Rev. Betsy Aho, Associate Pastor Rev. Drew Filkins, Associate Pastor MAY 2018 Portal Monthly Newsletter of The Peoples Church, 200 W. Grand River Ave., East Lansing, MI 48823 l 517.332.5073 l ThePeoplesChurch.com The Peoples Church was awarded First Place honor and a new title of “The Biggest Loser,” awarded to us by the West Michigan Chapter of the US Green Building Coun- cil Battle of the Buildings Contest! We reduced our overall building energy usage last year by 11.15%, more than any other house of worship in the state thanks to the efforts of Andy Mayville and the Maintenance Staff, the Earth Steward- ship Committee and our new, energy effi- cient boilers made possible by you! In addition, the church also recieved En- ergy Star Certification by earning an En- ergy Performance Rating of 75% when compared to similar buildings. Numerous projects have been tackled to achieve the energy efficient status and title of The Biggest Loser. So what proj- ects were done to help reduce our overall building energy usage? Converting in- candecent lighting to LED, installing an electric vehicle charger, placing occupan- cy sensors in rooms, and setting outdoor lighting on timers are some examples of actions the church took to reduce our overall energy usage. Aged appliances were replaced with Energy Star Certified equipment. The church also leased off- site solar panels to reduce use of fossil fuels. Additionaly, hot water pumps were placed on a timer and windows were up- graded to high-performance glass. 2018 BATTLE OF THE BUILDINGS The Council of Elders voted unanimously to approve the Interim Search Committee’s recommendation for Interim Senior Pastor on April 24, 2018. Please join us in welcoming Rev. Cornelis H.J. Van Kempen! When someone asks Case Van Kempen if he was born in a barn, he always answers yes, and then says, “Only it was spelled differently.” Case was born in the town of Baarn, in the province of Utrecht, the Netherlands, emigrating to the United States as an infant with his family in 1956. Upon arriving in the states, his name was spelled differently, too. The nickname for Cornelis in Dutch is “Kees,” but at the westside terminals in Manhattan, this became “Case.” Case attended Seymour Christian School and Ottawa Hills High School in Grand Rapids, Michigan, then attended Hope College in Holland, graduating with a degree in philosophy in 1977. From there he went on to Wayne State University Law School. It was while there that he heard the call to ministry, and enrolled in Western Theological Seminary. Since Case had never intended to be a seminarian, he needed to take a crash course in Biblical Greek, which is where he met his wife, Leigh (Boelkins). She was also a student in the summer Greek course, and after a brief courtship, they were married in 1981. After graduating, Case and Leigh moved to the Clymer Hill Reformed Church in Clymer, New York, then to Union Reformed Church in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, and from there back to Holland, to serve the Maplewood Reformed Church. While in New Jersey, Leigh was ordained to chaplaincy, serving as the multi-faith chaplain for Northwest Bergen Hospice. She is currently the chaplain for the Resthaven Care Community in Holland, Michigan, a position she has held for 17 years. After ten years at Maplewood, Case took the training for interim ministry, and has served 15 different congregations in three different denominations all over the upper Midwest. He has also written several books and Bible study guides, all for Faith Alive Christian Publishing: Hard Questions People Ask About the Christian Faith; Daniel: Daring Faith for Dangerous Times; and I, II, III John: Living in the Light of Love. Case and Leigh have three adult children, all married, and four grandchil- dren. Case and Leigh make their home just south of Holland, Michigan, in Laketown Township. Rev. Van Kempen’s first service with us will be on Sunday, June 10, 2018 and he will begin full time on Monday, June 18, 2018. WELCOME REV. CASE VAN KEMPEN, INTERIM SENIOR PASTOR! “BIGGEST LOSER” AWARD
Transcript
Rev. Betsy Aho, Associate PastorRev. Drew Filkins, Associate Pastor
MAY 2018PortalMonthly Newsletter of The Peoples Church, 200 W. Grand River Ave., East Lansing, MI 48823 l 517.332.5073 l ThePeoplesChurch.com
The Peoples Church was awarded First Place honor and a new title of “The Biggest Loser,” awarded to us by the West Michigan Chapter of the US Green Building Coun-cil Battle of the Buildings Contest!
We reduced our overall building energy usage last year by 11.15%, more than any other house of worship in the state thanks to the efforts of Andy Mayville and the Maintenance Staff, the Earth Steward-ship Committee and our new, energy effi-cient boilers made possible by you!
In addition, the church also recieved En-ergy Star Certification by earning an En-ergy Performance Rating of 75% when compared to similar buildings.
Numerous projects have been tackled to achieve the energy efficient status and title of The Biggest Loser. So what proj-ects were done to help reduce our overall building energy usage? Converting in-candecent lighting to LED, installing an electric vehicle charger, placing occupan-cy sensors in rooms, and setting outdoor lighting on timers are some examples of actions the church took to reduce our overall energy usage. Aged appliances were replaced with Energy Star Certified equipment. The church also leased off-site solar panels to reduce use of fossil fuels. Additionaly, hot water pumps were placed on a timer and windows were up-graded to high-performance glass.
2018 BATTLE OF THE BUILDINGS
The Council of Elders voted unanimously to approve the Interim Search Committee’s recommendation for Interim Senior Pastor on April 24, 2018. Please join us in welcoming Rev. Cornelis H.J. Van Kempen!
When someone asks Case Van Kempen if he was born in a barn, he always answers yes, and then says, “Only it was spelled differently.” Case was born in the town of Baarn, in the province of Utrecht, the Netherlands, emigrating to the United States as an infant with his family in 1956. Upon arriving in the states, his name
was spelled differently, too. The nickname for Cornelis in Dutch is “Kees,” but at the westside terminals in Manhattan, this became “Case.”
Case attended Seymour Christian School and Ottawa Hills High School in Grand Rapids, Michigan, then attended Hope College in Holland, graduating with a degree in philosophy in 1977. From there he went on to Wayne State University Law School. It was while there that he heard the call to ministry, and enrolled in Western Theological Seminary.
Since Case had never intended to be a seminarian, he needed to take a crash course in Biblical Greek, which is where he met his wife, Leigh (Boelkins). She was also a student in the summer Greek course, and after a brief courtship, they were married in 1981.
After graduating, Case and Leigh moved to the Clymer Hill Reformed Church in Clymer, New York, then to Union Reformed Church in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, and from there back to Holland, to serve the Maplewood Reformed Church. While in New Jersey, Leigh was ordained to chaplaincy, serving as the multi-faith chaplain for Northwest Bergen Hospice. She is currently the chaplain for the Resthaven Care Community in Holland, Michigan, a position she has held for 17 years.
After ten years at Maplewood, Case took the training for interim ministry, and has served 15 different congregations in three different denominations all over the upper Midwest. He has also written several books and Bible study guides, all for Faith Alive Christian Publishing: Hard Questions People Ask About the Christian Faith; Daniel: Daring Faith for Dangerous Times; and I, II, III John: Living in the Light of Love.
Case and Leigh have three adult children, all married, and four grandchil-dren. Case and Leigh make their home just south of Holland, Michigan, in Laketown Township.
Rev. Van Kempen’s first service with us will be on Sunday, June 10, 2018 and he will begin full time on Monday, June 18, 2018.
WELCOME REV. CASE VAN KEMPEN,INTERIM SENIOR PASTOR!
“BIGGEST LOSER” AWARD
MAY BIRTHDAYS *80 & OVER
1- Luella Erbes 2- Douglas Pearson 5- Maxine Ferris 7- Cathleen Gardner 9- Albert Hafner16- Trish Larson16- Yvonne Hafner17- Sandra Wegenke18- Stewart SirLouis21- Eleanor Stubbs21- Elaine Mickelson22- Marion Heil24- Otto Stockmeyer30- Margie Kinzley31- Walter Wiedbrauk
MAY ANNIVERSARIES21- Dennis & Jan Cox (30)
If we missed you, please accept our apology. Contact the office to make sure we have your correct information on file.
by Dana Johnson, Director, Peoples Church Preschool Summer is almost here and if you haven’t already, it’s time to sign up for Peoples Church Preschool Summer Camp! There are two camps available: Junior Camp is for students who have completed kindergarten, first grade or second grade. Senior camp is for students who have completed third, fourth, fifth or sixth grade.
Campers can enroll for one day or 10 weeks, but reserve your days early to be sure there is still space available. Camp opens at 7:10 a.m. and ends at 5:45 p.m., but students may arrive and leave with parents at any time.
This summer all campers will enjoy:
Cooking with Ms. Gerri LynnWeekly field trips and/or Special Visitors
Lego/Robot engineering instructionBinder Park Zoo and Nature Centers
Keeping up with school work without realizing itSummer End Talent Show
East Lansing Aquatic CenterLazer Maze at Spare Time Bowling
Did you see how we snuck that 5th item in there? Also this year, students may enroll in on-site professional soccer instruction, on-site piano lessons or both! For more information, call Dana Johnson at 517.332.2885 or visit ThePeoplesChurch.com where you will find a Summer Camp application, Parent Fees Agreement, Res-ervation Schedule, Family Questionnaire and a Curriculum page.
I
MAY 5, 20184:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Snider Socal Hall
GAME NIGHT is back by popular demand!
Bring your games, family and friends for a night of gaming fun! A pizza and salad dinner will be served at 5:00 p.m.
SUMMER CAMP: NOW ENROLLING!
MUSIC SUNDAY!
Join us on Sunday, May 6, 2018, during the 10:30 a.m. worship service, for Music Sunday, as the Sanctuary Choir performs John Rutter's "Requiem." A beautiful arrangement full of sounds from instruments such as the organ, flute, oboe, cello, harp and percussion. See you there!
Join us each Sunday for interestingand informative “Voices of the Community” at 9:30 a.m. in the Robertson Room.
MAY 6MARK MEADOWS MAYOR, EAST LANSINGFuture of East Lansing
MAY 13ANDY PROVENZANO, METEROLOGIST, WILX-10Challenges of the Profession
MAY 20JENNIFER NAGEL,BOARD OF ELDERS CHAIR Issues Facing The Peoples Church
MAY 27NO FORUM MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND
CONNECT | GROW | SERVE | SHARE
READING PEOPLEThe next meeting for the Reading People will be held on Thursday, May 17, 2018, in the Robertson Room from 1:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. Judith Hardies will lead the discussion of the book, The Boys in the Boat, by Daniel James Brown.
DORCAS CIRCLE Dorcas Circle will meet on Tuesday, May 15, 2018, at 6:00 p.m. in the Rob-ertson Room for our annual potluck. Bring a dish to pass and enjoy food and fellowship. For more information, contact Phyllis Gaulden at 517.482.0930.
REBEKAH-HANNAH CIRCLE The next meeting for the Rebekah-Hannah Circle will be held on Wednesday, May 23, 2018 at 1:00 p.m. in the Robertson Room. Loretta Johnston will talk to us about the South Dakota Mission Trip.
2018 RIVER CLEAN UPThe Earth Stewardship Committee invites you to join them for the clean-up of the Red Cedar and Grand River banks. This annual event is sponsored by the Board of Water and Light and Impression 5 Museum. The river clean-up will take place on Saturday May 12, 2018, from 10:00 a.m. to noon. Teams will be de-ployed to various areas along the Red Cedar and Grand Rivers to pick up trash on the river banks and will not be in the water. Please contact Susan Kilmer, chair of Earth Stewardship, at [email protected] or Andy Mayville, Facility Director, at [email protected] if you are interested.
DONATIONS FOR THE PEOPLES CHURCH PRESCHOOLWe are looking for items to enhance our curriculum! Does your home or office create scrap paper? If so, please consider donating it to the Preschool. We also collect any old keys or key fobs; clean, but used towels; art supplies; or nature items. Donations can be dropped off in the Preschool or Church office and we can provide you with a donation receipt for tax purposes if requested.
ONE GREAT HOUR OF SHARINGOn May 13, 2018, the Community Engagement Ministry will invite participation in a special offering for One Great Hour of Sharing. By combining the gifts of our congregation with others across our state, nation and world, gifts of any size are able to have a big impact! OGHS supports disaster, refugee and development activities across the globe and is a ministry of the United Church of Christ. Learn more at ucc.org/oghs Together we can accomplish more than we can imagine!
Judie Mirabelli-Migaldi, Preschool 2 Teacher, for her 12 years of service with The Peoples Church Preschool. Thank you!
FROM OUR KITCHEN TO YOURS RECIPES BY GERRI LYNNGerri Lynn Nichols, our talented Hospitality Coordinator, will be sharing a recipe with us each month. Enjoy!
SPAGHETTI SAUCE (makes 8 servings)
INGREDIENTS:2 Tbs. Olive Oil1 cup diced white onion1 Tbs. minced garlic½ cup green pepper, finely diced6 Roma tomatoes, diced1 cup vegetable stock½ quart crushed tomatoes1 quart tomato sauce2 cups tomato paste1 Tbs. sugar½ cup fresh parsley, finely chopped1/4 cup fresh Basil, finely sliced (1 Tbs. dried)¼ cup fresh Oregano, sliced (1 Tbs. dried)2 bay Leaves (remove before serving)
DIRECTIONS:In a large sauce pan, sauté onions in olive oil until tender. Add the remaining ingredients & bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 2 hours, stirring occasionally, uncover & cook one more hour.Discard bay leaves. Serve with cooked spaghetti & Parmesan Cheese, if desired.
Browned ground beef or Italian sausage can be added to the cooked sauce if desired. The sauce also freezes well.
SEXUAL ASSAULT COMMITTEEMuch has recently come to light that is impacting the MSU community and the great-er Lansing community that surrounds The Peoples Church. Brave women, inspired by the “Me Too” movement, have spoken up and others within the community have seen the strength of those around them. Members of our own church have been impacted as well and are speaking out. As we look around us and within, we consider, “What can The Peoples Church do to love with actions and truth?”
At the last Council of Elders meeting, it was decided to establish an Ad Hoc Sexual Assault Committee to determine what we can do as a church community. It is the council’s hope that this committee will provide guidance to the council and church staff. Just a few of the questions we hope to answer are: 1. What exactly are the needs in the community and how can we help? 2. What are the resources in the greater Lansing community to help victims? 3. What are other places of worship doing that has been successful? 4. How can we partner with community resources?
Please prayerfully consider if this is where you can serve. Whether you have profes-sional expertise or a heart for this issue we would encourage you to talk to Jennifer Nagel, Council Chair, or either Pastor Betsy Aho or Pastor Drew Filkins if you are able to give your time to this committee.
WHY, GOD?Suffering Through Cancer into Faithby Margaret C. Cupit and Edward Henderson
Margaret Cupit is a summa cum laude graduate of Rhodes Col-lege in Memphis, TN. She has been both a patient and student research intern at St. Jude
Children’s Research Hospital. She is now a student at Mayo Medical School with a specific interest in Pediatrics. Ed-ward Henderson is emeritus professor of philosophy of religion at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. He is Margaret’s loving Grandfather. At nineteen years of age Margaret was selected to spend the summer of her freshman year at Rhodes doing re-search at St Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Instead she found herself fighting a life-threatening form of pe-diatric cancer which turned into a year long treatment of aggressive chemo-therapy and surgery. Some suggest-ed to her that it was the ‘will of God’. She declined to take on that thought. Instead, she found comfort in journal-ing and engaged her grandfather in conversation regarding her anger, and seemingly dashed hopes. Eventual-ly her spiritual core found the divine, however not in ways she expected. Through her experiences and writing about them, she discovers that this in-teraction with her grandfather helps her evolve into a person of deep faith.
Her grandfather has selected and ar-ranged her journal entries and their faith conversations and has com-mented on them in order to bring out the spiritual dimensions of this jour-ney. Anyone who has ever asked the gut-wrenching question, “why me?” will be able to connect Margaret’s com-plex questions and Edwards disciplined religious knowledge leading the reader towards a sense of hope through God’s abundant generosity.
SUGGESTED READINGFROM THE LIBRARY COMMITTEE
CHILDREN’S CORNERby Julie Bills, Christian Education Director
We had a little class competition for Lent as we participated in a Change Drive for Nyaka Primary School. The kids were assigned to bring in different coins to bring in on different Sundays. I think they may have surprised themselves at what they accomplished because the kids brought in a grand total of $252.42 in six weeks! We celebrated with prizes for all and ice cream! The winning class received two prizes and they were the three and four year olds who knocked it out of the park with a total of $90.27! Thanks to the kids and their parents.
Don’t forget to sign your child up for Vacation Bible School this Summer! Check out the article about our Rolling River Rampage experience in this issue of the Portal. Email Julie Bills with any questions at: [email protected].
For the past several years, children from the Edgewood Village Community have joined The Peoples Church youngsters for the week-long daily Vacation Bible School held at the Woldumar Nature Center. That partnership continues this year when the church and nature center host the “Rolling River Rampage” from June 18th through the 22nd. Children from Kindergarten through fifth grade attend.
Vans will transport the Edgewood participants to the sessions. According to Lillian Holloway of the Edgewood staff, “The children look forward to the event every year and thoroughly enjoy the daily activities.”
There will be a lot to enjoy this year! Children will learn new music, act out Bible stories, make projects, have science lessons, play exciting games and learn about na-ture. Julie Bills, Children’s Christian Education Director, with The Peoples Church says, “Children will experience the ride of a lifetime with God as they venture through the Rolling River Rampage this summer. Along the river children will learn and discover that life with God is an adventure full of wonder and surprise and they can trust God to be with them through anything.”
Woldumar staff members, along with church staff and volunteers, will lead the learn-ers from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The experience is not only awesome for the children, but also a great opportunity for older students, including some previously from Edgewood, to serve as camp counselors and teaching assistants.
A future article in the Portal newsletter will document this year’s VBS attendance and the extent of volunteer participation.
Registration for this year’s Vacation Bi-ble School is going on now. Your child will experience the ride of a lifetime with God as they venture through the Rolling River Rampage this summer! Along the river, children will learn and discover that life with God is an ad-venture full of wonder and surprise, and that they can trust God to be with them through anything.
The Peoples Church and Woldumar Nature Center will host this Rolling River Rampage adventure, starting Monday, June 18, 2018 through Fri-day, June 22, 2018. There will be many activities for the children to be a part of such as learning new music, acting out Bible stories, making projects, sci-ence lessons, playing games, hiking, exploring, and learning about nature. The week is sure to be an exciting one!
To sign up, go to ThePeoplesChurch.com and click on the Rolling River Rampage image on the homepage. Contact Julie Bills at [email protected] with any questions.
6:30 p.m. - Yoga (Yellow Room, 3rd Floor) Adult Programming (Robertson Room) Middle School Youth Group (Youth Den)
ADULT EDUCATIONMay 2: A Discussion/Study St. John’s Bible Rev. Drew Filkins and Susan Reedy
May 9: Rumble in the Robertson Room Rev. Betsy Aho and Rev. Drew Filkins
May 16: No WNL! Summer sessions of WNL! resume on June 13, 2018
Sundays
9:30 a.m. Bible Exploration (Youth Den)
9:30 a.m. Confirmation Class for interested students in the Centennial Room
10:30 a.m. Worship for everyone
6:10 p.m. High School Choir Rehearsal (Youth Den)
PCYG UPDATE
The PCYG had an awesome time playing games this last month with our new Disci-ples and Dragons group (pictured here)! We meet again to play on May 6th and all mid-dle school and high school kids are welcome to join us! We also have a high school lock-in coming up on Friday, May 11th at 8:00 p.m. and we welcome anyone who is interested. We look forward to High School Senior Sun-day on May 20th! If you have a high school senior in your family, please email Joe at [email protected] so that we can celebrate all of their great work together!
PCYGPEOPLES CHURCH YOUTH GROUP
Wednesdays
5:30 p.m. Community Meal for everyone
6:00 p.m. Middle School Choir Rehearsal (Youth Den)
6:30 - 7:30 p.m. Middle School Youth Group (Youth Den)
9:30 a.m. Confirmation Class for interested students in the Centennial Room
10:30 a.m. Worship for everyone
6:10 p.m. High School Choir Rehearsal (Youth Den)
Wednesdays
5:30 p.m. Community Meal for everyone
6:00 p.m. Middle School Choir Rehearsal (Youth Den)
6:30 - 7:30 p.m. Middle School Youth Group (Youth Den)
On behalf of Rachell, Denali, and Bryce, I want to say thank you for the outstanding, heartfelt, and utterly memorable send off you provided our family. Your cards, kind words, and moments of reflection were beyond anything we ever could have anticipated. We are continuously blessed by your presence in our lives and offer prayers to God in thanksgiving for your partnership in ministry. Please keep our family in your prayers, just as we are praying for the continued success of The Peoples Church as you enter into this next exciting phase in ministry.
A special thank you to the Welcome Ministry for the after-church festivities, to the whole music depart-ment for the amazing selections during my final worship service, the staff for supporting us, and the whole congregation for your sincere well wishes and blessings. May the love of God surround you, the grace of Christ embrace you, and the power of the Holy Spirit bind us together as brothers and sisters in Christ, now and forevermore.
Peace and grace be with you,Pastor Andrew Pomerville
Presented by: The Women of Peoples Church & The Peoples Church Fishbach Library Committee
SATURDAY HOURS: 9:00 a.m. - *6:00 p.m. (*Book Sale ends at 5:00 p.m.)
SUNDAY HOURS: 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
JEWELRY & BOOKS2 SALES, 2 DAYS, 1 LOCATION
MAY 19-20, 2018
200 W. Grand River Ave.East Lansing MI 48823
517.332.5073ThePeoplesChurch.com
MAY 2018 PORTAL
NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONU.S. POSTAGE PAIDEAST LANSING, MI
