Archive for February, 2011

Dear Holy Covenant Family,

Is it spring yet? How many days until April? How much longer will it snow? When can I dare plant some flowers?

These questions permeate recent conversations, Facebook updates, and my own longings for warmth. We had a taste of fifty degree weather, but now the snow continues to fall. How often do find ourselves anticipating the future, without living in the present? The theme for this week’s worship is “Comfort Food”. We’ll worship the God who meets us where we are, right here, right now. Filling us with good things in the present moment. Join us as we sink into the sweet release of the God who accepts all of us, all the time.

As we prepare for worship, I invite you to pray with me this prayer, by theologian Walter Brueggemann, that allows us to be in the present moment, in God’s time.

Our times are in your hands:
But we count our times for us;
We count our days and fill them with us;
We count our weeks and fill them with our busyness;
We count our years and fill them with our fears.
And then caught up short with your claim,
Our times are in your hands!
Take our times, times of love and times of weariness,
Take them all, bless them and break them,
Give them to us again,
Slow paced and eager,
Fixed in your readiness for neighbor.
Occupy our calendars,
Flood us with itsy-bitsy, daily holy time,
In the name of your fleshed, sacred timeliness. Amen.

See you on Sunday, and think about who you can bring with you to take comfort in God’s presence.

Grace and Peace,
Kate

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Sermon, February 20, 2011
Holy Covenant UMC
Rev. Kate Hurst Floyd

Matthew 10:5-15

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Evangelism changes everything.

I was in the 7th grade, a 13 year old girl eating lunch around a cafeteria table with the same group of friends I had been eating with since 2nd grade. We were in girl scouts together, spent the night at each other’s houses, ate dinner in one another’s kitchens. We passed notes in class, shared crushes on the same boys…There I was, eating lunch with my closest friends: we knew each other’s secrets, and each other’s souls. Halfway through my peanut butter sandwich, I look up and realize everybody has really serious looks on their faces, and all eyes are on me. One of my friends nods at the girl sitting next to me, who promptly reaches under the table and pulls out a bible. The girl next to her then pulls out a letter she received from her youth minister at her Baptist church. I had no idea what was happening.

The girl handed me the letter, and said: our pastors are telling us that your church accepts gay people and that we should never step foot in your doors. It’s evil. And he also says if we know anybody from this church, we need to read them the Bible and teach them that homosexuality is a sin.

This is when the girl with the Bible proceeds to read me the story of Sodom and Gomorrah.

Then, a third friend, right on cue, tells me that they have all been praying for my soul and would like to have a prayer right there in the cafeteria if I’ll repent. It was then I intercepted a note they had been passing around about the slumber party we were all to attend on Friday night that I was very much looking forward to. Turns out, they were planning to have an intervention to save me from the bowels of hell. (more…)

Dear Holy Covenant Family,

We are in the midst of our “You are what you eat” worship series, discovering what it means to be fed by God. In turn, when we take in God’s grace, justice, and compassion, we are compelled to share it with others. This February and March, there are many ways to be nourished AND to nourish through Holy Covenant. Please join us as we feast on love and become love for the world!

Nourish Yourself:
*Spiritual Retreat, THIS Saturday Feb. 19th from 9am-12pm
Ann Hillman leads us in a quarterly retreat focused on hospitality. Find rest and refreshment as you go deeper with your Holy Covenant family. ALL are welcome!

*Winter Small Groups start this week!
Working in the Loop? Live in the western suburbs? The Wednesday night groups still have room and begin TONIGHT. Check out this link for more information and stop by this evening.

*Morning Worship and potluck chili and pie cook-off on March 6th

*Evening Worship with a pizza and game night to follow on March 13th

Nourish Others:
*Holy Covenant night at Dignity Diner, Tuesday Feb. 22 from 5-7

*Serve Food with the Night Ministry
On Saturdays Feb. 26th, March 26th, April 23rd, and May 28th, prepare a hot meal for 30-50 people and then transport it to The Night Ministry’s Wicker Park stop. Interested in volunteering or leading a team? Contact Maria Cupp

*Provide Hospitality during worship by volunteering to:
-Run AV for one service (contact Andrew Collins)
-Be a greeter (contact Julie Holmberg)
-Read Scripture (contact Laura Dean Friedrich)

*Join the FUN Squad
Thursday March 10, 7:30pm, at Halsted’s (3441 N Halsted)
Add your gifts to the team that plans fun events for the Holy Covenant community. Join the first meeting and contact Adam Bogucki with any questions and to sign-up.

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

Grace and Peace,

Kate

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Sunday, February 13, 2011
Holy Covenant UMC
Rebecca Anderson, preaching

Matthew 5:13 – 16

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Hello, friends,

We’re doing something new this winter. Have you noticed? The small group sign-ups have a lot of the same group, meeting on different nights around the city: it’s that Forgiveness group. Instead of having many different conversations, we’re having one large conversation as a church about a central Christian belief and practice. You could argue that forgiveness is the central belief and practice. So what’s it matter to you?

Forgiveness is for all of us. It’s been given to us and we’re called to practice it. But how? “Should I forgive him?” “Did she ever really forgive me?” “Can I forgive myself?” “What does it add up to that God forgives me?” Come engage with the rubber-meets-the-road questions of our faith.

One thing that’s not new: these groups are still a great chance to get to know other folks from church in a casual setting. And they’re still an important opportunity to grow closer to God. Groups start next week (although the Monday night group now starts on Feb. 21st) and you can see an overview of the whole curriculum on our blog. Get your juices flowing by listening to the sermon on forgiveness from Jan 23rd or Georgette Kelly’s testimony about being part of a forgiveness small group and then join the conversation.

This winter, try something new. It’ll be hard…and it could change your life.

In peace,

Rebecca Anderson
Minister of Spiritual Formation

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Feed My Sheep
Holy Covenant UMC, Sunday Feb. 6, 2011
Rev. Kate Hurst Floyd

John 21:15-19

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Follow me, Jesus says.
Feed my sheep, tend my lambs.
Follow me.

But Jesus, I don’t know if I’m ready to follow you. I don’t exactly have this faith thing figured out. I ask a lot of questions…and the more questions I ask, the fewer answers I seem to have. I pick up the Bible to read, and I don’t quite know where to start. Some of it makes sense: love your neighbors; other parts don’t: stories about a wrathful God, confusing names and places. I know I like coming to church, but when we say the Lord’s prayer, I don’t know that I actually believe every word; in fact, I don’t actually know what it all means. I don’t pray enough or read the Bible enough at home; I don’t even know exactly how to pray. I don’t think I can follow you because I don’t have my faith all figured out.

Follow me.

But Jesus, I don’t know if you want me to follow you. I mean, I’m kind of a screw-up. People here at church don’t know my deepest secrets, but you of all people, know that I’m no angel. You know the ways I’ve mistreated my friends and lovers; You know my struggles with addiction, and despite my best efforts how they still continue. I want to be a better person, but too often my selfish nature gets a hold of me. I don’t make enough time for my family, I’m not patient enough with my partner. Jesus, I mess up, a lot.

Follow me.

But Jesus, what does that even look like? What does it even mean? I feel like I’ve tried and been defeated. I’m overwhelmed by the need in the world and don’t know how I’m supposed to make a difference. Between my own work and family life, I hardly have time to solve world hunger or lead the charge for environmental stewardship. I know kids need tutoring and mentors, but working with children has never been my gift. I don’t know where to begin, and what difference I could make.

Why would you choose me? (more…)

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When I was five I was confident I knew where my life was heading, where my talents would lie. I remember telling my mom that I was going to be a bus driver….or a waitress. At 17 while choosing colleges I imagined where my life would take me and I was sure that my calling was to help others and to care for the sick. I was going to be a nurse…until I remember that blood made my nauseous and needles scared the crap out of me. Upon graduation from college? I was going to change the world from the top – I knew I was destined to be a mogul. And at 27 I realized how happy baking made me.

I don’t know why this was such a revelation. I grew up in the kitchen. One of my first memories from childhood was from when I was four or five. I was kneeling on a kitchen chair so that I could reach the counter and I was helping my mother make homemade noodles. In another early memory we were making divinity – that sickly sweet candy of sugar, egg whites and pecans – for the holidays. And I have a scar right here on my chin from the night I was trying to look into the electric skillet to see what my mom was making and I got just a bit too close. My mom and I have always bonded over cooking. The recipes she taught me are some of the same ones her mom taught her. On weekends we’d bake cookies or brownies. We’d make dinner together – Chicken and broccoli au gratin. Mostacolli. Boneless skinless chicken breasts, pan fried until they were crispy, served with canned green beans from grandma’s garden and homemade mashed potatoes.

In fact, I don’t remember not knowing how to cook. It’s always been a big part of who I am. So it wasn’t until I became part of the Holy Covenant family just over a year ago that I realized that not everyone just shows up with a plate of scones and hopes someone will want to eat them. (more…)

Sermon, January 30, 2011
Holy Covenant UMC
Rev. Kate Hurst Floyd
Genesis 18:1-10

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Three men are on a journey, wandering through the desert, in need of a place to rest for awhile. They’re strangers in a strange land, without a place to call home. One of them doesn’t know the language at all, one has a conversational grasp, knows how to say: hello, how are you, where is the bathroom? Stuff to get by. The other, fortunately, is fluent and can translate for the others. They’ve been walking for a long time. Finally, they come into view of the tent of Sarah and Abraham.

Sarah and Abraham are looking forward to a quiet end to a busy couple of weeks. Abraham, the consummate extrovert, sits on his porch, watching the animals graze and the kids play stick ball. He eagerly awaits the possibility that somebody will wander by and he can make a new connection; perhaps his good friend will be out for a mid-day stroll, and they can catch-up for the latest nomadic gossip. Abraham’s the type who never misses his morning breakfast with the other old men at the local watering hole, talking about the weather, how their wives are nagging them lately, bragging on their grandkids. His mama always said: if you look up social butterfly in the dictionary, you’ll find a picture of my Abe. (more…)

Dear Holy Covenant Family,

Blessings of warmth and comfort to you as we experience this blizzard. I know you’ll join me in praying for the safety of those in our city and all the states affected by the storm, those who work in dangerous conditions to keep our city safe and clear, and those without a home. Hopefully you are finding some peace indoors. As you watch the snow fall outside your window, I invite you to reflect on this poem:

The snow
began here
this morning and all day
continued, its white
rhetoric everywhere
calling us back to why, how,
whence such beauty and what
the meaning; such
an oracular fever! flowing
past windows, an energy it seemed
would never ebb, never settle
less than lovely! and only now,
deep into night,
it has finally ended.
The silence
is immense,
and the heavens still hold
a million candles, nowhere
the familiar things:
stars, the moon,
the darkness we expect
and nightly turn from. Trees
glitter like castles
of ribbons, the broad fields
smolder with light, a passing
creekbed lies
heaped with shining hills;
and though the questions
that have assailed us all day
remain – not a single
answer has been found -
walking out now
into the silence and the light
under the trees,
and through the fields,
feels like one.

~Mary Oliver~
excerpted from American Primitive

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

Peace,
Kate

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