NOTE FROM PASTOR J R FOR ALL SAINT SUNDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2022  At Covenant this Sunday nearest to November 1st, we will observe as “All Saints Sunday.”  Monday is “Halloween.”  In Old English, the word “Hallow” means “holy.” So, the evening before All Saints Day is “All Hallows Eve,” or as we know it “Halloween.”  Halloween has very strong...

NOTE FROM PASTOR J R FOR PINK SUNDAY,  OCTOBER 23, 2022           This Sunday is the 9th Sunday of Kingdomtide.  However, at Covenant we will observe it as “Pink Sunday” in observance of “Breast Cancer Awareness.”  Supporting Breast Cancer Awareness is personal with me, as it was the main contributor to my Mother, James Ella Reid Finney’s...

NOTE FROM PASTOR J R FOR SUNDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2022  This Sunday is the Eighth Sunday of Kingdomtide.  The assigned gospel reading is Jesus’ story at the beginning of Luke 18 of “The Parable of the Persistent Widow.”    Luke introduces Jesus’ telling of this story by saying, “One day Jesus told His disciples...

NOTE FROM PASTOR J R FOR SUNDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2022           This Sunday is the Seventh Sunday of Kingdomtide.  The assigned gospels text for Kingdomtide this year, all seem to only reenforce God’s extravagant love and grace for all people.  In the assigned text for this week, Jesus encounters...

NOTE FROM PASTOR J R SUNDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2022           This Sunday is World Communion Sunday.  It is observed each year on the first Sunday in October.  When it was originally started by Dr. Hugh Thompson Kery in 1930, it was designed to promote Christian unity.  And if Christians would “accept one another, as Christ...

NOTE FROM PASTOR J R FOR SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2022           This Sunday is the 5th Sunday of Kingdomtide.  The assigned text is from Luke 16, Jesus’ story of “Lazarus and The Rich Man.” In this familiar story, Lazarus was the rich man’s “neighbor in need.”  Lazarus lacked food to eat and the resources to even...

NOTE FROM PASTOR J R FOR SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2022           This Sunday is the 4th Sunday in Kingdomtide.  It is a bittersweet Sunday for me personally.  Bitter, because it would be my brother Larry’s 71st birthday.  Larry died in a trucking accident 21 months ago.  I still miss my two “check-in” calls each week.  Sweet, because it...

NOTE FROM PASTOR J R FOR SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2022 Today is the Third Sunday of Kingdomtide. As I shared earlier, the assigned scriptures for Kingdomtide speak to living out the 2nd of the 2 greatest commandments. We see it repeated in Luke through Jesus’ actions and teachings. In beginning...

NOTE FROM PASTOR J R FOR SUNDAY, AUGUST 28, 2022          This Sunday is the first Sunday of Kingdomtide, the newest liturgical season.   Scriptures during Kingdomtide emphasized living out the second greatest commandments.  In the assigned text from Hebrews 13, it emphasizes hospitality to strangers, remembering those in prison, as...

NOTE FROM PASTOR J R FOR SUNDAY, AUGUST 21, 2021  This Sunday is the Eleventh Sunday After Pentecost.  The assigned texts from Jeremiah and Luke speak to the importance of touch, God’s touch.  Any healing touch we receive from another person is God’s touch.  The person doing it is simply...