EVERYDAY
​DISCIPLESHIP
​The Advent and Christmas seasons are almost upon us and your Covenant Staff Team has been hard at work dreaming and planning some exciting things for our Covenant Family to use and participate in.  Click on image for details.
Covenant's 16th Annual
Ladies Advent Celebration
Covenant's
​Advent & Christmas Season
Cov 56 Cookie Jar Fundraiser
Gingerbread Nativity Competition
Everyday Discipleship
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Everyday Discipleship - Our Theme for 2021: In this time of transition, where gatherings are restricted, God’s call on our lives to live as his ambassadors, and to go and make disciples remains. Together we wonder how can we grow in faith and discipleship, in the new “sacred spaces” God has us gathering and worshiping in? Our homes, our backyards, even online, are the new places we gather for Bible Study, prayer, to serve together in ministry and committee work and more.  In 2021 we’re “taking it to the streets” as our faith is formed in new sacred spaces, and our discipleship is grown in many other contexts.
 
We’ll look for a year at tools, resources, and practices for Everyday Discipleship. One such resource our ministry team (along with some talented young artists in our congregation) has developed together is an Everyday Discipleship Calendar: a whole year of themes, songs, activities, readings and discussion suggestions for each month to connect us and help us grow in our discipleship!  These will be delivered to you by our dedicated group of volunteer drivers. If you have rsvp'd or are participating in worship this Sunday, they will be available for pick up at the church.  We will deliver these also to the Belmead families we’ve been connecting with and have extra copies available on the Welcome Center for anyone who would like to join us​.
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FAITH PRACTICES PROJECT - FAITH FORMATION MINISTRIES
December - Practice of Hospitality
December 5
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Reflection and Discussion Starter
Read Genesis 18:1-8 and ponder or discuss the following questions. (For more on faith practices from Faith Formation Ministries, visit bit.ly/FaithPracticesProject)
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  • This passage is the first reference in the Bible to someone opening their home to others. How do Abraham’s actions set the tone for hospitality? What adjectives might you use to describe his welcome of the three strangers?
  • Have you ever been on the receiving end of lavish and heartfelt hospitality? What was it like? How did it make you feel?
  • Subsequent verses make it clear that Abraham was being visited by the Lord. How would you react if you answered the call of your doorbell and found Jesus waiting there? Spend a few minutes imagining this scenario.
December 12
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Reflection and Discussion Starter ​Read Leviticus 19:33-34 and ponder or discuss the following questions. (For more on faith practices from Faith Formation Ministries, visit bit.ly/FaithPracticesProject)
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  • Leviticus 19 is full of commands for how to be holy. One of those commands is to love strangers (in this case people who are from other lands) as you love yourself. How do you live out this command?
  • Have you ever been a foreigner in another country? How did it feel? What was wonderful or exciting about it? What was uncomfortable or scary? Did anyone make you feel especially welcome? How?
  • What are some ways that you, your family, your church, your wider community, and your nation could love people from other lands as yourself?
December 19
December 26
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Reflection and Discussion Starter 
​​Read Luke 14:12-14 and ponder or discuss the following questions. (For more on faith practices from Faith Formation Ministries, visit bit.ly/FaithPracticesProject)
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  • In this story, Jesus encourages us to offer hospitality to people who can not repay us. In your unique context, who might that be? How might you offer food, shelter, and protection to them?
  • How is a “feast” different from a meal or a donation of food? For ideas, watch the film Babette’s Feast.
  • How might we offer hospitality to “the least of these” (Matt. 25:40), even in a time of physical distancing?
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​Reflection and Discussion Starter 
​Read Luke 10:38-42 and ponder or discuss the following questions. (For more on faith practices from Faith Formation Ministries, visit bit.ly/FaithPracticesProject)
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  • Do you identify more with Martha or with Mary? Why?
  • ​In 1 Peter 4:9 we read, “Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.” While Martha was providing the important physical components of hospitality, she was feeling anxiety and resentment rather than joy, and she was spreading that feeling to others. Does offering hospitality ever cause you stress that you pass along to others? Why or why not? What might you do to experience more joy in providing hospitality?
  • What do you think Jesus meant by saying “Few things are needed—or indeed only one”?