Upcoming events

Come see the first concert series in the United States dedicated to American tap and contemporary percussive arts companies. This year, Chicago Human Rhythm Project presents the Chicago debut of Washington D.C.’s celebrated Step Afrika! while sharing 50% of the proceeds with more than 50 Chicago area non-profits through the innovative Thanks4Giving program.

Mention/enter code CHRP-UMC to get a 10% discount and ensure half the proceeds come back to the church

Performances:
Thursday, November 19, 2009 @ 7:30 PM
Friday, November 20, 2009 @ 8:00 PM
Saturday November 21, 2009 @ 8:00 PM

To find see a video, and purchase tickets, check out the Chicago Human Rhythm Project’s event page. Or call 312-334-7777.

Dear sisters and brothers at Holy Covenant,

This coming Sunday is All Saints Day, when we recognize that we are part of the on-going communion of the saints. In the morning, we’ll have our annual Folk and Bluegrass Services, with home-y and plaintive music, and the naming of those who have died. In the evening, we’ll have a contemplative Service of Remembrance, followed by an autumnal potluck. Wait — is this day a party or a funeral? Well, it’s a little bit of both: we will mourn those who have gone before us and celebrate gratefully what they’ve given to us.

In the United Methodist tradition, the saints are the ones who have gone before us in the faith, and we ourselves are the saints, as people who are witnesses to the Gospel. If the word “saint” trips you up – as it did me for a long time – think of the way the apostle Paul started his letters, the way he might’ve written to us at Holy Covenant:

“To the church of God that is in Chicago, to those who are called to be saints, together with all those who in every place call on the name of Jesus, grace to you, and peace!” (See Romans 1 and 1 Corinthians 1)

For Paul, the word that we translate “saints” was “holy ones.” We are indeed called to be holy and to live in the faith that we are being made holy by God’s Spirit. So we will be remembering saints that we have read about in Scripture and those who we’ve known, as well as acknowledging our place on the long roster of holy ones.

Hands are needed on Sunday: after the 11:15 service, we’ll prepare the sanctuary for the evening, and get ready for the meal afterwards. Of course, we could also use a few folks to wash soup bowls at the end of the evening. In addition, we need soup-makers and bread-bakers (or, let’s face it: bread-buyers!). Interested? Contact Rebecca Anderson.

Please join us for this day of remembering and celebrating: we’ll get a sense of the cloud of witnesses that surrounds us, unseen, whispering of the faith they have known, and the joy we will all know together.

Peace and grace to you,
Rebecca Anderson
Minister of Small Groups

Dear Holy Covenant Family,

Dogs and lizards and cats,
Birds and hamsters and rats,
Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!

This Sunday morning is our annual “Blessing of the Animals” service, where God’s creatures, human and animal, will fill our sanctuary with glorious sounds of praise. There won’t actually be lions and tigers and bears, but we will worship side by side with our beloved pets and the pets of our brothers and sisters at HC. We will have a wonderful and wild and wooly time together, indeed. But, we also include animals as part of our worship service because celebrating pets, honoring all of God’s creation, helps us draw nearer to the divine.

Congregations all over the world observe the Blessing of the Animals, usually during this month, because Oct. 4th is the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi. St. Francis lived in Italy in the 12th and 13th centuries, and is most famous for his love of animals; he’s often depicted in garden statues with birds on his shoulders and bunnies at his feet. But his love for animals wasn’t a sentimental affection; he cared for creation out of a deep conviction to share God’s love with the whole world. In his time, a world of violence and wars, animals were treated cruelly. He both recognized the call to care for the least of these and the face of God that resides in all of creation. St. Francis continues to be a model of love for Christians, as these ancient words of his “Canticle of All Creatures” inspire us today:

Most High, all-powerful, all-good Lord,
All praise is Yours, all glory, all honour and all blessings.
To you alone, Most High, do they belong,
and no mortal lips are worthy to pronounce Your Name.

Praised be You my Lord with all Your creatures,
especially Sir Brother Sun,
Who is the day through whom You give us light.
And he is beautiful and radiant with great splendour,
Of You Most High, he bears the likeness.

Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Moon and the stars,
In the heavens you have made them bright, precious and fair.

Praised be You, my Lord, through Brothers Wind and Air,
And fair and stormy, all weather’s moods,
by which You cherish all that You have made.

Praised be You my Lord through Sister Water,
So useful, humble, precious and pure.

Praised be You my Lord through Brother Fire,
through whom You light the night
and he is beautiful and playful and robust and strong.

Praised be You my Lord through our Sister,
Mother Earth who sustains and governs us,
producing varied fruits with coloured flowers and herbs.

Praised be You my Lord through those who grant pardon
for love of You and bear sickness and trial.
Blessed are those who endure in peace,
By You Most High, they will be crowned.

Praised be You, my Lord through Sister Death,
from whom no-one living can escape.
Woe to those who die in mortal sin!
Blessed are they She finds doing Your Will.
No second death can do them harm.

Praise and bless my Lord and give thanks,
And serve God with great humility.

Join us on Sunday morning with your pets. If, however, you are allergic or not comfortable around animals, you can still come to church! Join us at our 7pm, animal-free service, for Eucharist, contemplation, and singing.

Grace and Peace,
Kate

This Sunday, we will celebrate Children’s Sabbath at Holy Covenant with a guest preacher, Gennifer Benjamin Brooks. This will be a Sunday when the children are more involved with the leadership of the morning services and those who are in 3rd grade (or older if they are new to Holy Covenant) will receive a copy of the NRSV translation of the the Bible. However, all the children will be recognized that morning and will receive a gift of love from Holy Covenant UMC.

Gennifer Benjamin Brooks is the Styberg Associate Professor of Homiletics and Director of the Styberg Preaching Institute at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary. She is an ordained elder and full clergy member of the New York Conference of the United Methodist Church. Before coming to the seminary, she was the pastor of Bethany United Methodist Church in Brooklyn, New York for eight years, having previously served in two cross-racial appointments in the New York Conference. She was also the Assistant Dean of New Brunswick Theological Seminary for four years.

Gennifer holds a Bachelor of Business, cum laude and a Master of Business Administration from Pace University, a Master of Divinity, summa cum laude, and a Doctor of Ministry from New Brunswick Theological Seminary, and a Master of Philosophy and a Doctor of Philosophy in Liturgical Studies from Drew University.

Gennifer is a Harry Hoosier member and has served at the local, jurisdictional and national levels of Black Methodists for Church Renewal (BMCR). She is a founding member of Black Clergywomen of the United Methodist Church (BCWUMC).

For more information about the Children’s Sabbath, contact Rev. Kate Hurst Floyd.

Morning Services – Folk/Bluegrass All Saints at 9:30am and 11:15am
Join us for our Folk/Bluegrass All Saints on Nov. 1 when we remember the great cloud of witnesses as we celebrate their lives through song, prayer, and candlelight. During the service, we will read the names of saints who have gone before us and influenced those in our congregation. If you would like to add saints from your life to the list to be read, please e-mail their names to office@holycovenantumc.org by Oct. 28. Together, we’ll remember that unbroken circle of saints, through God who connects us all.

Evening Service – A Service of Remembering at 7pm
Come at 7 pm for a contemplative, Taize-style service, with stories of saints we’ve known or read about, haunting music, and the opportunity to remember those we’ve mourned. Bring photos of those you’ve lost to share.

Autumn Soup and Bread Social
Stay after the evening service for an Autumn Soup and Bread Social. We’ll hunker down in the sanctuary to share a meal and fellowship, participating in the ongoing and everlasting communion of the saints.

Friday, November 6, 6pm-9pm
Presented by the MGR Foundation & Dignity Diner
Every Tuesday evening at 6pm, Chicago’s homeless and hungry are invited to be our guests for a sit-down vegetarian dinner at Holy Covenant.  Following the meal, Dignity Diner patrons and volunteers connect weekly with a variety of activities.  We hope you will join us on Friday, November 6, for our 3rd Art Opening entitled “At 7 O’Clock We ART”.  View the work of our artists as they reveal their unique expressions on identity and Chicago life.

View the poster.

Dear Holy Covenant Family,

Hear these words from the U2 song Magnificent, off of their latest album:

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 worshipping 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. (more…)

Hear the music of U2 in a whole new way. All are welcome at Holy Covenant’s annual U2 Eucharist. Two performances: 9:30 and 11:15 a.m., Sun., Oct. 4, at 925 W. Diversey, Chicago. You won’t want to miss it–a full band, solo performances by Holy Covenant and other musicians and a house packed to the balcony.

Check out the Facebook event page to RSVP and invite friends.

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Dear Holy Covenant Community,

This Sunday we have an exciting opportunity to do something special together. The Green Team is holding an event called Curb Your Ride, Green Your Ride. Our goal is to have as many parishioners as possible travel to and from church by walking, biking, CTAing, or car-pooling. Why? Because it ties into every aspect of Holy Covenant’s mission.

First of all, it honors our commitment to “Seek God.” Contrary to popular belief, ‘being green’ did not come into fashion after Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth was released in 2005. In the Judeo-Christian tradition, commitment to earth stewardship has been around for thousands of years (since Day Six to be exact!) – as evidenced by God’s commandment in Genesis 1:28 to be stewards of all Creation. When we live in sustainable ways, it brings us closer to the Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer of our world.

Curb Your Ride, Green Your Ride is also a way of “Loving All People.” By reducing our oil consumption, we can help prevent wars over nonrenewable resources. Such conflicts traumatize individuals and families, devastate communities, and pit nation against nation. Furthermore, the consequences of global warming have been shown to disproportionately affect the poorest among us.

Finally, Curb Your Ride, Green Your Ride provides us with a chance to “Change the World” by making it a cleaner place and building a movement for sustainable living. Too often, the green movement focuses on what individuals can do to live more sustainably when in reality it’s our institutions – churches, organizations, businesses, and governments — that need to come together to take collective action on the environment. The success of this event hinges on a community-wide effort. It illustrates what we can accomplish together as the Body of Christ in the world.

So this Sunday when you lace up your sneakers or pick up a carpooler, and leave a bit earlier for Church, take comfort in the fact that you are acting as a member of a broader community that is committed to a more faithful and sustainable earth.

Enjoy your walk, bike, CTA, or carpool to Church!

Peace,
Brit Holmberg
Holy Covenant Green Team Member

Small groups are a great way to get more fully involved in the Holy Covenant community: grow in your relationship with God and with others in an informal but structured setting. You can sign up or ask questions at groups@holycovenantumc.org

Sundays

College Group, Sunday nights (including recent grads)
Stay after evening service or come and meet folks afterwards for pizza, sharing, prayer, and discussion about what it all means: what did you think of the sermon? What does it mean to you to take communion? To choose not to take communion? Did you grow up in the church or are you just testing the waters now for the first time? All of that aside, how was your week? Spread the word: all are welcome, recent graduates included.

Leader: Devin Donaldson
When: Sunday nights, 8:15 – 9:15
Where: Holy Covenant Gallery
Duration: Beginning October 18th, on-going through-out the school year. Consider
serving as a substitute leader!

Faith-Sharing, Sunday nights
Get to know other folks from Holy Covenant and beyond as you discuss life, Scripture, and what it all adds up to.

Leader: Scott Reid
When: Sunday night after worship, 8:15 – 9:30, runs through Advent, with the
possibility of extending through the spring
Where: Scott’s home at 2930 N. Sheridan, #508
Duration: Beginning October 11th, this group will meet through the end of Advent,
with the possibility of running through the spring. You do not need to
commit for the entire year and you can also join later in the year.

Women’s Group, every other Sunday night
The Holy Covenant Women’s Group meets on the 2nd and 4th Sunday of each month at Starbucks, Diversey and Sheffield. It is a drop-in group – no sign up or commitment is required. The purpose of the group is to provide a fun, casual place for the diverse women of the church to meet, share our stories, and support each other. It is a great choice for women who would like to feel more connected within the church, especially newcomers to Holy Covenant. The Women’s Group runs year round and can be attended in conjunction with or in between other groups.

Leaders: Linda Effinger Quinde
When: 2nd and 4th Sundays of the month, 5:15 – 6:45
Where: Starbucks at Sheffield and Diversey
Duration: On-going.

Tuesdays

Faith-Sharing, Tuesday nights after Dignity Diner
Get to know other folks from Holy Covenant, Dignity Diner, and beyond as you discuss life, Scripture, and what it all adds up to.

Leaders: Michael Bates and Casey Wittekind
When: Tuesday nights, 7 – 8
Where: Holy Covenant
Duration: 6 weeks, beginning October 13th, running through November 17th

Faith-sharing, Tuesday nights
Get to know other folks from Holy Covenant and beyond as you discuss life, Scripture, and what it all adds up to.

Leaders: Carlos Rios and Wyatt Sheeder
Host: Rob Rawls
When: Tuesday nights, 7:15 – 9
Where: Rob’s home, 1403 W. Rascher
Duration: 6 weeks, beginning October 13th, running through November 17th

Wednesdays

Nia
Nia is a workout, lifestyle and personal growth program. Nia is a way to condition, heal and transform your body, mind, emotions and spirit. Nia is a system that blends Eastern and Western movements, concepts and philosophy derived from three main movement forms: Martial Arts (mindful precision), Dance Arts (personal expression) and Healing Arts (self-healing). The philosophy of Nia is based on the pleasure principle: If it feels good, keep doing it; if it hurts, stop and adapt what you do to feel better. The group will also include a time of checking in, sharing, and praying with one another.

Leader: Emily Moore
When: Wednesday, 7:30 – 9:00
Where: Holy Covenant Sanctuary
Duration: Beginning October 14th, running through the end of November, with the
possibility of running through the spring, based on interest. You do not need to
commit to the entire year!

Sunday’s Scripture
Sunday’s Scripture is a group that meets with the pastor 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! Each week, we will 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. We will 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? Join us as we grow closer to God and one another through the biblical passages that shape our lives as a community.

Facilitator: Kate Floyd
When: Wednesdays, 7-8:30pm
Where: Holy Covenant Gallery
Duration: Beginning October 14, on-going throughout the year. You are welcome to drop
in when you can.

Thursdays

Theology on Tap
Theology on Tap is an independent gathering of men and women who share an interest in Christian theology and, of course, beer. We are committed to an open discussion of the life and teachings of Jesus and the doctrines that developed in the aftermath of his death and resurrection. ALL are welcome, with the caveat that each individual be respected and treated with dignity and kindness. (We also want to respect the staff and build relationships with them, so please budget in order to leave at least a 20% tip.) NOTE: This is an on-going group. Drop in any week, starting this week and continuing through the end of December. Look for us on Facebook at T.o.T. (Chicago).

Facilitator: Jonas Grey
When: Thursday, 7 p.m.
Where: The Hidden Shamrock on Halsted at Diversey
Duration: On-going; it’s happening even now. Drop in, or commit to going every week for
a season. Bring a friend!

Green Living
The Green Living Small group will provide a safe and supportive space to consider our role as stewards of God’s Creation. We will explore scripture, ancient theologians on Creation, and contemporary writers on the connection between faith and eco-justice in an effort to claim our own voices around Creation Care. In addition, group members will have an opportunity to implement their discoveries by learning practical skills for living more sustainably in their homes. Each week will focus on a different part of the home, including: energy use, food/cooking, cleaning products, pets, and transportation.

Leaders: Brit Holmberg and Olivia McCain
When: Thursday, 7 – 8:45
Where: Holy Covenant
Duration: 5 weeks, beginning Oct 22nd through Nov 19th
Cost: ~$15 depending on group size

HC Choir

Leader: Andrew Collins
When: Thursday nights, 7pm-9pm
Where: Holy Covenant Gallery
Duration: Ongoing

Holy Covenant Book Group – 2nd Thursday of the month
Gather to discuss a book with other folks. The book will be listed in the eNews, on line, in the bulletin. Drop in for one month, or plan on coming every month and getting to know your fellow book-lovers. Spread the word and bring a friend. Consider hosting in months to come or suggesting a book!

Leaders for October meeting: Brittany and Monica Isaac
When: First meeting, October 15th, 7:30 – 9:15
Where: Brittany and Monica’s home, 7527 N. Damen Ave
The October book: Marilynne Robinson’s Gilead
(widely available at libraries and bookstores)