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Two Covenanters Provide Dental Care in Mexico
BELLINGHAM, WA (March 16, 2004) - Two Covenanters from the same church, who
are using dentistry to make a difference in underserved areas of Mexico
this winter, are among highlights gleaned from the more than 250 local
church newsletters received each month my the Department of Communication.
Bellingham Covenant Church parishioner Dr. Paul Lovdahl recently
traveled to San Pedro, Mexico, to provide free dental services in a
remote village. He went with AmeriTribes, an evangelical,
non-denominational organization based in Tucson, Arizona, that operates
in the western United States and in northern and central Mexico.
AmeriTribes partners with local congregations to help develop
reproducing, indigenous churches among First Nation people (Indians) of
the Americas. Ministry activities include providing safe water supplies,
operating medical and dental clinics, helping to improve literacy and
developing locally managed businesses in economically deprived
communities. Meanwhile, another parishioner, Joan Moline, traveled to
Tecate, Mexico, in January to provide free dental work for the El Sauzal
Orphanage under the direction of Christian Dental Outreach.
Activities of other Covenanters and Covenant congregations follows,
listed by conference or region.
CANADA
- Calgary, Alberta: A baptism was held recently at Kensington Covenant
Church, providing an opportunity for Chinese visitors to hear
testimonies from their Chinese friends in Mandarin. Pastor Todd Harris
said that two English as a Second Language (ESL) students from the
church's local classes came to faith. The church has made many efforts
to reach Chinese students and friends in the area, notes David Dolan,
China coordinator for the Department of World Mission. The congregation
in January prepared a Chinese meal in honor of the Chinese New Year.
CENTRAL
- Blue Island, Illinois: Mission Covenant Church hosted a Diversity
Sunday on February 15 as part of its celebration of Black History Month.
Mike Jones, associate pastor of nearby Community Covenant Church in
Calumet Park, was the guest preacher. The church discussed Acts 2 and
the unity of the early Christian church as it reflected on how to better
serve the multiethnic neighborhood that Mission Covenant ministers. The
church also hosted an ethnic dinner on February 29, said pastor Gary
Ridout.
- Crest Hill, Illinois: John Wilson of the Church of the Good Shepherd
Evangelical Covenant Church was presented with a 20-year service award
by the Illinois Association of Park Districts for his work with the
Plainfield Township Park District. During his tenure, the township has
increased from five to 75 parks.
EAST COAST
- Naugatuck, Connecticut: Hillside Covenant Church's Esther Johnson
celebrated her 100th birthday on January 26, a period that includes 83
years as a member of the congregation. Among other things, she worked 45
years as a telephone operator for the Bristol Company.
- Jericho, Vermont: Community Covenant Church members won four races
at the 2004 Subaru National Masters Freestyle Cross Country event in the
Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Current parishioner Murray Banks of
Underhill, Vermont, won a 30-kilometer race for the 55-59-year old age
category in 1:36:34.9. He teamed with a former attendee of the church,
Brian Carlson of Marquette, Michigan, and Bob Gray to win a sprint relay
event during the January 17 competition. Brian Carlson had won the
30-34-year old male division race in 1:31:28.8. In women's competition,
Rima Carlson won the 25-25-year old age division competition in a time
of 1:18:03.3 for 20 kilometers. The National Masters is North America's
largest annual cross-country championship competition and is geared for
skiers 25 and older.
ECCAK
- Eagle River, Alaska: ECCAK's regional office manager Ava Manolas
recently celebrated the conclusion of her final tour of duty for the
United States Air Force Reserve. Now a lieutenant colonel, her last stop
was a "hardship" location - Hickam Air Force Base - in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Manolas has logged 27 years as an Air Force reservist, having served in
San Antonio, Texas; Champaign, Illinois; Colorado Springs, Colorado;
Anchorage, Alaska; Atlanta, Georgia; and Korea, before her most recent
assignment. Her official retirement date is October 1.
MIDSOUTH
- Edmond, Oklahoma: LifeKIDS, a children's ministry of Life Church,
opened
Studio 45, a new worship experience for fourth and fifth graders,
February 28-29 as the church designed an area especially geared for that
age group. Game systems, air hockey, popcorn, exciting teaching and
high-energy worship are components of the new ministry, stated a recent
Life Church email newsletter.
NORTH PACIFIC
- Port Orchard, Washington: Covenant Fellowship's "Auntie" Erma Hughes
has made her mark in the church's Sunday school ministry as the
87-year-old has used her puppet Buddy to help reach children for Christ.
She was featured in her church's recent newsletter. A Music major while
in college, Hughes needed to take an art course to graduate. She chose a
puppet making class and has put it to good use, using puppets to
entertain children at the Portland (OR) Zoo's entrance gate, among other
things.
- Tacoma, Washington: Trinity Church, a Korean Covenant congregation
is making an outreach to the non-Korean community. Recently, the church
held a dinner and invited all the Korean War Vets to come, so they could
thank them for fighting for their country. They also held a concert with
both Korean and American music that drew 300 people.
- Wenatchee, Washington: Columbia River Covenant Church's weekly
worship services began February 15. Attendance has averaged at about 55
people, with slight increases each week, said pastor Andrew Thompson. A
recent comedy concert at the local high school (comedian Ken Davis) was
sponsored by the church and drew 960 people. The church's web site
continues to be a very popular part of the congregation's ministry. It
had 8,327 hits in February.
NORTHWEST
- Bemidji, Minnesota: A family from the Evangelical Covenant Church of
Bemidji has used gospel bluegrass music to make a difference in their
region, highlighting this month's church newsletter update. Known as The
Better Than Nothing Family Band, the contingent has performed at
churches and county fairs, among other places, using their songs to tell
about their relationship with Jesus Christ. The father, Roger ("Scott"),
plays the bass and the mother, Monica, plays the guitar. Son K.C. plays
the dobro and daughter Shannon plays the five-string banjo. Others play
the mandolin and fiddle when they're available. This summer, the band is
headed to Russia under the auspices of Samaritan's Purse to perform at
various venues. Previously, they traveled to Alaska and played at area
villages there. More about The Better Than Nothing Family Band can be
found by calling the Burgoons at 218-759-2776 or emailing them at
Burgoon@paulbunyan.net.
- Edina, Minnesota: Edina Covenant Church's Nancy Nordenson recently
published Just Think: Nourish Your Mind to Feed Your Soul through
Baker Books. Nordenson, a graduate of North Park College (now
University) has a freelance writer since 1999 with a specialty in
medical writing. She has written on a wide variety of medical topics for
physicians, nurses, and other health care professionals, as well as for
attorneys and health care consumers. Her work has also appeared in
Discipleship Journal, Focus on the Family, Just Between Us and
Minnesota Parent. Nordeman lives in Minneapolis with her husband
and two sons. She is a member of the Authors Guild, American Medical
Writers Association, American Society of Clinical Pathology, Minnesota
Christian Writers Guild and the Loft Literary Center.
- Sioux Falls, South Dakota: Harvest Covenant Church pastor Steve
Hickey and his wife, Kristen, have been invited by Ted Haggard,
president of the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE), to a
special briefing in Washington D.C. on May 11. Pastors are meeting with
Attorney General John Ashcroft, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist,
Senior Presidential Advisor Karl Rove, Dr. D. James Kennedy and others
to talk about a variety of issues. NAE has also invited some
parishioners from the church to a special congress in Colorado Springs
later this month.
PACIFIC SOUTHWEST
- Hilmar, California: Wendy Lawton of Hilmar Covenant Church was
awarded an honorary degree from Wilmington College in Delaware,
according to the March edition of The Covenant Companion. She was
recognized for her Daughters of Faith book series and her fairness and
dedication to her employees at the Lawton Doll Company, where she is the
CEO.
- Santa Rosa, California: Redwood Covenant Church's Open Closet
ministry in Sonoma County was recently featured in the Santa Rosa
Press Democrat as the mostly Anglo congregation meets the needs of a
growing Hispanic community. The congregation has sponsored the giveaway
one Saturday a month since 1996, typically attracting about 150
families, said one of the church's pastors, Alejandro Sotres. It grew
from a smaller west Santa Rosa operation that began eight years ago and
served a few dozen families. In addition to bags of food, some of it
provided by the Redwood Empire Food Bank (the largest provider of food
for the poor in the county), one room at the church is filled with
second-hand clothes that also are available for free. Redwood Covenant
had been assessing the need for a stronger presence to Hispanics in
Sonoma County for a while, but the addition of Sotres has helped
considerably. Sotres came from theological studies in Canada in 2001 to
attend to the congregation's small number of Spanish-speaking members
and has since helped the food drive grow. Moving into a larger building
last fall has also been a catalyst for increased use of Open Closet.
After the congregation moved into its new home, Redwood Empire Executive
Director David Goodman donated a forklift to the church and now assists
Sotres and volunteers with planning the monthly offering. Church
volunteers served about 450 families in December. Goodman said despite
Sonoma County's image of wealth, many families have trouble feeding
themselves - a family of four must earn $70,000 a year to get by,
Goodman said.
- Valley Springs, California: Good Samaritan Community Covenant
Church's Jesse Hampton headed to Papua, New Guinea from February 13 to
March 6 with a group of missionaries to do evangelism and to build a
church building for a congregation of 70. Hampton had previously been in
New Guinea, having spent three weeks there in 1992 doing various tasks.
He had taken linguistic classes in the language years earlier.
SOUTHEAST
- Boynton Beach, Florida: Pastor Jim Black of Hope Community Covenant
Church recently released a music CD called "Til Then." Some of his songs
have been featured on regional radio stations and are receiving positive
reviews in the past few months. Now, some of the songs from that album
are being played daily on WCNO-FM in Palm City/Stuart, Florida, which is
near where he lives. "It was pretty cool to hear one of my songs on the
radio for the first time. It was on my 'things to do before I die'
list," Black joked. KPPR in Winchester, California, put Black's song "I
Found Real Love" as part of a listener poll and respondents gave the
song a 94 percent positive approval rating. A KPPR interview with Black
- a pastor at Hope Community Covenant since graduating from North Park
Theological Seminary in 1992 - can be found on the Internet at
www.praisereport.com.
- Miami, Florida: Bethany Covenant Church's school was awarded a
$4,500 educational grant from the North Dade Medical Foundation to
purchase computer equipment, library and textbooks, and sports equipment
for its 3rd -5th grade program. The grant is part of a Black History
Month Project, said Southeast Conference Supt. Kurt Miericke. Bethany
Covenant has also received a recent grant of $1,000 for a food ministry
it runs.
ELSEWHERE
- La Coruna, Spain: Covenant missionary Roberto Reed had the best kind
of Good News to share in a recent email from Iglesia del Pacto
Evangelico Vida Nueva. In describing a small group meeting he helped
lead, he wrote, "A young man burdened by depression - a teenage girl
with a difficult past - a young lady having experienced the pain of the
death of a son and a divorce. What do all three of these people have in
common? The peace of Jesus Christ in their lives! Last Saturday they all
prayed to receive Christ. Later that same day they felt the gentle yet
powerful touch of the love, the wind, the tenderness, the peace, the
embrace of the Holy Spirit. As we prayed tears flowed, hearts were
touched as the presence of God enveloped us."
To learn more about what Covenanters and congregations are doing,
regularly visit this Covenant online news report at www.covchurch.org.
To send information for consideration in the online report or in one of
the Covenant periodicals, email information to newsdesk@covchurch.org or
call the Department of Communication news desk at 773-478-4631.
Copyright © 2008 The Evangelical Covenant Church. |
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