Archive for June, 2009

As of today, the renovations to the sanctuary walls and floors are complete! We need your help to move stuff back in – chairs, liturgical furniture, pews, banners, technology, etc., all needs to be moved from storage in the gallery and basement. This Thursday evening, June 18, from 5:30-8:00p, can you lend 10 minutes, 30 minutes, and hour? If we get a large group, we’ll get it done in no time. Many hands make for light work. Pizza and soda provided. Stop by after work or school to help. Sign up to join us on our Facebook page.

For more information, email Trustees chair, Allison Chaplain. Also, make sure to join us for one of our three worship services on June 21, when we’ll celebrate for the first time in the renovated space.

Friends in Holy Covenant,

A few links for you to explore:

Did you miss last Sunday’s amazing testimony of the Mission Team about their recent trip to Cedar Rapids, Iowa?  Check out this compelling slideshow  of images and music put together by Rob Rawls, a new member of Holy Covenant who went on the trip.

Annual Conference, our yearly regional gathering of Methodist lay and clergy leaders, concluded last night. Check out this online “play-by-play” digest of the conference’s work and worship, organized by Holy Covenant’s own Matt Kuzma, who is the Conference Director of Communications. Other Holy Covenant folks there were Deacon Monica Isaac, Deacon Greg Gross, Rev. Lisl Heymans Paul, Lay Members David Braden and Brittany Isaac, Lay Leader Kristin Kumpf, and a whole bunch of other members and friends: Laura Dean Friedrich, Audrey Krumbach, Troy Plummer, Kim Chapman, Donelle Sommer, Amy Barbour, and others I’ve probably forgotten (sorry!). It’s been amazing to see our congregation’s leadership extend throughout the conference in vital ways.

Whatever our personal theologies – liberal, conservative, or somewhere in between – we are called to continue to stretch and think and challenge. The best way, I think, to do that is deep Bible study with diverse folks. Check out this Facebook link where you can sign up or read more below about a unique opportunity this coming Saturday to go deeper into the biblical narrative, particularly the Gospel according to Mark, which is the oldest gospel account in our Scriptures.  Leading us will be the amazing, erudite, provocative Dr. Ted Jennings of Chicago Theological Seminary.

Peace be with you,
Pastor Trey Hall

Friends in Holy Covenant,

In the sanctuary this week, dedicated workers are putting down new hardwood floors. If you’ve ever listened closely to the ambient sounds of worship, you’ll have heard the creaks and groans from the wood that signal decades of steadfast foundation for all who’ve crossed this church’s threshold for worship, work, celebration, or assistance. During the planning process for this restoration, we learned that the old floors were laid sometime in the 1920s – nearly ninety years of service and support.

Last night I was surveying the work and talking with one of our fantastic trustees, Ally Wray, who has been helping with this project. We thought about how long 90 years is and struggled a bit with the probability that the next time these floors need to be replaced, both of us with be long finished with our earthly lives. A sobering thought, but the more I thought about it, the more grateful I became. What an amazing gift to be a small part of a community that understands its offerings to mean something not just to those who are here now, but to those who will come decades later. Who will this church be in another 90 years? What will the worship look like? How will the city have changed? Who knows? But trust that because of God’s grace and your lives offered, this place will continue to be the resting-place/sanctuary/shelter/feast-table/hope-for-human-transformation that it has been for a long time. From season to season, God is faithful and makes it possible for us to be faithful, too.

Grateful for the offering of your lives, in unity with Christ’s offering for all of us,
Pastor Trey Hall

P.S. A happy fact: the old floors that have served us well for 90 years will not be removed or ripped up; instead, they will serve as subflooring for a new layer of wood. The workers say that old wood is a perfect platform to provide support for the new wood. Somehow, I am not surprised.

P.P.S If all goes as planned, the new floors and newly-painted walls will be completed by June 14, and we’ll worship together for the first time in our updated space on June 21.

from Matt Kuzma

If you’re like me, summer in Chicago means three things: road construction, friends crashing on your couch, and lots of fun events! Jove Taino and I (otherwise known as the Community Life and Mandatory Recreation Enforcement Squad) would like to invite/force you to meet new friends and enjoy the old ones at great events across the city and suburbs.

Here’s the plan:

Assumption–You are a fun person. You like music, theatre, food, kickball, hiking, and/or bocce ball. You bowl, read books, or go to the zoo. You love karaoke, modern art, Guitar Hero, and/or running a 5K race.

Action: Please find an event that you are planning to go to and wouldn’t mind having a few friends join you at. Double-check your calendar. Then email groups@holycovenantumc.org with your contact info and the date/time of the event. We’ll put it on the church calendar.

Responsibility: As a host, you have a few easy jobs. 1) Invite people to join you. 2) Send a reminder email to those who have signed up. 3) Arrive early at the event and welcome people who show up. 4) Have fun.

Outcomes: Fun is had by all. Friends are made.