Calvin Caller – fall 2024
Vickie Curtis September 25, 2024

Expressions of Worship…

Aside from physicality elements of the actual singing (better breath control, engagement of your diaphragm, etc.), why do we stand when singing in worship to God?

Historically, standing during worship has its roots in ancient Jewish practices.  In the Temple, worshippers would stand to express reverence and respect for God.  This tradition was carried over into early Christian worship services as a way to demonstrate unity and participation.

It is a physical manifestation of our expression of worship.  Pastor Mark mentioned in his sermon several weeks back about the Jewish tradition of swaying (known as Shucklen) when Scripture is being read as a demonstration of their worship- standing to sing is of the same notion.  Not just in the words that we are singing, the melody, or even the act of singing itself, we as one body are standing – representing an active physical element of worship.  On the flip side, sitting conveys a posture of passivity.  It’s the same reason many church traditions associate kneeling together during prayer- it is a physical representation of their surrender and reverence to God as an act of worship.

The Bible is full of examples of physical expressions of worship.  In Nehemiah 9:5: “Stand up and praise the Lord your God.”  We read in 1 Chronicles 23:30: “They were to stand every morning to thank and praise the Lord, and likewise every evening.  Further, in Psalm 134:2: “Lift up your hands to the holy place and bless the Lord!” and then in Isaiah 45:23 and referenced again by Paul in reference to Jesus (Romans 14:11, Philippians 2:10) “…every knee shall bow, every tongue shall confess…”  While some of these verses don’t explicitly mention standing, they do describe various postures of worship and reverence that can be associated with standing and the overall theme that worship should be a whole-hearted and active expression of our love and devotion to God.

So, if you are able, stand and worship our King!

~ Craig Folger, Worship Director

 

Children & Youth Ministries…

  • High School Youth Group schedule: meets every Sunday afternoon, 4-5:30 PM.
  • Children in Worship schedule: meets during worship on Sunday mornings, 10-11 AM (no classes on the 2nd Sunday of each month -Family Worship Sundays)
  • Wednesdays at Calvin schedule: meets on Wednesdays (except first Wednesday of each month), 6-7:30 PM and consists of Little Peeps, GEMS, Cadets, Middle School Youth Group

~ Courtney Kingshott, Children’s Ministries Director

 

Faithful Family Verse of the Month… 

We use a designated verse(s) in some way during worship on a monthly basis.  Our hope is that this verse(s) will go home with you and be in your heart and mind during each month.  You will find our monthly verse used in various ways during the month.  You can find this focus verse in the bulletin, on Facebook, and on our website.  Let’s keep digging into God’s Word together.

 

Save These Dates!!! 

The Deacons are planning to host a Senior Brunch on Saturday, November 9 at 11:00 AM.   Sign-up sheet and further information will be coming soon.

~ Barb Hoffman, Deacon Chair

 

The Cookie Exchange is scheduled for Wednesday, December 11.  Bring 3 dozen homemade cookies or bars and an empty container.  Enjoy some fun games and fellowship!  Go home with lots of yummy goodies to share at your holiday gatherings. 

~ Carol Mogdis & Ruth Zylstra

 

Hearts & Hands…

In 1993 a group of four women met to discuss the formation of a committee that would work to meet various needs of the Calvin Church family.  The group included Linda Bos, Julie VanderMeulen, Lin Wabel, and Maryann Wolffis.  The committee was named Hearts & Hands, and its purpose would be to care for one another with kindness, compassion, encouragement, and love.  Some of our current ministries include prayers, cards, meals, visits, baby baskets, prayer quilts, and gift bags.  We are now beginning our 31st year of reaching out to our church and community with God’s love.   Thank you to all of you who share your time and your talents to help us in making this ministry a blessing to others.

We would like to thank Char & Dennis Berens for helping us to acquire and assemble the new bookcase in the Fireside Room.  Thank you also to an anonymous donor who covered the cost of the bookcase for us.  We can now store our supply of puzzles in an easily accessible area.  These puzzles have been donated by our church members and can be exchanged or borrowed by any member.  If you have not checked out our large puzzle supply, please do so.  What a great way to pass the time on cold winter days!

We would also like to thank Sherry Wilson for making our beautiful prayer quilts.  These quilts are given to church members who are dealing with long term illness.  Recently, a quilt was given to Jim Bartkowiak.

A donation was given from the Pickleball fund in September.  At the request of Pastor Mark, funds were provided to help with expenses for the Fall Carnival, an outreach ministry.

Our next meeting will be held on Monday, October 14, 2024 at 1:00 PM in the Fireside Room.  We always welcome new members and would love to have you join us!

~ Antje Waldo, Secretary

 

The Household Pantry… 

Each month the Household Pantry volunteers assist between 6-10 families needing household goods like sheets, pillows, blankets, comforters, towels and cloths.  They often need kitchen items like dishes, pans, tableware and bake ware because they are starting over and have nothing.

We are always in need of Twin and Queen sheets, blankets and comforters, especially as the cold weather arrives.  We go through pots, pans, 9×13 casserole, loaf pans (meatloaf pan) pretty fast as well.  We need 3-quart saucepans, 10-12 inch frying pans, Dutch oven size pots/8-10 quart pots.  It seems we go through soup/cereal bowls quickly, too.  Thank you so much for thinking of us when going through your cupboards or shopping.

We would love to add volunteers to our list.  Our volunteers are needed one time per month for 1½ hours, either a Wednesday, 12:45-2:30 pm or a Saturday morning at 9:45-11:30 am.  It’s easy, rewarding, and a great way to show God’s love to our neighbors.

Thank you,

Ric & Dee Scott & Anita Hasper

 

Fellowship… 

I would like to thank the many volunteers from church who have helped in the past year, and I am so grateful to Vern Borgman for leaving a footprint to follow.  A special thanks to my wife, Sheryl, and to “my girls”, Kathy Jansen & Barb Hoffman.

Mark your calendar for these upcoming dates:

  • November 24 – Pie Sunday (congregation supplies pies to be served during Coffee Fellowship)
  • November 27 – Thanksgiving Eve Celebration (begins with dinner one hour prior to thanksgiving worship)
  • December 8 (tentative) – Christmas Breakfast (celebrate Christmas and a wonderful meal with your church family & friends)

~ Bert VanAndel, Fellowship Coordinator

 

The Work of SERVE 2024…

A major component of Serve is the work that the teens perform Monday through Thursday. The participants were divided into 10 teams, each named after a local or great lake and consisting of 6 students and 1 or 2 adult leaders. On multi-day sites a different team was assigned each day in order to give teams variety in their tasks. The teams at many of these sites were assisted by members of Calvin Church who worked hard to make sure that these tasks were accomplished safely and done well.  Thanks to all who so generously gave of their time and effort to assist the teams in many of these projects. This year’s work projects included:

  • One team got up early and helped serve breakfast to the entire group. They then cleaned up the church and then spent the rest of the morning helping with the Kids Camp (a Calvin version of Vacation Bible School) and visiting shut-ins from our church or members who needed assistance around the house.
  • Multiple teams worked at the Muskegon Christian Elementary School doing a variety of maintenance projects both inside and outside.
  • Three teams did interior painting at the West Michigan Christian High School.
  • Multiple teams worked at the Three Oaks Charter Academy (the old West Michigan Christian High School building), on landscaping, filling cracks in the parking lot, restriping it and a variety of other projects.
  • Each day one or more teams worked at the McLaughlin Grows Gardens.
  • One team cleaned up the Angell Neighborhood Community Garden on Allen Avenue.
  • One team working with a couple from the Coalition for Community Development cleaned up the Edgewood School garden in Muskegon Heights.
  • One team cleaned up the  Seeds of Hope Community Garden at the Covenant Community Church in Muskegon Heights.
  • One team spent a day doing outside maintenance and window washing at the DIBS on Resale thrift store which supports the Christian Schools.
  • One team spent a day setting up and staffing a “Pop-Up Thrift Store” in the parking lot of the Love INC administration building on Peck Street. Another team spent a day working at their store on Sherman.
  • Three teams spent a day cleaning the alleys in Muskegon’s McLaughlin Neighborhood.
  • Three teams worked at the New Life Christian Center in the McLaughlin Neighborhood cleaning and staining a wheelchair ramp and deck and painting the foundation of the building. Several years in the past we have been “plagued” by a Catholic volunteer group from out of town who have come and “stolen” one of the projects we had set up in the weeks before Serve started. They did it again this year. The maintenance man at New Life, when they called, thought they were us and let them paint the foundation. We found out about it the week before Serve and were scrambling to replace that with a different project. But he had bought a different color paint than what the congregation had selected and they were giving him a hard time about it. So after Serve had begun, he sheepishly asked if we could repaint it with the “proper” color which we did.
  • We had a team at “Pound Buddies,” an animal shelter and adoption center each day, replacing the floor in eight large kennels and the associated runs.
  • We worked at three different sites for the Muskegon Rescue Mission, one day sorting clothes for their thrift store, two morning leading activities for children at their Community Resource Center and one afternoon cleaning their Men’s Shelter.
  • One team spent a day cleaning and preparing an outside at the Solid Rock store on Ottawa street for painting.
  • A team spent a day cleaning up the neglected lot of an elderly disabled widow in the Jackson Hill Neighborhood, removing a lot of brush and other junk.

~ Paul Wilson, SERVE Site Coordinator

 

Info from the Church Office…

Are you part of a team here at Calvin?  We have several teams that would love new team members!  Here’s a great way to use your spiritual gift(s) and talents.

►  Building & Grounds Team

►  Children & Youth Ministries Team

►  Fellowship Team

►  Funeral Team

►  Mission & Outreach Team

►  Praise & Worship Team

►  Prayer Team

►  Safety Team

►  Tech Team

If you would like more info on or would like to join any of these amazing and valuable teams, please see me in the office.  I’ll direct you to the right person. 😊

As the cold weather approaches, we would like to remind everyone that all Calvin Ministries cancellations will be posted to FOX 17, FOX17online.com, WZZM TV, WZZM13.com, and also on Facebook.

Recycling is going strong at Calvin!  Please remember to thoroughly rinse or wash items, discard caps, and place in recycling bins.  There is a poster in the kitchen to refer to.  Thanks to everyone for pitching in!  Also, a huge thank you to Bert VanAndel for overseeing this process.

Please remember to wear your nametag on Sunday mornings.  This is so helpful and just makes the meeting process so much easier for our visitors.  If you are in need of a nametag, please let me know by leaving me a note on my desk or emailing vickie.curtis@calvin-crc.org. (lanyard or magnet styles are available)

With the holidays approaching fast, please take time to check out the weekly bulletin either in print or online, or go to our website calvin-crc.org to keep track of all the event dates that you won’t want to miss.

~ Vickie Curtis, Administrative Assistant

 

Fall Life Groups…

Life Groups at Calvin are groups of 8-15 people that will meet for five or six weeks, once a week.  The groups all focus on various areas of ministry, service, faith learning, fellowship, and Biblical understanding.  Make sure to check out the fall options… sign-ups will be available soon!  Questions?  See any staff member.

 

Friendship Ministries…

The 2024-2025 season of Friendship is soon to get underway and begin its 24th season. God has been so good to this ministry over the years.  From the start with the DeHoogs and meeting at Maranatha, to meeting at Calvin in the FLC, God has blessed us.

This coming year we will have 26 students and 24 mentors. We have received an inquiry from another male about joining us, so we might be at 27 students.  Prayer will be the focus of our lessons.  The how to pray, why do we pray, and different types of prayer will be looked at.  We will study the Lord’s Prayer and the prayers of Hannah, Solomon, Jonah, the early church, and Paul to name a few.  We will discuss how God answers our prayers even when it seems to us that He doesn’t.

Our ministry season begins October 3 with a pizza party.  Regular lessons will be on October 10, 17, 24, November 7, 21.  A fun night is planned for November 14 when we meet with the Friendship Group from Hope Reformed Church.  December always brings fun when we make cards for Calvin’s shut-ins, have a craft night, then our Christmas party, and another evening when the Christmas story is retold.

Music continues to be a big part of our evenings including our theme song, “I am Somebody”.   “I am somebody because God loves me, and I’m accepted just the way that I am.  His love is higher, it’s deeper and wider than you or I can ever understand”.  What truth, what a promise!

We are praising God from whom all blessings flow,

~ Jan Weiden, Friendship Steering Committee Chair

 

Family Promise of the Lakeshore…

As we serve on the board, we continually see God at work in bringing hope and a fresh start to people in our community who have been going through very hard times.

This past year Family Promise of the Lakeshore was awarded a grant to help families in Oceana County who are facing eviction.  Here is an example of how that grant program is so very helpful to families in tough circumstances:

In August, the father of this family contacted us after receiving a 30-day notice of eviction.  He and his wife have 2 children, with another baby due any day.  The father explained to us that due to a vehicle breakdown in July, he was unable to make it to work and lost his job.  He was able to get assistance through Love INC in Oceana County for the vehicle repair, and quickly found another job that could support his family.  Unfortunately, during this time, he had missed a couple of paychecks.  This meant that despite resolving the issue that led to his unemployment and finding another job very quickly, this family faced potentially becoming homeless.  Family Promise of the Lakeshore was able to provide this family with 2 month’s rent (the month they were behind, and the current month), so that they would not only be able to stay in their home, but also to give them time to get back on their feet financially, before they needed to pay rent again.  The father wanted Family Promise to know that he is so incredibly grateful for this chance to get back on his feet.  He had been truly terrified that his new baby would be born without a home to go home to.

The Fall months are when several grants that have been used to pay shelter aides run out of funding.  Please consider supporting this vital, local ministry, which is so valuable to families, with your financial gifts.  Providing meals throughout the year is another way to serve this ministry.  You can give through our Offering of the Day as they occur or directly by sending a gift to Family Promise of the Lakeshore, 2160 Crozier Ave., Muskegon, MI 49441.

~ Bonnie and Carl Bergman, F.P. Board Members

~ Jan VanHouten and Lucile Hackett, F.P. Church Coordinators

 

Among Ourselves…

How to Find our Event Calendar:  Here on our website, from the home screen, scroll down to events, click on “Upcoming Events”, scroll down to the calendar.

 

Directory Info…

  • If you requested a copy of the 2024/2025 Church Directory, it’s in your church mailbox or your home mailbox. Keep in mind the online directory is always up-to-date!
  • If you have changes (address, phone, email, etc.) for the directory during the year, please let Vickie know and updates will be put in this section of the seasonal Calvin Caller (but will not be included in the Calvin Caller on the website).
  • Have you updated your family photo recently? If your answer is yes, we would like to include it in our Online Directory!  Please take a moment to email it to Vickie in the office at curtis@calvin-crc.org.  I encourage you to see the directory as a living document, reflecting our congregation’s dynamic nature.  Help me keep it updated!
  • The Online Church Directory is very user friendly! Call, text or send an email right from the app on your smartphone.  All info is updated regularly.  Download the app and get started today!  Call the office or stop in if you need instructions.