August 20, 2018 | Bi-Weekly Newsletter of Covenant Presbyterian Church

8-26 Wrestling Through Faith (Youth)

9-2 Peanut Butter Sunday

Presbyterian Coffee Project

9-3 LABOR DAY

Church Office Closed 9-4

Nominating Committee 9-6

Bell Choir Rehearsal Covenant Choir Rehearsal

9-9 Rally Day

College Mail Sunday Alpha Choir (K-3rd)

Omega Choir (4th-7th) Fellowship Team Outreach Team

Christian Education Team YOUth Family Cook-out Education & Mentoring

Task Force

Connect with the Associate Pastor . . . MARK YOUR CALENDAR

n our staff meeting last Wednesday, I was joking around with John about his flip phone and Martha laughingly asked, “How long has Sarah been here? She seems to be fitting in just fine!” It has been two months! And these months at Covenant have flown by. I cannot

tell you all enough how much I have enjoyed moving to Staunton, getting to know you, laughing with you, and worshiping with you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for making a major transition in my life as seamless as possible.

Thank you so much for the lovely service yesterday! It feels wonderful to be official. I think I was a little sinful in the pride that I felt in getting to show off Covenant to my family and friends this weekend! Now that the boxes have been unpacked, a Virginia license in my wallet, and I have been freshly installed as your new associate pastor, it’s time to really get to work!

I hope that you will mark your calendars for September 9th during which we will have Rally Day. Rally Day is tradition-ally a day in which churches gear up for another year of

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A Bible Verse to Think About - Isaiah 33:2

Lord, be gracious to us; we long for you.

Be our strength every morning,

our salvation in time of distress.

Youth choir rehearsals will begin on Septem-ber 9th. Children in Kindergarten through 3rd grade are invited to sing with the Alpha Choir. We will practice on Sunday, before Sunday School at 9:10 am in the Choir Room. The Omega Choir, for those in 4th grade and above, will practice in the Choir Room after the last worship service until 12:30 pm. Please mark your calendars, and come and sing with us.

Children, Come & Sing

Connect with the Associate Pastor. . . Cont’d

Items for the next newsletter are due to Martha by 9:00 am on Friday, August 31st.

Please email her at: covenantpcusastaunton@gmail.com

Christian education. This year, we will gather in the Great Hall during the Sunday school hour on September 9th. We’ll sing some songs, do an inter-generational energizer, and meet our Sunday school teachers. The adults will cheer the children and youth on as they go to their respective classrooms to get to know their Sunday school classes. The adults will have an Adult Education Fair which will feature the different ways that we all might be involved at Covenant.

My prayer is that as we kick off a new year of Christian Education at our church, we will begin the semester with enthus-iasm, with love, and with a real desire to discern the ways in which God is calling us to grow in our faith together.

COVENANT PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH FINANCIAL STATEMENT (as of 7-31-18)

Novels & Needles Book Group

Novels & Needles Book Group is having their first meeting of the Fall session on Friday, September 14 at 10:00 am in the Breezeway. The book for discussion is The Music Shop by Rachel Joyce. Bring your thoughts and your knitting or crocheting for an enjoyable morn-ing!

NOMINATIONS FOR ELDERS

Our Book of Order tells us this about the office of Elder:

As there were in Old Testament times elders for the government of the people, so the New Testament church provided persons with particular gifts to share in governing and ministry. Ruling Elders are chosen by the people. Together with Teaching Elders (Ministers of the Word and Sacrament), they exercise leadership, governance, spiritual discernment, and discipline and have responsibility for the life of a congregation, as well as the whole church, including ecumenical relation-ships. They serve faithfully as members of the Session and should be persons of faith, dedication, and good judgment. Their manner of life should be a demonstra-tion of the Christian gospel, both within the church and in the world. Additionally, the church makes provision for youth who may be called to serve as youth elders to serve a one-year term, if so called.

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The Nominating Committee is seeking names to be considered for Elder. If you know of someone you feel would be qualified to serve, please write his or her name below and turn in this form either by dropping it in the offering plate during Sunday worship or at the church office by August 26.

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Elder Nominations

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Reaching Out from Outreach There is a place where abused children can find a loving home — a place to find hope and purpose in their lives. That place is the Presbyterian Children’s Home of the High-lands in Wytheville, Virginia. The Home has been running since 1919 and will celebrate its 100th anniversary next year. The Home can care for twenty-five children and help serve their daily and educa-tional needs. Importantly, the Home provides a safe and un-derstanding environment for these troubled youth, who face a personal crisis from abuse and dysfunctional fami-lies. In addition, an independ-ent living home has been add-

ed for five young men from ages 18-22 to learn to work or go to college and improve their life skills. Our church has pledged to be a Covenant Church to the Home. We have budgeted $1,000 from our Outreach budget this year for the home along with our Thanksgiving offering. We have also pledged to pray for the Home and the staff. We can pro-vide additional help through indi-vidual gifts for personal hygiene

and/or make individual dona-tions to the Home. The Home encourages church visits to the campus to see the children and how it operates.

The Presbyterian Children’s Home is blessed with a dedicat-ed staff that provides the set-ting for young faces to change from strained, worried , and frustrated to warm, loving, and filled with hope.

The Outreach Team would like the opportunity to tell you more about this mission and how we help as a Covenant Church. Please ask us to pro-vide more details. See Charlie Huppuch, call him at 248-4939, or email info@pchh.org.

NURSERY WORKERS NEEDED! School has started. Rally Sunday is right around the corner and it’s time to return to the routines of fall. We are looking for indi-viduals or families who are willing to spend an hour on a Sunday morning with our smallest members in the Covenant Nursery. It is a most delightful way to get to know the cutest members who love to delight all who enjoy their sweetness. We are looking for volunteers for the second Sunday of each month. Please call, Susie Oberg at 885-6832 to sign up. Teens of babysitting age are always welcome to join the fun!

Congratulations to Will & Erin Earhart on the birth of a son on August 13, 2018. Proud grandparents are Chris & Becky Earhart.

Congratulations to Tracy and Harry Hibbitts on the birth of a daughter on August 14, 2018. Mother and baby are doing well.

Presbyterian Women Presbyterian Women will meet Tuesday even-ing, September 11, at 6:00 pm for our annual Thank Offering Celebration and 2018-2019 Kick Off. Salads and cookies are on the menu and a fun new year begins using the study guide, “God’s Promise: I Am with You.” Please join us in praise, fellowship, and prayer.

The Executive Board will NOT meet until Octo-ber 9, as the luncheon in August served as our September leadership gathering.

Women of Covenant Presbyterian are invited to the Church Women United

of Staunton’s Annual Meeting. September 7, 2018

St. Paul’s United Methodist Church Registration & refreshments at 9:30 am

Program begins at 10:00 am A special guest will speak

on Human Rights. For more information, please email

Connie Birch at cwbirch@verizon.net

Church Women United of Staunton

SEPT. 21 - FIRED-UP FRIDAY (Youth) @5:45pm SEPT. 30 - 5th SUNDAY EVENT @ 11:30am OCT. 3 - TOW-Together on Wednesday @ 6:00pm BIBLE STUDY @ 7:00pm

In the Community August 20 & 27 — Stonewall Brigade Band Concert — The 8:00 pm concert featuring British Band Classics is held at the Stonewall Brigade Bandstand in beautiful Gypsy Hill Park. Conces-sions open at 7:30 pm. Lawn chairs or blankets are highly suggested as permanent seating is very limited. For the best sound, try to sit on or near the permanent seats. Free admission.

August 24 & 25 — The Sing Me High Music Festival celebrates music and faith in the Shenandoah Valley. This year the festival is Friday, August 24 from 5:00 PM to 9:00 PM and Saturday, August 25 from 10:00 AM to 9:00 PM. The festival will be a family-friendly, alcohol-free event. Please make yourselves at home! Bring a blanket, your favorite camp chairs, or a sofa on wheels. Location of festival is The Valley Brethren-Mennonite Heritage Center, 1921A Heritage Center Way, Harrisonburg. For more information or to purchase tick-ets, visit www.singmehigh.com August 25 — 5th Annual Big Truck & Auto Show — Show located at Augusta Expo will begin at 8:00 am! RAIN OR SHINE! Indoor Country Music will begin at 12:00 pm. Artists in-clude Michael Twitty, Maybe Tomorrow, Little Walter and the Convictions, Patsy and the Country Classics, and Ronnie McDowell. Free admission. August 25 & 26, September 1 & 2 — Swannanoa Palace Open House — Major James Dooley, an executive with the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad Company, completed construc-tion of the $2 million Swannanoa in 1912. Dooley, who owned the Maymont estate in Richmond, built this 52-room marble palace as a token of love for his wife, Sally May. More than 300 artisans were hired to create the palace as a replica of the Villa de Medici in Rome. They used the highest quality materials available. Visitors today can still see the depth of James and Sally May’s relationship in places like the 4,000 piece Tiffany stained-glass window and a domed ceiling bearing the likeness of Mrs. Dooley. The name Swannanoa comes from Mrs. Dooley’s fondness for swans, which she liked be-cause they choose their mates for a lifetime. Touring time is 11:30 am to 5:00 pm. Entry fee $8.00. An optional guided tour is available for an additional $2.00. Children 12 and under continue to be free. September 2 — 4th Annual Food Truck Battle — Food Trucks from local, Richmond, Roa-noke, Lynchburg, Harrisonburg, Charlottesville, and other locations will serve varying styles of food – American, Seafood, International, Mexican, and More! A large expanded children’s area with entertainment and loads of activities for the kids are on tap this year. More arti-san, craft and specialty vendors will be at the festival, and variety of different bands will be playing ALL DAY! General Admission is $10 in advance and $15 at the door. Augusta Expo gates open at 12:30 pm. For more information or to purchase advance tickets, please visit www.vafoodtruckbattle.com

COVENANT PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH 2001 N. Coalter Street, Staunton, VA 24401

www.covenantpresstaunton.org Office 540-885-2138 Fax 540-885-4399

Office hours: Monday -Thursday 8:15am-3:15pm, Friday 8:15am-12:15pm

MINISTERIAL & PROGRAM STAFF John C. Peterson

Pastor Sarah Wolf

Associate Pastor Laura Lawson

Director of Youth Ministries Jeffrey Ryman

Minister of Music Christopher Wszalek

Organist Lou Dolive

Handbell Director Joan Swift

Director of Children’s Music Mitzi White

Developmental Preschool Director Martha Pierce

Administrative Assistant Paul Sorrell Treasurer

Kathy Henderson Covenant Nurse

Cleo Holly Custodian

The Mission of Covenant Presbyterian Church is Striving to be Faithful Disciples of Christ: Worshiping with Joy, Growing

in Faith, Serving in Love.

Covenant Connection is a publication of Covenant Presbyterian Church.

The newsletter is published bi-weekly to inform members and friends of church programs, news and events. The Connection newsletter is online

at www.covenantpresstaunton.org.

Read the Bible in a Year

Monday Morning Bible Study

Please join us for Bible study on Monday, September 10th at 10:30am in the Conference Room (near the church offices). We will look at the text for the next Sunday’s sermon. Come and dive a little deeper into God’s word, share your insights, and get a head start on the next sermon. All are welcome!

2001 North Coalter Street Staunton, VA 24401

Striving to be Faithful Disciples of Christ: Worshiping with Joy, Growing in Faith, Serving in Love

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