Worship Service Information | | |
Rev. Jessie MacMillan will offer her sermon "Making Room for Forgiveness" during the service. The scriptures this week are Genesis 50:15-21 and Matthew 18:21-35.
Our liturgist is Ken Ledford. Ken is a historian of Germany at CWRU with appointments in the Department of History and the School of Law, and he has been a member of the Church of the Covenant since 2023. During his 35 years in Cleveland, he has been a member of other PCUSA churches and served in a variety of roles as Ruling Elder, committee chair, and committee member. At Covenant he serves on the Sunday Seminar Committee and through the Ministry of Service with the work of Greater Cleveland Congregations. His wife, Susan Holderness, is a retired Presbyterian minister, and their adult children, Peter and Sarah, live in Raleigh and Atlanta respectively.
Ushering this week are Ann Harlan and Jan Jenkins and the greeter is Nancy Matz. Our custodian on duty is Adnan Gill. A/V technicians are Chris Tipton and Brent Chamberlin.
Photo: Stargazing Colin MacMillan
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As we gather for worship, you are warmly invited to enter the sanctuary in a spirit of quiet preparation, allowing the music of the prelude to draw us together in prayer.
Prayer candles are located in All Saints Chapel and Christ Chapel, to either side of the chancel. Please feel free to light one for personal intentions, loved ones, or in gratitude.
| | Child care is provided in our Crèche located on the second floor of the Education Wing. Children pre-school through 2nd grade may leave after A Time for Young Disciples to go to the Crèche in the Dotson Room. | | We welcome everyone who is joining us for worship online on Sundays and throughout the week. We're thankful that our congregation is expanded through digital ministry! | | |
Sunday Seminar, September 20: Jonathan Moyer
Organ Music During the Time of the American Revolution
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Have you ever wondered what church music was like during the early colonial period of the United States? This seminar highlights music that resounded from the organ somewhere in the background of the American Revolution. It reflects the intersection of colonial diplomats with an array of European cultures and experience that would later converge on the American continent. The roots of our varied traditions that we find throughout the United States today can ultimately be traced back to vast landscape of music traditions that developed in early colonial America.
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Blessing of the Backpacks for children, youth, and adults.
During our Time for Young Disciples.
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Prayer for Blessing of the Backpacks
May all students be blessed with enough
and know that they are enough.
May all parents find peace in you. Setting their fears aside,
may they rest in the safety of your love.
May all educators be blessed with the right resources,
finding nourishment and joy in their callings.
For our students, parents, caregivers, teachers, counselors,
administrators and coaches –
for all who feel the eagerness and anticipation of this season –
may they be blessed with the gifts of your love,
grace, peace, and patience.
May we bless our educational communities as we offer our
support and service and uplift the power of learning for all. Amen.
Excerpt from "A back-to-school prayer for congregations",
Presbyterian Outlook (8/24/24), by Elizabeth H. Doolin.
| | You can make online donations and pledges from your phone or computer. | | |
Join us for an All Church Picnic this Sunday immediately following worship! The Deacons invite everyone to stay, share in fellowship, and celebrate stories of summer adventures. A special welcome invitation is extended to new and returning university students!
The Deacons will be grilling hamburgers and hot dogs, generously provided in memory of Thelma Everhart, Maxine Everhart, and Walter Everhart. If you wish, bring a side dish or dessert to share (not required).
Come enjoy good food, good conversation, and time together as a church family! The event will be held rain or shine.
| | SUNDAY EVENING! Dinner Church for College Students | UPCaM (United Protestant Campus Ministry) is hosting their Dinner Church tonight (September 13th) at 6:30 pm in Dowd Commons. This is a great opportunity for college students (both undergrad and graduate) to share a home cooked meal and worship every Sunday! | | Celebrate Lives with Flowers | The flowers in the chancel urn are given to the glory of God. | Sanctuary flowers are donated by generous members. Donations may be given for specific Sundays, and an announcement will be printed in the bulletin. The Deacons arrange and deliver flowers to 2-3 members who are homebound, grieving, in recovery, or celebrating. A sign-up sheet is in the Office, or you can call the Church Office. The cost for one Sunday’s flowers is $100, but any amount can be donated to honor someone on a particular Sunday. | | Music Notes for this Sunday | |
We welcome the Covenant Chancel Choir back to worship this week, as we begin a new program year!
Our anthem, Mack Wilberg’s setting of Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah, pairs choir and organ with the Welsh tune Cwm Rhondda. Anchored in themes of pilgrimage and divine sustenance, the text complements Genesis 50, reflecting how God guides and redeems human circumstance.
At the Offertory, the choir offers Lord, for Thy Tender Mercy’s Sake, attributed to Tudor composer Richard Farrant (c. 1525–1580).
The anthem draws from sixteenth-century devotional prayer, representing the restrained, four-part homophony of early Elizabethan liturgical reform designed for textual clarity. The choir sings a petition for God to "lay not our sins to our charge, but forgive that is past.” This petition directly engages Matthew 18, underscoring that receiving divine mercy calls us to moral transformation and the capacity to extend that same forgiveness from the heart.
Today’s final hymn “Earth and All Stars” was written by Herbert F. Brokering, a Lutheran pastor and theologian. He expanded traditional psalmody, drawing on Psalms 96:1 and 98:1, by creating a modern catalog text that issues a broad call to worship, inviting all creation—from cosmic bodies and natural phenomena to human technology, education, athletics, and God's people—to sing praise. He writes:
“I tried to gather into a hymn of praise the many facets of life which emerge in the life of community. So there are the references to building, nature, learning, family, war, festivity. Seasons, emotions, death and resurrection, bread, wine, water, wind, sun, spirit. . . have made great impressions on my imagination.” (hymnary.org)
| | Church Member Jenny Conner Featured in CIM Concert | Join us Sunday at the Cleveland Institute of Music for Honoring Immortal and Living Female Composers, featuring a vocal work by our own Jenny Conner, Covenants Music Librarian. The free concert will be performed by Ralitsa Georgieva and Carolyn Gadiel Warner with CIM faculty and students. Reservations are requested. | | Tuesday Noon Organ Plus Concerts Begin September 15th! | Jonathan Moyer will kick off the 13th annual season of Tuesday Noon concerts this week, performing Maurice Duruflé’s monumental Suite, Op. 5. | | Singing and Ringing at Covenant this Fall | NOW is a great time to join our team of Covenant musicians. Chancel Choir and Beckwith Handbell Choir rehearsals resumed and we welcome new folks to come make a joyful noise with us (handbells, 6:15 pm; choir, 7:30 pm). Contact a member of our music staff (music@covenantweb.org) to learn more. | | Friday Lunchtime Carillon Concerts | |
A series of 30 minute mid-day carillon concerts presented live and streamed by The Friends of the McGaffin Carillon and The Church of the Covenant. The music is performed on the recently restored and renovated fifty-one bell McGaffin Carillon by carillonists George Leggiero, Keiran Cantilina, and Guests. Programs include an eclectic mix of music written for the bells as well as arrangements of classical works, folk tunes, pop, and show tunes. Programs and stream links are posted on the FMC website www.ucbells.org/events. We welcome requests by email at info@ucbells.org. We’ll let you know when we can program your request. All concerts begin at 12:15 pm
The best place to hear the bells live is away from the Euclid Avenue traffic noise in the campus areas behind the tower along Bellflower Road. The bells sound best some distance from the tower with a direct sight line. Bring a lawn chair, blanket, a picnic and a friend. There are some picnic tables and benches behind the church near Harkness Chapel.
Concerts are rain, snow, or shine. You can always listen from your car or from inside the church where the audio of the concert will be transmitted.
Greet the performer at the Euclid Avenue tower entrance following the concert.
| September 18, 12:15 pm. George Leggiero | | |
Please Join Us This Week!
(September 13 – September 19)
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Sunday: Child Care, Dotson Room (Crèche), 9:30 am to 11:00 pm;
Worship, Sanctuary, 10:00 am;
All Church Picnic, Lower Patio, 11:00 am;
Kanisa La Agano Kiswahili, Beckwith Hall, 12:30 am;
Science of Spirituality, Gard Meeting Room, 11:30 am,
UPCaM Dinner Church, Dowd Commons, 6:30 pm.
Monday: Prayer Shawl Meeting, Jackson Library, 4:30;
GCNA 2027 Meeting, Gard Meeting Room, 6:00 pm.
Tuesday: Cache, Lower Level, 10:00 am;
Tuesday Noon Organ Plus Concert, Sanctuary, 12:00 pm;
Sunday Seminar Meeting, Church Office, 2:30 pm;
Crafts & Chat, Gard Meeting Room, 4:00 pm;
Deadline for Weekly Bulletin and Covenant News Announcements, 5:00 pm;
Trustees Meeting, Gard Meeting Room, 4:30 pm.
Wednesday: Stirring Up Hope, 11:00 am to 1:00 pm;
Library Team, Jackson Library, 4:00 pm;
12 Steps to Freedom, Beckwith Hall, 5:30 pm;
Ministry of Faith Formation Meeting, Zoom, 7:30.
Thursday: Ministry of Finance Committee Meeting, Gard Meeting Room, 4:30 pm;
UPCaM Bible Study, Tanaka Room, 5:00 pm;
Beckwith Handbell Choir Rehearsal, Beckwith Handbell Room, 6:15;
Chancel Choir Rehearsal, Sanctuary, 7:30 pm.
Friday: Co-working Space, Gard Meeting Room, 9:00 am;
Carillon Concert, Church Grounds, Sanctuary, 12:15 pm;
McGaffin Carillon Student Guild Information Meeting, Herrick Room, 1:00 pm.
Saturday: Saturday Tutoring Program, Lower Level, 10:00 am
| | Nail polish, any color, any size, wanted for a massive art project. Drop off in the Church Office. Questions? Contact: Artist Dale Goode. | | Prayer Shawl Ministry Resumes – September 14 | |
The Covenant Prayer Shawl Ministry will resume on Monday, September 14, from 4:30–6:00 pm in the Church Library. The group meets the second Monday of the month. Whether you are new to knitting or crocheting or are an experienced crafter, all are welcome!
Materials needed:
3 skeins of Lion Brand Homespun yarn, or comparable-weight yarn, or 18 oz. of #4 or #5 weight yarn. Size 11 or 13 knitting needles, or a size M crochet hook. Materials will be provided if needed.
For more information, please email Patty Fowler.
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September 27th | Memory Memorials and Monuments. Rev. Dr. Geoffrey Black
Memory Memorials and Monuments. We’ll begin with the Tuskegee Airmen, then expand to learn about the significance of remembering them as an example of African American presence throughout history, including an overview of African Americans in the military in general. Next, the scope will be broadened to highlight the importance of memory work and AA History that is achieved by way of monuments and memorials. Each phase of the presentation will include visuals from my family’s website, The Monumental African American.
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The Annual Church Retreat October 2 to 4 – “Making Room at The Table” is coming soon!
We had a great time in the early Autumn last year and want more of you to come out and enjoy the experience this year. Registration forms can be found at the office or Sunday reception. Please return completed forms to the church office or by emailing it to retreat@covenantweb.org. Payments can be made online here, please indicate the payment of $175 is for the Church Retreat in the Memo line. Scholarships are available. Planning committee members can answer any questions you might have, you can find us at the Sunday reception. We’re looking forward to seeing, playing, and praying with you there!
| | Are you looking to volunteer? | |
We have volunteering opportunities all week long. Any of these sound interesting?
Sunday School assistance for our youngest disciples–contact the Director of Christian Education. | delliott@covenantweb.org
Cache resale shop–sort donations, price items, work the cash register of offer hospitality | Tuesdays only–contact Marilyn Langmack
On Wednesdays, we partner with several other congregations for soup distribution from 11 am until the soup runs out. Interested in serving? Contact Barb Clint or complete the form on the website: www.covenantweb.org/stirring-up-hope-signup
Saturday Morning Tutoring Program | Tutors are asked to arrive at 9am on the September 12th for orientation. Tutoring lasts from 10am to 12pm and runs through November 21. If you are interested in learning more about the program, please talk with Mary Anne Bromelmeier or check out the website. saturdaytutoring.org
UPCAM | Contact Amanda Powell, Campus Minister for United
Protestant Campus Ministries (UPCaM) at: www.upcam.org
for volunteer opportunities.
| | Stirring Up Hope
Recap from Wednesday | | Pictured are: Uday, Daniel, and Mary Anne. | | Will You Help Grow Faith? | Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me.” Our Sunday School ministry is looking for caring hearts to serve as caregivers. You don’t have to be a teacher—just someone willing to share God’s love through kindness, patience, and a welcoming spirit. By serving, you’ll help plant seeds of faith that can grow for a lifetime. If you feel God calling you to this ministry, we invite you to sign up and become a part of this special team. “Train up a child in the way they should go…” Proverbs 22:6. Contact Dara Elliott for more information. | | Are you interested in becoming a member at Covenant? | |
If you are interested in learning more about our church, tradition, and how to become a member please email Pastor Zoë. The next classes will be on:
Sundays October 11th and 18th 11:30 to 12:30
| | Saturday Tutoring Resumes | The Saturday Tutoring Program is a community-wide tutoring program that provides free academic help for students in grades 1-12 on Saturday mornings during the school year, at the Church. Tutors are asked to arrive at 9am on the 12th for orientation. Tutoring lasts from 10 am to 12 pm and runs through November 21. If you are interested in learning more about the program, please talk with Mary Anne Bromelmeier or check out the website. saturdaytutoring.org | | Young Professional Co-Working Space! | Every Friday from 9 am – 12 pm we are inviting young professionals to meet in the Gard room for coffee/matcha, third space and fellowship! If you have any questions email zgarry@covenantweb.org. | | Cache Is Now Ready For Donations! | The Cache wants to thank everyone for their understanding and patience while we went through the donations. We are now ready for your donations!! Thank you again. | | Christianity 201: What’s Faith Got to Do With It? | |
Curious about Christianity? Exploring faith for the first time, returning to church after years away, or looking to deepen your understanding? This class is for you!
Join Parish Associate Rev. Dr. John Lentz for a six-week conversation exploring some of Christianity’s biggest questions: Who was Jesus, and what was his message? What is the Bible, and how should we read it? What is faith, really? And what do you have to believe to call yourself a Christian?
Based on Dr. Lentz’s new book, What’s Faith Got to Do With It? Learning to Love and Live the Questions, the class offers a welcoming space to ask questions, explore what you believe, and consider how faith takes shape in everyday life. Students are welcome.
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Sundays, October 4–November 8 | 4:00–5:30 pm
Space is limited to 15 participants. Email jlentz@covenantweb.org to sign up.
About the Instructor
Rev. Dr. John C. Lentz Jr. is Pastor Emeritus of Forest Hill Church (Presbyterian) in Cleveland Heights. He holds degrees from Kenyon College, Yale Divinity School, and New College, University of Edinburgh. A longtime leader in Greater Cleveland Congregations, John is known for thoughtful preaching, engaging conversation, and a deep commitment to justice. He and his wife, Deanne, have three grown children—Jack, Meg, and Sarah. He's always ready to get into some good trouble...or head out for a hike or bike ride.
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Saturdays - September 19 (Build Day), and October 31 (Build Day), from 9:00am-1:00pm. Join us again this year (our 12th!) to help build houses through the Greater Cleveland Habitat for Humanity's Faith Build. We will be working to help build a new home, and spruce up the neighborhood in the Mt.Pleasant area on the east side of Cleveland.
Founded in 2015, the Faith Build brings people of faith together to sponsor a home. Each congregation gives a portion of prayer, volunteer power, and funding to build a home for a family. Since 2015, this program has built 17 homes for 17 wonderful families. Our work not only serves a family but also revitalizes a neighborhood. If you are interested in joining us for any of these days, please contact Jim Prince at princeco4@aol.com for further information.
| | The Unhoused! North Church,
Saturday September 19th – 9:00 am to 12:30 pm. | Register online at: www.preswesres.org/mahp or speak to Bob Ault (440-565-7710). | | |
Greater Cleveland Congregations Judicial Candidate Action Focusing on Pretrial Justice
Thursday, September 17, 2026, Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Greater Cleveland, 21660 Shaker Boulevard, Shaker Heights, OH, 7:00-8:30 p.m.
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Car pools leaving from Church of the Covenant front parking lot at 6:15 p.m., returning after Action
Did you know that more than two out of three people in the Cuyahoga County jail are not serving a sentence but are awaiting trial because they could not afford bond? The GCC Pretrial Justice Task Force has invited candidates for the four contested elections to the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas to a Candidate Action this Thursday, to hear GCC's demands for fair treatment of persons under arrest and swift release while awaiting trial for non-violent offenses.
We plan to meet at the church (in the front parking lot) at 6:15 p.m. and car pool to Shaker Heights, returning after the Action.
If you plan to go, please RSVP at this link, and please also email Ken Ledford.
See Ken at today's Church Picnic if you have any questions or send him an email.
If you have questions, email Ken Ledford.
| | Contact Amanda Powell, Campus Minister for United Protestant Campus Ministries (UPCaM) at: www.upcam.org. | | |
Bear one another's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill
the law of Christ. - Galatians 6:2
We Keep in our Prayers:
Stephen Brewer Smith (brother of Anne Wombwell de Coningh), Shawn Skudrin (friend of Sarah Andexler), Marlene Dirksen, Dalia Baker, Charles Wynn, Chrissy Madjar McNeil (Intensive Care at the Clinic – Este Pozza’s niece), Luther Moss, Deanne Lentz (recovering from shoulder surgery), Patty Chase (undergoing cancer treatment at the Cleveland Clinic), Elijah Grimes (undergoing pneumonia treatment at Rainbow), Karin Garland, Venerine Branham, Debra Johnson (friend of Jean Ganger), Ken Kalen (friend of Tracy Blake and Julie Mailey), Chris Allegra (friend of Jessie MacMillan), Shelley Wheeler, Bob Johnson family member of extended Bernot/Johnson, Bernstein/Johnson, Bluhm/Silverman, Bernstein/Scott, Tracy Blake/Beth Silverman and extended other Silvermans, Trudi Klug (sister of Deni Horstman), Mary Louise Starett (mother of Susan Warner Taylor), Joan Harlan (mother of Ann Harlan), Kitty Jarjisian.
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We pray for those struggling with illness, convalescing, or homebound;
patients, family, and staff in our surrounding hospitals.
Names are generally removed from the bulletin after four weeks unless there is a continuing need. Please let the church know if you or a loved one is in the hospital; HIPAA privacy regulations prevent hospitals from sharing this information.
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