Ministry Highlights from Local Covenant Church Newsletters

Following are excerpts from the more than 200 local church newsletters received each month by the Department of Communication of the Evangelical Covenant Church. A footnote at the end of this article advises how to add a local church newsletter to the list.

Following are this month's highlights, listed by conference:

CANADA

Kinistino, Saskatchewan: A long-running Adventure Club at the Evangelical Covenant Church has had a positive influence on this community of 800, with the program attracting an average of 55 children during a given week and as many as 100 different children over a three-month period. Now in its 11th year, the Friday night program invites preschool to sixth grade children at an individual cost of only 25 cents. This year's theme is "Champion's Journey." Among the activities at Adventure Club are a variety of service options, including aiding a local food bank and decorating and sending gift shoe boxes for needy children through a parachurch ministry called "Operation Christmas Child." For more information on the Adventure Club program, call the church at 306-752-2903.

CENTRAL

Chicago, Illinois: Children's illustrator Carol Koeller of the Ravenswood Evangelical Covenant Church illustrated an educational book entitled Mom, Dad, Come Back Soon, written by Debra Pappas and published by Magination Press (MP). Koeller said that MP is part of the American Psychological Association. Its children's books are used by family therapists and teachers who deal with problems and issues children face such as separation anxiety or divorced parents. Koeller has also done work in Ladybug magazine, a publication geared to children from four to seven years of age, as well as materials published by Cook Communications, based in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Rockford, Illinois: Broadway Covenant Church's Sally Gill has a sermon included in a book by a North Park Theological Seminary professor of homiletics. Gill's sermon, "Funeral Sermon for Les," is part of Carol Noren's book entitled In Times of Crisis and Sorrow: A Ministers' Manual and Resource Guide.

EAST COAST

Springfield, Massachusetts: Evangelical Covenant Church parishioner Marilyn Pelosi has started a section in her church's newsletter called "God Sightings," stories that show how God's presence appeared in the midst of daily life. The first entry, given by Sunday school teacher Guy McCaslin, is an example of this new feature's content. "Saturday morning there were a few of us gathered together to hike up one of the nearby mesas and pray," the entry begins. "As we are sitting there praying, probably about 40 yards off the trail, and had just prayed for Afghanistan and the people of that nation, a young woman stops and says, 'Hello, what are you doing?' We call back to her, 'We're praying.' She immediately makes a straight line toward our group and says, 'I thought it looked like you were doing something important.' She is speaking with an accent, so we ask her where she was from and she says 'Afghanistan.' We all about fell off the rocks we were sitting on! She asked if she could join us. Of course, we told her. She is a Muslim, but we prayed and she even prayed. It was one of the most incredible things I have ever seen God do. It was as if He was saying to us, 'The country of Afghanistan is filled with real people with real needs, like this young woman.' We were blown away. I will never pray for Afghanistan again without seeing her face."

Lords Valley, Pennsylvania: Diane and Ed Eigenbrodt of the Church at Hemlock Farms participated in a local Columbia Italian American Club home decoration contest during Christmas and took third prize, a $100 donation made to the Pike County Humane Society.

ECCAK

Koyuk, Alaska: Painter Joanne Swanson, wife of Koyuk Covenant Church Pastor Chip Swanson, was mentioned in her region's recent quarterly newsletter for her artistry. Joanne, a Native Inupiaq, was born at a fish camp on the Shaktoolik River and dreamed of being an artist. She taught herself to watercolor paint and her picture of a Unalakleet church (a gift to her husband) was a highlight.

Wasilla, Alaska: Jan Payne of the Mat-Su Covenant Church recently published Rabbit Moon, a fiction suspense novel that takes place on a Navajo reservation. It documents some cultural issues pertinent to the Navajo, a culture Jan was familiar with having grown up on a Navajo reservation in New Mexico. Payne earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Arkansas and eventually attended medical schools in Mexico and Maryland, earning her medical degree in 1989. While working in a hospital, she was a contributing author for Focus on the Family's "Encyclopedia of Baby and Child Care." She plans on writing a sequel to Rabbit Moon entitled Rabbit Hole. More information about the book can be found on the Internet at www.Xlibris.com/bookstore.

MIDWEST

Olathe, Kansas: Jim and Shelley Poole of the Evangelical Covenant Church have been serving for the past 18 months as family teachers at Girls & Boys Town, Nebraska, hosting five girls in their home along with their own two children. Their role modeling is a major component in what they do and they help the girls improve in areas such as table manners, conversational skills, personal boundaries and tolerating differences, among other things. Opportunities for evangelism are readily available in life skills training and in devotionals and conversations with the children.

NORTH PACIFIC

Olympia, Washington: Armand Osterberg of Grace Covenant Church was chosen to carry the Olympic torch in Olympia before the 2002 Winter Olympics, the third Covenanter to enjoy such an honor. Osterberg is a retired airline pilot who carried the torch January 23 in downtown Olympia. Another parishioner, Erin Garner, earned Dean's List honors at North Park University in Chicago with a 3.93 grade point average on a 4.0 scale.

Seattle, Washington: The Covenant Companions group at First Covenant Church ended their ministry after 57 years in existence. The group (originally known as Covenant Couples) started in 1944 as a social outreach effort by a large Bible study class at what was then Mission Covenant Church. During the 1950s, there were 80-100 couples active in the group. In the 1970s, the name was changed to Covenant Companions as many singles became part of the group.

NORTHWEST

Edina, Minnesota: Earl Rindal's 35 plus years of service as an usher at Edina Covenant Church was mentioned in a recent newsletter. According to the article, he has been head usher for many of those years. A longtime meat cutter, Earl met his wife, Olive, when he was delivering meat to the home of Olive's aunt. They celebrate their 60th anniversary this year and have been at Edina Covenant for 50 of those years.

Ogilvie, Minnesota: Lewis Lake Covenant Church had a joyous annual meeting as the congregation welcomed 11 into membership - they now have a record 90 members at the church. Pastor Robert DeYoung's congregation will celebrate its centennial later this year.

Richfield, Minnesota: Laurie Johnson Holtz of Bethany Covenant Church was honored for her leadership in her work at GMC, RFC. She received a Mediterranean cruise for two for her efforts.

Churches can send newsletters to Newsdesk at the Department of Communication, 5101 N. Francisco Avenue, Chicago, IL, 60625, or by email to newsdesk@covchurch.org. To keep current on all the news and activities of Covenant local churches, conferences and denominational ministries, regularly visit this Covenant web site at www.covchurch.org.

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