Last week, our Covenant Weekly reflected on our efforts to live as a diverse family of God.

Today . . . I'd like us to consider some of the basic realities of being a family. It is one thing to say we are family. It is another to live as a healthy one. Particularly, I'd like to remind us of two things that help a family - and members of the family - to really thrive.

The first is spending time together. Growing up, I remember every evening at almost the same time, our phone would ring. We all knew who it was. It was my grandmother calling to talk to my mom. Despite the distance between them, that time together on the phone helped them stay connected and helped each of them stay strong.

When Jesus established his church, he didn't just call people into a relationship with him. That relationship was designed to be lived out in a relationship with other people. And that involves actually spending time together. At Covenant Church, we meet in two services. That alone makes it a challenge as we don't always see each other. That makes some of the other events we have - when we can all be together - that much more important.

One such event is this coming Sunday evening. Darin Martin is coming as a guest on Sunday morning and will be putting on a concert in the evening (6 pm). Attendance is by donation and everyone is invited to bring some kind of snack to share with others. Through song, story, and snacks we have an opportunity to gather together and grow as members of a family!

A second element of being healthy as a family is serving. If one or two people do everything for the whole family, the family and its members won't be healthy. Some will get worn out and weary. Others develop postures of expectation and entitlement. This is why children are increasingly asked to take on responsibility in homes as they grow older. It is about learning to be healthy members of a family.

At Covenant, we are so blessed that so many family members are already serving. But there are a few areas of service we would like to invite people to consider. These service areas aren't public positions. They are opportunities to help our family grow stronger by doing important background things which will be a blessing to the community.

  1. Sunday Morning Coffee/Tea Preparation & Clean-up - This is by no means a necessary reality for a church to function. But having coffee and tea available as people arrive helps to create a sense of comfort and relaxation that helps set the tone for our service. We've had people sporadically making coffee, but not cleaning up and not having it for both services. This actually makes more work for others who are already busy. We would like to create a schedule that includes preparation before the first service, restocking before the second service, and clean-up after the services are over.
  2. Snow Removal - It isn't fun to think about, but before we know it snow will be falling. We have a great snow-blower here at the church, but we need people to use it and to help with shoveling of steps and ramps. And it needs to get done before people come in to use the building each day. If you might be able to help for one or two days per week throughout the winter . . . or for an entire week at some point . . . or maybe just as someone to call on to help if there's an extra heavy snow - could you sign up and let us know that you can help!
  3. Staffing the Nursery on Sunday Mornings - For several years recently our nursery has been an unstaffed space where parents can take their young children during a service. We would like to see if we could staff it again. If we had one person each week who was able to be in that space with the youngest members of our family, it would free parents to engage in the rest of the service. Ideally, we would like to staff the nursery at both our 9 am and 10:30 services.
  4. Facility Maintenance - From week to week, and at various times in the year, we have different projects that come up that need to be taken care of at the church. Just last week a railing had to be reinstalled, a shed door repaired, and we have a metal railing that needs to be welded. The jobs are often small and simple, but they are essential. Would you be willing to be part of a team that can take care of these jobs? We would love to have a full list of men and women with these kinds of gifts who could share the load, which can get heavy if only one or two people are doing it.

These are only some of the ways that people serve in our family, but they are some pressing ones at this moment. If you would consider helping in one of these ways, click on this link and fill out the form that it opens.

I am so glad that we are in this together and I look forward to spending time with you and serving alongside each other on an ongoing basis!!!!