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Church Newsletters Note Members' Efforts in Church, Community
CHICAGO, IL (April 29, 2002) - Members in local churches of the Evangelical
Covenant Church have been recognized for their efforts on behalf of their
churches and communities, as reflected in the more than 200 newsletters
regularly received by the Department of Communication.
Following are excerpts from those reports, listed by conference:
CENTRAL
- Oak Lawn, Illinois: At Trinity Covenant Church, a tutoring program for
neighborhood children and a midweek children's program have been two
pleasant surprises in recent months. About 10 children (from kindergarten
through sixth grade) meet Tuesday afternoons for two hours with a rotation
of 12 tutors. Jill Youngren, director of outreach, said that the initial 30
minutes of tutoring involves active play while the next 60 minutes is
devoted to one-on-one tutoring. The final 30 minutes is primarily focused
on reading.
Many of the children in the tutoring group have become part of the
Wednesday night Polar Express children's program, which has an average
attendance of 30 kids. Youngren said that families were offered the option
of paying a fee for tutoring or signing up their children for Polar Express
or a Sunday school class. The church plans to use supplemental outreach
events to help them get better acquainted with the parents of the children
being tutored. For more information about the tutoring program, call
Youngren at 708-422-5111.
- Princeton, Illinois: Matt Lundberg of the Evangelical Covenant Church
of Princeton was named the winner of the 2001 Word & World Essay Prize for
doctoral candidates throughout the United States. Lundberg is a second-year
doctoral student in systematic theology at Princeton Theological Seminary
in New Jersey. He earned his undergraduate degree from Calvin College in
Grand Rapids, Michigan, and received his Master of Theological Studies
degree from Calvin's seminary in 2000.
- Wilmette, Illinois: Nancy Carroll of Winnetka Covenant Church was
awarded the Unsung Heroine Award by the Cook County Commission on Women's
Issues during a breakfast March 8. She was one of 17 women throughout Cook
County recognized for contributions to improving
the quality of life in their communities.
- Indianapolis, Indiana: Hope Covenant Church sent six representatives to
Los Brasiles, Nicaragua, March 1-10, the second time the congregation has
sent a group to that area. Team members included James Dinius, Wanda
Anderson, Mark Sadowski, Ruth Farfan, Athena Beatty and Jeff Carlson. The
Hope Covenant contingent traveled with seven others from another local
church to build houses in a community where they had helped build a trade
school the year before. From March 8-20, Tim, Ann and Sarah Carlson
traveled to Haiti with dental students from Indiana University to treat
dental needs at a clinic in Gressier. Tim also was scheduled to give
lectures at the University of Haiti at Port-au-Prince. The Carlsons had
lived in Haiti two decades earlier.
EAST COAST
- North Easton, Massachusetts: Alynne MacLean of Covenant Congregational
Church, a member of the Evangelical Covenant Church's Executive Board, quit
her job at Biogen in Cambridge, Massachusetts, about 16 months ago to
pursue her goal of providing low-cost medical care for developing
countries. She has been developing low-tech medical diagnostic tests
under Science With a Mission, a nonprofit organization she started and has
funded mostly with her own money.
In recent months, MacLean has been working on a diagnostic test for acute
glomerulonephritis, a type of kidney disease that doctors in the Dominican
Republic believe has been infecting and killing numerous individuals there.
She hopes to have the test available in 2003 and is trying to raise money
to fund the testing. According to a news report from the Quincy
(Massachusetts) Patriot Ledger, MacLean is focusing her work on an
immunoassay - a complex test based on chemical reactions with antibodies
from animals. The test is simpler and easier to use than methods in the
United States that rely on electricity. The Sharon, Massachusetts, native
has a doctorate in bio-analytical chemistry from the University of Kentucky
and has 13 years of experience working on immunoassays. For more
information about MacLean's work, read the May issue of The Covenant
Companion or check MacLean's website www.sciencewithamission.org.
- Thomaston, Connecticut: Michael and Angelika Anticoli of the The
Covenant Church of Thomaston are currently working as missionaries with
A.C.T.S. International (based in Lebanon, Georgia), serving most recently
in Russia with The Street Cry Mission. They are beginning a new
work in Africa during the near future. Michael grew up in the church and is
the son of George and Karen Anticoli. For more information on their
upcoming work, email them at anticoli@infopro.spb.su. The A.C.T.S.
International website is www.actsinternational.com.
PACIFIC SOUTHWEST
- San Jose, California: Luann Budd of First Covenant Church wrote a book
entitled Journal Keeping: Writing for Spiritual Growth that was
recently published by InterVarsity Press. Luann Budd is wife of Kevin Budd,
pastor of First Covenant and the administrative officer of the University
Library at San Jose State. This is the first book Budd has published. A
mother of five who serves as executive vice president of the Network of
Evangelical Women in Ministry (NEWIM), she has been keeping a journal since
high school. She now teaches numerous seminars on the art of journaling.
She says that she benefits from using a journal for spiritual purposes,
adding, "It has helped me make sense of the challenges of ministries. It
has helped me in preparation for leading ministries and speaking and
writing. It has helped me to understand the scriptures." For more
information on Budd's book, email her at
lbudd@email.sjsu.edu
- Spring Valley, California: Mt. Miguel Covenant Village resident Jim
Vernetti was given the honor of carrying the Olympic torch before the 2002
Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. Vernetti had previously lived in nearby
Coronado. The retired dentist had been active in numerous community
undertakings, including Little League baseball. He had a local Little
League stadium named in his honor in April 2000.
Churches can send newsletters to the News Department at Covenant
Communications, 5101 N. Francisco Avenue, Chicago, IL, 60625, or by email
at newsdesk@covchurch.org. To keep current with activities of local
churches and individuals throughout the Covenant church, regularly visit
this website at www.covchurch.org.
Copyright © 2008 The Evangelical Covenant Church. |
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