PEACE BE WITH YOU IN THESE DAYS: We are so grateful to be connected as a family of faith! The announcements that follow reflect the ongoing abundant life that is Church of the Covenant.

OMICRON AND ZOOM: In light of COVID’s Omicron spread, we have decided to prioritize public health and have shifted our worship to ZOOM ONLY through at least Sunday, February 6. This we pray will help keep our worship leaders and worshippers safe, and reduce the significant burden on our area medical professional caregivers in these challenging times. February 6 is also our Annual Meeting which once again needs to be held online for our community.

UPCOMING WORSHIP: Please join us each Sunday at 10:30 am as we come together in community through Zoom to pray, sing, share celebrations and concerns, and hear God’s still-speaking Word proclaimed.

Zoom link for each Sunday.

WORSHIP ON THE STREETS: Feb 13, Boston's Winter Walk: Our worship service on Sunday, February 13 will be a bit different than usual. We will join in the 6th Annual Boston Winter Walk, as we walk 2 miles in solidarity with those experiencing homelessness in our city, and re-commit ourselves to the prayerful work of housing justice. There will be 3 options: to join the walk in person at 9am / to join it virtually on your own / or to join in a virtual “prayer” walk at home. Stay tuned for more details on how we will register. Info: winterwalkboston.org

BOOSTERS & FREE AT-HOME COVID TESTS: As a reminder, being "fully vaccinated" now includes having a booster when eligible. If you have questions about this, please reach out to pastors, staff or Deacons – we are here to help. Every household is entitled to 4 free at-home kits – sign up to have them sent to you (and even if you don’t plan to need them, think about getting them to have on hand to donate to neighbors in need): click here.

TIME FOR LIVING THE CHANGE: NOT TOO LATE TO JOIN!!: Our Climate Jubilee Team inviteS our congregation to join in a “Time for Living the Change: Climate Friendly Lives for People of Faith”. This timely challenge for the rest of January will allow you to live out one simple but impactful climate friendly resolution in solidarity with other people of faith around the globe. CLICK HERE TO SHARE YOUR RESOLUTION. For ideas, click here. Questions, please email Rev. Rob or Betty Southwick.

THE DENOMINATIONAL MEETINGS of the Central Congregational Society (Barbara Darling, chair) and the First Presbyterian Society (Nancy Hollomon & Anne Crane, co-chairs) will be held on 30 January 2022 at 11:50 AM on Zoom for the purpose of electing the nominees – Joan Tighe (UCC) and Donald Denniston (PCUSA) – to serve on the Nominating Committee for 2 years in the class of 2023.

THE ANNUAL MEETINGS OF THE CORPORATION AND CONGREGATION will be held on Sunday February 7, 2022 at 11:45 AM on Zoom for the purpose of adopting the 2022 budget, electing 3 members to the Covenant Council for a 3-year term, 4 members to the Board of Deacons for a 3-year term, and accepting 2 members to the nominating committee as elected at the denominational meetings.

WEDNESDAY EVENING EPIPHANY PRAYERS 6-6:30pm: Our next weekly evening prayers will be this Wednesday, January 26, 2022, on Zoom.

BIBLE STUDY WEDNESDAYS: Our weekly Bible Study is each Wednesday morning on Zoom at 9:15am. We’ve bid farewell to the Apostle Paul and his early church friends and will say hello to Hosea and the other ‘minor prophets.’ If you’d like more information or want to be on the list to get regular reminders and Zoom info, contact Nancy Ammerman, ntammerman@gmail.com.

NO PLACE AT THE INN? A CHALLENGING WINTER: For many reasons, this will be a challenging winter. One way we can help those experiencing homelessness in downtown Boston is to support our partners Women’s Lunch Place, who have an ongoing wish list for items, found here: https://womenslunchplace.org/in-kind-donations.

CLIMATE JUBILEE BOOK DISCUSSION: Join us on Sunday January 30, 5pm on Zoom for a book discussion on Katherine Hayhoe’s new book Saving Us: A Climate Scientist's Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World. Please though, we ask you to avoid buying from Amazon.com and instead use this link to find a local bookstore if you feel safe going to in person, or a less eco-impactful company than Amazon to purchase from. See this TED Talk to get excited about the book!

20s-30s-40s UPCOMING BRUNCHES WITH ANIMATE VIDEO SERIES: We have an active young adult group that meets regularly to create community, even while we can't be together physically, including weekly prayer calls, brunches (sometimes online!), fellowship and support. Our upcoming brunches that will also include some short video clips on faith that we will then discuss together, are February 20 and March 20—and the Zoom link is here. If you would like to be added to our email list, contact Rev. Joshua at joshua.lazard@cotcbos.org.

CHILDREN’S AND YOUTH PROGRAMMING: Once again, we’re postponing in-person gatherings to prevent COVID spread, and we’ll continue sending updates and resources via email. If you’re interested in getting involved with CYCE, please email Rev. Kate.

FULL SERVICE RECORDINGS/ PRAYERS ONLINE: Due to techno-challenges we have decided we will be posting the entire service that is livestreamed online on our Worship Recordings Page. Please let us know if you have any questions. Thanks.

CONTINUED GENEROUS GIVING: In these uncertain times, as we continue to press on in our gospel calling to follow in the justice and love of Jesus, we continue to rely on and give great thanks for your generosity. Here are a few ways you can continue to financially support the church and its ministries:

THE JANUARY ISSUE OF THE COVENANT NEWS can be read online here.