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Original Play at the Kent Theatre

May 25,26: Cedar Springs Players presents “Murder on the American Express” and original play by Scott Phillips. May 18, 19, 25, 26 at 7:30 p.m., May 20 at 3:00 pm at the Kent Theatre. #20,21

CS Historical Society’s Memorial Cemetery Walk

May 27: The Cedar Springs Historical Society is holding its 18th annual Memorial Cemetery Walk on Sunday, May 27th, at 2 pm to honor veterans of all wars. This years’ veterans will be Alfred Sliter, Civil War; Samuel Armstrong, Spanish/Philippine American War; Russell VanDore, World War I; Mark Wheeler, World War II; Don Miles, Korean War; Carl Straub, Vietnam War. Biographical and historical information will be presented at each gravesite. The Glen Hill Post of the American Legion honor guard will assist at the presentation. We will leave from the museum in Morley Park at 1:30 and return there for refreshments. In case of severe weather warnings we will cancel the event. In case of rain we will do the presentations in the museum. #20,21b

FREE Movie at Kent Theatre

May 29,30: En Gedi will present a FREE movie at the Kent Theatre, God’s Not Dead 2, on Tuesday, May 29th and Wednesday, May 30th both at 6:30 pm. The Christ-centered movie tells a story about high school history teacher Grace Wesley (Melissa Joan Hart) who is asked a question about Jesus in class, her response lands her in deep trouble. The ensuing epic court case could expel God from the classroom and the public square once and for all. God’s Not Dead 2 is a powerful call to action. #20,21b

Senior Lunch at Pine Grove Community Church

May 30: Pine Grove Senior Café would be honored for All Seniors age 60 and over to come celebrate our Veterans both those who are still here with us and those who have given the utmost; those who live on in our memory.  We would be honored to share a meal and memories with you as our guest.  We ask our guests who are Veterans to wear your colors.  Guests who wish to display memorabilia may do so.  At Noon Wednesday May the 30th in our Family Life Center on the North West corner of M-82 & Beech. #21

Reader’s Theatre at CS Library

May 31: Join the FUN with Actors del Arte Ensemble for their FREE popular Reader’s Theatre, Thursday, May 31st at 7 pm to be held in the Cedar Springs Library’s Community Room. The Actors will, present “Blade Runner” by Phillip Dick, based on his 1968 book, “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep,” a work of science fiction. Two of his other books were made into major motion pictures. #21

Classic Car Hop

June 1: Rockford Springs Community Church, 5815 – 14 Mile Rd. (about 2.5 miles east of US131) will host a Classic Car Hop on Friday, June 1st (Rain date is June 8), from 5:30 – 7:30pm. Cruise on over! Load up the family truck, van & grocery getter with your family friends and neighbors! Join us for great food and fellowship while you check out some cool classic cars, street rods and antique autos. Free will donations. Proceeds to benefit RSCC Youth Group trip to the RYS Convention in July. For more information call 616-696-3656. #21,22p

Sand Lake HS Alumni Banquet

June 9: The 126th  (1892-2018) Annual Sand Lake High School Alumni Banquet will be held on Saturday, June 9th at Resurrection Lutheran Church, Sand Lake. Social hour at 5 pm and dinner at 6 pm. The cost of the meal is $13.00. Open to anyone who attended Sand Lake Schools. Please RSVP by June 2 by calling your reservation in to Dave Groner 616-557-3098. #20-22p

Red Flannel Queen Pageant

June 10: Attention all young ladies living in, or attending school within, the Cedar Springs School District, including homeschoolers, who will be in the 11th grade in the 2018-19 school year. There will be a MANDATORY parent meeting for any young lady who would like to participate in the 2018 Red Flannel Pageant and her parent(s). The meeting will be Sunday, June 10th at 2 pm at the Springs Church (135 N. Grant St.). For more information or if there is a concern that you can’t make the meeting please contact pageant director Kaleigh Goehler directly at redflannelpageant@gmail.com. #19-23b

Sally Jo Lewis, age 71, of Cedar Springs, formerly of Vestaburg, passed away on Thursday, June 15, 2017 at her home in Cedar Springs, Michigan. Sally was born in Lansing, Michigan, the daughter of Donald F. and Marion Clara (Mulford) Price. She was raised in the Ionia area attending local public schools. Sally graduated from Cedar Springs in 1982. She married Jasper Lewis in Cedar Springs in 1982. Sally had many hobbies including Karaoke (she was known as the Karaoke Queen and Mustang Sally), fishing, picnics, visiting with family and friends, and she loved Elvis and country music. Sally was a member of Springs Church in Cedar Springs. Sally will be missed by her husband Jasper Lewis; three children Joseph A. (Stephanie) Price of Lansing, George J. (DeeAnna) Hinderline of Mt. Pleasant, and Mary (Robert Vansplinter) Woodard of Pierson; four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren; one sister Vicki Sue (Doug) Wagner of Lansing; four step-siblings Jackie Topper of Stanton, Dianne Greenhoe of Stanton, Bill (Darlene) Esch of Mount Pleasant, and Jeff Esch of Florida; and several nieces, nephews, friends, and church family. Sally was preceded in death by her parents Donald and Marion Price; two sons Matthew and Michael Hinderline; two brothers Barry and Larry Price; former husband George W. Hinderline; niece Melissa Price; and nephew Donald F. Misner. Funeral services for Sally will be held Sunday, June 25, 2017 at 2:00 p.m. with visitation one hour prior, at the Springs Church, 135 Grant St., Cedar Springs, Michigan, with Pastor Robert Jones officiating. The family will be accepting friends at visitation on Saturday, June 24, 2017 from 6:00 – 8:00 P.M. at Brigham Funeral Chapel in Lakeview, Michigan. A luncheon will follow the service at the church. A private burial will take place in Richland Township Cemetery the following day. Those wishing to contribute in Sally’s memory are asked to consider Community First Federal Credit Union Lakeview, Michigan, for Jasper Lewis.

Arrangements by Brigham Funeral Chapel, Lakeview

A stream of lime green T-shirts wove its way down through the heart of Cedar Springs on Saturday, June 14. Alpha Family Center held its first 5K LifeRun early with 12 runners participating, and 14 children taking part in the FunRun around the Skinner Field track. Then 180 walkers came out at 10 a.m. to celebrate Alpha’s 18^th Lifewalk!

Chris Anton, youth Pastor at The Springs Church, opened the fundraising event with a hearty welcome to everyone for taking time out to support life and to help this worthy cause. He gave the walk instructions, which included stopping at key places to pray for our area churches, schools, city hall, the police station and Alpha Family Center. He reminded everyone to return to Morley Park for a short time of fellowship and heart-felt prayer for the unborn.

The walkers returned to the park for a time of refreshment, door prizes, face painting, a clown, and a report that included the total amount raised this year, which was $11,300.

Lifewalk makes up a huge portion of Alpha’s operating expenses each year. Alpha helps over 100 families per month, and gives away 14,000 baby and maternity items per year. They also offer free pregnancy self-testing, parenting classes and support for abuse, miscarriage, post-abortion and sexual integrity classes.

Kim Ferguson shared her experience as a new peer counselor and the rewards she receives being a part of an organization making a difference in our community.

Jenn Anton, Alpha’s new Lifewalk Coordinator, shared the good news about abortions being down in the state of Michigan. Her closing prayer was for protection of unborn babies as colorful balloons filled the sky in memory of the 54,000 babies that have been aborted since abortion became legal in 1973.

If you didn’t get a chance to donate, you can contact Alpha Family Center at 616 696-2616, or donate at their website:  www.alphafamilycentercs.org.

Members of The Springs and Solon Center Wesleyan worked together on many projects Sunday, including planting flowers and weeding around signs.

By Judy Reed

Three church congregations proved last Sunday that worship doesn’t have to take place between four walls—and that serving and worshipping go hand in hand.

The Springs Church, 35 N. Grant Street, and Solon Center Wesleyan, located near the corner of Algoma and 19 Mile, met for a time of joint worship at Skinner Field Sunday, before heading out to serve the community. They sang with a praise team made up of members from both congregations, and then Springs Pastor Barry Briggs and Solon Center Pastor Tom Holloway gave the crowd of 300-plus a pep talk to help them get excited about the service projects they were about to undertake. The crowd then broke into groups to perform various tasks in the community. Members of Hillcrest Community Church also joined some of the teams.

Kids of all ages worked side by side with adults Sunday. Here, Wyatt Fisk washes a window. Photos courtesy of Solon Center Wesleyan.

The teams visited patients at Metron; did roadside cleanup; planted flowers; washed windows for customers at the Wesco gas stations in Cedar Springs and Sand Lake; worked at Alpha Family Center; visited Hope Network homes; built a sandbox for a family; handed out freezer pops to people; delivered cookies to businesses; prayed for the city government, schools, businesses, families; and more.

Kerr said that the kids in the family who received the sand box were really excited. “The team who built it said the kids were all smiles.”

While both churches have done similar days like this in the past with their own church, it was the first time they organized it as a joint effort

“I thought it went really well,” said Local missions Pastor Cherri’ Kerr, who has organized this event for The Springs for the last six years. “People were excited to go out and serve, and I got good reports back. Coming together with Solon was really neat.”

Holloway agreed. “The businesses were really thankful, and the churches working together worked out well. It was good to see the camaraderie, to see us united for a common vision,” he remarked. He also noted that it was the largest turnout they’ve had from their congregation in the five years they’ve done it.

Kerr said that the goal next year is to get more churches involved in the project.

Photo by R. Maurer

The Springs Church took their worship to the streets last Sunday—literally.

About 150 people participated in the church’s annual “Beyond the Walls” event, where the congregation leaves the walls of the building behind and reaches out to people in the community by serving.

Cherri’ Kerr, local missions pastor at The Springs, located at 135 N. Grant,  said the day is not about recruiting people to come to the church—it’s about serving others.

“We just want people to know that we are friendly and we care about them,” said Kerr. “But it’s also about discipleship. It gives people in the church an opportunity to be a part of the community and learn about their needs.”

The church started this outreach five years ago, and Kerr took over organizing it three years ago. She said that each year is different. “Each year I try to find more ways for people in the church to engage personally with people in the community,” she explained. “I want people to understand that our heart truly is to serve, to show the love of Christ. It’s really about learning to serve and love people sacrificially. We don’t expect anything in return.”

Photo by R. Maurer

This year the church had 14 teams for Beyond the Walls. Some of the projects included visiting and singing at Hope Network; fifth and six graders visiting patients at Metron; a team fixing a broken water fountain at Metron; a group delivering bags of groceries to people; a team doing yard work and washing windows at the Post; another group handing out water bottles on the White Pine Trail; others handing out grocery totes to people; individuals visiting the elderly at Mildred Houting in Sand Lake; a group handing out chips and pop; a team walking around the city and praying; and another picking up trash. A couple of other new fun projects included a money drop at a local grocery store, where the team dropped dollar bills in grocery carts for people, then went to the McDonald’s drive thru and passed them out, and a veterans fanfare, where people dressed in red, white and blue and stood at the Main and Muskegon Street intersection with signs that told people to honk if they love vets.  They reportedly had just under 4,000 honks. A couple of support teams stayed at the church and worked either caring for kids age 4 and under, or working in the kitchen to prepare lunch for the volunteers, and goody trays that were delivered to the city school, city hall and fire department on Monday.

After the event, the teams came back to the church to have lunch and talk about what they did. “I like it when I see something come out of it,” said Kerr. “When people understand it’s not just a one-day project.” She noted that several individuals made connections they plan to foster—such as visiting more often at Mildred Houting and Metron.

Kerr doesn’t yet have any specific plans for next year’s event.  “Every year I try to pay attention to what’s needed, and just trust that we’ll be where God wants us to be,” she explained.

Pastor Barry Briggs
The Springs Church
135 N. Grant, Cedar Springs

If someone were to ask you, “What’s the easiest thing to lose?” what would you say? My keys, my cell phone, the TV remote? Do you know what the easiest thing to lose is?  Your joy. You can lose it just like that. One phone call, an email, a letter, a conversation and boom – it’s gone.
David prayed this in Psalm 51:12a (NIV) “Restore to me the joy of Your salvation…”
He had lost the joy. Maybe you have too.  If so, God wants to restore your joy. And one of the quickest ways to get your joy back, believe it or not, is by spreading joy. You can actually restore your joy by spreading joy.
I heard about a guy this Christmas who paid off someone’s lay-a-way bill at Kmart.  They came to pick up their stuff and found out it was all paid for. I’m sure that spread the joy!  How fun would that have been for the person who received it, and for the person who did it? It inspired another guy who heard the story and he went and paid off $2000 worth of lay-a-way items for people!
Don’t just take and take and take.  Find some way in life to give something back.  That will restore your joy.
The Bible says this in Acts 20:35b (TEV) “There is more happiness in giving than in receiving.”
That’s absolutely true.  There’s more happiness in being the gift, than in getting a gift.  God says, “You need some joy?  Here’s what I want you to do, be the gift to someone this week. Spread some joy. Brighten up someone’s day.  It will brighten your day too.”
Here are 10 ways that you can spread joy this week:
1. Be positive.
With the down economy and bills falling behind this can be really tough to do; but being positive will encourage those around you and bring you joy in the process.
2. Smile at everyone you come in contact with.
Smiles are contagious! Someone can be going through a hard time, really discouraged, and you give them a big smile, and they can’t help but smile back. I love giving the gift of joy because this gift gets passed around so easily! Giving out smiles, looking people in the eye and being super friendly is something that we all are capable of doing.
3. Leave an encouraging sticky note on a few of your co-workers computers. Don’t sign it. Just do it.
4. Give a Thank You card to someone who has made a difference in your life.
5. Run errands for a new mom (or someone who is sick).
6. Say “Please” and “Thank you” – show sincere appreciation.
7. Invite a friend over for coffee or dessert.
8. Give kind words freely.
Honestly, after a day of “You didn’t accomplish this; and you got a D on that test; and your monthly projections were off by a long shot… blah, blah, blah…” we all need to hear something positive.
9. Thank our wonderful military personnel each and every time you see someone in uniform. Look them in the eyes and say “Thank you”.
10.    Write a note to your children expressing how proud you are of them.  Leave it on their pillow or in their lunch box.
There is something deep within us all that knows it is better to give than to receive.  There’s no joy like spreading joy! Start looking for opportunities to spread joy. When you do, you’ll see them pop up all over the place. This week do just one thing a day to spread the joy to the people around you. Each and every act of joy, regardless of what it is, will make a difference. It will give joy to others, and at the same time it will give joy to you.
You can make a difference!  The real question is—will you? How are you spreading joy?

This van slammed into a tree in the Springs Church parking lot Monday. Post photo by J. Reed.

A Sparta man suffered several injuries Monday his van ran into a tree off a church parking lot.
Thomas Brant, 67, of Sparta, was picking up a box of food in the Springs Church parking lot at 135 N. Grant in Cedar Springs Monday afternoon.
A budget rental truck was set up in the parking lot, and seniors were driving up to get their food. “He stopped to get his food, and then the van shot forward,” said witness Robert Wright, who was in line behind Brant. “He side swiped the trunk and ran into the tree.”
Cedar Springs Police Officer Chad Potts said that while leaning over to open the door, the victim’s foot may have slipped and hit the accelerator.
Brant was treated by Cedar Springs Fire and Rescue and transported to the hospital by Rockford Ambulance with a possible broken arm, dislocated shoulder, and burns on his face from the air bags being deployed.