Mission Possible KIDS - December 23, 2010

Mission Possible Kids was out in full force this month, completing mission projects on behalf of Covenant. On Sunday, December 5th, thirteen agents completed Christmas craft projects to be added to Angel Tree gift packages. Special thanks to Kate Manuel, Ava and Ashlyn LeFeuve, Presley Nutter, and Cameron Chadick for collecting money to donate to Angel Tree families.

Congratulations to Trevor Purgahn for his promotion to Special Agent 1st Class for completing six mission projects. Kate Manuel has been promoted to Master Agent for completing 12 mission projects. Way to go, team!

MPKids would like to bestow Miss Kathy Lewis an honorary title of Special Agent for all her work coordinating the Angel Tree project. We appreciated having her on hand at our meeting to tell us all about her work with the Angel Tree each year.
Thanks go out to our agent moms on hand to help this month: Robin Stokes, Stacy Purgahn, Jamie Keller, Kellie Kinsland, and Christy Chadick. Without your help, our program would not exist!

Our next meeting is scheduled for Sunday, January 2. We will meet from 3:30 to 5 p.m. (please note the shortened meeting time) for Operation Covenant Clean-Up. Hope to see you there.

MPKids is open to all children in 1st through 6th grades. We complete hands-on mission projects the first Sunday of most months. For more information, please contact Jennifer Manuel at jenandwally@earthlink.net.

Preschool News - December 23, 2010

It hardly seems possible that we are beginning a new calendar year! That means school is half-way over for the 2010-2011 school year. The fall semester for YOUR Covenant Preschool Ministries was a great success. The children have been learning and each day we can see their minds and environments expanding as they grow. Probably one of the most rewarding aspects of working with children is when we can see "the light bulb switch on!" The switches are being flipped on regularly here!

Beginning this month, we will have two additional two year old classes with a total of 16 new children. We have been able to rearrange staff to handle the necessary positions and have only hired one additional employee, Peggy Smith, who will be serving as the aide to the two new classes. Trisha Haley will be teaching the younger two's and Annette Guidry will teach the older two's. We are very excited about the new children who will be learning with us.

As we begin 2011, please keep our students, teachers and leadership in your prayers. We are doing God's work in this place and your prayers help to sustain us.

May God bless you richly in this new year.

Blessings,
Kim Havard

Children's Ministries - December 23, 2010

My first six months as Children's Ministries Director have passed. Lots of things have occurred and it's all been very good. I appreciate all of your prayers and support!

December was a fabulous time for the children. We had a Birthday Party for Jesus where we played games, sang carols, heard the Christmas story, created some crafts and had lots of food! Many thanks to Mrs. Shirley Mason, the Pences, Mrs. Susie Blanchard, and Rev. Chris for their assistance. The highlight of the month was the children's Christmas program. So many people have told me how wonderful they thought that it was. Kudos to Mrs. Jennifer Tassin on directing the children, to Troy Guidry (Santa) and thanks to parents for making the commitment to have your children at practice on Wednesday nights. It really paid off, don't you think?

We look forward to a wonderful 2011 with opportunities for fun and learning God's word. Don't forget: on the first Sunday of each month, children in 1st through 6th grades are invited to join Mrs. Jennifer Manual as they learn about missions and how to reach out to those outside the walls of the church and on the other Sundays, Mr Jerry and Mrs Leigh Nugent meet with 4th, 5th and 6th graders learning about God's word through a variety of activities. On Wednesday nights, Mrs. Jennifer Tassin leads children's music. And of course, each Sunday at 10:10, there are opportunities in Sunday school to learn the Word. If you want your child to grow up active in a Bible-based environment, bring them to YOUR church for these events...what a great way to see your child get to know Jesus better!

Thanks to the entire congregation for the Christmas gift. The giving nature, love and encouragement, not just of one or two people, but of the whole body of Christ in this place lifts my soul and spirit every single day. May God bless you as you enter into a new year of walking with our Lord.

Grace and peace,
Kim Havard

From the Associate Pastor - December 23, 2010

As we begin the New Year, I want to say thank you to all who have offered to do the children’s message on Sunday mornings. You will notice in the bulletin that for the month of January we have several weeks that we have someone for each of the services. It is our goal to have a different person for each service. But, we still need folks that would like to use their talents and gifts, to bless the children. Please let me know if you are interested and don’t worry we have many resources that are available to help you.

Our Sunday school is now averaging 143 which is up from the beginning of 2010 when we averaged 127. A special thanks to all the great teachers who have made 2010 the best year ever. As Rev. Chris would say, “find a Sunday school class and GO!” Would love to see us break the150 mark very soon.

Rev. Byron Aucoin

From the Pastor - December 23, 2010

A New Year

It is the week of Christmas. That also means planning two Christmas Eve services, two worship services on the day after Christmas, making certain our pre-school rooms get painted, floored, and stocked for our two new classes to begin on January 3rd, as well as think about my shopping for Susie on Christmas Eve (you do know I procrastinate). To make matters worse, I had to go to my doctor this morning for routine checkup, in the midst of too much Christmas Party food and a slowing down of my walking routine. Sssshhhhhhooooo! This is a sigh, if you can’t recognize it, but while there may a few down days for us all, just after Christmas, it won’t last long, because a New Year comes just around the corner.

With the New Year, we will see our mother’s day out and preschool program grown by two new classes, and maybe more to come. My thanks to Kim Havard for helping this much needed growth to happen, as we are committed to helping more families provide the best basic pre-school program possible. With this change, our administrative offices have been relocated to a wonderful temporary trailer. Come by and see just how nice it is.

With the New Year, we will see our Building Committee begin to work double and triple time, as we take the next step towards our future. The Charge Conference gave us unanimous approval to get detailed plans and bids for our consideration. I hope you all take a look at our preliminary plans, offer us any advice for our consideration as we work toward final plans. The Conference also approved working toward having a Capital Fund Campaign. We are so blessed to have considerable funds toward this project, but will need much more. You will hear from us as we strive to raise as much money possible to avoid much long term debt. If you are interested in talking with me or Mike DeHart about your helping by giving a gift, we will be more then eager to accommodate that conversation.

With the New Year, we look forward to an ever growing congregation and worship services. Our goal was to reach an average of 350 attendances each week. It appears as if our average will be around 335, but next year, why not 375 average? This is more then reachable when we commit our own attendance as often as possible, but also to call and invite family and friends that you know could benefit from a church family like Covenant. It’s a New Year.

With the New Year, our new leadership team will help us make certain we are actively living out our mission for Jesus Christ. Jesus great commission was: to go and make disciples for Jesus Christ. We will always provide a place for people to MEET JESUS, to hear the MESSAGE OF JESUS, and be encouraged to provide the MISSION OF JESUS. 2010 has been a super year in the life of Covenant, but I can’t wait to see all the Lord will do in us and through us in 2011. Fasten your seat belts and hang on! HAVE A BLESSED NEW YEAR IN 2011!

See you each and every week in worship.
Rev. Chris Blanchard

Christmas Pecans

There are still a few packages of pecans available. They make wonderful Christmas gifts. Or just for munching while watching the game. If you're interested, contact Marie Smith at msmith9585@aol.com.

December 19, 1020 Sermon Download Available

This past Sudnday's sermon, A Heart for Christmas, is now available for free download from our website. http://tinyurl.com/5j6nl3

A Message of Christmas

Dear Covenant Family -

What a week! Traffic is horrible, lines are long, people's patience running thin (okay my patience is thin, yours might be just fine) calorie count is huge, etc.

"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas." Not anything that looked like the first Christmas, but what has happened to Christmas over the years. I have seen signs on cars, "Keep Christ in Christmas". I would like to share a devotion forwarded to me recently that speaks of the current situation we find ourselves in.

This was the December 19th devotion from Robert Morgan's book, My All in All:

"When Hitler rose to power in Germany, he wanted to take over the German church and dictate the nation's religion. Falsely accusing clergymen of various crimes, he had churchmen arrested and religious publications stopped. He encouraged marriage ceremonies to be conducted by state officials rather than by the church. In 1935, he outlawed obligatory prayer in schools, and he tried to replace Bibles with Nazi propaganda. 

He had greater difficulty with the religious holidays because Germans had faithfully observed Easter and Christmas for centuries; so he set out to reinterpret their meaning. Easter became a holiday heralding the arrival of spring, and Christmas was turned into a pagan festival. Carols and nativity plays were banned from the schools in 1938, and even the name Christmas was changed to Yuletide. 

Hitler failed, but the same sort of attempts are being made now in America as our society tries to strip Christmas of its meaning and outlaw its traditional observances in the public square. 

Two thousand years ago, King Herod tried the same thing. Though he was one of the greatest builders of antiquity - leaving behind such fabulous ruins as Caesarea, Herodium, and the Temple Mount in Jerusalem - he couldn't overcome a Baby's influence. 

No power on earth can stop you from worshipping Jesus this season. Satan has tried from the beginning, but his efforts always fail. After all, we cannot spell Christmas without Christ - and with a capital C at that!"

This preacher adds a big Amen to this thought! Remember even the Grinch couldn't steal Christmas from our hearts.

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Weekly Reminders

Since this is the week of Christmas, our normal routine has been changed. NO WEDNESDAY activities. This gives you plenty of opportunity to do all your preparations for Christmas and still plan on being present along with some of your family and friends for one of our Christmas Eve Services either at 4:00pm or 6:00pm on Christmas Eve. We will await to hear the good news about that Christ Child born into the world. We will celebrate with Holy Communion and have a service of Candle Lights, surrounded by beautiful poinsettias, and Christmas Colors. But it won't be complete without you there.

Let me thank Jennifer Tassin and all the folks involved in Last Sunday's Childrens Pageant. IT WAS GREAT! Hasn't our season been wonderful so far, with the Choir's Performance a few weeks ago, and now the children - almost complete - and will be with our Christmas Eve Services.

Don't forget the day after Christmas bring all your left over family and friends to church with you. Regular worship times. There will be a time of blessing of the toys and singing more Christmas Carols then we normally sing. Yes, we will be open for business the day after Christmas and hope to see you there. A great way to end the present year at worship with our church family.

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Thnaks to all of you who helped make this year for ANGEL TREE the best one yet. Lots of gifts and food. Thank you for being the Body of Christ and reaching out to some of God's nedy around us.

Last but not least, a BIG THANK YOU FROM ALL THE STAFF FOR YOUR GENEROUS Monetary CHRISTMAS GIFT TO US ALL. WE KNOW WE ARE LOVED.

Yours truly,
Rev. Chris Blanchard

Weekend Reminders - December 17, 2010

Here is the weekend news we all need:
For Men Only - Saturday Morning 8:00am - Men's Breakfast: short devotion and, depending on weather, a few of our trees need trimming. Bring portable saw saws or pruning loppers. It won't take long.

For Sunday - two great worship services - Handbell Choir and Baptism at 9:00am, our great Redeemed Praise Band at 11:00am. Our Children's Christmas Musical during our Sunday School Hour. You don't want to miss.

This will also be the last week to bring your Angel Tree gifts or funds to help with the grocery buying.

Sincerely,
Chris Blanchard

It's Beginning to SOUND A Lot Like Christmas

What another great Sunday yesterday at Covenant. The Chancel Choir under the direction of Ken Cheshire along with Jennifer Tassin on the piano, and Strand Martin as narrator did an outstanding job with the annual Christmas music. If you missed it, one of my favorite songs will be repeated this coming Sunday. Thank you all the folks who helped make this a success - including all the sound technicians etc. The 371 people in worship were truly blessed.

Don't forget our Wednesday schedule
8:00am - Pilatees
9:30am - Explorers Bible Study
5:00pm - Handbells
5:30pm - Wednesday meal
6:15pm - Children's Music
6:15pm - Holy Communion and Advent Study

Saturday
8:00am - Men's Breakfast: devotion and a small work project cutting some branches out of some of our trees

Sunday - Poinsettias will add to our worship
9:00am - Traditional Worship with Handbells and a Baptism
11:00pm - Contemporary Worship with our praise band, Redeemed
And in between our services, at 10:15am, the children will be presenting their Christmas Pageant. Come early to get the good seats.

Last but not least, we have misplaced our small manger. It was taken out of the attic for our children's performance but now has disappeared. If anyone is holding it for ransom, will pay gladly.

Sincerely,
Chris Blanchard

Announcing the Birth of a New & Improved Ministry

Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity. - 1 Timothy 4:12

HWY 4:12

A Youth and Young Adult Fellowship

Dear Covenant Family,

We are so very excited to announce the beginning of a new era in Youth and Young Adult involvement at Covenant. We started with reviving the youth room which depicted every Christian's spiritual journey from darkness and chaos into the Light of Christ. Then with a newly energized group, we decided that we needed a new identity--one that would describe to others what we were all about and where that journey we're on could take us. That journey that begins in darkness and chaos and into the Light is what we like to call HWY 4:12.

1 Timothy 4:12 tells us to be an example to believers of all ages. So when asked how we would like to be described as a group, several words kept coming up--leaders, role models, a sanctuary for all to be welcomed and feel safe, Christ-like. This group wants to be that good example, they want to be a vibrant and active part of our Church. With that said, 1 Timothy 4:12 has been adopted as our own - one we will, with God's help, strive to live out, every day.

Another change we've made is including the young adults in our congregation. This age group has fallen through the cracks for quite some time and our Jr. & Sr. High youth have missed out on having some fantastic role models. This will also give our young adults a great place for Godly fellowship after they graduate and enter into the crazy world of college or the real world of employment. It also gives them the opportunity to be mentors and to lead discussions relevant to the youth of today.

Because of the large age difference between our Jr. High youth and young adults, we will rearrange meeting times to assure that discussion topics remain age appropriate.

Please join me in prayer for this Youth and Young Adult Ministry. They're searching and so desire to have God in their lives.

Yours in Christ,
Gretchen Cheshire

Press Release - December 6, 2010

Hold the Presses!

Wasn't that the words spoken just before some earth shattering news was to be released? Here goes for all you who missed our Charge Conference. What a Great Day we had yesterday. Attendance was through the roof and so was our offering. If that wasn't enough we had more pledges turned in on Sunday then we had all of 2009. Thank You Lord and All of You who so generously responded. If you missed, you can still bring your commitment card over the next few Sundays, or mail them into the church office as soon as you are able.

And to top it all off, our charge conference unanimously (and we had almost a full house) approved the next step of our building campaign. Our building committee will now select someone to provide some final drawings for our multi-purpose building, secure firm bids, arrange to have a capital campaign to raise additional funds, and then hopefully, prayerfully be ready to present the final project to our church by June 1, 2011. There is lots of hard work left to do,but I could sense the eagerness to keep moving on.

THANK YOU COVENANT FAMILY AND MOST OF ALL, WE THANK THE LORD FOR ALL HIS BLESSINGS. It was a high moment yesterday, when we gathered at the Lord's Table to receive the sacrament and the symbols of HIS great love for us all.

Now to packing a few boxes of books and try to get our offices moved over to the temporary office space. We're still waiting for telephone and computer wiring to be completed. We will let you all know when we are officially in the office trailer.

Just couldn't let this morning pass, without sharing all this great news with you.

Chris Blanchard

Monday Morning Bits & Pieces - December 6, 2010

Here are some things that you may not know and may not want to miss out on.

We Have More Pecans!
All the pecans that were ordered have been sold — but due to requests for more, we decided to order one box each of the halves, chocolate covered, chocolate caramel clusters and cinnamon glazed. These will go fast, so place your order today!

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Happy Birthday Jesus, Party
This Sunday, December 12th, 5:00-7:00pm - Holley Building
All children, infant through 6th grade, and their families are invited.
Please bring a snack to share.

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Altar Flowers
The 2011 Flower Chart is posted in the Narthex.
Please sign up for Sunday flowers before your choice dates are taken.

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Christmas Poinsettias
We are now taking orders for Christmas poinsettias. Poinsettias may be purchased "In Honor" or "In Memory" of a loved one. Order forms are available in the Narthex.

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I Hear A Choir Singin'
This Sunday out Chancel Choir will be presenting their annual Christmas Cantata, I Hear the Prophet Callin', at both the 9:00am and 11:00am services. This is a wonderful way to share our church with a friend or neighbor.