February 23, 2017
The Church of the Covenant


I give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart;
   before the gods I sing your praise. 
Psalm 138:1



Worship for Sunday, February  26

" I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ." (Philippians 1:4) The disorienting and re-orienting work of the Psalms in our lives is just the beginning. Now we are called to journey onward, transformed. Join us at 10:00 am as we conclude our sermon series on the Psalms this Sunday with "Just the Beginning."

Scriptures are Psalm 138 and Philippians 1:3-11 .
Melanie Marsh Baum is preahcing; o ur Student Lay Worship Leader is Kate Tracanna. 

Bulletins are generally available on line by Friday at CovenantWeb.org/read/listen.

Conversation with Elders: This Sunday you are invited to talk with Session members Kitty Jarjisian and Carol Roe  in All Saints Chapel following worship. They can answer questions and hear comments re lated to their work on behalf of the church.
Sunday Schedule for Covenant Youth
It was wonderful seeing so many children and youth 
in worship last week! 

Come again this week for:
Choir: 10:15ish - 11:00
Snactivity: 11:00 - 11:15
Youth Sunday Prep: 11:15 - 12:00

The Youth Sunday Prep is going very well - a BIG THANK YOU to ALL the children and youth for their ideas and participation as well as to our adult volunteers  Jenny Conner, John Marsh, Jim Tomaszewski and Ann Williams . Keep up the great work. May 7th will be here before we know it!

DWELLERS (4th-7th graders) will meet from 12:00-1:30 in the Living Room. Please bring $5 to help with lunch cost.

Questions:  Email Mindy Stewart, Director of Family Ministries, at MStewart@CovenantWeb.org.

Sunday children will collect food for the Covenant Food Pantry. 
The Pantry is open the last Wednesday and Friday morning each month as well as for emergencies that might arise during the month. 

The Pantry could use canned soup, canned meat (chicken, Spam), canned beef stew, peanut butter, canned vegetables, and corn muffin mix. Financial donations are also welcomed.
While all children are more than welcome to remain in the service, we have a nursery for infants through pre-kindergarten age children. Activities packets are available from the ushers.
Music Notes
This Sunday  Covenant welcomes Peter Bennett, Associate Professor of Musicology at CWRU. He will accompany the choir in singing Hubert Parry's I Was Glad, an exuberant, festive setting of Psalm 122. Parry wrote the piece in 1902 for the coronation of King Edward VII, and it has been sung at every coronation since. Merav Eldan will present another of Dvorak's Biblical Songs as the introit. Later, Mendelssohn's He, Watching over Israel will serve as the offertory. Taken from the oratorio Elijah, the text consoles all followers of Christ that He will never abandon them. The postlude continues with another piece of Mendelssohn's, the Fugue in G major, whose counterpoint and structure demonstrates his familiarity with the of the works of J.S. Bach.
Black History Forum Series
Black History Forum Series: 
"Unpacking Black Lives Matter" 
Dr. Zachery R. Williams
11:30 am, Beckwith Hall
 "The Challenge for the 21st Century Church"
Dr. Zachery Williams, Associate Professor of African American History at the University of Akron, is the forum presenter. We thank Dr. Williams for being with us for this four-Sunday forum series that concludes Sunday.   Click here to learn more about Dr. Williams.

If you would like, you are invited to bring baked goods to share during this final forum.
  
Out in the open wisdom calls aloud, she raises her voice in the public square.
Proverbs 1:20
In the Covenant Family
Angel of Prayer
We keep in our prayers David Browne, Akeya Clark (Marie Jones' niece), Rich Day (friend of Bill Braun and Cathy Luck), Mia James, Stephanie Johnson, Timothy Moyer (Jonathan Moyer's brother), Carol Pennza (Jim Pennza's mother), Tim Shuckerow (Kathryn Mierke's friend), and Chris Warner (Kathryn Mierke's friend). We pray for Covenant members and friends who are struggling with illness, convalescing, or are homebound; the patients, family, and staff in our surrounding hospitals; and those who have placed prayer requests in our Carpenter's Box. 

Our prayers are with  Laura Pulliam, David's wife, and daughters Hannah and Brooke, on the death of David Pulliam on February 16 in Cleveland. The Memorial Service will be Saturday, March 4, at 2:00 pm in the Covenant Sanctuary. 

Thank you  from Karen Ault to everyone who brought cookies to share with the USO and from Mary Anne Bromelmeier for the salads and desserts for lunch at Transplant House of Cleveland.
 
Mary Anne reports that this first dinner was a success. 
I took three salads, a selection of bread and four desserts to Transplant House to compliment the batch of chili I made. Seven people attended the lunch, two recipients and five care givers. Food was also taken to three recipients in their rooms. Three people at lunch had also attended worship service at the Covenant that morning and the week prior. The group very much appreciated everything provided. It was one of the transplant recipients's birthdays so we put candles in the brownies and strudel and sang happy birthday! 

Jonathan Moyer is away from February 22 through February 27 playing an organ concert at Duke University Chapel on Sunday, February 26.  Kevin Lowry is on paternity leave through March 10, with modified hours in the office. 


Happy Birthday to those celebrating in March!  
Glenn Anderson
Carney Blake
Emily Blake
Kirsten Braun
Ray Brown
Wini Buford
Ginna Cowan
Susan Dahm
Barbara Davidson
Cassie Denbow
Carol Eckner
Tabi Enoh
Kathy Farkas
Lauren Finkenthal
Theodis Fipps
Hiram Foster
Anne Groszek
Katherine Hagen
Marjorie Heines
Keasia Jones
Mark Kamitsuka
Paul Kamitsuka
Gary Kaserman
Cindy Goodman Langmack
Alex Lilley
Vicki Lovegren
Michelle Mate
Cathy Miller
Nancy Roeder
Ian Rorick
Liz Shriver
Ann Stark
Mindy Stewart
Linda Stoneking
Oliver Young

Our apologies if we have missed your birthday! 
Please call the office at 216.421.0482 to let us know.
Bear one another's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
Galatians 6:2   
Habitat Apostle's Build Home Dedication
Habitat Home Dedication -  Saturday, March 4, 12:00 noon
10014 Sophia Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44104

This past year on three Saturdays Covenant volunteers were part of Habitat for Humanity's Apostle's Build efforts to rehab local homes.  The Chamonique home will be dedicated on March 4. See flyer.

Habitat shared this message from Chamonique: "I am so grateful for all your kindness. My homes growing up were all rented out, so this is so special for me to show my son that it can be done-that we can have a home."  Learn more about Chamonique and her son.

Covenant is again partnering with Habitat 
Mark your calendars for Thursday, April 6; Saturday, April 8, and Saturday, June 10.
Watch for sign up sheets in the Church Office.
Opportunities!
Oscar Party for Young Professionals - Sunday, February 26, 6:30 pm
Sunday February 26, Melanie Marsh Baum and Mindy Stewart will host an Oscar Party gathering for young professionals in our church community. The event will take place at the home of Mindy Stewart at 6:30 pm. For more information contact Melanie MBaum@CovenantWeb.org or Mindy MStewart@CovenantWeb.org for details. 
Susan & Will Klein
Financial Peace University
Beginning Tuesday, March 7, 7:00 pm

Financial Peace University (FPU) is a life-changing money management class that will show you step-by-step how to take control of your money. Over the course of this nine week class you will learn practical ways on how to get out of debt and stay out; how to save for emergencies; and how to begin saving for retirement. It's never too late to start taking control. FPU is a unique and useful tool for anyone interested in taking control of their finances and truly achieving financial peace. Classes are Tuesday evenings, 7:00- 8:30 pm starting March 7.  Sign up at www.daveramsey.com/fpu/classes/1031074 or call the church office. Facilitated by Covenant members Susan and Will Klein. Talk with them or email will@5kleins.com for more information. 

Christian Meditation, Saturdays during Lent
Meditation has become mainstream, used in healthcare, exercise classes, workplaces, and other settings. But Christian meditation has a rich tradition spanning nearly two thousand years. On Saturdays during Lent, we will explore the history and the practice of meditation. Facilitated by Amy Starr Redwine, all who attend will walk away with concrete tools to practice this ancient spiritual discipline.   Click here to register or sign up in the church office.  The time will be determined by those who register.  
linda wilson
Linda Wilson announces retirement after 2018 Spring Semester.
The Saturday Tutoring Program Steering Committee is seeking participants to plan for future leadership. 
Contact John Marsh to learn more or call the Church office, 216.421.0482.

The Saturday Tutoring Program has developed and is sustained under the loving and dedicated management of Linda Wilson. During her 27th year Linda has advised us that she will be retiring from her position after the spring semester of 2018. We are very thankful to be receiving this news with enough time to plan for a transition of leadership for the Saturday Tutoring Program. The Saturday Tutoring Program is an important way the Covenant reaches out and ministers to its surrounding community. Does the mission of the Saturday Tutoring Program compel you?  The Saturday Tutoring Program Steering Committee is seeking participants who feel called to help plan to sustain this vital ministry.  READ MORE.   Learn more about the Saturday Tutoring Program
In the Community
Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage 
Guided Tour of "This Light of Ours: Activist Photographers of the Civil Rights Movement "
Sunday, February 26 
1:15 pm to car pool; 1:50 pm at the Maltz Museum
$10 per person. Click here to learn more and RSVP or call Martha Goble at 216.321.6775.
Sponsored by the Heights Community Congress

This groundbreaking exhibit features "Arresting black-and-white photographs from the Center for Documentary Expression and Art" a stirring look at turmoil and triumphs during a critical moment in the country's history. 'This Light of Ours'  exposes the struggle against race-based disenfranchisement through the works of nine photographers who were part of the Southern Freedom Movement and documented the experiences of people who stood up to change America." 
Case Baroque Orchestra & Case Concert Choir Collaborative Concert
Friday, March 3, 8:00 pm at Church of the Covenant  
$5 General Admission | Students Free with ID
Tickets available at the door (free parking available).


Case Concert Choir: Dr. Matthew Garrett, director (Associate Director of Music at Covenant)
Baroque Orchestra: Dr. Julie Andrijeski, director
Also featuring Covenant's Music Department Intern, Abraham Ross

The CWRU Music Department presents the first-ever collaboration between the Case Baroque Orchestra and the Case Concert Choir! Our repertoire celebrates the British Monarchy, with organ selections by William Byrd and Samuel Sebastian Wesley, performed by Church of the Covenant's Music Department Intern Abraham Ross, and selections from Handel's  Ode for Saint Cecilia's Day , and Parry's coronation anthem  I Was Glad . Our program concludes with two of Handel's coronation anthems,  Let Thy Hand Be Strengthened and  Zadok the Priest . Join us as we explore the sound of this music with 18th  Century orchestral instruments and, in contrast, with Church of the Covenant's Newberry and Chancel organs.  music.case.edu
Dr. Nahida Halaby Gordon presenting readings from her book
Palestine Is Our Home: Voices of Loss, Courage, and Steadfastness

Saturday, March 4, 6:30 pm
West Shore Unitarian Universalist Church
20401 Hilliard Blvd, Rocky River, OH 44116
 
Sunday, March 6, 2:30 pm
Cleveland Heights-University Heights Public Library
2345 Lee Road, Cleveland Heights, Ohio 44118
 
Nahida Halaby Gordon, PhD, is Professor Emerita in Probability and Statistics at CWRU, a member of the Advocacy Committee for Racial Ethnic Concerns of the Presbyterian Church (USA), a member of the Interfaith Council for Peace in the Middle East, and a life-long Presbyterian and church Elder. Professor Gordon, a Palestinian-American, experienced firsthand the 1948 Palestinian Nakba. This book is an expression of her passion for peace and justice for the people of Palestine.
 
Sponsored by the Cleveland Peace Action Education Fund, West Shore Imagine Peace, Interfaith Peace Builders, and The Interfaith Council for Peace in the Middle East.  Contact Jeff Kassouf, 440-899-0101, for more information.
11205 Euclid Avenue  Cleveland, OH 44106
Wheelchair accessible

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