Covenant Courier. March 2012 NOTES FROM PASTOR KELLY. Covenant Church. 802 Winter. Wakefield, NE Kelly Johnston Interim Pastor.

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1 Covenant Courier Covenant Church 802 Winter Wakefield, NE Kelly Johnston Interim Pastor Church Phone: Parsonage Phone Website or Facebook Wakefield Evangelical Covenant Church Sunday Worship Sunday School 9:30 Worship 10:45 a.m. Tuesday 9:00 a.m. Prayer Wednesday 5:30 _ Snak Shak 6:15 Pioneer Club & Jr High 6;30 Bible Study Barb Stout NOTES FROM PASTOR KELLY March 2012 What does it mean to be a Christian? What does it mean to be the church? These are simple but profound questions and they are worth asking on a regular basis. There is one joke my dad has been known to tell over and over again our family knows it well, as does each church he has served: There s a Sunday School teacher who asked her students, I m thinking of something that is small and furry, with a big bushy tail what am I thinking of? The kids squirm in their seats, trying to think of what to say. The teacher repeats the description a couple times, adding details like, it collects nuts, it jumps around in trees, but the kids still seem perplexed. Finally, one child timidly raises his hand and says, It sounds like a squirrel, but I know the answer is Jesus! In church, and in all of life as Christians, we know that the answer is always Jesus! It s just as simple as that. To be a Christian means to pattern our whole lives after Jesus Christ, the Son of God. To be the church means shaping all of what we do around who Jesus is and what is most important to him. The answer is simply Jesus. Jesus, who is the center and climax of the Holy Scriptures, Old and New Testaments. Jesus, in whom all things were created (Col. 1:16). Jesus, in whom all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are found (Col. 2:3). Jesus, who is the head of the church, his body, made up of diverse members (Rom. 12:5, Eph. 5:23). As individuals and as a church, we are called to imitate Jesus Christ, to let our own self-interests die and find real life in the good news of our Savior, who humbly and obediently died on a cross and victoriously rose from the grave. We are called to take up the cross of Christ the weakness, humility, simplicity and obedience of Christ so that we can know and share the abundant life of Christ. How simple and yet how profound! This should always be the focus of our life and ministry to pursue Christ and to pursue Christ s priorities in the world. During this Lenten season leading up to Holy Week and Easter, we are focusing especially on the cross of Christ. This part of the cycle of the church year ensures that even when we know the answer is Jesus, we don t skip over the sacrifice that living that answer means for us. Patterning our life after Christ means intentionally spending time and energy with Christ prayerfully searching the Scriptures for a deeper understanding of who Jesus is and spending time and energy for Christ, sharing the gospel through lives that reflect the kingdom of God. This is simply and profoundly what our business should be about as Christians and as the church: pursuing Christ and pursuing Christ s priorities in the world. This is my simple and profound prayer for Wakefield Covenant Church. Is it your prayer as well? Pastor Kelly Office Manager

2 Women s Ministry Each Tuesday at 9:00 a.m. Ladies meet in the prayer room Friday, March 2 Dawn Riemers and Barb Stout will be hosting a Girls Night out with Dinner and a Chic Flick. Come and enjoy Dinner and a Movie at the church. The movie will be Enchanted April. This is the story of four women who rent a castle in Italy to escape their dreary lives in rainy, post-world War 1 London. There they rediscover the beauty and sunshine of life and experience an opening of their once shuttered hearts. RSVP to Dawn Reimers and Barb Stout. Wednesday, March 14 9:30 a.m. Meet for Rip and Roll Friday, March 9 2:30 p.m. Women s Ministry Serving Bingo at WHCC. PAGE 2 Leadership Retreat All members of the Executive Board, CE Board, Deacon Board and Trustees are invited and encouraged to attend a retreat on Saturday, March 3, 9:00 a.m. noon, at the Gardner Public Library. We will be praying, relecting, and brainstorming together on who we are and where God is leading us in the coming year of mission and ministry. Spring Cleaning and Worship At Covenant Cedars April Plan to attend this great weekend of Working and Worshiping together. Pick up a brochure on the back table to register. There will also be sign up sheet on the bulletin board for rides. Meet and Eat at Fire Hall Sunday, March 4 at WHO Omelet Feed at Legion Hall. Lenten Breakfasts Saturday Mornings at 8:00 a.m. March 10 Speaker Pastor Kelly March 17 Speaker Jim Stout March 24 Speaker Dave Rusk March 31 Speaker TBA Invite a friend and come and enjoy. Food Pantry Needs Needs for the back pack program are: (single serve items only) ramen noodles, pasta meals, mac & cheese, juices boxes, cheese & peanut butter snack crackers, oatmeal pouches and cereal boxes. Donations can be left inside of East door at Salem.

3 PAGE 3 Vitality Team for continuation of Veritas was elected at the quarterly meeting. Members are Karen Borg, Vicki Foote, Sue VanderVeen, Mark Muller and Elmer Carlson. They will meeting the last Monday of each month At 7:00 p.m. 1 Lane Foote 3 Ardyth Mills 3 Ellen Carlson 9 Randall Barge 9 Merna Jones 10 Donna Lundin 10 Norman Jeppson 113- Dee Foote 15 Tiffany Lamprecht 15 Rose Wenstrand 19 Megan Muller 20 Garret VanderVeen 20 Paul Eaton 24 Iris Borg 25 Bud Erlandson 26 Lynnett Hansen 28 Mark Muller Correcon: We are sorry Dwight VanderVeen s name was omied from the membership list in the new directory. Please add his name to your book. Barb is Retiring! After many years of faithful service to our church, Barb Stout has decided it s time to retire from her position as our church office manager. Please take a moment to thank Barb for EVERYTHING she d done to keep our church running smoothly and efficiently these past years. The Executive Board will be looking for Barb s replacement with in the next few weeks. If you are interested in this position or know someone who might be, please contact Ron Wenstrand, church chairman, for more information and/or an application. Please pray that God leads someone to us and that the changing of the guard goes smoothly. Thanks, Barb, for your many years of service to our church! FreedMen Saturday, March 24 Pershing Center Lincoln NE Hey Fellow Freedmen! We re planning the 2012 Conquest and need you to be there! We need you to bring other men, young men and boys to the Pershing Auditorium in Lincoln on March 24th to be challenged and encouraged by stories of God s triumphs in Nebraska and the issues that you need to show up to with your faith on. Find out how to engage in the battle in your communities for your youth, your freedoms and your faith. Contact Bob VanderVeen for more information. Ushers March: Mike Muller, Vicki Foote, Lyle Johanson, Lee Brudigam Treasurers for March: Merlin Felt & Lyle Borg

4 PAGE 4 PASTORAL SEARCH COMMITTEE The Executive Board met with Midwest Conference Superintendent Tammy Swanson-Draheim on Monday, February 20, 2012 to discuss the process of selecting a full-time pastor. Our first step is to form a Pastoral Search Committee. This committee will be made up of seven members of our congregation including our church chairman, Ron Wenstrand. The Executive Board is asking for your input. We are asking each member of our congregation to come up with six names of possible members for the search committee. There are forms to fill out and a red box located in the narthex at the church for those names to be place. The Executive Board will meet on Sunday, March 4, 2012 to go through the names and begin contacting potential committee members to see if they are prayerfully willing to serve. At the congregational quarterly meeting on Sunday, April 15, 2012, the Executive Board will bring a ballot of six names to the congregation to vote upon. The following is a list of criteria that potential search committee members should possess: Be a member of the church. Broadly represent the congregation: male/female, younger/older, newcomers/long-term members. Someone who will be open to what God is calling our church to be now and in the future. Someone who understands the church s strengths and weaknesses. Someone who can understand the value of group discussion. Someone who is willing to learn new things and think new thoughts. Someone who is active as a volunteer in the life and ministry of our church. Someone who is willing to put time, energy, work, and prayer into this search committee. Someone who maintains confidence. Please prayerfully consider being a part of this committee it s okay to write down your own name if you feel God is leading you to be a part in this extraordinary event in our church. Above all, please consider the TIME which will be spent in this committee. Although the Executive Board cannot tell you how often you ll meet or when you ll meet, being part of this committee will be a major investment of your time and one that is and will be much appreciated by other church members and friends. What a privilege each of us have to be part of this process in our church! Please have potential names submitted no later than Sunday, March 4, Please be prayerful as we let God lead us through this process. For more information or questions, please contact Ron Wenstrand, church chairman, or any Executive Board member. Connecting with Pastor Kelly: Pastor Kelly wants to get to know you and hear your story. There is a sheet on the bulletin board outside the ofice with times she is available to meet. Please take the opportunity to connect! Pastor Kelly Pastor Kelly s Ofice Hours & Contact Info Tuesdays, 9:00 a.m. 12:00 p.m. Wednesdays, 1:00 p.m. 4:00 p.m. pastorkelly@wakecov.org Ofice: Home: Cell: ASK Sunday March 25 The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. Luke 10:1-2 This month we will join Covenant Churches around North America by designating March 25 as ASK the Lord of the Harvest Sunday. In the tradition of Bringing My World to Christ, we as churches will pray for grace to witness the Good News of Jesus to others. Begin asking God to bring to mind people in your life who need to know Jesus Watch your bulletin for resources Visit for evangelism help and encouragement

5 PAGE 5 Pioneer Club is drawing to a close for the year. April 4 will be the Annual Pizza Party and April 11 will be the closing program and BBQ Supper. We are sad to see one of our long time teachers, Sara Elton leaving us. Sara will be moving to Omaha soon. We will all miss her. God Bless Sara and Brooke. In February the Kids took a special offering for our Missionary in Ecuador, Cheryll Clark. The offering was in the amount of $ There will be no Pioneer Clubs on March 21 but there will be a guides Meeting at 6:30 p.m. Snak Shak Menu March 7 Tacos March 14 Pancakes March 21 No Pioneer Club Guides Meeting March 28 Spaghetti Snak Shak Served Every Wednesday at 5:30 Kids $1.00 Adult $2.00 Evangelical Covenant Church Non Profit Org. 802 Winter Street U.S. Postage PAID Wakefield, NE Permit No 34 Phone (402) Wakefield, NE church@ wakecov.org Website: CHANGE SEVICE REQUESTED