Hi friends,
Enjoy these excerpts from our weekly Connections newsletters for May 27 & 29, online in our blog during this pandemic. Subscribe now to receive them in your inbox every week. 
Jen

A Note from the Shepherding Elders

Sisters and Brothers of the AACRC,

Thank you for your continued support of the AACRC by participating in worship and in the life of the church over these last few months. Last night the Shepherding Elders of the AACRC met to think about our next steps in gathering together. Out of that meeting we want to share with you three things:

  1. The worship of the AACRC will continue on-line for the foreseeable future. In the next weeks however, the AACRC will begin to move to a live-streaming platform which will be archived for those who do not make it for the live service. We will have more information as we begin to roll out that format.
  2. Are you interested in worshiping with a small community? There has been recent guidance that allows groups of ten or fewer to gather, and we would invite people in our community to take advantage of that if they would desire, while practicing all social distancing guidelines from the healthcare community (staying 6ft apart, wearing a mask, gathering outside if possible, washing hands and cleaning surfaces). If you are desiring this opportunity, please reach out to Rachel Redder at office@aacrc.org to get put on a list where we can divide people up geographically for these groups.
  3. The elders, staff and pastors of the AACRC continue to take guidance from the medical community and will keep you up to date as best we can. While we all want to be back at 1717 Broadway, we also want to make sure we do so in a safe and careful way that allows accessibility and hospitality to all, either in person or through use of technology. We thank you for your prayers and patience as we continue to work toward our shared goal of loving God and loving neighbor. Please reach out to your elder or a pastor if you have any questions.

The Shepherding Elders of the AACRC

Congregational Meeting via Zoom

Sunday, June 7, 9:30 AM

Our normal rhythms for the congregational meeting are also changing. Please join us at 9:30 am on June 7, after the live premiere of the sermon, for a short business meeting.

We have two main objectives. The first is to select and affirm new office bearers. As deacons (3 spots needed): Allyson Wever, Bill Zinsser, and Andrew Wiersma. As elders (3 spots needed): Dave VanderYacht, Sharon Reimink, Kellie Steen, and George Lindquist. As vice president: Jill Fenske.

Second, Council is proposing a carry-over budget from FY19-20 and continuing to monitor current financial giving and expenses. It is possible that Council will propose an amended mid-year budget for congregational approval, as we better understand the financial environment we operate in. HERE is the approved budget from our congregational meeting in May 2019.

A Call for Prayer….from Joel Huyser 

(May 26, 2020)

Dear friends,

This is an urgent call for prayer for our friends in Nicaragua.

Hultner Estrada, the director of the Nehemiah Center, has been sick now for 10 days with Covid-19. The case is very serious.

Also this weekend, Rev. Freddy Ordoñez, who for many years was president of the Christian Reformed Church of Nicaragua, died from Covid-19. His two adult daughters have also been diagnosed with Covid-19.  Finally, Patricia, Freddy’s wife, has been ill with possible symptoms of Covid.

Please be in prayer for Hultner and his family and for the Ordoñez family. Pray for protection of all of the people of Nicaragua who are so vulnerable in front of this pandemic. We continue to trust in our God.

Joel Huyser

2020 Costa Rica Mission Trip Update

We are greatly disappointed to share that the decision has been made to postpone our 2020 Costa Rica IMT trip. Many factors were considered, including input from Resonate and our brothers & sisters at Casa Adobe, as we prayerfully came to this decision. We are grateful that our friends in Costa Rica have invited us to join them in ministry in the summer of 2021 the week of July 31 – August 7.

The IMT team would like to thank the congregation for their initial support of our trip to Costa Rica.  We look forward to continuing our partnership with you and Casa Adobe in the coming year as we amend our plans to travel for next summer and ask for your prayers as the details of these plans take shape. A current prayer request would be that the already purchased airline tickets can be transferred to the following year without issue.

Thank you for your partnership and support!

Program Highlight: Roots (6th-8th Grade)

On a Wednesday programming night you can find between 20 and 30 middle school students, both from AACRC and other communities, engaged in our Roots program. Our Roots leaders (Paul Machiele, Kate Costello, Sean Newman, Laurel Machiele, and Will Schenke) noted that the 2019-2020 year had the most students enrolled that they’ve seen since leading the program.

Roots students are involved in a number of activities throughout the year. Some of this year’s service projects included partnering with Food Gatherers to sort food, shopping for CAP Thanksgiving meals, serving pizza at our pizza nights, grounds clean up for a local preschool, and partnering with Reach (our high school youth group) to complete safe birth kits for Worldwide Health. Roots also had some fun social events including Whirlyball, a winter retreat at Grace Adventures, tubing at Ford Lake, and movie nights.  Additionally, Roots leaders created engaging lessons to explore the word of God and relate it to the students’ lives, to help create a solid foundation of faith-filled living.

To learn more about Roots or how you can support this ministry, contact Andrea, teen ministry coordinator: andrea@aacrc.org.

Pastor Appreciation Parade

Thank you, Pastors!

Check out these videos of the parade: parade part 1 and parade part 2

WORSHIP WITH US

Find At Home worship resources every week on our homepage at  www.aacrc.org

GROW WITH US

Weekly Bible Study:
Thursdays @ 10:00AM, led by the pastoral staff
Join Bible Study Zoom

Video Series: The Sabbath: A Biblical Perspective
Have you had a chance to check our our sabbath series videos yet? Visit the Ann Arbor CRC Sabbath Series playlist to access the three videos that have been released in this excellent and engaging series.

Prayer Resources for a Pandemic:  In the midst of this pandemic time, our connection to God and our life of prayer can begin to feel unsettled. What words might we offer as we seek to faithfully respond to where we find ourselves? Find  a video and list of prayer resources in a recent blog post.

SERVE WITH US

Sheltering in AACRC: We continue to offer housing to about 20 men in partnership with the Delonis Center. We have the following three needs. Questions? Contact Rachel Bush (rachelbush360@gmail.com)

    1. With the warmer evenings, we would like to provide fans for the guys sleeping at church. If you’d be willing to loan a fan for a few weeks, please write your name on it and leave it inside the door by the church office.
    2. With the shelter in place order being extended into June, we are in need of continued funds to continue to feed and shelter the guys living at the AACRC. Between supplies and groceries the expenses total around $500/week and God has provided up to this point. Email Rachel to help out with a check, Venmo, or PayPal.
    3. The sign up to help with a main dish has also been extended further into June. You can sign up HERE.

Continue our tithes and offerings:  Thank you for continuing to support the good work of God through the Ann Arbor Christian Reformed Church. Ways to donate: