Another Alternative Lunch (and Breakfast) This Friday!!

This week's Friday Alternative Lunch - The GREAT food truck Mad LuAnn's is scheduled to be here from 7:30-1:30. Whether you prefer the Boudin Biscuit, Buffalo Chicken Sliders, BBQ Brisket Sliders, or any number of yummy delicacies, this is where to get it. As you can see from the menu below, they offer a great selection. #MadLuAnns

So, it's Breakfast and/or Lunch THIS FRIDAY!! We hope to see you here!!!

 

January Newsletter Available for Download

January Newsletter

The January 2014 Covenant Newsletter is ready for direct download or pick up at the church.

Click HERE to Download

You will need to have the free Adobe Reader on your computer. If you don't have it, you can get it here.

See you Sunday,

Merry Christmas!!

The Christmas trees are up, both the Sanctuary and the Covenant Community Center have been decorated for Christmas. The Chancel Choir presented a beautiful and moving Christmas Music performance, and we are now making plans for the Christmas Eve Services. But we are not there yet. This Sunday, we will be given another gift for Christmas, as our children's ministry present the Christmas Story Pageant. This will be presented in the Sanctuary at 10:30, between our worship services. The 9AM service will feature Christmas Music from our Handbell choir.

Saturday morning, men, we will have our monthly breakfast, followed by our helping to set up back drops to turn our Sanctuary into the village of Bethlehem, so the children's pageant will be enhanced. See you there Saturday at 8AM. Good news only warm, dry, inside work to do.

Sunday is also the deadline for the Angel Tree gifts for the children you adopted. They need to be turned in by noon, and following worship, the Angel tree gifts need to be divided by family and loaded for delivery. Sunday afternoon, you could join the crowd shopping for the Angel Tree food baskets. What a great way to get into the Christmas Spirit. 

Next Wednesday the 18th, will be our last Wednesday Night Dinner and Study of the year. Ham, turkey, and simply cleaning out the leftovers. You won't want to miss. The Study of the evening will be on the Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins. What do we do while we wait for the end! Hope to see a bunch of you there and plan now to start this habit during the New Year of 2014.

Sincerely,

Food Truck Lunch Alternative

Next Friday, December 20, from 11am-1:30pm, the Hibachi Hero food truck will be serving from out parking lot. So if you are out shopping or are just looking for a great lunch distraction, come on over.

www.facebook.com/TheHibachiHero

December Children's Ministry

The Mom’s Bible Study on Thursday mornings will be starting a new series, “Lies Women Believe and the Truth that Sets Them Free” on Thursday, December 5. We meet from 10-11 in the Fellowship Classroom. Come join us for a great morning in God’s word. Bring a friend and a Bible!

Parent’s Day Out—Covenant Kid’s is hosting their annual Parent’s Day Out on Sunday, December 8th from 2-5 p.m. All children up through 5th grade are invited to join us for an afternoon of movies, snacks, Bible lessons and fun. Parents can enjoy a few hours of quiet time to rest, go to a movie or get some Christmas shopping done! If your child is three years old and younger, you must RSVP so we can assure we have enough nursery workers. Please either sign up in the narthex or lobby or email the child’s name and age to children@covenantum.org.

Children’s Christmas Pageant—Sunday, December 15 during the Sunday school hour. The children of Covenant will be giving our congregation an early Christmas present with their presentation of their Christmas pageant. You won’t want to miss seeing all of their hard work come together as they share the true meaning of Christmas with the church.

Birthday Party for Jesus—Sunday, December 22nd during the Sunday school hour—All are welcome to join the children as we celebrate the true meaning of Christmas. The party starts at 10:30 and will be complete with cake and music! Join us as we celebrate the birth of our Savior!

With all of the hustle and bustle of the holidays underway, we will once again have the opportunity to give the children of Covenant the gift of prayer. We will have prayer hands with the name and age of all of the children of Covenant in a basket at each service. Please take a hand and pray for this child every day. There is no sweeter gift than fostering the spiritual growth of a child.

Lindsay Perry

December Youth Report

Youth had a great month wrapping up the “To Save A Life” series with a guest mental health professional to speak with them. The next week fourteen youth participated in the homeless dinner downtown, serving the less fortune right here in Lafayette. This prepared our hearts for a season of giving as we have several mission projects lined up for December. December will be an awesome month with giving, holiday functions, and great worship.

God Bless and Merry Christmas!
Craig and Melissa Hartwell

With God All Things Are Possible

Let me first say, this is a reprint of an article I read years ago, but cannot even document its source, but it is most appropriate for us today. “Every year as the holiday season approaches you have the choice to either survive it or thrive in it. When Thanksgiving dinner is barely cold and the pressure of Christmas looms on the horizon, it is tempting to resent the expected pace and emotional stress that’s coming. What should a Christian do? This year why not try to approach Thanksgiving and Christmas with something new that will carry you down the road rejoicing? Here’s one thought that might lift you to a new vista: Christmas teaches us that all things are possible with God.

If God wants something done, can it be done? A more personal way of asking this question is: If God has a goal for my life; can it be blocked, making its fulfillment impossible? Imagine God saying, “I’ve created you and given you life, I’ve made you my child and now I have something for you to do. I know you will not be able to do it, but give it your best shot.” That kind of reasoning makes God appear heartless and ludicrous. Imagine yourself as a parent saying to your child, “I want you to go out and mow the lawn. Unfortunately, the yard is full of rocks, the mower does not work and there is no power. But give it your best.” Once again, such reasoning sounds crazy.

Now here comes Christmas. God gave a staggering goal to a little maiden named Mary. An angel told her that she would become a mother while she was still a virgin, and that her son would be the Savior of the world. When she inquired of the angel about this seemingly impossible feat, the angel simply said, “Nothing will be impossible with God.” (Luke 1:37) You would never dream of giving your child a task he/she could not complete; and neither does God. His goals for you are achievable, certain, and possible, no matter how large or difficult they might seem to you. When Mary was faced with what seemed to her life an impossibility, she responded, “Behold, the bond slave of the Lord; be it done to me according to your word.” (Luke 1:38) Now that’s faith in the face of overwhelming circumstances!

Think of the overpowering assignment that confronted Mary: She was to have a baby without being with a man. She was to raise the boy who would save the world from their sins. The entire course of history would change because of her son. The eternal destiny of untold millions was on the line! The fact that we celebrate Christmas is proof that Mary’s faith in God to do the impossible was all she needed to complete God’s will for her. Here’s the lesson: We need faith in God for whatever impossible challenges face us.

What struggles do you face this holidays season? The first Christmas without a loved one? Health issues? Broken relationships? Financial strain? Uncertainty? A broken heart over a child? When you feel overwhelmed with responsibility or overcome with pain, remember that God is able to do above and beyond all we ask or think. Christmas teaches us is that God is still looking for humble servants who are willing to trust God to do the impossible. Let’s give thanks that with God all things are possible!” Haven’t we seen God’s hand at work over and over again in our lives here at Covenant. Thank you for helping God do the impossible.

December Newsletter Available for Download

December Newsletter

The December 2013 Covenant Newsletter is ready for direct download or pick up at the church.

Click HERE to Download

You will need to have the free Adobe Reader on your computer. If you don't have it, you can get it here.

See you Sunday,

Chancel Choir Christmas Program

November Newsletter Available for Download

November Newsletter

The November 2013 Covenant Newsletter is ready for direct download or pick up at the church.

Click HERE to Download

You will need to have the free Adobe Reader on your computer. If you don't have it, you can get it here.

See you Sunday,

October Newsletter Avaiable for Download

October Newsletter

The October 2013 Covenant Newsletter is ready to download or pick up at the church.

Click HERE to Download

You will need to have the free Adobe Reader on your computer. If you don't have it, you can get it here.

See you Sunday,

Wednesday Happenings

It's Wednesday and we have opportunities for you to be involved in different ways.

Wednesday
9:30am - Explorers Bible Study: interdenominational meeting here at Covenant. All are welcome, men too!
5:30pm - Wednesday Night Supper: Covenant Community Center (aka the new building)6:15pm - Holy Communion
6:30pm - Study: What It Means to be a Disciple in the Youth Room

Saturday morning
Everyone on deck. Setup for the Patch beginning 8:00am with breakfast. Men, women, boys, and girls; everyone please come out as we turn the front yard into our Pumpkin Patch. It takes a lot of hands. Plus, if you have not yet signed up, we need volunteers in many areas of work.

Sunday
Worship: we hear how we all need to Hear the Message of Jesus.

And finally, a Great Big Thanks to the Wesleyan Class and to you who helped make their fundraiser for Stain Glass such a huge success! 

Sincerely,

Pecan Time Again

Bible Study for Mom's Starts THIS Thursday

A reminder that we will be starting our Bible study for Mom's this Thursday, September 19th. We will meet at 10 a.m. in the Fellowship classroom in the Holley building.  Child care will be provided.

You won't want to miss out as we go to God's word to help us in our daily lives as mothers. Bring a friend and your Bible and we will see you Thursday!

Lindsay Perry
Director of Children's Ministry
children@covenantum.org

September 1st Sermon Download Available

Sunday's sermon, We Need to Know Our Place, is now available as a free MP3 download from our website. http://tinyurl.com/5j6nl3. This is part of Brother Chris' Summer School sermon series.

Why Do We Sing?

Earlier this month, good friend and colleague, Lee Cooke, posted his thoughts on why sing in worship. As director of worship and music ministries at Asbury UMC, he has refined this wonderfully.

"All of us have music that we like to hear. Technology now lets us have music around us all the time. The availability of constant music is one thing that keeps us from singing. Why sing when you can listen to professionals? Well, there are several good answers to that question.

First, we sing because God created us to sing. The scriptures encourage us to sing to God and praise him!

Second, singing helps us to know what to think about God. The songs we sing are complex statements of faith that have stood the test of time. Our hymns form our faith!

Third, we sing because singing is a window to our souls. Lots of us make the mistaken notion that if we aren’t professionals, we shouldn’t sing. Nothing could be farther from the truth. God loves to hear us, just like we love to hear our grandchildren. We express who we are as we sing. Fourth (and last for this list, but not conclusive by any stretch—I’m not talking about how thrilling the sound of singing is, how fun it can be, how meaningful, etc.!!!!), people who sing together are a powerful force for faith. We are children of God redeemed by God’s wondrous grace. When we sing of God’s grace, there is a power present that is not of this world—it’s of heaven.

When we sing together, don’t just stand there with an embalmed look on your face. Sing like no one but God is listening. God doesn’t care how we sound. He just smiles and pats us on our collective heads!!!!"

See you Sunday,

Of Praise, Pumpkins and People

Time is flying by! First, a great big Praise! It seems like weeks ago, on Easter 2012, we marched out to our side lot, and turned a few shovels of dirt, as we prayed for the blessings of being able to build a new building. Some 15 months later, we have occupied the spot and have broken it in well. The official consecration service will be held Sunday, September 8th, at 10:00 AM. Our bishop, Bishop Cynthia Fierro Harvey will be present, as well as several former pastors. The Chancel Choir, Praise band, Redeemed, and our Handbell Choir will lead us in special music for the day. You won't want to miss this for anything. Following the service, we will take a few minutes to convert the space into our fellowship hall, and serve a meal. Brisket or chicken will be served along with whatever fixings you bring. Invite your friends and family for this grand celebration of all the Lord has been able to accomplish with your generous support.

Secondly, of Pumpkins. As you are aware, our Church has provided a Pumpkin Patch for our community. And while it will be different this year, with the absence of the Mason family, who lead this gigantic effort for the first 8 years, the Patch will go on. We have seen a great response from many people to step up and help put on this wonderful event. You will all be given the opportunity to jump in and help with the sales trailer, field trips, working weekends, etc. I know you will. Oh, did I mention the first two loads of Pumpkins will arrive Sunday, September 29th, with other trucks arriving October 13th and October 20th? All hands will be needed on those Sundays to help unload all those pumpkins to make a patch. Be on the watch for other details of events, etc. A short schedule is in this newsletter. New this year, we are asking some of the non profit groups that have been helped or need help in the future from our Patch funds to be here on the weekends. That way the community can see, as well as hear, about how funds raised benefit others.

Third, People. With Brother Byron having to “retire”, we are trying to discern where and what we need to help our church continue to grow. Some of our leadership will be studying our mission and our needs, in order to best determine what staffing, paid and unpaid, we need to have. Please, please be in prayer as we seek Gods’ will for us and how we are to be the Church our Lord Jesus needs us to be.

Finally, let me encourage you, if you are not now participating in a Bible Study or Sunday school group, to do so. We are called to be disciples, and a disciple is first and foremost a learner of Christ and the Life He calls us to lead. We have many excellent classes on Sunday morning for you, your children, and for your youth. Jump in. Ask me and ask around for the best fit for you and then try it out.

See you in your place of worship.

September 2013 Newsletter Available for Download

September Newsletter

The September 2013 Covenant Newsletter is ready to download and pick up.

1. You can pick up a paper copy in the church narthex the next time you are at church.
or
2. You can download it directly from our website – www.CovenantUM.org. Just look for the "Downloads" section in the right hand column of the first page and click on "Current Newsletter". It looks like this:

You will need to have the free Adobe Reader on your computer. If you don't have it, you can get it here.

See you Sunday,

August 25th Sermon Download Available

This morning's sermon, Bent Out of Shape is now available as a free MP3 download from our website. http://tinyurl.com/5j6nl3. This is part of Brother Chris' Summer School sermon series.

August 18th Sermon Download Available

This morning's sermon, Whole Hog - With Both Feet is now available as a free MP3 download from our website. http://tinyurl.com/5j6nl3. This is part of Brother Chris' Summer School sermon series.

Food for the Soul - This Week at Covenant

Public School Opens
Not only should we be more careful as we drive around town, we need to Pray for our schools, staff,students, family, and administration. May God's Light be Shared in the schools. We had a great day yesterday, as Lindsay shared in the Blessing of the Bags. 

Wednesday Night
6:00pm - Join us for the last Summer Solace Worship Service, in the Sanctuary. A short devotion, prayer, Holy Communion Service. Indeed Food for the Soul. We won't feed you supper, but the Lord will feed your soul

Saturday Morning
8:00am - Men's Breakfast and a short workday following.

Sunday
We get to worship all over again. A baptism at our 9:00am service, Recognition of the Covenant Preschool and Mother's Day Out staff at our 11:00am service.

My message is: Whole Hog and With Both Feet.

Grief Recovery Program Available

• Time: Sundays at 3:30 for 13 weeks.
• Date: First meeting is on August 25th.
• Location: Asbury UMC - Church Administration Building (Welcome to Asbury) Asbury is located on the corner of Johnston and Live Oak. Greeters will be on hand to direct participants to their classroom.
• Phone: 984-4211, Jan Cooke (jancooke@asbury-umc.org), Adult Ministry
• Cost: One-time fee of $15 for workbook. Workbook purchase is optional. There is no fee charged for joining this group.

“Grief Share” is a network of thousands of grief recovery support group meetings around the world.  In this program, participants learn how to walk the journey of grief with support along the way.  These weekly “Grief Share” groups are designed to help people recover from the deep hurt of death and find healing and hope.

There are three components to “Grief Share”, a 13 week program:

1. Groups share a video featuring personal stories of people grieving the death of a loved one along with expert insights on topics important to grief recovery.
2. Participants become part of a small support group where discussion centers on the video but also includes the discussion of problems and successes experienced by group members.  Group members are never asked to share personal experiences unless they make the choice to do so.
3. Groups discuss their workbook, From Mourning to Joy, which includes daily prayers, meaningful reflections, questions and comforting Bible Scriptures.  Each session lasts approximately 90 minutes.

To learn more about “Grief Share”, log onto www.griefshare.org.

I highly recommend this program from personal experience. Do someone a favor and tell them about "Grief Share".

August 11th Sermon Download Available

This morning's sermon, Find the Light, Walk in the Light, Reflect the Light is now available as a free MP3 download from our website. http://tinyurl.com/5j6nl3. This is part of Brother Chris' Summer School sermon series.

Baked Potato & Sweet Sale

Baked Potato & Sweet Sale This Sunday

First off, thank you to all the parents who were able to come chaperone a shift or cook breakfast at the Back-to-school Lock-in. The youth had an awesome time and we really appreciate your support.

But we need your help again. This Sunday, August 11th, we will have our baked potato & sweets sale. This fundraiser will help us replenish our youth fund that allows us to plan all the fun events and mission projects that we do. We are asking for help from all youth (and some adults) to bring sweets to sell. We will also need some help prepping potato fixings, selling after both services, and cleaning up after.

How you can help:

1. Bring individually wrapped sweet treats to sell. 
2. Have your youth present 9:30-1:00 
3. Let us know in advance if you can help us in the kitchen at any point during the event.

Thanks for you help!
Craig & Melissa Hartwell

Mission Kids Returns

Covenant's Mission Kids program will kick-off the 2013-2014 season with its first meeting on Sunday, August 25th from 3:30-5:00 PM. All children in 1st-5th Grades are invited to join us on that day when we will collaborate with the Youth in their mission to prepare flood buckets for UMCOR. (If you would like to make a donation to this worthy cause, a list of needed items for the flood buckets has been published by our Youth Directors in the August newsletter.)

Mission Kids aims to open the eyes of our children about the many ways that, even at their young age, they can show the love of Christ to others. Our calendar of events will be distributed at our first meeting, but we plan to meet on Sunday afternoons once a month during the school year. A typical meeting will include games, Bible, fellowship, snacks and, of course hands-on mission work. Also, we occasionally go on missions field trips where the whole family can be involved in service work together.

***If you plan to register your child for this program, please contact Leigh Nugent, Mission Kids coordinator, by email at vlbraswell@hotmail.com, so that we can prepare enough materials for each child. We are looking forward to another great year of fun mission projects with the children!***

Sincerely,
Leigh Nugent
Mission Kids Coordinator
vlbraswell@hotmail.com

Bible Boot Camp

ATTENTION:  Calling all 3rd grade cadets.  Report for duty on Saturday, August 24 at 9 a.m.  Details of assignment below:

BIBLE BOOT CAMP
Bible Boot Camp is a fun-filled day designed for our 3rd graders to dive into the Bible and discover just how amazing God's word is!  Cadet's will participate in:

• "Weapon Training"
• How to Use Your Bible
• "Basic Maneuvers"
• Bible Study Methods
• "Survival Skills"
• What's in the Bible and Why 
• "Combat Readiness"
• ...and more!

Lunch and snacks will be provided for all of our cadets.  Please email Lindsay Perry at children@covenantum.org to register for this exciting day.

Registration information needed:

• Child's name
• Child's birthdate
• Mailing address
• Home phone/Cell phone
• Parent(s)/Guardian(s) name
• email address
• Child's t-shirt size
• Emergency contact name/number
• Allergies/medical conditions
• Any other information we may need to care for your child  

All 3rd graders will be presented their Bible during the worship service on Sunday, August 25th.  Please let Lindsay Perry know if you have a 3rd grader who will not be able to participate in Bible Boot Camp to assure that we have a Bible for them!

Sincerely,
Lindsay Perry
Director of Children's Ministries
children@covenantum.org

August 4th Sermon Download Available

This morning's sermon, One Bread - One Body is now available as a free MP3 download from our website. http://tinyurl.com/5j6nl3. This is part of Brother Chris' Summer School sermon series.

August Newsletter Available for Download

August Newsletter

The August 2013 Covenant Newsletter is ready to download and pick up.

1. You can pick up a paper copy in the church narthex the next time you are at church.
or
2. You can download it directly from our website – www.CovenantUM.org. Just look for the "Downloads" section in the right hand column of the first page and click on "Current Newsletter". It looks like this:

You will need to have the free Adobe Reader on your computer. If you don't have it, you can get it here.

See you Sunday,

July 28, 2013 Sermon Download Available

Yesterday morning's sermon, When Life Gives You Lemons... is now available as a free MP3 download from our website. http://tinyurl.com/5j6nl3. This is part of Brother Chris' Summer School sermon series.

In Case You Missed It...

Thanks to everyone who helped make it a special week.

July 21st Sermon Download Available

This morning's sermon, What is My Act of Worship? is now available as a free MP3 download from our website. http://tinyurl.com/5j6nl3. This is part of Brother Chris' Summer School sermon series.

Post VBS

What a great week!  VBS with kids and volunteers running all around this place, over 120 little ones each day. Even now they are outside slipping, sliding, running through a kidwash, just having fun, all the time learning about the Fruits  of the Spirit. Thank you is not enough to thank all the volunteers and leaders, we needed everyone of you. Be here in worship on Sunday to see more and hear more about this wonderful program you help provide to our community. There was of course, friendly competition between the boys and the girls to bring food for the UCO food pantry. And regardless of who wins, the people who depend upon UCO are the winners. May God be Glorified.

Saturday
Men, do not forget, we have a 8:00am breakfast and workday We will spread mulch, we will trim some limbs, we will set up some chairs, we will check AC filters to see if they need to be changed. If at all possible, we will build some shelves for our tractor barn, so we can store more stuff, or at least  store it better. Be here if at all possible. We won't work you too long.

Sunday
We will have worship, even after a long week. But can't wait to share all that God has done in us and through us this week. I will be sharing the age old story, Mary or Martha, what really was Jesus saying about worship, and what can we learn from Him.

Also, Sunday you can also see some of the Silent Auction Items that will be bid upon during the Concert for a Cause, that our Young Adults are putting together for next Friday. Be sure to peruse and then be ready for a little friendly competition as you try to get what you want.

Sincerely,