Service opportunities

This summer, many of us went to the peace marches all over the city, and felt profoundly moved by it; moved that these communities embraced us with open arms. Surprised that they wanted us to be there at all.

This Saturday we can bear witness to what’s hopefully a part of the solution to this summer’s violence, and a part of Chicago history. The Peace Basketball Tournament brings together four rival gangs, taking them off the street and onto a basketball court. Its a tournament to see which gang has the best basketball skills. An idea thats as crazy as it is brilliant. Brought to you by Father Michael Pfleger. Inspired by God.

The event is free and takes place at Saint Sabina’s gymnasium from 12-6 p.m. this Saturday, September 22, and we want to be there. A group will leave Holy Covenant by 10:30 a.m. so we can get good seats. The place will probably be packed as Pfleger has gotten basketball legend Isiah Thomas, and Bulls center Joakim Noah to participate.

Contact me if you can make the time to be there. Drivers are also needed.

Peace,

Josh Bonifas

There are moments in our lives when God is evident in everything we see and do. Other times, we catch glimpses of light that give us hope and strength to continue on. Yet sometimes, the maintenance of our lives in our own place obscures that light. Sometimes, we need to journey outside of the comfortable and into the foreign. Ever since the beginning of God’s covenant relationship with humanity, sojourning to seek and follow God has been a key part of our faith story.

This November 1-4, you have the opportunity to add your story to that list of sojourners who have ventured out into the world seeking to follow and find another glimpse of the divine. Join the Holy Covenant Missions Team in Homestead, Florida, as we volunteer with Sembrando Flores Compassionate Care Ministries. Sembrando Flores is a grassroots, ecumenical,faith-based, HIV/AIDS and social service organization whose ministry focuses on promoting wellness of the mind, body, and spirit by providing compassionate care and personal advocacy.

Our time with Sembrando Flores will be spent assisting its staff with one of its free community HIV/AIDS testing clinics, facilitating a night of fellowship with teens in the community, and assisting the organization with other tasks as needed to make the facility a place where the community can feel comfortable.

The deadline to register is Saturday, September 1. To register, or for more information about this or any of the exciting things happening with Missions at Holy Covenant, please email the Missions Team.

We hope that you will consider joining us, and we look forward to finding ways to help you encounter God in service to others.

Lisa Rothman, Mat Schramm, Sarah Tidwell, Emlyn Torres, and Nathan Voris
Holy Covenant Missions Team

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As someone who grew up in small-town Northwestern Indiana, I am aware of how small things can be seen as insignificant. Of course, that is unfair as many small things have the potential to make a big difference. Many of the ministries we participate in at Holy Covenant are examples of this. I want to take the time to share some of those with you.

BY THE HAND CLUB FOR KIDS
Children like Nesitia and Leon who participate in the By the Hand Club for Kids realize and understand the importance of reading to do well in school, but the resources at By the Hand are limited and donation-based. In 2010, only 24% of their students met or exceeded Illinois reading standards. This past year, 43% of their students met the standards – an 82% improvement! Holy Covenant has offered to help the organization grow their library as their organization grows exponentially. If you have any children’s books (K-12), bring them to Holy Covenant during February-March and put them in the donation box inside the front door. If you’d like a list of their requested books or have questions, email missions@holycovenantumc.org.

RELATIONSHIP AROUND THE TABLE
Dignity Diner needs tables! This Sunday, visit the church gallery and sign up to sponsor a portion of a table so all of our guests can have a place to eat every Tuesday. You can sponsor a chair for $10, or donate what you can to the general fund. Thanks in advance for your help in making sure everyone can sit at the welcome table.

In January, members of Holy Covenant met with guests from Dignity Diner to make crafts together. Join us next Tuesday, February 21 from 7-8 pm in the church basement for another night of crafts as we get to know our regular Dignity Diner guests.

Mat Schramm
Mat is your missions team chair and is passionate about working with to find opportunities for the Holy Covenant community to live out its mission to Seek God, Love All People, Change the World. Do you have ideas about how Holy Covenant can better serve our communities both locally and globally? Want to get involved? Email Mat and the Missions Team at missions@holycovenantumc.org.

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As you know, Rebecca’s last Sunday is November 20th. The Staff Parish Relations Committee is actively working to hire to fill Rebecca’s position. We have decided to divide Rebecca’s current position into two positions – one to focus on worship in the evening service and one to focus on spiritual formation and small groups. We felt it made sense to divide the position since they need very different skill sets. Here are the job postings for the two positions: Evening Worship Leader and Ministry Associate. If you know anyone who would be a good fit for either of these positions, please send them the job postings. Thank you!

If you have any questions please, feel free to talk to me or any of the members of SPRC or the Lay Leaders. You can also email questions to the Staff Parish Relations Committee.

Mandy Leifheit, SPRC Chair

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Pass it on to anyone you think might be interested!

Holy Covenant UMC, a dynamic, progressive congregation full of many young adults and families in the Lakeview neighborhood of Chicago, is seeking a Ministry Associate to share pastoral responsibilities for the Holy Covenant community focusing specifically on Spiritual Formation for all ages.

Responsibilities include planning and developing small groups, worship leadership, and worship preparation (multi-media creation, volunteer recruitment, and communications). Bachelor’s degree is required and working toward a Master of Divinity is strongly preferred. Position is 20 hours per week. Position starts immediately and continues through June 2012 with potential to be extended. If interested in applying, please send a resume and cover letter to office@holycovenantumc.org.

We are also looking for an Evening Worship Leader.

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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…)

Holy Covenant asks you to bring in a wide variety of items to support us in our quest to reduce, reuse, recycle, provide for our congregational community, and care for our greater community.

If you have any of these, bring them in!

CINDER BLOCKS NEEDED
Holy Covenant needs cinder blocks for a Lent project! Have a few in your basement? Willing to schlep them to church by February 20th? Let Rebecca Anderson know.

HOT CUP SLEEVE DRIVE
The Green Team and Hospitality have partnered up to start a coffee sleeve drive at Holy Covenant. Please bring in your used hot cup sleeves so we can offer them at the coffee station during hospitality! When using a sleeve during church, please remember to return the sleeve to its basket before tossing your cup. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!

BRING US YOUR CORKS!
The Green Team will be collecting wine corks, both natural and synthetic, in the coming year. For every cork collected, Terra Cycle will donate 2 cents to Holy Covenant United Methodist Church. There is a box in the gallery labeled “Cork Collection”. Please bring in any wine corks you have (or your neighbors have, or your local restaurants have) to be donated to this worthy cause!

COAT DRIVE
Holy Covenant is collecting coats for those in need that will be distributed to Dignity Diner guests every Tuesday. Please bring adult coats (L-XL), mittens and gloves (no scarves or hats) to the church and place at the bottom of the basement stairs. We will collect coats through the winter so that as many as possible will receive the gift of warmth. Questions? Please contact Walter Treash.

HAVE PICTURES OF HOLY COVENANT? SEND THEM IN!
We would love to look through your photos and possibly pick out a few for the church’s website! Mission events, social events, hospitality or small groups — if you have any, send them to Katie Cook.

In addition, something you do every day can benefit Holy Covenant:

SEARCH THE INTERNET, GIVE TO HOLY COVENANT!
Every time you search the internet through www.goodsearch.com, the site will donate 1 cent to HCUMC. Just go to the site, enter Holy Covenant to verify, and then search away! It’s free and easy to use for you, and Holy Covenant receives a donation at the end of the year. Many sites also offer a % donation if you make a purchase. So search away, which you do anyway, and give to the church. Their motto is: You search, we give.

Dear Holy Covenant family,

Our hearts are heavy for Haiti, and all those connected to this horrendous tragedy. My thoughts and prayers are with each of you, especially those who are connected to Haiti and waiting to hear from friends and family. As we face this unimaginable disaster, we do so as a family of faith and love. Here are some ways we are responding as a community and you can get involved:

1) Give
On Sunday, we will be taking a special offering for the United Methodist Committee on Relief for their work in Haiti. If you are looking for a way to contribute, consider donating to UMCOR. 100% of your giving goes to relief efforts, and UMCOR is one of the first responders in a disaster and stays long after the immediacy of the crisis. Please make checks out to UMCOR International Disaster Relief Advance #982450, Memo line: Haiti. Or, you can contribute on-line.

2) Assemble Health Kits
One of the ways Holy Covenant is helping right now is by assembling health kits to send to Haiti through UMCOR. Read about this ministry. Emma Cushman Wood is leading Holy Covenant’s effort and you will hear more about this on Sunday. Please contact Emma with questions or to volunteer to help.

3) Pray
As our we grieve, mourn, weep, and seek out ways to act, we also turn to prayer. I offer you this prayer, written by Dr. Pamela Lightsey, in response to the devastation:

O God, we have been stunned once again by an event
Which seems so unnatural and yet is called “natural disaster.”

We have no words to answer the “why” which we feel,
No wisdom to explain away the unexplainable areas of life.

Keep us from attributing this event as a heavenly reprimand,
Or from a certain haughtiness that tempts the distant soul.

Give us to be compassionate and gentle, servants to those in need.
Remind us of your gracious love in the midst of sorrow,
And your ability to work miracles when hope is faint.

We pray for those who suffer in Haiti even now
And for those who await rescue.
For relatives, for the children,
For mothers and fathers,
Sisters and brothers,
Grandparents, aunts and cousins.
For the survivors who question what more they might have done.
And for those who must keep on keeping on, in spite of.
For the leaders,
For those who bring aid
And those who await news.
Strengthen and encourage them we pray.

Now unto you, O God, we take the burdens of this hour and place them in your divine care.
For all you do and are doing, seen and unseen, we give thee thanks, Eternal God of All Creation.
Amen.

Grace and Peace,
Kate