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?”

Following last week’s powerful Pride Gathering, C3 Teacher Kent Dobson is back to ask . . . We Have Questions: What is the Father Wound? Patty PerShayla makes a return visit from Nashville, and Nelleke Knarr offers the meditation for this week’s C3 Gathering.

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.

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🆕  Last Sunday’s Teaching here.  🆕  Last Sunday’s Meditation here.

Kent Dobson May 14, 2023

🆕 Our First C3 Billboard is Up!

The generous contributions from C3 members are showing first fruits. Our first billboard was unveiled on June 12, where it will sit at the corner of M-104 and 144th Avenue for four weeks. Two more billboards will be erected on July 10, one north and one south of Grand Haven. Annie Wassmann’s design focuses on C3’s unique organizational nature: we ask questions to which we don’t have all the answers. We’re hopeful that this exposure will help those of like minds to know that there is a place for them at C3. 

🆕 Claude’s Graduation Open House

from Charity and Shannon McMaster: Our son Claude graduated from Spring Lake High School this year, and we are having an open house for him on Saturday, June 24, from 2 to 4 p.m. We’d love to see any C3 people! Your presence is gift enough. Our address is 227 Prospect Street, in Spring Lake. We’re on the corner of Prospect and River, one block west of Holmes Elementary.  Note: Claude has done the weekly set-up for our Gathering for a few years!

🆕 Community Meeting to be held on July 9!

Make plans to stay for a short community meeting after the Gathering on Sunday, July 9. The Finance and Membership committees have proposed that we move our annual meeting from February to November. This revised schedule requires a change in our bylaws, which requires community approval. You can also expect an update on the search for an executive director and our status at Central Park Place. You won’t want to miss it!

     If you are a C3 Member and won’t be able to attend the meeting, please click here to email your proxy vote to chairperson Sally Alderink.

Dine with Nine-ty!
Join us this summer for a delightful twist on our beloved Dine with Nine event! We are excited to announce the expansion of this gathering into an “everyone-is-welcome” community dinner at the picturesque Mulligan’s Hollow Lodge in Grand Haven. Save the date for Saturday, July 15, dinner begins at 5:30 p.m. To let us know what food you’ll bring, kindly utilize the sign-up sheet at the Gathering. Bring your own beverage (alcohol is allowed) and place setting, utensils, and cups (we are being friendly to Mother Earth). For drop-off convenience, you may drive up to the lodge, but all event parking is in the YMCA parking lot. Rain or shine, the event will go on, with ample space indoors and outdoors that is ADA accessible.

    Rolling Along!

    Andy Cawthon reports that his bike fundraiser is rolling along with 179.4 miles logged since June 1. He invites anyone willing and interested to commit to any of a wide range of activities (walking, stationary biking, kayaking, horseback riding, holes played at golf, etc.), and a dollar amount (computed by any means—dollars or cents per mile, holes played, a flat amount) to help raise money for the C3 Community. So far we have three committed participants and four or more sponsors! Join in the fundraising!

    🆕 Submitting Information for the C3 Update

    Newsletter submissions should be sent to Chrys Moelter-Gray by Wednesday of the week they are to be included. Many thanks to Annie Wassmann for filling in during Chrys’ recent vacation. 

    Auction Kudos

    • Kathy and Mark Smith write “Thanks to the kindness of Cathy and Bruce Martin. We “won” the bidding for the use of their home for a week. We had a fantastic week, enjoyed time with our son and his family from Aurora CO., did lots of hiking and sightseeing. Their home is beautiful, in a fantastic location and we truly enjoyed our time.”
    • Tom, Annie, Mark, Kathy, Valerie and Ira wanted to take a moment to express their heartfelt thanks to Corrie and Berend Snoeyer for their wonderful “Taste of Indonesia” auction dinner party. The food, the company, and the ambiance were all truly exceptional. It was an evening to remember!

    Month Long Pride Focus at our Vigil for Peace and Justice

    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. Join us each Saturday from noon to 1 p.m. along Washington Avenue at Central Park in Grand Haven. Why not let your creative juices flow and make a sign promoting justice and equality for all LGBTQ+ folks (folx) and invite friends and family to join in?

    Last Week for June’s Week 3@C3—but, There’s More!  

    Bring items on Sunday, June 18! Kids Food Basket – Muskegon will receive our support in June. Their wish list is here:

    • fruit cups or pouches
    • pudding cups
    • meat sticks (i.e. Slim Jims, approx. .28 oz sticks)
    • 8-pound or extra-large brown lunch bags
    • bulk items to make KFB Trail Mix—Cheerios, Pretzels, cheese crackers. 

    Off-brands are fine! Keep in mind, KFB avoids serving items with peanuts or tree nuts in the ingredient list.

    Can we go above and beyond?

    Every Woman’s Place has an urgent request for women’s underwear—small, medium, or large; any style; six pack Fruit of the Loom, Hanes for Her, or other similar brands are suitable. Bring goods or cash to the Week 3@C3 table on June 18 or June 25.

    🆕 Sunday Dinner Group at Ted’s

    Those interested in dining out on Sunday will meet at Ted’s in Spring Lake at 5:30. (Pine Street Café is no longer open for dinner). Please sign up at the Membership Table before leaving the Gathering!

    C3 Book Club and Friends

    We meet this coming Tuesday, June 20, 6 p.m. at The Bookman to discuss  Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell. 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.

    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.

    🆕 Long-time C3 members will remember Meg Lawton (former wife of prior C3 teacher Ian Lawton). Our dear Meg has suffered catastrophic health issues. Her friend in Australia has set up a fundraiser called She loves without bounds to help with Meg’s rehabilitation and other medical expenses. This is an unusual announcement for us to make in the C3 Update, but the circumstances are dire. There is additional information at the fundraiser link, and the veracity of both the information and the fundraisier has been verified.

    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 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.

    Free Community Picnic 

    This event on Saturday, June 17, from 2 to 5 p.m. at the East Grand River Park benefits the Ric VanWeelden Music Fund, whose goal is to put instruments into kids’ hands and provide access to music lessons. Check out the details here.

    🆕 Silence the Violence Now

    Silent March to End Gun Violence, co-sponsored by St. John’s Episcopal and United Methodist Church of the Dunes, will take place this Saturday June 17, at Central Park in Grand Haven. Silent Gathering begins at 10:30 a.m., then march on sidewalks through downtown Grand Haven at 11, and end at St. John’s Episcopal Church with a protest sing-along. Our weekly Vigil for Peace and Justice will begin at noon along Washington Avenue at Central Park as usual, following this march.

    Momentum Center

    • Volunteer! We are accomplishing great things within the Tri-Cities area, but we cannot do it without the help of our volunteers. Learn more about volunteer opportunities here.

    Saturday, June 17

    12 p.m.  Vigil for Peace and Justice (Washington Avenue at Central Park, GH)

     

    Sunday, June 18

    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 Char Kole

    10 a.m. Gathering, In Person + Livestream on Facebook

    • Teacher: Kent Dobson
    • Music: Patty PerShayla
    • Meditation: Nelleke Knarr                           

    11 a.m. Talk Back

    5:30 p.m.  Dinner Group (Ted’s, 14977 Cleveland St., Spring Lake)

     

    Tuesday, June 20

    6 p.m. C3 Book Club and Friends (The Bookman, 715 Washington, GH)

    7 p.m. C3 Men’s Group (American Legion, GH)

     

    Saturday, June 24

    12 p.m.  Vigil for Peace and Justice (Washington Avenue at Central Park, GH)

     

    Sunday, June 25

    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 Margaret Willey

    10 a.m. Gathering, In Person + Livestream on Facebook

    • Guest Teacher: Beth Buelow
    • Music: Hannah Laine
    • Meditation: Cindy Anderson                          

    11 a.m. Talk Back

    5:30 p.m.  Dinner Group (Ted’s, 14977 Cleveland St., Spring Lake)

    June 11 Banner

    Beth Buelow has been part of the C3 Community since March 2018 and has loved every minute of it. She’s a business owner; leadership, team, and mentor coach; author, speaker, and mediator, and she has added photographer to the list of ways she wants to be known in the world.

    Hannah Laine is a musician and vocal empowerment coach from Grand Rapids, best known as the vocalist for the Future-Soul band Earth Radio. She began singing and songwriting at a very young age, and has found refuge in music as a way of healing and processing her life experiences. Skilled in piano, vocal improvisation, beat-making, layering effects, and looping, her abilities to create a soundscape or groovy bop are limitless.

    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.

    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. Sign up here for updates about his programs, events, podcasts, teachings, and more.

    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.