From the Pastor’s Pen
The tornado took out the trees and the sign, but Covenant’s response was equally strong. You, the people of Covenant, are to be commended for the overwhelmingly positive response to the challenge. You have more than compensated for our cleanup. Of course the sign is still before us, so any additional funds will go toward its replacement. Henry Polslon has accepted responsibility for researching an up-to-date, informative, and attractive sign. Session will ultimately bring us recommendations. The sign will both be in good taste and meet city code requirements. An old saying I picked up somewhere in my Baptist background has proven true here: “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.”
Other commitments have been made by members of our church family. They include filling the huge hole made in the parking lot during the storm, painting the trim on our building, and repairing the steel stairway. Getting these things behind us will facilitate our concentrating more heavily upon our most important business—the people business. Accompanying our new sign will be our website address, encouraging people to check us out online. Several churches have testified of the value of having an informative and attractive website. Seems to me that websites are putting the traditional yellow pages in retreat: at least, the book has gotten noticeably thinner.
Your are aware that we are making a continuing effort to see that our worship services enhance and enrich our relationship with our Heavenly Father and our effectiveness as his disciples. During the season of Lent, some of my messages will focus upon this discipline in view of our Lord’s death and resurrection. I will always appreciate your prayers and helpful comments. One of the things we’ve done has been to restore the quiet, prayerful meditation time before the chiming of the hour. That should take place about five minutes of eleven and will consist of meaningful, worship enhancing music. Following announcements, we’ll take only a few, brief moments to pass the peace of Christ to those nearest us, but not to catch up on Aunt Bee’s cobbler recipe or uncle Joe’s health issues. I’m confident you get the point.
It has always been important to me to both begin and end morning worship on time, allowing, of course, for infrequent exceptions. We are open to the moving of the Spirit. Anyhow, when morning worship has ended, it’s always a good sign of a healthy congregation to linger awhile and enjoy fellowship with one another. Time for recipes and catching up with one another. Ah, you know what I mean!
Again, I count it a privilege to serve as you pastor here at Covenant. Jim Jackson
Upcoming Events
Meetings
- Session Meeting: March session meeting will be held on March 22nd following the 4th Sunday Lunch.
Keenagers
For March Keenagers are going to participate in other happenings around church such as Wednesday Food & Fellowship, Women’s Fellowship Lunch and Small Group.
Anyone with an idea for an activity for the month of April please let Ann Cole know and she will assist in getting it coordinated.
Women’s Fellowship Lunch
All women of the church are invited to meet at Fuddruckers for lunch and fellowship time.
When: March 12th, 12:00pm
Where: Little Pigs BBQ
840 S. Pine Street
Spartanburg, SC 29302
Prayer Group
The group meets on Wednesday evenings from 5:30-6:30 to share prayer concerns and celebrations and pray for individuals and ministries in the life of Trinity. Prayer requests may be emailed to Connie Travaille at connie@travaille.email
All are invited to attend.
Soup Kitchen
All of Covenant is asked to help with missions at Spartanburg Soup Kitchen. Need people willing to give a few hours on Saturday morning to help prepare ingredients, wash dishes and serve to those needing a meal.
Covenant has committed to prepare and serve the first Saturday of each month.
March 7th — 9:00 am
First Saturday’s can sneak up on you so also add April 4th to you calendar now!
Wednesday Food & Fellowship
Everyone is invited to Wednesday Food & Fellowship on the second Wednesday of the month. Dinner and dessert will be served. A $4.00 person donation is requested.
March 11th, 6pm
Invite a neighbor or friend!!
Fourth Sunday Luncheon
March 22nd
Fourth Sunday covered dish luncheon will be March 22nd after worship in the Fellowship Hall. Please bring your favorite dish to share!
Small Group
Covenant’s Small Group will meet Sunday, March 8th at 5:00 p.m. at the home of Anne and Paul McChesney at 314 Holly Drive.
All are welcome!!
Join us for an evening of food, fellowship, and thoughtful conversation.
Article—The 5 Main Ways People Find Your Church
The 5 Main Ways People Find Your Church, blog post written by Ryan Nelson, March 24th, 2017, https://blog.faithlife.com/blog/2017/03/how-people-find-church/
In this blog the 5 ways are:
- Church Websites: When people decide it’s time to start “going to church,” they’re going to ask Google about the churches near them.
- Community events: Community events and service projects give your staff, volunteers, and members an opportunity to grow personally, but they also provide a great way for people to discover your church.
- Word-of-mouth: A personal invitation from a friend or family member is one of the best ways for a new person to discover your church
- Social Media: It takes work to grow your online community and keep it active, but with a few hours per week, you can keep your congregation more engaged and give them a frictionless way to share what’s happening in your church.
- Location: A good location lets you display the name of your church, service times, and a friendly welcome message for your community to see.
We have #5 since the church is located on one of the busiest roads in Spartanburg so now it is time for us to work on the other 4 ways. Paul McChessney will be taking the lead on #1 and getting the church website updated and determining the best process in keeping it updated. Please check out the current site www.convenant-church spartanburg.com. If you have any suggestions for improvements or additional content such as pictures or events please share those with Paul at the.mcchesneys@gmail.com
Announcements
Ushers This Month
- Mar 1: Callaway Alford, Henry Polston, Terry Terawaki
- Mar 8: Cynthia Bridges, Jim Fraley
- Mar 15: Bob McMichael, Carole Sanders, Jim Bleiler
- Mar 22: Russ Sanders, Nancy Biggerstaff
- Mar 29: Callaway Alford, Henry Polston, Terry Terawaki
- Apr 5: Cynthia Bridges, Jim Fraley
Sermons This Month
- 1/1: The Lord’s Supper, Luke 22:7-23
- 1/8: On Talking To Yourself, Luke 15:17
- 1/15: Sober and Sane: A Shame, Acts 2:15, 26:25
- 1/22: Don’t Vacate Crete, Titus 1
- 1/29: Pulpit supply by Dr. Kyle Keefer. Dr. and Mrs Jackson celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary.
Around the Church…
Check out our new bulletin board in the hallway beside Edwards Hall! If your photo was not taken for some reason and you would like your “Fabulous Face” added to this display of our Covenant Family, please contact Anne or Paul McChesney
The World Day of Prayer
Church Women United
invite you to join us for
The World Day of Prayer
a worship service of
- Scripture
- Praise
- Reflection
- Confession
- And Prayer
Friday, March 6, 2020 10:00-11:00 AM
Epiphany Episcopal Church
121 Ermest L Collins Ave
Spartanburg, 29301
Note: there will be NO LUNCH following the service
Please bring a non-perishable item of food that you love so we can fill a food pantry
Food Pantry
Covenant’s pantry is open once a month for those in need to come to the church and receive staple food items and clothing. The pantry needs to be replenished with more non-perishable food items and men’s clothing (please, no items requiring dry cleaning).
Pantry will be open on Wednesday, March 25th from 11:00am—3:00pm
Birthdays this Month
- March 4: Paul McChesney
- March 6: Charles Darling
- March 16: Connie Travaille
- March 29: Sandra McKinney
Prayer Requests
- Amy Fraley
- Kathryn Clark
- Jay Jeter
- David and Catherine Dedmon
- Charles and Miriam Turner
- Rev Charles Hall (Eddie Hall’s father)
- Those serving in the military at home and abroad
- Chip Cecil (Ronnie Meek’s friend)
- June Garren (Cathy Baldwin’s mother)
- Jeff Phillips (Cynthia Bridges’ brother)
- Therlon Joyner
- Jim Lowery (Cathy Baldwin’s friend)
- Zeverly Glenn (Daycare Director)
If you have something you would like to include in future newsletters please pass along to church office covenantspartanburg@gmail.com.