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?”
C3 member Nelleke Knarr steps into the teacher role this Sunday. She explores The Space Between in our short series Transcend and Include. Joining her as musician is Matt Gabriel, who has been with us several times. The meditation this week comes from Leslie Newman.
All C3 Sunday-morning 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.
Think you might have missed an email? Revisit or catch up on our website > Updates
Need Event Information? Our website has a full event calendar > Upcoming Events
🆕 Last Sunday’s Teaching here. 🆕 Last Sunday’s Meditation here.
🆕 News from the BOT: Team Formed to Fill New Position
At the April 10 Board of Trustees meeting, the Transition Team—Teresa Colbry, Bob Kleinheksel, and Shannon McMaster—presented their recommendations based on answering the question: “What will C3 look like in one year?” The first step they recommend C3 take is to hire an Executive Director.
In the short-term, hiring an Executive Director will help with securing our gathering space and the search for a new Lead Teacher. Long-term, this person will support the sustainability and growth of our community by working with the board and volunteers on fundraising, marketing, outreach, and membership activities.
Kathy Humphrey will lead the Executive Director Search Team, which includes Teresa Colbry, Beth Buelow, Jeff Crandle, Wayne Johnson, and Dick Kamischke. Kim Crozier will serve as needed. They will implement the hiring plan with the goal of bringing recommendations to the Board in three months or less. At that time, they may present candidates and/or propose hiring a consulting firm.
If you would like to know more about the Executive Director position or would like to recommend a possible candidate, please contact any member of the committee.
🆕 Evening Fun Time – A Success!
More than 60 C3ers gathered in the Escanaba Room last Sunday evening to celebrate our sense of community, enjoy food, music from Funky Brewster, and a chance to complete a survey. Thanks to all who attended and shared their impressions. These will guide the BOT and Task Force as we explore our future options.
C3 Early Morning Groups
Did you know that there are C3 happenings before the Gathering on Sunday morning? At 9 a.m., the Pre-Talk group meets in the C3 Kids’ room with the day’s teacher, who poses a question related to the morning’s topic, and the conversation flows from there. In the area past the C3 Kids’ room, the Awakenings Group meets, where the conversation doesn’t flow, but rather time is spent in quiet meditation. Everyone is welcome to join either of these two groups.
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.
🆕 Submitting Information for the C3 Update
Newsletter submission are normally sent to Chrys Moelter-Gray but for the weeks of June 4 and 11, please send all announcements to Annie Wassmann instead. Thanks!
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 – Still Tomorrow!
Last weekend’s Grand Haven Parks Clean-Up Blitz was postponed due to rain, but this Saturday’s weather prediction is more promising, so please join us tomorrow morning, May 20, 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 in April, 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 Saturdayfrom 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.
🆕 If you…
- oppose making Ottawa County a Second Amendment Sanctuary
- support the recently approved gun laws for Michigan
- oppose any resolution that suggests law enforcement officers should decide what laws are constitutional
…you can sign a petition Sunday. Just see Rod Van Abbema.
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. 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 or Sarah Jacobs .
May Newsletter from Our Outreach Partner
Access the May newsletter from Humanity for Prisoners here.
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.
Sunday Dinner Group at the Kirby
We’ll be back at the Kirby at 5:30 on Sunday evening. Please sign up at the Membership Table before leaving the Gathering!
🆕 C3 Book Club and Friends
Our Tuesday, June 20 meeting focuses on Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell. Meet at The Bookman at 6 p.m. We’re reading The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures by Anne Fadiman for Tuesday, July 18.
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.
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.
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.
Momentum Center
- Prom with a Purpose – This Saturday! It’s tomorrow evening, May 20, at the Trillium! Tickets are still just $25 and will be available at the door! That price includes dinner, dancing, access to a cash bar, bidding on auction items, having fun with some of the most interesting people on the planet, and supporting a great cause! Don’t let this opportunity pass you by! Details here.
- May Newsletter from Momentum Center. Access the May newsletter from the Momentum Center here.
🆕 Save Your C3 Bulletin for Half-Off Baseball Seats
Keep your eye on the Whitecap Baseball schedule for Tuesday Bulletin Nights. Get half-off all bowl seats, including premium seats, when you show a worship or community bulletin. Limit 8 tickets per bulletin.
Libraries are for Everyone!
Check out the websites of our area libraries! There’s always something interesting going on, and so many good reads! Several have newsletters to which you can subscribe.
- Loutit District Library, Grand Haven
- Spring Lake District Library, Spring Lake
- Herrick District Library, Holland
- Muskegon District Library, Muskegon
- Allendale Library, Allendale
LEDA Summit on Race and Inclusion: The Power of Belonging
Lakeshore Ethnic Diversity Alliance (LEDA) presents the 18th Summit on Race and Inclusion: The Power of Belonging! at Hope College in Holland on 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. Black Man, a unique documentary film produced by Muskegon native, Jon Covington, about Black men in Muskegon County, will be shown as a keynote.
Saturday, May 19
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 20
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
5:30 p.m. Dinner Group (The Kirby, 2 Washington Avenue, GH)
Tuesday, May 23
7 p.m. C3 Men’s Group (American Legion, GH)
Saturday, May 27
12:00 p.m. Vigil for Peace and Justice (Washington Avenue at Central Park, GH)
Sunday, May 28
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 Joyce Cawthon and volunteer Sandy Kate Stephens
10 a.m. Gathering, In Person + Livestream on Facebook
- Teacher: Kent Dobson
- Music: Ruth and Max Bloomquist
- Meditation: Bob Kleinheksel
11 a.m. Talk Back
5:30 p.m. Dinner Group (The Kirby, 2 Washington Avenue, GH)
C3 teacher Kent Dobson helps people orient their life to be in deeper relationship with Mystery, the shape of their own soul, and to a meaningful sense of their unique voice in the world.
Ruth and Max Bloomquist bring Ruth’s award winning abilities as a songwriter and singer and Max’s harmony and touch on the upright bass, to share their heart-touching, acoustic Americana that is all their own. Ruth’s trademark rich alto is unmistakable, and her songs evoke images and emotions common to us all.
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.
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.