Greetings!
Yes it’s true…. We are resuming in-person worship, starting on Sunday, June 6! Hooray! Thanks be to God.
I’m very excited to be together, to sing and pray and connect with God in the sanctuary, to see each other, even with masks on. Space is limited so sign up soon; see info below.
For those who aren’t quite ready for in-person worship, we are continuing with pre-recorded worship videos, until we are ready to have livestream worship videos.
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Our June worship theme is “Celebrate Church: Better Together,” and we’ll be thinking about (and celebrating!) all the ways we need each other for faithful living.
Covid has taken a huge toll on us—physically, emotionally, and even spiritually. Some of us are weary and some of us are really struggling. Some of us have gotten out of the habit of worship, or prayer, or listening for God’s call.
As in-person worship resumes and as other church activities slowly and safely resume, I hope this will be a time of newfound appreciation for God, for Christian faith, and for our church community. I hope this can be a time of renewal for each of us, listening anew for God’s call in life.
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I spent five days this week up in Door County, participating in an online conference for pastors, called the Festival of Homiletics. I feel blessed by the words of Brian McLaren, Michael Curry, Diana Butler Bass, Otis Moss, and others. Along with four hours a day of online worship and workshops, I read some books, wrote in my journal, reconnected with some seminary friends via Zoom, and made my first-ever mosaic.
And I feel blessed to have had time to bike and hike each day before the 11am start time. I saw beautiful coastlines, lots of cherry blossoms, lighthouses, farms, and even a couple of snakes! Click on the sunset photo to see more.
I’m grateful for some time to renew and refresh and to hear anew God’s call to be a Christian and to be a pastor.
I hope you find some time and space for renewal this summer, and I hope you do whatever you need to do to hear again God’s call in your life to live with purpose and love.
On the journey, apart but together,
Charlie
PS--I hope to see you in person, in the parking lot, this Sunday, May 23, for our Pentecost worship service. Sign up with link below, and wear something RED!
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IN-PERSON WORSHIP RESUMES
Sunday, June 6
With seating limited to 85 people per service, we are returning to in-person worship! Please sign up HERE to worship with us in the sanctuary on June 6 at 9:00 am or 10:30 am. Online worship videos will continue to be offered. Read our guidelines for in-person worship HERE.
A Family Worship Bag will be available for families with children aged 3 years to 5th grade.
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Grounds Clean-Up Day TOMORROW, Saturday, May 22
May 22nd is Grounds Clean-Up Day at Covenant! Please bring your gardening and pruning equipment and help us to make the grounds look beautiful again, from 9:00am-12:00pm. Donuts and water provided.
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Pentecost Worship in the Parking Lot
Sunday, May 23 at 9:30 am
Join us for in-person worship on Pentecost Sunday, rain or shine! Covenant member Craig Wilson will be flying kites. Please wear red!
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Pentecost Offering
40% of the funds raised through our Pentecost Offering will benefit our local mission partner, Briarpatch Youth Services, which offers a broad array of services to runaway, homeless, and at-risk youth ages 12-17.
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Show your Covenant pride! |
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Use this link to order a Covenant t-shirt by Sunday, June 6. Payment is to be made when you receive your order.
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Photos from Drive-Thru Donuts + Heifer International Celebration
Our Drive-Thru Donuts + Heifer International Celebration was great fun! Covenant members raised $4,178.18 for Heifer International's important work!
In addition to coins and donuts, we shared some pretty great animal jokes:
- Where do sheep go on vacation? The Baaaahamas.
- What do you call a sad cow? Mooo-dy.
- What do you call a cow in an earthquake? A milkshake.
- What's a chicken's favorite instrument? Anything with drumsticks.
- What is the quietest animal on a farm? A shhhhheep.
- What instrument does a sheep like to play? A tube-baaa.
- How do you know which cow is the best dancer? The one with the best moo-ves!
Click the photo to see our Google photo album.
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Middle School Youth Connection
Our Middle School Youth Connection had a great time playing "foot golf" at Vitense last weekend! It was a great way to connect in person in the great outdoors, and have some ice cream to top it off!
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IMPORTANT NOTES for Adult Ed:
- TIME CHANGE: Adult Ed will meet at 11:15 on Sunday, May 23.
- The adult education class scheduled for Sunday, May 16 has been moved to Sunday, May 30 at 10:00 am.
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Adult Education May 23: Helen Bradley of the Madison BCycle Program
TIME CHANGE: This class will meet at 11:15.
Helen joined Madison BCycle in 2020. In her role as GM, she works to find creative partnerships with businesses, municipalities and community groups that will help strengthen and grow the Madison BCycle network. With a strong focus on increasing access to bikeshare, Helen is eager to dig in and show the positive impact that bikeshare can have. Helen has over 12 years of marketing and sales experience and is a current board member of Madison Bikes. Before joining the Trek team, Helen was a BCycle member for over 5 years and knows first-hand the benefits biking can have on one’s physical and mental health, the positive environmental impacts biking has by offsetting carbon emissions and also the independence and confidence that riding a bike can provide.
This class will meet at 11:15 am via Zoom.
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Virtual Worship for Sunday, May 23
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Click HERE to sign up for parking lot worship this Sunday!
- Pentecost Sunday
- Jeff Fox-Kline preaching on Acts 2, "Happy Birthday!"
- Children's Time with Donna Monson
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Follow our blog to read Pastor Jeff's weekly reflections.
We will premiere the worship service on Facebook at 9:00 am on Sunday.
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