Archive for September, 2010

Dear Holy Covenant Family,

Hear these words from the U2 song Magnificent:

I was born, I was born to sing for you, I didn’t have a choice but to lift you up and sing whatever song you wanted me to, I give you back my voice, From the womb my first cry, it was a joyful noise.

On Sunday morning, we will be giving God our voices, voices that God first gave us, by joyfully singing the songs of U2. As the lyrics wash over our hearts, the melodies pour forth from our mouths, and the rhythms permeate our hands and feet, we will be worshiping with our whole bodies. We’ll receive the bread and the cup, the ancient practice of taking our faith inside of us, of feeding our souls with the love and forgiveness of Jesus Christ.

And, of course, we will rock.

As we sing and dance we will be transformed. Transformed not just by the music, but by the God who creates us to sing and to worship. May we be mindful in our transformation that we are called to transform others. As we worship with our bodies, may we go out into the world working to make sure that all bodies know they are loved. That all bodies are treated equally, no matter their country or religion or gender or sexual orientation; that all bodies have enough to eat, access to education and shelter and healthcare and a sustainable environment. At the core of our faith is the call to care for all of God’s children, especially those who are without.

Bono, as a man of faith, answers God’s call and inspires others to do the same through his music and his work. U2 calls on us to help end poverty by supporting the United Nation’s Millennium Goals to end poverty, which are: end hunger; universal access to education; gender equality; child health; maternal health; combat HIV/AIDS; environmental sustainability; and global partnership. You can read more about the goals and how you can be involved here: www.endpoverty2015.org. You can also learn how to be involved with the One Campaign, which Bono founded, to help end extreme poverty in Africa: www.one.org. We’ll be taking up a special communion offering for Water for Life, a United Methodist related organization that provides clean water in Liberia.

Join us on Sunday at 9:30 and 11:15 and invite someone to come with you. Come early and make your way to the front seats so that we provide hospitality to our many visitors. Together, we’ll sing and shout, be inspired by the ancient words of Scripture and the modern words of Bono. We’ll remember where we came from and answer the call to make the world a better place. We’ll be transformed, mind, body and soul, and go out transforming the world as we joyfully raise our voices in all we do.

Rock on,
Kate

Live the Story
Holy Covenant UMC, September 26, 2010
Rev. Kate Hurst Floyd

1 Timothy 6:6-19

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“Tell me your story”

Do you ever get this question? It’s most often put before us when we encounter someone new. I always feel my anxiety rise, my face start to flush red, when someone looks at me point blank and says: tell me your story.

It’s a lot of pressure. We start scanning our memories and trying to select the right pieces of our story that are appropriate to the occasion.

When we’re interviewing for a job, we skip the part of our story that includes being keg stand champion of our fraternity. And we offer up the parts of our story that make us sound hire-able: educational background, gpa, experience in certain companies and what we learned, what we earned. This is my story, we say, I am an educated, successful business person.

Has anybody ever asked you that on a first date? So, tell me your life story… (more…)

Dear Holy Covenant Community,

Receive these words from the letter to the Hebrews:

Let mutual love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it-Hebrews 13:1,2

We know what it’s like to be a stranger-moving to a new city, starting a new job, venturing nervously into a new church.  What a difference hospitality makes when we are warmly welcomed! This fall, as newcomers enter our doors, let us be a community who welcomes others with open arms.

If you’re new to Holy Covenant, I hope you’ll take advantage of these opportunities and feel warmly welcomed.  If you’re a regular, take a look below and pray about how you can serve our ministry of hospitality so that no one is a stranger in our midst.  How can we provide hospitality?

*Know what to tell newcomers!
-We have a discovery lunch every 1st and 3rd Sunday after the 11:15 service.  This is a time to get to know people, share your gifts and interests, and hear more about Holy Covenant and how you can get involved.
-Welcome Wagon Fellowship Brunch 2nd Sunday of the month after the 11:15 service.  All are welcome to go out to brunch, dutch treat, and enjoy the company of your fellow congregants.

*Sign-up for greeting and hospitality!
Be the friendly face who welcomes people into our doors.  Opportunities to serve include greeting at all 3 services, providing hospitality (food and/or drink), and cleaning up. Check out the calendar of sign-ups and e-mail Ellen to sign-up

*Sing in the choir!
ALL are welcome to sing and you don’t have to commit every week.  Join this fun and gifted group for Monday rehearsal at 7pm and sing in the 11:15 service on Sundays.  Enhance our worship so that everyone is welcomed with music. Contact Andrew for more information.

*Try the “Sunday’s Scripture” small group
Join me on Wednesday evenings at the church, 7-8:30, as we explore the Scripture for the following Sunday. No preparation or sign-up necessary-we’re a drop in format so you are welcome anytime.  A great way to check out a small group format, get a taste of the Bible, and help shape worship.

Don’t hesitate to be in touch with any questions, concerns, or needs.  I’m grateful to be part of a community that welcomes all into our doors with open arms.  Thanks be to God!

See you on Sunday and think about who you can bring with you.

Grace and Peace,
Kate

Sunday, September 19, 2010
Holy Covenant UMC
Rebecca Anderson, preaching

Psalm 19:7-14

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Dear brothers and sisters in Holy Covenant,

I’ll tell you something about who I am: I come from a story-telling people. Dinnertime at my house was a free-for-all: someone jumping up to reenact part of the day; someone crying out, “That’s not how it happened!”; someone else interrupting to announce, “I am telling this story!” With the stories, we reminded ourselves of who we were: my brother was the one who could somehow communicate with the wild turkeys at Tahquamenon Falls. My mother was the one who convinced us “This is an adventure!” even when the car got stuck in the sand…on train tracks. I was the 5-year-old in the front row of a performance of Handel’s Messiah who stuck my tongue out at my mom during her big solo.

I’ll tell you something about who we are as a church: we come from a story-telling people. We know who we are because of the stories that have been written down, collected, and retold. The story of Rebekah who drew many extra jars full of water for a stranger’s camels and ended up as one of the matriarchs. The stories about King David, a man after God’s heart who was also a murderer. The story of the Holy Spirit’s arriving so suddenly and wildly that on-lookers thought the disciples were drunk. And the story that all these stories are part of: God’s story, and our story. A story about glimpses of God, about revelation, and about the covenant.

These stories, the Psalmist writes, are
“More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey, and drippings of the honeycomb.”

This fall, learn the stories. Find your place in the stories. Discover who we are as a family of God. And get ready to spread the word. Join a small group. Get more information and sign up, write with questions, and invite a friend.

See you Sunday,

Rebecca Anderson

I Love to Tell the Story: Learn God’s Story

Join a small group at Holy Covenant this fall to learn the stories that change lives and changed history. Connect with God and others as we tap into God’s story, share our own experiences of faith, and are strengthened to tell the stories of God’s presence in our lives to others.

Some people at HC are asking: How do I read the Bible? What are some ways I can pray? How can I include spiritual practices in my everyday life? How can I invite others to church? Small groups won’t answer all your questions but learning God’s story is a good place to start.

Sign up for any of these small groups online.

Short Stories:

Discovery Lunches
Shared leadership, at church
1st and 3rd Sundays after the 11:15 service
New here? Stay after church for pizza, salad, and to find out more about this community. Sessions are planned around our mission statement: Seek God, Love All People, Change the World. After a few sessions, you’ll be well-informed about what HC is all about and will get to know some of the other people sitting next to you on Sunday morning.

Sunday Riders
Led by Chris Shickles, leaving from church
Sundays, after the 11:15 service, Sept 26th until the weather turns!
Calling all bike riders, or those who just wanna go for a spin…Announcing the Sunday afternoon group bike ride! Each week, starting September 26th and continuing as long as the weather allows, we’ll meet at Holy Covenant at 12:30, and head out for a 5-10 mile ride (with a lunch destination), and finish back at HC. The course will be announced each week; we will also learn about minor bike maintenance, riding in a group, bike commuting, and Chicago neighborhoods. Chicago is best explored by bike so bring your helmet, water bottles, and sense of adventure!

I Love to Tell the Story (Group 1)
Led by Brittany Isaac and Dan Hart, in Rogers Park
Mondays, 7 – 8:30, Oct 18th – Nov 22nd (6 weeks)
Live into God’s story by sharing your own. Learn more about one another and our faith as we learn to tell stories of forgiveness, reconciliation, and to bear witness to the action of God in our lives.

Bible Basics
Led by Laura Dean and Corydon Friedrich at church
Tuesdays 7:30 – 9, Oct 5th – Nov 16th
Don’t know where to start? Start here! Come get an overview of the Bible that will leave you wanting more and give you some tips to get going. All questions and questioners are welcome.

Novels:

Learning God’s Stories, Sharing Our Own: Women’s Group
Led by Linda Effinger Quinde at Pompei (Wellington and Sheffield)
2nd and 4th Sundays at 5:15, ongoing and year round
Join this long-running community-within-a-community. Drop-in or become a regular. We provide a fun, casual place for the diverse women of the church to meet, share our stories, and support each other. A great choice for women who would like to feel more connected within the church, especially newcomers to Holy Covenant. Women’s Group can be attended in conjunction with or in between other groups.

Learning God’s Stories with our Children: Wiggle Worship
Led by Rebecca Anderson at church
Sundays, 8:45am, Oct 10 – Nov 21
Participate in a casual, intimate liturgy for children and families (and those who want to work with them). We’ll meet Sunday mornings before the early service for fellowship, singing, prayer, and story-telling. Children of all ages are welcome!

Learning God’s Story around the Table
Food: Spirituality, Sustainability, and Ethics
Led by Mary Colleran, Sarah Klehr, and Megan Whitney, in the facilitators’ Lincoln Square homes
Tuesdays, 6:30 – 8, Oct 12th – Nov 30th
Explore the issues of spirituality, sustainability and ethics related to choosing, preparing, eating, and sharing food. Meetings will include a variety of readings, reflections, video and discussion. In addition, we will share food each week. It is not necessary that you bring any food to the group meetings. Come gather in the kitchen with us for conversation and community!

Learning God’s Story: Sunday’s Scripture
Led by Pastor Kate at Holy Covenant
Wednesdays, 7 – 8:30, Begins Sept 29th, runs throughout the year
Meet with the pastor and others to discuss the text that provides the center of our Sunday worship. Are you interested in engaging scripture outside of weekly worship? Asking questions of the text? Hearing the insights of others? Going deeper into the word of God? Then this is the group for you! Study, explore, and imagine with the Scripture lesson for the Sunday a week and a half away. Your contributions will help shape the sermon and worship services. Join the conversation as we ask ourselves: What’s the history and context of this text? How do we relate to the characters in the story? How does this speak to our lives today? Where is God’s voice for us, here and now? Grow closer to God and one another through the biblical passages that shape our lives as a community.

Learning God’s Stories: Men’s Group
Shared leadership
1st and 16th of every month (rotating days, rotating locations)
Join other HC men as we attempt to discern what it means to be a Christian man through acts of service and fellowship. We’ll spend our time in service (at the church, Dignity Diner, and possibly the Night Ministry), in fellowship, and in Scripture/life learning. Hopefully, when all is said and done, we’re better for it. Please email Matthew Piechocinski for more information.

Research!

Becoming Disciples Through Bible Study
Led by Rachel Harvey and Brit Holmberg
Wednesdays, Andersonville/Edgewater
Informational meeting October 6, group begins October 20th and continues through June
“Disciple: a person who learns from another, especially one who then teaches another.” Bring your experiences and struggles and whole self to the Word of God. Be encouraged, be shaped; be challenged and nourished by Scripture. This group is based on careful study and preparation and asks that you spend about 30 minutes a day reading. As weeks go by, you will move from Creation to the New Jerusalem in the company of fellow disciples. A fantastic introduction to the long arc of God’s narrative.

Tell the Story
Holy Covenant UMC
September 12, 2010
Rev. Kate Hurst Floyd

Psalm 66:1-12

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Is there a story you love to tell?

Perhaps it was a fairytale your parents told you as a child…and before you could read yourself you had the details memorized..you could mouth the words as your parents turned the page of a book. There was a girl named Goldilocks who entered the house of three bears; she ate their porridge, and one bowl was too cold, one too hot, and one just right; she sat in their chairs, one was too hard, one was too soft, and one was just right; …Now this story is one you find yourself repeating to your children or nieces and nephews…

We love tell stories when we gather together with our families. My grandmother likes to tell the very same story every time we gather for holidays…thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter… add that up, over my lifetime I’ve heard it roughly 80 times. When she was first engaged to my grandfather, he brought her to dinner at his aunt and uncle’s home, where he lived in high school after his parents died. They set the table with fancy china and crystal and she was nervous about using the right spoon and fork. But they were kind and gracious to her and she was feeling more comfortable as they sat down to eat. Then, however, Aunt Kate, a staunch Southern Baptist, looked at the table and said “everyone share a memorized Bible verse”. As you can imagine, she was panicked. Did she have one memorized? She was a Presbyterian after all…and she was also livid…my grandfather hadn’t given her any warning that this was a nightly ritual. When they came to her the only thing she could think to say was: Jesus Wept.

And then when it came to my grandfather’s Uncle Alva, he said, as he said every night of his life: Wives obey your husbands. And Aunt Kate, as she did, every night of her life, quipped back: husbands love your wives. This scene is embedded into our family’s history and memory. (more…)

Dear Holy Covenant Community,

Welcome home!

September is welcome month at Holy Covenant and we are excited to see old and new faces, engage in joy-filled worship, and come together in small groups.

Our fall theme is I Love to Tell the Story. Join us as we explore the adventure of our God who is always-creating, ever-alive, and speaking to us in the present tense. Through stories, we’ll recognize ourselves as characters in the divine drama, growing closer to God and one another. We’ll tell God’s story through worship, with testimonies and story-telling services; learn God’s story through bible study in small groups and storytelling sessions; and live God’s story as a people engaged regularly in mission and justice events.

Though we shorten the name, our church’s official title is Parish of the Holy Covenant. As we approach this fall, I invite you to consider how you covenant to be part of the story of our church through God in Jesus Christ. On Sunday, and every week in September, you’ll have the opportunity to fill out a covenant card. As you pray about your place here, you’ll be encouraged to covenant to 1) regularly attend worship and invite others; 2) participate in a small group, ranging from a newcomers group to an in-depth Bible study; and 3) engage monthly in a mission or justice event.

Imagine how our lives can be transformed when we participate in God’s story as people who are unconditionally welcomed into God’s love. In this fall season when people are searching for churches, be sure to make a special effort to invite someone to church and to talk to new people who will be gathering in our sanctuary for the first time. Let everyone know they are an invaluable part of God’s story!

Join us this Sunday, September 12th for our fall kick-off services: 9:30 with childcare and Eucharist; 11:15 with our Celebration Choir; and 7pm special camp-fire service with storytelling and a shared meal.

See you Sunday and think about who you can bring with you.

Grace and Peace,

Kate

Dear Holy Covenant Community,

We’re approaching Labor Day Weekend.  While for many it’s a time for vacation and a last-ditch effort to soak up the summer, the holiday is also a time to celebrate work and be mindful of rest.  In honor of Labor Day, our worship service will focus on labor issues.  Kristin Kumpf, a lay leader who works for Interfaith Worker Justice, will be preaching.  Reminder: There will be One Service at 10:30am. If you’re in town, please join us!  Interested in what The United Methodist Church believes about labor and justice?  Read more.

As we prepare for this holiday, I offer this prayer by theologian and biblical scholar Walter Brueggemann, from his book Prayers for a Privileged People:

Labor Day
We are again at our annual moment to honor labor,

To remember those who do hard work, to recall tales of depression poverty, to wonder at our economy.

As we remember, we aware that “labor” today is surrounded by hostile euphemisms…

Downgrading, outsourcing, minimum wage, 401(k)s, all strategies to cut costs, with the result that laborers are put at more risk, all the while we indulge in endless extravagance.

We are mindful on this day:

That most hard labor in our country is performed by people who may not be like us, African Americans, Hispanics, people who lack our advanced skills and connections, and who settle for being labor that is cheap, while food and housing continue to grow more expensive; That we are here because our mothers were in labor for us, loving us before we were born, available for inconvenience and for pain, and as we grew…for worry in the night.

That there is other work to be done, what Jesus called, “my Father’s work,”: healing the sick, caring for the poor, casting out demons, doing the hard work of justice.  We give thanks for those who do this.

On Labor Day, with most of us so privileged that we do not sweat unless we play tennis or jog, give us fresh perspective on our labor, that our lives consist in more than earning and eating, in making and selling, that our lives consist in the hard, urgent work of the neighborhood.

Empower us as you did our mothers that we may birth new well-being, that neighbors may live in justice, that we may know the joy of compassion, that overrides the drudgery of our common day.

We pray in the name of Jesus, from whom we know your own self-giving life, for we gladly confess that “no one works like him.” Amen.

See you on Sunday (only ONCE, at 10:30am!) and think about who you can bring with you.

Grace and Peace,
Kate