Covenant Presbyterian Church 2001 North Coalter Street Staunton, VA 24401

NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION

U.S. POSTAGE PAID

PERMIT #188

STAUNTON, VA 24401

Visit Covenant on the web: www.covenantpresstaunton.org

Striving to be Faithful Disciples of Christ: Worshiping with Joy, Growing in Faith, Serving in Love

RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

Looking for a new study opportunity?

Consider these possibilities being offered on Sunday mornings from 9:30AM-10:15AM through May 22nd:

Adult II is reading and discussing The Prodigal God by Timothy Keller which “uncovers

the essential message of Jesus, locked inside his most familiar parable. Within that parable Jesus reveals God’s prodigal grace toward both the irreligious and the moralistic. His book will challenge both the devout and skeptics to see Christianity in a whole new way.”

Current Events with a Christian Perspective is reading and discussing

How to Read the Bible and Still Be a Christian by John Dominic Crossan which “grapples with Scripture’s conflicting visions of Jesus and God – at times depicting a loving God, and at other times a vengeful God.”

Questions Class will tackle a new question of faith and faithfulness each week and

share perspectives, challenges, and new questions that arise along the way on our journeys of faith.

CONNECTION OVENANT

2001 Nor th Coa l te r S t reet , S ta un ton , V i rg in ia 24401

April 17, 2017

From the Pastor’s Desk . . .

The Lord is risen! He is risen indeed! With those words early Christians greeted one another

as heralds of the good news of Easter. We continue that tradition each week in choosing to worship, not on the Sabbath (the 7th day of the week,) but on the day of resurrection (the 1st day of the week). Each Sunday is thus a renewed celebration of the good news of Jesus’ resurrection to which we bear witness as his worshiping disciples. Yet, the throngs that fill the pews on Easter Sunday are often strangely absent just one week later. It is as if the good news of Easter were, like so many University of Kentucky basketball players, “one and done.” Our Christian faith is not a “one and done” religion; the good news of resurrection is not the peculiar province of Easter Sunday and occasional funeral services. It is good news throughout the year, a promised reality that gives us hope with which to live each day. It is a promise that frees us from the fear of death and thus opens new possibilities for living fear-free. In an age when fears and anxieties within our nation and world seem to be omnipresent and increasing, Jesus’ resurrection offers a faithful response that rejects the doom and gloom and dire forecasts with a strong declaration:

with God ALL things are possible! Do not

leave the alleluias behind in these coming weeks! Hold on to the hope that Easter offers, and so live – and worship – with less paralyzing fear and with more confident joy! For the Lord is risen! He is risen indeed!

540-885-2138 ~ www.covenantpresstaunton.org

~PLEASE KEEP IN YOUR PRAYERS~

Page 2 April 17, 2017

. Clarice Allen Sylvia Gibbs David Henderson Abby Kiracofe Lew & Margaret Lewis Elizabeth & Jim Painter Rob Wade

Jason Abraham (Sarah Brodie’s cousin) Harriet Arnold (Ruth Arnold’s mother) Kristen Barner (friend of Marney Gibbs) Heather Bright (Kay King’s family member) Kenny Cales (friend of Betty, Cody, Terry Huffman) Peggy Coffey (Dean Coffey’s sister-in-law) Shirley Crawford (friend of Bill Lobb) Sarah Dwyer (friend of Marney Gibbs) Debbie Feeks (friend of Jane Wimmer) Velma Hardy (Shirley Worrell’s sister-in-law) Brenda Hites (Bob Worrell’s sister) Roger Huffman (friend of Bill Lobb) Renee Hummell (friend of Dawn Davis) Mary Carlee Jones (Bobbye Kimbrough’s mother) Linda Keiffer (Bonnie Powell’s cousin)

Kelsey Kurtz (Conrad & Jo Ann Kurtz’s granddaughter) Chip Lilly (In Military Service Overseas) Mary Mellinger (Janie Ballurio’s mother) Shane Middleton (Bobbye D’Orsi’s grandson) David Moore (Betty Hull’s son-in-law) Peter Mutascio (Jerry Lynn Shipplett’s nephew) Maxine Nutty (Betty Huffman’s sister) Mimi Ohrberg (sister of Carrie Darracott) Carolyn Pirkey (friend of Tammy McCray) Kim Powell (Bonnie Powell’s daughter-in-law) Peggy Puffenberger (friend of Karen Hanna) Jessica Stepp (friend of Peggy & Thom Jennings) Sally Toner (friend of Janet Surratt) Kathleen Tosco (friend of Ron Ramsey)

EMU Offerings ~

Interested in creating positive social change in your community? Whether you are a pastor, lay leader, congregational member, or church elder, the Summer Peacebuilding Institute can help you gain the skills to help your church help its community. Over 20 courses in leadership, trauma awareness, restorative justice, dignity, and peace education are offered each year in May and June at Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg. For more information about courses and costs, visit www.emu.edu/spi.

Please remember to fill the red buckets

for those in need.

COVENANT CONNECTION

What’s Happening @ Covenant:

Wednesday, April 19th -

Trinity Noon Lunch Program (10 am) High School Coffeehouse @ Blue Mountain Coffee (3:45 pm) C APNC (7 pm) Thursday, April 20th -

Verona Community Food Pantry (9 am) Trinity Noon Lunch Program (10 am) Covenant Ringers Rehearse (5:45 pm) Adult Choir Rehearsal (7 pm) Sunday, April 23rd —

Blended Worship (8:30 am) Alpha Choir Practice (9:10 am) Fellowship in the Breezeway (9:15 am) Sunday School (9:30 am) T Traditional Worship with Omega Choir (10:30 am)

S Open Gym (2 pm) STATED SESSION MEETING (7 pm) Monday, April 24th -

Bible Study (10:30 am) Wednesday, April 26th -

High School Coffeehouse @ Blue Mountain Coffee (3:45 pm) Thursday, April 27th -

Verona Community Food Pantry (9 am) Covenant Ringers Rehearse (5:45 pm) Adult Choir Rehearsal (7 pm) Sunday, April 30th — 4 Cents a Meal Collection

Blended Worship (8:30 am) Alpha Choir Practice (9:10 am) Fellowship in the Breezeway (9:15 am) Sunday School (9:30 am) T Traditional Worship (10:30 am)

Children’s & YOUth’s Sunday School Teachers’ L Luncheon and Curriculum Review (Noon) S Omega Choir Practice (Noon) 5th Sunday Event - Bowling (3 pm)

Monday, May 1st -

Bible Study (10:30 am) Congregational Care Team (5:30 pm) Facilities Management Team (7 pm) Worship Team (7:15 pm) Wednesday, May 3rd -

High School Coffeehouse @ Blue Mountain Coffee (3:45 pm) Thursday, May 4th - Verona Community Food Pantry (9 am) Trinity Noon Lunch Program (10 am) Covenant Ringers Rehearse (5:45 pm) Adult Choir Rehearsal (7 pm) Sunday, May 7th — Debt Offering

Peanut Butter Sunday Presbyterian Coffee Project

Blended Worship (8:30 am) Alpha Choir Practice (9:10 am) Fellowship in the Breezeway (9:15 am) Sunday School (9:30 am) T Traditional Worship (10:30 am)

S Christian Education Team (Noon) Fellowship Team (Noon) Omega Choir Practice (Noon) Outreach Team (Noon) Monday, May 8th -

Bible Study (10:30 am) Tuesday, May 9th — Presbytery Meets @ Mount Olive

Preschool Team (5 pm) Presbyterian Women’s Birthday Dinner (5:30 pm) Wednesday, May 10th -

High School Coffeehouse @ Blue Mountain Coffee (3:45 pm)

Page 11

Next newsletter deadline: 9AM, Friday, April 28th

Newsletter submissions may be placed in Sharlene’s box or sent to solutions@rockbridge.net

Page 10 April 17, 2017

COVENANT CONNECTION Page 3

OF SERVICE APRIL 30TH

Greeters Joan & John Sayers (8:30AM)

Dave & Jane Maxton Bill & Sherry Woodland (10:30AM)

Nursery Hugger & Helper Dan Drumheller

Godly Play Peggy & Thom Jennings and Danni Sommerfield

(The Good Shepherd and the Wolf)

APRIL 23RD

Greeters Janice Rockwell (8:30AM)

Bobbye D’Orsi Bob & Mary Ann Stripling (10:30AM)

Nursery Hugger & Helper Grace Melvin

Godly Play Jessica Herr and Julia Bussey

(Jesus is Risen: The Road to Emmaus)

APRIL Communion Preparation:

Janice Rockwell (8:30); C.K. & Susan Polly (10:30) Counters:

Lee Clark and Kris Rupert (4/23); Kris Rupert (4/30) Flower Coordinator: Susan Polly (292-2837)

Ushers: Dan Drumheller, Sam Hostetter, Dave Melvin, and Linda Petzke

Ethiopian Mission Partnership Banquet ~

The Ethiopian Mission Partnership invites you to their banquet celebrating the 28th anniversary of the partnership between Shenandoah Presbytery PC(USA) and Illubabor Bethel Synod, Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus. The event will be held on Friday, May 12th at Covenant: 5:30PM Registration, 6:30PM Banquet, and 7:30PM Guest Speakers. For more information and to RSVP contact bandcgil@mgwnet.com

Update: Special Offering to Retire the Debt ~

With less than a month to go before our target of May 7th to retire the debt arising from our last building campaign, we are pleased to report that the outstanding balance has been reduced from $27,000 to $23,000. Thanks to all those who have already made contributions toward this special offering. Special Offering envelopes are now in the pews for your use should you so desire. Together we can eliminate this debt by May 7th and thus free up dollars for other ministries of the church! ~ Stewardship & Finance Team

Page 4 April 17, 2017

Come Help Celebrate PW’s Birthday ~

All women of the church are members of PW and therefore are invited to the annual

PW birthday dinner on May 9th at 5:30PM in the Great Hall. You can sign up to

attend the dinner on April 23rd and April 30th in the Narthex before and after Sunday

services. We will have a potluck salad dinner. A birthday cake will be provided by the

Circle. Make sure you come so you can have lots of fun deciding who is who in the

baby pictures. If you haven’t submitted your baby/young child picture please do so

IMMEDIATELY by putting your name on the picture, placing it in an envelope to

Ellen Mullins attention, and place it in the PW mailbox in the church office. We need

the pictures ahead of time to create the display and the game. If you have any

questions please call Jane Wimmer, 540-255-4549.

Preschool News ~ Preschool Assistant Teacher - We are looking for a qualified and motivated Preschool Assistant Teacher who has a great love and patience for children. This is a part time position which will require approximately 18-20 hours per week, mostly in the mornings/mid-day with occasional evening hours. Experience with young children is required. Please send resume to Covenant Presbyterian Church at 2001 North Coalter Street, Staunton, VA 24401. Resumes will be accepted for review on or before June 1, 2017.

Registration - Covenant Developmental Preschool's 3-year-old and 4-year-old classes are full in the 2017-2018 school year. There are still spots available for 2-year-old students so don't delay! See our website or stop by our office to register. Scholarships are available.

Highland Augusta Mission Community Quarterly Dinner Meeting ~ Join the HAMC for their Quarterly Dinner Meeting on Thursday, May 11th @ 6PM at Second Presbyterian Church in Staunton. Please use the Lewis Street entrance.

Rev. Tariku, Rev. Amena and possibly Rev. Getachew from Ethiopia will attend as our guests. Following dinner Pam Snyder, member of Second Presbyterian Staunton, will conduct a working seminar on disaster preparedness planning.

This is a great opportunity to meet with ministers from our partnership with Ethiopia and to receive hands-on training to start a disaster preparedness plan for your church.

COVENANT CONNECTION Page 9

DINNER GROUP SIGN-UP or

brucehemp@gmail.com

no later than Sunday, May 7th.

Page 8 April 17, 2017

Teaching children to

Worship with Joy, Grow in Faith,

and Serve in Love

Curriculum Discussion and Appreciation Luncheon

Great Hall, April 30th (following the 10:30 service)

Covenant is so blessed to have expansive children and youth ministries.

As our Sunday school teachers, you are facilitating the growth of future generations of

the church. You are cultivating hearts and minds that will live out the call of our

congregation and the church at large in the world long after we are gone.

We want you to know how appreciated you are.

We want you to take hold of this responsibility as not just a weekly commitment

for one hour, but as a calling. Our children learn by example.

When they see you worship with joy, grow in faith, and serve in love

– they learn to do these things too.

The Christian Education Team wants to support you in this call. We want to provide

you with resources that are helpful in terms of theology, information, and engagement

strategies. While the CE Team can choose the curriculum that we see fit, we aren’t the

ones using it every week. We want your input! We want to know that the resources we

are choosing are the ones that you want. So come let us appreciate you with a luncheon

while we work together to decide on a curriculum for next year for children and youth

Sunday school classes. Present and future teachers are invited; we need the input from

teachers who have been teaching as well as those who will be teaching. We will meet in

the Great Hall on April 30th following the 10:30 worship service.

Please reply to Sharlene Wade at 540-241-1599 or email solutions@rockbridge.net to

RSVP for this event by Sunday, April 23rd.

COVENANT CONNECTION Page 5

Salad Luncheon~

Third Presbyterian Church invites you to a Salad Luncheon on Friday, April 28th from 10:30AM - 2PM at 1313 Barterbrook Road, Staunton. There will be over 15 different, homemade salads available. The cost is $12 per person and includes a beverage.

Renewing Homes ~

The next Renewing Homes project work day is scheduled for June 17th. If you’d like to participate, please call or email Rick Fauerbach at 421-4527 or rickfauerbach@gmail.com.

MAY

BIRTHDAYS May 1 - Emma Diduch Melissa Druff Henry Melvin Sharlene Wade

May 4 - Cliff Gilchrest

May 5 - Megan Grantier Chase Martin Rick Wills

May 7 - Kathy Henderson Mandi Smith

May 9 - Marney Gibbs

May 10 - Janet Guynn

May 13 - Melissa Harmon

May 15 - Mason Lawson Mithat Ljubovic

May 16 - Megan Padfield Hannah Rose Jeff Ryman

May 17 - Will Lobb

May 19 - David Didawick Chloe Mills

May 20 - Phoebe Dean Emma Hostetter Janey Terry John Todd

May 21 - Jayden Beasley Doady Didawick

May 22 - Eddie Sheets Don Whiteman

May 23 - Carrie Darracott May Gardner Brandan Sommerfield

May 24 - Debbie Melvin Faith Whitacre

May 25 - Julia Bussey

May 26 - Daniel Fessier Ron Ramsey

May 28 - Rebecca Bussey Bridget Kane

May 29 - Betty Hull Quinlyn Padfield

May 31 - Jerry Lynn Shipplett Bebe Wills

CHILDREN’S SUNDAY ‘17 MAY 21st

ONE WORSHIP SERVICE AT 10:30AM

Page 6 April 17, 2017

Stewardship & Finance Report ~

General Fund ending March, 2017 CURRENT YEAR TO DATE BUDGET LAST YEAR, YTD

CONTRIBUTIONS 52,065 136,228 520,000 128,286

OTHER RECEIPTS 28 4,729 0 5,381

TOTAL RECEIPTS 52,093 140,957 520,000 133,667

EXPENSES

OUTREACH 3,086 9,257 68,500 10,025

PERSONNEL 22,508 69,882 316,000 72,111

FACILITIES MANAGEMENT 6,837 28,398 108,500 30,519

CHRISTIAN EDUCATION 189 901 9,500 1,882

FELLOWSHIP 87 548 2,900 282

STEWARDSHIP & FINANCE 335 861 6,000 2,350

CONGREGATIONAL CARE 0 74 2,500 0

WORSHIP 720 1,698 6,100 1,891

TOTAL EXPENSES 33,762 111,619 520,000 119,060

]

NET INCOME 18,331 29,338 0 14,607

COVENANT CONNECTION Page 7