Check out this video from Pastor Noah introducing our Lent 2022 series, “Turning Toward”…
Author: Rachel Redder (page 3 of 4)
During Lent our House Groups will be reading The Love that is God by Frederick Bauerschmidt. If you are not in a group, you can still join for this session. Please contact Ross Weener (rweener@aacrc.org). If you are currently in a group, you can pick up your book in the church office.
On Friday, October 29, members of AACRC’s Deacons, Mission Action Team and Social Justice Team had a meeting with representatives from Jewish Family Services to discuss an opportunity to co-sponsor a refugee family from Afghanistan.
The crisis in Afghanistan has resulted in the arrival of 53,000 evacuees in the U.S. thus far with many thousands more expected in the next year. More than 90 individuals have arrived in Washtenaw County in the past 3 weeks. It is expected that about 300 Afghans will be resettled in this area.
Jewish Family Services has resettled hundreds of refugees since 1993. They are the only resettlement agency in Washtenaw County. JFS provides a continuum of services so that when refugees arrive, they can access all the resources they need through one organization. They are launching a new co-sponsorship program with area congregations to help them deal with this large influx of refugees. The time frame for resettlement is about 3 months.
Before committing to a partnership, we will need to assess our congregational capacity in terms of willingness to commit the financial/material support and the time necessary to support the family, while maintaining appropriate boundaries to foster independence.
Please prayerfully consider this opportunity for service. We will be providing more information and ways in which you can participate in the next few weeks.
Barb Fichtenberg
AACRC Point Person, Refugee Resettlement
The need for CAP Thanksgiving baskets is greater than ever this year. Although Covid is continuing to change our approach a little, we are still able to provide two options for supporting the hungry in Wayne County this holiday season.
- Option 1 (Due by Sunday, November 14): Back by popular demand! We are happy to announce that the Roots students will do the shopping for you! All you need to do is provide a donation of $50 ($25 for items plus $25 for a turkey) for each basket you wish to donate. The check should be made out to CAP and “CAP Thanksgiving Basket” should be in the memo line. You can place your check into the regular offering plate or bring it to the church office. Furthermore, you can also make this donation by selecting “CAP (Community Assistance Program)” when using our online giving platform.
- Option 2 (Due by noon on Sunday, November 21): You can purchase all of the food items on the list below along with writing a $25 check to CAP for a turkey with “CAP Thanksgiving Basket” in the memo line. Any donation money remaining after turkey purchases will be used to support CAP’s other programs. Please place your check in an envelope and deposit it in the designated box near the elevator on the lower level. Meal donations may be placed on the tables in this area from Sunday, November 14 through noon on Sunday, November 21.
Help us reach our goal of 150 Thanksgiving Baskets for CAP!
CAP Thanksgiving Basket Shopping List
Please use a re-usable grocery tote bag for your items. Also, the Jiffy pie crust mix has been purposefully removed from the list because this item will be donated for all the baskets (provided by option 1 or 2) and will be added separately.
- 2 (7.25 oz.) package of macaroni and cheese (or 2 smaller boxes)
- 1 (5 lb.) package self-rising corn meal mix (e.g. Aunt Jemima, Pearl Milling Company)
- 2 (14 to 15 oz.) cans of one or more vegetables (peas, corn, green beans, please no carrots)
- 1 (40 oz.) can of yams
- 2 (6 oz.) package of Stuffing for Turkey (e.g. Stove Top)
- 1 (14 or 16 oz.) can of jellied cranberry sauce
- 1 (box, any size) yellow or white cake mix
- 1 (12 or 16 oz.) can ready mix frosting
- 2 (20 oz.) cans of pie filling of the same flavor (e.g. peach, cherry
- 1 (10.5 or 12 oz.) can or jar of turkey gravy
~ CAP Fall Clothing Collection ~
Finally, don’t forget about the CAP closet across from the bathroom downstairs at church. CAP would love to receive and distribute any winter clothing items that you are willing and able to donate! All items should be separated by type, packed in bags or boxes and labeled appropriately.
Thanks for all the help by individuals, families and kids last Saturday for the workday. We got a lot accomplished, and the grounds are looking much better. Also thanks to Jim Wagner and his crew for chipping and distributing all the pruned branches. Thank you also to all the people who stop by church to water our plants, to weed and otherwise help to be good stewards of what God has given us.
I am hoping to host another workday in the first part of November, date to be determined.
Jim Bryson, VP of Council
Looking to dive deeper into our fall sermon series, Life Together? We’ll be using Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s book by the same title to study and grow together in House Groups. Our first meeting date is September 19. Groups will meet five times in the fall during the faith formation hour, on the weekends, or even a virtual group. Contact Ross Weener (rweener@aacrc.org) with any questions or if you’d like to join a group.
I shared this update about what is happening at AACRC fall 2020 during worship on August 23. Wanted to share it again here, in case you missed it. – Pastor Ryan
I am a servant of this church as one of your three pastors and I’d like to give an update to you about what we’ve been working really hard on. Council members, elders, deacons, staff, pastors, we’ve continued to work very hard, as many of you have. We continue to think about what this church looks like heading into the fall and I wanted to give you that update. Continue reading
the static and dynamic nature of the called people of Jesus
For fall of 2020 we invite you to join us for a worship series on the book of Acts in the Bible. Acts is a book about the disciples of Jesus following the call of their Lord into the world to be his witnesses. They are led by the promised Holy Spirit into the future of the kingdom. This future was unknown and sometimes difficult. The Church was built through the acts of the faithful, empowered by the Spirit in a brave new world. Today, the Church continues to move forward toward God’s good future. We are guided by the Church who went before, and yet we continue to move into an unknown future. This fall we will look at how the Church lived in this tension of being rooted in Christ and led by the Spirit so that we too may stay faithful to the call of Christ on our lives and participate in God’s coming kingdom.
Reading plan
You are invited to read the chapters in the week approaching each Sunday as you prepare your heart to hear God’s word
September 13 Acts 1-2
September 20 Acts 3-5
September 27 Acts 6-7
October 4 Acts 8-9
October 11 Acts 10-11
October 18 Acts 12-14
October 25 Acts 15-17
November 1 Acts 18-20
November 8 Acts 21-22
November 15 Acts 23-26
November 22 Acts 27-28
Sundays in Acts, fall 2020
Sep 6, 2020: Acts 1, Our Call and our Center (Pastor Ryan)
Sep 13, 2020: Acts 2, Our Guide and our Path (Pastor Noah)
Sep 20, 2020: Acts 4, Peter and John before the Sanhedrin (Pastor Ryan)
Sep 27, 2020: Acts 6, The choosing of the seven (Pastor Kristen)
Oct 4, 2020: Acts 8:26-40, Phillip and the Ethiopian (Pastor Ryan)
Oct 11, 2020: Acts 10, Peter’s Vision (Pastor Noah)
Oct 18, 2020: Acts 13, Rooting the way of Jesus in the Hebrew bible (Pastor Ryan)
Oct 25, 2020: Acts 15, The council of Jerusalem (Pastor Ryan)
Nov 1, 2020: Acts 16:16-34, Paul and Silas speak the gospel to power (Pastor Kristen)
Nov 8, 2020: Acts 17, Paul in Athens (Pastor Ryan)
Nov 15, 2020: Acts 27:27-44, The shipwreck (Pastor Ryan)
Nov 22, 2020: Acts 28: 17-31, Paul preaches in Rome (Pastor Noah)
Worship streams live every Sunday on YouTube at 10:30 am
Find a weekly worship link on our homepage aacrc.org, archives at aacrc.org/sermons, or find us at YouTube.com/AnnArborCRC/videos.
You are invited to join a house group and dive a little deeper into Acts this fall. Email Rachel at the church office to find a group.
Hey Friends,
Last week I wrote an an open letter to you all about the events of the last few weeks and my response to them as your pastor. (“Whose House is it? A letter to God’s people of the Ann Arbor CRC”) I knew as I sent it that some would agree and some would not. These issues are hard and complicated and also necessary to speak openly about. I wrote this letter in love. And, in love, Ron Reimink crafted a response. What follows is his response to my letter in hopes that it may continue to move us all to have restorative conversations that are so central to who we are as the church of Jesus Christ. May God grant us grace as we have them. I am thankful to Ron for his words of wisdom and his spirit of love.
Pastor Ryan
The conversation continues
Guest post by
Ron Reimink, member of Ann Arbor CRC
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
I love you. That’s why I need to write you tonight, because I love you. I’m young by many standards, I haven’t even reached 40 but I’ve been with you for over one quarter of my life. We have woven our lives together in the last ten years and woven our commitment to Jesus together. You have made covenantal promises to my children and I have married your sons and daughters. You have trained me and my family in the faith and I have buried your fathers and mothers. Tonight I sit broken before you. But I need to speak with you. Please hear me out. This will be hard for some of you to read. It may make you angry. I’m sorry. I don’t delight in your anger. It may be too much and you may want to stop reading. Please don’t. I promise I will listen to you if you want to call or write or yell. I promise I will listen. I am not an expert. Seminary did not train me for this. I am feeling as much at a loss as many of you might be. Yet most of us do not know the pain of which I am about to write. As broken as I’ve been, it is nowhere close to the pain and brokenness that is erupting around this country. So, in humility, let’s walk the road together, knowing that God will hold us both as we move ahead.
The events of the past week have ruined me. Continue reading
1717 Broadway
Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Phone: (734) 665-0105
Fax: (734) 665-9532
office@aacrc.org • webteam@aacrc.org
Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Phone: (734) 665-0105
Fax: (734) 665-9532
office@aacrc.org • webteam@aacrc.org
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