Services, Schedules, Events 2

PCoC Events & Updates 3

Honor Cards 4

Inside this issue:

The Covenant Compendium

Presbyterian Church of the Covenant December 2016

Sunday Morning Schedule 9:00-10:00 First Service 10:00-10:20 Fellowship time 10:20-11:10 Study Groups 11:15-12:00 Second Service Nursery 9:00-12:00 Rm. 101

Important Dates … Dec. 3: Church Work Day Dec. 4: Communion Sunday, Both services; all are welcome Dec. 5: Higher Ground Break-fast, 10:00am, 210 East Besse-mer St. Dec. 5: College Hill Neighborhood Assn. meeting, 7:00pm, Fellowship Hall Dec. 6: In*Spire Meditation 12:00pm; Group Brown Bag Lunch, 12:30pm, Fellowship Hall Dec. 11: Joint Service, 10:00, Brunch & Interim Mtg., 10:45 Dec. 12: Session Meeting, 6:00 pm, Faselo Room Dec. 13: PW meeting & luncheon, 11:00am-1:00pm, Fellowship Hall, Parlor Dec. 13: Sierra Club Mtg., 6:00pm, Fellowship Hall Dec. 18: Ann & Charlie Finch, 50th Anniversary Party, 2:00pm—4:00pm, Fellowship Hall Dec. 24: Christmas Eve, 5:30pm, Jazzy Noel Dec. 25th: Christmas Day, Joint Service at 10:30am; no classes Dec. 26: Office Closed!

SESSION DIGEST

The Session met on Monday, November 14 2016. The following actions were approved: Protocol for voting by email: The Session approved Mark Sandlin’s suggested protocol for voting by email. The protocol is as follows: Voting by email may take place only if a decision must be made:

1) before the next stated Session meeting; or 2) before a possible weekend meeting of the Session.

Email voting will begin with: 1) a discussion of the motion over a 24-hour period, followed by: 2) voting over a 24-hour period.

This protocol will be reviewed at the stated Session meeting in January 2018. Community Foundation Thanksgiving: the Session approved

that $500 be given in honor of Ken Conrad and Jeff Farlow to the Community Foundation Thanksgiving, an event that Ken strongly supported. Jeff Farlow was included as an honoree be-cause of his extensive volunteer work on repairing the furnace.

Interim pastor: Dale Walker, Salem Presbytery’s liaison to our

church, facilitated an evaluation of Mark Sandlin’s performance as interim pastor since December 2015 and of Mark’s own evalu-ation of the Session’s performance during the same period. The Session and Mark concluded that both had performed well. The Session voted to extend Mark’s contract for another 12 months, with the possibility of negotiating an increase of his salary in January 2017. Mark accepted the Session’s offer. The Session al-so agreed to retain the Interim Support Committee until the con-clusion of the interim process.

Kelley Griffith, Clerk of Session

December Sunday Service Information

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December 4: December 11: JOINT SERVICE at 10:00am!! 9:15 Host: Susan Andreatta Host: Jane Cauthen 9:15 Music: Carol Rauch Music: Joel Landau 11:15 Ushers: Nancy Schaefer, Lem Cox BRUNCH/INTERIM MEETING AT 10:45am 11:15 Lay Asst.: David Johnson December 18: December 25: JOINT SERVICE at 10:30am!! 9:00 Host: Elsie Hutchens Music: Walt Lott 9:00 Music: Tyler Millard & Emma Lee Ushers: Celia Starling, Frank Starling 11:15 Ushers: Ann Finch, Charlie Finch Lay Asst.: Kelley Griffith 11:15 Lay Asst.: Emily Seawell

Mon.: Yoga, 6:00pm, Parlor ** Meditation, 6:00m, Marty’s Room (106) Tues.: In*Spire Meditation, 12:00pm, Sanctuary, free! Pilates, 5:30pm, Fellowship Hall ** Wed.: Coffee Group, 9:00am, The Green Bean WNFS Potluck, 6:00pm, Fellowship Hall Choir rehearsal, 7:00pm, Sanctuary Thur.: Yoga, 5:30pm, Fellowship Hall** Fri.: Coffee Group, 9:00am, Panera (New Garden Rd.) ** $10 per class; $7 for church members!

Mark Sandlin: Mon.—Thurs., 9:00am—3:00pm Kate Baird: Mon.—Friday, 9:00am—3:30pm

Church Office Hours

Every Week …

Wednesday Night Fellowship Suppers at 6:00 pm

Work Day: Dec. 3

PCoC’s In*Spire Meditation group meets every Tuesday at noon in the Sanctuary; the 20-minute Meditations are led by group volunteers and it’s open to the community. The first Tuesday of each month (that’s Dec. 6th this month!) we enjoy brown bag lunches together in the Fellowship Hall at 12:30. Everyone is welcome!

In*Spire Meditation and Monthly

Communion Sunday: Dec. 4

Celebrate the first Sunday in December by sharing communion with us at PCoC during both of our rmorning services; everyone is welcome .

PCoC’s weekly potlucks are a great opportunity for fellowship and sharing. In December, there will be an after-dinner project; Sue Stinson will bring materials for those who would like to participate in the annual Amnesty International Write for Rights campaign, in-cluding case descriptions and sample letters for the 12 cases selected for this year. Enjoy a wonderful potluck meal and involvement in this international campaign for human rights. One of this year’s cases is that of a 10-year old Albino girl in Malawi, where some people believe her body has magic pow-ers. Like other people with albinism in Malawi, Annie could be killed for her body parts because some think this will make them rich. Thousands like her are at risk. Your letter writing can make a difference. Those who want to learn more about the campaign or who are not available on Wednesdays but still want to par-ticipate can go to https://write.amnestyusa.org/signup/

Saturday, December 3 is the last Workday of 2016; there are chores inside and out; bring a rake or plant daffodils or help wash outside office windows from 9:00 until noon; come for all or part of the time, any time is appreciated! Many thanks to Clara Kelly for her leadership and dedication to this job in the past and thanks to Lora Farlow for taking over !in 2017!

PCOC's outreach to Higher Ground, a day center for people whose lives have been affected by HIV/AIDS, continues. Sue Stinson and Sarah Sills prepare brunch starting at 9:30 on the first Monday of each month and stay to share the morning meeting and the meal with this wonderful and loving group. If you'd like to take part, contact Sue Stinson (suestinson1968@yahoo.com or 336 202 8427). To support this effort financially, you may write a check to PCOC with Higher Ground in the memo line.

Higher Ground Breakfast: Dec. 5

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Interim Pastoral Support Committee Report Ralph Cauthen, for the Committee

Christmas Eve: Dec. 24

Merry Christmas! The church office will be closed on Monday, December 26th.

Due to the particular circumstances of the Church of the Covenant, the interim process is taking more than one year to complete. Our next congregational meeting to work on this process will be on Sunday, Decem-ber 11, following a joint service at 10:00am. With the leadership of Dale Walker, our Presbytery Committee on Ministries liaison, the Session conducted an evaluation of our Interim pastor’s first year and the responsi-bilities of the Session at our November meeting. Following the evaluation, the Session approved the recom-mendation of the committee to extend the contract of Mark Sandlin as Interim Pastor for another twelve months. Rev. Sandlin accepted. That recommendation is now being carried to the Committee on Ministries for final approval by the Presbytery. So, Covenant has decided not to “change horses in the middle of the stream”, and Mark is committed to seeing our interim process through to completion.

Join us at 5:30pm to enjoy “A Jazzy Little Christmas”; favorite Christmas tunes set to a jazzy beat intermixed with readings from the Christmas story. It’s sure to be fun for the whole family!

Church Office Closings

Members who feel called to a position of leadership and service at Church of the Covenant are invited to seek nomination for a three-year term on the Session, the church's governing body. The committee has been work-ing over the past month to identify nominees for two open seats on the Session, but so far has not been able to find members who are willing to serve. Installing a new class of ruling elders is vital as the Session contin-ues its duties of serving the church community and preparing for the appointment of a permanent pastor. Interested members or those with questions can contact committee chair Morgan Josey Glover at 314-5191 or mjluvsjc@gmail.com. Other committee members include elders Lem Cox and Nancy Schaefer, and mem-bers Elsie Hutchins, Clara Kelly, Joyce McKenzie and Dave Sheets.

PCoC Seeks Nominees for Session Elders

We’ll share a joint service at 10:30am, featuring the hand bell choir; also, we’re having a food drive on Christmas Day only! Donations of canned/packaged food for both humans and pets may be left under the Christmas Tree in the Sanctuary; they will benefit Mary’s House, Red Dog Farm, and Juliet’s House. Help make it a merry Christmas for man and beast!

Free Concert Featuring Walt Lott: Dec. 6th

PCoC Music Director Walt Lott will be part of a quartet offering a free concert at 2:00pm on Tuesday in the Sanctuary; they’ll play “The Quartet for the End of Time”, by Olivier Messiaen. Come cheer Walt on!

Joint Service, Brunch and Congregational Meeting: Dec. 11th Attend the joint service at 10:00, then share brunch and attend the third in our important Interim Process meetings. We need volunteers to bring breakfast casseroles or fruit bowls, and volunteers to serve/clean up. A sign-up sheet is on the back table in the Fellowship Hall. All members are urged to participate.

50th Anniversary Celebration: Dec. 18th

Please join PCoC in congratulating Ann and Charlie Finch on the occasion of their 50th wedding anniversary! They were married at Covenant on December 18th, 1966, and will celebrate with a reception in the Fellowship Hall on December 18th, from 2:00 to 4:00pm. Members of the congregation are invited to attend; all are welcome!

Christmas Day: Dec. 25

501 S. Mendenhall Street Greensboro NC 27403 Phone: 336-275-6403 E-mail: pcoc2010@gmail.com

Check us out online!

www.athinkingchurch.org

Presbyterian Church of the Covenant

Scarves 4 Warmth… Coming Soon!

Honor cards will be available Sundays between services from Sue Stinson in the Fellowship Hall, or in the church office week-days from 9:00am to 3:00pm.

Honor Cards; $5.00 each, now through Dec. 18th in the Fellowship Hall!

The Peacehaven Honor Card program is an annual campaign to raise aware-ness and funds for Peace-haven Community Farm, a Guilford County sustainable farm that is also a home for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. 100% of each donation goes directly to support the work of Peacehaven Community Farm.

The 29th annual William Mangum Honor Card for Greensboro Urban Minis-try is “Hope in Front of Me”. All proceeds go to Greensboro Urban Ministry to support programs that assist individuals and fami-lies experiencing crisis, including Emergency Assis-tance with utilities and rent, Food Assistance from the Food Pantry, Weaver House Shelter, Potters House Community Kitchen, Pathways Family Shelter, Partnership Village and the Beyond GUM program.

Habitat for Humanity of Greater Greensboro‘s vision is a world where everyone has a decent place to live. Since 1987, Habitat Greensboro has housed 465 families in new and renovated homes, built 429 homes in Honduras and Jordan and repaired over 100 homes. Habitat partners with families who invest 350 hours of sweat equity to build their home and the homes of other Habitat families, as well as complete homeowner educa-tion classes to equip them with the skills and knowledge to be successful homeowners.

People 2 People’s mission is to enhance international un-derstanding and friendship through educational, cultural, and humanitarian activities involving the exchange of ide-as and experiences directly among peoples of different countries and diverse cultures. In over 160 countries, PTPI participation knows no boundaries as members and friends work together to foster cross-cultural understanding in order to be an active force in creating and sustaining a more peaceful world.