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.
Covenant Youth Assembled to UNITE
In place of a national event, hundreds of teens attend five regional gatherings for fun, worship, and transformation.
Covenanters Collaborate with Neighbors to Reduce Gun Violence
According to their preliminary estimates, shootings in the neighborhood have dropped by 60 percent.
Bridging Divides through Medical Partnership
Sometimes a good idea for a ministry just isn’t enough. There are times when trusting God means waiting for the right timing and the right partnerships.
Covenant Youth Now Gathering for Unite Events
Covenant youth across the U.S. and Canada are gathering at five different conference-level youth events, patterned after the larger triennial national Covenant youth event known as Unite (formerly CHIC).
Women in Leadership Awards Presented to Three Covenant Pastors
The Women in Leadership awards were presented at the annual meeting of the ministerium on June 22, 2022, in Kansas City, Missouri.
Features
Moving through Crises with Collaboration, Conflict, and Curiosity
How Bethany Covenant Church in DuBois, Pennsylvania, finds new solutions to difficult decisions.
Innovation and New Wineskins
This article is part of a series exploring how Covenant leaders are facing disruption through innovation and creativity highlighting the ministry of Shalom Covenant Church in Des Moines, Iowa.
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.
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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
Learning to See Jesus
Learning from Jesus’s parable of the sheep and the goats to see people at the margins.
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.
Arts & Culture
When Choices Remain, Who Ya Gonna Call?
A prequel to Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul depicts the journey of an amoral criminal attorney for a Mexican drug cartel. The New Testament tells us about another Saul whose life was turned upside down—this time, for the better.
What God Put Together, Let No One Separate
As beings in God’s image, we are made to exist in community.
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
On June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court announced its decision to overturn the 1976 Roe v. Wade decision. As we recognize the impact of this decision for this country, let us continue to embody God’s love and grace in the midst of our broken world.
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
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
Arnold Bolin
Arnold Richard Bolin died July 2, 2022, in Northbrook, Illinois, on his 68th wedding anniversary. He was 93.
Walter Persson
Walter Persson, retired mission director of the Mission Covenant Church of Sweden (SMF), died on Pentecost, June 5, 2022.
Daniel Edwards
Covenant pastor Daniel Edwards died June 18. He was 69.
James Schwalm
James Werner Schwalm died May 14, 2022, in Rockford, Illinois. He was 76.
