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?”
Ginny Mikita, certified Animal-Friendly Attorney and animal chaplain joins us to speak about two intriguing topics: What is an Animal Chaplain? and Do Animals Have Spiritual Experiences?
Longtime good friend of C3 Jen Sygit joins us again to provide music.
Our meditation comes from Leslie Newman.
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 (no video, just audio).
- 🆕 Marlin Vis recommended this podcast last week: NPR White Lies.
🆕 An Ask from the C3 Kids, in Their Own Words
The C3 kids are collecting gently used blankets for animals that need a home and are living at the shelter! We will be collecting these at a table after the Gathering for the next 3 weeks. Please consider donating and thank you very much for listening!
🆕 C3 Board of Trustee Meetings
The BOT meets monthly on the third Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at the C3 office, located in the Third Coast Recording building at 1447 Washington Avenue, Grand Haven. C3 members are welcome to attend these meetings. The next meeting is next Wednesday, March 20.
Your Feedback, Please
We’d love your feedback on our guest teachers—as well as the musician(s) and the overall Gathering experience. 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!
Noah Project is March’s Week 3@C3 Recipient
This Sunday, March 17, is the last chance to donate items to Noah Project, a no-kill animal shelter at 5205 Airline Highway, Muskegon, MI 49444. They are excited that we chose them as recipients, so let’s show them what we can do! They request the following items:
- Purina One +Plus Healthy Kitten Formula dry food
- Purina Pro Plan for dogs
- nylon dog bones
- cat scratch pads
- cat toys, dog toys
- cat litter
- dishwasher soap
- laundry detergent
- dryer sheets
- bleach and cleaning products
- paper towels
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.
Cindy Anderson’s sister Pam Fitzgerald died on February 26 in Phoenix, after spending time in hospice care, and having suffered a recent stroke. There will be a service in April. Cards may be sent to Cindy at 15016 Stickney Ridge Road, Grand Haven, MI 49417.
Don Anderson is recovering from back surgery. Get well wishes can be sent to him at 15016 Stickney Ridge Road, Grand Haven, MI 49417.
🆕 John Leitner‘s brother David W. Leitner, MD died on February 2, after suffering from dementia. David and his wife Linda lived for many years in Burlington, VT, where he was a surgeon-instructor at the University of Vermont Medical School. John and Cindy live at 14466 Angelus Circle, Grand Haven, MI 49417.
Good news! Jean Regester is back at home and joined us at the Gathering last Sunday.
Jane Richardson continues to recover at home from gall bladder surgery. Cards can be sent to her at 300 1st Avenue, Fruitport, MI 49415.
🆕 Update on Felipe
It was good to see Felipe Lopez again last Sunday. If you want to help him out with a donation, please make the check out directly to him. Nancy Owens will deliver it.
🆕 Get ready for the Vigil for Peace and Justice
The Vigil for Peace and Justice resumes its weekly Stand for Peace activity on Saturday, April 6 from noon to 1 p.m. along Washington Avenue at Central Park in Grand Haven. Let’s hope the weather continues to be cooperative! Everyone is welcome to join the hour of quiet contemplation and sign holding—we have lots of signs, or make your own. If you’re uncomfortable standing for an hour, please bring a chair and sit! If you can’t stay for an hour, stay for as long as you can.
Earth Day Lakeshore Celebration
Get ready to participate in this year’s Earth Day celebration on Saturday, April 20, from 12:30 to 4 p.m. at Central Park Place. C3 will once again sponsor a kids’ activity, and we will have an information table to highlight C3’s value of Environmental Sustainability. The following Saturday, April 27, C3 takes to the highway as we clean up our stretch of US-31 for the Adopt-A-Highway program. Mark your calendar for these two dates now!
🆕 Sunday Dinner Group
Join the group at Ted’s in Spring Lake this Sunday at 5:30 p.m. The sign-up sheet will be at the Membership table.
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 for more information.
C3 Book Club and Friends
We meet this Tuesday, March 19, at 6:30 p.m. at The Bookman to discuss Bee Season: A Novel by Myla Goldberg.
April 16: The Last Green Valley by Mark Sullivan
Women’s Journey
We will meet again on Monday, March 25, 6:30 p.m. at The Bookman to discuss poetry. Bring a favorite or original one-page poem and please keep thinking about the content for upcoming meetings, so we can plan ahead!
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 (616-613-3222) at Selby Accounting. Please direct any questions to Andy Cawthon.
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.
🆕 America’s Non-Christian Founding and Christian Political Activism—Left, Right, and Center
Ottawa North TRi-Cities Action Committee (ONTRAC) sponsors this presentation by Professor James Bratt at the Loutit District Library on Wednesday, March 20, 6 to 7:30 p.m. Space is limited and registration is required. RSVP here.
🆕 Israel/Palestine and the U.S. after October 7
On Thursday, March 21, stillprocessing (the organization headed by last week’s teacher Marlin Vis and his son Josh) is offering an event, facilitated by Josh Vis and Chris DeBlaay, who have recently returned from an 8-day solidarity tour in Palestine–Bethlehem, Ramallah, Hebron, and more. They will have video and commentary on the happenings in Gaza and the West Bank. The meeting will take place at the Brew Merchant in Holland from 7-8:30 p.m.
Frances Luke Accord—Candlelight Concert
On Saturday, March 23, The Bookman hosts a one-time experience featuring national touring musical artists, Frances Luke Accord (who played at C3 in 2019). This crowd-sourced event, organized by David Dean, and supported by many C3 members’ donations, will be open to the public (first-come, first-served, no advance ticket sales) with any additional donations going to the artists. Frances Luke Accord, who NPR has defined as “the definition of lean-in music,” will bring their delicate contemporary folk-musical storytelling to this candlelight concert hosted in one of Grand Haven’s historical artistic venues, The Bookman, which is celebrating 50 years of bringing all varieties of art and culture to the Tri-Cities. Doors open at 7 p.m. Please arrive before 8 p.m. so the event can begin when darkness falls and candles glow. This will be a listening-room type experience.
Friday Matinee at Loutit Library – Women’s History Month
Stop in for a free matinee showing at 2 p.m.! Feel free to bring snacks and drinks to enjoy during the film. More information and registration (encouraged but not required) at Loutit District Library website. March 15: Suffragette; March 21: Belle; March 28: The Marvels
🆕 The Science of Polarization: A Workshop
The Unifying Coalition of Ottawa County is sponsoring a workshop to explore the myths of toxic polarization and the neurological and social science behind our divisions. Snacks included! This event takes place from 6 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, April 11, at Porto Bello in Grand Haven. There is a registration fee. Information here.
Information about Ottawa County Leadership
If you are concerned about the current quality of leadership in Ottawa County, here are some groups you can learn from and get involved with:
- Organize Ottawa–-this is where the action is, if you want to get involved. Groups are organizing in each district to elect responsible leadership to the County Commission in the next election. You can find it on Facebook or send an emailto to get involved.
- Unifying Coalition of Ottawa Countyis committed to identifying, organizing, and mobilizing local action toward responsible governance and belonging in Ottawa County.
Sunday, March 17
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 Eleanor Hills
10 a.m. Gathering, In Person + Livestream on Facebook
• Guest Teacher: Ginny Mikita
• Musician: Jen Sygit
• Meditation: Wayne Johnson
11 a.m. Talk Back
Tuesday, March 19
6 p.m. C3 Book Club and Friends (The Bookman, 715 Washington, GH)
7 p.m. C3 Men’s Group (Room B, St. John’s Episcopal Church, GH)
Wednesday, March 20
6:30 p.m. Board of Trustees Meeting (C3 Office, 1447 Washington Ave., GH)
Sunday, March 24
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: Ruth Zwald
• Musicians: Frances Luke Accord
• Meditation: Nelleke Knarr
11 a.m. Talk Back
Ruth Zwald, retired social worker/minister, makes her home on a farm, starting every dawn with good coffee and the crow of the rooster. Loving the cycles of the seasons, Ruth watches the moon and never misses a solstice or equinox turning. She is a Mesa Carrier on the Peruvian Medicine Path, which involves personal healing, transformational healing for others, and creating ceremony and ritual for ourselves and for the earth.
The duo known as Frances Luke Accord, comprised of Nicholas Gunty and Brian Powers, are what NPR’s Mountain Stage calls “the definition of lean-in music.” Their soft, contemplative vintage of indie-folk gestures toward a timelessness that honors the Simon & Garfunkel comparisons but pushes beyond into the world of Bon Iver, Jose Gonzalez, and progressive folk music.
Drop Us Some Stars
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)
Teaching Podcast “The Stage at C3” Feeds: Apple Podcasts YouTube Music
🆕 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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