Today bright yellow school buses reclaimed their place on our roads. Children excitedly (and some not so excitedly) walked to their bus stops and schools for another year of learning.Alarms were set. Lunches were packed. Even as our weather marks the beginning of the end to another calendar year, our societal calendar is relaunching into another year full of the unknown.
Here at Covenant we are relaunching our programs and looking forward for what God has in store over the next year. Some of the highlights we are expecting over the coming year include:
- Kickoff Sunday (This Sunday - September 10 at 10 am): Bring lawnchairs, a dessert or salad, your own dishes, and your appetite as we enjoy an outdoor service followed by a BBQ and cornroast. We have activities for the whole family (highlighted by a bouncy castle!).
- Youth and Children's Programming: Every Sunday morning during our 11 am service (starting on September 17) we have programming for children all the way up to grade 8. We're especially excited for a new class specifically for grades 4 and 5 students! Starting next week we have a program for highschool students on Tuesday evenings from 7-9 and our Midweek program for grades 6-8 on Wednesdays from 6:30-8:30.
- Bible Studies, Prayer Meeting, and House Churches: A women's Bible study meets Wednesdays from 10-11:30 am (starting September 27), there is an open prayer meeting every Tuesday at 8:30 am, and house churches (small groups) gather at various times throughout the week.
- Emotionally Healthy Discipleship Courses: We will be offering the Emotionally Healthy Spirituality course on Sunday afternoons this fall for those who would like to go through it (or go through it again!). Watch for details regarding dates and registration. In the new year we will be offering the parallel course Emotionally Healthy Relationships.
- Spiritual Gifts, Strengths, and Coaching: We would love to see up to 20 people be coached through a deep and meaningful Spiritual Gifts, personality, and strengths inventory. Are you looking to learn more about yourself and how you can best thrive as a child of God? Talk to Pastor Jon or Mary Paillé about receiving this coaching at no cost to you!
- Dinner for 8: In addition to the various connecting events we will be offering through the year, we are starting this initiative to help you connect more deeply with others at the church. Find out this great opportunity to enjoy meals with others here: http://www.covenantchurch.ca/events/dinner-for-eight/2017-10-01
Those are some of the programming expectations we have. Certainly we need to come together to make them happen. We especially need a few teachers for our children's ministry. Currently we need:
- Three new leaders for our toddler program (up to 2 years old). Leaders in this class serve by supervising play and offering a safe and fun place for children to connect with each other while their parents participate in the main service. It would be a once every four week commitment and there is no lesson to prepare. This would be a great ministry area for couples to serve in together! (e-mail Jenn at jenn@covenantchurch.ca for more details)
- One new kindergarden teacher/leader (3-5 year olds). Leaders join with the older children for a video and lesson and then explore the material further with these younger students. (e-mail Jenn at jenn@covenantchurch.ca for more details)
There is so much more I could talk about. Our first service is changing to a 9:30 am start time. We need a rotation of people who would be willing to clean up coffee once per month after the second service. (If we don't have people to clean up we won't be able to serve coffee!)
I could go on, but I want to talk about my two biggest expectations.
- I expect that some unexpected things are going to happen this year. No matter how much planning and preparing we do, things never go the way they were drawn up. Both good and bad, joyful and heartbreaking, things come up and all of our plans can end up out the window. I know that this will be true over the coming year. I look forward to the good unexpected things and I wish we could avoid those things that will cause heartbreak. In preparation for both we remember that our security isn't in our planning, it is in God and his faithful, perfect love.
- I expect that God will change some lives among us - and through that change us collectively! I don't know all there is to know about you, but I do know me. And I know I need to keep growing and changing. I look forward to how God will use Covenant to shape me more and more into the follower of Jesus he wants me to be. I look forward to the same for you, as you will open yourself up to it. And as each of us changes, we - together - become a better lighthouse showing and sharing the love of Jesus to our community!
Welcome to a new season. Welcome to the first day of what God is going to do over the coming year. I look forward to going through this together with you!
Peace,
Jon