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?”
We will hear from our C3 Teacher Kent Dobson this Sunday, with an exploration of Transcend and Include–Part One, a phrase we’ve heard from him in previous messages. Musician Loren Johnson is back, and Nelleke Knarr will give a meditation.
All Sunday-morning C3 events take place in the Mackinaw Ballroom at Central Park Place. Pre-Talk and Awakenings start 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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🆕 Last Sunday’s Teaching here. (Note: Teaching has not yet been posted to our YouTube channel. The link is to our Facebook Live Gathering recording. Please advance to 20:16 to watch the Teaching). 🆕 Last Sunday’s Meditation here.
Evening Fun Time–This Sunday!
Our social event in the lower level of Central Park Place happens this Sunday, May 14! See you there at 6:00 p.m. for food, music, and great times. If you’re able, please bring an appetizer or something sweet to eat—finger foods! BYOB! Prepare for some toe-tapping music from Funky Brewster and a chance to explore the space while having a good time with other C3ers!
Good News
Our members with mobility issues are able to use the downstairs entrance and the elevator, so feel free to park on the north side of Central Park Place if you need handicap parking and access. Our Welcome Host will continue to be available at the front door to help also. Our community conversation will continue. Please share any urgent concerns with our liaisons Teresa Colbry or Kim Crozier (not directly with Life Church members).
🆕 Garage Sale
There have been rumors about a potential C3 Community garage sale this summer, but there is no official plan in the works for that to happen. However, the Board of Trustees encourages members and friends to organize their own sales with the proceeds benefiting C3’s 2023 $50K fundraising target.
List of C3 “Longhaulers”
Earlier this year, Ellie Williams asked long-time C3 members to identify themselves, and during the last Gathering in April, the list of those members who responded and acknowledged how long they have been affiliated with C3 (or its predecessors) was distributed. That list is also available here. and there will be copies available on the Membership table on Sunday. Please let Ellie know if you should be added to this list, and include the year your affiliation with C3 began.
Grand Haven Parks Clean-Up Blitz Saturday!
Join us tomorrow morning, May 13, from 10 a.m. to noon for our C3-sponsored Grand Haven Parks Clean-Up Blitz. Meet at 10 a.m. at East Grand River Park parking lot (far eastern end of Franklin Avenue). We cleaned up the highway, now let’s do the same for some of our local parks!
Vigil for Peace and Justice
Our Vigil for Peace and Justice continues to be held by a few stalwarts each Saturday from noon – 1 p.m. along Washington Avenue at Central Park in Grand Haven. Newcomers are encouraged to join! We have lots of signs to choose from; you may also just stand in solidarity (or bring a chair to sit)! Contact Chrys Moelter-Gray for more information.
Grand Haven Pride Festival
Because diversity is important to our community, Grand Haven will be celebrating its first Pride Festival from 12–8 p.m. on Saturday, June 10. Watch a Channel 13 news clip about the festival here. The event will feature various shows, food trucks, and vendors. C3 has been asked to handle children’s activities and will have an area by the splash pad for story times, craft projects, and various games. If you can volunteer for an hour or two, please contact Jane Curtis.
🆕 May Newsletter from Our Outreach Partner
Access the May newsletter from Humanity for Prisoners here.
Sunday Dinner Group–not this week!
Please note that Sunday evening’s C3 Social Event will take the place of Sunday Dinner Group this week!
C3 Book Club and Friends
We meet on Tuesday, May 16, at 6:30 p.m. at The Bookman to talk about The Virgil Wander by Leif Enger. Join us! Then put Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell on your reading list and mark the calendar for Tuesday, June 20!
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.
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.
Bill Klouw thanks the C3 Community for the large outpouring of kind thoughts, words, and cards in memory of Kathy Klouw.
Pam Park is looking for recommendations for someone to do light housekeeping once every two weeks. She would prefer a one or two-person service to a large cleaning company. Text her at 616-834-7461 with suggestions.
Jeanne Shell wrote: A huge and sincere thank you for all the cards, calls, thoughts and prayers that you extended my way during this very difficult event in my life. I’m still in the process of recovery but will be back in Michigan around the first of May to finish up that process with family around.
Week 3@C3
In May, we will honor the women and their children housed at the Residential Crisis Center at Every Woman’s Place in Muskegon. Please bring kitchen and bathroom cleaning supplies—liquids, powders, bars, sprays. Paper items are NOT needed. Please consider ecologically-friendly items. And since Mother’s Day falls in May, please come with at least one package or box of individually wrapped sweets or otherwise tasty treats or snacks—something that would be considered special and thoughtful for these moms and kids. Remaining collection dates are May 14 and 21.
Use your IRA and/or Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) to support C3
Would you like to save money on your taxes and support C3 at the same time? You can use money in your IRA to contribute directly to a charitable organization like C3, without it being considered a taxable distribution. The same applies if you are required to take an RMD. Be certain to consult with your tax advisor or financial representative as it is important to understand the process and follow the appropriate guidelines.
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.
Momentum Center
- Free Dinner and Movie Night–Tonight!
Join the community for free dinner, conversation, and a movie this evening at the Momentum Center in Grand Haven (714 Columbus Avenue). Dinner starts at 5 p.m. (pot luck items or donations welcome, but not required) and the movie begins at 6 p.m. This month’s movie is Christopher Robin. - It’s that time of year again—the Momentum Center’s Prom with a Purpose on Saturday, May 20. The cost is only $25 for an evening of fun and friends, an event that is a stigma-free evening of dining, dancing, and possibly bidding on auction items, with the goal of raising funds to support the programming of the Momentum Center, but also providing an opportunity for Momentum Center members to gather and enjoy an evening of special fun with the whole community. Tickets, sponsorships, and more information here.
- 🆕 May Newsletter from Momentum Center. Access the May newsletter from the Momentum Center here.
LEDA Summit on Race and Inclusion: The Power of Belonging
Lakeshore Ethnic Diversity Alliance (LEDA) is proud to present the 18th Summit on Race and Inclusion: The Power of Belonging! at Hope College in Holland on Wednesday, June 7, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The 2023 Summit is a hybrid event; you can attend either in-person or virtually. Register here. This year’s theme explores how and why, in these unsettled times, it is more important than ever to pull together and unite for real and lasting change towards equity and justice for everyone in our communities. Black Man, a unique documentary film produced by Muskegon native, Jon Covington, about Black men in Muskegon County, will be shown as a keynote. The documentary tells the stories of 32 Black men ages 21 to 91, sharing their thoughts on life, love, longings, losses, and America. Following the showing will be a discussion with the producer.
Saturday, May 13
10 a.m. to noon: Parks Clean-Up Blitz (East Grand River Park, GH)
12:00 p.m. Vigil for Peace and Justice (Washington Avenue at Central Park, GH)
Sunday, May 14
All events held in the Mackinaw Ballroom in Central Park Place
(421 Columbus Ave., GH)
9 a.m. Pre-Talk and Awakenings
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: Loren Johnson
- Meditation: Nelleke Knarr
11 a.m. Talk Back
6 p.m.C3 Social Event, Escanaba Room in Central Park Place
Tuesday, May 16
6 p.m. C3 Book Club and Friends (The Bookman, 715 Washington Ave., GH)
7 p.m. C3 Men’s Group (American Legion, GH)
Saturday, May 20
12:00 p.m. Vigil for Peace and Justice (Washington Avenue at Central Park, GH)
Sunday, May 21
All events held in the Mackinaw Ballroom in Central Park Place
(421 Columbus Ave., GH)
9 a.m. Pre-Talk and Awakenings
10 a.m. C3 Kids with Miss Mary and volunteer Sally Alderink
10 a.m. Gathering, In Person + Livestream on Facebook
- Teacher: Nelleke Knarr
- Music: Matt Gabriel
- Meditation: Leslie Newman
11 a.m. Talk Back
C3 member Nelleke Knarr has a rich and diverse spiritual background, with roots in Catholicism, New Age, New Thought, and feminist spirituality. Her perspective is strongly informed by her training and work as a musician, music teacher, and music therapist. She draws inspiration from nature, poetry, and relationships.
Matt Gabriel is a singer/songwriter who has spent over a decade writing and performing music around the country–the quality of folk and blues you would expect from an artist who grew up between Chicago and Detroit. He’s got a must-see live show and a very approachable recorded sound. It’s music you can trust and believe in.
Thank you for supporting C3!
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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. The latest episode is a conversation with Ian MacKenzie, filmmaker and creator of The Mythic Masculine Podcast. Kent writes, “We’re experiencing a current renaissance in men’s work right now, which is so important for the health and healing of our culture. Ian has been exploring and bringing forth voices who are contributing to the conversation, and he has his own story of how the mythic masculine has been shaping his life. Check out his work here.”
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.