An Open And Affirming Community Of Faith -
We Welcome All Beliefs!
  • Sage meets every Friday at 1 pm. Check here for the church calendar for the link

  • Pints with the Pastor is February 8th

  • Board Meeting February 16th

  • Parking Restrictions - See Below

  • Ash Wednesday Services February 22nd at 7 pm
HELP US GROW BY GIVING!
YOUR GENEROSITY IS NEEDED!
Your generosity is needed, now more than ever! You may give via:

PayPal — access it through our website or send your donation on PayPal which takes out a fee, to donations@holycovenantmcc.org

Zelle - You can send your donation directly to the church using Zelle via the email address donations@holycovenantmcc.org. It will go directly into the general account and there will be no fees attached to the giving.

Electronic Check
Send an electronic check from your financial institution, or by sending a personal check. Our address is 9145 Grant Ave, Brookfield, IL, 60513.

Please remember that when giving through PayPal they do charge a percentage fee to the church unless it shows an option to help out the church and for you to pay that fee.

See the weekly giving below. Holy Covenant needs at least $4,672 a month to meet its obligations for bills and salary. We are now showing what the percentage of giving is and how we are doing on a monthly basis.

FEBRUARY 2023 GIVING
Giving Needed Weekly
(5 WEEKS) $935.00
The Difference is -$2,605
Our bills are listed for the month of January 2023.
Your generosity helps us pay the bills. Any amount helps us meet our obligations.
If you would like to pay one of the bills,
please designate that in your donation. 
REV MARTHA DANIELS RECEIVES HER AWARD!
On January 22nd, we welcomed Rev. Michael Cooper as he presented the Rev Elder John Hose Award to Rev Daniels!

Rev. Martha & Rev. Michael celebrated communion together.
After services everyone was invited downstairs for cake and coffee. Rev. Martha thanks everybody for coming and celebrating this wonderful achievement!
PASTOR'S PICK CORNER -
Rev. Daniels Reading/Listening/Watching Suggestions
An eclectic collection of books, movies, TV shows, magazines, etc. that I have come across, which I found good or interesting and you might too!

Recently Reading:
"The Women's House of Detention": by Hugh Ryan
I am about halfway through this and enjoying it thoroughly. Well, maybe "enjoying" is the wrong word. It is fascinating and heartbreaking and frustrating, all at once.

The Women's House of Detention was the formal name for the women's jail in New York City. It sat at one end of Christopher Street, just a few blocks from the Stonewall Inn. It was built in the 1920s to house people who were identified as female (whether or not they identified that way). Many of them were sex workers; many lived not far away, in the part of New York called Greenwich Village and known for its Bohemian lifestyles and marginalized residents. Many of the people held at The Women's House of Detention were also lesbian and bi women--and frequently their sexual identity was enough for the judicial system to lock them up--they were seen as a danger to society simply because of who they loved.

Transmasculine (FTM trans people) were also incarcerated there, as even greater rebels against gender norms. The people incarcerated there during the Stonewall Uprising contributed to the disruption and drew law enforcement away from the action in the streets and at the Stonewall Inn by lighting their mattresses on fire, refusing the orders of the jail officials, and generally causing havoc, aiding the cause of those involved directly in the uprising. Ryan looks at how the perception of and definitions of gender and sexuality changed over the years, both for good and ill. It's a sad and informative look at how sexuality and gender have been policed and used as cause to incarcerate innocent people.
SNOW REMOVAL VOLUNTEERS NEEDED OR
DONATIONS TO HELP PAY FOR SNOW REMOVAL
We recently received a quote for snow blowing from another company. The cost for each snowfall is as follows:
  1. $50 to shovel
  2. $40 for return to shovel
  3. $20 for salting

We are looking for donations to the snow removal. If you can, we would be so grateful for any donations to help us pay for snow removal for 2022-2023. Please mark your donation for snow plowing. You can donation via Zelle, PayPal or regular check. The email for PayPal and Zelle is donations@holycovenantmcc.org.

If you cannot donate, can you volunteer for snow clearing? We do have a snow blower! If you are able and willing to assist with either of these, please contact any Board member or email socialmedia@holycovenantmcc.org.
UPCOMING EVENTS OF INTEREST
THRIVE WITH PRIDE -
LARGE GROUP
MANAGING STRESS & TRAUMA
The Community Resiliency Model (CRM) is a resiliency informed approach to trauma and toxic stress centered on the idea that people are resilient. With it, people can learn to cultivate skills of well-being and how to reduce suffering. CRM prompts us to ask not only what is wrong, but what is right about each of us, and what are our strengths. CRM is about empowerment, and it teaches that regardless of our external stressors, we can develop skills that help us widen our resiliency zone and enable us to show up as our best selves.

Join Maureen Burns from The HAP Foundation as she leads participants through the model and how to incorporate resiliency skills into our lives.
Join us on Tuesday, February 28, 2023 at 11am (Central) by clicking https://us06web.zoom.us/j/96661294106 or dial (312)626-6799 and enter ID 966 6129 4106 at prompt.
VIRTUAL EVENT ON DEMENTIA
MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AID CLASSES
Do you know what to do when you interact with someone dealing with a mental health challenge or crisis?  Mental Health First Aid classes provides valuable training and teach participants what to do in those situations. The Village of Brookfield Department of Parks and Recreation hosted a community class in 2022 attended by 15 Brookfield residents who are now better equipped to respond to those experiencing a substance use or mental health challenge.
 
NAMI Metro Suburban, NAMI DuPage and the Community Memorial Foundation partner to provide FREE Mental Health First Aid classes in western Cook and eastern DuPage counties.  We provide classes for organizations such as yours, as well as hold public classes for members of the community. The attached flyer shows our upcoming community classes. We would really appreciate it if you would post it in a public area at your organization.
 
Mental Health First Aid takes the fear and hesitation out of reaching out to someone with a mental health concern by improving understanding and providing an action plan that teaches people to safely and responsibly identify and address a mental health challenge or substance use concern. 
 
Benefits of the class:
  • Learn to identify, understand and respond appropriately to signs of Mental Health/Substance Use Disorders 
  • No cost to participants or organizations and participants receive MHFA Certification
  • Earn 6-8 FREE CEU or CPDU hours (continuing education credits)
 
Registration for Community classes is via the QR code and the link on the flyer or HERE.
ASH WEDNESDAY SERVICE
Join us February 22 at 7 pm for our Ash Wednesday service. Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, 40 days of reflection and preparation leading up to Easter. The service will include both imposition of ashes and communion.
WEEKLY SERVICE INFORMATION
SUNDAY WORSHIP
HYBRID - IN PERSON AND ON YOUTUBE
REV. MARTHA DANIELS PRESIDING
10:00 AM CST
Our worship celebration is every Sunday at 10 am CST. If you would like to join us you may join us in person or go to our Facebook page at Holy Covenant Facebook Page and click on the LINK to YouTube to watch the service.

Sunday February 5, 2023
Reading:
Wisdom of Matthew 5:13-16
Sermon Title "Letting Our Light Shine"

Have a candle ready to light, a cookie or bread, and a glass of your favorite libation for communion if you are watching online.

You can also find previous services on our YouTube Channel here.

Rev. Martha is available by email, phone, Facebook Messenger, and text for any pastoral needs you may have revmarthadaniels@gmail.com

  • Masks are now optional. If you want to sing you have to wear a mask.
  • No temperature check required
  • Social distancing required

DO YOU WANT TO HELP WITH WORSHIP?
Do you feel a call to help with worship? To read a prayer, or a reading, or to usher or serve communion? Whether you are here in person or virtually, we need and want your gifts! Contact Rev. Martha or Roxann at roxann.victory@outlook.com.
SNOW RESTRICTIONS - PARKING
Just a reminder to everyone, that if it snows more than 2" overnight, you cannot park on the east side of Maple Ave on Sunday morning. You will get a ticket. Please park across the street on the west side of Maple, in our parking lot or on Grant Ave.
AGING WELL JANUARY PROGRAMS
Join us all month long for informative seminars, health programs, fitness, entertainment, and more!
 
Hello Neighbors! Below is our October schedule. Join us all month long for informative seminars, brain health programs, fitness, history, entertainment, and more online and in person! Just click here for the list of classes.

We encourage you to share our class schedule with friends, family, and neighbors, near & far, of any age – everyone is welcome to join us! All of our classes are free & no advance registration is required. We hope to see you soon on Zoom!

Thank you all for being a part of the Aging Well Neighborhood!

For questions about the programs listed, please email AWN@agingcareconnections.org.
HOLY COVENANT BOARD MEETING - FEBRUARY 16TH
The next Board meeting will be on February 16th.

You can find all the Board agenda, minutes and financials on our website. They are also posted on the bulletin board in Fellowship Hall.

You can find a PDF of the past Board Meetings Agenda, Minutes and church financials here
SHARE FOOD, SHARE LOVE FOOD PANTRY NEEDS YOUR HELP!
Some families will have a hard time providing healthy, nourishing food. Rising food costs caused by inflation, when combined with the ongoing pandemic, means that many family budgets that were already stretched thin, are no longer adequate to provide for their needs. Sometimes it is even necessary for families to do without essential items like medicine or professional health care, so that everyone has enough to eat.
 
You can make a real difference. Donating now is so important please take a minute to give so we can feed the hungry in our area.
Thank you!

PINTS WITH THE PASTOR
Join us at Pub 78 in beautiful downtown Brookfield for no-host dinner and/or drinks. conversation and good times from 6 pm - 8 pm.

Time: 6 pm, Thursday, February 9th.
Pub 78
3733 Grand Ave
Brookfield, IL 60513
SAGE CALENDAR, EVENTS & MENU
SAGE, a social support group for LGBTQ seniors, meets both via ZOOM and in person on Fridays at 1 pm. We hope to resume our lunches in July. Please contact Eric Eugenio Vironet (evironet@cmsschicago.org) if you plan to attend in person as space is limited. Click here to join the meeting

SAGE Events click here
West Suburban Senior Services calendar click here
SAGE CAFE MENU click here
AMAZON SMILE WILL BE DISCONTINUED IN FEBRUARY
We recently received an email from Amazon stating that they will be discontinuing the Amazon Smile program February 20th. It has been in existence since 2013 and Holy Covenant and been a part of it for many years.

In lieu of the donation to us with your purchases with Amazon, we ask that you look at our list of what items we are in need of. This list is available to see here Charity Lists and is updated as needed. You can order and pay for anything off this list and have it shipped directly to the church. We appreciate anything you can order for us!

We thank you for your continued support of Holy Covenant!
NEED POWER OF ATTORNEY OR WILL?

Contact the Center for Disability & Elder Law at Center for Disability and Elder Law. Click this link to see more information and links.
We mourn and pray for all the families who have suffered personal losses from gun violence at our schools, churches, and hospitals. public venues and other places.

Prayers for Ben's girlfriend Kristen's grandmother Harriet, who is 90, hospitalized for heart surgery, pneumonia and other health issues.3
Prayers for Sharon C. her speech therapy helps her to learn how to speak again after her stroke.1
Prayers for Debbie C. who is undergoing chemo for her stage 4 lung cancer.1

Prayers and strength for Ukraine, for those who are relocating, and to end the war and unnecessary deaths.
That God will provide for those who are hungry, unemployed, and homeless,
or in financial difficulties.
All those affected by HIV/AIDS, breast cancer, COVID-19, and other life-threatening illnesses.
All communities of faith.
LINKS AND OTHER INFORMATION

Missed a sermon?

Click here to catch up and watch on the Holy Covenant YouTube channel! 
If you or someone you know is in an emergency call 911 for help.

Need someone to talk to? Call the suicide lifeline by dialing 988.

NAMI - National Alliance on Mental Health
Every day brings something new—
and God is with us always!
9145 Grant Ave
Brookfield, IL 60513
Phone: 708.387.1611