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A Letter from Our Conference Superintendent

Inviting all to grow in Christ and serve together in God’s love.

Covenant Courier

Covenant Church 802 Winter

Wakefield, NE 68784

Dawn Reimers Office Manager

Phone

402-287-2692

Email church@wakecov.org prayer@wakecov.org

Website www.wakecov.org

Facebook

facebook.com/wakecov

Office hours: Mon., Wed., Thur.

9:00 AM —1:00 PM

Spanish Services Sundays at 3:00 PM Tuesdays at 7:00 PM Saturdays at 7:00 PM

Sunday

Worship 10:00 AM

July/August 2016

Speaking in July

July 3 - Ruben Vega

July 10 - Dave Rusk

July 17 - Worship-in-the-Park

July 24 & 30 - TBD

May 19, 2016

Dear Friends in Christ,

On Behalf of all of the churches of the Midwest Conference I want to express gratitude for your congregation’s contribution to the conference mission and ministry in 2016.

There are many exciting things happening across the conference that are made possible by the generous support of MWC churches. We currently have 5 church planters at various stages in the gathering process who are working to meet the criteria needed to come under covenant agreement and receive funding. Please be in prayer for their efforts. Church planting is hard work, but being on the front lines of what God is doing to transform lives and communities is exhilarating.

Our established churches are also working hard to follow God’s call into their communities. I shared an inspiring story at this year’s Annual Ministry Cele-bration (AMC) about Urban Heights Covenant Church, located in a suburb of Des Moines, Iowa. This church hit an all-time low in attendance a few short years ago and has been undergoing the revitalization process. Today they are a growing multicultural church. Recently UHCC’s pastor, Alan Johnson, shared with me that they have had several people commit their life to Christ in the last 3 months. I was curious about what led to this exciting movement and asked Pastor Alan what had changed. He said he was inspired by anoth-er church’s efforts and he felt led to call his congregation to make commit-ments to Christ. He experienced an overwhelming response in both new commitments and re-commitments. When I asked him “how” this occurred he said that he simply asked. No complicated formulas, just the work of the Spritit and the extending of an invitation have led to 15 new faith decisions and several re-commitments since February.

This story struck a chord with Paul Lessard, Senior Pastor of Castle Oaks Covenant Church in Castle Rock, Colorado. Following the AMC, Pastor Les-sard offered a similar invitation in his context. This is what he wrote:

This is a stunning example of “working together to transform lives” and the kind of encouragement that working together can provide.

I can’t remember the last time I’ve actually invited people on a Sunday morning to make a decision for Jesus in a way that was both measure-able and visible. This morning, through the moving of the Spirit and the leading through the text (Exodus 12) I presented the gospel of deliver-ance and in prayer called people to a commitment to Jesus. I did the ‘every eye closed, but look at me if you’re making this choice today.’ Somewhere between 7 and 10 made first-time commitments-honestly, so many were looking at me it was hard to tell! And, many, many more made re-commitments. The Holy Spirit was thick in the room and could not be denied.

Continued on next page

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Worship-in-the-Park - July 17 at 10 am Featuring The JOURNEYMEN Quartet

Followed by a Potluck Bring your favorite side

(chicken, drinks and serving ware provided)

Games and Swimming will Follow

Don’t forget your lawn chairs!

We will be at the east (old) shelter

at Graves Park in Wakefield

Giving Report Year to date Giving:

$71,250.65

Percent of Budget: 43.6%

June Giving $6,557.08

(online giving not added to this total yet)

June Expenses: $11,029.56

Average Attendance

(June) Morning Worship: 83

Prayer Email

To be added to the prayer email list, subscribe at www.tinyletter.com/

wakecovprayer

Find us on

Our church now has a chan-nel on YouTube and we are making every effort to share weekly sermons there. Visit youtube.com and search “wakefield covenant church” to find our page. We also try to share our videos on our Facebook page once they are posted (facebook.com/wakecov). The full URL for our YouTube channel is: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChfehCcTbnI6_eY1vOgZtw

It is a joy to witness Midwest Conference Churches and ministries carry-ing out our shared mission, and we look forward to where God’s leading takes us in the coming year. Thank you for being part of shaping that direction through your participation, prayers, and mission giving. We would not be able to provide support, resourcing, and encouragement without your help.

Working Together for God’s glory,

Tammy Swanson-Draheim Superintendent

(copied from a letter received by mail in May 2016)

2016 Pledge Giving Report:

Each year our church sets pledge goals to various ministries within the Evangelical Covenant Church. Here is where we stand as of June 30, 2016:

Evangelical Covenant Church

Pledge: $6,000 Given: $500

Midwest Conference

Pledge: $6,000 Given: $1,000

Cheryl Clark (Missionary)

Pledge: $2,000 Given: $500

Barbara Swanson (Missionary)

Pledge: $2,000 Given: $0

Covenant Cedars Bible Camp

Pledge: $2,000 Given: $500

Congo Clinic Initiative

Pledge: $2,500 Given: $2,500

Thank you for all you have given already to our church and these ministries. And remember your faithful and consistent giving allows us to keep providing financial sup-port to our partners in ministry.

Quarterly Congregational Meeting Sunday July 24 @ 11:30 AM

Please join us for our Quarterly Congregational meeting in July. Updates will be given concerning our next steps in our search for a new pastor.

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Camp Committee News

There are still 2 weeks with 11 youth registered from our church go-ing to Covenant Cedars Bible Camp. Please remember them in your prayers and maybe send a card to camp for the following youth:

Our Mission:

Inviting all to grow in Christ

and serve together in God's

love.

Our Vision:

In cooperation with God’s

Spirit, we hope to see:

An environment centered on God’s redeeming love

where people of all ages,

races, and walks of life feel

they belong and can grow

in their faith

A culture of continual growth in our dependence

on God where we are hon-

est about our imperfections

and support one another

through life’s ups and

downs

Disciples engaging with God’s Word and living it

daily

A church that encourages people to get involved and

equips them to serve with

the abilities God has given

them

Mission-minded servants sent out to make a differ-

ence in our community and

our world with the compas-

sion and generosity of Jesus

Christ

(Movers - of the - Bible)

Jr. High (July 3-8) Katie VanderVeen Maddie Mogus Lindsey Al-Khafaji Dillon Borg Jeremiah Chase

Sr. High (July 10-15) Joyce Sherer Jamie Dolph Devaney Brown Jessica Borg Emma Pommer Breanna Chase

Covenant Cedars Bible Camp •P.O. Box 68 • Hordville, NE 68846

M.O.B youth group is looking to do a couple of car wash fundraisers this summer or fall so be on the

look out for when dates and details are posted!

Let the Building Begin!

This MDS volunteers are beginning their work on the new house for Nunez family. We praise God and thank them for their willingness to serve our community.

Local volunteers of any age are welcome anytime and tasks will be available for any skill level. Pastor Charity Potter has a schedule of what tasks will be happening each week for anyone who is interest-ed.

Volunteers should plan to bring their own lunches if they will be there over the lunch hour. Water will be available. There is a dress code: shorts need to be knee length and shirts must have sleeves (no tank tops) and cover the midriff (this applies to both genders). Also closed toed shoes. Bringing gloves is a good idea.

Charity is also looking for volunteers to help organize a few fund-raisers over the summer. Any and all help would be appreciated! Please Contact Pastor Charity Potter (402-870-1059) if you wish to volunteer. There will be a planning meeting very soon.

Donations to this cause may be sent to:

Wakefield Ministerium c/o Charity Potter

Presbyterian Church P.O. Box 147

Wakefield, NE 68784

OR Take your donation to

Iowa-Nebraska Bank in Wakefield

OR For online credit card donations

go to: www.gofundme.com/2am6edw

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THANK YOU! THANK YOU!! THANK YOU!!!

Wakefield Community VBS presented Everest at the Christian Church this year. From June 13-16, 30 vol-unteers taught 43 kids (preschool-5th grade) that we can Conquer Challenges with God’s Mighty Power. Through games, science stations, snacks, and bible adventures that focused on the Bible verses found to

the side, children enjoyed learning about God and His love. Everyone had so much fun! The amazing

decorations and food added to the energy!

We would like to THANK the Salem members for all of their support this year! Through time, talent, and

donations, the experience was quite a success!

Annette Chase, Sherri Lundahl, Donna Johnson, Michelle Boeckenhauer, Amanda Newton, & Mary Jean Robinson; VBS Core Volunteer Committee

VBS Mission Offering

We also are quite excited on the amount collected for our VBS mission this year. Mission funds were selected to help with the Jimenez Nunez Partnership Home Project here in

Wakefield. The family home was destroyed by a tornado 2 years ago and a year ago, the new home was destroyed by a house fire. The Wakefield Ministerium with the Mennonite Disaster Service's Partnership Home Program have teamed together to help build them a home. June 8, the basement Wales were poured and made ready for the house frame. At the same time, First Mennonite Church in Newton, Kansas gathered volunteers to build the frame and walls. That will be taken apart in sections and loaded on trucks to be delivered to Wakefield soon.

We were delighted and overwhelmed with joy at the mission offering total from VBS! From Monday-Thursday, we received $604.75 to help the Ministerium's project to build the Nunez

Family a home.

If you want to still contribute to this worthwhile cause, please do so! Money can be dropped off at any of the Ministerium churches (Salem, Covenant, or Presbyterian).

Indicate with the donation that it for the Nunez building project!

More information on page 3

Key Bible Verses 2 Corinthians 9:8 2 Corinthians 1:4

Psalms 147:3 Nehemiah 9:17

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Mission Mission: Pursuing Christ’s Priorities in the World

Congo Clinic

Initiative

Only $500 to go to

meet our 2017 goal!

We Appreciate You!

Ellen Carlson - for your help in the office

Lynnett Hansen - for taking time to fold the bulletins each week this summer.

Sue VanderVeen & Vicki Foote - for your help with data entry for the new database.

Tiffany Lamprecht - for starting up the Kids Worship Team and preparing our worship time music each week. If you would like to express thanks to someone for sharing their gifts and talents with our church and its ministries please contact our church office.

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In June, our community youth group M.O.B. went on a mission trip here in Nebraska. It was the first mission trip since the for-

mation of this youth group the fall of 2014. For many of the partici-pants it was their first mission trip. The leaders of M.O.B. however were eager and determined to offer this opportunity to help the youth have another tangible way to practice living out their faith in everyday life and hopefully inspire them to seek God’s plans for their future. They started off in Lincoln serving at Tabitha a health care service for the elderly. While there they spent time in conversation with many res-idents as well as engaging in daily exercise with them through a class and with the aid of games on the Wii. The boys also worked to help clean the wood work and water outside gardens in two of the resident homes while the girls painted fingernails and had fun with beading and organizing a closet. One youth was even brave enough to read a de-votional for the residents. Then after 2 days it was off to Omaha to Table Grace Café (www.tablegracecafe.com). Table Grace is a unique restaurant in downtown Omaha that serves gourmet pizza, soup and salad. The catch is there is no prices on the menu. Patrons are encouraged to give what they can, pay it forward with donations or some will even work for their meal by helping in the kitchen, playing music and helping to maintain cleanliness of the building. The youth helped in the kitch-en, cleaned tables and floors, joined a Open Faith Discussion, sang songs and had great conversations with many people. From there the team moved on to work with Good Neighbor Ministries a program of Faith Bible Church in Omaha, NE. They passed out fly-ers and knocked on around 400 doors to invite the neighborhood to a Family Fun Night at the church. The next morning they spent over 3 hours cleaning up a yard of a couple in the neighborhood. The days were getting hot but the work was not done yet. The group next went to Carol Joy Holling Camp in Ashland, NE for some much deserved fun time. They learned to work together even more by com-pleting a high ropes challenge course. That evening they spent time worshiping together before their final project the next morning of filling in dirt over ground pipes for a new pastor lodge at camp.

M.O

.B.

(Mo

vers

Of

the

Bib

le)

Mis

sio

n 2

016

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It was a jam packed week of new experiences and growing together as a youth group while pushing roots of faith to grow deeper. Every-one came away from the trip with new memories and a broadened pic-ture of God and His Kingdom but maybe that is best shared by the youth. Final Reflections From the Youth: “Thank you to everyone who supported our trip. I really enjoyed being able to serve with my friends. We helped at Tabitha in Lincoln and got to meet some amazing people. A Bible passage that spoke to me dur-ing our trip was Hebrews 12:1-2.” Jamie Dolph

“I want to thank everyone that helped me to go on this Mission Trip. I enjoyed playing on the Wii with elderly people. I took people on a ride in a wheelchair, went to Table Grace, cooked and cleaned up stuff, and helped construction workers! I read John 3:16.” Zach Johnson

“Thank you for helping us experience and share God’s love, whether you helped by donating your money or time to pray. My favorite thing we did this week was the high ropes course at Carol Joy Holling Camp. We served others by volunteering at Table Grace and helping build the pastor’s house/retreat center at Carol Joy Holling. A verse that spoke to me was Matthew 5:14-16.” Breanna Chase

“Thank you everyone that supported us. I enjoyed listening to all of a resident’s stories about her war experience. I served the Seagren House by scrubbing the woodwork in the hallways. A Bible verse that spoke to me was Psalm 96:3-4a” Couy Johnson

“Thank you to everyone that prayed for us before and during our trip. Also, thanks for all of the donations to raise funds for our trip. When we were at Tabitha I enjoyed talking to the residents. I served others by showing them that I was ready to do whatever they needed of me. A verse that spoke to me this week while we were passing our flyers in South Omaha was Psalm 23: “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I fear no evil, for your are with me and your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” Olivia Scott

“Thank you to the people who supported us in any way. Something I enjoyed doing was scaring Couy with Jaime in Lincoln. We helped an older couple with yard work in Omaha. A Bible verse that spoke to me this week was Psalm 96:3-4a.” Jeremiah Chase

Declare his glory

among the nations,

his marvelous works

among all the peo-

ples. For great is the

Lord, and greatly to

be praised.

Psalm 96:3-4a

Therefore, since we are

surrounded by such a

huge crowd of witnesses

to the life of faith, let us

strip off every weight

that slows us down, es-

pecially the sin that so

easily trips us up. And

let us run with endur-

ance the race God has

set before us. We do this

by keeping our eyes on

Jesus, the champion

who initiates and per-

fects our faith. Because

of the joy awaiting him,

he endured the cross,

disregarding its shame.

Now he is seated in the

place of honor beside

God’s throne.

Hebrews 12:1-2

For this is how God

loved the world: He

gave[a] his one and only

Son, so that everyone

who believes in him will

not perish but have eter-

nal life.

John 3:16

“You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one

lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand,

where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds

shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.”

Matthew 5:14-16

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July Ushers

Rex Hansen

Jean Hansen

Noah Lamprecht

Daniel Muller

July Meetings

Executive Board: 6:00 PM July 3

C.E. Board: 7:00 PM July 3

Deacons: 7:00 PM July 3

Trustee Board: TBD

EVERY SUNDAY

Worship 10:00 AM

1 – Jane Dolph

1 – Gary Preston

3 – Marian Keagle

7 – Dennis Carlson

9 – Peggy Gustafson

15 – Cole Lundahl

18 – Dan Brown

18 – Hunter Borg

21 – Janis Myers

28 – Darrel Magnuson

29 – Maddie Mogus

29 – Arielle Hernandez

31 – Caleb Chase

GREETERS & FELLOWSHIP

Volunteers Needed for July

Please see sign-up on bulletin board by church office.

For questions talk with Office Manager Dawn Reimers

Worship In The Park Sunday July 17 @ 10:00 AM

(See Page 2 for details)

Need in the church building or have questions concerning church matters, please contact:

Dawn Reimers-Office Manager (287-2692) or (home: 287-1016)

Lynnett Hansen-Custodian (402-369-0544)

Jim Stout-Church Chair (402-369-0971)

Anniversaries 1 – Terry & Debbie

Borg

21 – Randall & Kim

Barge

28 – Lyle & Karen

Borg

Quarterly Congregational Meeting Sunday July 24 @ 11:30 AM

Time to pack your bags, prepare the RV or air out the tent for Camping at Ponca State Park August 12-14

Everyone is welcome to join the fun. Make your reservation at Ponca State Park

soon so Wakefield can be grouped together. Bring your own meat and a dish to share at the community meal Saturday evening.

Questions? Talk with Barb Stout.

July Treasurers

Mike Mogus

Mark Borg

Kids Worship Team

Practice Every Tuesday

11:00 AM

ALL YOUTH WELCOME!

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August Ushers

Denny Carlson

Ellen Carlson

Denny Fredrickson

Bob VanderVeen

August Meetings

Executive Board: 6:00 PM August 7

C.E. Board: 7:00 PM August 7

Deacons: 7:00 PM August 7

Trustee Board: TBD

EVERY SUNDAY

Worship 10:00 AM

2 – Kelly Hernandez

3 – Joey Borg

4 – Diane Larson

6 – Fran Hallstrom

6 – Kami Murphy

7 – Dillon Borg

9 – Anita Muller

10 – Daniel Muller

10 – Mary Brudigam

17 – Randi Barge

19 – Jessica Borg

23 – Bob VanderVeen

GREETERS & FELLOWSHIP

Volunteers Needed for August

Please see sign-up on bulletin board by church office.

For questions talk with Office Manager Dawn Reimers

Need in the church building or have questions concerning church matters, please contact:

Dawn Reimers-Office Manager (287-2692) or (home: 287-1016)

Lynnett Hansen-Custodian (402-369-0544)

Jim Stout-Church Chair (402-369-0971)

Anniversaries 5 – Greg & Kelly Johnston

11 – Jason & Denise Erb

14 – Gary & Barb Preston

16 – Mark & Dawn Reimers

20 – Lyle & Betty Johanson

29 – Jim & Barb Stout

31 – Mike & Tammie Mogus

Time to pack your bags, prepare the RV or air out the tent for

Camping at Ponca State Park August 12-14

Everyone is welcome to join the fun. Make your reservation at Ponca State Park soon so Wakefield can be grouped together.

Bring your own meat and a dish to share at the community meal Saturday evening. Questions? Talk with Barb Stout.

August Treasurers

Mark Borg

Joel McAfee

Saturday August 27 — Church Clean-up Day

Save the date now to help out with projects at the church of deep cleaning, yard work and building maintenance. Specific tasks will

be posted closer to the date.

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Evangelical Covenant Church Non Profit Org.

802 Winter Street U.S. Postage PAID

Wakefield, NE 68784 Permit No 34

Phone (402) 287-2692 Wakefield, NE 68784

Email church@ wakecov.org

Website: www.wakecov.org

CHANGE SEVICE REQUESTED

Spanish Worship Services now offered

IGLESIA EVANGELICA CASA DE ORACION

Led by Ruben Vega

Sunday 3:00 PM

Tuesday 7:00 PM

Saturday 7:00 PM

Covenant Courier