IMPORTANT DATES FOR YOUR CALENDAR

  • Sage meets every Friday at 1 pm. Check here for the church calendar for the link.

  • Worship team meeting 11/17 at 7 pm at the church. Bring ideas for Advent!

  • Trans Day of Remembrance - November 20th. The information is below on services.

  • Age Options large meeting 11/23 at 11 am - Advanced Directives - see below.

  • Saturday, November 27th, at
10 am, we will decorate at the
church.

  • Giving Tuesday is November 30th
word_cloud_thanksgiving.jpg
  • Just a reminder that the Congregational Meeting will be held 11/14 after church, and that the materials are available on the website here

  • Regional Network Gathering in Milwaukee, Nov. 19 - 21. Some tickets are available at the door.

YOUR GENEROSITY IS NEEDED!
Your generosity is needed, now more than ever! You may give via:

PayPal — access it through our website or send your donation on PayPal to donations@holycovenantmcc.org

Electronic Check
Send an electronic check from your financial institution, or by sending a personal check. Our address is 9145 Grant Ave, Brookfield, IL, 60513.

Square
There is a button below to give via Square. Or click this link here

Please remember that when giving through Square and PayPal they do charge a percentage fee to the church unless it shows an option to help out the church and pay that fee.

See the weekly giving below. Holy Covenant needs at least $4,650 a month to meet its obligations for bills and salary. We are now showing what the percentage of giving is and how we are doing on a monthly basis.
NOVEMBER
2021 GIVING

Needed Weekly
(4 WEEKS) $1,165


The Difference is -$515.00
Please consider contributing to
Holy Covenant via PayPal, Check, or Square.

Our bills are listed below for the month of November.
Your generosity helps us pay the bills.
Any amount helps us meet our obligations.

If you would like to pay one of the bills below
please designate that in your donation.
Trans Day of Remembrance will be observed on Sunday, November 21. If you would like to participate in this special service, please contact Rev. Martha Daniels revmarthadaniels@gmail.com
ANNUAL CONGREGATIONAL MEETING
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2021
It’s almost that time again—for the Holy Covenant Annual Congregational Business Meeting!

The Board of Holy Covenant has decided that our meeting will be in person at the church on November 14; the meeting will take place right after worship.

The reports proposed 2022 budget and completed nomination forms will be available on the Holy Covenant website by November 7, 2021, for your reference. They will not be printed out and mailed to you.

If you have any questions, please contact Rev. Martha Daniels at her email at revmarthadaniels@gmail.com. You may also contact the other Board members with your questions.

Vice-Moderator - Roxann Victory roxann.victory@outlook.com
Clerk - Barbara Adams Latsaras - chitownbarb@yahoo.com
Joanie Baird - Treasurer - jb14700@yahoo.com
THRIVE WITH PRIDE LARGE GROUP MEETING
ADVANCE DIRECTIVES
NOVEMBER 23, 2021
11:00 AM TO NOON
Michael Stone from Center for Disability and Elder Law will be with us to talk through the documents every LGBT+ older adult should have in place to secure their future, as well as free- and low-cost options to get help with these documents. Click on the image to download the PDF to read.
 
 
Note: CDEL’s services are not LGBT+-specific, so although this presentation will be focused on LGBT+ issues, it will be helpful to anyone who wants to get working on their advanced planning! Please share widely with others in your church or organization. 
FUNDRAISING OPPORTUNITY
AT ANDERSON BOOKSHOP
Sunday, November 28, 2 - 4 pm: A new fund-raising opportunity! Anderson's Bookshop in Downers Grove is inviting non-profits to wrap gifts for their customers, who will show their appreciation by filling (we hope!) our "tip jar." We will have a second shift on Saturday, December 4, from 12 - 2 pm. Andersons will provide the wrapping paper, scissors, tape, etc. We will need about four people per shift--please let Rev. Martha know via email revmarthadaniels at gmail.com if you can be there for a shift. 
THE ALLIANCE FOR HEALTH EQUITY SURVEY
FOR LGBTQ+ COMMUNITY

 The Alliance for Health Equity is a partnership of over 30 hospitals, six local health departments, and nearly 100 community-based organizations all working together on strategies to improve community health.
 
Every three years, we collectively complete a county-wide community health needs assessment to further understand priority community health needs and additional strategies for addressing those needs. A critical part of this assessment includes the distribution of the 2021 Community Input Survey. This survey allows us to hear from community members to understand any changes in community health status, provides opportunities for communities to give us input on their top health needs, and effective strategies for addressing those needs. Assessment findings will be available in Spring 2022.
 
We are asking you all for help in survey distribution. Our goal is to have the majority of our surveys completed by November 18th. To help with this process, we’ve created a communications package that can be accessed on our website. These materials include example posts for Instagram and Twitter, alongside postcards and flyers that can be printed. Materials also have space next to the Alliance logo for co-branding.
 
Due to COVID-19 guidelines and restrictions, we are prioritizing online engagement as much as possible for survey collection. However, we understand that paper surveys work better for some communities, in which case partners may print the paper survey format from our website.
 
Attached below are links to survey materials, and additional information:
 
  • AHE Website: https://allhealthequity.org/community-input-survey-distribution-information/
  • This link will allow you to download the paper survey (available in Spanish as well) and QR code linked to the survey.
  • PDF versions of the communication materials can be found here. The Instagram and Twitter PDFs will need to be saved as images before posting to social media.
  • A link is available on the website to access the image files through Google Drive.
  • Please contact us if you are unable to save the PDFs as images and are unable to access Google Drive.
  •  
  • Link to the online survey: http://tiny.cc/AHECHNASurvey
  • This is the direct link to the online survey.
Education Opportunities and Resources Through MCC
SSOL Classes
Check out all the great classes and resources still available at Sacred Space Online Learning (SSOL) including MCC-specific classes. Yes, we no longer have the OFLD (Office of Formation and Leadership Development) but SSOL classes are still available.

VOLUNTEER SIGN-UP PORTAL
Holy Covenant has started to use an online software program called SignUp Genius to create volunteer opportunities and for future worship.

With this online software, you will be able to sign-up to help with a variety of different events being held at the church. By signing up you will receive reminders for what you have signed up to help with and can keep track of other volunteer opportunities that may arise.

When you see a volunteer opportunity for a sign-up like grass cutting, garage sale, etc. there will be a link that will take you to the sign-up sheet. Please fill it out as needed.

If you have any questions, please contact Rev. Martha or Barbara Adams Latsaras at socialmedia@holycovenantmcc.org.

Sign-up Sheets

Snow Blowing
SUNDAY IN-PERSON SERVICE
REV. MARTHA DANIELS!

SUNDAY WORSHIP IN-PERSON
& LIVE ON FACEBOOK
10:00 AM CST
Our worship celebration is every Sunday at 10 am CST. If you would like to join us but can't be in person, you may go to our Facebook page at Holy Covenant Facebook Page and click on the Live button to watch the service.

Sunday Reading:
John 2: 1- 11

Sermon Title:
"The Best For Last"

Have a candle ready to light, cookie or bread, and a glass of your favorite libation for communion if you are watching online.

You can also find previous sermons on our YouTube Channel here.

Rev. Martha is available by email, phone, Facebook Messenger, and text for any pastoral needs you may have revmarthadaniels@gmail.com

Holy Covenant’s Board of Directors has started to resume worshiping together with everyone! We have been reviewing guidelines and statistics every month in preparation. Our goal is to balance the desire and need for in-person worship in Holy Covenant’s building with the desire and need to protect each other, as well as the progress of the repairs and renovations in the building. Our church now has in-person services with the following guidelines:

Please note the following:
  • We will not be singing (although there will be music)
  • We will require masks (we will have some available for those who do not have one) and we will be socially distanced. Temperatures will be checked at the door. Vaccination is encouraged for those who are able.
  • Communion will not be by intinction (dipping) nor will we have a shared cup for now, until health guidelines permit these methods to resume. We will have individual disposable cups and Rev Martha will be placing Communion wafers in each person’s hand (not in mouths).
  • We will continue to live-stream the service.

Our building is looking so fresh and beautiful after the renovations, we cannot wait for you to see it and to share worship in person once again!

Board of Directors, Holy Covenant MCC
SAGE AND OTHER INFORMATION
SAGE, a social support group for LGBTQ seniors, continues to meet via ZOOM at 1 pm. The senior center in Bellwood needed some repairs, so we are still meeting via Zoom for now. Click here to join the meeting
PINTS WITH THE PASTOR
DECEMBER 9th at 6:00 pm
Come have dinner and conversations at a new place in Brookfield called Pub 78 and chat with Rev. Martha and your friends from Holy Covenant about whatever is on your mind!

Join us for a no-host dinner or just drinks, for conversation and socializing. Hoping to see you there!


Time: 6 pm, Thursday, December 9th.
Pub 78
3733 Grand Ave
Brookfield, IL 60513
MEDITATION IN PERSON ON NOVEMBER 17th!
Meditation has returned! The next meditation is on Wednesday, NOVEMBER 17th, at 7 pm at the church. Mary Ann will be leading the meditation in Fellowship Hall. This event is free and open to all women.

Please be prompt at 7 pm
so there are no distractions.


  • Please bring your mask even if you are vaccinated.
  • If you are not feeling well, please stay home.
  • We ask that you use hand sanitizer as you enter the building
  • You must be vaccinated or have a negative COVID test.

For more information about meditation please contact Mary Ann Latsaras at only1amar@yahoo.com.
NEXT BOARD MEETING November 18, 2021
The next in-person Board meeting will be on November 18th.

You can find the September Board minutes on our website and the October Agenda before our meeting on our website here.

You can find a PDF of the past Board Meetings Agenda and Minutes here
WE ARE AN AMAZON CHARITY!
You can make an impact while you shop on Amazon. Simply shop here at Holy Covenant Amazon Smile Link and Amazon Smile will donate to Holy Covenant Church - M C C, at no cost to you.
NEED POWER OF ATTORNEY OR WILL?
Contact the Center for Disability & Elder Law
Click this link to see the information and links.
PLEASE DONATE TO HOLY COVENANT
Click on PayPal or Square to Donate!
God's healing for Laura's chronic back pain and that the treatments are helpful1

Prayers for the family and wife of Johnny Kunz who passed away on November 11th.1

Prayers of thanksgiving that Holy Covenant has reopened its doors for in-person services.1

Prayers for Lynda C. for health issues and upcoming Dr. visits.2

Prayers for High Desert Hospice & the turmoil from being bought by a large corporation.2

Prayers of thanksgiving that Barb & Mary Ann's beloved pet Gracie's new chemo treatments are working.1

Prayers for Clarence C. for strength in rehab so he can come home.1

Continued prayers for healing for Betsy's foot and leg.3

Prayers for Kimberly & that the Dr's find out why she has high blood pressure at age 39.1

Prayers for Eric for a very important personal matter.2

Prayers for Nick and David for financial and home issues.2


Prayers for the family of Carl Ek as they mourn his passing.3

That God will provide for those who are hungry, unemployed, and homeless, or in financial difficulties.
 
All those affected by HIV/AIDS, breast cancer, COVID-19, and other life-threatening illnesses.
 
All communities of faith
LINKS AND OTHER INFORMATION

SUICIDE HOTLINES

If you or someone you know is in an emergency call 911 for help.

NAMI - National Alliance on Mental Health

Missed a sermon?

Click here to catch up and watch on the Holy Covenant YouTube channel!
Every day brings something new—and God is
with us always!