worship – Ann Arbor Christian Reformed Church

Holy Week 2023

August 2021 mask update

August 6, 2021 / Jen Boes / Comments Off

Dear Members & Friends,

On Wednesday, the Washtenaw County Health Department issued an advisory strongly recommending masking for everyone in indoor, public spaces, regardless of vaccination status. This advisory was issued due to increasing local transmission of COVID-19, now in “substantial” levels as defined in the CDC COVID Data Tracker. In addition, neighboring counties have also reached “substantial” levels of transmission. We plan to follow this advisory from our local health department and request that everyone over the age of 2 wear a mask during worship services and any other indoor meetings at the church.

We will continue to offer additional spaces for families and individuals during worship services in the fellowship hall and Room 24 for those who desire increased physical distancing. At this time, there will not be any capacity limits in the sanctuary.

More information is available in the Washtenaw County Health Department COVID-19 Advisory, including an opportunity to order at-home COVID-19 test kits if you are interested.

Together in Christ,
Jill Fenske, Council President
Malo Engel, Shepherding Elder Chair

We are again requesting that everyone over the age of two wear a mask during worship services and any other indoor meetings at the church

Celebrating profession of faith

Worship moving back indoors beginning July 11

July 2, 2021 / Jen Boes / Comments Off

Dear members and friends,

After significant discussion, and in consultation with the Medical Advisory Team, the Shepherding Elders have decided to move Sunday morning worship back indoors starting July 11. Although the 9:30 am worship start time was originally chosen to avoid late-morning heat, Council has decided that worship will remain at 9:30 am throughout the summer. Given current COVID conditions, we will continue to ask unvaccinated people over the age of 2 to mask at all times while in the building.

The Shepherding Elders realize that the move indoors will be a significant relief to some, while for others, it brings new concerns and challenges. In order to make as much room as possible, the service will be streamed to the Fellowship Hall and Room 24. Room 24 will be a fully-masked space. The YouTube stream will, of course, also remain an option.

As always, if you have any thoughts, questions, or concerns, please reach out to your Shepherding Elder or one of the pastors.

-Jill Fenske, Council President

Summer outdoor worship details

May 27, 2021 / Jen Boes / Comments Off

Dear Members & Friends–

This week we begin outdoor worship, and we can’t wait! We can’t wait to see more of you, to lift our voices together in worship of the Triune God, and continue to walk in faith together. We wanted to share a few details for those that are able to attend worship in-person this summer:

Summer worship time: We’ve moved the time to 9:30 AM to avoid some of the noonday heat as we move through summer. (Note: no sign up needed for outdoor worship)
What to bring:
- A lawn chair or blanket
- A water bottle
- A mask: With singing happening throughout our service and a number of unvaccinated people among us (mostly children), we are recommending masking during the service to continue to show care to the most vulnerable. After the service, please abide by CDC guidelines for outdoor gatherings based on your comfort and vaccination status. The med team and staff will review this policy at the end of June
Parking: Worship will be happening in the upper parking lot. Please park in the lower lot and walk up the stairs. There will be limited parking available in the upper lot for those for whom stairs are difficult.
Streaming: Our stream will continue for those not able to come in person with links provided in Connections and on our website. Both at-home and in-person participants will be helped by pulling up the weekly liturgy on their phones or tablets, as we will not be projecting lyrics outdoors. Folks at 1717 will also have the option of picking up a paper copy of the liturgy.
Can I help? Yes, moving worship outdoors will take all of us working together! In the coming weeks we’d love to be able to use the gifts of the church to help with the following:
- Communion servers
- Set tear down immediately following worship
- Coffee helpers: set up, serve, and clean up
Weather plan: In the event we need to move worship inside, that decision will be made by 5 PM on Saturday evening and communicated through a special Connections email as well as posted on our church website and social media. If we do go inside, there will be a sign up open to 100 individual spots.

One more thing: outdoor worship is the perfect opportunity to invite your friends and neighbors. That person you’ve been meaning to ask for years would probably be even more comfortable showing up in an outdoor setting! So let’s make the most of this shift in worship to invite others into the life God is giving us together.

Together in Christ,
The staff of the Ann Arbor Christian Reformed Church

Good Friday & Easter 2021

March 25, 2021 / Jen Boes / Comments Off

We will celebrate Holy Week together this year with an outdoor service on Good Friday evening and two services on Easter Sunday morning, an early outdoor service and a 10:30AM service in the sanctuary that will be live-streamed. Continue reading

with: Lent & Easter 2021

February 11, 2021 / Jen Boes / Comments Off

Ash Wednesday

Ash Wednesday, February 17, 2021, marks the beginning of the Lenten season. This day serves as a reminder of our human mortality and the need for reconciliation with God.

Ann Arbor CRC would typically have a family-oriented worship service with communion and imposition of ashes, but this year, we will mark it with an at-home worship liturgy that you are invited to use in your homes: liturgy and playlist.

The Ecumenical Ann Arbor Taize Ash Wednesday worship will be at 7:30pm and is going virtual this year. The worship will be live-streamed on the First Presbyterian Church of Ann Arbor’s Facebook page and YouTube channel or join the zoom link found here. Continue reading

More Advent 2020

November 27, 2020 / Jen Boes / 0 Comments

Jesus is coming. That is what the celebration of Christmas is all about. Christmas is about celebrating that Jesus has come into the world to be with us, near us, one of us. Jesus is coming again. He will return to bring the fullness of the kingdom of God. Christmas is about Jesus being with us.

But, before Christmas, we have to wait. That is what Advent is all about. In Advent we wait for Jesus in remembrance and hope. This year our Advent theme is “Almost.” . All of our waiting and yearning in this season for God to be near us when we are experiencing loss, loneliness and isolation is wrapped up in God’s promise to never leave nor forsake us. So, this Advent we wait together, like our sisters and brothers from long ago, and we wait with confidence that not only has Christ come to be with us, but that he will come again and make all things new.

As you mark the season this year—something that seems more important now than ever—we wanted to offer some thoughts on ways you could mark this season. Continue reading

Worship fall 2020: Acts of the apostles in a culture of change

September 1, 2020 / Rachel Redder / 0 Comments

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.

Holy Week and other updates – April 3

April 4, 2020 / Jen Boes / 0 Comments

Worship With Us

Palm Sunday

Worship Liturgy for In-Home Worship on Sunday, April 3

Pastor Ryan Boes
I Samuel 16:1-13; Matthew 21:1-11

We are doing something special for Palm Sunday! The sermon video will go live in a YouTube premier at 8:30am. This means that you can log on at that time and chat with others in real time as the sermon unfolds! If you begin the order of service at 8:10, you will find yourself at the sermon section at about the right time. See you Sunday!

Liturgy
Songs & Pastor Ryan’s Message (YouTube)

If your children would like to participate and engage by using the new children’s bulletin for Lent, it is attached HERE. We would love to see their work and possibly share it on our website and social media pages. If that’s okay with you, email us pictures to the church office.

Upcoming Services for Holy Week:

Holy Week: While we cannot gather in person this year for Holy Week devotions, the pastors will host Holy Week devotions by video chat at 7am every morning. Look for an email from your elder with the Zoom link.

For Maundy Thursday, we will be following an at-home liturgy, similar to our Sunday morning services during coronatide. Because of the importance of being physically gathered to celebrate the Lord’s Supper, this year we will focus on Christ’s washing of the disciples’ feet with a Liturgy of Washing.

Good Friday: We invite you to join us on Friday at 2:30pm on Facebook for a live worship stream to mark the last moments of Christ on the Cross. Through scripture, prayer, and mediation, we will remember and reflect on the crucifixion. The video of the worship will be uploaded so those unable to make it at 2:30pm can watch it later.

Grow With Us

God’s Big Easter Story: A Holy Week Journey for Families provides your family with a simple, meaningful way to grow in faith together as your children recall recent faith formation lesson and remember the events leading up to Jesus’ death and celebrate Jesus’ resurrection. Don’t forget to check out the Easy Extra Ideas at the end of the resource and send us your pictures of a LEGO creation that depicts the story of the day, your resurrection garden, mixing/baking/eating Hot Cross Buns, your Easter banner, or your family singing and signing an Easter song…

Serve With Us

Continue our tithes and offerings: The AACRC supports many organizations and missionaries that are being directly affected by this pandemic and it is through our offerings and tithes that we can continue to support ourselves and the ministries we are in partnership with. You can donate by mailing in a check, through My Well Giving online at www.mywell.org/give/aacrc, or by downloading the My Well Giving app. Thank you for continuing to support the good work of God through the Ann Arbor Christian Reformed Church.
Care for one another: COVID-19 affects those over 60 and those with health concerns most critically. Therefore, some have needed to distance themselves from others in this time. We’re looking for people willing to make a grocery run, pick up a prescription, or run an essential errand for those who are most at risk. You can sign up to be a helper by adding your name to the list found in your Connections electronic newsletter. If you have a need you would like assistance with, please contact a pastor or your elder.
UPDATE–Rotating Shelter: Our church building is continuing to be used to house 15 men from the Shelter Association of Washtenaw County while the health department works to secure hotel rooms for them. Rachel Bush is facilitating the ways in which AACRC can help. She has put together a SIGN UP for food donations. You will find directions in the sign-up for dropping off donations. If you would prefer to provide a financial donation, contact Rachel Bush for details. Finally, please pray. These men value your prayers and have felt your support throughout this uncertain time. Thank you for your continued generosity and flexibility!
Hope Clinic: Hope Clinic is committed to staying open during this time. Please consider their requests HERE. (Hope has two immediate needs: masks for the Dental Clinic and hand sanitizer for entrances, waiting rooms and the food program.) and drop off the items or volunteer your time to help those most affected by stoppages of school and work. If you are unable to personally get out but would like to make a cash donation, that is also welcome at this time!
Finally, the Red Cross is in need of blood as many blood drives have been cancelled. If you feel up to it, please contact the Red Cross and please consider donating blood to help with the shortage.

Tag: worship