Stories & News
The Covenant Companion
Official Magazine of the Evangelical Covenant Church
News
Top Honors for Companion
The Covenant Companion was recognized as the best denominational magazine for content published in 2021 by the Evangelical Press Association (EPA)
Getting to Know the New PSWC Superintendent: A Q&A with Bryan Murphy
The Companion sat down with Bryan Murphy over Zoom to ask about his call to ministry and what he has learned about the church. He was elected superintendent of the Pacific Southwest Conference at their annual meeting last month.
Getting to Know the New NWC Superintendent: A Q&A with Kara Stromberg
The Companion had a virtual sit-down with newly elected Northwest Conference superintendent Kara Stromberg to talk about her ministry history and where she senses the church is headed.
Getting to Know the Nominees: Q&A with Herb Frost
Recently the Companion asked Herb Frost about his call to ministry and what he has learned serving the church. Frost is the nominee to be the next executive minister of Ordered Ministry and Develop Leaders. He will stand for election at Gather in June.
Getting to Know the Nominees: Q&A with Grace Shim
Grace Shim has been nominated to become the next executive minister of Serve Globally. She will stand for election at the Annual Meeting in June. A therapist, she began serving as global personnel with the Covenant in 2003 and now serves as regional coordinator of Asia for Serve Globally.
Getting to Know the Nominees: Q&A with Tammy Swanson-Draheim
Recently the Companion sat down with Tammy Swanson-Draheim over Zoom to ask her about how she became Covenant, her call to ministry, and what she has learned about the church.
Featured story
From CHIC to Unite and Beyond
The Companion sat down with Tim Ciccone to talk about the history and future of this long-running youth event.
Features
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.
Building More Than a Home
How a rural community came together to offer hope to families experiencing housing instability.
Being Asian Is Not Enough: A Reflection on AAPI Month
Ordained Covenant pastor Sherin Swift talks about the complexities of the labels we place on others.
Asian American History Is American History
Honoring Asian American Pacific Islander heritage, accomplishments, and contributions to this nation.
From CHIC to Unite and Beyond
The Companion sat down with Tim Ciccone to talk about the history and future of this long-running youth event.
Food Donations from an Unlikely Source
Debbie Montzingo, pastor of Bethany Covenant Church in Lyndhurst, Ohio, experienced a well of generosity for her church’s food pantry.
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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
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.
In Some Incremental Way
The mere act of telling and hearing our stories is as important as their content. It opens us to our oneness in Christ.
Trade in Your Certainty for Something Better
Three hip-hop cautionary tales illuminate the value of curiosity, accountability, and humility.
Arts & Culture
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.
Why Worry?
An interview with Mark Knight, pastor of Praise Covenant Church in Tacoma, Washington, on his new book, The Non-Anxious Church
Lesson Unlearned
Rachel Joy Welcher’s new book reviews purity culture through the lens of Scripture to gain a better understanding of the purity movement and help frame healthier conversations.
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
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.
Call to Prayer and Fasting for Ukraine – Sunday, March 20
We invite churches and individuals across the Covenant to join in prayer for peace, protection, and relief for those who are suffering.
Northwest Conference Search Committee Nominates Kara Stromberg to Be Superintendent
The Northwest Conference Superintendent Search Committee announced that the Rev. Kara Stromberg will stand as the nominee to succeed the Rev. Mark Stromberg as the Northwest Conference superintendent.
Bryan Murphy Nominated to Serve as PSWC Superintendent
Rev. Bryan Murphy has accepted the nomination to serve as the next superintendent of the Pacific Southwest Conference
Podcast
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.
Who Were the Moravians (And How Did They Influence the Covenant)?
Covenant pastor and historian Jonathan Wilson shares an overview of Moravianism and how this movement impacted the Covenant. And Sally Carlson, associate pastor of Shoreline Covenant Church, tells us how she became Covenant and why she loves the Cov.
We Are Indigenous Mission Friends
Curtis Ivanoff talks about our long history in Alaska, where the Covenant has been engaged since our very earliest days when the church in Sweden sent people to share the gospel of Jesus. It’s a complicated story that Curtis engages with compassion and generosity as he unpacks our identity as Indigenous Mission Friends.
In Memoriam
Lynda A. Collins
Lynda A. Collins, wife of retired pastor Tom Collins, passed away in Madison, Wisconsin, on October 13, 2021. She was 76.
Richard Lucco
Longtime Covenant pastor and leader Richard Lucco died Tuesday, May 17, one day shy of his 71st birthday. He helped guide the Covenant as a local, conference, and denominational leader who was known for his compassion as well as his Hawaiian shirts and his passion for the St. Louis Cardinals.
Nyawuor “Sunday” Chuol
Nyawuor “Sunday” Chuol, daughter of Covenant global personnel James Chuol Tang of Mankato, Minnesota, passed away in April. She was 30.
Ignatius “Naas” Tredoux
Covenant pastor Ignatius “Naas” Tredoux died in Portland, Oregon, on April 23, after a 17-month bout with aggressive cancer. He was 52.
