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THE FIRE IS BURNING!

Dearly beloved, 

How exciting it is to see the flame of the Spirit light a fire under our congregation and allow it to do great things in the name of the Lord.  One year ago we approached the Session asking them to pledge to the Light the Fire Campaign and less than a month later asked the congregation to do the same. 

I am pleased to share with you that each part of the campaign prospectus has been fully funded. 

I am even more pleased to share with you the accomplishments the church has done since June, all the projects initiated and completed and all the mission and ministry begun. 

I am perhaps even more pleased to share with you that at the Light the Fire “Burn the Mortgage Dinner” we will burn both portions of the outstanding mortgages and be “mortgage free”.  We are not exaggerating; we will literally burn the mortgage as part of our celebration. 

I am perhaps even more delighted to share with you that we intend to help fund a Habitat for Humanity House here in Washington through LYF and that this will be done in memory of our beloved Associate Pastor, The Reverend Randy Boyer.  This fall Randy will be awarded Habitat’s most prestigious award for his love for the people of Washington and his fervent commitment to housing issues in our community. 

The fire is indeed burning.  And all credit goes to God for all the many blessings He has showered upon us as a people.  This is what can happen when we believe in the power in God and trust one another in faith. 

So you will want to mark your calendars now for a signal day in the history of The Church of the Covenant.  Please plan on coming to church at 10:00 a.m. on Sunday, May 20, 2012 and then staying for the Celebration Brunch and Program that follows in the Covenant Center.  We will celebrate all that the Lord has done for us, humbly reminding ourselves that apart from God we could do nothing. 

Light the Fire —Burn the Mortgage —Keep the Fire Burning! 

God bless you and see you in church! 

Faithfully,

Dr. Stu Broberg

 

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Church Closing Policy and/or Other Emergency Inclement Weather

The following is a policy for when The Church of the Covenant activities and worship services would be cancelled due to inclement weather and the process for how that decision would be made. Factors influencing the decision include: the safety of the members of the congregation; the ability of staff members to report in; the ability to clear the parking lot and steps for safety reasons; whether there is power, light and electricity; whether roads are clear; the closing policy of Trinity School District; and other factors.

I. Sunday Mornings:

In the event that inclement weather is predicted and especially under the circumstances where many other churches are cancelling their services the three pastors and the Clerk of Session would speak by phone and make the decision by 5:00 p.m. on Saturday the day before worship on Sunday. They would E-mail the Session advising them of the decision and the reasons for that decision.

The Church Administrator would contact the TV stations and WJPA for them to broadcast our closing as well as posting it on the church website. The church phone message then is updated with the closing information recorded.

If possible a sign is posted on the entry doors into the Commons area.

In addition to the Session E-mail, E-mails would be sent to the Deacons, the Fellowship of Concern, and the Director of Music would contact the choir, the Director of Children’s Ministry would contact the Sunday School Teachers (asking them to call students), the Youth Advisors would be contacted (the young people contacted by the advisors).

II. Weekdays:

In the event inclement weather is predicted and where the Trinity School District has cancelled classes for the following day the pastors would speak by phone and also include the Director of the Preschool in the decision to cancel all church activities for the following day. The preschool has its own policy and that is to follow the closing schedule of the Trinity School district. The pastors would consult with the preschool Director to make certain the closing decisions are in agreement.

In the event there are activities of general interest, such as Faith Night, where many people might be coming and we would not necessarily know who intends to attend, again the Church Administrator would contact the TV stations and WJPA for them to broadcast our closing as well as posting it on the church website. The church phone message then is updated with the closing information recorded.

In the event there are activities of specific and limited interest, (say, just one activity scheduled or just one committee meeting scheduled) a phone call would be placed to the leader/ chair and they and the staff rep would be asked to make phone calls to likely attenders. We would not broadcast our closing where it would only have limited effect and direct contact would be more effective.
SDB 02/09/10 revised: 02/23/10

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The Perfect Gift

Dearly beloved:

There was “no room in the inn” for Jesus at His birth; but there was an empty manger. So where Jesus was born was empty and where He could not get in was full. For us, then, as Christians in advance of Christmas, this suggests the places in our lives where Jesus will and will not be born this year.

We spend so much time, effort and money seeking to purchase the perfect gift for those we love. Under the tree becomes full; our closets become full; our storage spaces become full; our attics and our basements and our garages become full. But ironically, of course, none of these places are where the Baby Jesus will be born in us this year. The inns of our lives are FULL and so there is no room for the Christ Child.

But then there are the empty spaces in our lives. There are our losses and our brokenness; our sadnesses and our unanswered prayers. There are the empty seats around the holiday dining room table where once sat loves ones. There are the struggles in our lives, our doubts and our defeats, and the places where dreams used to live but now are empty. Interestingly, it has been my observation that these are the very places where Jesus is spiritually born and re-born into our lives at Christmas. He is born into our empty mangers, not into our full inns.

Invite Him in this year. Open up the empty spaces of our lives and invite Him in. Spend less time filling up our lives with parties, decorations, purchases –all which fill up our calendars, our credit cards and our storage spaces—and spend more time seeking the Christ Child in places like worship and study and prayer –all which fill up the empty and broken spaces of our lives with a Living Savior, born this Christmas to fill our heart with love and peace and joy.

Invite others to do the same; invite people we really do care about and love to experience with us the PERFECT GIFT we may receive this Christmas –the new spiritual birth of Jesus into our opening and waiting hearts this year!

Christ IS the perfect gift this CHRISTmas! Without Him our heart remains empty.

Faithfully,
Dr. Stu Broberg

Special Worship begins with the first Sunday of Advent, November 27th; Please plan on attending the Christmas Concert and Dinner on Wednesday, December 14th (Dinner at 6:00 p.m. –Choral Program at 7:30 p.m.); Please plan on attending our special Family Festival Sunday on December 18th (One service at 10:00 a.m. followed by the Live Nativity Scene); Please plan on attending our two Christmas Eve Services at 6:30 p.m. or 11:00 p.m. –What a PERFECT GIFT this Christmas!

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I Love To Tell This Story

I LOVE TO TELL THE STORY

Dear friends of The Church of the Covenant: 

I love to tell the story of what God is doing in our midst!  Whether it is a church staff working their heart out to deliver wonderful ministry, or a new Webpage, or new mission commitments like hosting Family Promise (IHN) or the Backpack Ministry through Washington Christian Outreach, the increased effectiveness of Adult Education and the E-100 online studies, Childrens’ Ministry including more and more families and children through new events like the Punkin Patch this fall, the arrival of our new Director of Youth, Alex Miller, or the highly successful Health Fair…I could go on and on and on about all the WONDERFUL things that the Lord is doing through The Church of the Covenant.  But this takes our sustained giving in order to maintain this new level of effectiveness… 

I love to tell the story of much needed building maintenance projects accomplished through a combination of the Light the Fire monies, and the endowment monies and the regular session operating Maintenance Budget monies.  Air conditioners have been repaired, leaky roofs long needing repair have been fixed, the boiler has been retrofitted in a way that will save us utility money, the parking lot has been repaired, a new projector has been purchased for the Covenant Center, and we will soon begin the much needed replastering and repainting project for the sanctuary.  All of this could not be accomplished without the generous support of the congregation.  But all of this hard work has barely caught us up to even, addressing deferred maintenance projects deferred over a ten year period of time.  We still need your sustained support to continue the needed ongoing repairs and maintenance of our wonderful facility… 

I love to tell the story of so many people stepping up to the ministry plate in so many different ways.  The Session stepping forward to lead spiritually; the Deacons becoming more and more effective in their pastoral outreach; individuals seeing a mission need and stepping forward to volunteer to address it; not waiting for the pastors to say something needs to be done but people taking the initiative on their own; a caring, compassionate congregation reaching out to those in need of a visit; a warm and inviting congregation where visitors always note how accepted they feel and how they immediately feel part of the church family.  God is doing a great work in us and through us… 

So I urge each member to get in touch with their own story of how God has impacted them; moments of grace; answers to prayer; deepening the work of the Spirit in our heart and lives; loving one another and loving God…  When we consider God’s work in our own lives we realize how the only response to God’s grace is with thankfulness, gratitude and thanksgiving for all the Lord has blessed us with over these past three years. 

Let us celebrate and let us tell and retell the old, old story of Jesus’ love and faithfulness to us! 

Blessings!

Dr. Stu Broberg

 

 

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Month of Mission

Dear friends:

I write this month to compliment the mission effort of the church. Have you noticed how much more we have been doing over the past couple of years? From the youth mission trips and the Menaul, New Mexico Mission trip (as I write this the team is there serving the Lord!) to the Haiti Mission (which leaves October 15th) to Reach Out Weekend (the first weekend in October) to the Health Fair the end of September to the hosting of IHN (Now called Family Promise), to the Habitat for Humanity work teams, The Church of the Covenant is engaged in its community and world.

It is exciting to watch as people understand that faith without works is dead and that the most alive anyone can ever be is in serving the Lord through serving others in Jesus’ name.

Sometimes I think we think the church is there to serve us. It is like a provider of religious
services –“I want visited when I have needs, I want worship I like, I want programs for my kids, I pay money and in return I get served”. But that’s not the church of Jesus Christ. That’s a country club, not a church. I don’t want to be part of a religious club, I want to be part of a CHURCH!

The church of our Lord Jesus Christ are people who seek to serve and not to be served. It is about dying to self that others might live. It is about mission to others. Its about cross-carrying and servanthood and service to our community and world. It is about serving, not being served. It is always personal and involves the engagement of our own heart.

Jesus said: “If anyone serves me, he will follow me…” (John 12: 26) Don’t ever fool yourself into thinking that following Jesus, the suffering servant, doesn’t entail serving our community and world.

Good job Mission Committee, Deacons, Randy, OAR , Habitat Team, IHN volunteers and a whole host of people who have stepped up to challenge us to be the church Christ has called us to be.

You have the opportunity this month to serve –don’t you want to be part of Reach Out Weekend and discover the aliveness and joy in serving others?

Faithfully,
Dr. Stu Broberg

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Adult Discipleship Opportunities

The Adult Christian Education Task Group, under the direction of the Christian Ed continues to  providing opportunities to not only know about God but to know Jesus Christ as the Lord and Savior.  Please contact Randy Boyer with any questions (724-222-0190 X 15).

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Services

Church of the Covenant currently has three services.

Traditional Services | 8:30 AM & 11:00 AM in Sanctuary

These services are done in a traditional manner with traditional music and rituals.

“943″ Service | 9:43 in the Covenant Center

This service is more relaxed modern version. This service has more contemporary music and is in general more child friendly.

Holiday Worship Schedule:

Sunday, December 18 ~Festival Sunday! One service at 10:00AM in the Sanctuary!  Children’s Musical and a Live Nativity will all be part of this special celebration at 10:00 AM in the Sanctuary

Saturday, December 24 ~ Christmas Eve:   Family Worship Service at 6:30 PM   ~  Traditional Candlelight Service at 11:00 PM

Sunday, December 25 ~ Christmas Day:  One Worship Service at 11:00 AM in the Sanctuary

Sunday, January 1 ~ New Year’s Day:  One Service at 11:00 AM in the Covenant Center

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