Welcome to Covenant Presbyterian Church in historic downtown Springfield, Ohio. Come join our family as we grow in this wonderful setting and community. We hope you will use this site to get to know us, find out what we're all about, and see the exciting things we have going on at Covenant. Enjoy the site, and we hope you'll make plans to visit soon!
~ Your friends at Covenant Presbyterian Church
Last Sunday's Sermon: "Church: The Embodiment of Love"
Text: "And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love."
1 Corinthians 13:13
Lenten Study: What's the Least I Can Believe and Still Be a Christian?
201 North Limestone Street Pastor: Rev. Raymond N. Stewart
Springfield, Ohio 45503 Web Site: www.springfieldcovenant.org
Telephone: 937-325-2427 Email: cpc-s@sbcglobal.net
Dear Friends,
February 26 is the starting point for a shared exploration of what is important and what it means to be a Christian. It is a wonderful opportunity to take the journey toward the Easter celebration with a group that encourages acceptance, introspection, reflection and the exchange of ideas. We are using the book, What’s the Least I Can Believe and Still Be a Christian by Martin Thielen, as the framework for a six-week Lenten study, which will be accompanied by related sermons.
The book is slightly over 150 pages and is easy to read. However, it generates so many thoughts and so many questions that we feel it is best shared in a group. And, we can think of no better group than our Covenant family to engage in conversation about beliefs.
Please join us in room 213 each Sunday from 9:30AM-10:20 starting February 26 and ending on Palm Sunday (April 1). Look for reminders in the church bulletin and newsletter. Copies of the book are available for purchase in the church office. Make this Lenten journey one of faith, fellowship and strengthened awareness of core beliefs that define who we are.
Your Friends at Covenant
P.S. Do you have a friend (or two) who is "turned off" by organized religion and who might be interested in exploring what mainline and moderate Christianity has to offer? If so, this is a great time to invite them to come to Covenant - even for just one session!
We hope you will mark your calendar for the Sundays listed in our outline and bookmark the highlighted chapters.
Ten Things Christians Don’t Need to Believe (Overview--Part 1 of book)--1 Week - Feb 26
Chapter 1, God causes Cancer, Car Wrecks, and Other Catastrophes
Chapter 2, Good Christians Don’t Doubt
Chapter 3, True Christians Can’t Believe in Evolution
Chapter 6, Bad People Will Be “Left Behind” and Then Fry in Hell
Chapter 8, Everything in the Bible Should Be Taken Literally
Ten Things Christians Do Need to Believe (Part 2 of book)--Weeks 2-6
March 4 Chapter 12, Jesus’ Priority: What Matters Most?
March 11 Chapter 13, Jesus’ Grace: Am I Accepted?
March 18 Chapter 14, Jesus’ Work: Where Is God?
March 25 Chapter 16, Jesus’ Death: What about Suffering?
April 1 Chapter 17, Jesus’ Resurrection: Is There Hope?
Ash Wednesday Service
On Wednesday, February 22, the Lenten season will begin with a service at Covenant Presbyterian Church at 7 p.m. with a communion service and the imposition of ashes. Our sister churches, Northminster and Oakland, will be joining us, along with a joint choir.
Ash Wednesday is a day of repentance, but it is also a call to reflection, meditation, prayer, and preparation. On our Lenten journey, we prepare and turn toward God so that we are ready for the renewal that awaits us in the Easter Season.
Church Clean-Up Day
The deacons will be holding a "Church Clean-Up Day" on Saturday, February 25 from 9-11AM with deacons and other volunteers from the congregation coming in to do a facility-wide deep clean. Please mark your calendars, invite family and friends, and bring buckets, sponges, cleaner, whatever. We will provide juice, coffee, and donuts. A sign up sheet is available.
Summer Church Camp Discounts
Act Now to Get Discounts for Summer Church Camp
Recent sunshine giving you spring fever? Time to think about summer church camp! Kirkmont Center near Zanesfield, OH is now offering a $35.00 campership for all online registrations for Summer Camp received by February 29. Camps include the following:
- Grandparents Camp
- Quilting Camps
- Gadget Camp (new)
- Beginners Camp
- Music, Art, Dance and Drama Camp
- Canoe, Bike, Hike Camp,
- PYC Camp
- Camp Rejoice
- Kids Kamp
- Food Science Camp (new)
- Adventure Camp
- Sports Camp
- Youth Leadership Training
Youth News
February 5th- Super bowl Party at Wittenberg! We are having a super bowl party at Wittenberg in the Game room located in the Student Center. The party is from 6-8:30. Please bring friends and an appetite. GO GIANTS!
February 12th-Youth group from 5:30-7 with dinner
February 19th- Youth group from 5:30-7 with dinner
February 26th- Youth group from 5:30-7 with dinner
March 4th- NO YOUTH GROUP
Please be planning ahead for the Spring Youth Retreat at Kirkmont from April 20-22.
Caregivers Support Group
In order to better meet the needs of caregivers at Covenant Presbyterian Church and in our community, Adult Education invites you to a caregivers support group. All CPC members and the general public who are caregivers for elderly/senior loved ones are welcome! CPC Caregivers Support Group meets on the 4th Tuesday every month from 12-1:30 in Room 213 at CPC. Typically, the group has a light lunch followed by a speaker from 12:45 to 1:30PM. We offer caregiver respite for your loved one if requested by the Friday before the group by calling L. Butler.
Linda Butler, MSW, ACSW, LISW-S has volunteered to facilitate this group offering education and support.
Scheduled speakers for 2012 are as follows:
• January 24th- Pat Robey, Alzheimers' Association re: dementia
• February 28th- Nikki Graham, A Place For Mom re: case management
• March 27th- Frank Lewis, Jackson, Lytle and Lewis Funeral Home re: Senior Dream Center and senior services
• April 24th- Jeff Brumbaugh, Brumbaugh Law re: senior legal services
• May 22nd- TBD
• June 26th- TBD
• July- NO GROUP
• August 28th- TBD
• September 25th- TBD
• October 23rd- TBD
• November 27th- TBD
• December- NO GROUP
Books and More
Books and More meets the first Saturday of each month at 9:00AM at Perkins on North Limestone. New members are always welcome--even if you haven't read the book!
Jan. 7, 2012 - Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
Feb. 4, 2012 - State of Wonder by Ann Patchett
Mar. 3, 2012 - Lamb by Christopher Moore
Coffee Hour Host
Coffee Hour Hosts Needed:
Volunteer to be The "Family of the Week"
It's Great to have so many new members at Covenant! Now we just need ways to get to know each other better. To help us do this, we are asking that each family who is able sponsor coffee hour for just one Sunday this year. Coffee and tea are provided. What we need you to do is bring in goodies and symbols of what is important to your family (or family of friends) outside of church. Soccer? Genealogy? Music? Whatever will help us get to know you better! It can be something as simple as a few pictures of your activities, or those grown children we don't see much anymore. But what you choose to do is limited only by your imagination! A schedule and more specific information is on the sign-up table in the office hallway. Questions? Talk to Alice Tenney.
Kitchen Renovation Project
If you have been in the kitchen and fellowship hall lately, you realize what a total transformation it has undergone.
With new cabinets, countertops, appliances and a new fellowship hall floor, it is both functional and beautiful. However, the chairs and tables certainly do not meet those standards. Many of the chairs mismatch and are dangerous because of unstable aqnd broken legs. The generosity of the congregation to the capital campaign allowed us to do this renovation. Now, on a volunteer basis, we hope you will consider joining our "Adopt a Chair" program. You may purchase any number of chairs or make a general donation to the chair and table fund. The cost of each chair is $31, eight-foot rectangular tables $84, and round tables $120. Be sure to come down to the fellowship hall if you have not already seen the new look.
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The new kitchen has two convection ovens (stacked), a 6-burner electric stove with a regular oven underneath, a 36-inch griddle, A Bunn coffee-maker with hot water, individual steamer units, some open wire shelving as well as some new cabinets and countertops, a 3-bowl sink for washing dishes, several stainless steel work surfaces and hopefully a new commercial dishwasher. All current sinks were saved and have been moved to make them more useable.
We started with the room that now has the ice machine. This area is organized to ease the Deacon functions of preparing for communion and taking flowers to our shut-in and ill members. The shelves have been cleaned and painted and now hold all the Deacons' vases as well as some kitchen items. The old 2-bowl sink and one of the old moveable work surfaces have been moved into this room. Space is provided to allow the communion service to be stored here in lockable cupboards.
Other work that has been completed:
1. scrubbing of the two short dividers between the kitchen and Fellowship Hall and the two full length dividers between the dish room and the kitchen;
2. inventory of the flatware which showed that we now have only enough to serve about 100 people;
3. inventory of the dishes which showed we have enough place settings for approximately 300 people;
4. emptying of shelves which will need to be removed to allow the new equipment to be installed;
5. removal of all food from the large refrigerators into the small ones in the ice machine room.
6. removal of old refrigerators, cook top, griddle and pizza ovens
7. removal of ceiling pads, ceiling tiles and old lights
8. removal of some cabinets
9. reconstruction of two sections of the south wall that had deteriorated (thanks to Mike and Terry of Habitat)
10. cleaned all drains
11. installed flush mounted lighting fixtures
12. received new refrigerator, freezer, cook top with oven, 36 inch griddle, two convection ovens, and 3 bowl sink.
13. cleaned and sealed floor
14. removed bottom of cabinets to accomodate convention ovens on east wall of kitchen
15. cut off and rehung these cabinet doors; the middle door will hide oven vents
16. have done a lot of painting and have begun to reorganize the utensils
17. refrigerator and freezer working, three bowl sink installed, range and griddle hooked up
18. ceiling tiles installed
19. all dishes, utensils, cupboards, racks and shelves cleaned.
20. August 23, 2010: Celebrated Phase 1 completion with a pancake breakfast.
The committee's goal is to make this kitchen very user-friendly and efficient but the timetable for completion is dependent on financial considerations. We are not spending any money which we don't already have in the kitchen account, which means that we do not have money at this time for a new dishwasher, counters, cabinets, tables, smaller equipment, utensils and the purchase of flatware which will be needed to feed a group of more than about 100 people.
