Community life

Durbin Family

Sarah, Rachel and Jonah live in Oak Park and found Holy Covenant through Reconciling Ministries. Rachel is a senior at OPRF High School and Jonah is in 4th grade at Longfellow Elementary. Rachel is an accomplished figure skater who would perform on ice every weekend if given the opportunity. She is really excited about Akwaaba, the teen youth group she started at Holy Covenant, and is hopeful the group will finally take root this fall. Rachel just recently got back from YTI (Youth Theological Initiative) where she had the opportunity to explore important theological and social issues with other teens and consider the power of becoming a “public theologian”. Jonah is your typical boy. He loves sports especially soccer and plays on a traveling team. He is loud and is constantly moving. Which is entirely opposite from what you see at church. For just being nine, he has a big heart and is always making sure that his sister is taken care of. Sarah works in the non-profit world. She is a member of the Children and Families Committee and is on the board of a local LGBT organization. As a family, they have a passion for social justice and providing service in the community.

Read more about becoming a member.

Dear Holy Covenant Community,

In front of God and everybody. How many times have you heard that phrase, usually in a less than positive way (Fred skinny dipped in Buckingham Fountain, in front of God and everybody…). Well, ladies and gentleman, I’m here today to take the rain in that phrase and turn it into a rainbow (ow-did I just say that?). Ok, more specifically, I am here to invite you to share your love of music (and who doesn’t love music?) with God and everybody by joining the Holy Covenant Celebration Choir as we prepare this fall to once again blend our voices together in song and worship and praise. There are no auditions, no scales to sing in order to prove your vocal capabilities. Just a love of God, and the aforementioned love of music. There, see? You’re in. All practice materials are posted on the web, we gather on Monday nights to rehearse and then do a short run through on Sunday morning before singing at the 11:15 service. It’s fun, it’s community, it’s worship, and I truly hope you’ll consider it. In front of God and everybody.

Now if you are just not the singing type, there is still room at the musical table for you. We are looking for all manner of musicians to offer their talents during Communion at our 9:30 service. Guitar, violin, flute, kazoo, (ok-probably not kazoo), classical, contemporary-please accept this invitation to offer your gifts to this community.

Finally, if you are more of a behind the scenes person, please consider joining our Audio Visual team. This VIP position takes care of the Powerpoint and simple audio adjustments during our worship services. I’ll tell you everything you need to know (no previous experience necessary), and ideally, with enough folks in rotation, we only ask one service of you a month.

For further communications, questions, and volunteer hand raising, please contact me by e-mail.

peace,

Andrew Collins

Dear Holy Covenant Community,

It’s no secret that United Methodists LOVE meals. You’d be hard pressed to find a Methodist church without regularly scheduled pot-lucks, ice cream socials, and pie bake-offs. Holy Covenant does our part, from perfecting our chili recipe for the cook-off in the fall, to eating pizza and slurping root beer floats after the evening service, and enjoying delicious home-baked goods on a Sunday morning. We are a community who loves meals!

Is it just that we really love to eat? We do, no doubt. But if that was all there was to it, we’d just go to restaurants, or pack up the baked goods and take them to the park. Instead, we stay and we eat together, because something powerful happens in those moments: the food tastes better, the conversation is more interesting, and our connections are deeper. Jesus knew the power of the table, of a shared meal. That’s why on the last night of his life, he gathered his disciples around a table to eat supper together. Don Saliers, my professor of worship, was fond of saying, “Jesus loved meals so much he became one.”

For in that sacred meal, Jesus takes the bread, blesses it, breaks it, and gives it. The bread becomes his body and the wine his blood, and we, then, through sharing in the meal, become his body. Every time we take communion in worship, Jesus takes and chooses us, God blesses us, our hearts break open, and God gives us the gift of grace and forgiveness. Beginning in August, we will have the opportunity to eat this sacred meal together each week in the morning. Starting August 1st, we’ll have weekly communion at the 9:30am service. We’ll continue to share in this meal monthly at 11:15am and weekly at 7pm.

If you find yourself hungry during the week, I hope you’ll consider coming to the 9:30 service to receive your fill of grace, peace, justice, and mercy as forgiven and grace-filled children of God. After all, the invitation is coming from Jesus—“Let’s eat!”

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

Grace and Peace,

Kate

Andrea Bailiff & Andy Gush

Andy and I are very excited to be part of the Holy Covenant family! This is the first United Methodist church that either of us have joined. I was brought up in a Baptist church and went to a non-denominational church during college, while Andy has an Episcopal/ Anglican background. When we were looking for a church home, it was very important that the church be a blend of both of our backgrounds nad our religious views, and the United Methodist denomination has proven to be just that! And with our up-and-coming October wedding, we are looking forward to starting our married lives at Holy Covenant!

Dear beloved at Holy Covenant,

During his ministry on earth, Jesus said that the kingdom of heaven belongs to the likes of children. Jesus didn’t mind when kids swarmed around him – even when adults said, “Oh, leave him alone now” or “He’s not talking to you; he’s not here for you!” Little children even taught others how to praise, shouting “Hosanna” when the grown-ups were appalled because Jesus was challenging the status quo in the temple. Jesus also said, “Whoever welcomes a little child in my name welcomes me.” We want to welcome children in ways that families need and want, and in ways that are particular to who we are as a community of faith.

I’m inviting families into a conversation about what’s next at HC, to meet families I don’t yet know, and to find out what both parents and kids want, need, and hope for in a community of faith. Both this Sunday, July 18th, and August 1st, I’ll be meeting families at 10:30, after the early service. We’ll step across the way to Einstein’s for coffee or tea. There will be extended childcare at church but children are also welcome to come. Either way, please bring your ideas. Email me at rebeccaanderson@holycovenantumc.org to let me know which Sunday you’d like to join the conversation, and whether you expect to use childcare so we can plan accordingly.

OR…if you cannot make either of these group times, I’d love to take you out for coffee (or meet you at a neighborhood park).

Some other news about children and families at HC this summer:

* On Sunday, August 15th, after the first service, children and families are going to Jonquil Park (at Sheffield and Lincoln) to play on the awesome new equipment, including a sprinkler. We’ll have stickers and invitations to HC to give the folks we meet while we play. We want to let the neighborhood know that we have childcare and invite them to join this great worshiping community.
* We’ve hired the fabulous Kristen McCray, through SitBaby, to provide childcare for the first service – and coffee hour – in the newly rehabbed downstairs nursery. Spread the word and please say hello to Kristen.
* Children are always welcome in worship and, in fact, we’re setting up the children’s corner again (although they don’t have to sit there!) and offering materials for children’s use during worship.
* Regular Sunday School is on break for the summer. So is TFYC!
* But look for children, as they join us, to be more fully involved participants in the liturgy. And start brainstorming about the fall.

Finally, for all of us, a question: what do you do in church that a young person could help with? If you’re on your way to do something, look around: is there someone you can take with you and show the ropes? (Actually, this could be a 10-year-old or a 35-year-old! Not all of know how things work or where things get put away around here.) Spiritual formation, for children and adults, doesn’t only happen in services or lessons but in relationship with other Christians. Young people can easily:

*help greet and pass out bulletins
*collect the offering
*read Scripture
*help serve or clean up from hospitality

Let’s live into our mission statement: let’s be a community of friends that loves all people and welcomes the little children in the name of the One who loves and welcomes each of us.

In peace,

Rebecca Anderson
Minister of Spiritual Formation

Jen and Dave Massey

Jen and Dave Massey were married in July of 2006, in Indiana, having met roughly 7 years earlier while attending Georgia Tech in the study of engineering. Jen, a native of Mission, Texas, had relocated to Atlanta, near Dave’s hometown of Tyrone, Georgia. With marriage the two came to reside in Lafayette, Indiana, with Jen working in Indianapolis in the field of pharmaceuticals, and Dave attending graduate school at Purdue University. In the summer of 2008, the two moved to Chicago following Dave’s relatively new career in banking. They were joined in Chicago by their cat and 2 dogs; this menagerie is indicative of only a portion of their love for animals. On April 24th of 2010, their son Jack Wayne was brought into this world. At his young age, much remains to be determined about Jack’s future, not the least of which is how Dave (a Cardinals fan) and Jen (a White Sox fan), will raise him while living in the shadow of Wrigley Field. While that is still uncertain, the answer likely has something to do with the designated hitter, and of course, God’s will.

Adrienne Trevathan

Hello! I’m so excited to be a part of this wonderful community! I’m a recent graduate of Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston. I got my M. Div. in 2009 and just finished coursework for the M.A. degree in Christian Education. There is something about teaching that gives me energy and joy that I don’t experience otherwise. I’ve been a United Methodist for 12 years and am currently serving Northminster Presbyterian Church as the Director of Christian Education. I’m a certified deacon candidate currently trying to figure out which hobby to develop now that I’m finally out of school. I have a passion for writing, satire, Reconciling Ministries, driving my car with the windows down, and 93XRT.

Dear friends in Holy Covenant,

Our evening service is a year and a half old now. All along, the central image for the 7 pm service has been that of Jesus walking along the road to Emmaus with his disciples after he’d been raised from the dead. They talked about Scripture and recent events. They invited Jesus in and ate together. When Jesus broke bread at the end of the meal – gasp – they recognized him! Sunday nights, we gather hungry for the same kinds of conversation and the same kind of meal where Jesus shows up again and again.

Some folks haven’t yet had the chance to attend the evening service; some first-timers exclaim with surprise, “Hey! This is great!” Come find out for yourself what we’re doing. As a church, we decided to commit to this service as an offering for our community and those who aren’t yet in our doors. Even if this is not your usual service, please consider coming this week to show support for this vital ministry of our church. Our hope is that when you come and see what the service is about, you can direct friends and newcomers to this acoustic service of contemplation, weekly Eucharist, and prayer.

Come: if you’ve been meaning to check out the evening service. Come: if you plan to spend most of the day at the beach on Sunday. Come: if you’ve ever wanted to have a root beer float after a church service during which the late day light streams in sideways through the stained glass windows and then grows dark and intimate by the time we gather around the table. And come help make this service especially rich, peopled with many voices and much energy. We expect lots of visitors and want them to experience how Holy Covenant worships! Even if you can’t be there, please spread the word.

Come for the service, stay for the root beer floats and pizza. Bring friends; bring $5 for pizza (if you can); and bring your singing voice. Beach attire welcome.

Looking forward to worshiping and celebrating with you, and to gathering again around the table,

Rebecca Anderson

At Holy Covenant our mission is to “Seek God, Love all People, (and) Change the World.” This Sunday we have a special opportunity to live out our mission by participating in the United Methodist Peace with Justice Sunday. This is a Sunday that United Methodists celebrate by taking a special offering that will go to support programs that advocate peace and justice at home and around the world.

Half of the offering collected by an annual conference is retained to fund local peace with justice programs. The other half of the offering is sent to the General Board of Church & Society (GBCS) to help fund U.S. and global work in social action, public-policy education and advocacy.

“The United Methodist Church declares that peace with justice will be celebrated when all people have access to adequate jobs, housing, education, food, health care, income support and clean water. Our church will further celebrate when structures and systems that reflect economic exploitation, war, political oppression and cultural domination no longer exist.” (GBCS)

This Sunday we will hear about one of the many programs supported by grants from this money as well as celebrate other ways that we at Holy Covenant are at work for peace and justice. So bring an extra dollar or two this Sunday and help bring peace with justice to our world.

Peace,

Monica

Dear friends in Holy Covenant,

It has been my great joy and privilege to be a student intern and then on staff at Holy Covenant for the last two years. Especially since I have been unable to avoid dreaming about what’s next for this community, I am so glad to be staying on with you in the new position of Minister of Spiritual Formation.

The new position includes the work I’ve been doing this year as worship leader for the evening service and minister of small groups. Happily, I’ll have more time to devote to each! Additionally, I’ll be working with children and families. Even many of you who know me may not know that before I moved to Chicago for Divinity School I spent years working with children — from infancy through adolescence — at summer camps, in classrooms, and on farms. I can feel that my face still lights up when I start to tell stories about the children I’ve known. I’m excited to build relationships with the children and families in our congregation (and those who’ve yet to arrive!) and to include them more fully in the life of the church. I’ll also be available for things like meeting over a cup of coffee for conversation and prayer and committee meetings where I’m needed, and I’ll be preaching a little more too.

As for the “spiritual formation” of the job title: I’ve been thinking a lot about what it means to be a people of faith. What makes us any different from what we were when we had no faith? I know that in my own life, I’ve recently found myself caught up in school, work, and church to the point that I’m not practicing my faith. I forget to lean back on the faith that I claim to have. I don’t make time to pray. I suspect that I’m not the only one for whom this is true. Lots of great things happen at church, but there are some things that happen only at church: things like learning how to pray, how to read Scripture, and what difference it makes to be a Christian in how we care for others and the world around us. My prayer for all of us is that we would experience a deepening in our spiritual understanding and practices.

My new job begins July 1st. By then, the regular hours when I’ll be available to you will be figured out and made public. Until then, don’t forget to take a look at small groups! And consider visiting the evening service if you’ve never been – or haven’t been in a while. It’s a warm, intimate service that feels like the best parts of a family dinner. We sing songs in harmony; we pray for one another; we gather around the Communion table every week and are reminded of the truth that God breaks into our lives again and again.

In peace,
Rebecca Anderson

Lilies represent new and eternal life, which is why they are the perfect flower for Easter. This year, you can order a lily in memory or honor of someone for $15. These flowers will beautify our sanctuary on Easter as we celebrate the resurrection. After the service, you are invited to take your lily home and have a sign of new life with you. We will list your name and the name of the person you are buying the lily in honor or memory of in an upcoming bulletin.