Weekly E-pistle: 6th Sunday of Easter

5/6/2021

In This Week's E-Pistle, You Will Find:

This Sunday's Service Notes -- 6th Sunday of Easter: "Mother's Day Sunday"
Last Week's Service Video -- 5th Sunday of Easter: "The Vine and the Branches"
Global Pride Spiritual Summit, June 11-13
Saugatuck-Douglas Library "Unmask Project" Wants Your Selfie!
Run with Maude! Saturday, 11am
Leadership Kudos!
Pride Care-A-Van Coming on June 5 -- Start Your Planning!
Lakeshore Community Chorus - Spring Concert, June 6
Radar Hill Hiking Club Celebrating National Trails Day, June 5
Summerhouse Lavender Farm and Artz & Gardens Tour, May 8 & 9
Qigong Meetups Beginning Tuesdays in May, Location Changed
Friendship Hall News
Birthdays & Anniversaries, Prayer Requests, and Financial Stewardship

This Sunday's Service: "Mother's Day Sunday"

This Sunday, we honor mothers everywhere -- biological mothers, adoptive mothers, caregivers, and mentors. We also celebrate our Mother God; Mother Nature in all her glory; and the Divine Feminine within us, too. At our "Video Worship Service" this Sunday, we'll also hear an inspiring Progressive Christian message from Pastor Sal about John 15:9-17, in which Jesus instructs us to "love one another." Music: Peter Black, Nancy Plantinga & Friends.

Tune-in on Sunday at 10 AM via our Facebook page, YouTube channel, or here on our website.

Last Week's Online Service

In the gospel reading for the 5th Sunday of Easter, Jesus tells us that he is the vine and we are the branches. The Source of All Life flows through the vine and into the branches. The branches will not bear fruit if they are not connected to this Divine Flow. In our lives today, many of us block this flow with our negative thinking and thoughts of unworthiness. We have forgotten our connection to the Di-Vine. Please enjoy our "Video Worship Service" from last Sunday, as we did some spiritual pruning and allowed more of the Good to flow into our lives. Message: Pastor Sal. Music: Peter Black and Elizabeth Estes.
Click here to read, listen to, watch, and share Pastor Sal's Homily.

Global Pride Spiritual Summit: June 11 - 13

Our Pastor Sal is one of the ministers involved in the "Global Pride Summit" on June 11-13. This multiday virtual event will provide opportunities for engaging conversations, experiential activities, and deep connection time with each other and many inspiring teachers. Come for the great speakers and musicians then stay for in-depth personal exploration. To register and to learn more, please visit www.unityvillage.org/gpss.

Saugatuck-Douglas Library : "Unmasked"
Needs Your Phone Photos!

Photo by Max Rosero in Unsplash

Unmasked: Photographic Portraits After 2020 -- What better way to emerge from winter and the worst of COVID-19 than with a visual celebration of our community? That’s the aim of “Unmasked: Photographic Portraits After 2020,” a community generated exhibition of cell phone portraits, organized by the Saugatuck-Douglas District Library. All submissions will be displayed in their beautiful new space.

The Library is seeking many entries from everyone--all ages and all abilities. If you have a cell phone and a creative spirit, you are an artist! Portraits should feature your family, friends, neighbors and other members of our community. They can be in color or black and white.

Please send your best portrait(s) to [email protected]. Include your name, contact information and a brief description of your portrait(s). For more on this exhibition, click here to see this story at the Library's website.

Deadline for submissions is May 15, 2021.

Run with Maud, Saturday, 11am

Church member Star Huggett invites you to join the Holland Sunrise Movement on Saturday, May 8 at 11am for a socially-distanced run in solidarity with the #RunWithMaud campaign for justice, which is hosting virtual running events on May 8 and 9 for Ahmaud Arbery, a young black man shot and killed by a former cop in 2020 while he was jogging.

The run begins at Prospect Park in Holland. Photos and video of the event will be submitted to the larger organizations organizing this and used to gain publicity for the campaign! (There will be a 1-mile loop; participants can run/walk it as many or few times as they prefer.:).

Those who are unable to run but would like to help are encouraged to visit Linktr.ee/SunriseHolland and click on 'Donate to the #RunWithMaud Campaign' to help our movement out financially!

Here is the link to RSVP for the run!

Leadership Kudos!

Photo by Kiana Bosman on Unsplash

Thanks and Kudos to Max Brown, who is stepping down after two years running the Spring Street Men's Group. And Big thanks to Stan Greene and Mark Reiman, for stepping in to lead that group. Special thanks also go to Michael White, who has joined the Podcast effort with Chris Clark. Together, they make sure the podcast of Pastor Sal's homilies are posted each week. And we are still looking for someone to take on the leadership role of the Creation Justice Team. If you feel called to lead this dynamic group, contact Pastor Sal!

Pride Care-A-Van Coming on June 5! Start Your Planning!

The annual Community Pride event is scheduled for Saturday, June 5, at noon. Like last year, this year's Pride event will be a "Care-a-Van" Car Parade from Douglas to Saugatuck. Decorate your car for Pride and join in the parade! Route begins at the corner of Blue Star Hwy and Enterprise Drive, Douglas. Prizes will be given for best-decorated car! For more information, follow this event on the Community Pride Facebook page here.

The Pride Committee is also selling T-shirts for $25 apiece for sizes small to Extra large, and $30 for sizes 2X to 4X (please pre-order for smaller or larger sizes, deadline May 10). The color is Heather Blue. Ruth VandenBosch will manage the t-shirt sales and will have a total of 150 shirts available. For pre-orders, email Ruth at [email protected]. Small Pride flags (and snap-on car flags) are also available for sale.

Lakeshore Community Chorus - Spring Concert, June 6

Lakeshore Community Chorus is preparing their spring concert to premier online on Sunday, June 6, 2021 at 7 pm!! Many of our friends and church members will be performing! Follow them on their website or on Facebook for more information and links for tuning in!

Radar Hill Hiking Club Celebrating National Trails Day, June 5

Radar Hill Hiking Club is sponsoring a local observance of National Trails Day in the Saugatuck-Douglas-Laketown area on Saturday, June 5, 2021. Our goals are to inform residents and visitors about local hiking trails, and advocate for trails and conservation. For more information, follow this link to the Radar Hill website.

Summerhouse Lavender Farm and Artz & Gardens Tour, May 8 & 9

Join our church members, Carol Brown and Dan McGavin, at the Opening Weekend of their Summerhouse Lavender Farm in Fennville on May 8 and 9. Church member, Mike VerMerris, and other local artists will be showing and selling their art. It's always a lovely celebration of Creation and Spring. We hope you can enjoy it!

Qigong Meetups Beginning Tuesdays in May, Location Changed

Photo by Monica Leonardi, Unsplash

Church member, Gloria Larreau, has had such an outpouring of interest in the Qigong classes she has organized, that she has moved the class to the lawn behind the Retreat House, at the corner of Wall and Union in Douglas! The classes will be taught by Kat VanHammen and held Tuesdays at noon, beginning May 4. Classes are 50 minutes long. Donations accepted at the class. Dress comfortably.

This class combines Qigong (the underpinnings of Tai Chi), gentle yoga, and other movement practices to facilitate mindful awareness, stability, strength, and peace. Working with breath, movement, visualization, and meditation, we will explore both the physical and subtle workings of the BodyMind; calm and regulate the nervous system, and discover more of ourselves.

Friendship Hall News

Church Member Louise Kenny brought our attention to the Saugatuck-Douglas Library's Unmask project (see story above). Craig Drager and Ruth VandenBosch talked about the upcoming Pride Care-a-Van, scheduled for June 5, with lineup at 11am (see story above). We hope you plan to join in or watch and wave the cars on! There will be prizes! We learned more about church member Ann Hopkin's work at the Rescued Treasures Thrift Shop in South Haven, whose proceeds benefit the Al-Van Human Society. Discover more about this favorite South Haven Shopping experience here! Stan Greene and Mark Reiman announced the Men's Club meeting on Zoom. Reach out to Stan or Mark for those links. We learned that June 5, a busy day in the church life, will also be church member Lynn Snyder's 75th Birthday! What a good day to remember! Pastor Sal shared the sad news that Walt Lawrence, is currently in the hospital, suffering with double pneumonia. Please include him and his loved ones in your prayers.

Birthdays & Anniversaries

Photo by Mia Cambriello, Unsplash

May 11- Debra Carr, Jane & Jerry Coates, Ruth VandenBosch

Birthday and Anniversary cards are a great way we can continue to reach out to one another during this time. If you wish to mail a card to one of our church members, addresses can be found in our Church Directory. If you don't have a directory, please let us know, and we will email one to you.

Prayer Requests

Cole Hartman; Walt Lawrence; Shannon Connell; Dennis Konarski; Mike Sneedon (Peg and Jack Donohue's friend); John Leon (Marjorie Reiman's uncle); Marjorie Reiman; Pamela Chappell; Sandy Feldman; Tim Reineck, Matt Brazys, Suzanne Cook, and Ken Cassbon (friends of Pete Wehle and Pamela Chappell); Ronald Konarski; Richie Czarnowski (Mark Reiman's friend); Dale Lower; Sherri Kanten (Ruth VandenBosch's friend); Michael (a friend of Dan Mack's); Myron (Wendy Hamlin's grandson, Fred Hamilin's great-grandson); Chris Stuart (Virginia Stuart's sister-in-law); Darren Dixon (Beverly and Orie Hawkes' nephew); Mary Elizabeth Loudin (friend of Laurie VandenBeldt); Char Clausing (Nancy Plantinga's cousin); Chris Robinson (Peter and Kathleen Mueller's nephew); Gregg Kirchen (Sheryll and Greg VanPortfleet's friend); Daniel Ver Meulen (Susan Fleming's son); Marcia Sullivan (Jo Cooley's friend); Len Lynch (Kathleen Mueller's brother).

Financial Stewardship

May 2, 2021

Viewers for May 2 Online Service Videos: 894
Podcast listeners, year-to-date: 1,472

Online Donations: $2,704.51

Total: $2,704.51

Thank you!!

Your generous giving allows us to sustain our church community and our mission of service in the world. Please consider giving online, which is easily done by texting your donation amount to
844-931-2849, or sharing through the donate buttons on
Facebook or Instagram, or at our website.