PEACE BE WITH YOU
IN THESE DAYS
: We are delighted to welcome you to our community of faith! As we all do our part to love our neighbor as ourselves to help “flatten the curve” of the coronavirus/COVID-19, our building remains closed; all meetings and events that are offered, including worship, have shifted to an online or conference call format.
We are grateful for the technology that allows the majority of us to gather together online. And in faith and through God’s ceaseless, amazing grace—as we practice “social distancing” we also practice “spiritual nearing” to each other and the Sweet Holy Spirit.
The announcements that follow reflect the ongoing abundant life that is Church of the Covenant.
LIVE-STREAMING DIRECTIONS
: In solidarity with most faith communities, and following direction from our denominations, we have suspended in-person worship and are bringing them “online” at the same time of 10:30 am. We will live-stream on Facebook (anyone, with or without a FB account, can follow by going to this link today at 10:30 am:
https://www.facebook.com/COTCBOS). To join in fully, consider these options as you might be able:
1. Printing this bulletin out in advance so you have it while live-streaming
2. Pulling this bulletin up on a second device/ phone/ screen
3. Pulling both this bulletin up and your Facebook link up, and switch between them as directed/ needed. The liturgy, songs, and scripture are the important times to have this bulletin visible if possible.
And if none of these options work for you, no worries – following along the live-stream will also work fine!
UPCOMING SERVICES (WORSHIP / AFTER WORSHIP)
Note, due to COVID-19 spread, we are in a state of flux, and we ask your patience as specific themes and plans are unfolding. At this point, in-person worship is suspended indefinitely and is shifting to being online via live-streaming.
VIRTUAL YET STILL REAL, HOLY WEEK (all live from our
Facebook p
age:
• Maundy Thursday, April 9, 7:30pm Streaming Ecumenical Service with common cathedral, Emmanuel Church, and Old West Church.
• Good Friday April 10, 7:00pm Streaming Tenebrae Service focused on Seven Last Words of Jesus from the cross, offered by congregants, COTC pastors, and including pastors from Burlington and Needham Presbyterian churches. Austin Burns and Tom Handel providing special music.
• Holy Saturday Virtual Vigil, April 11, noon. A simple online meditation will be sent out.
• Easter Sunday, April 12, 10:30am Streaming Online Service, Rev. Rob preaching.
WIFI ISSUES DURING LIVE-STREAM: Are you experiencing wifi connection issues to the live-stream? Don’t worry, while frustrating, these things occasionally happen despite our best efforts. Our internet is pretty overly burdened these extra-online-focused days!? Here are some tips:
• If your feed stops, try refreshing your browser (google how to do this for the computer you have if you don’t know).
• If you are finding it frustrating to watch live-stream due to any unanticipated Wi-Fi glitches, you can wait until after the service ends, after which the whole service will be available to view in its entirety. At that point you can watch while being able to fast-forward, rewind or pause as needed, and any Wi-Fi glitches won’t be in that version of the recording.
CONTINUED GIVING
: Even in face of important, life-giving changes, our COTC ministry remains moving full steam ahead. Our staff and pastors continue to be hard at work. Our building continues to be faithfully stewarded. Our deacons and pastors continue to carry out vital pastoral care in these days. Therefore, your continued generosity and giving to help support the work of our church community is even more valued in these challenging days. And we are deeply grateful for your tangible signs of generosity. Here are a few ways you can continue to financially support the church and its ministries:
- Directly on our website: http://www.cotcbos.org/give.html
- Download free app: GIVEPLUS+ (GIVE+ by Vanco Services, LLC) in the App Store, Google Play, or at https://giveplushelp.vancopayments.com. Then, type in our zip code 02116 to find Church of the Covenant. Both online options allow you to make a one-time or a recurring gift.
- If you are uncomfortable with online giving, yes, you can still mail checks!
ZOOM Tutorials:
If you are unfamiliar with Zoom,
cl
ick this link
Zoom How To for a video
on how to join Zoom Meetings. Here are a few step by step procedures on how to join a Zoom meeting from your specific device.
SUNDAY: We collect the One Great Hour of Sharing Special Offering for our beloved PCUSA and UCC denominations. This collection goes to help with the work of disaster relief and caring for those most in need—something so timely for our country and world in light of COVID-19. The instructions above for regular offerings can also be followed to support this special offering.
40 ACTS OF GENEROSITY THIS LENT: Sign up for this simple but profound daily discipline in practicing generosity brought to you by your Generosity Generators:
https://40acts.org.uk/
CHURCH ZOOM ACCOUNT: If you are a committee chair, for now please email Rev. Rob if you would like us to help you set up a meeting via Zoom. As a reminder, all church meetings are either to be postponed, or brought online via Zoom.
SUNDAY 9:45am: CHILDREN’S CIRCLE TIME via Zoom with Rev. Adam: Each Sunday from 9:45-10:00 am via Zoom, Rev. Adam, Kathy Bull, and Anita Goncalves lead a time where children, youth, their parents, and CYCE leaders gather to sing a song, share news with each other, and pray. If you need the Zoom link, email Rev. Adam.
Rev. Adam Isbitsky
GODLY PLAY AND YOUTH CLASS:Each Sunday from 10:00-10:25 am via Zoom. CYCE leaders continue to offer programs for our children and youth, as we learn and grow alongside each other. If you need the Zoom link, email Rev. Adam.
GREATER BOSTON INTERFAITH ORGANIZATION (GBIO UPDATE):
As in much of our life now days, GBIO’s Healthcare plans are requiring a reset. We will not have an action at the State House on April 1, but we still need letters sent to your Representative, Senator Cindy Friedman, Chair of Senate Ways and Means. GBIO organizers say that personal stories of healthcare obstacles, complete with detail, would be very helpful in the Senate’s negotiation with the House. Please continue to complete the pdf letters to your House Representative. If you need that link again let Holly know at
hollyhumphreys@verizon.net
, or call. We plan to have an after church Zoom House Meeting to bring everyone up to date and share stories.
OUR OPEN SANCTUARY MINISTRY
is recruiting volunteers for the 2020 season! While we are unsure as to when we will open due to COVID-19, we are still hoping we will be able to open our doors at some point. For those unfamiliar with OS, we open our sanctuary to the public on select days from May to November. Last year we received 17,500 visitors. Volunteers have rated this experience highly, with the unique opportunity to share our beautiful sanctuary with visitors from around the world. 2, 2.5-, or 5-hour shifts on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, or Mondays are available. We will host an online training for new volunteers on the evening of March 31. For more information, contact Simone DeVito, Karen Henry, or Betsy Groves.
BUILDING ACCESS: Our church building remains closed except for essential services connected with Women’s Lunch Place, our Food Pantry, and a subset of our church staff (Rev. Rob, Rev. Adam, Tom Handel, Bill Brown, and Chuck Ferrell), who only enter for specific and limited purposes. All other staff, church leaders, and key holders are required to keep away from the church building until further notice. The reason is to both keep you at home to keep you safe, but also to reduce any additional potential spreading of germs on doors, railings, surfaces that could endanger those who remain critical to our ministry at this point. Please contact Rev. Rob with any questions or concerns.
20s-30s-40s GROUP AT COVENANT:
We have an active young adult group that meets regularly to share meals, visit sites around New England, and discuss how our faith motivates and guides us to live through this unique life stage. If you'd like to join us, or be added to the e-listserv, contact one of our group leaders: Kathryn Barry, Melissa Morgan, Tom Reid, or Rev. Adam at
youngadults@cotcbos.org
.
SCAM WARNING: Many churches across the country are reporting a scam where you will receive an email or a text message that appears to be from a pastor, church administrator, or another church official, often closely mimicking the sender's real email address or phone number, and using their name. One common approach is to ask the recipient to purchase gift cards and then reveal the codes. These are very sophisticated scams that take advantage of the generosity of churchgoers. Please know that we at COTC will not ask for you to give gifts in this way. One all-purpose step to combat this scam is this: when in doubt, check it out. If something appears even slightly odd about a request from a pastor or church staff person, reach out in a different way to find out if the person truly made the request. If the request was a text, do not call the number. Email the person instead, or call the church office number. And never send personal or financial information by replying to a text or email from an unknown source.
THE MARCH ISSUE OF THE COVENANT NEWS
can be read online
here
.
