We Journey Together
A Sermon on James 2:1-17 by the Rev. Bertram Johnson at the Northwest Regional Conference, Mercer Island Presbyterian Church, 30 January 2015: "Through our acts of partiality, of favoritism, of judgment, of limitation on not just LGBTQ people, but on all God’s people, we pit the truth of God’s grace against itself and show our hypocrisy and lack of faith. As these first century believers dishonored the poor by favoring the rich, we continue to dishonor God’s people by creating divisions and obstacles to God. Through our biases the Church becomes a stumbling block and an exclusive club to those who seek to know God. We do this because we fail to believe that Christ’s sacrifice is big enough, wide enough, and deep enough to heal all our human-made fears and prejudices. When I’m faced with such opposition from my brother and sister Christians, like James, I ask do we really believe that the power of God is for all or is it that we think it’s only for some?"
Marriage: Why It Matters to the Church
Keynote Address by the Rev. Larry Owens at the Covenant Network Regional Conference at Idlewild Presbyterian Church in Memphis, Tennessee, November 8, 2014: “Lord, we are forever asking you for many things, and what you are forever giving us instead…is the gift of one another.”
LGBT Presbyterian Journeys - A CovNet Video
A gift from the Andrews Foundation made possible this video premiered at the Covenant Network Conference, “Marriage Matters.”Enjoy, share, and continue the work!
Explore Marriage Liturgies at the 2013 Covenant Pre-Conference
The 2013 Covenant Conference, “Marriage Matters,” will take place at Fourth Presbyterian Church in Chicago October 31-November 2. Before the conference on marriage equality, join us for a theological conversation about marriage. What does “Christian marriage” mean? What do we believe happens during a wedding? And what should a marriage service look like? Kimberly Bracken Long will lead the pre-conference workshop focused on liturgy.
2013 Covenant Conference in Chicago - save the date!
“Marriage Matters” is the theme of the 2013 national Covenant Conference, to be held at Fourth Presbyterian Church in Chicago October 31-November 2. Keynote speakers will include Amy Plantinga Pauw and William Stacy Johnson. A special pre-conference event on marriage liturgies and worship will be led by Kimberly Bracken Long. Registration information will be available soon, but for now – mark your calendar!
Conference in NYC May 11: "Marriage Equality for Presbyterians and Everyone Else"
The last in the Covenant Network's series of ten regional conferences is coming up Saturday, May 11. Featuring two accomplished attorneys who have been active in working for equality for the LGBTQ community, "What Now: Marriage Equality for Presbyterians and Everyone Else" will take place at the First Presbyterian Church in the City of New York, with the support of Presbyterian Welcome. Follow this link to register.
"Groovy, Sick, and Epic: Speaking Languages of Justice Across Generations"
Of course, it's always better to be there, but if you missed the Northwest Regional Conference at Mercer Island Presbyterian Church on Saturday, April 13, you can get a taste by checking out the slides from Bruce Reyes-Chow's presentation.
"Just as Christ Has Welcomed You"
A Sermon on Romans 15:1-13 and Revelation 7:9-17 by Tricia Dykers Koenig, at the Baltimore/DC Regional Conference, March 9, 2013: "We have, all of us, been welcomed by Christ, utterly and unconditionally, not because we deserve it but because God is Love and, in God’s will, nothing 'in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.' Despite the accumulated grime in our lives. Even if we haven’t done the requisite dusting. Even if we are sloppy, lazy, misguided, or stubbornly wrong. Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you – totally and unconditionally – for the glory of God."
“The Call to Christian Hospitality: Living Into a Truly Welcoming Church”
Keynote Address by Henry Brinton at the Baltimore/DC Regional Conference, March 9, 2013: "I believe that all of you want to be part of a truly welcoming congregation, one that embraces all people with God’s love and grace. But if you are like me, you haven’t mastered the practices of Christian hospitality. You probably set up some barriers to inclusion without even knowing it."
Covenant Faith Expressed in Covenant Life
A reflection on James 2:1-13 offered by Brian Ellison at the closing worship service of the Milwaukee Regional Conference of the Covenant Network, Immanuel Presbyterian Church, November 17, 2012: "And how better to express this scripture’s call than through a group that has taken as its name and as its starting place a rich theological concept: Covenant—an expression of the relationship between God and humanity, and among the people God has created and called—and said that our theology demands of us not mere belief, not mere correctness, but action: Lives lived out in faithful service and compassion and intentionality and justice."
Every Fear Silenced
A Sermon by Meg Peery McLaughlin at the Kansas City Area Regional Conference: "But the truth is: there are some words that bear repeating. Some words that we simply need, desperately need, to hear over and over and over again... Do not be afraid."
The Redemption of Our Bodies
At the Kansas City Regional Conference, Dr. Mark Achtemeier continued his exploration of biblical insights into marriage: "...We have now come to the end of our experiment in reading the Scripture like the faithful scribe in Jesus’ teaching. We have taken what is old – the testimony about God’s purposes for love and marriage and sexuality that comes to us from the broad sweep of the Bible’s story. We have brought out this old, time-tested wisdom and combined it with what is new: the recently emerging opportunity for gay and lesbian people to openly makes vows and commitments to one another in the covenant of marriage.The result of this combination of old and new is not the abolition of biblical sexual morality or the abandonment of Scripture’s teaching. The result is the right and proper extension of the Bible’s time-honored teachings on love and sex and marriage into these new relationships where it manifestly belongs..."
Baltimore/DC Regional Conference Postponed
The Regional Conference scheduled for Friday, November 2 at Catonsville Presbyterian Church has been postponed due to Hurricane Sandy. The tentative new date for the conference is Saturday, March 9.
The Plan-B God
Dr. Mark Achtemeier addressed the Twin Cities Regional Conference on same-gender marriage: "...The vocation of groups like the Covenant Network will be critically important in the months and years ahead. It is not within our power to turn back the rising tide of cultural and historical forces that are sweeping our church into a period of decline. But we are confident that the day will come when God will purge the poisonous legacy of exclusion and hatefulness from our culture’s image of Christianity. Until that time it falls to you and me to keep the lights of a gracious witness burning in the midst of the surrounding darkness.To carry out that task, to make that positive Christian witness, you and I must be absolutely clear that our affirmation and celebration of gay marriage is a consequence of the Bible’s testimony and not its contradiction..."
Are you a student? Regional registration's on us!
The Covenant Network regional conference season is fast approaching - have you found the conference nearest you? Seminary and college students attending a conference may register for free.
Find a Regional Conference Near You
As our local organizers are firming up their plans, details are being added to the Regional Conferences page.You can now find links and registration information to the events in the Twin Cities on Saturday, October 27; the Baltimore/DC area on Friday, November 2; and Milwaukee on Saturday, November 17.
Twin Cities Will Host the Next Regional Conference
Instead of the national conference this year, a series of regional conferences will take place across the country.The first of the fall will be at Westminster Church in Minneapolis on Saturday, October 27; read on for details and online registration. Mark Achtemeier is the keynote speaker, and Dan Vigilante will preach.