We’re so pleased that C3 Teacher Kent Dobson will be with us again in person this Sunday at 10:00 a.m. at the Grand Haven Community Center for his third teaching about the word Sacred. This will be his last teaching for the year-long series Meaning Matters: 12 Words/12 Months. We hope you can join us. Please note that we encourage everyone to wear a mask and maintain physical distance. The Gathering will also be live-streamed on C3’s Facebook page, where you can watch if you are unable to join us in person. You can also watch the video of the Gathering on C3’s YouTube channel later.
The band Lighting Matches from Grand Rapids will join us. They played for us once before, way back in May 2018. It will be a pleasant change to host a whole band again, in person!
We will hold Talk Back this week, shortly following the Gathering. Join in this conversation to question, comment, and reflect on the teaching for the day.
C3 Kids
There will be childcare available when we gather, with masked and vaccinated adult caregivers only, and CDC-recommended safety measures in effect. Click here to view the document “Safety for All in the C3 Kids Program.” Note that the C3 Kids will meet upstairs in the Woodbine Room this week and next, while the Gathering happens in the Mackinaw Room.
Gathering Resources
See you at 10:00 a.m. Sunday at the Grand Haven Community Center (421 Columbus Avenue) — or tune in on Facebook Live. Or, afterwards, view the Gathering video (meditation, teaching, and music) on our YouTube channel or listen to the weekly teaching on our podcast channel. References and links from last week’s teaching here. Last week’s Newsletter here.
C3 Teacher Kent Dobson
There is a lot more to discover and learn from Kent Dobson on his website, and by listening to his podcast “Hints and Guesses.”
C3 News
Changes Coming in October
The Board of Trustees and Sunday Gathering Team are working to add elements to our Sunday Gatherings starting on October 3. The plan is to resume the Pre-Talk meeting at 9:00 a.m., and continue with the Gathering at 10:00 a.m. and Talk Back at 11:00 a.m. Starting in October, coffee will also be available, but please bring your own mug.
Adopt-A-Highway Cleanup on October 2
The final Adopt-A-Highway cleanup for 2021 will be held on Saturday, October 2, with Sunday, October 3 as a rain date. As always, we can use as much help as we can get. The more volunteers we have, the quicker and easier the cleanup. If you are able to join us, please either sign up at the Gathering or contact Mary Ackerson at mfjackerson [at] gmail [dot] com. Workers do need to watch a 6-minute safety video on the Adopt-A-Highway website.
C3 Community Care and Concern
Caring for the members of our C3 Community is a shared communal responsibility, rather than a role reserved for a pastor, priest or leader. Our C3 Community Care Team encourages members to support each other at time of need with notes, cards, phone calls, visits, meals and transportation. C3 members are urged to contact the Community Care and Concern team to inform them of life events, illness, or hardships, which can be shared with the C3 Community. To report a need or request help, or to help visit members in hospital, rehab or recovering at home, contact Ellie Williams: email, 616-296-0719; Betty Porter: email, 616-296-2227; or Judy Henzler: email, 616-607-8275.
C3 Outreach
Be a Part of the Fiesta!
Take a bold step and join the excitement of the Hispanic Heritage Fiesta by volunteering for a few hours (or more!) on Saturday, September 25, or during the week prior to that with the Fiesta organization.
- See Patti Baldus after the Gathering on Sunday if you have signed up to bring cookies or staff the C3 booth at the Fiesta. She will have recipes, waxed paper bags to package the cookies in, and will also fill in the time slot you will work.
- To volunteer for other opportunities at the growing, inclusive event, either the day of the Fiesta or during the week prior, click on the link to the Fiesta’s Sign Up Genius, or get in touch with Rod Van Abbema (616-638-5213). Rod is in charge of the Mercado, and he needs four volunteers from 8:00–11:00 a.m. and four more from 5:00–8:00 p.m. at the Mercado on Saturday, September 25.
Vigil for Peace and Justice
The plight of refugees all over the world, ongoing conflicts, and injustices suffered by our fellow Americans demonstrate that the need to work for peace and justice is ongoing and urgent. The weekly Vigil for Peace and Justice takes place on Saturday from noon–1:00 p.m. along Washington Avenue at Central Park in Grand Haven. All are welcome.
C3 Groups
C3 and Friends Book Discussion Group
We meet again at 6:30 p.m. on October 5, at Kathy Tosa’s home in downtown Grand Haven. The address is 221 Layfayette Avenue, and there is ample parking on her street. We can socially distance in her large living room. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig is scheduled to be made into a movie this year, so our reading and discussion of it is very timely! In a review, NPR’s Jason Seehan writes about this book in which a young woman who is on the verge of making a terrible choice, “. . . ends it. Overdose. Antidepressants. The world goes black. And then Nora wakes up. Not in heaven (dull) or hell (overdone) or purgatory (insert Lost joke), but in a library. The Midnight Library, which is the place people go when they find themselves hanging precariously between life and death and not entirely sure about which way to go.” Early reports from group members who have started reading have been positive. Read it, join us for the discussion and share your reactions!
November 2: Straight Man by Richard Russo.
C3 Men’s Group
The C3 Men’s Group meets in person every Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. in a conference room at the U.S. Retail Company building located at 18000 Cove Street in Spring Lake. Call Phil Koster at 616-402-1751 for further information.