Covenant News
Congo Event Raises Funds to Buy 30 Beds
HUTCHINSON, MN (March 31, 2005) - Food, film, imagination - and a lot of change - contributed to the members of Oak Grove Heights Covenant church raising enough money to purchase 30 hospital beds for Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC) hospitals in the Congo."Let's Go to the Congo" was the church's recent emphasis and that is what members did the last Sunday of February. The church was decorated in a Congo theme, including a safari room complete with stuffed wild animals. During Sunday school hour, children paid a quarter to participate in the safari, which included interactive items. The biographical film Monganga Paul, detailing the life of ECC missionary and martyr Paul Carlson, was shown during the Sunday school hour to teens and adults. An art show that featured pieces made by congregation members was held in another room. Elephant cookies were served to all.
The event was the culmination of a month of activities that included collecting change in jars each week to purchase the beds. The donations amounted to $2,432.80, said Donna Brinkman, who helped plan the activities. Prior to the event, Brinkman developed some ideas after consulting with Millie Lungren at Covenant Resource Center.
"From the first the kids were off and creative with their ideas," said Brinkman. "We gave everyone a participation award and then chose five prizes for those went beyond the expected." Many families worked on the projects together, or children chose friends to partner with them. "The highlight was the first and second graders dressed in African clothes dancing to African music," says Brinkman. "We as a group hoped to produce something with Gods help that they would always remember when it came to missions."
The Covenant Resource Center has a wealth of information for those wanting to be creative. For help, call 1-800-338-IDEA (4332) or email the Resource Center staff at resource.center@ covchurch.org. Additional information may also be found in the following segments of the ECC website: