Covenant Association
United Church of Christ
5945 Park Lake Road
E. Lansing, MI 48826
Tel. 517 - 332 - 3511
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::Covenant Association

STATEMENT OF COVENANT

We covenant to acknowledge God's claim upon our lives and the work in the Covenant Association. We seek through this covenantal relationship:

• to share common ministry with authorized ministers and local churches.
• to affirm our faith in the living God, Eternal Spirit, Creator and Sustainer, who is revealed in the teachings,the person, and the work of Jesus as the Christ.
• to strengthen the ties of faith and community.
  

COVENANT ASSOCIATION MODERATOR’S REPORT FOR 2012

The theme of the 2011 Spring Covenant meeting was “Covenant: Dare to be in Relationship” and the program was meant to encourage our Association’s congregations to become more involved with each other.  Even though the congregations of Covenant Association are a wide-ranging and diverse group of churches, I hope that we can find a common identity and unify of purpose.  We want our congregations to fellowship together and work together because there are simply things a single congregation can not do which a group of churches can.

Last Spring’s meeting provided an introduction to Appreciative Inquiry hoping to get our churches to explore this potentially powerful technique to understand their own mission and purpose for God.  We hope that in the process, churches will discover that they have a common purpose with other congregations in Covenant Association and will join together in helping each other in that purpose.

At the 2011 Fall meeting, we had a program entitled “Imagine Peace!” which was meant to offer an issue which our churches could address alone or in groups.  The program gave us the choice of two movies on the threat which nuclear weapons still present to the world today.  One of the films, “The Gate: Atomic Flame” was a great true story of Japanese Buddhist monks returning the atomic flame to the Trinity test site.  It is a story of discovery and healing where people of two cultures finding common ground.  The other film, “Countdown to Zero,” vividly documented through narration and interviews with historical figures the history of nuclear weapons with emphasis on the situation we are in today.  After the films, there was a panel discussion of what people could do to address this justice issue.  Rev. Tom Jones of First Congregational UCC in Charlotte and I have copies of these two movies on DVDs if you wish to borrow them.  We highly recommend them.

The 2012 Spring Meeting has the theme of planting and growing seeds.  The meeting will be on Sunday April 22 at 3 pm at First Congregational UCC in Jackson and the executive team thought this was a good theme for Earth Day.  Of course, the seed planting and growing are both literal and metaphorical.  We are actually going to be planting seeds during the meeting/worship service.  Then the representatives from the churches will take a potted plant to its home church to be a visible reminder to grow in faith and outreach.

We certainly wish to thank the Rev. Cheryl Burke for being our past Area Conference Minister and Acting Conference Minister.  We welcome the Rev. Sameerah Shareef to her ministry as our Acting Area Conference Minister for Covenant Association.  Sameerah has done a lot of good work at St. Stephen’s UCC in Lansing and we know that she will do a great job with us as well.

We are still daring Covenant churches to be in relationship with each other.  One of the best ways to be in relationship with each other is working on an issue of justice and peace.  Last Fall, we presented one issue our churches could work together on about nuclear disarmament.  There are many other issues both national and local which could be the start of extra church collaboration and the growth of God’s realm.

One issue which the Michigan Conference has suggested we come together on is attracting youth and young adults to our churches.  Camp Talahi will be open for business this Spring and Summer to assist campers of all ages, but especially designed to give young people a spiritual experience in nature.  A Youth Fund was established to help ministry aimed at helping youth.  And there are events being planned for youth -- check out the Conference web site.

On a national level, the National Youth Event will be offered in July at Purdue University.  It has been a great event and there is still time to register.

Let us find ways to help each other grow in the Spirit and serve God.

Peace,
Peter Robinson, moderator

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