Covenant E-News
August 1, 2019
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Phone: 216.421.0482 | Fax: 216.791.2228 | Open Wi-Fi: COTC-guest
Visit our Website
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Worship this Sunday, August 4, 2019
10:00 am in the Sanctuary Celebrating Communion
Dress casually to stay cool.
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We welcome the Reverend Darryl Baker to Covenant this Sunday.
Darryl is Honorably Retired from the Presbytery of Transylvania and lives in Lexington, Kentucky. He is a graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary and the Presbyterian School of Christian Education. He has served five installed pastorates in five different states and served eight churches as Interim (Transitional) Pastor in six different states.Darryl is married to Ginny Harville Baker, a Masters Degreed Christian Educator. They have two adult daughters - Erin Tomko, (husband Nick Tomko) of Shaker Heights, OH; and Nicole Baker,(significant other, Tim Clarke) of Grand Junction, CO. Darryl is an avid tennis player, lover of music, and hiker.
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We continue our summer worship series with the story of Jacob.
Join us this Sunday as we continue our summer worship series, The Journey. The Reverend Darryl Baker's sermon is entitled "Covenant Renewal." The s
cripture is
Psalm 107:1–9
;
Luke 12:32–40
.
Our Lay Worship Leader is Carol Roe who will also be sharing her spiritual journey.
Children Are Welcome Here!
Children are always welcome to fully participate in worship. We invite children to join us at a Worship Center for various activities during the service at the front of the Sanctuary..
Tell us your favorite hymns!
Throughout the summer, you are invited to suggest a favorite hymn or two and share why they are special to you. Please contact Matthew Garrett with your songs and stories:
MGarrett@CovenantWeb.org.
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Music Notes
We welcome Dr. Peter Bennett as our organist this week. He teaches in the Musicology and Historical Performance Practice programs at CWRU. A scholar of early-modern France – focusing in particular on the intersection of music, religion, and politics in Louis XIII’s Paris – Dr. Bennett has also long been active as a harpsichordist and organist, in Europe (where he studied) and the USA.
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The Reverend Ken Jones to serve as Acting Head of Staff for the month of August.
At their recent meeting Session has engaged the Reverend Ken Jones, a retired Presbyterian pastor, as the part-time Acting Head of Staff for 20 hour per week for the month of August .The Reverend Ken Jones along with his wife the Reverend Suzanne Carter have preached and worshiped at Covenant..At this same meeting Session also set the August worship schedule. Reverend Jones will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of his
ordination this year. He was born and raised in Philadelphia, PA' is a graduate of Lafayette College (PA) and San Francisco Theological Seminary (CA), served in five churches in greater Cleveland, worked for ten years on the staff of the Presbytery of the Western Reserve and honorably retired in 2006 after a three year term as mission coworker with spouse Susanne Carter in South Africa.
August Worship Schedule
Sunday,August 4 - Sanctuary The Rev. Darryl Baker, preaching
Sunday,August 11
Dowd Commons, Rabbi Roger Klein Associate Rabbi,
The Temple Tifereth Israel preaching; remembering those impacted by gun violence
Sunday, August 18 Dowd Commons Kevin Lowry preaching; food ollection
Sunday, August 28 Sanctuary, Kevin Lowry preaching;Students First Sunday
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Last Sunday, Bidding Melanie Farewell with our blessings
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Blessing Melanie's children
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Presenting Melanie with her portrait
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Melanie's portrait by Nancy Hribar Matz,Zena Photography
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Welcome to the the Reverend Mark A. Medina
Covenant's Transitional Interim Minister beginning September 1
On Sunday, July 16, Session approved the recommendation of the Interim Pastor Search Committee to hire the Reverend Mark A. Medina (pronounced Medeena) as Covenant's Transitional Interim Pastor. The Reverend Medina will start his work with Covenant on September 1.
Read more here.
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Trustee
Golf Outing for Members and Friends
August 10
The Trustees would like to welcome all of you and your friends, to the Church of the Covenant Golf Outing on
August 10, 2019.
You don’t have to know how to play to participate. This is a social event where your participation is welcome. If you know how to drive a cart, count or even use a putter you are qualified to play. Come and enjoy this unique scramble golf outing and TEE up with us on August 10. Please sign up in the office or notify Paul Williams, Martha Goble (216.403.4805) or Keith Kallay. The cost is $38 per person which includes 18 holes of golf, a cart and food. If you don’t have clubs, don’t worry In a scramble event you may share.
Directions to Hemlock Springs Golf Course.
Head East on I 90 to exit 218 turn right (South) to Cork Springs Rd. Turn left on Cork Springs Rd. and travel 1.5 miles to the golf course on the right. You can also meet at the church parking lot by 11:30 to be part of our caravan, or just meet everyone at the course. You can pay at the course and they accept credit cards. Please let Martha know that you are participating 216-403-4805. Thanks!
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We're still welcoming your suggestions and ideas.
with the Ministry of Faith Formation!
The Ministry of Faith Formation would like to learn what you
like about a worship bulletin. Share your thoughts and ideas with us in a variety of ways:
1. If you visit a church during your summer travels, bring a bulletin back with you and share it with MoFF. Let us know what you
liked about the document.
2. If your out-of-town family worships at a church and they
like their bulletin, ask them to share a copy (mail, online) so we can take a look at it.
We hope to gather documents and ideas over the next month so we can explore ways to express who we are as a faith community through our weekly worship bulletin. Documents and accompanying notes may be left in the church office (MoFF mailbox is behind the receptionist desk). Thanks for your good ideas and for remembering MoFF during your summer travels!
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Each week members of the Covenant Community
have been sharing their faith journey at Covenant.
This past Sunday Ed Laylin shared his story.
When we don’t know how or what to pray, the Spirit knows. When all we can muster are sighs and silence, the Spirit is listening. When we feel unworthy to approach God, the Spirit goes before us and stands with us, and God welcomes us.
A few weeks ago, I was asked to relate a summary of my spiritual journey. It is commonly believed that each of us is a summation of our experiences and how we choose to filter life through our reaction to those experiences. An accident on our farm when I was four or five took away my oldest brother, leaving my parents with four children. My father became emotionally detached and mom had five more babies trying to make up for the loss. None of us had the skills to cope with this. I grew up wanting answers and wanting out. I was bitter, angry, lonely, and confused. I began looking for more.
In Richard Rohr's book on the Trinity,
The Divine Dance, he explains that "the energy in the universe is not in the planets, or in the protons or neutrons, but in the relationship between them.” Not in the particles but in the space between them. This is where all the power for infinite renewal is at work.
Thirty years later, I had mostly given up on getting answers but we needed to get our four-year old Ray some biblical grounding from a good church home. The new associate pastor saw me as an ally for her projects. We started by using our Reiki skills for healing people in the congregation. People like Chuck Langmack, Jan Sperry, and a dozen others. A lady named Bobby Lister saw that I would be happier with some spiritual tutoring and guidance. She took me under her wing and into her home. I did a Serendipity Bible study at her house for a couple years and continued to be part of her family for many more.
Do you see a pattern here? Our choices, based on our experiences define the road we are on. We increase our options by the people we allow into our lives. I looked inside to build a personal relationship with God through reading, prayer, and meditation. I also need people who are “God in community”. People who helped build my spiritual tools and teach how to use them. They helped me to become the person I came into this life to be. Through them I could accomplish the growth, learn the lessons, and evolve past the trials to become my highest and best self.
I am standing here because I listened to the people God put into my life to teach me and help me. I had choices because Jonyrma spent years developing my healing skills and teaching me a genuine compassion for the people in my life that didn't live in my house. Bobby Lister was open and available to help me and people like me believe in hope and have the faith to wait for the answers. I didn’t have to stay “stuck” in my past.
The Church of the Covenant was my spiritual university. I was in the first Education for Ministry class, went on several interstate mission trips, taught the Worship Center for many years, was a Deacon forever, spent many nights here for sleepovers, and helped wherever I could. I am still a Stephens Minister and 20 years later, we still have the Healing Circle here.
Be careful which opportunities you say no to. God might just have an important answer on the other side of your yes. I am currently helping to start a third Reiki based healing center within an hour of Cleveland Since Jonyrma changed her address. I am also speaking, preaching, teaching, counseling, healing, and teaching healing in churches, homes, hospitals, and gathering places around Northeast Ohio and various states because of Jonerma Singleton, Bobby Lister, Jim Dowd, Laury Larson, Pete Parry and others. People who put God’s agenda before their agenda.
My goal is to give every one with a need, a chance to learn what I learned; to help them be unstuck, to help them find the God within and the God around them. My purpose is to help each person remember that they are a spirit, who has a soul, and lives in a body. Each of us is part of the Creator and part of the Creation. We are in constant touch with a God who has a vested interest in our well-being and our success as a fragment of the consciousness of humanity.
I am making a difference in people's lives on the phone and face-to-face every day. I make myself available wherever I find a need. I Offer. Sometimes they accept, sometimes they don't. Every time I offer, they have a choice. They can choose to listen to that "still small voice" and surround themselves with people like Jonyrma and Bobby or they can stay on the path that they have chosen, and live another tomorrow that is just like yesterday.
My spiritual journey this far is a personal training course for my highest and best good, because I listened to that still small voice, and I honored the people God has sent to help me.
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Judy Bourne, Akeya Clark (Marie Jones's niece), Doug and Ruth Devin, David Keltner, Rolf (Crunch) Krotseng, Greg Madison, and Gabriel (Jenny Conner's grand-nephew). We pray for those struggling with illness, convalescing, or homebound; patients, family, and staff in our surrounding hospitals; and those who left prayer requests in our Carpenter's Box.
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Our prayers
are with the family of Diana (Dee) Hough who died July 19, 2019.
Calling hours are today from 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm before a
Memorial Gathering at the Latek & Rybicki Family Funeral Homes, 7906 Broadview Road, Broadview Heights, 44147
Click here for more information.
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Summer office hours
are weekdays from 9 am until 4 pm.
Tuesday Bible Study
is taking a summer break.
Watch for more information in the fall!
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Names are generally removed from the bulletin after four weeks unless there is a continuing need. Please let the church know if you or a loved one is in the hospital; HIPAA privacy regulations prevent hospitals from sharing this information.
Bear one another's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
~ Galatians 6:2
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Ministry of Faith Formation Task Groups
The Adult Education group
met
July 16
to plan for a series of Sunday Adult Forum Seminars and to think about additional opportunities for adult spiritual development. Contact Matthew Garrett at
MGarrett@CovenantWeb.org
to get involved.
The Children and Youth Education group
met on July 9 to consider programming for this age group on Sundays and beyond. Join with Kaori Hongo and others to plan. Contact Kaori at
KHongo@CovenantWeb.org.
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Carillon Concerts
& Tower Tours
Carolyn Bolden , Guest Carillonneur
Denver Colorado
August 2 | 12:15-12:45 pm
Sunday, August 4 | 11:00-11:30 am
Carolyn will play several hymn arrangements, a show tune, several folk songs, and original compositions for carillon.
During July and August, the Friday Lunchtime Carillon Concert will be repeated on Sunday morning rain or shine at 11. Look for programs at the refreshments table. The tower will be open to visitors. These concerts are presented by the Friends of the McGaffin Carillon through a grant from Cuyahoga Arts and Culture.
Bring a lawn chair or blanket, a picnic, and a friend. Free Parking.
A tour of the tower is available following the Friday concert and
is open on Sunday morning during the concert..
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Traffic Alert for MLK Drive:
Construction on I-90 exit ramps at Martin Luther King Jr. Drive starts July 29
The Ohio Department of Transportation will begin work July 29 on both the eastbound and westbound exit ramps from I-90 to Martin Luther King Jr. Drive (Exit 177). Traffic on both exit ramps will be maintained. All lanes on ramps will remain open, and traffic will be shifted with construction. There will be overnight ramp closures (between 8 p.m. and 5 a.m.) toward the end of the project for paving work.
Delays at the exit ramps are expected during construction. Motorists are encouraged to take the East 72nd Street exit from I-90 (Exit 175) during peak commute times to avoid delay.
Click here to learn more.
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Summer Desserts for Transplant House
This summer we are again working with our mission partner, Transplant House, to provide desserts for the residents and their families. You can help by donating cash ($11.50 buys one quart of ice cream), or providing treats to serve 12 people. Sign up in the church office. For more information, contact
Mary Anne Bromelmeier
.
Click here
to learn more about Transplant House.
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Theology on Tap
TODAY
Thursday, August 1 | 5:30 pm
Noble Beast Brewing Company
1470 Lakeside Ave E, Cleveland, OH 44114
Come have a beverage and engage in conversation around how we live our faith in the world. All are welcome! To learn more contact Melanie Marsh Baum at
mbaum@CovenantWeb.org
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216.421.0482
11205 Euclid Avenue | Cleveland, OH 44106
Wheelchair accessible
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Centered in the Circle - Open to the World
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