Greetings!
In thirty-plus years as a pastor, I have spoken in churches about offering our financial gifts to God hundreds of times. Last Sunday was the first time I heard a round of applause when I finished.
At our Ukrainian benefit concert, last Sunday afternoon, we were blessed with the music of the bandura, a fascinating Ukrainian stringed instrument at our benefit concert.

Click on the photo to hear the bandura piece played for the encore, and after a minute or two, you’ll hear a familiar tune. (You can watch the entire concert on that same Youtube.)

Together with musicians from several Presbyterian churches, we had 80 minutes of wonderful music. Huge thanks to Melissa Hinz and all the musicians.

News 3 Now (Channel 3 News in Madison) was even here to cover the concert! See their coverage HERE.
My one and only task at the concert was to speak about the offering, near the end of the event. Before I spoke, we showed a three minute video, “I Am Ukraine.” Watch below.
After the video, I began telling people that the offering would be split evenly between Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) and Wisconsin Ukrainians Inc.

As I spoke I started to get choked up, realizing inside that if we lived in Ukraine, my 19 and 21-year-old sons would NOT be in college and having fun with their friends. After I finished inviting people to give generously, there was applause.

As of Thursday, we’ve received over $12,000, with more on the way. If you want to contribute, it’s not too late! Click HERE or contact the church office.

That concert wasn’t the only act of generosity over the weekend.

Last Saturday, about 25 Covenant people joined with others to bike, run, and walk to support the Boys and Girls Club of Dane County. Covenant people raised over $10,000, led by teenager Caroline Girard, who walked 50 kilometers (that’s 31 miles!) and raised $1,285 for the BGC on Saturday, July 9, along with several others.
To see more photos from the day, click on our group photo above --most of the group anyway...! Also included are some photos from the 50k walk and Black history tour from July 9.

As wonderfully as those two events reflect the generosity of Covenant people, I was most grateful for a conversation on Sunday with a ten year old from Covenant, who wanted to give $50 to either Ukraine or a pet-related charity. (I'm curious what they decided!)

How great that the young people at Covenant see so much generosity and that it is inspiring them to be generous.

While I am grateful for our generosity toward these and other special offerings, please remember that your undesignated giving to our operating budget is vital to our collective success. Supporting the church with a pledge or regular gifts facilitates our worship, our expanding technological reach, our evolving children’s and youth ministries, our caregiving, and connections with partners like the BGC and PDA.

God has been generous with us, so we respond with generosity toward each other.

With gratitude,
Charlie Berthoud, Pastor
  • Jo Wiersema preaching: "Childlike Faith" (Luke 18:15-17)
  • Weekly Memory Verse
  • Eric Girard shares his Summer School initiative experience
  • Music from Ben Welch
  • Children's Time with Nick & Claire Von Bergen
  • Kaleidoscope Kids during worship following Children's Time
  • In-Person and Livestream worship at 9:30am (ONE SERVICE)
  • Visit our Worship HQ for everything you need to worship with us online!

If you missed a service or would like to watch a service again, all livestreamed services are saved to our YouTube channel. Or you can give the sermons another listen on our sermon podcast!
Join us for our next Spiritual Stroll THIS SUNDAY! Join family and friends from the church for a stroll through Hoyt Park, which is located at 3902 Regent St. The entrance is just east of where Regent turns into Owen Pkwy and immediately west of Hoyt School. There is a parking lot a little further west of the pedestrian entrance. 

These Spiritual Strolls are part of a Covenant program called CONNECT, a program of events sponsored by the deacons of Covenant Presbyterian Church with the intention of fostering connection within the congregation and community.
As we move forward with the new ministry for refugee families in Madison in partnership with Jewish Social Services, a training of all prospective volunteers will be conducted here at Covenant on MONDAY at 6:00pm. Anyone interested in serving in this ministry is welcome to join this training. If you have questions, please contact Jo Wiersema or Friedemarie Farrar.
"To be Christian is to be different, to be countercultural, and to wake up in the morning and put on our coat of many colors."

Jo muses on compassion, kindness, humility, and Dolly Parton this week. Take a few minutes out of your day to read our weekly blog! Click on image above.

Midweek Musings is a weekly Covenant blog with a variety of authors and spiritual topics. Feel free to leave a comment as you are moved. We hope that it blesses you this week and the weeks to come.
Summer book club continues! Please join Charlie Berthoud and Jo Wiersema in person at church on Wednesday, July 27 at 7:00pm to discuss the Ukrainian-based novel, I Will Die in a Foreign Land, by Kalani Pickhart. The novel follows four individuals over the course of a volatile Ukrainian winter, as their lives are forever changed by the Euromaidan protests. Ice cream will be served! Come join us. There is also a zoom option on Monday, July 25 at 7pm. Contact Charlie for the link. Read more about the book and order a copy here: I Will Die in a Foreign Land.
After 26 years of youth ministry at Covenant, Steve Royalton is retiring as of early August. We are grateful for Steve’s faithful service over the years. With gratitude for his service, we will hold a celebration on Sunday, August 7 at 10:45am. Refreshments provided! There will be a short presentation and a basket to leave Steve a card showing your appreciation.
Nehemiah Center for Urban Leadership Development’s Justified Anger course “Black History for a New Day” is coming up in the Fall! Covenant has had many people take this class over the past several years. This informative and eye-opening 9-week virtual course will take place from September 12 – November 21, 2022. Stay tuned for more info on how to sign up to be in the group that attends from Covenant. If you have not taken this course before, there is an info session on Monday, August 1 from 4:00-5:00pm via Zoom. If you are interested, email sjackson@nehemiah.org. The Adult Education Committee here at Covenant could not endorse this course enough!