Update for October 17, 2021

As Kent continues his outdoor/nature guide work, Drew Nelson returns on Sunday, but not as musician. This time he joins us as Guest Teacher, to address us in the series Born for These Times: Challenges and Opportunities.In addition to being an exquisite musician, he also claims roles as a dad, woodworker, and lover of poems and mystery. We look forward to his speaking/storytelling, as we gather at 10:00 a.m. at the Grand Haven Community Center. Please note that we encourage all attendees to wear a mask and maintain physical distance. If you can’t attend in person, consider watching the livestream of the Gathering on C3’s Facebook page.

Beth Bombara fills the musician roll. She looks forward to playing for us—live and in person—her own award-winning mix of vintage folk and electric roots-rock. She ’s been a solo artist, a bandleader, and an occasional side musician for other artists. A former Michigander, she now calls Missouri home. She played for us in 2019 and 2020.

Sundays at the Grand Haven Community Center (421 Columbus Ave., Grand Haven)

• 9:00 a.m.: Pre-Talk: In Person
  Meet the morning’s teacher in a small group setting for an open discussion of the morning’s theme.
• 10:00 a.m.: Gathering: In Person + Livestream on Facebook
  Welcome, readings, mediation from a community member, teaching and music
  
• 11:00 a.m.: Talk Back: In Person
  A chance to share questions, comments and stories related to the morning gathering.

Additional Resources

• YouTube Channel: Weekly Teaching Videos *
• YouTubeChannel: Weekly Meditation Videos*
• Podcast Channel: Weekly Teaching Audios*
  *posted Sunday afternoons or later in week
• Printable list of C3 Values
• Last week’s Newsletter: C3 Update for October 10, 2021
  

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.”

Each week we provide a safe and welcoming environment for kids starting at 10:00 a.m., with masked and vaccinated adult caregivers only, and CDC-recommended safety measures in effect. If you are looking for a Sunday morning experience for your kids that includes C3 Values, creative activities, toys, books, games and outdoor fun (when weather permits), we are here to make it happen! Miss Mary has missed your kids and is eager to be with them again. Note that the C3 Kids will meet upstairs in the Woodbine Room this week. Click here to view the document “Safety for All in the C3 Kids Program.”

Have you taken a look at the new C3 website? While it is still (and should always be) a work in progress, it’s looking quite fresh!

Mugs!

It’s great to have coffee available at the Gathering and Talk Back once again. Please try to uphold our value of Environmental Sustainability and remember to bring your own coffee mug!

Did You Finish Your Homework?

Kent assigned us all homework at the end of his teaching on October 3. He challenged us to consider and write about the following five questions. There’s no deadline for this assignment. Keep working on it!

1. What is my family story? What are the threads and fates within my family?
2. Do I have a sense for my own unique shape?
3. How does my unique shape respond to the challenges and opportunities in the world that we find ourselves in?
4. What are the challenges and opportunities in the world that we find ourselves in?
5. What is your view of humanity?

Week 3@C3 Suggestion for October 17

Ottawa County is expecting to welcome 75 Afghan refugees in the near future. Ottawa Food is coordinating an effort to support these new neighbors with appropriate food supplies. They suggest donating VISA gift cards to purchase Halal certified meat in Grand Rapids (the only certified source in the area); they’re collecting the email addresses of people who want to donate fresh produce; and they are looking for cash donations for food (note “for Afghan allies” in the “gift in honor of someone” space). All details can be found here. Although this is not like our usual Week 3@C3 collection of items for a non-profit organization, the need for cash donations and fresh produce is immediate, so we are making this opportunity to support our new Afghan neighbors known to the C3 Community.

Highway Cleanup a Model for Outreach Activities

The recently completed Adopt-A-Highway activity, organized by Mary and Skip Ackerson, is a great example of a C3 Outreach project. It’s an event organized by C3 members who saw a need in the community that we could address, and those members took action to make the event an ongoing reality, just like the Plant Up and Fly Right tree project that Ryan Cotton spearheads. If you see a need—large or small—that the C3 Community can take on, please feel free to look into organizing something! Rod Van Abbema heads up the Outreach Committee and would love to hear your ideas and lend the support of the Outreach Team (Rod, Teresa Colbry, Jane Horton, Chrys Moelter-Gray).

Due to the election, we will meet on Tuesday, November 9 (not November 2). Save the date to discuss our next book selection, Straight Man by Pulitzer Prize-winning Richard Russo. This proves to be a GREAT read, perfect for the fall! 

• “The funniest serious novel I have read since—well, maybe since Portnoy’s Complaint.”–Tom De Haven, The New York Times Book Review
• “There is a big, wry heart beating at the center of Russo’s fiction.”–The New Yorker
• “[Russo] skewers academic pretensions and infighting with mad abandon…in a clear and muscular prose that is a pleasure to read….I had to stop often to guffaw, gasp, wheeze, and wipe away my tears.” – Henry Kisor, Chicago Sun-Times 
• “Bursting with humor and insight.” –USA Today  

We we will be meeting at Valerie Engeltjes’ home, 5935 Beaver Creek Drive, Coopersville.

December  7: 21 Lessons for the 21st Century by Yuval Noah Harari

C3 Men’s Group

The C3 Men’s Group meets in person every Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. This week the group will gather at the C3 Office, located at 1447 Washington, Grand Haven. For additional information contact Phil Koster at 616-402-1751.

Humanity for Prisoners 2021 Speaker Series

The 20th anniversary edition will be held on Tuesday, October 19 at 7:00 p.m. It will feature HFP Founder Doug Tjapkes, author of Sweet Freedom: Breaking the Bondage of Maurice Carter . There will also be a musical performance by concert pianist (and Board member), Veena Kulkarni-Rankin. For more information and donation suggestion, visit the Facebook event page and the event website.

Town Halls to Explore Religion and Racism

The focus of four upcoming town halls co-sponsored by the (Anti) Racism Task Force and Kaufman Interfaith Institute, convened by the Momentum Center, will be Religion and Racism. The first session on Monday, October 25, will delve into the historical context of Christianity and Racism. See the flyer here, and read an extensive article from the Grand Haven Tribune (October 9-10) here. Pre-registration is required to join the Town Hall via Zoom. C3’s values of Diversity, Common Humanity and Open Inquiry should provide impetus to participate in these important conversations. Will you register to attend?

Volunteers Needed for Citizenship Classes and Legal Clinic

There are no Naturalization Ceremonies scheduled at Loutit District Library in the near future, but volunteers are needed for Citizenship Classes (ten sessions on Monday evenings, November 8 – January 3, no classes on November 29, December 27 or January 3) and a two-session legal clinic (Saturdays, November 7 and 13 from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.). Mandatory volunteer training conducted by Lighthouse Immigrant Advocates is scheduled for Mondays, October 25 and November 1. Click here to see flyers for both events. For questions or to volunteer, please email Nancy Collins at VolunteersLDL [at] gmail [dot] com, or call 616-842-1699.