjusted their means of giving to give online, through the mail, and via text. Zion’s members continue to strongly support the ministries of Zion during this time of uncertainty.

Year to Date Budget: $543,499.18
Year to Date Contribution: $520,963.82
Giving Last Week: $7,055.22
Cash on Hand: $104,646.17