Zion E-News (5-21-2020)

A week or so ago, I was in an e-mail chain with a relatively large group of people. One person in the chain referred to a prominent politician in a demeaning way. I was not following the chain closely and before I could reply, someone else gently and graciously  corrected the person. And then, I heard people complaining about wearing a mask and others disparaging those who won’t wear a mask. And, others speaking unkindly about politicians from a different party. As a nation, we are an angry and anxious people. Often more consumed with being right or getting our way than with thinking through how to love our neighbor.

I see this desire to paint people as caricatures of themselves or to make straw man arguments in myself, too. When so much is out of our control, it can feel good to make everything a black or white issue, a good or bad issue, a simple binary choice: open things up or stay closed, live in fear or recklessly risk the health of others, save lives or destroy the economy, and so on.

This morning as I sat in my office, I was discouraged by the tone I sense in others and feel inside myself. It seems to me that as Christians the very least we can do to submit to those in authority over us is to assume the best of them. They are all doing the best in a difficult time to balance all the competing priorities of health and finances in our state and nation. And that as Christians, the lats we can do in loving our neighbors is to be kind to them and speak kindly of them even when we disagree with each other. But, there I sat discouraged.

And then, I received a letter in the mail from Angie Philipps. I do not know Angie. According to the envelope, she lives in Jenison. She may be young or old. I know nothing about this woman, except, she wrote a letter to encourage me and let me know she is praying for me. In the letter she notes that I am the 70th letter she has written to encourage a pastor in our community since the shut down began. (I suspect she is going through the phone book alphabetically from A to Z.)

I want to be more like Angie today. So, I want you to know I am praying for you. I am proud of you, the people of Zion. Yesterday, I delivered another two car loads of food to Sunrise Ministries in Jenison and I am proud to tell people I am your pastor. I love your generosity. I love the way you have been so quick to adapt and adjust to changes the past few months. I love the stories I hear of you bring people meals and going shopping for a friend and the long calls and neighborhood walks. We may be apart, but many of you are working to stay connected.

Thank you for being the people of God we are called to be even with all our failings and mistakes, stumbles and fitful starts. God bless you!

Connect to God
This Sunday we will once again gather for worship online. You can join the service at:
zionreformed.online.church 
Zion’s Facebook Page
WCET (at noon on Friday and 4pm on Sunday) 
Physical Copy of the Sermon mailed to you (please request from Connie Stegeman at cstegeman@zionreforned.org) 

I would like to thank all the people who participated in our service this week:  Sarah McAnally, Emily Morehouse, Luke Austin, Jim Peterson, Rick VanderWall, Rachel and Ethan Brower, Kendyll Bond, and Olivia Davis.

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 unique purpose which flows from the unique ways God has shaped and formed us.

This Sunday, we will celebrate communion, also called The Lord’s Super or the Eucharist. This is the family meal of Christians.  We invite all committed followers of Jesus Christ to partake of this sacrament: those who are baptized members of a congregation that proclaims the gospel, who are at peace with God and with their neighbor, and who seek strength to live more faithfully for Christ.  If you are not a Christian, or if you are not prepared to share in this meal, we encourage you to spend this time in prayer.  We hope that this time is helpful to you as you consider your relationship with Jesus Christ and with His people, the church.

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 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.

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 received an update from Jibit Asha (church planting in Nepal) recently. They ask for prayers as many of their planters are working in areas that have been heavily hit by the Corona Virus. In addition, they report 248 people have heard the gospel for the first time, 15 churches are meeting, 24 people have made first time commitments to Christ, and one new fellowship has begun. We give thanks to God for his continuing work in this time of turmoil for many.

We continue accepting donations of personal care items and food on Wednesdays from 1-3 pm at church. We are partnering with Sunrise Ministries in Jenison for a weekly distribution. We also continue our monthly partnership with UCOM through our Personal Care Pantry. For the next few weeks, all Personal Care Items will be shared with Lifeline Community Church for their next distribution in Wyoming. Thank you for your support of these important ministries at this time.

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
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.

If you have been following our financial position closely, you will notice our cash on hand jumped significantly this week. This is due entirely to our church receiving a PPP loan from the government to assist in our making payroll. We anticipate this loan being completely forgiven as it will be used to pay our staff and pay for some utilities. We are particularly thankful for this loan at this time as we have had two bigger expenses come up in the last two weeks: a repair to our elevator and updating our video equipment so we can begin live-streaming from the sanctuary when we gather again for worship.

Year to Date Budget: $565,682.82
Year to Date Contribution: $537,788.82
Giving Last Week: $10,252.00
Cash on Hand: $150,314.70