This Sunday, Dec. 22, 2019
4th Sunday of Advent
Gathering 10am
Click on underlined text to get more details, to connect to emails, or to visit our website .
The Family Table

   
             The best way to get to know someone is to hear their stories. Past episodes that they find important let us know what shaped them. Maybe the stories they leave out sometimes shape them even more….
            This Sunday we are focusing on those  begats , the list of who fathered whom that leads up to Jesus. I know you may be tempted to just skip all these seemingly unpronounceable names, but there is gold in this list. What Matthew chooses to include, that he didn’t have to include, is amazing. If this is the pedigree of a messiah, the messiah who has come is not what people expected.
            Let’s hang out at Jesus’s family table for a while – that Great Cloud of Witnesses table, full of the living and the dead. We’ll meet the ancestors that shaped God Incarnate and maybe learn a thing or two about the nature of God and what it means to be a human being trying to come all the way alive in a messy, beautiful and broken world.
 
Yours on the Journey,
Katie
The Mission Study Open Forms
 All members are invited to come Sun., Jan. 5, to one of three Mission Study Open Forums for 50 minutes after each of the three services:

  • After 8:30 Service: From 9:40 to 10:30am in the Lounge
  • After 10:00 Service: From 11:10am to 12pm in the Lounge
  • After 11:00 Service: From 12:10 to 1pm in the Fellowship Hall
Please come even if you responded to the survey in November; we were so grateful for this feedback, but we need your input in these Open Forums to delve further into issues in a rich discussion format. Any question related to the Mission Study will be fair game, but our facilitators will help us narrow in, with the benefit of our loving community of believers, on 1) WHERE IS COVENANT NOW, and 2) WHERE IS GOD CALLING US TO GO. 

Also, check out the display in the church’s hallway where we share initial results from the survey. Responding to the question, “ What programs do you love best at Covenant? , WORSHIP clearly won the prize as our most-beloved program. The bar-chart display shows that the other 5 program options fared well, too. Additionally, in answering the open question of “ Please describe the qualities you are looking for in our new pastor, ” many respondents mentioned the importance of finding a good preacher/ sermon-izer/ public speaker/ orator . For example, one respondent said, “ challenging, thought-provoking sermons ”. Another said, “ exceptionally strong preacher - dynamic, engaging, creative; excellent public speaker with the ability to take the lectionary and transform it into a relevant message...I want to leave church on Sundays with a guide to living in a more Christ-like way. ” Indeed, worship, sermons, and all our efforts here at Covenant help us to live in a more Christ-like way. 

Remember: “ You’re done with that old life. It’s like a filthy set of ill-fitting clothes... Now you’re dressed in a new wardrobe…. So...for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline…. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It’s your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it..." Colossians 3:9-17, selected phrases, THE MESSAGE .
The Longest Night Service 
Wed., Dec. 18, 7pm
Christmas is full of joy, but our hearts may have heaviness. This service offers a holy space in which we honor that pain and seek tender comfort. Need a ride or have questions, contact Katie Kinnison or Charlotte Sharpe.
Christmas Season at Covenant


• Christmas Eve, Dec. 24
5pm Children’s Candlelight Service - Our children are the worship leaders as we celebrate the birth of Jesus. Service is designed for families, and has the magic and tradition we so love.
8:00pm Candlelight Service - Join our Chancel Choir, special soloists, and guest musicians for an evening of story and song. Lush music, traditional carols, candle lighting, and the glorious message of the birth of Jesus! Christmas Eve Services Offering - The Deacons are supported by generous contributions from the congregation that help provide funds for the ministry activities. 
• Primetimers’ Holiday Party - Fri., Dec. 27, 12pm - Bring an appetizer and a wrapped white elephant. Contact Jude McLean.
• New Year’s Eve Communion & Prayer - Tues., Dec. 31, 5-7pm  
Come and go as you wish for reflection and prayer. Pick up a booklet of spiritual gems to ponder or just sit and enjoy the peace. All are welcome to come up for Communion at any time. We invite you to begin this New Year awake to the presence of the One in whom we live and move and have our being.

Holiday Church Closings 
Dec. 25-27; Jan. 1-3 (Office always closed on Fridays.)
Hallelujah: The Bible and Handel’s Messiah
Thur., Dec. 19, 6pm, Chapel
Sundays, Dec. 22, 9:45-10:45am, Pastor's Office
You may love the music, but do you know the scripture? For both the music lover and the biblical seeker, it explores the scriptural texts of Handel's Messiah. We’ll listen to clips of this masterpiece and study its biblical lyrics. Pastor Jeri-Lynne facilitating. Register in advance so we can order resource books in a timely manner.
Covenant's Children’s Center Seeks:
After-School Teacher . For details, contact Caroline McGeoch, Director of the Children’s Center.
Our Mission
Covenant Presbyterian Church is an open, accepting community awakening to God's life-giving love together.
Our Vision
Covenant Presbyterian Church glorifies God and builds relationships with Christ and each other through: worship that inspires, nurture that embraces, education that challenges,
fellowship that energizes, ministry that responds.