Covenant News

Bethel (AK) Church to Dedicate New Activity Center

BETHEL, AK (October 14, 2001) - Bethel Evangelical Covenant Church will celebrate a building dedication weekend October 21-22 that follows the unique merger of two church facilities.

On October 21, trumpeter Don Shire will speak and share his music ministry at the 11 a.m. service. Bethel Covenant will host a potluck at 12:30 p.m. and Shire will minister in music for the building dedication at 5:30 p.m. A worship service and concert will follow at 7 p.m.

On October, 22, Shire will host a concert at 7 p.m., followed by refreshments in the new building.

The church purchased the 55-by-80-foot former Alaska Air terminal in the summer of 2000 and converted it into a Christian education center. The center is now connected to the sanctuary (see accompanying photo).

Property for the new center building was acquired in an exchange for other swampland, with help from Rob Hall of the Evangelical Covenant Church Department of Church Growth and Evangelism. "That project had all kinds of hazardous possibilities," noted Paul Wilson, Evangelical Covenant Church of Alaska (ECCAK) field director, in applauding Hall's efforts.

The building was hauled three and a half miles to a site adjacent to the church sanctuary. The church received a loan from National Covenant Properties to purchase the air terminal. The new building will allow the church to increase its Christian education classes and provide space for youth activities.

Bethel is a town of about 6,000 population - the church has about 100 in average worship attendance. The congregation has expanded its youth ministries in recent months with the addition of Melanie Griffith as youth director.

The Bethel dedication is one of several ECCAK events this month, according to Wilson. A college retreat for Covenant Youth of Alaska (CYAK) was held in Talkeetna with about 40 participants, most coming from the University of Alaska-Anchorage and the University of Alaska-Fairbanks. Rick Hinkey, pastor at Fairbanks Covenant Church, was the guest speaker.

CYAK workers led retreats in three Alaska locations October 5-7. CYAK Director Curtis Ivanoff directed a work in White Mountain, a high school retreat attended by 35 students from the bush of Alaska. Jeff Siemers, Mark Hill and students from Alaska Christian College (ACC) assisted in the retreat.

In Kenai, ACC President Keith Hamilton and ACC students led a high school retreat. In Anchorage, CYAK team members T.J. Smith, Krista Pitsch, Adam Wilson and Scott Sagle led a junior high retreat with 80 students. ACC students also helped in the event, which was held at Community Covenant Church in Eagle River.

"This was a banner weekend," Wilson said. "We used to struggle to do one retreat every six weeks and now we can do three in one weekend. There were 20 staff members in ECCAK seven years ago. Today, there are 60."

Earlier, Covenant Women Ministries of ECCAK had more than 100 participants for a retreat at Willow, Alaska, a town 20 miles north of Wasilla and 90 minutes north of Anchorage. Women came from as far as 800 miles away to hear from guest speaker Debbie Hamilton of ACC. Dee Dee Jonrowe, a noted musher in the internationally known Iditarod dogsled race, was among the participants at the retreat.

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