Calvin Caller – Winter
Winter 2025, VOL. LVIII, No. 1
From the Pastor’s Desk…
The tension between light and darkness is a metaphor of critical importance during the Advent season. In a few short days we will be having our annual Christmas Eve Candlelight worship service which has been a tradition here at Calvin for many years. It is an important and fitting way for us to worship the coming Christ. We call this a ‘Tenebrae’ or ‘Shadows’ service. Worshiping this way dates back to the twelfth century and traditionally is a way of worship during the lent season around Jesus’ death. The service begins with some light, but as the service progresses the light becomes less and less so that when we leave, we leave with just the smallest of lights to carry out.
This is why this practice is important. Before Jesus came to earth 2000 years ago the world was cold and dark. (Jesus, of course, was always fully God and with God, but when he came here as a human.) Before that time the grasp of sin was clenched deeply around the hearts of humanity. The whole creation was entrapped by the curse of sin and left without hope.
The first covenant made with God’s people was broken. There were virtually no known inspirational biblical writings for 400 years before the gospels were written. I can imagine the Devil was anticipating a glorious victory as the curse of sin would fate all humans into his grasp. It was Darkness, pure darkness. But then this extraordinary thing happens. The smallest of lights appears in the darkness. Almost no one knows about it. Mary and Jospeh, poor teenagers from a backwoods town are chosen. A Messiah will be born from her. His name will be called Jesus.
The angels appear to announce his birth not at the temple mount or before the most powerful, but to rag tag, wilderness shepherds out in their fields. The whole story of his birth is like holding that small light of the coming Christ. A light we know will grow to become the light of the whole world. The light that death will one day try to snuff out but could not. The light that rose victorious from the grave and now deeply dwells in the hearts of millions. The small light of his coming now showered over the whole universe. I pray during this season you can live into the tension between the light and the darkness. I pray you and your loved ones can join us on Christmas Eve when we worship the small light of his coming, that is now bursting forth unto the whole universe.
~ Pastor Mark
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.
Fellowship…
Upcoming Event that you won’t want to miss…
You’re invited to “Souper” Bowl Sunday – Sunday, February 9, during Coffee Fellowship (after worship).
Bring a crockpot of your favorite homemade soup to share with everyone for lunch. Bread and crackers will be provided. The Coffee Fellowship Hosts will provide treats and snacks as the finishing touch.
~ Bert VanAndel, Fellowship Coordinator
Hearts & Hands…
And do not forget to do good and to share what you have with those in need, for such sacrifices are very pleasing to God. Hebrews 13:16
We had a wonderful group of 20 people in attendance at our December meeting. We enjoyed a delicious Christmas dessert prepared for us by Vern Borgman. Thank you, Vern!
This was designated as a “Special Christmas Blessing” session. Our usual guidelines for donations from the Pickleball Fund were stretched a bit so that we might give money to individuals or organizations that might not fit into our usual criteria. Suggestions were given by members. A presentation was given by Pastors Mark and Brian concerning the need for a new security system for our church. It was decided that a donation would be given toward the security system and that eighteen other individuals and organizations would also receive a “blessing”. It is our hope and prayer that “Christmas Blessings” might become a ministry of Hearts & Hands each December.
Our college students are being remembered again this Christmas. Ten students will receive gift cards for gas.
Earlier this fall, donations from the Pickleball Fund were given to:
- Feeding America Mobile Food Pantry Truck
- Muskegon Rescue Mission (Walk-In Freezer)
- Disaster Relief: Samaritan’s Purse & World Renew
Many thanks go out to:
- The Fruits of the Freezer group who are continuing to stock the freezer with delicious meals that can be taken along when visiting members of our church family who can use some help with meal preparation.
- Brian Dirkse for his dedication in faithfully attending our meetings and serving as our Council Liaison this year. We appreciate your willingness to serve, Brian!
- The Calvin Cadets who have again volunteered to make very creative and beautiful wooden gifts to be added to our get well baskets.
- All of you who have participated in our Christmas Card Ministry for our “Special Friends”. We appreciate your help in making this holiday season a little merrier for these special people.
A Baby Shower is being planned for late January 2025. Our Baby Basket Ministry (for members of our church who are blessed with a new addition to their family) is in need of supplies. Please watch your bulletin for dates and further information. We are thankful that we can always trust in your generosity and hope that you will have fun shopping. Our families so appreciate these beautiful baskets!
We feel very blessed to be a part of this ministry. We really enjoy our meetings, delicious desserts, and a fun time of fellowship together. New members are always welcome, and we hope that you will plan to join us in the new year. Our next meeting will be on January 13, 2025 at 1:00 PM in the Fireside Room.
~ Antje Waldo, Secretary
Household Pantry…
The pantry was very busy this fall. Normally Love INC sends us a list of 9-10 families per month and we’ve served nearly all the families on these lists. Because of this, we have given away full shopping carts of items to families that are starting over.
This December we had 10 families on the list with 12 adults and 22 children, ages 6 months to 19 yrs. That’s a lot of bedding, towels, dishes, flatware, etc.
We are currently in need of many items, such as Twin and Queen sheets, blankets, comforters (Ollie’s has pretty good prices on these items). We always need 3-5 quart pans/pots, 10-12 inch frying pans. If you see a holiday sale for toasters or crock pots, we could use those as well, along with dishes, flatware, shower curtains, dish towels, dish cloths, potholders, bakeware such as 9×13 or 8×8 casserole/cake dishes, loaf pans, cookie sheets.
We also could use more volunteers! We can only staff one pantry per month at this time (we used to offer 2 per month). It is not a difficult task and easy to learn. We work on a rotation in 4 person teams of 2 women and 2 men and work 1 1/2 hours per pantry.
Thank you for faithfully supporting this ministry for many years. We hear from our families that we have a reputation for serving the community. Please help us to continue this tradition.
Ric & Dee Scott, Anita Hasper
Friendship Ministries…
Friendship Ministry is well underway for the year, and we are developing new and deepening other friendships. We welcomed 2 new students and mentors and have a total of 27 students. Our lessons on prayer are helping us talk with and to God and bring our cares and worries to Him.
Our next meetings are January 9,16, 23. We take the month of February off and resume meeting March 6,13, 20. A bowling outing will take place in February at a date to be determined. Meetings are from 7:00 – 8: 00 PM in the Family Life Center.
Please continue to pray for Friendship as we grow in our relationships with others and God. If you have any questions about this ministry, please contact any Steering Committee member: Henriet Meyers, Ken Sherburn, Cal Hoekema, Doug LaFayette, Mary Whitlow or Council Liaison, Sydney Murray.
~ 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 has been able to keep homeless families together and avoid being separated into gender-specific shelters. Here is an example of how families are provided much more than temporary housing, but also training, counseling, and guidance in finding a new home.
Meet siblings Jay and Amanda. Jay is a sophomore in high school. Amanda is four years old and has autism. Last year, when their family came to stay at Family Promise of the Lakeshore, Amanda was completely nonverbal. Her mother was unable to work outside the home, because Amanda could not be left in a childcare setting.
While at Family Promise of the Lakeshore, Amanda was connected with support and medical services. Family Promise helped their mom find remote work to increase the family income, and Amanda was assessed for disability by a SOAR practitioner. Jay was presented with opportunities to volunteer at the local library and museum after school.
The family graduated from Family Promise and purchased a home in the spring of 2024.
As of this Christmas, Amanda is attending preschool and is speaking in full sentences. Jay is a member of his high school’s student council and is looking forward to applying to colleges.
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: Go to our website… https://www.calvin-crc.org. Scroll down to events, click on “Upcoming Events”, scroll down to the calendar.
Anniversaries: Our best wishes to the following couples who are celebrating their anniversaries in January, February, March (50+ years together) …
Rick & Jan Dethloff celebrating 56 years on January 24.
Art & Pat Brown celebrating 50 years on February 7.
Len & Marilyn Hartman celebrating 69 years on February 17.
Len & Shirley Fisher celebrating 61 years on March 20.
Jerry & Val VanWoerkom celebrating 55 years on March 28.
January Birthdays:
Jan 1 – Aubree Gillette Jan 9 – Jason Murray Jan 15 – Craig DeWind
Jan 1 – Wallace Folger Jan 10 – Beth Spoelstra Jan 17 – Bonnie Bannink
Jan 3 – Dave Semelbauer Jan 11 – Scott Wilbur Jan 18 – John Hoekstra
Jan 3 – LaPrea Brown Jan 12 – Darlene Hewitt Jan 21 – Al Henderson
Jan 4 – Cal Hoekema Jan 12 – Nancy Johnson Jan 21 – Isaac Murray
Jan 6 – Kay George Jan 13 – Ruth Boomer Jan 23 – Woody Brown
Jan 6 – Mackenzie Folger Jan 13 – Barb Beecham Jan 25 – Pastor Brian
Jan 7 – Marjorie Cunningham Jan 13 – Kristi Rop Jan 29 – Nancy Mellema
Jan 8 – Nick Brown Jan 13 – Stefanie Bannink Jan 30 – Deanna VanderPloeg
Jan 9 – Nancy Milkamp Jan 14 – Nancy Spoon
February Birthdays:
Feb 2 – Lynn Cooper Feb 7 – Myrna Johnson Feb 20 – Sheryl VanAndel
Feb 2 – Taylor Semelbauer Feb 8 – Cam Beisel Feb 21 – Hanna Swords
Feb 3 – Vickie Curtis Feb 8 – Brady Searles Feb 23 – Carol Prince
Feb 3 – Ryan Kempf Feb 13 – Jake Thompson
Feb 5 – Marge Gillette Feb 13 – Rowan Folger Feb 24 – Chad Sneller
Feb 5 – Reese Butrick Feb 16 – Don Fowler Feb 25 – Carol Baker
Feb 5 – Landen Bannink Feb 16 – Suzanne Shepherd Feb 25 – Bert VanAndel
Feb 6 – Jason Grimm Feb 20 – Carolyn Ahrens Feb 26 – Marilyn Hartman
March Birthdays:
Mar 3 – Jan Bush Mar 16 – Eleanor Kingshott Mar 24 – Barry Searles
Mar 4 – Peter Wynbelt Mar 17 – Jan Weiden Mar 26 – Tracie Wolffis
Mar 4 – Emerson VerMerris Mar 17 – Tim Searles Mar 28 – Bob Datema
Mar 6 – Howard Allen Mar 18 – Ben Datema Mar 29 – Dick Kraft
Mar 6 – Shannon Wall Mar 20 – Maryann Wolffis Mar 29 – Debbie Strohm
Mar 7 – Art Brown Mar 20 – Anna Konyndyk Mar 29 – Parker Sneller
Mar 10 – Jeremy Sova Mar 22 – Diane Kamp Mar 30 – Kristi Wickerink
Mar 10 – Tyler Hewitt Mar 22 – Bella Semelbauer Mar 30 – Linda Gould
Mar 14 – Ruth Zylstra Mar 23 – John Mogdis Mar 30 – Katie Thompson
Mar 14 – Ali Witt Mar 23 – Barb Bartkowiak
Mar 15 – Claire Holter Mar 23 – Bari Honick
Directory Info…
- 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 Vickie 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/Email the office or stop in if you need instructions.
Updates: If you have a current Church Directory (red), find changes/additions in our printed copies at the Info Center in the narthex if you’d like to update.
Grief Recovery Method Class…
January 9 – February 27, 2025 (Thursdays) from 9:30 to 11:30 AM at Calvin Church. If you are currently giving care to someone who is grieving or if you are experiencing unresolved grief issues, please consider joining the Grief recovery Method Class. More information may be found at https://www.griefrecoverymethod.com or by contacting Jane DeGroot, facilitator of the class at janehdegroot@charter.net or (616) 402-5689.
Info from the Church Office…
From Christmas devotionals and Bible studies to worship videos for the whole family, RightNow Media has something for everyone this season—and all year long. If you would like access to this free resource, send me a quick email at vickie.curtis@calvin-crc.org and I’ll get you set up. Then, download the app for easy access to the video library anytime, anywhere, browse the content available to you and find series that are relevant to your life.
Now that the cold weather is upon us, 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.
~ Vickie Curtis, Administrative Assistant