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ALL-CHURCH POTLUCK AFTER WORSHIP ON SUNDAY!
Please join us for a plant-based, all-church potluck immediately after worship this Sunday, Apri1 14. You are welcome to come whether you bring food or not.
SACRED RECKONINGS ADULT ED. CLASS ON SUNDAY
We hope you can join us for the second hybrid Adult Education class, after worship this coming Sunday, April 14, to learn about a justice-focused project designed for churches. Sacred Reckonings calls us to the deep spiritual work of reckoning with the histories of colonization and White supremacy, and beginning the work of repair. “It also calls us to the promise of liberation that is woven into the work of reckoning.” Last fall, Rev. Rob sent an open invitation to participate in a Sacred Reckonings remote training. Six people from Covenant attended. It was a powerful training and we haven’t stopped learning since. We hope you can come! You can access the rough recording of the first session (last week) here: https://tinyurl.com/cotcsacredreckonings.
BOSTON MARATHON RELATED STREET CLOSURES
This weekend we celebrate the Boston Marathon―we will bless runners in worship―so please be aware of many street closures all weekend in the Back Bay and plan for extra time in getting to worship in person and check online for updates. For more information about marathon events over the weekend visit https://tinyurl.com/cotcmarathon.
ONE GREAT HOUR OF SHARING: IT’S NOT TOO LATE!
With all the excitement about the backpack project, our opportunity to join with lots of other churches in One Great Hour of Sharing may have gotten lost. But it is not too late! This special offering provides funding for disaster assistance, hunger relief, and sustainable development around the world. OGHS funding goes to provide food, clean water, basic sanitation, training, and development opportunities. Our denominations and their partner agencies respond to increasingly common natural disasters as well as suffering resulting from war and conflict. You may give online (at http://www.tinyurl.com/cotcgive) or send a check marked for OGHS to the church. The Mission and Advocacy Committee thanks you for your generosity!
BIRD WALK ON APRIL 24!
The bird walk originally scheduled for Holy Week (as part of Bird Power Lent) was postponed due to weather. It has been rescheduled for Wednesday, April 24, at 5:30 pm, at the Arnold Arboretum. A knowledgeable birder will be leading us. Bring binoculars if you have them. Meet in front of the Hunnewell Visitor Center at Arborway Gate. Please contact Nancy Stockford (nancy.stockford@cotcbos.org) with any questions.
UPCOMING EXTENDED REFLECTION LEAVE FOR REV. ROB
From May 1-September 12, Rob will be away on three months’ Extended Reflection/Study Leave followed by four weeks of vacation and two weeks’ unpaid leave. As sent out at the beginning of this year, Rob has shaped his leave around his ongoing love of the deep mystical roots of Celtic Christian spirituality: The Sophia of Anam Cara: The Wisdom of Soul Connections. Rob plans to use this leave to create space to breathe, be, and love more. He hopes this time will allow him and at times his family to pray for the life of our world and take stock of the enormous shifts that have happened and are happening in our world, the Church, and in their lives over these past six years―trusting that these months away may help him refocus, reflect, and refresh in the spirit of Sabbath and Jubilee. In order to continue the critical work of the gospel of Christ’s love in these days where justice, peace, and liberation continue to be assaulted on so many fronts, some intentional reflection time comes as a timely balm. We are overjoyed that Rev. Joshua will shift from half-time Associate Pastor to full-time Lead Pastor during this reflection leave, ensuring us a smooth transition and pastoral continuity. This leave is not only a great opportunity for Rob and his family to find spiritual refreshment and grounding, it is also a gift for our entire congregation. We are invited to see this short “season” in the life of COTC not as reduced ministry, but as refreshed ministry. Before May 1, please feel free to be in touch with Rob (rob.mark@cotcbos.org) with any questions.
COVENANT CABARET!
Saturday, June 1, starting at 7:00 pm. Come join us for this lively event with tasty refreshments and fun entertainment (music, poetry, storytelling, standup comedy, and whatever else YOU want to offer). More information to come. In the meantime, please save the date. The Cabaret is a fundraiser to support our sibling relationship with the Church of the Poor in Dulce Nombre de Jesús, Nicaragua.
WELCOME CHILDREN & YOUTH!!
We offer Christian education through Godly Play for ages 3-9, youth classes for ages 10-13 and 14+, and a nursery for the littlest ones. We welcome all children, youth, and families—those we know already and those who are here for the first time. We share CYCE information regularly via email, so please email Rev. Kate at kate.carlisle@cotcbos.org if you want to receive updates!
LA DONNA MUSICALE CONCERT IN SANCTUARY
One of Covenant’s tenant-partners, La Donna Musicale, is presenting “More and More Morenas,” in our sanctuary on Friday, April 12, at 7:00 pm. The concert will include polyphonic settings and dances from Ibero-American songbooks and traditional (folkloric) music, a musical exploration spanning the distance from the Iberian Renaissance all the way to African-influenced indigenous folk traditions in contemporary South America. The performance will also include dances from sources that were either anonymous or copied by Spanish composers, including several of African origin. Additional shows at other locations on April 13 and 14. For more information and tickets, click here.
FORMER PASTOR MICK COMSTOCK BOOK PARTY ON APRIL 20
Former COTC pastor Allen M. “Mick” Comstock, also a former minister at the Federated Church in Charlemont (Massachusetts), has written a book, Seasonings: Prayers of Praise and Complaint. The Charlemont church is having a party to celebrate the publication of the book on Saturday, April 20, from 2:00 to 4:00 pm at the church on Route 2 in Charlemont and welcomes everyone to come! Mick’s prayers are beautifully crafted poems that combine worship with questioning and ground theology in the natural world.
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UPCOMING WORSHIP
Please join us each Sunday at 10:30 am and during the special services listed below as we come together in community to pray, sing, share celebrations and concerns, and hear God’s still-speaking Word proclaimed in these hybrid services (in-person and Zoom options). Zoom link for each service.
- Sunday, April 14: Rev. Rob Mark preaching, Blessing of the Marathoners, All-Church Potluck & Sacred Reckonings Adult Ed. After Worship
- Sunday, April 21: Holy Communion, Climate Jubilee All-Church Read After Worship
- Wednesday, April 24: 5:30 pm, Bird Power Bird Walk, at the Arnold Arboretum (in-person only)
- Sunday, April 28: Rev. Rob Mark preaching, Deacons Meeting After Worship
- Sunday, May 5: Rev. Joshua Lawrence Lazard preaching, Sacred Reckonings Adult Ed. Part 3 After Worship
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OTHER COTC ACTIVITIES
BIBLE STUDY WEDNESDAY MORNINGS WILL RESUME IN MAY
Our weekly morning Bible Study is typically held on Wednesdays at 9:45 am on Zoom. Due to travel schedules, there will be no Bible Study during the month of April. The next Bible Study will be on May 1. We are studying the Gospel of Mark. If you’d like more information or want to be on the list to get regular reminders and Zoom info, contact Jan Gough at revjangough@gmail.com.
WEDNESDAY EVENING PRAYERS
Join us Wednesdays for our weekly evening prayers from 6:00 to 6:30 pm with intentional liturgy, contemplative song, psalms, and sharing of prayers with our siblings from Newton Presbyterian, on Zoom.
THE APRIL ISSUE OF COVENANT NEWS can be read online here.
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