To make a pledge for your 2021 contribution, email Susan Pendergrass at susan.pendergrass@covhsv.org or call 256-759-9492

Impossible! Life can feel impossible these days. There are so many challenges in our lives personally and collectively. But God has prepared us for this moment to face these challenges together. And with the right preparation, God can turn an impossible dream into a possible journey. You do NOT want to miss this sermon from Pastor Kling. There’s some surprises along the way!

In today’s sermon, Pastor Kling challenges you to take 45 minutes this week to sit down and make a projected family budget for the upcoming year. Here is a family budget worksheet to help you get started.

There are lots of resources online if you prefer to use something different – just use what works best for your family.

This begins a new sermon series called “The Impossible Dream” focusing on the life of Joseph in the book of Genesis as a way to consider our own financial future as a congregation. This 3-week series will prepare you to make your pledge for Covenant’s 2021 Budget.

• October 11^th – “Preparing the Dream” – God has prepared us and he has prepared you for this challenge. Spend time this week as a family looking at your family budget to prepare for a time of prayer.
• October 18^th – “Praying the Dream” – Everything we have (our families, our budgets, everything…) belongs to God. We are going to be praying as a whole church this week to ask what he would like us to contribute in 2021.
• October 25^th – “Pledging the Dream” – based on your preparation and prayer, make a formal commitment to your church home for your contribution in 2021 by calling Director of Finance and Administration Susan Pendergrass at 256-759-9492 or emailing her at susan.pendergra​ss@covhsv.org.

Our local neighborhood outreach project for last month was a huge success! Thank you to everyone who bought children’s books for Second Mile Preschool!

This month’s outreach connection focuses on the work of our denomination the PC(USA). This Sunday, October 11, Covenant will be taking up the Peace and Global Witness Offering. A gift to the Peace & Global Witness Offering enables the church to promote the Peace of Christ by addressing systems of conflict and injustice across the world. Individual congregations are encouraged to utilize up to 25% of this Offering to connect with the global witness of Christ’s peace. Presbyteries retain an additional 25% for ministries of peace and reconciliation. The remaining 50% is used by the Presbyterian Mission Agency to advocate for peace and justice in cultures of violence, including our own, through collaborative projects of education and Christian witness. Covenant will use the portion we retain to support the work of the Interfaith Mission Agency and to support a Peacemaker visit. You can click the button below to give on our website or you can write a check with the word “peacemaking” in the subject.

Don’t forget to come to the congregational meeting TODAY at 11AM in the sanctuary. You can also dial in using this info:

Regular Dial-in: 312 626 6799

Meeting ID: 864 3715 6714
Passcode: 755233

Many neighborhood prayer groups are continuing to meet in a front lawn near you. Check out the map below to see the neighborhood shepherds we currently have available. These shepherds are hosting the prayer groups in their front lawns one day a week. Even when you’re not able to meet in person, it is nice to know there is someone near you who cares. Now, more than ever, it’s good to know that when we can’t carry on, God’s family carries us.

If you look at the map below and you’re not sure which group you might fit in or you see that your neighborhood is currently marked as TBD please contact our Associate Pastor, Dave Hunsicker at david.hunsicker@covhsv.org. We are finalizing these groups and he would be delighted to assist you.

Neighborhood Group Discussion Guide

Set-Up:

Invite everyone to stand (or sit) in a circle in your front lawn with 6-ft distance between each family grouping. Families do not need to social distance but should remain socially distant from other family units. These meetings are intentionally designed to be brief—so you do not need to provide chairs or refreshments for the group.

Instructions:

1. “Welcome to the __________ neighborhood group. We are so excited to have you here with us. If you are joining us for the first time, let me describe the format to you:
   • “We will ask some questions each we to get to know each other better and to talk about the sermon series at church.”
   • “Then we will close by praying for each other and for our neighborhood”.
2. “Let’s start with an ice breaker question. Let’s go around the circle and each say:
   • our name,
   • and your favorite class in school growing up.
3. 15 seconds of silence
   • Pastor Kling talked about how God has prepared us through our past experiences to face the seemingly impossible challenges we’re facing. Take about 15 seconds and ask God to remind you of an experience from your life that has prepared you to face today with courage.
   • After 15 seconds, go around the circle and listen to examples from participants. It might be helpful if you’ve thought about your answer before this exercise so you can begin to give people more time.
4. This sermon series will be focused on making our pledges for the 2021 budget and we’re using Joseph in the Book of Genesis as an example to follow. He was able to make bold plans for God because of his careful financial management.
   • A key verse from the sermon was Genesis 39:6: “⁶ So Potiphar left everything he had in Joseph’s care; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate.”
   • The Hebrew in verse 6 says that Potiphar no longer “knew” anything himself. That’s because Joseph “knew” everything.
   • What made Joseph “know” so much? How had God prepared him?
   • How about our church – how has God prepared Covenant Presbyterian to face our challenges?
   • Allow free conversation at this point.
5. Closing Prayer:
   • “Let’s take another 15 seconds to listen to God. Ask God what you need to request prayer from the group for this week”
   • “Then, we’ll go around the circle and share our prayer requests.”
   • “Each of us will pray for the person/group on our left, so pay attention to their requests as they are shared.”
6. Close
   • “Thanks for being here. Please feel free to bring your friends and neighbors next time.”
   • Offer for folks to stick around a few minutes and chit-chat in accordance with what you are able/comfortable accommodating.

Worship Relaunch Information

We offer a small worship service at 10AM. Based on a congregational survey, we anticipate most folks to continue worshipping online – so we will continue to provide excellent worship resources and videos each Sunday for those at home. Together we are united in our commitment to one another and our commitment to Christ, whether worshipping in-person or online!

No reservation or permission is required to attend worship in the sanctuary. However, all participants must wear a mask (we will have some available for you!) and we request that you take your temperature and use the restroom before leaving your home.

The elders request that you make a careful and informed decision about the best way for you to worship in June. For those who intend to attend worship in person, please read the following guidelines carefully when making your decision.

Key Links

For your convenience, here are all the links you need to participate in today’s service!