Covenant People

There seems to be a word or phrase for all the mainline denominations to describe how they relate to each other. For the United Methodists, it's 'Connectional System'; for the American Baptists, it's 'Association Principle'; for the Lutherans it's 'Liturgical Communion'. For us, in the UCC, the big word is 'Covenant'.

It all began with the Pilgrims and the Salem Covenant of 1629:

We Covenant with the Lord and with one another and doe bynd our selves in the presence of God, to walk together in all his waies, according as he is pleased to reveal himself unto us in his blessed Word of truth.

And this has pretty much shaped our whole trajectory for our denomination. If you want to learn a lot more, snoop around on ucc.org, just search the 'c' word!

On Sunday, we will focus on one of the epic texts of covenant from the book of Jeremiah. For us, there is a core resonance with who we are as congregational churches in the United Church of Christ.

Martha Baumer, former professor at Eden Seminary and former Conference Minister has made some observations about what it means to be a people of covenantal relationships that I think are worth considering:

·         We might be slow to commit to being in the covenant, but when we do, we do so with great zeal and tenacity;

·         We never give up on each other - we don't kick people out, 'dis-fellowship' them or walk away - we stay at the table and keep struggling with each other, until we find a way forward;

·         We believe we cannot speak for each other - ever, and yet, we are obligated to always listen to each other and then decide whether or not we can agree.

·         We aren't driven by a need to agree - just to 'walk together in all of God's ways'; and

·         We are autonomous, only to the degree that our decisions do not weaken the covenant or the other covenantal partners.

Interesting observations of the 'scrappy' community to which we belong - bound together in freedom and in promises. So, read the texts for Sunday and take a minute to celebrate 'being a 'covenant person'.

Blessings, Laura Lee

Texts for This Week:

Heb 5:5-10

John 12:20-33

+ Jeremiah 31:31-34

* Psalm 119:9-16

Note: The texts in bold type will be read in the worship service and the one with an asterisk will be used as the focus for the proclamation of the word.

Red Alert!!!

We need a data entry person for Feed My Starving Children ASAP!

Please call the church office if you can help out.