Sunday, November 8, 2026, 9:30 am Pastor Jeff Vanderhooft will be leading our worship service today. The sermon title is “Unexpected Again” and the Scripture passage is 1 Samuel 16:1-13. We are invited to read 1 Samuel 8 - 17 in preparation for worship. We will celebrate the baptism of Margo Diane Theule, daughter of Joel and Keagan Theule this morning.
God’s Big Story, Our Calling Our theme for this ministry 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 selected Scripture passages in preparation for worship on Sunday. These passages will allow us to read and reflect on the stories of Scripture before hearing the message. For Sunday, November 15, please read Isaiah 7:14, 9:6-7, 11:1-2, 42:1-4, 53:3-5 and 28:16 and Ezekiel 34:23-24 and 37:15-28.
Sunday Morning Volunteers
Nursery – Please sign up HERE to help
Little Lambs – Kim DeVries, Colin DeVries, Gloriana Bulthuis
Coffee – Doug & Anne Maranda
Congregational Life
Office Hours Office hours this week are Tuesday – Thursday, 9am – 2pm.
Birthday Blessings – November! Let’s celebrate with our Covenant friends as they celebrate another year of God’s faithfulness and love!
Gord VanderArk - November 3
Norma Douma - November 5
Shirley Vink - November 20
Things Coming Up This Week
November 8 - Worship Service, 9:30am
Sunday School & Discipleship Journey, 10:30am
Adult Discipleship Journey, 10:45am
November 9 - Higher Ground, 7:15pm
November 10 - The Well, 9:30am
November 12 - Shofar Brass, 7pm
Thanksgiving Eve Please join us for our Thanksgiving Eve worship service at 6:30pm on Wednesday, November 25.
Thanksgiving Challenge The Thanksgiving Challenge is here! What is it? Info and details can be found in your church mailbox or by clicking HERE. How are you going to participate in the Thanksgiving Challenge between now and our Thanksgiving Eve service on Wednesday, November 25, at 6:30 PM?
Christmas Cards for our Missionaries There is a table set up in the narthex with a basket to collect cards for each of our missionaries. If you would like to send them a card, please place the card in the appropriate basket. Cards will be collected through November 22. Join us in blessing our missionaries in this way!
Service Saturday November 14 Each fall, Volunteers in Service gets hundreds of requests from people in our community who need help cleaning up their leaves. On Saturday, November 14, we will help with a portion of these requests and perform some fall clean-up work for neighbors who need assistance with this task. To help us plan accordingly and determine how many projects we can help with, please sign up HERE (or on the church app) to let us know that you will join us on SERVICE SATURDAY. We will meet at Covenant Church at 9:00 AM on November 14. Please bring a rake and gloves. We hope to see you there!
Neighborhood Community Building Gatherings Join us this fall on the 4th Sunday afternoon of the month from 4:00 – 6:00pm for a variety of different community building gatherings.
In November, we are hosting a Movie Night at church at 4:00 – 6:00 pm on Sunday November 22. We will be watching the movie “David.” The purpose of these community building gatherings is to combat isolation and loneliness in our neighborhoods and communities by replacing these with friendship and community. We seek to honor God’s command to love our neighbor as our self. These community building gatherings are open to everyone! Bring a neighbor. Meet a neighbor.
For more information about these gatherings, please visit: https://www.covenant-crc.org/on-the-lawn
FINANCIAL
Total Offering Received: $20,021
This week’s offering is for: Streams
Offering Schedule
November 1 - Ministry Fund
November 8 - Streams
November 15 - Benevolent Fund
November 22 - Mission Fund
November 25 - Giver’s Choice
November 29 - Volunteers in Service
Adult Discipleship
Higher Ground – Men’s Bible Study – We meet on Monday evenings at 7:15 in the Covenant Room and plan to study The Chosen, Season 5. If you have any questions, please ask Brad Patterson. Hope to see you there!
The Well – Tuesday Morning Women’s Bible Study – We meet Tuesday mornings at 9:30am in the Covenant Room. We are starting our new book on Good and Evil. Have any questions about our group? Ask Dori Heerema.
Women in the Word – Tuesday or Thursday evening Women’s Bible Study – This fall, we will be studying Blessed: Experiencing the Promise of the Book of Revelation by Nancy Guthrie. Our next meeting will be Thursday, November 19 at 7pm. All women are welcome and we hope you will join us! Contact Kim DeVries with any questions.
Youth Discipleship
Service Saturday November 14 Service Saturday is coming. Details and sign-up can be found HERE (or on the church app). Please sign up to help us determine how many projects we can do.
Youth Group Gathering Our next youth group gathering is Sunday, November 15, 2026, from 4-6pm at Covenant Church. Join us for group games, discipleship time, small groups, and dinner. We hope to see you there!
Youth Group Dinners Each year, we invite youth group parents to sign up to help prepare one of the dinners at our youth group gatherings. We use Sign Up Genius for this. If you would like to help, click HERE or look on the sign-up tab on the church app for the link to sign up. Thank you in advance for helping out with one of these meals.
Youth Group Fall 2026 Schedule Students and parents; a youth group fall schedule is available on the Covenant Church app calendar and on the youth group webpage: https://www.covenant-crc.org/youth-group
Furniture Ministry
Thank you for your continued support of the Furniture Ministry!
Please see the list below of the items we need this week:
Cooking Utensils
Silverware (set of 4 or more)
Dishes (sets of 4 or more)
Baking Pans (8×8, 9×13, round)
Bed Pillows
Coffemaker
Hand Mixer
Full or Queen Sheet Sets (can be used but please wash and put in a bag, labeled with the size)
Toaster
Pots/Pans
Bed Pillows
Items we are looking for in the Thanksgiving Challenge:
Fruit Cups in 100% Fruit Juice
Mac & Cheese Boxes
Meat Sticks (Individually Wrapped)
Ravioli Cans / Spaghetti & Meatball Cans (any type of pasta in a can like Chef Boyardee)
Peanut Butter Sandwich Crackers
Cheese Sandwich Crackers
Salted Peanut/Trail Mix Pouches
Individual bags of Animal Crackers, Goldfish Crackers, Cheese It Crackers
Please bring your Thanksgiving Challenge items to church with you to our Thanksgiving Eve service on Wednesday, November 25 at 6:30pm.
Any questions? Ask Heidi Westra
Please pray as students and mentors begin meeting together soon. Pray that their first meeting(s) together this school year go well. Pray for calm nerves and for a good time together!
Streams is still looking for Tuesday evening warehouse help from 5:30 - 8:15pm during Food Center open hours. Tasks include breaking down boxes, restocking produce as needed, and interacting with volunteers and neighbors. They are also looking for tutors who are or have been certified to teach in Michigan. They have students on a waiting list for a tutor. Email sue@streams.org for more information or to sign up to help.
The night after Giving Tuesday, Streams invites us to join them in gathering across churches as one body to give thanks for what God is doing in our neighborhood and pray for Christ’s Kingdom to continue bringing hope, healing and abundance here. We’ll begin with dessert and conversation, then pray together, including a walk through Streams. Come participate, bring a friend or church team, or consider partnering with us by hosting a prayer station. Email Nate at Streams if you’d like to attend. Click HERE to learn more.
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.
Praise / Thank You
On behalf of Marly and myself, I want to express our deep gratitude to the many wonderful members of this congregation for the love and support you gave us with your prayers, cards, and words of support after her fall and then again after her passing into glory. For your many expressions of encouragement, comfort, and peace, I thank you. Clare Baar (Elder: Vander Weide)
Prayer Requests
Virginia Huizinga’s health is declining rapidly. Please pray for God’s comfort and peace to surround Virigina and her family during this time. (Elder: Kruithof)
Karrie Noble was diagnosed with severe spinal stenosis. She will begin epidural injections next week and will see a back surgeon in the near future. Please pray for pain relief and healing for Karrie. (Elder: Kruithof)
We express our sympathy to Jairo and Kelly Solano, our missionaries in Nicaragua, in the sudden passing of Kelly's brother, Ryan Kuipers. Visitation will be held on Sunday, November 8 from 4-7pm at Roth-Gerst Funeral Home, 305 N. Hudson St, Lowell, MI. A Celebration of Life will be held on Monday, November 9 at 1pm at Impact Church, 11840 Fulton St E, Lowell, MI. Please pray for God's comfort and peace to surround Jairo, Kelly, Ryan's daughter Paisley, and the rest of their family during this time.
Stephanie Tromp was scheduled to have eye surgery on Friday. Please pray that her surgery went well, for no complications and for complete healing. (Elder: Brinks)
Please Continue to Pray For
Please continue to pray for Matthew Bakelaar as he is at basic training. He is doing well, but craving connections to back home. He misses us here at Covenant and would love to hear from any/all of us. Please make sure to only send letters, no packages or cards. His mailing address is:
PVT Bakelaar, Matthew, RN #106
Alpha Company, 3rd Battalion, 54th Infantry Regiment
5550 Leonard DR Building 3105
Fort Benning, GA 31905
Greg Vander Wal returned home last week after a hospital stay and rehabilitation. Give thanks to our God for the healing He has given. Thank you to the Covenant congregation for your prayers. (Elder: Hirdes)
Pastor Jeff is continuing to receive radiation treatments. Please pray that these treatments are successful, for minimal side effects, for healing and for God’s peace to surround him, Tammy, and their family. (Elder: Hirdes)
We express our sympathy to Ann Cool Wellman and her husband Robert in the passing of her mother-in-law, Esther Wellman. A graveside service will be held in Big Rapids on Saturday, November 21. Please pray for God's comfort and peace to surround Ann, Robert, and their family during this time. (Elder: Brinks)Click HERE for the November 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.
Requested Announcements
Veterans Day Assembly Do you have a veteran in your family or know someone who has served our country? We would love to have you join us for South Christians’ Veterans Day Assembly on Wednesday, November 11, at 9:00 am. This special gathering brings together our students, families, and community as we take time to honor and thank those who have served in the U.S. military and remember the freedoms we are privileged to enjoy. All veterans and community members are warmly invited to attend!
Classis Grand Rapids South Thanksgiving Prayer Service On Thursday, November 19, from 12:00-12:45 pm, all are invited to join others from our Classis to meet at Discovery CRC (7245 Eastern Ave. SE) for a Thanksgiving prayer service. We will pray in small groups, using words from Psalm 34 to guide our prayers as we give thanks to the Lord for his many blessings.
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
September 2026
August 2026
July 2026
Administrative Elders
September 2026
August 2026
July 2026
Pastoral Elders
October 2026
September 2026
August 2026
July 2026
Deacons
August 2026
July 2026
Mission Team
October 2026
July 2026
Click HERE for Archived Minutes