Smudged Lenses
The Rev. Laurie Kraus celebrates the faith and the gifts of new Inquirer Danny Morales, and his first sermon: "...Since wearing glasses for a few months now, I’ve learned we don’t always see the smudges on them. Instead we get so accustomed to those smudges, that foggy vision, that we create or even become our own impediments to clarity, impediments to the voices that like Bartimaeus are still screaming..."
Knowing We Are All the Image of God
A reflection by Laurie Kraus: "...Our families are not all the same: the children we treasure have come to us from birth, surrogacy, national and international adoption, or foster care; and we connect with friend or partner or spouse in a variety of ways. One thing I believe is common among us: that we all are formed in our relationships by Love, which comes from God; and that we all of us, are made truly in God’s image and living a life of faith intended to let that God-image shine forth more clearly. We listen to one another, share our stories and practice community together because it is the way Christ has taught us to see the face of God..."
Radical Hospitality
A reflection by Vicki Carmichael, Minister of Music--Choir Director at Trinity Presbyterian Church in University City, MO, shared as part of the communion service on Trinity Sunday, June 3, 2012: "Radical hospitality doesn’t just welcome, it transforms."
Second Presbyterian, Richmond, VA, becomes a Covenant Congregation!
We welcome Second Presbyterian Church of Richmond, VA, whose Session recently signed the "Call to Covenant Community" and look forward to partnering with this congregation as we all live into the new reality of G-2.0104b.
Welcome to First Presbyterian, Wooster, OH
A fifth congregation recently affirmed the Call to Covenant Community in time to be featured in the summer edition of the Covenant Connection, along with the four most recent Covenant Congregations we welcomed in May.
Covenant Congregation in the News
First Presbyterian Church of Elizabethton, one of only five Covenant congregations in Tennessee, was recently featured in the Johnson City Press as a leader in environmental awareness and advocacy.
Welcome to two new Covenant congregations
Welcome to two new Covenant congregations whose sessions have affirmed the Call to Covenant Community this month: Broadway Presbyterian Church in New York City and Faith Presbyterian Church in Franklin, WI.
Covenant Congregation in the News: Pasadena Presbyterian
Pasadena [CA] Presbyterian Church, a Covenant congregation, offers an unusual and exciting example of a genuinely unified, multicultural congregation. Its Korean and Spanish ministries and communities are not “nested” in the English-language church but constitute “three language groups within one congregation.”
Welcome to Three New Covenant Congregations
Covenant Network welcomes three new Covenant congregations whose sessions have affirmed the Call to Covenant Community in the past month: University Presbyterian Church of San Antonio, TX; Setauket Presbyterian Church of Setauket, NY; and Crescent Avenue Presbyterian Church of Plainfield, NJ.
Welcome to Five New Covenant Congregations
Covenant Network welcomes five new Covenant congregations whose sessions have affirmed the Call to Covenant Community in the past month: First Presbyterian of Morgantown, WV; First Presbyterian of New Canaan, CT; Freedom Plains United in LaGrangeville, NY; Ginter Park Presbyterian in Richmond, VA; and Shepherdstown [WV] Presbyterian.
Fort Worth Pastor Calls Churches to Use Our Bully Pulpits to End Bullying
In a strong Op Ed, Fritz Ritsch, pastor of St. Stephen Presbyterian Church in Fort Worth, calls on the church to reconsider and change its "bullying" teaching on homosexuality.
Covenant Congregation Featured in Peacemaking Bulletin Insert
Noble Road Presbyterian Church in Cleveland Heights, OH, a Covenant congregation, is featured in one of our denomination’s bulletin inserts promoting the 2010 Peacemaking Offering.
Minnesota Covenant Congregations Preparing for General Assembly – Part II
Nine Covenant Congregations will be volunteering at the upcoming 219th General Assembly, alongside sister congregations from the three hosting Presbyteries. Part I, posted last month, featured four of these Covenant Congregations. In Part II, we celebrate five more dedicated and diverse churches.
