Covenant Connections:
New ways to be together
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For Sunday, March 15, all activities at Covenant have been canceled.
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Dinner and Lenten worship on Wednesday, March 18 has also been canceled.
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Hopefully you already have heard that we will not be meeting in person at church this coming Sunday. All activities at Covenant are canceled for the time being.
I'm sorry that we cannot be together in person. But we are together in spirit.
We are working on ways to stay connected. On Saturday morning, I met in the sanctuary with pastors Jeff and Sue, along with soloist Melissa Hinz and organist Doug McNeel. With the help of head usher John Strikwerda, we recorded a 25-minute service, continuing our series on Matthew's gospel.
Sunday morning, you'll get an email with a link to watch the 25 minute worship service. I hope you'll listen, pray, and sing (or at least hum) along with us.
Or you can watch and comment together on Facebook. See below.
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At 10:30 on Sunday March 15 we will worship online together with a Facebook Watch Party. Just go to
Covenant's Facebook page
10:30 on Sunday morning to watch the pre-recorded worship as a community.
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I'm grateful for the wisdom of our Covid-19 Advisory Team, a collection of about a dozen medical professionals from Covenant, who have helped us make necessary decisions And I'm grateful for our Session and staff, all of whom are adapting to our new reality.
From NASCAR to the National Symphony, events are being cancelled. And now Wisconsin public schools will close next week. We are in a challenging time.
As Christians, we need to stay rooted and grounded. We need to be the ones who resist panic and fear. We need to be prayerful and be reading our Bibles. We need to be the ones who are kind, patient, generous, and hopeful.
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Below are a few signs of hope, which I found encouraging.
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Milwaukee Bucks' superstar Giannis Antetokonmpo pledged $100,000 to the stadium staff.
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Kindness
Courage
Generosity
Faith
Hope
Love
--Do that!
Good thoughts from the Presbyterian seminary at the University of Dubuque.
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On Friday night, Covenant members went to Grace Episcopal Church to serve dinner to the men at the men's shelter. About 100 men enjoyed fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and salad, thanks to the generosity of Covenant folks.
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We have a new water fountain at church! I enjoyed the first glass of it on Friday!
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Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine.
When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and through the rivers,
they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire
you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you.
For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior...
you are precious in my sight,
and honored, and I love you
---Isaiah 43:1-4
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Signs of hope are around us. God is with us, this day and every day.
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I encourage you to take care of yourselves, to look after your neighbors, and to keep praying for one another and the world.
Please call, email, and text your friends and neighbors. We need to stick together in spirit, even if we can't be together in person. We will get through this. God is with us.
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On the journey together,
Charlie
PS-Remember you can listen to or read previous Covenant sermons on our website. Click here:
Covenant sermons. And don't forget the Lenten devotional; see below.
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Through the season of Lent we are reading the Gospel of Matthew and want you to join along! Members and friends of Covenant have written
devotional reflections to help you with your reading. Click to
download the Lenten devotional.
Or click on the image above and enter your email address to receive a daily email from Covenant with the day's reading and devotional.
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