Covenant United Methodist Church

The New Year will bring with it some changes in how we operate as a church, but never why we do it.

The budget that was adopted for the coming year included reductions in staff, with some of that work will be going to volunteers, but more will be placed on the shoulders current staff.

Accordingly, one change that you will notice right away is that the Caller will begin to appear on a monthly basis.

We will also be saying, “Goodbye,” at the end of June to our Pastor of Visitation.

As we begin this Advent season, I would like to invite you to join with us for several upcoming musical offerings. Music is an important way in which God’s people can worship their creator and can also feel their souls enriched and fed. In the words of Robert Herrick (1591-1674), “What sweeter music can we bring than a carol for to sing the birth of this our heavenly King?”

It is my hope that you will join us for a special music service on Sunday, December 11th at the 10:30 a.m. service. The Chancel Choir will present Hodie Apparuit: Today a King is Born, by Chester Alwes. The work is a service of lessons and carols for choir, organ and woodwind trio.

Gifts from the Heart

Christmas gift giving is a joyful experience! It delights our hearts to find just the right item … especially when it is something that reflects a loved one’s passion and commitments in life.

Once again this year, Covenant is offering you the opportunity to make a tax-deductible donation, in an amount of your choosing, to selected outreach ministries in the Gifts from the Heart program.

Please consider giving a gift that makes a difference to these local, national and international projects. This year the ministries we will be supporting are...

When should a child first participate in communion?

This question arises regularly. My answer is, “When they ask to participate.” This answer is rooted in scripture, tradition, reason, and experience.

Scripturally, Jesus told his disciples, “Do this in remembrance of me.” That, in and of itself, says that part of discipleship is participation in the worship activity of the gathered community. Acts 2:42 tells us that the earliest Christians “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” We include children in the hearing of the Word and in fellowship. They are present when we pray, and we treat it as a duty of parents to teach children to pray at home. We encourage them to sing with the congregation and involve them in praise as part of choirs and pageants. Why, then, would they be excluded from other acts of worship, especially one so central as the Lord’s Supper?