Covenant News February 2021

Covenant News

Presbyterian Church USA

United Church of Christ

February 2021

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Covenant's Lenten Theme

Pastor Letter

By Rev. Rob Mark, Lead Pastor

Dear Church,

As I write, winter feels as if it has finally knocked on our door. After what has been a fairly mild season thus far, today’s chill of the winds whip is 13 below. And while this plunge causes Rowen’s beloved kindergarten class to remain indoors for the first time ever, and makes me think twice about an afternoon jog – I welcome its polar arrival. Winter without deep cold dives feels empty as Easter without alleluia. Ecology reminds us that spring’s vitality hinges in part on winter’s sub-zero dips. So today, with cold fingers, I rejoice. Friends, drought-resilient growth that is to come often requires days of discomfort. We have known such days already over this first month of 2021. Insurrection’s sting, white supremacy’s stain, and Christian nationalism’s sin have hit us far more deeply than a few cold winter days. And while not understating their impact and severity, I wonder if we might see through these frigid discomforts to a distant yet-coming spring-hope of Beloved Community. Many have been exhaling since January 20’s historic inauguration where decency and truth began to find voice once again. Where Amanda Gorman’s concluding refrain resounded deep within:

“When day comes we step out of the shade, aflame and unafraid,

The new dawn blooms as we free it

For there is always light,

if only we’re brave enough to see it

If only we’re brave enough to be it.”

Friends, I pray we are brave enough to see this new dawn blooming as this winter stretches before us and begins to hint of spring’s beyond. I pray we have the courage to press for truth before unity, reckoning before reconciliation. And I pray we jump into the creative and generative work that lies ahead of us, even as we remain steadfast in our adherence to socially distanced, mask-wearing, vaccine-seeking, science-based public health practices. I am very excited about our upcoming theme for Lent: “Breathe.” As this sacred season unfurls on Ash Wednesday February 17, I look forward to learning how to physically, emotionally, and spiritually breathe more deeply together – always maintaining a Jesus-focus on justice. I am excited about our Climate Jubilee Team leading us into new spaces. I am excited about our sacred art project focused on racial justice in our sanctuary. I am excited about how we will continue to journey together through mutual listening, accompaniment, friendship, and embodying the love of Christ to each other, our neighbors and perceived enemies. Saint Brigid’s perpetual fire and Black History Month’s perpetual mattering invite us this February. So, friends, let’s throw on an extra sweater, some wool socks, and perhaps a scarf – as we press ahead through the cold, being brave together.

Much peace and love,

Rev. Rob

COTC "Community as Mission" Mission Fair

Sunday, February 14

By Rev. Rob Mark

On Sunday, February 14 (Saint Valentine's day!), following worship on Zoom, our Mission & Advocacy Committee invites you to a mission fair to learn about and celebrate the many tendrils of mission and advocacy that make up our life together as a congregation.

Come find out how all ages, all places in life, all passions and vocational callings make up the community that is Covenant, and hear how we see all of this as essential to the missional call of our loving God. Join us if you are new to our congregation, join us if you have been here since before you can remember – either way, we are sure you will leave this fair inspired by the breadth and depth of what the Spirit is doing through and among us! A day to give thanks for LOVE, indeed.

Staff Introduction: Meet Kate!

By Rev. Kate Carlisle

Dear friends,

It’s been about three months since I began working here at COTC as the Children & Youth Christian Education (CYCE) Coordinator and Parish Administrator. Time moves a little funny these days, so after three months I feel both brand new and like I’ve been here a longer while. Even though I’ve met very few of you in person, it’s been a gift to get to know this community. I hit the ground running with CYCE and administrative stuff back in October, so I’m glad for this chance to introduce myself a little bit more.

I grew up in Louisville, Kentucky, and I’ve been a Presbyterian since before I can remember. I studied Physics as an undergrad at Haverford College in Pennsylvania, and I got my MDiv from Yale Divinity School. I worked at the PC(USA) headquarters in Louisville and served as Associate Pastor of a church in western Kentucky before coming to Boston. Most recently, I served as Pastor of the Presbyterian Church in Needham from early 2016 through June 2020. Those of you who have been involved with the Presbytery of Boston probably know that the Needham church was a smaller congregation that decided to close, after many years of seeking to discern a path forward. Some of my favorite parts of worship include worship, teaching, and mission and justice work. I’m really enthusiastic about Christian formation for all ages, and so I’m especially glad to get to work with the youth and children at COTC. I live in Roslindale, and I have a dog named Ella. In my free time, I like cooking, reading, and vegetable gardening.

Thanks, once again, for your warm (online) welcome into the life and work of COTC!

Peace,

Kate

Churches Condemn Violence at the U. S. Capitol

By Anne Crane

Many church leaders strongly condemned the insurrectionist violence that took place at the U.S. Capitol on January 6. Here are excerpts from the statements made by the United Church of Christ and by the Office of Public Witness of the Presbyterian Church (USA).

U.C.C. Statement:

We join in one voice to name the evil we witnessed, and to condemn the words of our president and the actions of his insurrectionists and white supremacist terrorists. The president’s words incited the attack on the United States Capitol. Therefore, we call upon members of his administration and the Congress to remove him from office, thereby holding him accountable for his treasonous actions and ensuring that he never hold the office of President of the United States again.

We bear witness to and name as racist the deplorable difference between security plans implemented during Black Lives Matter protests and the security plans ordered and implemented on Jan. 6, ahead of a rally by armed domestic terrorists and call out that difference as an embodiment of white supremacy. That difference allowed the act of terrorism to happen.

Our love affair with white skin in America, a love affair that seeps into every pore of America’s skin – including our houses of worship – culminated in another indefensible act of raw terror and violence. Some rioters and insurrectionists – many of whom would proclaim Jesus as their Lord and Savior – were carrying Bibles or holding “Jesus Saves” signs. We want to be clear: there is nothing Christlike in any of this. Christians have for too long tolerated racism and racists as a part of our collective story.

PC(USA) Statement:

Wednesday, January 6, marked the day of Epiphany, Día de Los Reyes, as the end of the Christmas season. Sadly, on that same day, at 2:15 pm EST, the United States Capitol building was stormed by a mob of insurrectionists intent on disrupting the certification of Joe Biden as president of the United States. This was an alarming and sobering reality of the divisions within our country and the danger posed by those who are guided by extremist ideology.

The chaos of the Trump administration, a term filled with lies and hateful fear mongering, came to a violent climax. Domestic terrorists attempted to intimidate our nation’s leaders in an attempt to halt the certification. The Office of Public Witness mourns the loss of life that occurred and we pray for the... families now in mourning...

The Office of Public Witness strongly condemns the actions of President Donald J. Trump and his followers. These actions were not just an attack on the Capitol Building, but an attack on American democracy. There must be a demand for accountability on the part of the president, or else the rule of law means nothing. It cannot be applied to some, but not to all...

Epiphany proclaims hope in the midst of despair. Let not the destructive events of [January 6] derail us from our goal of liberty and equity for all. No amount of resistance will quell our resolve to fight for freedom, justice, and democracy for all people.

Our country is changing and there is resistance, much of it through violent acts and rhetoric. But we will prevail because whenever you stand for justice, love and inclusion, you stand with God.

News from the Remote Pews

By Linda Pursley

Let There Be Peace on Earth

Anita Gram's Orchestra, the New Philharmonia, had the exciting opportunity to perform virtually with the Boston Ballet School in December. Each performer recorded their own part, then each video was combined with the others to make a virtual orchestra. The videos were then mixed with the young ballet students dancing and a

professional vocalist singing the words to make a complete performance.

The performance video was posted on YouTube and has been seen over 4,000 times at last count! It will be available for a limited time. You can view it now here:

Let There Be Peace on Earth (New Phil and Boston Ballet School)

Our Deacons Moderator Anita Gram always goes above and beyond, including visits to fellow Deacons, especially if they have goats in coats!

Joseph Gaston and goats

Photo credits: Anita Gram and Healon Gaston

News from the Diaspora

In response to the diaspora fundraising mailing, the church received notes from a few people, which Nancy Stockford shared with us.

Patricia Gnazzo Pepper wrote, "Dear Friends at COTC, I hope you run to celebrate Christmas this year! Blessings to each of you and I wish you a healthy year ahead. Merry Christmas."

Peter Bubriski sent, "All best to the Covenant family. Rick is still out in Ann Arbor at First Presbyterian Church until Easter. But I get out there often and he's back and forth to Ipswich from time to time."

Carole Bull wrote, “Dearest Church of the Covenant, Recently I made a modest donation to COTC in honor of Rev. rosi olmstead, Marnie Warner, Rev. Rick Spaulding and the whole congregation on the occasion of my ordination in the UCC on 11/22/2020 on Zoom. (View the ordination service on the Haydenville Congregational Church's website. Read an article on Carole's ordination on the website of Cooley Dickenson Health Care, where Carole is Caplain.) It was a small way to give back to a church community that gave (and still gives) me and my family so much. There are so many moments that stand out:

Serving as a Deacon and co-leader of the church's Breast Cancer Support group
Singing in the choir with amazingly gifted musicians and Ministers of Music
Retreats at Craigville
Worshipping with other white families who were raising kids of color
Meeting with open-hearted Rev. rosi about being baptized (which I had never thought would occur in my life) and her opening to me was "You have a relationship with Christ, yes?" (I never looked back after that.)
Rev. Rick Spaulding recommending me to receive an Urban Ministry Fellowship at Harvard Divinity School
Our children and I being baptized in the ocean with a ceremony on the beach at Craigville
Having two LGBTQI+ clergy
Having cancer and being ministered to by the whole community

In short, Covenant is a church that grows pastors! Who amongst you is answering the call? I am so very aware that I didn't get to ordination on my own, I am so honored to have been part of all of you for so many years. When we can travel safely again, we are able and interested in welcoming any and all Covenanters here in Northampton!

Best wishes and lots and love, Rev. Carole Bull”

Under the Mango Tree

By Tim Groves for Nica Companions

Note: This column will be a monthly sharing of stories from our sister church community, Dulce Nombre de Jesus, in northwest Nicaragua.

We at Covenant are sending $1,350 now at the end of January to support food relief in the aftermath of crop losses from Hurricane Iota. Our brothers and sisters in the village have expressed their great gratitude to all of Covenant for our life-giving accompaniment and witness for Climate Justice. As Rev. Rob stated in his notice to our congregation: "Our church, through Mission and Advocacy and Pastor Rob's [Discretionary Fund], responded quickly by contributing $1,350. We’ve received generous donations from individuals, too. This has been so encouraging and we’re very grateful. The community will be heartened to hear that the whole church is responding." We at Covenant will continue to update our Congregation on monthly contributions to help sustain the community until their August harvest time.

In addition, Nica Companions has allocated $1,000 from our accumulating Delegation Support Fund to add to our regular $3,000 annual payment for 2020 to reimburse Entre Culturas for the additional accompaniment and communication they have provided to keep our communities connected during this past year's pandemic conditions.

One other way we have recently responded to support Dulce Nombre has been to provide $100 to help with their partial payment for a mini-bus to take 12 members of the village to Managua for the 30-day vigil with the Catorce Community celebrating the life of Don Rafael Valdez, father of Eduardo and inspirational leader of that Christian-Base Community.

In addition, members of Covenant's Nicaragua Companions Group have held a January Virtual Retreat to compile longer-term information on the Delegations History of our 24-year hermanamiento. We will be able to provide online links to share the remarkable visits, both to the village and to Covenant, that so many members of both communities have participated in. We are also compiling "Family Tree" diagrams of the rich networks of families in Dulce Nombre de Jesus; thanks especially to Debbie Howland who has gathered much of this information and who leads our Birthday Celebrations from the village each week at our Sunday services.

Council Report

By Anne Crane

Council meeting of January 12, 2021

Meeting just six days after the violent attack on the U. S. Capitol, the Council acknowledged the strong UCC statement condemning the actions of the insurrectionists and of the president’s words of incitement. (Excerpts of the statements made by both the UCC and the PCUSA are printed in a separate article below.)

The following motions were made and approved at the regularly scheduled January 12 meeting:

That Tom Reid’s ordination be held in the Covenant sanctuary at 3 PM on Sunday, January 31, with a small gathering of people, appropriately distanced. All others will attend by zoom.
That Kay Olm’s membership be changed, at her request, to inactive, as she has found a church near her new home in Oregon.
That Covenant change its Standing Rules to allow all church meetings to take place face-to-face, by teleconference, video conference or a combination thereof, provided that full opportunity for simultaneous communication is available to all members and that minutes are duly kept and approved. The recommendation to do so was made by the Presbytery of Boston.
That the per capita payment for 2021 be $56 per member.
That the Nicaragua Companions send a fundraising letter to the congregation to request financial assistance for our sister community in Dulce Nombre de Jesus. The community’s crops were devastated by two hurricanes in 2020, and they need money to buy food.

Finance Report:

Treasurer Faith Perry presented the financial report for 2020 and the draft 2021 Operating and Building Budgets. After some discussion Council decided to call a special meeting after the worship on Sunday, January 17, to consider a detailed motion and to vote on the 2021 budget. The following motion was made:

In order to honor its commitment of 12 May 2020 to consider donating money from the PPP loan at the end of 2020 if it turned out not to have been needed, and considering that, even without the PPP loan, the deficit in the operating account over 2020 was very small and about $26,000 (96%) smaller than originally budgeted, hereby decides, as an act of responsible and moral stewardship, to donate $44,000 to local congregations in our denominations that are struggling financially as a result of the pandemic and that were not able to secure PPP loans. Specifically, $22,000 will be donated to congregations in the Presbytery of Boston and $22,000 to congregations in the Southern New England Conference. Council will select those congregations from lists of potential candidate recipients that the leadership of the PoB and the SNEC will be requested to provide.

After a lengthy discussion at the special meeting, the Council voted and the motion did not pass. The Council then agreed to consider donating up to $10,000 from the forgiven 2020 PPP loan to churches or non-profits in particular need because of COVID. This matter will be taken up at the September 2021 Council meeting. (By that time we hope that there will be more clarity as to who may need extra help and what our own financial situation is in light of the pandemic.) Finally, the Council voted, with one abstention, to recommend to the church as corporation that the 2021 Church Operating and Building Budgets be approved as presented.

Missional Focus:

At its regular monthly meeting, Council heard reports on how congregational vitality is being sustained through increased engagement with the Covenant diaspora, diligent follow-up with new members, a robust Advent season and the Deacons’ Christmas mailings, which were much appreciated. A culture of compassion and caring is sustained through evening prayer time, Bible study and book discussion groups, as well as through birthday phone calls. With the help of Rev. Kate, the children and youth are sharing their talents and engaging with the larger life of the church. The Climate Jubilee team reflected on the 2020 focus on “engage and educate,” which took several forms over the course of the year. The focus for 2021 will be turn to personal, relational and spiritual ways to ground the work of addressing climate change in our faith. We will hear more about this at the upcoming Annual Meeting.