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?”
Please note: January 14 Gathering was cancelled due to inclement weather. Mattew Laidlaw has been rescheduled for March 3, 2024
Matthew Laidlaw makes his premiere as Guest Teacher this Sunday, contributing this intriguing question to our We Have Questions series: Is It Cake? Another musician’s first-time visit introduces us to Aleksi Campange (who comes highly recommended by Spencer LaJoye, last week’s musician). Leslie Newman will offer her I am C3 story.
Sunday Gathering
Come for Pre-Talk at 9 a.m. to get a jump on the rest of the group; join us at Central Park Place in Grand Haven for the Gathering at 10 a.m., which is live-streamed on C3’s Facebook page. Snack and socialize during Small Bites, then respond to the teaching at Talk Back from 11:15 to noon. C3 Kids meet in the C3 Kids’ area of the Mackinaw Room from 10 a.m. to noon.
- Missed an email? Revisit or catch up on our website > Updates
- Need Event Information? Our website has a full event calendar > Calendar
- 🆕 Last Sunday’s Teaching here.
- 🆕 Link to Spencer LaJoye’s Plowshare Prayer (YouTube).
🆕 Stay safe this weekend! If the weather causes us to cancel the in-person Sunday Gathering, we will post that information on our Facebook page, and send an email update.
At the Board of Trustees meeting on January 10, departing board members Sally Alderink, Valerie Engeltjes, and Tom Edwards were thanked for their service. We welcomed four new board members: Tabitha Blanski, Karen Cotton, Cheri Eshenaur, and Tod Wyn. New officers were elected: Teresa Colbry, Chair; Tod Wyn, Vice-Chair; Andy Cawthon, Treasurer (one-year term), and Beth Buelow, Secretary (one-year term). They join continuing board members Kim Crozier, Kathy Humphrey, Wayne Johnson, and Rod Van Abbema. Congratulations to all! January 8 was Shannon McMaster’s official first day as C3’s new Executive Director; he can be reached at smcmaster [at] c3westmichigan [dot] org.
🆕 Your Feedback, Please
The Sunday Gathering Team recently began developing a larger pool of guest teachers. Thanks to your many suggestions, we’re inviting some of them to teach in the next couple of months, so you’ll be seeing a lot of new faces. We’d love your feedback on these guest teachers—as well as the musician(s) and the overall Gathering experience. Please either talk to a member of the Sunday Gathering Team, or use this online form to share your feedback. There will also be forms located at the back of the Gathering room, and boxes in which you can put your feedback. You can be anonymous or sign your name. Thanks for your help!
Sunday Gathering Team: Leslie Newman (Chair), Beth Buelow, Valerie Engeltjes, Marianne Fischer, Chrys Moelter-Gray, Jean Regester, Chuck Tawney, Rod Van Abbema, Cindy Van Ittersum, and Ellie Williams
Successful Year-End Fundraiser
Wonderful news: We not only met our year-end fundraiser goal of $28,400, but we exceeded it by about 16% and raised $33,000! What an affirmation of the vitality of our C3 Community and the important role it plays in our community.
Week 3@C3 Greeting Card Blizzard
Thank you to all who helped make our Week 3@C3 Second Annual Seasonal Greeting Card Blizzard a success. 231 cards were delivered to four local care centers. Please note that in January there will be no Week 3@C3 project; we will resume in February.
🆕 Put These Dates on Your Calendar
It may be winter now, but spring will arrive, and with your participation, C3 will show up in strength for these events, which support our value of Care for the Earth.
Saturday, April 20: Earth Day Fair
Saturday, April 27: Adopt-A-Highway Spring Cleanup
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.
🆕 Family in Need—Pastor Tim from Life Church and his family lost their home and everything in it, including pets, to a fire recently.
- We are collecting funds to provide a gift card from Meijer, which can be used for food, clothes, household items to help them with a new start, or even gas for the car if needed. Monetary donations can be made through C3 in the usual ways, earmarked “Family in Need” in the memo field.
- Creative, crafty people might be inspired to make something for them, to make a new place feel like a home.
- If you have household items to donate, please send photos of them to Charity McMaster by February 4, to share with the family, so they can decide if they’d like those items.
🆕 Nelleke Knarr’s mother entered hospice care at home in Indiana recently, and Nelleke is now back at home herself with COVID. Contact Nelleke or send a card to 747 Fuller Avenue SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49506.
C3 Men’s Group
The C3 Men’s Group meets each Tuesday from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at St. John’s Episcopal Church, Room B, in Grand Haven. Contact Phil Koster at 616-402-1751 for more information.
🆕 Sunday Dinner Group
Sign-up for Sunday Dinner Group at the Membership Table at the Gathering. This week we’ll head to The Kirby at 5:30 p.m.
Women’s Journey
Our January meeting will be on Monday, January 15, at 6:30 p.m. at The Bookman. 🆕 Dress comfortably and bring a scarf to exchange, if you can.
C3 Book Club and Friends
Come to our next meeting this Tuesday, January 16 at The Bookman at 6:00 p.m. (note the time change!) to discuss Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro. We will also assign the books for February–May at that meeting.
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.
🆕 Calvin’s January Series
The award-winning January Series, presented by Calvin University, begins on January 15 and continues through February 2. Each lecture begins at 12:30 p.m. The series will be broadcast at Second Christian Reformed Church (2021 Sheldon Road, GH). Click here for a full list of speakers, topics, and remote locations.
🆕 Special MLK Speaker at Fountain Street Church on January 15
Davenport University, Grand Rapids Community College and Grand Valley State University will bring author and educator Melissa Harris-Perry to Grand Rapids to serve as the keynote speaker Monday, January 15. Harris-Perry will speak at 6 p.m. at Fountain Street Church (24 Fountain Street NE, Grand Rapids) as part of the 38th Annual Community Celebration. The event is free and open to the public, and can be streamed online.
Momentum Center
- Free Dinner and Movie Night
For a relaxing, fun, free evening out, consider attending the Free Dinner and Movie Night at the Momentum Center the second Friday each month, which is today, Friday, January 12. Dinner is at 5 p.m., the movie starts at 6 p.m. This month’s feature is Million Miles Away, the true life story of a boy from a family of migrant farm workers who watches the moon landing in 1969, which ignites his desire to be an astronaut. Pot luck items are not necessary, but welcome.
- Night Out at The Unicorn Featuring Ruth and Max
On Tuesday, January 16, from 6 to 8 p.m., there will be a fun evening at The Unicorn Tavern ($20 suggested donation) with free appetizers, music by Ruth and Max Bloomquist, and a mini auction, to benefit the new Momentum Center building in Grand Haven. See details here.
🆕 The Diatribe Newsletter
Catch up with what is happening with The Diatribe here.
Open Positions on Ottawa County Boards
There are four open positions on Ottawa County Boards. Could you be the person we need to represent the citizens of Ottawa County? Click here to learn about the positions and apply.
Sunday, January 14
All events held in the Mackinaw Ballroom in Central Park Place (421 Columbus Ave., GH)
9 a.m. Pre-Talk & Awakenings
10 a.m. C3 Kids with Miss Mary and volunteer Patti Baldus
10 a.m. Gathering, In Person + Livestream on Facebook
• Guest Teacher: Matthew Laidlaw
• Musician: Aleksi Campagne
• Meditation: Nelleke Knarr
11 a.m. Talk Back
Monday, January 15
6:30 p.m. Women’s Journey (The Bookman, 715 Washington Ave., GH)
Tuesday, January 16
6 p.m. C3 Book Club and Friends (The Bookman, 715 Washington Ave., GH)
7 p.m. C3 Men’s Group (Room B, St. John’s Episcopal Church, GH)
Sunday, January 21
All events held in the Mackinaw Ballroom in Central Park Place (421 Columbus Ave., GH)
9 a.m. Pre-Talk & Awakenings
10 a.m. C3 Kids with Miss Mary and volunteer Char Kole
10 a.m. Gathering, In Person + Livestream on Facebook
• Guest Teacher: Jack Ridl
• Musician: Kyle Rasche
• Meditation: Beth Buelow
11 a.m. Talk Back
Jack Ridl is the author or editor of 14 works of literature published by Wayne State University Press, CavanKerry Press, and St. Martins. His collections have been named Best Poetry Collection by Foreword Review and The Society of Midland Authors; and he has been nominated 17 times for the Pushcart Prize. Named Michigan Professor of the Year by The Carnegie Foundation, more than 90 of his students have earned their MFA and more than 100 are published, several having won first book awards.
Kyle Rasche (rhymes with Kashi) has carved his place as one of West Michigan’s most dependable songsmiths of the poetic, soul-bearing sort. 2021 saw his foray back into the solo-songwriter world, with a pile of new songs, and an updated list of accolades—including being named a finalist in Kerrville Folk Festival ’s prestigious New Folk Songwriting Competition.
New Year, New Reviews!
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.
C3 Membership Directory (login required)
C3 Podcast Feeds: Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts
🆕 Last Week’s Update and Bulletin
frontdesk [at] c3westmichigan [dot] org
C3 Spiritual Community Office
1447 Washington Ave., Grand Haven, MI 49417
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 371, Grand Haven, MI 49417
616-842-1985 (number can receive text messages)
Becky Park, Office Manager
Office Hours: Mondays and Tuesdays from 12 noon – 2:30 p.m., or by appointment.
Shannon McMaster, Executive Director
smcmaster [at] c3westmichigan [dot] org
Automatic donations are handled by Carol Takas, 616-613-3222, at Selby Accounting.
Please direct any questions to Andy Cawthon.
C3 Board of Trustees
Chair: Teresa Colbry
Vice-Chair: Tod Wyn
Secretary: Beth Buelow
Treasurer: Andy Cawthon
Newsletter Submissions and Editor: Chrysteen Moelter-Gray
Newsletter Designer: Annie Wassmann
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