In this week’s Weekly One Takes, High School Youth Director Martin Pruitt reflects on our Covenant Youth’s resiliency and shares a glimpse of the good and exciting things in store for them through the church this summer. 

If you didn’t get to tune in to Youth Sunday, he invites you to take some time to watch the service to enjoy remarkable prayer, reflection and music led by Covenant’s young people.

Watch today's Weekly One Takes.

On June 1, Shea Watts will join Covenant’s staff as Director of Contemporary Music and Worship Arts. He succeeds Jason Graffis, who will transition to a new role dedicated to supporting Covenant’s burgeoning audio, visual and technology needs.

Shea brings a tremendous amount of musical and leadership experience to this position. He holds a Ph.D. in Theology and Culture and a Master of Arts in Religious Studies from Chicago Theological Seminary. Most recently, he served as Associate Director of Contemporary and Children’s Worship and Liturgy at Christ Episcopal Church in Charlotte. Before that, he served at churches in Ohio and South Carolina.

Shea comes unequivocally endorsed by the personnel search committee tasked with filling this role.

“Without reservations, in unity and with a spirit of excitement about the ample gifts and talents we believe he brings, as well as the quality of individual we have come to know him to be, we commend Shea to this important position at Covenant,” says Philip James, chair of the search committee.

“I am honored and thrilled to begin my journey at Covenant Presbyterian Church,” says Shea, “and I look forward to meeting and worshiping with the congregation soon!”

Please welcome Shea next month and take a moment to familiarize yourself with some of his work in the meantime. 

Join us this Saturday, May 8 at noon as we say farewell to Pastoral Resident Ian Clark with an outdoor worship service at Covenant featuring bluegrass music, prayer, and faithful reflection. During the service, Ian will officially take his oath of office as an officer in the United States Navy and officially begin his new ministry as a chaplain to our nation's Sailors, Marines and Coast Guardsmen. Following the service, there will be a barbeque and time for in-person farewells.

Learn more and reserve your spot.

During the first four Sundays of May, the Sanctuary will be open for up to 50 members of our church community to view a livestream of the 9:30 a.m. worship service. Reservations are required and safety protocols will be in place. Please plan to arrive early to check in and greet friends before the service begins.

Reserve your space.

Join a Covenant group on Saturday, May 15 at 10:00 a.m. (rain date May 16 at 1:00 p.m.) for a two-hour walking tour of Uptown to explore Charlotte’s history of racial and economic injustice and how we as Christians are called to respond as we look towards our city’s future. Afterwards, we’ll gather for lunch and a discussion led by tour developer Greg Jarrell of QC Family Tree.

Participants also have the option to walk, bike or drive the tour on your own using an audio guide on your smart phone before joining the May 15 lunch discussion.

Reserve your spot for the tour and lunch.

Join Covenant friends on Saturday, May 8 at 9:00 a.m. for an easy, 3-mile hike at Landsford Canal State Park, home of the world's largest population of Rocky Shoals Spider Lilies.

Learn more and sign up for the hike.

Take-and-bake dinner on Wednesday, May 12, will be Hawaiian pork tenderloin, oven-roasted potatoes, asparagus and petit fours.



See the May menu and order now.

We are pleased to announce that Anne Lowrance, who served as Covenant's Children's Ministry Director for 10 years before retiring in 2018, and longtime Covenant member Sarah Askins will serve as Interim Children's Ministry Co-Directors through the summer as the Personnel committee works to permanently fill the position.

Anne and Sarah both bring a love of children and a love of Covenant that will be palpable throughout the summer as we re-engage with in-person gatherings and continue to build friendships within the church. 

Both will be at the upcoming Family Fun Days, and will work together to provide family engagement opportunities throughout the summer, including Sunday School, Wednesday evening Open Picnic Table, and Vacation Bible School.

Covenant's emailed contribution statements will sent on May 11. Please add noreply@shelbynextchms.com to your contact list to prevent this giving statement from being flagged as spam or junk by your email provider.

Couldn't make it to our Wednesday night series exploring our stained glass windows and the significance of those people depicted in them? Replays of the session are now available. You're invited to watch and share your thoughts with the Arts Task Force.

Check out the program.

The Recreation Wing is now open Monday - Thursday from 8:00 a.m. to noon and 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. and on Friday from 8:00 a.m. to noon.

Sign up for a time slot.

On Saturday, May 8, Young Adults will bring new life to a vegetable garden at McCreesh Place in NoDa. This will be a fun way to make a sustainable difference in our community while also learning more about homelessness and recovery.

Learn more and sign up.

Volunteers are invited to contribute sandwiches and bottled water for Roof Above's Operation Sandwich on Monday, June 7. Drop-off will be 10:00 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. in the Circle.

Learn more and sign up.

Join Covenant families for fun, fellowship and time with friends. Mark your calendar for Sunday, May 16 or Sunday May 23, both from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Pick the day that works best for you and plan to spend the afternoon at Covenant enjoying games, entertainment, singing and time together. 

Learn more and sign up.

Covenant's Surviving our Spouses (SOS) group is sponsoring a program led by In Christ Supporting Ministries via Zoom on Wednesday, May 19 at 7:00 p.m. exploring our culture’s approach to death with Paul’s treatment of death and resurrection in I Corinthians. This will be an opportunity to consider how thinking about our own death in Christ can help us live life more fully now. 

Learn more about the program and sign up to participate.

Make plans to participate in a summer series focused on better understanding racial and economic injustice. The program will kick off on May 15 with a civil rights and justice tour around Charlotte, followed by lunch and a discussion on the patio at Covenant.

In June, we'll host a reading of the book In My Grandmother's House by Yolanda Pierce, and, in July, we'll visit the Brooklyn Collective.

Learn more and sign up.