TURLOCK, CA (July 25, 2016) – Rebecca (Helzer) Barnes, wife of Covenant minister Paul Barnes, died July 20. She was 64.

rebecca barnesRebecca was born in March 1952 in Lincoln, Nebraska, to John and Marie Helzer. She earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Crown College in St. Bonifacius, Minnesota, where she met her husband.

The couple married in 1974. They ministered in mostly Evangelical Covenant Church congregations. In 2007, they moved to Turlock, where Paul has been the chaplain at Covenant Village of Turlock.

In addition to her husband, survivors include a son, Jonathan (Krissa) of Turlock; and a daughter, Johanna (Joseph Conroy) of Overland Park, Kansas; and two grandchildren.

Services will be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday, July 27, at Turlock Covenant Church.

CONTINUE READING

Explore More Stories & News

News

After the Spokane Fires

The evacuation orders have been lifted. In Spokane, two congregations are settling in for the long work of rebuilding with their neighbors.

Commentary

Beyond Clenched Fists

Righteous anger, witnessed through injustice on the ground, becomes a spiritual invitation to act rather than remain with clenched fists.

Posts

Women Who Stayed: Covenant Witness in Solidarity

Three generations of Covenant women — Florence Towne, Carolyn Cedarleaf, and Jeannine Cedarleaf Nordlund — reveal how solidarity with neighbors facing injustice is caught, not taught.

Arts & Culture

The Church Is Open

With no children and no volunteers left after the pandemic, a North Minneapolis church restarted Vacation Bible School anyway, praying for twenty kids to show up.

Features

Wrestling with Hard Stories

Why is Ananias and Sapphira’s punishment so harsh? An honest reckoning with difficult passages.