Stories & News
The Covenant Companion
Official Magazine of the Evangelical Covenant Church
News
Tammy Swanson-Draheim Elected President of the Covenant Church
In a historic election today, Rev. Tammy Swanson-Draheim was elected president of the Evangelical Covenant Church by delegates to the 136th Annual Meeting in Kansas City, Missouri.
John Wenrich Gives Final Presidential Address
President John Wenrich presented the final report of his term to the assembled delegation of the 136th Annual Meeting in Kansas City, Missouri.
Executive Ministers Elected for Covenant Ministry Priorities
Grace Shim was elected as executive minister of Serve Globally, and Herb Frost was elected as executive minister of Ordered Ministry and Develop Leaders.
Big John Perkins Posthumously Awarded for Urban Ministry
John “Big John” Phillip Perkins was posthumously honored with the Irving C. Lambert Award for Outstanding Urban Ministry at the 136th Annual Meeting of the Evangelical Covenant Church in Kansas City, Missouri.
Percy Mueda Honored as Outstanding Layperson
Percy Mueda of Grace Covenant Church in South San Francisco, California, was awarded the Theodore W. Anderson Award for Outstanding Layperson at the 136th Annual Meeting of the Evangelical Covenant Church in Kansas City, Missouri.
Seven New Churches Join the Covenant
Today delegates to the 136th Annual Meeting of the Evangelical Covenant Church voted to welcome seven new churches into membership.
Featured story
Who Are Evangelicals?
Covenant author Dan Stringer wrestles with what it means to identify as Evangelical.
Features
Holding the Tension
Sanetta Ponton, pastor of justice, advocacy, and compassion at Metro Community Church in Englewood, New Jersey, reminds us that the story of the African American experience is worthy to be told.
Juneteenth: Festival of Freedom
Juneteenth is a celebration of the abolishment of slavery in the United States. Columnist Jelani Greenidge takes some time to explain what it is, how it came to be, and how it’s celebrated.
Lilly Endowment Matching Grant to Expand Financial Leadership Initiative
The Evangelical Covenant Church has been given a rare opportunity through Lilly Endowment Inc. to participate in a matching grant that could total $750,000.
Adjusting to Disruption
The first article in a series of stories on the innovative thinking found in Covenant churches focuses on South Bay Community Church in Fremont, California.
Who Are Evangelicals?
Covenant author Dan Stringer wrestles with what it means to identify as Evangelical.
Identity Development
Pastor Steve Wong, the first Asian American church planter in the Covenant, reflects on how we tell our stories as a multicultural mosaic.
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Featured story
Are Young People Done with the Church?
The Companion looks at the next generation and the Covenant Church of tomorrow.
Commentary
Interrupting Your Regularly Scheduled Program
Moving away from the familiar sometimes moves you closer to what God has for you.
Where’s the Antidote to Deconstruction? It’s “Everywhere”
‘Everything, Everywhere, All at Once’ is a metaphorical pathway for people experiencing spiritual deconstruction to find their way back to a deeper version of the faith.
Some Days Are Better Than Others
Sometimes our efforts to love our neighbors might occasionally hurt more than heal.
Arts & Culture
What God Put Together, Let No One Separate
As beings in God’s image, we are made to exist in community.
The Therapist Is In
Lori Gottlieb’s Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, Her Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed chronicles the mysteries of being human, personal growth, and talk therapy from both sides of the chair (patient and therapist).
The “Like” Gateway
The Xbox video game Yakuza: Like a Dragon opens possibilities for variety in pastoral gifts.
Home Altar
A devotional guide written by Covenanters, the Covenant Home Altar invites us to take time in our day for God’s word, quiet meditation, and prayer. To receive printed copies of the Covenant Home Altar you may subscribe below. One subscription is for one year, which includes four quarterly issues.
Announcements
The Evangelical Covenant Church President Responds to Supreme Court Ruling
The recent events in Buffalo and Uvalde have prompted me to ask our Covenant family to mourn and lament with families who are grieving. As Covenanters, we respond with the love of Christ through prayer and constructive engagement.
Dr. Debra Mitchell Named Interim Executive Director of Operations
After a diligent and prayerful discernment process, Debra Mitchell has been named the Interim Executive Director of Operations for the Evangelical Covenant Church, effective July 1, 2022.
President John Wenrich Responds to Recent Tragedies
The recent events in Buffalo and Uvalde have prompted me to ask our Covenant family to mourn and lament with families who are grieving. As Covenanters, we respond with the love of Christ through prayer and constructive engagement.
Herb Frost Nominated as Executive Minister of Ordered Ministry and Develop Leaders
The Covenant Executive Board of the Evangelical Covenant Church and the Ordered Ministry and Develop Leaders Nominating Committee has selected Rev. Herb Frost as its nominee for the role of executive minister of Ordered Ministry and Develop Leaders.
Chief Operating Officer Shares Decision to Transition from Role
After much prayer and discernment, Rebecca Gonzalez has announced that she will transition from her role as executive director of Operations for the Evangelical Covenant Church.
Grace Shim Nominated as Executive Minister of Serve Globally
Grace Shim has been nominated for the role of executive minister of Serve Globally. Shim will stand for election at the denomination’s 136th Annual Meeting in June.
Podcast
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.
Women Are Called and Gifted
As a denomination, we voted to ordain women in ministry in 1976. In this episode, we talk with Evelyn Johnson, a woman of many firsts, including the first woman elected to lead a department at Covenant Offices within the budget and the first female superintendent. She shares her memories of those early years and her experiences serving in more than 40 years of ministry in the Covenant.
In Memoriam
Dr. Cislin Williams
Retired Covenant pastor Dr. Cislin Williams passed away in Miami, Florida, on May 18. She was 70.
Ruth Evelyn Elia
Ruth Evelyn Elia, wife of retired Covenant pastor and East Coast Conference superintendent George B. Elia, died May 22 at Windsor Skilled Nursing in South Yarmouth, Massachusetts. She was 90.
Violet Erickson
Violet (“Vi”) Erickson, widow of Covenant minister and former superintendent Robert Erickson, died April 26. She was 95.
Lynda A. Collins
Lynda A. Collins, wife of retired pastor Tom Collins, passed away in Madison, Wisconsin, on October 13, 2021. She was 76.
