The Covenant Companion
The Covenant Companion
Official Magazine of the Evangelical Covenant Church
News
Covenanters Respond to Maui Wildfires
In response to historic wildfires that have decimated the Hawaiian island of Maui and destroyed the town of Lahaina, Covenanters are mobilizing to respond.
Pilgrim Pines Partially Reopens
Pilgrim Pines Camp and Retreat Center in Swanzey, New Hampshire, has made a partial recovery after an extreme weather event closed the camp this summer.
Learning to Lead
Church chair training sessions are helping lay leaders become better equipped and more confident in key leadership positions.
Audio Bibles Bring New Meaning to Baggage
Life Covenant Church in Torrance, California, helps deliver God’s Word to Mozambique.
Covenanters Work Toward Common Ground in Matthew 5:9 Fellowship
Denise McKinney and Anthony Archie of The Well in Tulsa, Oklahoma, have a virtual sit-down with the Companion to share how they navigate politics, community, race, and religion through Matthew 5:9 Fellowship.
Pilgrim Pines Shut Down after Massive Rainfall
After a major storm dumped historic rainfall, Pilgrim Pines Camp and Retreat Center in Swanzey, New Hampshire, has been temporarily shut down.
Featured story
Shifting Gears to Serve
Bike repair workshops have turned into a unique ministry for pastor James Ventress of Nome (Alaska) Covenant Church.
Features
Shifting Gears to Serve
Bike repair workshops have turned into a unique ministry for pastor James Ventress of Nome (Alaska) Covenant Church.
Open Heart, Open House / Corazón Abierto, Casa Abierta
Instead of taking on renters in his newly-renovated apartment building, Tomás Sanabria, pastor of La Iglesia del Pacto Evangélico de Albany Park in Chicago, chooses to welcome individuals looking to make the US their home.
From Secret to Sacred
Christa Armstead, pastor of community care at Midtown Covenant Church in Sacramento, California, finds healing from the painful secrets of her past.
Sometimes You Gotta Go to Work
When faced with despair, one Covenanter looks to the book of Ruth to help her see the hand of God.
Leading with Presence
On a recent trip to Mozambique, Jelani Greenidge witnesses the “special sauce” of pastoral ministry.
The Reality of Freedom in Christ
Part 6 of our series on Covenant Affirmations with reflections by Howard K. Burgoyne and Aisha Cox.
A Conscious Dependence on the Holy Spirit
Part 5 of our series on Covenant Affirmations with reflections by Tim Hawkinson and Devyn Chambers Johnson.
The Church as a Fellowship of Believers
Part 4 of our series on Covenant Affirmations with reflections by Cindy M. Wu, and Marco Ambriz.
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Featured story
Commentary
What a Quarter Can Do
Wrestling with questions about frugality, scarcity mentality, and where our dollars should go, Kristin T. Lee anticipates Highrock Church’s upcoming Theology Lab Series on God and Money.
El latido generacional del corazón / The Generational Heartbeat
In honor of Latino Heritage Month, Carla Cortez shares the legacy of faith she found in her mother’s stories.
Ignore the Blind Side at Your Peril
One sure way to compound the tragedy of Michael Oher’s story is to learn the wrong lesson from it.
Reconsidering a Theology of Labor
A deeper look at something to celebrate this Labor Day weekend.
What Makes the Covenant, Covenant?
President Tammy Swanson-Draheim looks at our Covenant Affirmations to root us in our communal life together and to enable us to wholeheartedly pursue God’s mission.
Waiting for God Can Be Hard Work
If it were written for today, Psalm 40 might read, “I held on, and I struggled, and then I held on some more.”
Embrace Restraint, Don’t Weaponize It
What can the Apostle Paul teach us about the uncomfortable subject of restraint?
Reclaiming Our God-Given Superpowers
When it comes to identifying complex emotions, television mysteries, comedies, and documentaries can provide examples that transform pain into power.
Arts & Culture
For Such a Time as This
The Covenant Church of Colombia celebrates the publication of a new devotional, He Nacido Para este tiempo: Bitacora de Vida, written by 19 women in the Covenant Church in Latin America.
Flourishing the Least
A review of Al Tizon’s book, Christ Among the Classes: The Rich, the Poor, and the Mission of the Church
The Purpose of Preaching
A review of Paul E. Koptak’s new book, Circles in the Stream: Index, Identification, and Intertext: Reading and Preaching the Story of Judah in Genesis 37-50.
The Unlikely Intersection of Gangs and Churches
A Conversation with Covenant author Steve Offutt on his new book, Blood Entanglements.
“Praise This” Zings as It Sings
The new Peacock original feature film “Praise This” takes on the culture of Black gospel music.
A Fragile, Extraordinary Life
A review of Kate Bowler’s book No Cure for Being Human (And Other Truths I Need to Hear).
Freedom to Wonder
Mandy Smith’s Unfettered encourages us to discover a more Jesus-centered faith.
An Invitation to the Inaccessible Church
A review of Amy Kenny’s My Body Is Not a Prayer Request: Disability Justice in the Church
Announcements
Church Status Report: Churches Added and Removed from the Roster
Ten new churches were welcomed into the Covenant and 23 churches were removed from the roster at the 137th Annual Meeting this week.
Awaken Covenant Church Removed from Covenant Roster
Delegates to the 137th Annual Meeting of the Evangelical Covenant Church voted today to remove Awaken Covenant Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, from its roster of churches.
Jacqueline Sugihara, Corporate Secretary, Announces She Will Leave Her Role in July
After significant prayer and discernment, Jacqueline Sugihara announced her resignation from her role as corporate secretary for the Covenant and director of ministry services for operations.
Quest Church to Voluntarily Leave the Covenant
Quest Church, a Covenant congregation in Seattle, Washington, has announced it will formally disaffiliate as a member church of the Evangelical Covenant Church.
Updates on Children’s Ministry from Make and Deepen Disciples
New interim children’s ministry team will work to implement Covenant children’s ministry objectives.
Congo Covenant Church President Duale Welcomed to Chicago
Rev. Theophile Duale Langba, president of the Covenant Church of Congo, visited the denominational offices and shared his gratitude for our long partnership in ministry.
Podcast
Sankofa: Join Us on the Bus
Hear from leaders and participants, as well as Sankofa veteran Nilwona Nowlin, who walks us through the journey—and shares her reflections after years of getting on the bus. For more information visit covchurch.org/sankofa
We Are a Multiethnic Mosaic
Mary Chung March outlines our history of becoming a multiethnic mosaic, growing from our roots as a Swedish immigrant church. And Steve Wong, pastor of the first Asian American church plant in the Covenant, reflects on his journey into the Covenant, how he has seen the denomination change, and our call to continue becoming the beloved community.
We Seek Racial Righteousness
Covenant historian Hauna Ondrey and Dominique Gilliard join us to talk about the end of the 1960s, the Black Manifesto, the Covenant’s unique response to this call to white churches and synagogues—and where we witness similar themes in our culture today.
We Make Affirmations
In the Covenant we identify as non-creedal, meaning we do not adhere to a specific creed. But non-creedal does not mean we are without theology. The six Covenant affirmations address the question, “What does the Covenant believe?” Retired North Park Theological Seminary professor Klyne Snodgrass joins us.
Home Altar
In Memoriam
Herb Freedholm
Retired Covenant minister and former superintendent of the Central Conference Herbert Freedholm died July 21.
Ruth Widman
Retired Covenant missionary Ruth A. M. Widman died July 26, 2023, in Batavia, Illinois. She was 107.
Linda Anderson
Linda Anderson, wife of Covenant pastor Timothy Anderson, passed away from ovarian cancer on August 6, 2023, in Rochester, Minnesota. She was 74.
David W. DeVries
Longtime Covenant leader David W. DeVries died July 5.
John K. Larson
Retired Covenant minister and educator John K. Larson died June 14, 2023. He was 78.
Deborah Power
Retired Covenant pastor Deborah J. Power died April 1, 2023. She was 71.
Jane Wiberg
Jane Wiberg, widow of Covenant pastor Glen Wiberg, passed away June 19, 2023, in Golden Valley, Minnesota. She was 96.
Shirley Rosnau
Shirley F. Rosnau, widow of retired Covenant pastor Reuben Rosnau, died May 28, 2023, in Golden Valley, Minnesota. She was 77.
What a Quarter Can Do
Wrestling with questions about frugality, scarcity mentality, and where our dollars should go, Kristin T. Lee anticipates Highrock Church’s upcoming Theology Lab Series on God and Money.