Covenant Presbyterian Church Augusta

1/18/2026 A Curious Faith

It's true that curiosity can be dangerous, but, as pastor Katelyn Gordon Cooke tells us this week, curiosity also inspires new discoveries, friendships, and possibilities. In the Gospel of John, the first words out of Jesus' mouth are words of curiosity: "What are you looking for?" He asks this question of the two men who have just begun following him, and it marks the beginning of their journey as disciples. 

1/11/2026 The Beloved

As we exit the Christmas season, pastor Andy Cooke tells us this Sunday will commemorate an important milestone in the life of Jesus: his baptism. It is another incarnational event where Jesus enters into our story and does something that we would not expect. It is a great day to remember your own baptism, and to consider what baptism means for us.

1/4/2026 Paying Attention, Paying Homage

"Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity." Pastor Katelyn Gordon Cooke has been thinking about this quote from Simone Weil this week alongside the story of the magi who follow a star to find the Christ child. The Gospel of Matthew tells us that the magi "observed his star at its rising," which means, of course, that they were paying attention. They had to pay attention to observe such a thing, and when they saw the star, they knew what they had to do next.On this Epiphany Sunday, we'll hear this familiar story again, and we'll consider our own attention - where we give it and what it motivates us to do.

12/28/2025 Readings

Pastor Andy Cooke has shared the story the story of the time that Katelyn and I went on our first date. She told me that she wanted to see a play in Charlotte called "The Birth." It was based on the writings of a Presbyterian minister named Frederick Buechner. Needless to say, it was a great first date. But we do laugh now about how two Presbyterian ministers went on a date to see a dramatic reenactment of the writings of another Presbyterian minister. It all seems a little nerdy in retrospect, but I guess it was the kind of nerdiness that worked for us.Ever since that moment, I've appreciated Buechner's retelling of the story from the perspective of the Inn Keeper, the Wiseman, and the Shepherd. Back in 2021, I shared it with you on Christmas Eve at 9:00 p.m. Enough time has passed that I'd like to share it again, and I will do so on Sunday morning during worship.

12/21/2025 Awake in the Promises

This Sunday marks the Fourth Sunday of Advent, and our gospel reading will be the story of the birth of Jesus in Matthew. As Pastor Andy Cooke tells us, this story is not quite as popular as the Luke story, but I always appreciate it because of the way that it highlights Joseph and his role in the story. Joseph is a quiet character in the gospels, but we really get to know him in these verses. God speaks to him in a dream, and Joseph follows God's direction after he wakes from the dream.

12/14/2025 Lessons and Carols

One of Covenant's favorite images in the nativity story is the multitude of heavenly hosts praising God on the first Christmas night. Even though this Sunday's Lessons and Carols services happens in the morning and even though we are not angels, it's nice to imagine that this service is a continuation of the proclamation of the good news of great joy for all people that Christ is born. During Sunday's service, we'll hear again the story of God to coming to us in Jesus Christ through Scripture and song.

12/7/2028 O Stumpy Tree

This week, Pastor Katelyn Gordon Cooke shares the prophet Isaiah's vision of "a shoot shall come out of the stump of Jesse" in worship this week, and we'll wonder together about the beauty and mystery of God's faithfulness even in the midst of death, despair, and decay. Admittedly, these may not be the holly jolly words we want to hear in this season, but these are words that we and our world need to hear over and over again.

11/30/2025 Wonder in the Waiting

This week we bring you a very special service of worship. Covenant celebrated the Waiting in Wonder of the beginning of advent with a service of readings and carols. 
This Sunday, we'll have our annual Hanging of the Greens service. This service helps to make decorating a religious act rather than a chore. We slowly decorate the sanctuary together and pause to make sure that we speak aloud the spiritual symbolism of each decoration. I usually carry those words home with me and think about them as I decorate my own home. I hope that you will do the same.  We hope this service will be a source of peace and inspiration as we enter the holy season of Advent together.

11/23/2025 Christ the King

Christ the King Sunday, celebrated on the last Sunday of the church year, focuses on the crucified and risen Christ, who God exalted to rule over all creation. As pastor Karla Conditt Daniels tells us, Christ the King Sunday was established by papal decree in 1925, to reorient the faithful after the horrors and destruction of World War I. 
One hundred years later, with wars raging and the proliferation of dangerous political ideologies, we also need to be reoriented (and reminded) that the only Sovereign in life is God made known in Christ, and our allegiance belongs only to our Creator God. 
I am grateful for a strong and diverse community of faith, that sometimes challenges and often clarifies where my allegiance belongs. While we may not share uniformity in our thinking I hope that we can appreciate our unity in God’s Spirit.

11/16/2025 Quiet Work

Pastor Andy Cooke says being part of the church can be hard work sometimes. Our relationships are a constant balancing act between grace and accountability, kindness and truth, acceptance and aspiration. Being part of the church is challenging, but I think that it is practice for how we interact with the rest of the world. On Sunday, we will look at the letter of 2nd Thessalonians and see how this challenge has been with us since the beginning of the Christian church. I hope that you'll join us  and consider how we might continue to be formed and reformed into a more Christ-like community.