The wolf shall live with the lamb,

    the leopard shall lie down with the kid,

the calf and the lion and the fatling together,

    and a little child shall lead them.

-      Isaiah 11:6

And the dog shall build bridges with the cat.

-      Jeff 1:29

Books are a big hit in the Fox-Kline household. Especially among the youngest member in the house. The latest, The Mouse and the Motorocycle, was a big hit, but the one that I’ve been thinking the most about is a great comic book, Kitten Construction Company: A Bridge too Fur, the sequel to the also excellent Kitten Construction Company, written and illustrated by John Patrick Green. Having successfully constructed the new mayor’s mansion in the city of Mewberg, the House Kittens Catstruction Company is contracted to build the new Mewberg Bridge. But there’s a hitch – bridges go over water –and those cats don’t do water.

Enter the Demo Doggos, a group of dogs with no fear of water and a desire to prove themselves. Needless to say, this causes some degree of friction with the forekitten Marmalade. While most of the cats and dogs play nicely, Marmalade plots to get the dogs thrown off of the project. But eventually Marmalade has a realization! He is letting his dislike of dogs get in the way of the bridge that they’re building. This leads to the following conversation with Carl Barks (named after famed comic illustrator Carl Barks, not a different Karl with a similar sounding name):

This book, written for children, has been rattling around my brain for the past few weeks, especially in light of Jesus' command to “love your enemies." Marmalade’s realization that he needs to love his enemies came after recognizing his own weaknesses. Blinded by enmity, he refused to see the good work done by the Demo Doggos, and he let that get in the way of achieving what he set out to do. Confronting his own limitations encouraged him to see the good in the dog that he thought was his enemy.

How can we do that for ourselves? How can we see the plank in our eye versus the speck in our neighbors? What stories are we telling ourselves about our enemies that hold us back from loving them? We need to reframe the stories we tell about our enemies, seeing them as whole people, not just a collection of negative traits. If we see our enemy as “just a slobber factory that chases cars,” then we lose sight of the fact that there is also something about that dog (or person, I suppose) that is good and worthy of love. Even if the good in our enemy isn’t obvious to us, Jesus' command to love them means we need to dig deep and to see it. Once we see what is good in our enemy, we can then find it in ourselves to love them. And once we do that we can all agree that...

God bless you all in this journey – the difficult journey of loving our enemy.

Peace,

Pastor Jeff Fox-Kline

This celebration, on Saturday, January 30 from 12:00 noon until 1:00 pm (Eastern Daylight Time) will be on the Zoom platform. During the celebration, Leisa will have an opportunity to recount highlights of her ministry, you will be invited to share remembrances of her ministry, and we will all join in a short service of prayer and thanksgiving for the work Leisa has done in God’s mission. You will also be introduced to the ministries of other mission coworkers who continue to serve.

https://zoom.us/.../tJUqfuuhrDMsGdIN8n9RT27jQoYz_D3DRd5p

Valentines should be colorful and creative and fit on one side of a paper no larger than 8.5 x 11 inches.

The deadline for submission of Valentines is Sunday, February 7.

We are grateful for the COVID vaccine and we're compiling a photo album of Covenant members getting their vaccines to celebrate!

Click the button below to add a photo of you getting vaccinated or a photo of your vaccination card (or email your photo to Lexie Ofe and she will add it for you!).

Thanks to Covenant's Ministry Associate (and UW Hospital Chaplain) Chelsea Cornelius for sharing her vaccination photo!

Have you been keeping up with the "Words of Wisdom, Words of Faith" congregational devotional? We'd love for you to read this special devotional with us--it ends on Feb. 14!

Thank you so much to all who have contributed to this month's toiletry & household goods collection for Lussier Community Education Center. We have just a few days left! You can bring donations to Covenant at any time and leave them in the collection bins outside the front door. If you need donations to be picked up from your home, contact Pastor Jeff Fox-Kline. Thank you for your generosity!

The Middle School Youth Connection will be sledding and sliding at Garner Park on Sunday, Jan. 31, from 2:00-3:30. Meet at the pavilion at the top of the hill. Bring a mask.

The High School Youth Connection will be Zooming it on Sunday the 31st at 6:30. The link has been sent to families. Contact Youth Ministries Coordinator Steve Royalton if you didn’t get it for your teen.

Covenant will be hosting a blood drive on February 11 from 1:00-6:00 pm. See page 4 of the latest Caravan for instructions on reserving your time slot.

Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83189424277