March 2, 2017
The Church of the Covenant


Covenant Student Ministries would like to invite EVERYONE to stay  for a few minutes following the service as we take a picture to let the CWRU community know that they are welcome at Church of the Covenant. Similar to our picture with the #WeChooseWelcome banner we will take a picture as part of CWRU's  #YouAreWelcomeHereCWRU campaign to welcome international students. 

Join us immediately after worship  at the front of the sanctuary as we continue 
to show our neighborhood the ways we choose to be a welcoming community.

For more information please contact Kevin Lowry, Chaplain for Students at [email protected].



Worship for Sunday, March 5


"Lord, teach us how to pray." Jesus answers this request from his disciples with the words we now call the Lord's Prayer. What does this prayer reveal to us about the God Jesus tells us to address as "Our Father in heaven"? Join us for our first in a Lenten sermon series on the Lord's Prayer.  Scriptures are  Psalm 139:1-18  and Luke 11:1-13 Amy Starr Redwine's sermon is "God Revealed."  Tom Denbow is our Lay Worship Leader.  

Bulletins are generally available on line by Friday at CovenantWeb.org/read/listen.
Covenant Welcomes the Penn State Glee Club this Sunday

Music Notes: We welcome the Pennsylvania State University Glee Club to our service this Sunday as part of their winter performance tour. Founded in 1888, the Pennsylvania State University Glee Club is the oldest student organization at Penn State. The Glee Club has performed across the United States and overseas, including state and divisional conventions of NAfME and ACDA and tours of France, Wales, Trinidad and Tobago, New Zealand and Iceland. You can find out more information and purchase recordings of the Penn State Glee Club at pennstategleeclub.com

Christopher Kiver is director of choral activities at Pennsylvania State University where he directs the Concert Choir and Men's Glee Club, oversees the graduate choral conducting program and teaches classes in choral conducting and choral literature. He is founder and director of The Orpheus Singers and serves as Director of Music at the University Baptist and Brethren Church in State College. Kiver is a graduate of the University of London, Florida State University and the University of Michigan where he received the D.M.A. in choral conducting.   
Sunday Schedule for Covenant Youth
After hearing Kaori Hongo Moyer  last Sunday share her heart for the kids involvement in worship through learning, music, and fellowship, we welcome the children and youth to worship on Sunday morning. Check out their artistic worship space located in the sanctuary.

THIS SUNDAY, MARCH 5 
10:00-11:00 - Children/Youth in worship (Communion)
11:15-12:00 - Youth choir in Yost Chapel 
(after picking up a snack in the reception room)
 
Looking ahead: Youth Choir will sing the anthem next Sunday, March 12th.
Questions:  Email Mindy Stewart, Director of Family Ministries, at [email protected].
While all children are more than welcome to remain in the service, we have a nursery for infants through pre-kindergarten age children. Activities packets are available from the ushers.
Covenant Youth Host Ash Wednesday Dinner

Our youth hosted an Ash Wednesday pancake dinner with all donations supporting their summer mission experience.   Thank you to our youth, those who assisted them, and all who came to eat, with a special shout out to chefs Darrell Baum and Bill Braun.

In the Covenant Family
We keep in our prayers David Browne, Akeya Clark (Marie Jones' niece), Rich Day (friend of Bill Braun and Cathy Luck), Stephanie Johnson, Timothy Moyer (Jonathan Moyer's brother), Tim Shuckerow (Kathryn Mierke's friend), and Chris Warner (Kathryn Mierke's friend). We pray for Covenant members and friends who are struggling with illness, convalescing, or are homebound; the patients, family, and staff in our surrounding hospitals; and those who have placed prayer requests in our Carpenter's Box.

Our prayers are with David Marrapodi and his family on the death of his mother, Carmela Marrapodi, on February 23, in Beachwood, Ohio;  and with Jim and Stephanie Pennza on the death of Jim's stepmother, Carol Pennza, on February 25, in Cleveland.
 
Kevin Lowry is on paternity leave through March 10, with modified hours in the office. 

 
The Memorial Service for David Pulliam  is this Saturday, March 4, at 2:00 pm in the Covenant Sanctuary.   


The Memorial Service for Carmela Marrapodi is Saturday, March 11, at 2:00 pm in the Covenant Sanctuary. 
Bear one another's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
Galatians 6:2   
Exploring Membership
Convinced of God's grace, the Church of the Covenant seeks to: 
Be a welcoming spiritual home, Live God's inclusive love, 
Express Christ's compassion, Do justice in the world. 
Interested in learning about membership?
Join Amy Starr Redwine and other staff members this Sunday, March 5, at 11:45 am in the Herrick Room (second floor, top of the stairs) to learn about this particular community of faith and how we seek to serve one another and our community, and to meet others who are interested in joining the church. All are welcome -- attending the class does not obligate you to become a member but is recommended prior to joining.

Beginning Lent: Lenten Devotional and Meditation Class
During a recent staff meeting, someone shared how difficult it is to make time for God amid life's demands. Each one of us concurred. Fortunately, certain times of the church year offer us opportunities to start anew and recommit to a regular spiritual discipline of reflection and prayer. To help facilitate this during Lent, we have put together this devotional, a compilation of the 2016 evotionals (emailed weekly on Tuesdays). Our hope and prayer is that these reflections, images, prayers, and words of scripture will give you a simple way to connect with God each of the next forty-seven days, deepening your sense of God's presence and preparing you to receive the gift of resurrection at Easter. May the knowledge that Christ is risen, and creates beauty from ashes, be a source of strength and peace for you throughout this season of Lent.  
~ The Church of the Covenant Staff     
Christian Meditation Begins Saturday 
March 4-April 8, 4:00 pm, Beckwith Hall
Meditation has become mainstream, used in healthcare, exercise classes, workplaces, and other settings. Christian meditation has a rich tradition spanning nearly two thousand years. On Saturdays during Lent, we will explore the history and the practice of meditation. Facilitated by Amy Starr Redwine, all who attend will walk away with concrete tools to practice this ancient spiritual discipline.   Click here to register. 
Opportunities!
Habitat Home Dedication -  Saturday, March 4, 12:00 noon
10014 Sophia Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44104
This past year on three Saturdays Covenant volunteers were part of Habitat for Humanity's Apostle's Build efforts to rehab local homes.  The Chamonique home will be dedicated on March 4. See flyer.  Learn more about Chamonique and her son.

Covenant is again partnering with Habitat 
Thursday, April 6; Saturday, April 8, and Saturday, June 10.
Watch for sign up sheets in the Church Office.
Financial Peace University
Beginning Tuesday, March 7, 7:00 pm

Financial Peace University (FPU) is a life-changing money management class that will show you step-by-step how to take control of your money. Over the course of this nine week class you will learn practical ways on how to get out of debt and stay out; how to save for emergencies; and how to begin saving for retirement. It's never too late to start taking control. FPU is a unique and useful tool for anyone interested in taking control of their finances and truly achieving financial peace. Classes are Tuesday evenings, 7:00- 8:30 pm starting March 7.  Sign up at www.daveramsey.com/fpu/classes/1031074 or call the church office. Facilitated by Covenant members Susan and Will Klein. Talk with them or email [email protected] for more information. 


Linda Wilson announces retirement after 2018 Spring Semester.
The Saturday Tutoring Program Steering Committee is seeking participants to plan for future leadership. 
Contact John Marsh to learn more or call the Church office, 216.421.0482.

The Saturday Tutoring Program has developed and is sustained under the loving and dedicated management of Linda Wilson. During her 27th year Linda has advised us that she will be retiring from her position after the spring semester of 2018. We are very thankful to be receiving this news with enough time to plan for a transition of leadership for the Saturday Tutoring Program. The Saturday Tutoring Program is an important way the Covenant reaches out and ministers to its surrounding community. Does the mission of the Saturday Tutoring Program compel you?  The Saturday Tutoring Program Steering Committee is seeking participants who feel called to help plan to sustain this vital ministry.  READ MORE.   Learn more about the Saturday Tutoring Program
In the Community


Case Baroque Orchestra & Case Concert Choir Collaborative Concert
Friday, March 3, 8:00 pm at Church of the Covenant  
$5 General Admission | Students Free with ID
Tickets available at the door (free parking available).


Case Concert Choir: Dr. Matthew Garrett, director (Associate Director of Music at Covenant)
Baroque Orchestra: Dr. Julie Andrijeski, director
Also featuring Covenant's Music Department Intern, Abraham Ross

The CWRU Music Department presents the first-ever collaboration between the Case Baroque Orchestra and the Case Concert Choir! Our repertoire celebrates the British Monarchy, with organ selections by William Byrd and Samuel Sebastian Wesley, performed by Church of the Covenant's Music Department Intern Abraham Ross, and selections from Handel's  Ode for Saint Cecilia's Day , and Parry's coronation anthem  I Was Glad . Our program concludes with two of Handel's coronation anthems,  Let Thy Hand Be Strengthened and  Zadok the Priest . Join us as we explore the sound of this music with 18th  Century orchestral instruments and, in contrast, with Church of the Covenant's Newberry and Chancel organs.  music.case.edu
Dr. Nahida Halaby Gordon presenting readings from her book
Palestine Is Our Home: Voices of Loss, Courage, and Steadfastness

Saturday, March 4, 6:30 pm
West Shore Unitarian Universalist Church
20401 Hilliard Blvd, Rocky River, OH 44116
 
Sunday, March 6, 2:30 pm
Cleveland Heights-University Heights Public Library
2345 Lee Road, Cleveland Heights, Ohio 44118
 
Nahida Halaby Gordon, PhD, is Professor Emerita in Probability and Statistics at CWRU, a member of the Advocacy Committee for Racial Ethnic Concerns of the Presbyterian Church (USA), a member of the Interfaith Council for Peace in the Middle East, and a life-long Presbyterian and church Elder. Professor Gordon, a Palestinian-American, experienced firsthand the 1948 Palestinian Nakba. This book is an expression of her passion for peace and justice for the people of Palestine.
 
Sponsored by the Cleveland Peace Action Education Fund, West Shore Imagine Peace, Interfaith Peace Builders, and The Interfaith Council for Peace in the Middle East.  Contact Jeff Kassouf, 440-899-0101, for more information.

COTC logo
216.421.0482
11205 Euclid Avenue  Cleveland, OH 44106
Wheelchair accessible

Have items for the e-news? Something fun to share with the Covenant community?
Email    [email protected].  
Centered in the Circle - Open to the World