|
Home
Highlights from Local Church Newsletters
IXTAPAN DE LA SAL, MEXICO (July 18, 2003) - Dr. Klyne Snodgrass, Paul Brandel
Professor of New Testament at North Park Theological Seminary (NPTS) in
Chicago, spoke to over 100 Mexican Covenant Church leaders from about 25
different local congregations at a leadership retreat June 13-14.
Snodgrass spoke on themes from his book "Between Two Truths--Living with
Biblical Tensions." Under the Spanish title, "Entre Dos Verdades," the
book was the first published by the Mexican Covenant church's Department
of Communications three years ago. The book is also published in Korean.
Among Snodgrass's themes were "Authority and Submission," and "Is God
Active or Passive?"
The retreat was also a reunion of sorts for Snodgrass and former
students, both from the United States and Mexico. Many former students
were among the 100 Mexican Covenant Church leaders, mostly from the
country's Central District.
Covenant missionaries in Mexico, Dennis Carlson and Tom Kelly, who
served as translator for the seminars, both studied under Snodgrass in
the mid-1970s at NPTS. Mexican Covenanters Lili Corzo and Juan Carlos
Pichardo also studied at NPTS and gave testimonies during the seminar as
to the impact that Klyne's teaching had in their own lives and
theological understanding. Current Mexican NPTS student Damaris Adame
also attended the retreat
The Snodgrass lectures were one highlight of many happening in the
Evangelical Covenant Church early this summer. Here is a listing of
other events reported by local churches, conference and region.
CENTRAL
- Glen Ellyn, Illinois: Five people from Glen Ellyn Evangelical
Covenant Church - Martha Miles, Frank Boyk, Darren Miller and Diane and
Bob Brown - spent 10 days in late May and early June assisting in the
renovation of KICY radio in Nome, Alaska. The group worked on a new
Russian-programming office, added insulation to external walls of the
main building and installed new wiring, drywall outlets and phone jacks.
- Iron River, Michigan: Airman First Class Jacob Sherwood of Grace
Covenant Church was honored as Airman of the Year for his work with the
128th munitions group of Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota.
Meanwhile, high-school student Joe VanWagner received an academic award
for his achievements and Tim Lindahl and Anders Lindwall participated on
a team that won an Upper Peninsula high school golf title on May 30.
EAST COAST
- Quincy, Massachusetts: Covenant Congregational student Kelly Smith
received the Ron Mazur High Academic Achiever award in June, which is
awarded to a fifth grader with the best academic standing. She also
received a $50 gift certificate to a local bookstore. Another student
from the church, Daniel Gengler, was recognized for outstanding academic
achievements in Science and English.
- Waltham, Massachusetts: On July 10, Covenant Congregational Church
parishioners Art and Pam Kinzinger traveled to Sarvar, Hungary, as part
of an 11-person group from several churches. Since 1998, a group of
congregations from New England have helped Pastor Istvan Gyarmati and
the Evangelical Church of Sarvar, located in a town of 14,000 in western
Hungary. Included in this summer's ministry were renovations to the
church, Bible-based English classes and adult Bible studies.
GREAT LAKES
- Muskegon, Michigan: Forest Park Covenant Church teen Andrew Patten
helped plant 70 trees on a local road as part of an Eagle Scout project.
- Jamestown, New York: Two parishioners at Zion Covenant Church were
mentioned in a recent church newsletter. Pam Holmberg was mentioned for
being named Ministry Volunteer of the Year by the Great Lakes Conference
Board of Christian Formation. Jon Melquist, a recent graduate of
Jamestown High School, was mentioned for his work packaging food with
the Zion Covenant food pantry.
- Lyndhurst, Ohio: Bethany Covenant Church's Jack Means competed in
the U.S. Senior Olympics in Hampton Roads, Virginia, where he competed
at the 80-84-year old age category in running races at 100, 200 and
400-meter distances. Means was first in the 200 in 35.17 seconds, first
in the 400 with a time of 1 minute, 31.75 seconds, and second in the 100
in 16.46 seconds.
MIDSOUTH
- Edmond, Oklahoma: LifeKIDS, a children's ministry at Life Church,
restored and recreated a 1954 Ford Fire Engine and used it to promote
LifeKIDS at the Edmond Fourth of July Parade.
MIDWEST
- Sloan, Iowa: Lisa Koenig of the Evangelical Covenant Church of Sloan
received the Kappa Delta Pi National Honor Society Student Teacher of
the Year Award presented by the education department of Morningside
College, Sioux City, Iowa.
- McPherson, Kansas: Countryside Covenant Church sent five adults and
25 middle school children to a Navajo Indian reservation in Arizona.
Part of the seven-day trip in early July was spent working with children
on the reservation and the other portion was spent painting houses.
NORTHWEST
- Edina, Minnesota: Edina Covenant Church's Gladys Jepson, a resident
of Minnetonka, was noted for her volunteer work at Arc's Value Village
Thrift Stores in a recent banquet. Jepson also volunteers at Methodist
Hospital in St. Louis Park and at other places.
- Roseville, Minnesota: Two students from Roseville Covenant are
spending part of their summer overseas on the mission field. Rachel
Reichenbach, a student at Wheaton College, Wheaton, Illinois, is doing
an internship with World Relief's mother-child community development
program in Rawanda. Amy Waller, a recent graduate of John Brown
University, Siloam Springs, Arkansas, is teaching English as a Second
Language (ESL) in Thailand in July and will return home in early August.
- Clear Lake, Wisconsin: United Covenant Church parishioner Willis
Erickson was recently honored by the Polk County Service Unit of the
Salvation Army after 46 years of service, 42 as board chair. According
to the church's recent newsletter, Willis and his wife Elaine have been
active in many countywide activities, have volunteered service with
Covenant Mission Connection, given landscaping service to some area
Covenant congregations and have helped Prairieview Covenant Church in
New Richmond, Wisconsin, with ministries there.
PACIFIC SOUTHWEST
- Davis, California: University Covenant Church said good-bye to
associate pastor, David Keane and his family in May as Keane accepted a
position as Director of Mobilization for Frontiers, an organization
directed to reaching the Muslim world for Christ. After having been a
part of UCC for ten years, the Keane family moved to the Mesa, Arizona,
near Phoenix, to begin his work. Keane's dream of reaching Muslims for
Christ began in 1987 at an Urbana mission conference. He received an
acceptance letter from Frontiers to join their team last November. Both
University Covenant and Bayside Covenant Church in Granite Bay,
California, are supporting Keane's future missionary work. Frontiers
hopes to send 100 people into Iraq in conjunction with a relief agency
in order to re-establish basic services and help the country's people.
For more information on Frontiers, check the organization's web site at
http://www.frontiers.org/index.htm.
- Stockton, California: Rachel McGehee of Stockton Covenant Church
was a finalist in the 20-22 year old age division for the Townsend Opera
Players' Kristina Townsend Memorial Award competition this spring.
McGehee, a soprano, is a student at University of the Pacific in Stockton.
SOUTHEAST
- Silverhill, Alabama: Silverhill Covenant Church's Tom Forsman was
elected president of the 8,000-member, 28 lodge, Alabama Elks
Association on June 7. The Elks are dedicated to supporting scholarship
programs, youth programs, drug awareness programs among other things.
The Alabama Elks gave over $4 million in goods, services and cash. Over
$400 million was given nationwide.
- Plantation, Florida: Judy Johnson has been named new administrator
at Covenant Village of Florida. She was the assistant administrator and
was promoted when David Oster was appointed administrator of the
Covenant Retirement Facility in Denver.
ELSEWHERE
- Japan: Clark and Racinda Torgerson from Hope Evangelical Covenant
Church in Grand Forks, North Dakota, have signed on as the new
short-term missionaries for the Odawara Christian Center, said Covenant
World Mission. In other news, Covenant missionaries Jim and Hydi
Peterson have used tennis to spread the gospel and the family has had
some success in the sport as well. Hydi and her son Miles and daughter
Kendra have fared well in various regional age-group tennis tournaments
in the Gunma area of the country. Hydi plays in the "A" Division in
singles and was a semifinalist in an April prefectural tourney, which
included some professionals who play in Japan. She had advanced to a
national tourney in mixed doubles (with Yoshitaka Yamaguchi) by winning
the Gunma Prince Cup in March. And in ladies doubles, Hydi and Mitsuyo
Morita teamed up to win the Shibukawa doubles tourney on June 22. Miles
plays in the 12-and-under-division and has won regional or "prefectural"
tournaments while placing in the top three on numerous occasions, said
his father Jim. Miles won the Gunma Junior 12 and under division title
in January and plays in a Kanto regional tennis tourney this month with
hopes to advance to the national tournament. He also recently placed
fourth in the high jump at the prefectural elementary track and field
event. Kendra won an elementary school doubles tourney with a classmate
and placed third in singles.
To find out more about what is happening throughout the Evangelical
Covenant Church, log on to www.covchurch.org and also click on the link
on the right side of the denominational web page to view the latest
edition of "The Covenant Companion." To provide information or church
newsletters to Covenant Communication, call 773-907-8333, email
newsdesk@covchurch.org or send materials by postal mail to: Covenant
Communications, 5101 N. Francisco Avenue, Chicago, IL 60625.
Copyright © 2008 The Evangelical Covenant Church. |
|
|
|
