Covenant October Newsletter Available for Download

  October Newsletter

The October 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,

Countdown Day 6

https://www.facebook.com/CovenantPumpkinPatch

Countdown Day 7

https://www.facebook.com/CovenantPumpkinPatch

Countdown Day 8

https://www.facebook.com/CovenantPumpkinPatch

Charity Yard Sale

Covenant September 2014 Newsletter Available for Download

September Newsletter

The September 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,

Fearless

Someone loaned me a biographical novel about one of our brave Navy Seals killed in service for our nation. His story relays that from way back as a child, he was described as fearless; willing to try to do almost anything, regardless of the risk and almost without fear of failure. Wonderful story of triumph over personal weakness, but he remained a believer in His faith to the end, living and dying fearlessly. May be a lesson we could learn here in our lives too.

Each sunrise seems to bring fresh reasons for fear. We hear about slowdowns in the economy, flare-ups in the Middle East, political unrest, downturns in the housing market, and upswings in global warming. “The plague of our day, terrorism, begins with the word "terror." Fear, it seems, has taken up a hundred-year lease on the building next door and set up shop. Oversized and rude, fear herds us into a prison of unlocked doors. Wouldn't it be great to walk out? “What if faith, not fear, was our default reaction to threats? Envision a day, just one day, where you could trust more and fear less.” (Max Lucado)

I believe that the church should have that same swagger and attitude too! Not because we are better than others, not because we have all the right answers, but we do have an amazing Lord who pours out His grace and His power on us, when...when, we act in faith and not in fear. We have been so blessed here at Covenant. Facility improvements and owe so little; God sending us amazing people to work with our youth and our children and music. We have seen a number of younger families make their way to worship with us, and yet....as your pastor, I sense God has even greater things in store for us, when we are willing to continue to take great risk for His Kingdom sake.

As your pastor, I pledge to help us continue to find ways to be fearless in our attempt to spread scriptural holiness throughout the land, and to open wide the doors of our church to all those who need a place like Covenant. Church, are you willing to be fearless too? 

Craft Show, October 18,19

We are now accepting applications for the “Pumpkin Patch” Arts and Craft Show. covenantcraftshow@hotmail.com

New Sunday School Class

Have you been wanting to try a Sunday school class, but not sure where to start? Start Fresh! While every one of our current classes would welcome you warmly, if you are not part of a class yet, I invite you to try out our newest class that just started. Jennifer Manuel has graciously stepped up to lead this class, and I am so excited for this new opportunity! We know there are families whose children are in Sunday school and you need a place for your own spiritual development. You might be an individual seeking that place to connect and grow with your Covenant friends and family. Anyone interested in being a part of this new class, please contact me. Again, I am so excited for this development. I think it fills a great and growing need we have, and I pray you consider taking advantage of this opportunity! Melissa@covenantum.org

Back to School

Luke 2:52 “And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.” Can you believe it? The summer is almost gone, especially for those who have children who will be going back to school. Seems like in the dark ages when I attended school, we normally waited for Labor Day, but of course that was long before air conditioned classrooms. And of course I had to walk to school three miles up hill, each way! Or that’s how I remember it. Anyway, it is a great time to get back to school and get back to church and get in a church school class. We have a class for everyone; really we do; because we want all to “grow in wisdom and in stature.” From nursery to children to youth to young adults, young married adults, middle age adults, and even a place for all ages. There is a place for you, and where else can you learn God’s word to tie into the power, the instruction, and develop the discipline of study which will help us grow in wisdom and in stature - the development of a Godly character.

We will also begin our Wednesday Night Dinner and Bible Study again, starting after Labor Day. What a joy to meet with your church family for a great home cooked meal and then be involved in disciple building programs for all ages. Be watching for our plans again to help us grow in wisdom and in stature.

Speaking of school, can I tell you how proud I am of this church? You stepped up to the plate to help our VBS raise funds to help sponsor 5 children in Haiti for a year of school supplies, tuition, and two meals a day. Our Pumpkin Patch will match that and together our generous gifts will allow 10 children to receive an education. Thank You so much!

Be on the lookout, for we will also be collecting school supplies for the Methodist Children’s Home in Sulphur, LA. We will distribute a list for you to use to purchase, but if you can’t wait, here it is: loose leaf paper, composition notebooks, not spiral bound, 2” binders, solid color pocket folders, index cards, colored markers, black or blue pens, or highlighters . These will go a long way allowing the children in the home to receive all the supplies for this coming year as we help these little ones grow in wisdom and in stature. Collection bins will be around our foyers.

Another way we can help school children in our community is by collecting good used school uniforms! Please recycle those uniforms your children have outgrown. Please collect good clean used uniforms and place them in the bin in the coffee area of our sanctuary. These will enable other children to grow in wisdom through the education system.

There it is a word that shows just how many ways there are for us to grow in wisdom and in stature and to help others too! See you in your place of worship this and every week.

Family Movie Night: Heaven is for Real

Fall GriefShare Beginning Soon

• Time: Sundays at 3:30 for 13 weeks.
• Date: First meeting is on August 10th.
• 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".

Congratulations Graduates!!

Stephanie Bowen, Lafayette High
Alan Breaux, University of Phoenix.—Business Associate
Melissa Brockman, ULL-Biology
Jaylon Catalon, Comeaux High
Steven Desormeaux, ULL-Criminal Justice
Cody Dunston, Acadiana High
Kyle Eastin, Lafayette High
Daniel Ferg, ULL Masters-Architecture
Amanda Fogle, Christian Home School
Michael Fogle, Comeaux High
Reese LeLeux, Comeaux High
Stephanie Rabeaux, Home School
Michael Richardson, Parkview Baptist

Covenant March Newsletter Available for Download

March Newsletter

The March 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,

From the Pastor - Building the Church

On no, here the preacher goes again, haven’t we just finished building that beautiful and very used Covenant Community Center; haven’t we been in the renovation stage of our sanctuary and so looking forward to being back in there by Easter? I am not talking about building anymore church buildings; well with the exception of adding some space to our Covenant Early Learning center in the near future. But nope, I am talking about building the real church, not simply our church facility. The church we are building is the eternal church of Jesus Christ that will last for an eternity.

We have been commissioned to help build the Kingdom of God; which in my way of thinking has us help people who have no relationship with Jesus Christ to explore, find, and develop that relationship until they are completely “sold out on Jesus too!” As their relationship grows, then they are enabled to go right back out to help others also form that redeeming and powerful life changing relation too. This means that each of us must be willing to be discipled and be committed to growing in our faith alongside other believers too. In this newsletter you might find a brief description of our ongoing groups that can help you along your journey. In so joining, you will be building the church.

Our worship through Easter, also has us looking at building blocks of building Jesus' Church, as we emulate what Disciples Do: follow, belong, worship, pray, work, celebrate, believe and go. I hope you remember I asked us who want to follow Jesus to: Daily submit our wills to Jesus, Pray, Read God’s Word, and then weekly to Worship and to do Random Acts of Kindness. In so doing, you will be building the church.

I am excited that just this week, some of the Covenant leadership agreed to working with Dr. Debra Davis of LSU and the United Methodist Foundation to help us establish a goal and vision for our future. No one plans to fail, but many fail to plan and as such never continue to grow. We owe taking these steps to enlarge our ministry for Jesus. The Foundation has given us this opportunity at no cost for this professional to help guide us as we build the church. We may be looking at adding worship opportunities; service opportunities, educational opportunities. We are the only limiting factor in our continued building the church.

I am glad to be a part of this loving generous Body of Christ we call Covenant and look forward to many years together as we build the church of Jesus Christ in this area of our world. Can’t wait to see where Jesus leads us.

See you in your place of worship,

Food Truck Alternative Lunch Tomorrow

Tomorrow from 11am-1:30pm, the Hibachi Hero food truck will be serving from out parking lot. Looking for a great lunch distraction with real good eats? Come on over!

www.facebook.com/TheHibachiHero

@TheHibachiHero

 #TheHibachiHero

Grief Recovery Program Available

• Time: Sundays at 3:30 for 13 weeks.
• Date: First meeting is on January 12th.
• 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".

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