Local News

New Covenant MCC Monthly Newsletter: Spectrum

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OLD NEWS:

New Covenant MCC's Social Transformation Team

Posted February 22, 2008

The Social Transformation Team of New Covenant MCC coordinated the purchase of grocery gift cards by congregants to be given to the Laurel Advocacy Referral Service (LARS) to be distributed to their clients. They collected gift cards totaling $700 and were pleased to deliver them to LARS the week before Christmas.

Pastor Lance Mullins and his partner, Dr. David Mellott, coordinated an additional church-wide collection at their annual Epiphany party on January 5th. This one went to the Tents of Hope project coordinated by Lancaster Theological Seminary (Lancaster, Pennsylvania). Tents of Hope is a program that raises awareness about the genocide in Darfur, Sudan, and gives financial assistance to humanitarian aid organizations working "on the ground" in Darfur. Congregants donated an impressive $628 for this collection.
 

New Covenant Children's Church Ministry

Posted February 22, 2008

This past October, we began our Children's Church ministry! Our children's church teachers are Patrick and Tom. The two of them are passionate and creative leaders who have done a tremendous job beginning this ministry.

Our Children's Church is held on the second Sunday of each month, concurrently with the primary worship service. Toward the beginning of worship, during the Passing of the Peace, our child(ren) goes with the leaders to a children's classroom space, where Patrick and Tom offer programming that centers around lessons from the Bible or from the seasons of the church year. They return to the main worship service in time for the Eucharist. As part of their first session, they created a "lesson tree" on which they will hang some of the crafts that they do together. This tree is put out in the gathering space before and after worship most Sundays, and it thus provides in the weeks between children's church sessions a visible reminder of this ministry for our child(ren).

The church is grateful to Patrick and Tom for helping to fulfill our community's commitment to our child(ren), and we are hoping that more children join us in the near future!
 

Food Pantry Collection

Posted February 10, 2007

Our host church, Oaklands Presbyterian, runs a food pantry for local individuals and families who cannot afford enough food for themselves. Oaklands works with Laurel Advocacy and Referral Service (LARS), which assesses the needs of local individuals and refers them to area churches and non-profits that supply them food. In December 2006, Oaklands provided food for 11 individuals and 14 families – that a pretty significant number of hungry folks who have been fed, especially given that Oaklands is a fairly small congregation.

This month, New Covenant is beginning a new partnership with Oaklands to help them stock and organize their food pantry, so that they can provide for even more people in need. The partnership is still in the organizational stages, but you will be hearing more very soon. We will be asking your help to 1) donate food on an ongoing basis 2) help bag and sort the food and 3) brainstorm ways we can further support the food pantry during the busiest months.

Thank you for supporting this important effort!

Holy Week and Easter 2006

We were blessed with our most enriching Holy Week and Easter thus far! Each of our worship services was more highly attended than in years past. On Wednesday in Holy Week, we gathered for a service of prayer and communion, with anointing for healing and wholeness. Through silent reflection, prayer, and a participatory confession that involved participants lighting candles at the altar, we prepared ourselves for the experience of the great Three Days. All who were present came forward for anointing with oil and a blessing for health and wholeness. On Good Friday, we gathered again for our annual tennebrae worship service. We entered again into the story of Jesus' death as told to us by John, and we tasted sour wine (vinegar) as a visceral sign of our participation in the suffering of God. We returned on Easter for the completion of that experience, moving with Christ from death to resurrection. This year, our Easter celebration was marked with the joy of baptism, as our youngest community member received the sacrament. We had a large crowd, and many guests were present for the occasion. Gathered around the light of the Paschal candle, we truly seemed to be glowing with the Light of Christ. After worship, people remained well into the night for a special reception in honor of our newly baptized.

Reign of Christ Sunday/ Church Anniversary Sunday November 20th

The final Sunday of the church year, in which we contemplate the sovereign authority of Christ in our lives, also commemorates our first anniversary as a consecrated and commissioned Metropolitan Community Church. On this Sunday, we will continue the celebratory mood from our Congregational Meeting/Party on the previous day. As we offered our individual gifts and lives to God on Stewardship Sunday, we will likewise rededicate our whole community’s life to God in a special anniversary worship service. We open our hearts to hear the call to follow in the Way of Jesus, our Life-Giving, Liberating Lord.

Worship Location Moving February 13, 2005

Beginning Sunday February 13, 2005 our Sunday evening worship service will be held at Oaklands Presbyterian Church in Laurel, Maryland. We will no longer be meeting at the Oakland Mills Interfaith Center in Columbia, Maryland. Click here for directions. The time of service is not changing, only the location.

This move will save us a lot in rent and will give us many more opportunities for meeting and socializing. In addition to the Sunday evening worship, we will have classroom/meeting space available every Wednesday evening. We will also have the ability to host social events every quarter.

The new location will be a little further away from some people and a little closer to others. But the move will give us opportunities for growth and development that we do not have now.

MCC Howard County Becomes New Covenant MCC

At our June 26, 2004 Congregational Meeting, the congregation voted to change our name from MCC Howard County to New Covenant MCC. This change was part of the original plan for our church once we identified our Core Values and Vision.