The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

   The Lord makes me lie down in green pastures;

and leads me beside still waters;

   The Lord restores my soul.

Psalm 23:1-2

Hello Bailey,

This week I visited an elderly Covenant member who smiled a lot and said very little. I shared some Covenant news, and I showed some photos, which brought smiles.

Then I read Psalm 23, part of which is above. I often read these words for people going through challenging times. As I read them this week, I thought the words were good for all of us.

• Not being in want
• Green pastures, still waters
• Soul restoration

I get the sense a lot of us are weary and struggling right now. Green pastures, still waters, and soul restoration sound pretty good!

Psalm 23 is an invitation to rest and renewal. I believe we find rest and renewal at Covenant.

As we launch a new program year, I’m hopeful that our worship, education, fellowship, mission, and music will help to collectively restore our souls and give us a sense of new life and new hope. 

This Sunday in worship, we start our series on Women in Genesis. The series is subtitled “Hearing the Voices of People Long Silenced.” If you missed my Caravan article about the series, check it out HERE. (IMHO, it’s a pretty good article 😊)

On September 11 at 10:00am, come to our Ministry Fair and find ways to connect, learn, and serve.

I don’t like pressuring people about coming to church; I don’t want people coming out of a sense of obligation or guilt. But if you haven’t been for a while, I think you should come—on Sunday or at some time. Join us online if you like. Reach out to another member or staff. We have lots of good energy, and together we provide rest and renewal for each other.

Psalm 23 continues, reminding us that God is with us always, even in the dark and scary places. 

      Even though I walk through the darkest valley,

         I fear no evil, for you are with me;

God’s promise to be with us is central to our faith. We experience God in community. I’m glad you are a part of Covenant. 

On the journey together,

Charlie

PS--With the emphasis on Genesis this month, I encourage you to do some personal Bible study and learning. Here are three good options

1. The Bible Project eight minute video on Genesis
2. Enter the Bible has lots of good background info on Genesis
3. Wikipedia actually has good info as well. Read about Sarah here

Or just open your Bible and start reading!

• Charlie Berthoud preaching: "The Unknown Matriarch" (Genesis 12:1-5a, 10-20)
• Holy Communion (have bread/juice or similar available if worshiping at home)
• Music from Doug McNeel and Melissa Hinz
• Final Memory Verse!
• Children's Time with Cindy Lovell
• Kaleidoscope Kids during worship following Children's Time
• In-Person and Livestream worship at 9:30am
• Visit our Worship HQ for everything you need to worship with us online!

Women of Genesis: Hearing the Voices of People Long Silenced

Women of Genesis: Hearing the Voices of People Long Silenced is our new sermon series for the month of September. This series will focus on women in the book of Genesis – Sarah, Rebekah, Dinah, and Hagar. “Hearing the voices of people long silenced” is from "A Brief Statement of Faith" of the Presbyterian Church (USA). We’re excited to kick off the Fall with this sermon series!

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!

NOTE: We return to two services (at 9:00 and 11:00) on Sunday, September 11. 

We are very grateful for the ministry of Covenant's organist, Doug McNeel, as he celebrates 20 years at Covenant. Doug has many roles at Covenant including organist, choir accompanist, special music collaborator, organ caretaker, and (during the pandemic) even videographer! Amazingly, this is only Doug's side gig. For his day job, he is a tenured faculty member at the UW Medical School. Doug McNeel MD, PhD is a genitourinary medical oncologist with a translational laboratory research focus on prostate cancer immunology. Basically, Doug does research seeking to find a cure for cancer. We are grateful for the many ways that God uses Doug's talents to help others through his work and to praise God with his music! We look forward to many more years of wonderful music from Doug at Covenant. Please take a moment to express your gratitude to Doug for his ministry at Covenant.

"Noah’s wife deals with sons and the animals and the whole stuck on a boat situation. If she’s like many of the silent matriarchs of the Hebrew Bible, she did a great job of keeping the family together, and get’s approximately no recognition."

We've got a series on "Women of Genesis" starting Sunday. This week's Musings gets us in the spirit a bit and gets us thinking... these women really put up with a lot. Hope you enjoy! Click on the image above to read this week's blog "This One is for the Girls" by our own Jo Wiersema.

and there's A LOT, so bear with us!

BEGINNING SEPTEMBER 11!

BEGINNING SEPTEMBER 11!

For more info contact coordinator Barb Eikenberry.