Lent – Reading Guides
Lent begins Feb 18 and lasts until Easter on April 5.
We hope you’ll join us in preparing our hearts in this season. Here you’ll find a weekly devotional that may help you.
Free Tax Help
The Alger Heights Collaborative and the Garfield Park Neighborhood Association are bringing the VITA tax preparation site back to the neighborhood for a second year. Seymour Church has offered to serve as the location and Tax prep begins this week.
The United Way Kent County Tax Credit Coalition (KCTCC) helps working individuals and families achieve economic success through free tax services and financial literacy courses. They can help you complete your income tax return and apply for the Federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), a refundable federal income tax credit. U.S. citizenship is not required but you must file a tax return to claim your credit.
Garfield Park Neighborhood Association along with the Alger Heights Collaborative will be offering this FREE service on Thursdays from 6-9pm throughout the tax season (February – April). This tax preparation site will be located at Seymour Christian Reformed Church at 840 Alger SE and will be available during the following dates (all dates are Thursdays unless otherwise noted).
February 5, 19 and 26
March 5, 12, 19 and 26
April 2 and 9
April 14 (Tuesday)
For more information, qualifications, and directions to one of KCTCC’s free tax sites, check out their website http://www.hwmuw.org/kctcc or call 2-1-1.
Community Game Nights
Another Community Game Night this week!
Here’s a perfect way to shake off those winter blues! Join neighbors and friends again this winter for a Community Game Night.
The game nights will be held on the 4th Friday of the month at Seymour Church at 6:30pm from January to April (see dates below). Bring the family, your favorite board games (some games will be provided) and feel free to bring a snack for yourself or to share. Minors must be accompanied by an adult.
Mark your calendar with these dates:
January 23
February 27
March 27
April 24
Hope to see you there!
Contact Jenn Reidsma with questions and/or comments at jenn@tabernaclecommunity.org or 988-9268 ext 205
Will You Be My Neighbor?
Will You Be My Neighbor?: Sustaining the Practices of Good Neighboring
We often have good intentions about knowing our neighbors and working with them to make our community a better place. It is easier to start things than to sustain them, and with the busy activity of our lives, our good intentions can sometimes remain unfulfilled. Join your neighbors for this interactive, conversational training as we remind ourselves of core “good neighbor” habits and brainstorm how to take next steps in creating a vibrant, caring neighborhood environment. All welcome.
Join the conversation on:
Saturday, January 31 from 9:00am-11:30am
at Alger Middle School in the Media Center
RVSP to Jenn Reidsma, Community Coordinator or send questions to Jenn@tabernaclecommunity.org or 988-9268 ext 205.
Clothing Swap – Date change!
Women of the Branch are hosting a clothing swap on Sunday, February 15 @ 7 pm. (Not Feb 1) Bring your gently used clothing to share with others. Accessories also welcome. Left over clothing will be donated. We will be gathering at Amy and Lynell’s studio at 401 Hall St SW, 4th floor (signs/directions will be on the wall). All Branch women welcome!
Please RSVP to Lynell at lshooks@gmail.com
Women’s Bible Study
Are you looking for a way to grow in your faith and spend time with some wonderful women? A new women’s bible study begins in the 2nd of Feburary. They will be studying “Red Hot Faith” by Cindy Bultema. They meet at 9:30-11 every Monday morning Sandy’s home, 729 Otillia SE. Children are welcome.
Contact Sandy if you’d like to participate or need a book – sknavis88@yahoo.com
Kids and Missional Communities
Branch MCs
What about children in Missional Communities? Yes!
What does the MC do for my kids?
1. Changing children’s view of who the church is. It’s not just adults!
2. Teaching kids that we don’t go to church, we are the Church together, in community living.
3. Removing the separation between “church” and life at home or in school, etc.
4. Empowering kids to live their version of good news in the world, on their own.
Missional living that the gospel prompts us to embrace, touches all the places of our life. This includes our kids, but it true for our kids too! A child’s life is not limited to the life a parent sees, approves of or participates in. Kids go to school, sporting events, parties, day care and are often in the care of friends or family. So, having your whole family participate in an MC, or allowing and encouraging your young adults to participate in an MC without you, means that they are learning how to let the gospel influence their whole world, not just for an hour or two on Sunday. In a Mission Circle, kids learn the value of relationships and the call of the People of God to be in the world, helping God’s renewal. Our kids make choices without us. Together, the church and MC’s can help them make good choices and choose good ways to live and participate.
What do my kids do for an MC?
Bringing Diversity. We firmly believe our children’s presents brings diversity to our lives and mission. MC’s are a family, and families rely on the diversity of generations to preserve tradition, bring creativity and reform our hidden perspective. And so we see kids as being key participants and contributors to the MC experience, adding their voice and perspective, shaping the way the MC carries out its mission, experiencing and living out the gospel right alongside the adults.
Of course, this will likely look different in each MC with child members. A circle with infants and toddlers will likely live out the Rhythms in ways that are different than a circle with teenagers or elementary students. And so each group will have to be wise and creative along the way — but we are confident that all energy, time and resources spent to ensure our kids play an active role in the MC is worth it!
Teaching the Adults. Our kids have a unique ability to teach us about re-creation! Left to their own time and invention, chances are our kids will be re-creating without us, a very valuable piece of forming relationships and a family connection within the MC. This is one of the glorious parts of being a child. We need to take note of our kids’ prompts to re-create and let these prompts help form the whole MC. This will be a valuable perspective shift if we are to spend quality time and play together, enjoying the richness of life. It’s one of our sacred Rhythms.
What do my kids do in the world, through an MC?
Again, the gospel should touch all the places of our lives. This includes our kids, but it is true for our kids too! The gospel can and should touch all the places in our kids’ lives too. A child’s life is not limited to the existence that parents see, approve of or participate in. Kids go to school, sporting events, parties, day care and are often in the care of friends or family. In all these places your kids have the opportunity for living a gospel life. And, often, the gift of youth unleashes a bravery that allows children to live out beliefs in a way the typical adult life can sometime discourage. Your kids are on God’s mission in their world too and they may surprise you with their keen sense of incarnational living!
What will my kids do when we all gather together?
1. As an MC gathers, your children will participate in all Rhythms <<link>> of life the Circle shares; eating, celebrating, blessing, listening, storytelling/hearing and, especially, recreating! Often we will want to “occupy” our kids while we have “adult talk.” While this is more than welcome in some cases, this will not be the normative involvement of our kids in the MC gatherings. The group will need to decide how these Rhythms will include the kids in the MC. This may mean multi-generational prayer times or child appropriate community involvement activities, etc. And we will most certainly be asked to be brave parents, letting go in ways that stretch us, in order to help our kids grow into new awareness and behaviors to participate well in this missional/communal life.
2. Play! – Have no fear, even when we feel that adult talk is appropriate and our kids need to be “occupied” for a short time our kids’ time will be spent in this valuable Rhythm. Left to their own time and invention, chances are our kids will be re-creating without us, a very valuable piece of forming relationships and a family connection within the MC. This is one of the glorious parts of being a child. We need to take note of our kids’ prompts to re-create and let these prompts help form the whole MC. This will be a valuable perspective shift if we are to spend quality time and play together, enjoying the richness of life.
3. Kids will build relationships in an MC; playing and storytelling, getting involved in the community, hopefully together with other kids. But, not only will your kids have the chance to form consistent, lasting relationships with each other, they will also have the opportunity to form quality relationships with other adults who care for them and appreciate them in all aspects. This is often missing from a typical American childhood and can be a very formative piece of development in life, and in missional living.
Christmas Eve
Join us at 5pm as we gather to consider anew the story of Christ’s birth through music, reading, conversation and prayer. We’ll end the evening with the lighting of candles as we reflect on the coming of the Light into our world.
Childcare for 0-4 year olds is provided.
Sabbatical
Did you know? Andy and Chris have been serving in ministry at the Branch since 2005. The RCA (our denomination) recommends a sabbatical after 5 years of service!
The Dragt family will be first experiencing sabbatical this coming January/February, with an intentional focus on discipleship and community.
Sabbaticals are about renewal…Individual and family renewal that can lead to corporate renewal within the community.
With that in mind, the Dragt family will be traveling to a place that has already lead to significant growth and renewal over the last couple of years. We will be living in a small cottage by the sea in Pawleys Island, South Carolina where we have been invited to enter into the rhythms of grace and family with the leaders of The Order Of Mission here in the United States.
Our main goal is to make space and allow God to prune away those parts of our lives that still connect our identity to the work that we accomplish for God’s Kingdom. We believe with all our hearts that our identity comes from our adoption into God’s family, but it’s hard to break a lifetime of habits and cultural influence that say: “you are your job” or “you are the things you accumulate”
We think an extended period of abiding along with weekly spiritual direction from trusted mentors will allow God to cut away those parts of us, allowing for even more fruitfulness in the future.
Questions? Contact a Steward, Chris, or Andy
“come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” Matthew 11:28
Advent
Advent starts this week! Join us as we prepare for Christ’s arrival by reading through devotionals together. You can find the readings here – AdventReadingGuide
Advent: Sent
Advent starts next Sunday Nov 30! Advent is a season beginning four Sundays before Christmas where we prepare for Christ’s Birth. We invite you to take part in devotionals throughout Advent. The messages throughout Advent will be reflected in the readings.
Dec 2: The Coming Lord
Dec 7: The Coming Deliverer
Dec 14: The Coming Messenger
Dec 21: The Coming Immanuel
Madison Ave MC
We will NOT be meeting this Thursday, Nov 27. Have a great Thanksgiving and we’ll see you next week for our usual potluck dinner. We will also NOT be meeting on Christmas Day or New Year’s Day.
Vision Night by Alas
Alas Conexion church would like to invite you to their first Annual Vision Night!
The date is Saturday, December 6 from 6:30pm to 8:00pm.
Come enjoy a wonderful dinner as we share with you our work and vision in the city of Grand Rapids. You will be hearing some testimonies, plans, and dreams that God has put in our hearts for the city. We would love to have you here to celebrate with us what God has done in our lives and in the lives of people that He has allowed us to serve. It will be a pleasure to have you with us.
If you have any questions do not hesitate to contact Rodrigo at 616-214-6001, rodrigo@ialasdeaguila.org, or at facebook.com/
Missional Communities – MCs
You’re invited!
An invitation that is open to everyone — every week.
It’s an invitation to family.
Over the last couple of years you may have heard us talk about Missional Communities (MCs) and you may have wondered what they’re about. In the simplest terms, MCs are ‘extended families’ locking arms around a common mission. They are a place where relationships can form — the kind of relationships that fuel us to be God’s light and hope to a dark and broken world.
We currently have one MC at the Branch — and you are invited, any time. You can come once and check it out — or come once a month — or every week. There’s no attendance requirements — just an invitation to come as you’re able. We plan to have more in the future.
Each MC will in many ways look different from one another — with unique missions and distinct rhythms, but at their core they are the same: extended families with a common purpose.
Here’s some details:
Madison St. MC
- When: every Thursday evening, 5:30pm-7pm (come when you can)
- What: Every week we share a potluck dinner. Most weeks we practice a spiritual discipline with adults and kids. We are also sponsoring a refugee family together. We devote some Thursdays to these relationships as well as other times during the week.
- Where: 2020 Madison Ave. SE
- Questions? Contact Chris at chris@
thebranchonline.org
A few commonly asked questions about Missional Communities:
1) Who’s invited to a MC?
Everyone. We can’t say that enough. You. Your family. Your friends. Your neighbors. Your coworkers. Anyone who you think would be blessed to be a part of an extended family pursuing a common purpose together.
2) Do I have to be able to commit to come every week in order to participate?
Not at all. We’d love for you to be there every week, but we know that life and sickness and schedules may mean that you miss some weeks. That’s ok. Come a couple times a month — or a couple times a year — honestly, we’ll be glad to see you whenever you’re able to make it.
3) What happens if I’m having one those weeks and can’t bring anything to share at dinner?
Come. 🙂 Really. We want to see you, regardless of whether you have food with you or not.
4) Do I have to come at the ‘official’ start time?
Nope – come whenever you can. Let’s say a MC starts at 5:30, but you can’t make it until 6 or 6:30 – it’s no problem. You’re welcome to come any time — even if it’s just stopping in for a few minutes.
Women’s Bible Study
Ladies – are you looking for great fellowship and conversation? Women of the Branch host a casual Bible Study discussing monthly topics. They meet in homes from 9:30 to 11 on Mondays. Coffee and a snack are provided. Children are welcome. For more information contact Trina at katrinarookus@gmail.com.
Joint service with Alas – Nov 9 @ 11:30
We’re really excited to share in worship together! Sunday, Nov 9 @ 11:30 The Branch and Alas will be enjoying a joint service – shared worship, shared teaching, shared celebration! We invite you to celebrate and join us afterwards for some light refreshment.
Podcasts
Unfortunately, we’ve experienced some technical difficulties and the podcast sermons have not been recorded for the past few weeks. Don’t worry, we’re working on it! Should be up and running again shortly!
The Church has left the building
This Sunday — October 5 — the Branch will not be having worship at the building on 28th St.; instead, we’ll be up north on a retreat at CranHill Ranch. If you’re not able to go on the retreat with us, we encourage you to use Sunday morning as a time of Sabbath — a time to rest and reflect on God’s goodness and provision in your life.
We’ll be back on the 12th for worship at 10:30am. We look forward to seeing you then.
The 10:30 Challenge! — PART 1
On Sunday, September 7, we start “The 10:30 Challenge”. What’s this challenge all about? Why are we doing it? This is the first of two posts giving some context. We hope you’ll join us.
Part 1: Offering our best hospitality
A couple of months ago I had the chance to worship with another church on Sunday morning and it was great. I loved the opportunity to participate in a different style of worship and meet other brothers and sisters who are faithfully following Jesus. But the experience also reminded me of just how difficult it can be to walk into a church for the first time as a visitor. It seems so obvious, but you don’t know where anything is – you don’t know any one – you’re not sure where the bathrooms are or if coffee is allowed in the sanctuary. It can be down right daunting (and that’s coming from a guy who’s been in church his whole life).
That experience stuck with me and has led Andy and I to spend the last couple of months considering how we are doing at helping visitors feel welcome and at home. During that time, I’ve sought out guests at the Branch and after worship asked them about their experience. By and large it has been positive: the music and preaching, communion and prayer, the way they were able to greet people during worship — were all meaningful. But interestingly, each person I spoke with also talked about their ‘first impression’. When they arrived early (as visitors almost always do), they found the building nearly empty. Not only were they not sure where the bathrooms were, but they wondered if they had come at the right time. And because there was no one to talk to and a really quiet, low energy atmosphere — they felt a bit awkward as they stood around waiting for us to start.
As I listened to these folks, I shared a bit of our history as a church — explaining that for the first seven years of our life we were rarely able to begin at our official start time because there was another church that worshipped before us. And so while the Branch started at 11:00, everyone knew that practically speaking it wasn’t really until 11:05, 11:10 or later that we got going. Over time, this led us all (myself included) to be understandably casual about the way we viewed our official start time.
The good news is that today we don’t face that same constraint. Because no one worships before us we are free and able to start at 10:30. So here’s what we’ve been thinking about (yes…I’m finally getting to the point). In order for us to offer our best hospitality — to mirror the welcome and kindness that we know God extends to us — we need to shift the way we think about 10:30. Instead of thinking of it as the time to arrive — we need to see it as the time we begin. Which means that arriving before 10:30 will be critical if we are to welcome visitors with the generosity and authenticity that makes the Branch so unique.
One thing I know beyond a doubt is that the Branch has so much to offer those who are looking for a home — so much to share with those who are hoping to find a place to belong. But in order for us to offer hospitality — we need to be here when they walk through our doors.
Now, to be sure, we will all have weeks when everything goes haywire and making it here before 10:30 just isn’t possible. That’s ok and to be expected. But for the not-so-haywire weeks, here’s the challenge I want to extend to you:
[box type=”note”]Let’s form a new habit of being in our seats, ready to worship, at 10:30.[/box] This will certainly mean arriving early enough to check in your kids or grab a cup of coffee (so maybe it’s actually the 10:20 challenge). Can you partner with us as we offer our best hospitality?
We have some fun things planned during this challenge — we’re looking forward to it — and grateful that you would consider joining us.
Next week — Part 2. Because believe it or not, hospitality isn’t the only reason to accept this challenge. More to come.
Current Series: Kingdom Come
We want our city — our neighborhoods — our homes — to look like heaven on earth. We long for beauty and life and joy to overtake this town. Jesus calls this holy overthrow the Kingdom of God. And when we look for it, we’ll find it (hint: it starts within).
9/7 LOVE | TWO KINGDOMS — Two opposing kingdoms exist—the Kingdom of God, and the kingdom of the world.
9/14 RECEIVE | ENTER THE KINGDOM — We enter the Kingdom by receiving the love of the King.
9/21 OBEY | SUBMIT TO THE KING — Kingdom subjects serve at the pleasure of the King.
9/28 FIGHT | A KINGDOM AT WAR — Obedience to God is a battle blow against a powerful spiritual enemy.
10/5 Branch Retreat at Cran Hill (no Sunday worship)
10/12 SEEK | KINGDOM GOGGLES — When we seek the Kingdom, we start to see the world through God’s eyes.
10/19 KINGDOM COME — God wants his Kingdom to come on earth.
