Recently, ten C3 members joined a group of 40 on a Momentum Center sponsored four-day bus trip to civil rights museums and memorial sites in Birmingham, Montgomery and Selma, Alabama; and Memphis, Tennessee. During the Gathering this week, several of these folks will share their life-impacting experience, both in the Meditation and with a panel presentation about Monuments, Movements, and Being Moved, moderated by Barbara Lee Van Horssen. Barbara and most of the panel will also join us for the Pre-Talk and Talk Back.
John Sanger, who graciously joined us several times via Facebook during the pandemic, and also has appeared often in person at the Gathering, will be here once again. His most recent album, The Sanger Family Album, was released in October 2019 and was largely written during his treatment for throat cancer. He has been working on new songs which he has been sharing with the C3 Community during recent visits.
Gathering Information
Masks are optional now at our In-Person Gathering. The decision of whether or not to wear a mask will be up to each individual.
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, meditation from a community member, teaching, and music
10:00 a.m. C3 Kids: In Person (Woodbine Room)
11:00 a.m. Talk Back: In Person
A chance to share questions, comments, and stories related to the morning gathering.
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. Kent is leading a Wild Soul Program entitled Wilderness Within, Michigan on June 28–July 2, 2022. This program is designed to facilitate a deeper conversation between who you are, the wild world, and your deepest longing. Read more.
C3 News
Refrigerator Magnets
The C3 Marketing Committee continues to promote C3 to the greater community with small, inexpensive, and local projects. This refrigerator magnet is an example. They are available Sundays at the membership table. Give one to a friend!
Membership Committee to Update the C3 Directory
With the COVID interruption, we have not kept our membership records up to date. So, for three Sundays, June 5, 12, and 19, we will be taking pictures to update our membership directory. For some, it will be your first time, for others it will be an update. The directory is a way for our members to connect to one another, and a picture is sometimes useful. Look for the camera in the Mackinaw Ballroom after the Gathering.
Behind the Scenes
Look for our new, rotating flag display outside the Community Center during our Gatherings. Valerie Engeltjes inquired during a board meeting if a Pride flag could be displayed on Sundays. Tom Edwards took on the challenge and devised a system to display different flags that show C3 support. Have a flag idea? Email Tom. Also, thanks to Yvonne Olmsted for donating additional flags for display.
C3 Outreach
PRIDE Focus at Our Vigil for Peace and Justice in June
C3 has welcomed and supported the LGBTQ+ community since the 1990’s. We want to share that support and welcoming message with the greater community though our Vigil for Peace and Justice during June, but especially on June 11. We would love to see a great group of C3ers join the Vigil for PRIDE Peace and Justice event that day from noon–1:00 p.m. along Washington Avenue in Grand Haven’s Central Park. Can you put this event on your calendar?
C3 Groups
C3 Men’s Group
C3 Men’s Group meets in-person at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesdays at the US Retail Office (next door to i’move, 18000 Cove Street) just off the Van Wagoner exit, east of US-31. For additional information, contact Phil Koster. New participants are welcome to join
C3 and Friends Book Discussion Group
We will continue to meet at The Bookman, but we’ll start at 7:00 p.m. (instead of 6:30) for our next meeting on Tuesday, June 7. Please join us for our discussion of The Humans, by Matt Haig, author of Midnight Library.
The Humans is a funny, compulsively readable novel about alien abduction, mathematics, and that most interesting subject of all: ourselves. Combine Douglas Adams’s irreverent take on life, the universe, and everything with a genuinely moving love story, and you have some ideas of the humor, originality, and poignancy of Matt Haig’s latest novel. —Goodreads
Happy Reading! If you need to meet by Zoom, please email Joyce. New members are welcome to join!
July 5: Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner
Bookclub June July
C3 Finance
Did You Know?
Did you know that you can use money from your IRA to contribute directly to a charitable organization, like C3, without it being considered a taxable distribution? It may also serve as your Required Minimum Distribution (RMD). To make a qualified charitable distribution (QCD), be sure to consult with your tax advisor or financial representative before making this decision, because it is important to follow the guidelines and understand the process.
Your ongoing support of C3 is greatly appreciated. Online donations can be made here. Automatic donations are handled by 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.
C3 Values in Action
2022 Memorial Day Parades, Events
On Monday, West Michigan will honor the men and women who have died serving our country. Event list here (courtesy of Wood TV8).
Greater Good Resources to Take Action Against Gun Violence
With such suffering caused by gun violence in the past two weeks, here are resources that may be helpful in creating positive change, from the Greater Good Science Center in Berkeley, CA, and shared by Ellie Williams.
LEDA Summit on Race and Inclusion
This year’s summit, Uniting Our Voices, takes place on June 7 at Hope College, with a virtual option also available. Read all about it and find registration information here.
Diversity Alliance
C3 Calendar
Saturday, May 28
12:00 p.m.: Vigil for Peace and Justice (Central Park, GH)
Sunday, May 29
Grand Haven Community Center (421 Columbus Ave., GH)
9:00 a.m. Pre-Talk, In Person
10:00 a.m. Gathering, In Person + Livestream on Facebook
Teaching: Monuments, Movements, and Being Moved, moderated by Barbara Lee Van Horssen
Music: John Sanger
Meditation: Cindy Anderson
10:00 a.m.: C3 Kids, End of School Party! in Woodbine Room with Miss Mary
11:00 a.m.: Talk Back, In Person
Tuesday, May 31
7:00 p.m.: C3 Men’s Group (US Retail Office, 18000 Cove St, SL)
Saturday, June 4
12:00 p.m.: Vigil for Peace and Justice (Central Park, GH)
Sunday, June 5
Grand Haven Community Center (421 Columbus Ave., GH)
9:00 a.m. Pre-Talk, In Person
10:00 a.m. Gathering, In Person + Livestream on Facebook
Teacher: Kent Dobson
Music: Rough & Tumble
Meditation: John Leitner
10:00 a.m.: C3 Kids in Woodbine Room with Miss Mary
11:00 a.m.: Talk Back, In Person
June 5 Banner
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. He’s the author of Bitten by a Camel, a memoir about his time living in Israel and his departure from the Evangelical church he was pastoring.
The Rough and Tumble are songwriters and storytellers, Mallory Graham and Scott Tyler will have you in stitches one minute and falling apart at the seams the next. Their voices fluctuate between power and delicacy, demonstrating restraint while sinking the accelerator to give each song its due. Their close-harmony weaves interchangeably. They aren’t afraid to take an audience from the lighthearted to the gut wrenching, and they do it seamlessly, with care for their listeners and integrity to their craft.