Hope Within. The Twelve Symbols of Christmas. Mid-Week Resumes on January 11, 2017

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1 H O P E R E F O R M E D C H U R C H Winter 2016 Volume 12 Issue 8 Hope Within Inside This Issue: Journey Student Ministries 2 Midweek Activities 3 Meet Our New Member 4 Young at Heart 4 Cooks Wanted 4 Library News 5 Mid-Week Resumes on January 11, 2017 Come for one night or every Wednesday evening through March 29! It s a great way to beat cabin fever! Dinner Served from 5:30 6:15 p.m. Classes for all ages 6:15 7:15 p.m. Adult Classes begin in sanctuary Jr. High Journey with Julie, Pastor Kevin and Kris CADETS with Jerry, Larry, Mark and others GEMS with Sue VM, Megan and Mckenzie God s Kids with Elaine and Laura Nursery for the little ones Contributors: Grace Apotheker Shauna Collison Gayle DeYoung Jerry & Lana Loedeman Ed Moore Rev. Kevin Sanders Support Staff: Laura Strunk (Editor), Ed Moore, Jerry Waalkes, Gayle DeYoung, & Markie VanPutten The Hope Church Youth Present: The Twelve Symbols of Christmas Come and learn about the true meaning of the Christmas symbols. Sunday, December 11 at 9:30 a.m. Please join us for a time of fellowship after!

2 Page 2 Hope Within Journey Student Ministries Update! It s hard to believe Journey is already 5 months old! We have been having a great time having fun and growing in our faith together as we seek to love and live like Jesus. I want to give you a small snapshot of what has been happening so far this year. We are pleased with all that is happening in the youth of Journey and are excited for what is on the horizon! Sunday School We have been traveling through the Apostles Creed together dissecting it bit-by-bit to better understand what we believe, and why we believe it. We have eaten many donuts together while laughing and discussing the bedrock of our beliefs. Journey Mid We have had lots of fun gathering together on Wednesday nights, whether we are taping people to the wall or creating commercials for donkey jawbones. We make a lot of noise, and sometimes lose our voices from laughing, but we also have good conversations together about what it means to live out our faith wherever we are. Journey High Every Sunday night the high-schoolers meet at our house for pizza or a home cooked meal enjoyed around the table before we play a riveting game of catch-phrase followed by a Bible Study focused on the Gospel of Luke. Our purpose with Journey High is to equip students to live out their faith while navigating High School and preparing for life afterwards. Did I mention we also have a whole lot of fun? We are really good at having fun. Are you interested in receiving the Journey Student Ministries newsletter? Please Kevin at kevinfsanders@gmail.com and he will add you to the list!

3 Page 3 Adult Midweek Programs Winter 2017 Date Leader Topic 1/11/17 Marian Veld & John Beeman (a) Discipleship 1/18/17 Marian Veld & John Beeman (a) Discipleship 1/25/17 Marian Veld & John Beeman (a) Discipleship 2/1/17 Heather Offringa 2/8/17 Heather Offringa 2/15/17 Heather Offringa 2/22/17 Heather Offringa (b) Caring for our aging loved ones (c) Hunger for God 3/1/ ASH WEDNESDAY 3/8/17 Al Apotheker 3/15/17 Al Apotheker 3/22/17 Al Apotheker Into His Presence What is Worship and What is Bad Worship 3/29/17 Cadets Pinewood Derby (a) Discipleship - As a Christian, you have been placed by Christ into his body as a member. In this class, we will explore how we can grow in grace together as parts of Christ's body. Week 1: Discipleship in community: how we are Christ's body together Week 2: Practices: how the community nurtures the individual disciple Week 3: Disciplines: how the individual disciple nurtures the community (b) Caring For Our Aging Loved Ones: We will discuss community resources as well the emotional, spiritual & practical dilemmas that arise for caregivers and those in need of care. (c) Hunger For God: What do you desire more than anything else? What do you crave? Comfort, possessions, power, wealth, acceptance, approval, food, sleep? God himself? With help from the book A Hunger for God by John Piper, we will explore how God alone can satisfy and we can grow to desire Him above all else through prayer and fasting.

4 Page 4 Hope Within Meet Our Newest Member Don DeWolf has returned to Hope and likes to be able to walk to church. He grew up in Kalamazoo and graduated from Kalamazoo Central. His first job was taking sprouts off potatoes in a produce market for 25 cents an hour. He had become a Christian before he was drafted into the army as a clerk typist in the Korean War. So he had a companion in Christ to go with him. His shining moment was when he allowed 300 soldiers to be sent home early by fixing a point system. After the war he married Jenny, had 4 children, fostered over 200 children and adopted one. He loved working as a postal clerk for 48 years. He now enjoys his many grandchildren and playing cribbage. He was recently reunited with previous foster twins who had been adopted by an Amish family. They honored him with an Amish dinner and singing hymns in their home. Young at Heart Our Christmas Lunch at Hope Church will be at noon on Thursday December 15 (please note the change of day). The cost will be $7.50 per person. Menu includes; chicken, ham, baked potatoes, salad, vegetable and dessert. After our meal, we will go to Twin Lakes Church to enjoy a concert of Christmas music presented by pianist Jim Hendrix. Several other churches have been invited to join this program. Sign up sheet in in the narthex. Invite your friends! See the poster in the hallway to learn more. Mark your 2017 calendars for future activities: Jan. 17, Feb. 21, March 21, & April 18. If you have suggestions, or ideas you would like to do, please let us know. We welcome help with planning. - Jerry & Lana Loedeman Calling all cooks! Calling all cooks or those who enjoy providing meals to members of the congregation who have been hospitalized, experienced an extended illness, had a new addition to their family, or experienced a death in the family. One of the ministries of the Congregational Care Committee is to provide meals in these situations and we could use some additional volunteers. If you would be interested in occasionally providing a meal when needed, please notify Gayle DeYoung or Judy Phillips. What s cooking?

5 Page 5 Library News After Cheri Blue passed away her husband and her best friend, Diana, from Guildford, England donated several books to our library in her memory. Cheri loved children and our children will remember her as the lady with the service dogs. Some of the books came from England and you wil see Big Ben, the Queen, and some British spellings such as mum and pyjamas. We are setting up a special section of Cheri s books. The donated books are: Richard Scarry s Best Word Book Ever How Full is Your Bucket I Am Not Sleepy and I Will Not Go to Bed You Can t Take an Elephant on the Bus The Queen s Hat The Tiger Who Came to Tea Wellington and the Blue Balloon Harry and the Bucketful of Dinosaurs What s the Time? Love You Forever Many of the books have a note from Cheri s friend. Here is a list of some non-fiction books donated to the library this summer: Behind each book is a number to tell which category you can find the book in on the shelves. For example, #245 is all books on prayer. Intercessory Prayer by Dutch Sheets (245) Miracles and Wonders by Calvin Miller (231) Into the Depths of God by Calvin Miller (232) He Shall be Called by Robert Morgan (232) Beyond Doubt by Cornelius Plantinga (242) A Grace Disguised by Gerald Sittser (261) Castaway Kid by R.B. Sittser (261) The library is being rearranged. Stop in and check it out soon. We are looking for a beanbag chair in good condition for our children s area, if anyone is discarding one. Thank you!

6 Hope Church Committees & Leadership Church Life Members: *Allison Dillon, Judy Larsen, Ken Larsen, Paul Witteveen, Karen Schaap, Miranda VanderMeeden Mission: minister especially to the social and recreational needs in the life of the congregation, including planning & facilitating fellowship activities. Congregational Care Members: *Gayle DeYoung, Sue Johnston, Linda Joy, Kathy Rozek, Gretchen Rustenholtz, Ron Stolk, Markie VanPutten, Rick Wielopolski Mission: minister especially to the spiritual, emotional and physical needs in the life of the congregation, including small groups, prayer chain, and a care network for congregant members. Education Members: Shauna Collison, Julie Dintaman, *Karla Durian, Betsy Frens, Ed Moore, Sue VanderMeer, Don VanLandegent Jr. Mission: implement ways and means for congregants to become firmly grounded in the Word of God through Scripture study, including Sunday school, Family Night, and other educational programs. Executive Members: specifically comprised solely of Sr. Pastor and consistory VP, Clerk, Chair of deacons, and Treasurer Mission: carry on the duties of consistory including giving direction to all paid staff and serve as a sounding board for the pastor *indicates the committee Chair Mission Members: *Denny Collison, Mike Koets, Lana Loedeman, Jeff Offringa, Karen Schaap, Steve Thomas Mission: initiate and promote all activities pertaining to missions including contacting missionaries and mission causes that receive our support. Outreach Members: John Beeman, Joel Bell, Elaine Breuer, Laura Cousineau, *Scott Poehlman, Shayne Stolk Mission: promote and prepare the congregation to an effective ministry of evangelism, including visitor follow-up and assimilation, public relations and promotion of disciple-making ministries to the local neighborhood and community. Property Members: Matt Bronsink, *Kathy Doornbos, Don VanDonselaar Mission: general oversight of building and grounds, maintenance and equipment including supervising the church calendar for use of church property. Worship Members: Al Apotheker, Tom Drenth, Kent Frens, Pat Gernaat, Heather Offringa, Sara Poehlman, Connie Schlukebir, *Nancy Schripsema, Allison Dillon, Marian Veld, Sue Williams Mission: plan and implement all musical activities for service, ensure flowers or arrangements are in sanctuary, recruit and train ushers and greeters and ensure sound equipment is operational, including taping of services. Consistory 2016 Elders & their congregational group John Beeman N-S Tom Drenth A-F Linda Joy T-Z Ed Moore, (VP) T-Z Kathy Rozek G-M Steve Thomas N-S Mari Wielopolski, (Clerk) G-M Paul Witteveen A-F Deacons Matt Bronsink Kathy Doornbos Larry Gillum, (Chair) Jeff Offringa Karen Schaap Don VanderMeer, (Treasurer) Don VanLandegent Jr. Hope Reformed Church 910 Jenks Kalamazoo, MI Phone: office@hoperca.org We re on the web!