Stories & News
The Covenant Companion
Official Magazine of the Evangelical Covenant Church
News
Ministering Love and Acceptance to Curly Girls
Covenanters Christina and Alex Smith see their hair care business as a new ministry frontier.
Florida Church Sustains Devastating Loss in Early Morning Fire
On Wednesday, March 15 the building used by the Evangelical Covenant Church of Bay Indies (ECCBI) in Venice, Florida, caught fire and burned completely to the ground.
Radiant Covenant in Seattle Hosts Faith & Race Conference
Pastor Mike Thomas sees the conference as an opportunity to invite others into conversations his church is having about the call to justice in discipleship and formation.
We Don’t Shy Away from Big Questions
Highrock Church in Massachusetts is hosting honest, courageous conversations on American evangelicalism.
Midwinter 2023: Drawing Near to God and Each Other
After a challenging 2022, the Covenant church community started off 2023 in illustrious fashion as folks gathered for another Midwinter conference.
A Full Cup
Embrace Church in Kirkwood, Missouri, partners with a local coffee shop and the special needs program at their local high school to move ministry outside their own walls.
Featured story
Listening to Eloheh
Love Mercy Do Justice is partnering with Indigenous leaders to create an immersive learning experience that explores our relationship to harmony, wholeness, and abundance.
Features
The Powerful Witness of Oneness
The oneness Christ desires for us is not something we create or try to make happen – it is a gift.
Sent: The Ongoing, Adventurous, Circuitous Call
Following her retirement from a high-stress job, Sharon Davis finds herself serving at “the ends of the world.”
The Beat, the Blood, and the Blessing: Part Two
Gospel has always played a crucial role in the soundtrack of the struggle. Missional storyteller Jelani Greenidge traces his musical history through six decades of sacred music. Part 2: The 90’s – Today.
The Beat, the Blood, and the Blessing: Part One
Gospel has always played a crucial role in the soundtrack of the struggle. Missional storyteller Jelani Greenidge traces his musical history through six decades of sacred music. Part 1: The ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s.
Dance of the Iron Heart
Global personnel Tammi and Jochy Hernández balance artistry, mission work, and family life to reach those who feel on the outside of the traditional church.
Listening to Eloheh
Love Mercy Do Justice is partnering with Indigenous leaders to create an immersive learning experience that explores our relationship to harmony, wholeness, and abundance.
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Featured story
Commentary
Let’s Love Each Other Like the Trees
Are we really committed to the Apostle Paul’s vision of the body of Christ?
Our Most Critical Need
President Tammy Swanson-Draheim calls us to the collective, collaborative work of praying together.
Arts & Culture
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
State of the Church
Lifelong Covenanter Kurt Peterson reviews Reorganized Religion: The Reshaping of the American Church and Why It Matters by Bob Smietana.
As You Age
Ryan Eikenbary-Barber reviews Man Overboard: A Medical Lifeline for the Aging Male by Craig Bowron, M.D.
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
Angela Yee to Transition Out of Current Role
After much prayer and discernment, Angela Yee, the Covenant’s chief ministry officer/executive director of ministry development, has announced her plan to transition from her role, effective October 1, 2023.
Ministerium President Taylor Burgoyne Steps Down
Taylor Burgoyne announced his decision to resign his role as president as he moves into a new pastoral call.
Seeking TW Anderson Award Nominees
The award is named in honor of the only lay president to serve the Evangelical Covenant Church. It is presented during each year’s Annual Meeting and honors a layperson who has demonstrated a life of commitment and dedication to Christ and the church.
MDD Nominating Committee Pauses Executive Minister Search
The Make & Deepen Disciples Nominating Committee moves to pause the search process for the MDD executive minister until after the 2023 Annual Meeting, in order to allow time to discern a new staffing structure.
President’s Letter to Church Annual Meetings
Local Covenant churches may download the Congregational Annual Meeting Letter from President Tammy Swanson-Draheim.
Presidential Search Committee Appointed for Covenant Trust Company
The Board of Covenant Trust Company has appointed Scott Hanson, vice president of Finance for Covenant Ministries of Benevolence, to chair the search committee for the replacement of Ann Wiesbrock, president of Covenant Trust Company.
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.
In Memoriam
Joel Jueckstock
Ordained Covenant chaplain Joel Jueckstock passed away from cancer in St. Paul, Minnesota, on March 2, 2023. He was 40.
Leslie B. Pearson
Retired Covenant pastor Leslie B. Pearson died February 14, 2023, in Rochester, Minnesota. He was 92.
J. David Wood
Retired Covenant missionary and pastor J. David Wood died February 14. He was 93.
Connie McCain
Connie McCain, wife of retired Covenant pastor Mike McCain, died on December 22, 2022. She was 70.
Dancing in the Dust
Struggling to find my way into Lent.