Sunday, September 6, 2026, 9:30 am Pastor Jeff Vanderhooft will be leading our worship service. The Scripture Passage is Matthew 18:15-20 and the sermon title is “Living Faithfully Together.”
God’s Big Story, Our Calling Sunday, September 13, we will kickoff the next ministry year. Our theme for the year is God’s Big Story, Our Calling. During the year we will be going through the Bible, focusing on different parts of the story along the way, learning that God’s plan for his creation is our calling. We will see how God works through history to bring about his plan.
Each week, we are invited to read some Scripture passages before coming to worship on Sunday. These passages will allow us to read and reflect on the stories of Scripture before hearing the message. For Sunday, September 13, please read Genesis 1. Bookmarks with the readings through mid-November were placed in your mailbox. Additional copies are available here or on the Welcome Center.
Sunday Morning Volunteers
Nursery – Hollie Hirdes, Please sign up HERE to help
Little Lambs – Jen Kwekel, Braeden Agar, Annika Bolt
Coffee – Mary Leep, Ada Van Der Weide, Elaine VanEssen
Congregational Life
Office Hours: Office hours this week are Tuesday, 9am – 1pm, Wednesday and Thursday, 9am – 2pm.
Birthday Blessings – September! Let’s celebrate with our Covenant friends as they celebrate another year of God’s faithfulness and love!
Bob Theule - September 22
Church Picnic Join us for the Covenant Church picnic at Creekside Park after our morning worship service on Sunday, September 13. Hot dogs, condiments, lemonade, water, and FUN will be provided! Please register to let us know you are coming and if you can bring a side or dessert. We hope that you all will join us!
Diaper Drive Thank you, Covenant family, for your support of the diaper drive for Streams! You have responded and that is greatly appreciated. As is often the case, God has now provided us with an unexpected opportunity to raise the bar! The Deacons have been given an opportunity to purchase pallets of diapers for less than half of their typical retail price. We have taken a leap of faith and committed to this! As a result, we are asking you to alter your support for the diaper drive over the next few weeks in two ways. First, you are welcome to continue purchasing diapers and bring them to church. If you do, we ask that you focus on purchasing size 3. We are currently unable to get that size in bulk. Second, if you are able, cash donations would be helpful to offset the cost of the pallets. We have committed $1,700 for four pallets of diapers (sizes 4, 5, 6 and 7). For those of you interested in numbers, that is approximately 17,000 diapers at 10 cents per diaper. We have already received cash gifts of around $200 for this cause. As a result, we need to raise another $1,500 or so to offset the expense. If you can support this cause financially, please do so with cash or a check made out to Covenant CRC that is clearly marked “Diapers.” It will make a difference! Thank you! If you have any questions, please contact Tom Wolffis.
Registration Forms for Children and Student Ministries Students and parents, we are looking forward to the upcoming year of ministry at Covenant Church. To help us prepare, PLEASE fill out the 2026-2027 Children and Youth Registration Form. All students participating in children’s and student ministries need this form completed. This includes nursery, Little Lambs, Sunday School, GEMS, Discipleship Journey, Youth Group, and Cadets (at First Cutlerville CRC). You can find the form on the Sign-Up tab on the church app or by clicking HERE. Thank you for taking the time to fill this out before the ministry year begins!
FINANCIAL
Total Offering Received: $5,942
This week’s offering is for: Ministry Fund
Offering Schedule
September 6 - Ministry Fund
September 13 - Missions Fund
September 20 - Resonate Global Mission
September 27 - Benevolent Fund
Adult Discipleship
Higher Ground – Men’s Bible Study – We have wrapped up our meetings for this season, but we will plan to meet a handful of times over the summer for coffee, pie, or ice cream. Keep an eye out for meetup details in future News & Notes.
The Well – Tuesday Morning Women’s Bible Study – Our first meeting is Wednesday, September 22. Plan to join us for our study on good and evil. Have any questions about our group? Ask Dori Heerema.
Women in the Word – Thursday evening Women’s Bible Study – We hope you will consider joining us in the fall!
Youth Discipleship
Church Picnic Student Ministry Kick Off Gathering Students, join us for the Covenant Church picnic at Creekside Park after our morning worship service on Sunday, September 13. Hot dogs, condiments, lemonade, water, and FUN will be provided! During part of the picnic, youth group students and leaders will gather to go over expectations and talk about the upcoming youth group year. Please register for the picnic to let us know you are coming. We hope that you all will join us!
Please complete the youth registration form if you haven’t done so already. See the announcement above. 😉
Furniture Ministry
Don’t like to or can’t lift furniture but have a car and like to welcome people? Then we need YOU! We need a Gate Attendant for Saturday mornings starting right away. We hope to find at least 3 people who are interested so that we can rotate weeks. Please read the description of our Gate Attendant below and let us know if you can help!
Gate Attendant (Saturday Mornings from 9:45-11:00am) Your job will be to greet the clients and make sure they know how to get to the storage location once through the gate. We will provide you with the gate code and a simple training. The day before you are scheduled to work the gate, a list will be emailed/texted to you with a schedule of orders for the day. Please reach out to Kari Plaisier for more information or to sign up at (616) 262-1728 or kari.plaisier@covenant-crc.org
Please see the list below of the items we need this week:
Bath Towel Sets (body, hand, and face)
Glasses (Set of 4 or more)
Dishes (Set of 4 or more)
Silverware (Set of 4 or more)
This week we begin weekly packings and deliveries for students at Southwood. Right now, we have 75 students signed up to receive food bags.
Food Donations we are looking for:
Mac & Cheese Boxes
Tuna (4.5oz cans)
Chicken (4.5oz cans)
Pop Tarts
Nutri Grain Bars
Belvita Bars
Cheese Sandwich Crackers
Microwave Popcorn
Please place any food donations on the black cart in the narthex by Sunday, September 6.
Thank you!
Any questions? Ask Heidi Westra
Please pray for God to provide new volunteers to step forward and serve in the Kids Hope program. If you have one hour a week to give to mentor a student at Southwood Elementary or if you could be a Prayer Partner for one of our mentors, please talk to Amy Rottman.
Thank you for continuing to lift Streams’ neighbors, volunteers and staff in prayer. Pray that Streams would continue to be a place of hope, belonging, and tangible care, and that their volunteers and staff would be strengthened as they faithfully serve.
We are holding a diaper and wipe drive for Streams here at church. There is an urgent need in our community for diapers. We are collecting diaper donations of size 3, and monetary donations to help us purchase pallets of diapers in sizes 4, 5, 6, and 7. Please see announcement above from the Deacons for more information.
Prayer Requests
Do you have a prayer request or a praise / thank you? Call your Pastoral Elder or Pastoral Care Assistant, leave a message on the church office phone at (616) 455-5120, or send an email to prayer@covenant-crc.org.
Prayer Requests
Thank you, Covenant Church, for your part in making my 90th birthday very special. Love, Millie Scheltema
Thank you, Covenant Church, for a wonderful birthday celebration! I was blessed by your love expressed through the many cards that I received. Pastor Jeff
Prayer Requests
Marly Baar was transferred to Breton Woods Rehab where she will complete her rehab therapy. She will also go to dialysis treatments on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Please continue to pray for healing, strength, and patience for Marly and Clare. (Elder: VanderWeide)
Matthew Bakelaar signed, enlisted and was sworn into service in the United States Army in late May. He will be leaving Monday, September 7 for 20 weeks of basic training at Fort Benning in Georgia. He does not know where he will be going after he finishes basic training. Please pray for safety for Matthew throughout his training and his service career, pray for the emotional strength he will need to go through basic training and to serve in the military, and pray for the physical strength he will need to serve to the best of his abilities. (Elder: Brinks)
Elaine VanEssen is asking for prayers for her son David. He had successful mitral valve replacement surgery and is making progress. Please give thanks that his valve repair was successful and pray for healing and God's peace to continue to surround Elaine, David, and their family. (Elder: Kruithof)
Click HERE for the September Prayer Newsletter
Please Continue to Pray For
From Cheri DeHaan: Thank you again for all the cards, phone calls, texts, and encouraging words. You are all a blessing! I have been experiencing some abdominal difficulties and had a CT scan this past week. Please pray for peace and clarity in the upcoming decisions that will need to be made. We are grateful that God is walking side by side with us. Please pray for good results from the CT scan, for healing, and for God's peace to continue to surround Cheri, Larry, and their family. (Elder: DeVries)
Deb DeKam’s recovery and therapy are going well and she is making progress. Give thanks to God for the healing she has received so far and pray for continued and complete healing and strength. (Elder: Jammal)
Dave Scheltema has moved to Railside Assisted Living. The family appreciates your prayers for the transition, that Dave and Marcia adjust to the changes, for continued healing and encouragement, and for God’s comfort and grace to surround them during this time. (Elder: Vander Weide)
Gord VanderArk had gall bladder surgery last week. Please give thanks for successful surgery and pray for complete healing. (Elder: Kruithof)
Please continue to pray for Ann Cool. She is continuing to struggle with heart and blood pressure issues. Her husband is still struggling with health issues as well. Please pray for them, that God gives them the healing and strength they need to face each day. (Elder: Brinks)
Click HERE for the September Prayer Newsletter
Please Pray for Our Missionaries
We support several missionaries and mission groups who serve in the United States and in other countries. Through our prayers and gifts, we help them bring the gospel of Jesus Christ to people throughout the world.
Click here to see information from our missionaries on the website.
Covenant Council Corner
Council Members
Chair of Council: Jaci Lubbers
Vice-chair of Council: Michelle Vonk
Clerk of Council: Dave Geldersma
Chair of Pastoral Elders: Matt Brinks
Chair of Deacons: Tom Wolffis
Council
Administrative Elders
Pastoral Elders
Deacons
Mission Team
Click HERE for Archived Minutes