Archive for November, 2008

Please send all e-news/bulletin announcement requests to office@holycovenantumc.org. Each week, the deadlines are Tuesday by 5pm for the e-news and Thursday by 5pm for the bulletin. We appreciate your assistance with this.

Agape House Campus Ministry at UIC will be open Dec. 6 and 7 from 5pm to 8pm and Dec. 8-10 from 10am to 1am for students and faculty to prepare for finals. We are looking for volunteers to help offer hospitality for a day or nighttime shift during that week and/or providing healthy snacks. Volunteering is as easy as welcoming students and refreshing the coffee pot! Agape House is located on the corner of Roosevelt and Halsted Aves, above the Barbara’s Bookstore. Contact Methodist Campus Minister Lisl Heymans Paul at revlisl@uic.edu, 847.345.0169 or www.Agape-UIC.org.

Thanks to the hard work of the Green Committee, energy-saving CFLs (compact fluorescent light bulbs) have been installed in the sanctuary and many other places in the building. More environmentally-sensitive changes coming in the New Year, as we care for Creation and save money, too! For more information, email cassiemeyer@gmail.com.

Back by popular demand. Join us for worship and an Advent bible study on Tuesday nights in December! We will have a short worship service from 7:15-7:45 with bible study from 7:45-8:30. This is a great opportunity to join in worship with the folks from Dignity Diner. Come early to sit with our guests, or drop by for any piece of the evening. For more info contact Vince Amlin at groups@holycovenantumc.org.

Sat., Dec. 13, 7 to 10 p.m.
The Parsonage, 2749 N. Wilton Ave #2 (second floor of the church building)

One of our congregation’s Advent traditions: a fantastic party! Bring a dish to share and the beverage of your choice for a holiday potluck extravaganza at the parsonage (that’s right, where the pastor lives). We’ll eat, talk, hang out, and gather round the piano for carol singing. Join us, and bring a friend or two. Come for the whole time or drop in for a little while. All are welcome!

This Advent, as we once again wait and watch for Christ to enter the world, we also are watching out for our neighbors close at hand and those far away. Throughout Advent and through Epiphany (January 4) we have committed as a congregation to raise at least $2,500 to Kissy Maternity and Health Center, located in Freetown, Sierra Leone. To give during the offering, give a check made out to ADVANCE GCFA. Please note on the check that it is for “Kissy Maternity Center, # 982168.” You can also make donations as gifts for friends and family! Visit a table in the gallery or at the back of the church during coffee hour to choose one of several beautiful cards bearing a message about our project; they are available for a suggested donation of $12 or more.

Dear Holy Covenant Community,

I, like perhaps many of you, have Thanksgiving on my mind. Todd and I (and our dog, Ellie) travel home this Wednesday, anticipating family stories and board games, turkey and tomato pudding (yes, tomato pudding… I promise it is delicious), and Christmas decorating and movies. I love these traditions, as I am sure you love yours.

And yet, in my anticipation, I am also hesitant. For, like many families, love and wounds coexist. For it is true that no matter how beautifully the table is set, the same people gather ’round. Or they do not, and we are reminded and newly grieved of the loss of loved ones – through divorce or distance or death – who sat with us just a year ago.

I used to sort of weigh these dynamics in my head, so as to label a gathering “difficult” or “joyful” or “pretty good.” But I think the truth is community – whether one of our choosing or not – is never just one thing. Inevitably, the sorrow and the joy of life, the awkward and the lovely, joins us at the table. Our call, as Christians, is to offer love, to act in faith, and to hold out hope. And on all days, but certainly this day, to abound in thanksgiving (Col. 2:7).

In gratitude,
Anne Williamson, Parish Intern

Now that colder weather is upon us, we are asking for donations of coats, sweaters, or blankets for our Dignity Diner guests. Please consider bringing a warm article of clothing with you during worship, or leaving the item in a bag at the bottom of the basement stairs at church or in the colorful collection box in the art gallery.

Each of these ministries takes only 20-30 minutes every once in a while. Can you help welcome people to worship, pass out bulletins, extend kindness as people enter our building? Email annecumings@comcast.net. Can you help prepare food or clean up after the last service? Email ldavis137@aol.com.

Over the past few months, we’ve had lots of guests (visitors) at Holy Covenant, which is awesome. As we’ve talked with guests, we’ve discovered that there are two main reasons they’ve come to worship. The second reason is “I found you all online.” The first reason? “I was invited by someone who comes to church here.” We spend lots of time and creativity on our online presence, and we should. But isn’t it interesting that the best, most effective way of inviting people is absolutely free? Try it this holiday season, when people may be looking to come to church for the first time or the first time in a long time. You don’t even have to pick up the phone to do this. Click here to send an email inviting a friend.