Greetings!
Like many others, I’ve enjoyed the WORDLE craze in the past few weeks. In case you’ve missed it, the goal of WORDLE is to guess a five letter word. 
A black square means the letter is not in the word. A yellow square means correct letter but wrong position. A green square means you have the correct letter and position.

The most popular app and web-versions of this game only allow you to play once a day, which adds to the intrigue.

You only get six guesses. I usually get the word on the fourth or fifth guess.  with LABEL, I needed all six.
Once I got lucky, solving the Wordle in two tries. And I made a theological affirmation at the same time. Grace is great.
Words matter.
Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear. --Ephesians 4.29
As we continue our “Let’s Talk About Sex” series, this Sunday at 10:00 we have a chance to explore words that may be new to us, words like non-binary, transgender, hetero-normative, and more (read more further down).

The description for the class reads:

"Words and how we have used them to describe people within the LGBTQ+ community are changing. Words that were once filled with hate are being reclaimed and are evolving to better describe each person’s personal experiences. How can we better understand what to say or not say, what to ask or not, and how using someone’s preferred words can be an act of love and kindness?"

The Bible tells us that Jesus is the Word made flesh, dwelling among us, to call us and lead us forward. May we have wisdom to listen to the Word and keep learning new words and new ways of loving our neighbors. 

On the journey together,
Charlie

PS--Last Sunday, our adult education class was about sexual violence, which is a grim reality in our world. Below is info from two community resources.
DAIS strives to empower those affected by domestic violence by advocating for social change through support, education, and outreach. Click on logo or call 608-251-4445
The Rape Crisis Center advocates for those harmed by sexual violence by centering survivors, promoting societal change, and committing to be an evolving force for social equity. Click on logo for more info. Phone is 608-251-7273
Worship
  • Livestream services at 9:00 & 11:00am
  • NEW! Visit our Worship Headquarters website for everything you need to worship with us online!
  • Let's Talk About Sex Sermon/Adult Ed: Week 3
  • Pastor Charlie Berthoud preaching: "The Right Things" (Exodus 20:1-6)
  • Children's Time with Marge Resan
  • Sermon Talk-Back Opportunity at 12:00pm on Zoom
  • Children's At-Home Sunday School Lessons available HERE!
Adult Education
Join us Sunday at 10:00am on Zoom for Week 3 of a 6-week series Let’s Talk About Sex: Theological Reflection on Sex, Sexuality, Gender Identity and More. This week, Kristi Mason & Linda Lenzke lead us with "Gender & Sexual Identity Terminology". Kristi & Linda are advocates at OutReach LGBTQ+ Community Center. Here's what they have to say about the class:
 
Words and how we have used them to describe people within the LGBTQ+ community are changing. Words that were once filled with hate are being reclaimed and are evolving to better describe each person’s personal experiences. How can we better understand what to say or not say, what to ask or not, and how using someone’s preferred words can be an act of love and kindness? Kristi and Linda will walk us through the basics as we become more comfortable using language that may be new to us and that respects others’ preferences. They will also share information about the full range of services offered at OutReach.
 
Click on the image for the Facebook event and INVITE your friends! For more info on this series or Adult Ed at Covenant, visit covenantmadison.org/adult-ed-classes. All Adult Ed classes will be recorded and shared on our website and YouTube page.
"But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream."
Take a moment out of your day and read Pastor Jeff's blog post from earlier this week. It's about a three-minute read. And as always, feel free to comment on the website and share if it moves you.
Click image to register! DEADLINE is TODAY at 11:55pm.
Other Things to Note
  • Due to the ongoing pandemic, our Trash & Treasure Sale will not happen this year.

  • This Lent, we will have a Devotional called I AM, based the gospel according to John. Would you consider offering a daily reflection to this devotional? Sign up HERE, and contact Pastor Jeff with any questions.

Thanking God for our Generous Community!
  • Congratulations, Covenant! As a congregation, you donated a total of $8,330.89 to the Guatemala Auction, supporting students in need of scholarships to students at Monte Hebron Presbyterian Church. Since 2017, we have raised $36,108.77. Thank you!

  • During Advent and Christmas, we collected two special offerings. The Christmas Joy Offering is a PC(USA) offering collected from Presbyterian churches nationally for current and retired church workers; and the Christmas Eve Mission Offering is collected by Covenant for 2021 recipient – The River Food Pantry. Covenant raised $3,500 for the Christmas Joy Offering, and $5,756 for the Christmas Eve Mission Offering. We thank God for the generous community we have!
Generosity Campaign Continues
The Generosity Campaign asks people to support Covenant's ministry with their time, talents, and treasures. Thank you all who have submitted pledges for 2022. As of 1/19/22, we have received 226 pledges totaling $981,552.

Please visit covenantmadison.org/generosity-campaign for more information, or to fill a your serving survey or ministry fund commitment online. Contact the church office if you would like a paper copy of either of these.