Covenant CONNECTIONS:
Winston Churchill and Focused Courage
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On Winston Churchill's first day as Prime Minister, the German military invaded Holland and Belgium. The people of England knew danger was coming, that the Germans would be attacking them. How would they prepare?
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Erik Larson's new book focuses on that time of crisis. The bombing came, but thanks to Churchill's leadership, Germany did not prevail.
I appreciate the way Churchill was able to be blunt and honest about the danger, while also inspiring courage and hope.
His speeches were legendary. His clear, wise, and courageous leadership saved the country.
Facing the terror of nightly bombing raids, the people learned to overcome their fear, help each other out, mobilize the defense, and move forward.
To learn more about
The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz, click on the cover image.
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At the end of the book as the author writes about overcoming fear, he recounts how an aide commended Churchill for giving people courage. Churchill replied: "I never gave them courage. I was able to focus theirs." (p. 483)
In this Easter season, in this time of virus, we have proclaimed the Good News of God's love focusing on the promise of God's abiding presence with us, which helps us overcome fear.
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Click on the image above to get a list of ten Bible verses that help us focus on the biblical promise:
Do not be afraid; God is with us.
As we continue our journey through our current challenges, I pray that the reassurance of God's presence with us has helped to focus your courage, along with your faith, hope, and love.
On the journey, apart-but-together,
Charlie
PS--I'm proud to be a Presbyterian, and I'm very grateful for the leadership of
John Knox Presbytery. We are one of about 55 churches in JKP, and dozens of pastors and elders met together via Zoom this past Tuesday. Highlights of the meeting included:
- A virtual visit from Presbyterian Church co-moderator Cindy Kohlmann
- Approving Chelsea Cornelius moving from "inquirer" to "candidate" in the ordination process
- A consistent message of caution about re-opening churches too quickly. JKP leaders shared a memo after the recent Wisconsin Supreme move to overturn the Safer at Home policy. Read it here: JKP memo
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With the inspiration of our JKP meeting the day before, and with the sun shining on Wednesday, I hopped on my bike and rode to the five Madison Presbyterian churches along with UW Pres House, praying God's blessings for each.
In the order of my ride, here are the churches:
Please join me in praying for the other congregations of JKP.
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Click on the photo of that handsome guy (!) in the bike helmet at Pres House to see pix from all the churches along with a map of my 20 mile ride.
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SUNDAY WORSHIP
Join us for apart-but-together video worship. Check your email Sunday morning for the link. Or check the
Covenant website.
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If you want to interact with other people as you worship, you can join 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.
Worship this week features
- Sermon by Charlie Berthoud, "Our Refuge and Our Strength" on Psalm 46
- A duet with Melissa Hinz and Jenn Sauer, along with other songs
- Organist Doug McNeel, Pianist Ben Welch
- Sue Melrose, Chelsea Cornelius, and Jeff Fox-Kline offer prayers and liturgy
- Donna Monson has a message for the children
- Several Covenant members lead us in an excerpt from "A Brief Statement of Faith"
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"Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:21
We are collecting a special offering to benefit our partners in the Madison community. All offerings collected will be divided between
To support this offering please indicate “Covid Relief” in the memo line of your check, or go to
https://www.covenantmadison.org/give, where you then click on “Give Online” and write “Covid Relief” where appropriate. Thank you!
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UPDATE--as of May 22
We have received over
$17,000
for this special offering! Initial checks are being processed to help families in need! Your generosity is making a difference. Thank you!
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Working at UW in a Pandemic
Learning from UW Employees
Sunday, May 24
ZOOM at 11:30
Working Differently in Different Times
This Sunday we will hear from these Covenant members who work for the University of Wisconsin Madison:
- TJ Sargent, Assistant Director of Organization Advising & Technology;
- Karen Best, Senior Lecturer at English as a Second Language and Writing Center; and
- Brad Brown, Professor of Human Development in the Department of Educational Psychology at UW-Madison
Join us to find out how working in various areas of the University of Wisconsin Madison has been affected by the Pandemic in our series: "Working Differently in Different Times". If you missed last week, don't worry! Each week will stand on its own. Each week a panel will reflect on changes in their professions during the stay-at-home order. We hope that through this we will gain a new appreciation for the resiliency, flexibility and strength of all sorts of people during the pandemic.
Sunday, May 24, at 11:30 am
Zoom Link:
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