C3 inspires spiritual, intellectual, and creative exploration and action, led by the questions, “what are the biggest challenges we face on our shared journey, and how do we respond to those challenges?”

Kent Dobson will be with us on Sunday to talk about Creativity and the Muse in our ongoing series Spirituality for the 21st Century. He will be joined by Kyle Rasche, who will be visiting us for the third time. David Deanprovides this week’s meditation.

All Sunday-morning C3 events take place in the Mackinaw Ballroom at Central Park Place. Please plan to enter through the front doors. Pre-Talk starts at 9 a.m. The Gathering begins at 10 a.m.; Small Bites and Talk Back follow the Gathering. C3 Kids meet at 10 a.m. in the C3 Kids’ area in the Mackinaw Room. If you aren’t able to join us in person, you can watch the Gathering online on C3’s Facebook page.

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Sunday Gathering Information hereAdditional Resources here
🆕  Last Sunday’s Teaching here. Meditation here.

 

Last Chance for Concert Tickets!

There are about five seats still available for the Twyce the Band concert on April 22. If you want to reserve a seat, please email Valerie by Wednesday night the 19th! Your donation of $40/person guarantees you an evening of great music and plenty of food and beverages. Please follow this link for all the details.

Flexibility and Grace Needed!

The situation at Central Park Place continues to cause some unease, so let’s approach this challenge with creativity, flexibility, and grace!

🆕  The entry doors at the back of the building (downstairs) will NOT BE ACCESSIBLE to us, so until further notice, plan to enter through the front doors. We will have a Welcome Host/Valet at the front door to help.  

All of our Sunday morning activities will now take place in the Mackinaw Ballroom. The shifting of the C3 Kids to a section of the Mackinaw Ballroom means the seating for our Gathering has been reconfigured. Please come with an open mind about how this will all work!  Note: Due to noise outside the Mackinaw Room, if you must leave during the Gathering, exit through the door to the kitchen, and please refrain from exiting during the Meditation and Moment of Silence. Please share any urgent concerns with our liaisons Teresa Colbry or Kim Crozier (not directly with Life Church members).

Sunday Dinner Group at the Kirby

The Sunday Dinner Group will meet this Sunday at the Kirby at 5:30 p.m. Please be sure to sign up before you leave the Gathering, so we can call in an accurate reservation.

Space for C3 Kids

Part of the Mackinaw Room (our main gathering space) will be sectioned off to create a room for our kids. This area will be walled off floor to ceiling, with two doors and access to the outdoor picnic table area, which could be lots of fun once the weather gets warmer! Once the Gathering has begun, children should enter and exit this room through the storage room into the lobby. Please be aware that sometimes the children’s voices will be audible despite the sound barrier. They are our C3 children, and this is their space, too, so let’s allow them to be kids!

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 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 Cheryl Van Abbema: email or Mike and Charlotte Rozich: email.

    Longtime C3 member Kathy Klouw passed away on April 1. Her obituary can be seen here. Cards can be sent to Bill at 15541 Gierman Drive, Spring Lake, MI 49456.

    C3 member Grace Persinger, age 96, mother of Jen Snideman, passed away on March 16 after a long, active life. Cards may be sent to Jen and Bob Snideman at 1226 Grant Avenue, Grand Haven, MI 49417.

    🆕  Change of Venue for Vigil for Peace and Justice

    Due to the closure of Washington Avenue between 4th and 6th Streets, the location of our Vigil for Peace and Justice location will change temporarily to the east side of Fourth Street at Washington Avenue from noon to 1 p.m. on Saturday. C3 and Stand for Peace Michigan are co-sponsors of the event, so it’s a good way for C3 to be a presence in the community. We don’t march or shout, but rather stand or sit quietly, meditating on peace and sending our peaceful intentions into the world. Please join us! Contact Chrys Moelter-Gray for more information.

    Volunteer to help keep Michigan beautiful!

    Our spring Adopt-A-Highway pick up will be on Saturday, April 22 (rain date April 23). Please consider signing up! We need more help! Sign up anytime via email (name and phone number please) or at the Outreach table. More information here!

    Our 2022 thank you certificate signed by MDOT’s director and Governor Whitmer.

    🆕  C3 at the Earth Day Lakeshore Celebration April 29

    Join in the festivities!

    • Green March through downtown Grand Haven starts at 12:30 p.m.
    • Celebration at Central Park Place (formerly Community Center) from 1-4 p.m.
    • Earth Booths and demonstrations from Earth-friendly businesses and non-profits
    • Fun activities for kids; music and speakers on relevant topics 
    • C3 booth with sunflower seed planting activity for kids
    • C3 booth emphasizing our values and earth-care activities
    • Outside: food trucks, electric vehicles to see, horse-drawn carriage rides

    Automate your donations!

    • Want to make your life easier and more predictable?
    • Why not put your donations to C3 on autopilot?
    • No more having to remember to send a check!
    • No more trying to remember — did I or didn’t I?

    It is a secure and easy set up — just call Carol Takas at Selby Accounting. Please direct any questions to Shannon McMaster.

    Your ongoing support of C3 is greatly appreciated. Online donations can be made here. Automatic donations can be set up by contacting Carol Takas at Selby Accounting. Checks should be sent to C3 Spiritual Community, P. O. Box 371, Grand Haven, MI 49417. C3 is a 501(c)(3) Tax-Exempt Organization. Our tax ID is 38-1960212.

    Last Week for April’s Week 3@C3 Project!

    This is the last week to bring items for the Hygiene Kits! We’re cooperating withMennonite Central Committee (MCC) once again to furnish items for Hygiene KitsPlease limit generosity to the items listed. No toothpaste needed! Collect these items in a brown paper bag and bring to the Week 3@C3 table:

    • 1 adult-size toothbrush (in manufacturer’s packaging)
    • 1 large bar bath soap (leave in wrapper)
    • 1 nail clipper (good quality)
    • 1 hand towel (medium weight, dark or bright colors; approx. 16 x 26 in.)
    • 1 wide-toothed comb (6-8in.)

    41,700 hygiene kits shipped last year to Burkina Faso, Canada, Cuba, Haiti, Iraq, Jordan, Ukraine, the U.S., and Zambia. Let’s join together to help even more people in need of these personal items.

    C3 Book Club and Friends

    We meet this coming Tuesday, April 18, 6 p.m. at the Bookman to discuss 

     One Long River of Song by Brian Doyle. May 16Virgil Wander by Leif Enger

    C3 Men’s Group 

    The C3 Men’s Group meets each Tuesday from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the American Legion Hall on Harbor Drive in Grand Haven. Questions? Contact Phil Koster.

    Momentum Center

    • Free Dinner and Movie Night—Tonight!

    Join with community members in a stigma-free setting at Momentum Center (714 Columbus Avenue) on Friday, April 14, to enjoy free dinner (pot luck items welcome but not required or expected) and the movie Marcel the Shell with Shoes On (PG), a hilarious and heartwarming film about an adorable shell who gets his big debut finding connections in the smallest corners. Dinner  begins at 5 p.m. and the movie at 6 p.m. All are welcome. Info here.

    • 🆕  Read the Momentum Center newsletter for April here.

    Momentum Center: Free Dinner and Movie Night      

    Join with community members in a stigma-free setting at Momentum Center (714 Columbus Avenue) on Friday, April 14, to enjoy free dinner (pot luck items welcome but not required or expected) and the movie Marcel the Shell with Shoes On (PG), a hilarious and heartwarming film about an adorable shell who gets his big debut finding connections in the smallest corners. Dinner  begins at 5 p.m. and the movie at 6 p.m. All are welcome. For more information about events at the Momentum Center, click here.

    🆕  Poetry Reading at the Bookman

    Two very interesting women with Michigan connections—Anne-Marie Oomen and Jennifer Sperry Steinorth — will be at The Bookman for a Poetry Reading this coming Thursday, April 20, 7 p.m. 

    LEDA Workshop and Summit on Race and Inclusion

    Lakeshore Ethnic Diversity Alliance is pleased to announce the last session of its new series, Working Toward Inclusion and Belonging, which will be held at Central Park Place on April 20. The session will address biases and ways to counter them, so participants can begin or continue their journey to a more equitable, diverse, inclusive community where everyone belongs and has opportunity to participate fully. The 90-minute session will provide participants with information to better understand how systems of advantage have taken root and grown, and tools to move inclusion and belonging forward at work, home, and in life. Register here

    🆕  Also always a valuable experience, the LEDA Summit on Race and Inclusion will be held in person on June 7, 2023 at Hope College, Holland, MI, from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm. There is also a virtual option.  

    Music by the Fireplace–Steel Doin’ It at Spring Lake Library

    Enjoy the sounds of the Caribbean, featuring traditional island songs, to the Beatles, Disney songs, and everything in between. There is something for everyone. All ages are welcome on this musical journey, on Sunday, April 23, 2–3 p.m. C3ers Karen Cotton and Cindy Krause play with this fun group of musicians!

    Support for Schools in Uganda

    During Talk Back on April 2, people asked about supporting the schools in Uganda Cindy Anderson spoke about. She suggested the best way would be to sponsor a student with their school fees, and on Tuesday she spoke with the headmasters at both schools. Both Bwindi Plus and St. Matthews reported that $300 per student per year would cover books, meals, educational materials, and a uniform. Because of the expense of wiring money (and with the cooperation of the Anderson’s stock broker, who will send funds to the schools without charge), Cindy suggests, if you want to sponsor a student, send a check to her at 15016 Stickney Ridge Road, Grand Haven, MI 49417. You can also Venmo her (Cindy-Anderson-51), and let her know which school you want to support: Bwindi Plus (new building) or St. Matthew’s (desks donated by the Andersons). Cindy will tell the schools who the donors are, and usually, the students send a thank you.

    Saturday, April 15

    12:00 p.m.: Vigil for Peace and Justice (Fourth St. at Washington, GH)

     

    Sunday, April 16

    All events held in the Mackinaw Ballroom in Central Park Place 

    (421 Columbus Ave., GH)

    9 a.m. Pre-Talk

    10 a.m. C3 Kids with Miss Mary and volunteer Patti Baldus

    10 a.m. Gathering, In Person + Livestream on Facebook

    • Teacher: Kent Dobson
    • Music: Kyle Rasche
    • Meditation: David Dean                             

    11 a.m. Talk Back

     

    Tuesday, April 18

    6 p.m.  C3 Book Club and Friends (The Bookman,715 Washington, GH)

    7 p.m.  C3 Men’s Group (American Legion, GH)

     

    Saturday, April 22

    10:00 a.m.  Adopt-A-Highway (Central Park Place parking lot)

    12:00 p.m.  Vigil for Peace and Justice (Fourth St. at Washington, GH)

     

    Sunday, April 23

    All events held in the Mackinaw Ballroom in Central Park Place 

    (421 Columbus Ave., GH)

    9 a.m. Pre-Talk

    10 a.m. C3 Kids with Miss Mary and volunteer Charity McMaster

    10 a.m. Gathering, In Person + Livestream on Facebook

    • Teacher: Kent Dobson
    • Music: Annagail 
    • Meditation: Charlotte Rozich                             

    11 a.m. Talk Back

    Kent Dobson has been the lead teacher at C3 since 2017. He s also in the guide-in-training program at Animas Valley Institute in Colorado, an organization specializing in wilderness intensives. Kent leads Israel study tours, wilderness retreats, and has his own podcast called Hints and Guesses.

    Annagail has always defied and stretched genres, equal parts singer/songwriters and rock band. Thinking man’s Americana. Pop for philosophers? Country for the curious? Rock for the recluse? Whatever you call them, Annagail weave heartache and hope for the disillusioned.

    Thank you for supporting C3!

    We would really appreciate it if you could take a few minutes to share your experience at C3 by reviewing us on Google. Thank you!

    Google requires reviewers to have a Google account. If you don’t have one you can set one up with your current email address, follow instructions here.

    Lead 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. Sign up here for updates about his programs, events, podcasts, teachings, and more.

    C3 Spiritual Community Office

    1447 Washington Ave., Grand Haven, MI  49417

    Mailing Address: P.O. Box 371, Grand Haven, MI 49417

    Becky Park, Office Manager

    Office Hours: Wednesday 12:30–2:30 p.m., Friday 10:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m., or by appointment

     

    Automatic donations are handled by Carol Takas at Selby Accounting.

    Please direct any questions to Shannon McMaster.


    C3 Board of Trustees

    Chair: Sally Alderink

    Vice-Chair: Teresa Colbry

    Secretary: Valerie Engeltjes

    Treasurer: Shannon McMaster

    Beth Buelow

    Andy Cawthon

    Kim Crozier

    Tom Edwards

    Kathy Humphrey

    Wayne Johnson

    Rod Van Abbema

    Newsletter Submissions and Editor: Chrysteen Moelter-Gray.

    Newsletter Designer: Annie Wassmann 

    Copyright © 2023 C3 Spiritual Community. All rights reserved.