Holy Covenant United Church of Christ
A progressive Christian church
Weekly News & Announcements through
Week ending May 29 , 2016

Chaplains Hill, Arlington National Cemetery, Washington D.C.
In This Issue
HC Happenings
Prayer Concerns
Participant Reminders
 Church Information
(Staff details below)
 
 Office Hours: 8AM-4PM
Monday through Friday
Phone: 704-599-9810

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The office will be closed Monday, MAY 30, 
in observance of 
Memorial Day, in remembrance of 
the fallen and their sacrifices.

Reflections
The language of this political season, unenlightened though much of it has been, reflects our guaranteed right to free speech. Over the years, courageous men and women have given their lives that we might, for good or ill, be free to speak our minds, no matter how wise, childish, boorish, or mean-spirited our words may be. Memorial Day is a forever-somber reminder of the cost our nation has paid to maintain this and other freedoms.

There are places in our world where gathering to worship as one so chooses is done at great peril. Not every nation understands the fundamental reality that one cannot chain the human spirit. Not every regime takes kindly to prophetic calls for justice. Next time any of us enters Holy Covenant, let us recall this freedom and the human cost our nation has born to protect it.

The words that make it into print reflect both the heights to which we can soar and the depths to which we can sink. Words can be like the stained glass windows of grand cathedrals; they can also be likened to the garbage which ends up in a landfill. Yet true freedom means that we are free to dispense our thoughts to those who would read them, angels and demons alike.

Demonstrations, pro or against something, have long been a hall mark of our democracy. We are guaranteed the right to assembly in order to express our opinion along with other, like-minded individuals. When persons do so, they generally - and thankfully - do not fear for their lives. We know all too well what can happen elsewhere.

Whether it is the way we worship, speak, write, or gather, Memorial Day reminds us that our freedom has come into being and been maintained only at great cost. Let us thankfully remember those who have given their lives in defense of those freedoms that help to define who and what we are as a people.
~Steve Garvey
Holy Covenant Happenings
JUNE 5, CELEBRATE OUR YOUTH!
Please plan to be a part of our Sunday June 5 Youth-led worship service! Following worship, our Youth, and Hospitality team, will host a picnic lunch, including ice cream for dessert, to celebrate our Youth and the start of summer.  Please bring a lawn chair and a big appetite for our outdoor picnic lunch.


ALL CHURCH COOK BOOK
In honor of our Centennial, your Hospitality Team will be coordinating a printed version of a cook book, compiled of the favorite recipes from Holy Covenant and Pilgrim Congregational UCC members! Please submit any tried and true favorite recipe, of any food category, by July 15. Send your recipe to Judi Lord, [email protected] or Linda Carver, 2547A Stockbridge Drive, Charlotte NC 28210.  This is a fundraiser for benefit of outreach missions. Details are in progress and more, including date and cost, will be announced in the near future. 


REPORT ON PLEDGED GIVING
Your budget team wants to thank you for your generosity in supporting our ministries and work of the church through sharing your time, talents and finances. With four full months completed in our budget year (33%), we want to provide the following pledged giving update: April YTD General Fund pledged giving is $47,135, or 26%, of the total year pledged, and the Building Fund pledged giving is $16,675, or 31%, of total year Building Fund pledges. Your financial gifts are vital to the work of the church and we appreciate your catching up on pledged giving as you are able. 

SOJOURNERS CLASS
There's a special treat in store for the Sojourners' Class this Sunday -- Rich Midkiff will be presenting a talk and discussion entitled "Is There (Significant) Religious Discrimination in the U.S. Military?"  Synopsis: The U.S. Military draws its members from the population. So American societal changes are one of the influences on changes in the military culture, along with law and other things. As religion is important in our daily lives, so it is with military members. As discriminatory practices in our society damage our relations, it is with the military. What if you discovered that a number of complainants about discrimination in the military say it is being committed by Christians? Rich will draw on his own extensive military service plus research he has done on this topic. You won't want to miss this, so join us this Sunday on Memorial Day weekend at 9:45--all are welcome.

BOOK CLUB
The Book Club will be meeting on Monday, June 13, at 1:30 pm at the Sharon campus to discuss Annie Dillard's Pulitzer Prize winning title,  Pilgrim at Tinker Creek . Diane Burleson will be leading our discussion of this work. 
Our next meeting is tentatively set for July 18, at 1:30 pm at the Sharon campus.  We are considering Matthew Desmond's  Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City .
KYP 
Keeping You Posted

The United Church of Christ has a weekly electronic newsletter, ongoing blog, and website to share information about where we've been and were we are going as a collective church.   KYP Keeping You Posted  topics today include "White Privilege, Let's Talk"; and "Assisting a Bold Step into the Future". How do you be the church in an ever-changing religious climate? 

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Prayer Concerns
PLEASE REMEMBER IN PRAYER
Members
Paul Bomely, Gail Bushman, Leanne Bushman, Caroline Fischer, 
Ginny & Bob Fisher, Marianne Gannon, Karen Griffin, 
Chuck Johnson, Helen Lambert,  Irene Mikkelson, 
Deb & Yvette Ross, Dave Stoimenoff & Jim Germann,
Mamie Stokes, Jean Washburn
 
Friends & Family Members
Rose Bouchonville (John Maze),
Charlotte Carbone, Matthew Christian, (Beth Sharp),
Bill Funderburk (Donna Collins), Frances Helms (Lynn Helms),
Mike Hinson (Kathi Smith), CD & Alice Huskins (Jared Fischer), 
John Jacobsen (Holly Middleton), Aaron Johnson (Joy Johnson),
Barbara Lees (Donna Collins), Pat & JoAnn Murphey (Laura Murphey),
Candy Propes (Sue Rettberg), Luz Soto (Aida Marcial)

Participant Reminders For Sunday
Greeters: Gail Bumgardner, Sue Rettberg, Lisa Sherman
Ushers: Youth
Media: Brian Hankins, Joe Craig
Tabulators: Debbie Davis, Terry Raley-Dennis
ELDER FOR MAY: Faye Humphrey, [email protected] or 704-618-2750
ELDER FOR JUNE: Yvette Ross, [email protected] or 704-953-4324
Holy Covenant United Church of Christ
3501 West W.T. Harris Blvd, Charlotte, NC, 28269
 704 599-9810
 
Dawn Simmons, Executive Assistant:  [email protected]
Nancy Ellett Allison, Pastor: [email protected]  704-621-0235
Steven Burleson, Youth Pastor: [email protected]  704-706-4170
Jared Fischer, Director of Music: [email protected] 423-443-1676

No matter who you are, or where you are on life's journey,

you are welcome here.