Covenant Presbyterian Church Augusta

This Sunday we're going to talk about miracles. Our guest minister this week is Nadine Ellsworth Morgan.  Miracles--Big ones, small ones, the kind that dazzle and the kind that we sometimes miss entirely. It's the miracle that draws us in, but is it the most important thing? What is God really doing here?  As we turn together, particularly to 2 Kings 4, we'll see that the entire chapter is one extraordinary thing after another. 

This week our guest minister is Rev. Tray Robertson.  "I'm excited to worship with you this Sunday. During the service, we'll hear and embrace God's Word, stop seeking additional signs, and respond to the light He has already shown us. Maintain your spiritual clarity through prayer. By doing these, God will guide our steps, strengthen our faith, and fill our lives with His light. My family and I look forward to fellowshipping with everyone as this will be my son Matthias's first Father's Day and celebrating fathers and father figures."

This Sunday we will talk about the biggest villain in the Bible: Judas. Our guest minister, Becky DeLecuona, asks kind of person was he? Why would he betray Jesus? And what can we learn from his story?Join us for an unusual look at an easily dismissed but nevertheless important Biblical character.

In worship, guest pastor Rosy Robson McCreary, explores the connection between our faith and our bodies as we read stories of healing in Mark 5:21-34 and celebrate the sacrament of communion. A few years ago, on a trip to Israel/Palestine, I saw this story illustrated on a massive painting (15 feet by 6 feet!) in a chapel in Magdala. The painting is entitled "Encounter," and it's by a Chilean artist named Daniel Cariola. I'll tell you a bit more about this painting and my experience viewing it on Sunday. 

This Sunday is Trinity Sunday. The doctrine of the Trinity goes back to the earliest days of Christianity. Much ink and even some blood has been spilled over it through the centuries. As guest minister Becky DeLecuona tellsl us, today, many of us would be hard pressed to explain it.This Sunday we will look at what this metaphor can tell us about God and our relationship with God. We will celebrate God as Creator, Christ, and Holy Spirit through our Scripture readings and our hymns.

Our special guest minister for this Sunday is Rev. Amy Hobby Rickard.  As she tells us this week we will celebrate Pentecost, sometimes called the birthday of the church universal because of the story in Acts 2 when the disciples received the Holy Spirit in the presence of the crowds in Jerusalem. But did you know there was an earlier time when church leaders received the Holy Spirit, when the Israelites lived in the wilderness under Moses' leadership? Together we will consider what happens when we ask God for something, and receive a response that may or may not be what we anticipated. When the Holy Spirit is involved, it's sure to catch our attention!

This week our guest speaker is Rev. Rosy Robson McCreary who fills the pulpit while our co-pastors, Katelyn and Andy Cooke begin their sabbatical.  This Sunday, we’ll hear the story of Jesus’ ascension and stand with the disciples in the space between wonder and calling, asking what it means to follow the risen and ascended Christ. While Katelyn and Andy have been officially sent out into a season of sabbatical, we will reflect on what it means for all of us to be sent out as Christ’s witnesses in the world (sabbatical or not).

Here we are! It is the last Sunday before our sabbatical begins. Pastor Andy Cooke wants to say again how grateful we are to you for allowing us this opportunity for sabbath rest after seven and a half years at Covenant. We are looking forward to the opportunity to clear away many of the things in our lives during this time so that we can return refreshed and renewed for the next season of ministry at Covenant. We'll have a brief sabbatical litany at the end of worship on Sunday to mark this transition into sabbatical.During worship, we'll hear the words of Jesus as he describes the work of the Holy Spirit during a time of transition. He promises that the Holy Spirit will be with the disciples even though tough days are ahead, and that God will never abandon them. Jesus gives his disciples--and us--the opportunity to consider how fully we believe that the Holy Spirit is at work within us. I hope that you'll join us on Sunday as we explore this important question together.

Pastor Katelyn Gordon Cooke said, "I'm excited that we'll be celebrating our high school graduating seniors in worship this Sunday. These youth were fifth graders when Andy and I came to Covenant, and it's been a joy to watch them grow up and grow in their faith. I'm proud of these youth and all they've accomplished, and I'm eager to see what's next for them. I also know that there's something a little unsettling about the in-between transition time and the uncertainty that comes with it."
Jesus' disciples know this unsettled feeling too, and it's where we meet them in our Gospel reading on Sunday morning. Jesus is with them now, but Jesus tells them it will not always be that way. The disciples are understandably anxious, and they ask Jesus a question that many of us may have asked him too, "How can we know the way?"

As pastor Andy Cooke explains this week, in John's gospel, Jesus calls on God's people to do the work of discernment as they look for their shepherd (spoiler: Jesus is the good shepherd). This Sunday, we'll focus on discerning the voice of our Shepherd in the midst of so many competing voices in this world. I hope that you'll join us and consider how we can do that work of discernment together.