The Heartline

Holy Week and Easter

Our annual Maundy Thursday Service will be on April 5^th at 7 PM. Since the word Maundy refers to Jesus’ command to celebrate the Lord’s Supper, we will do that as part of the service.

Our annual Good Friday Service will be on April 6^th at 7 PM. This short service, which concentrates on Jesus’ Seven Words from the cross, can be very moving.

All of these special services lead up to the celebration of the Resurrection of Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ on Sunday, April 8^th, at 10 AM. Sunday School will not meet that morning, but there will be an Easter breakfast beginning at 9:15 AM.

An Easter Egg Hunt will follow worship on Easter Sunday. All children through grade five are welcome -- please bring your baskets. Kay Ebbs and Susan Nimmo will coordinate the event with help from the middle and high school youth.

Invite A Friend

The Lenten season and Easter are great times to invite friends to attend worship. We want to encourage all of you to invite someone to worship during this season.

If you have family, neighbors, or friends that you would like to have the pastor personally invite, please let him know. He will be happy to send them a personal invitation by mail or by e-mail.

Easter Sunday Breakfast

There will be no Sunday School for children or adults on Easter Sunday. Instead, we will have an Easter breakfast at 9:15. Please see our fellowship elder Debbi Alessi if you can assist with the breakfast.

Easter Egg Hunt

Following worship on Easter Sunday, there will be an egg hunt for children though fifth grade. Susan Nimmo and Kay Ebbs will coordinate the event, but they need middle school and high school youth to help them.

Bible Study Small Group

On April 17^th, a new small group will start meeting each Tuesday evening at 6 PM. It will follow small group priciples, but will have a primary focus on adult Bible study. The first series will be the First Letter of John. If you are interested, please call John Stevens.

Friday and Saturday
April 20^th and 21^st8 AM - 3 PM

Please bring donations cleaned and sorted.
Volunteers welcome!
Questions? Contact Koinonia:
Debbie Menoher, Lois Butcher,
Debbie Alessi, Susan Nimmo,
Susan Owens, or Jan Nuetzel

Picnic at Poe Springs
Sunday
April 29^thNoon – 5 PM

Tickets will be sold at church beginning April 1^st. Cost is $3 for seniors (62+) and children (613), and $5 for adults. Bring food and games to share. Swimming and fishing are available. Come join us!

Directions - Take I-75 N to US-441, exit 399, to Alachua/ High Springs. Take 441 N for 4.8 mi, then bear left on FL-20. In ½ mi, turn left on US-27. In 0.6 miles, turn right onto CR-340. Poe Springs is 2.8 mi on the right.

It’s Not Too Early
to Think about Father’s Day

On Sunday, June 17^th, we have a very special service planned! ”The Singing Reflectsons” will be performing on Father’s Day. The Reflectsons will be doing MOST of the service, so we will be able to sit back and enjoy some wonderful southern Gospel music.

This group performed at Covenant several years ago in a special concert. The group has changed a little, with Leslie Lewis Thigpen joining the group. She is married to Glen Thigpen, also a member of the group. Also, Dale Thigpen, Jr., has left the group to go into pastoral ministry.

Here’s a short introduction to the members of the group and their positions:

Dale Thigpen, Sr Lead Vocal
Erick McDonald Drummer
Glen Thigpen Keyboard, Baritone Vocalist
Leslie Thigpen Alto Vocalist
Bryant Thigpen Bass Guitarist
Tommy Thigpen Bass Vocalist

This promises to be avery special eventin the life of the church. This might be the perfect opportunity to invite friends and family to the service. So please mark your calendar and plan to attend!

Vacation Bible School

As school draws rapidly to a close, it is time to think of Bible Vacation School. This year, Covenant’s Bible School will be held on Saturday, June 23^rd. Susan Nimmo is the director and is looking for volunteers to help her.

Family Retreat

A family retreat is scheduled for the weekend of Oct. 21-22 at Camp Montgomery. Put the dates on your calendar and watch for more details. As plans for the retreat are being made, volunteers will be needed, as well as an attendance estimate. Please let Wesley Owens know if you think your family will be attending the event.

New Baby

We welcome Elizabeth Danielle Swafford into the world. Elizabeth was born on March 6^th at 6:07 PM, weighing 7 pounds and 15 ounces. Proud parents are Wendy and Dan, and proud big sister is Emily. Please include them in your prayers.

Elizabeth was recognized with a pink rose on the Communion Table on Sunday, March 18^th.

New Members

We welcome to our church family four new members. Rory and Margo Baggs joined by transfer of letter on March 18^th, Kevin Butler joined by transfer of letter/reaffirmation on March 4^th, and Dot Spangler joined by transfer of letter/reaffirmation on February 28^th. Please welcome them and pray for them often.

Current church membership is 109. As a reminder, folks can join Covenant in three ways: public affirmation of faith, transfer of letter, and reaffirmation of faith. If you would like to become a member, please speak to the pastor or an elder.

Koinonia Keeping Busy

Having finished the banners for the sanctuary, the ladies of the small group, Koinonia, have turned their efforts towards community service through volunteering at two local charities.

Our first project was helping to organize the food pantry at St. Francis House. The mission of St. Francis House is to provide emergency food, temporary shelter, and related support services in a safe, secure environment for people in Alachua County who, for whatever reason, find themselves homeless and hungry. The food pantry is a good-sized room adjacent to the kitchen, filled with the generous donations of the community. However, when we first arrived, we could barely walk into the room because of the boxes of dry and canned goods that were randomly stacked everywhere in no apparent order. I think Chandra started us off with the beans: black beans, lima bean, kidney beans, and green beans. We each picked a different box or shelf to sort, and all the beans went to Chandra’s area. Monica did spices; Debbie got the pasta and meats; Susan, fruits and vegetables. It was slow going at first, but little by little we were able to empty one box and find a clear space of floor that made it easier to move and easier to see what needed to go where. We were not able to get everything in alphabetical order, but we left it in much better condition, hoping that it would be easier for the cooking volunteers and staff to prepare meals for the homeless.

Our second project was for the Bread of the Mighty Food Bank. The only food bank located in north central Florida, it is part of America’s Second Harvest, the largest food rescue organization in the United States. They acquire food from retailers, wholesalers, manufacturers, government agencies, as well as corporate and individual donations and foundations. Locally partnered with the Gainesville Housing Authority, the Food Bank provides food to four residential retirement communities and member non-profit organizations. At least this time we were not relegated to a small dark room. The Bread of the Mighty Food Bank features an 8,500 square foot warehouse that not only has shelves, but also cartons staked on pallets that were off-loaded from semis and tractor-trailers. Some of us were busy sorting and stacking in the warehouse, while others of us were delegated to the “store-front.” Round and round, and up and down the aisles we went trying to unload and stack various items from the warehouse. It was a busy and fulfilling event.

Koinonia will be returning to each of these community projects throughout the year and invite any interested parties to join in the fun. We will be busy with the Annual Yard Sale in April, but plan to visit St. Francis House on Saturday morning, May 19^th. We will be making another trip to the Food Bank on June 16^th, also a Saturday morning. As you know, Koinonia is the Greek word for Fellowship, which we offer to you to enjoy as we Serve God by Serving Others.

Wise Recognized

Andrew Wise, a member at Covenant, was recognized on March 20^thwith the Dorothy Richardson Award for Resident Leadership. For twenty years, Andrew has been a member and has served as vice-president, secretary, treasurer, and member of the board of the Neighborhood Housing and Development Corporation, the Gainesville-based affiliate of the NeighborWorks America.

Congratulations Andrew! Your Covenant Family is proud of you.

Dual Record Holder

Stacey Stevens, a senior at the University of Florida, now holds two UF softball pitching records. She is the career strikeouts leader with 538, and she also has set the record for career starts with 106 games.

Congratulations, Stacey! Your Covenant family is proud of you.

Thanks for the Lily Orders

Thanks to all for supporting this year’s Easter lily program and for getting orders in on time. The lilies will be beautiful on Easter morning!!

Calling All Graduates

If you know of any high school or college students who are graduating this spring, please call the church office at 332-0400 or e-mail the church. We will have a special graduate recognition Sunday in May.

Label Savers Alert

To benefit the Duvall Presbyterian Home for developmentally disabled children and adults, Covenant has long been participating in the Campbell’s “Labels for Education” program. Last summer the rules changed for what to save from Campbell’s soup cans and other eligible products. Front panels from cans are no longer accepted; the requirement now is the UPCs (bar codes). The accompanying illustration shows the new required for proof of purchase. (When in doubt, save the whole label, but make sure the bar code is not torn.) While Campbell’s soup labels are the ones most commonly collected, there are many other products that qualify. Check the table in the Narthex or go to www.labelsforeducation.com/eligibleproductsEN.aspx for the complete list.

Newsletter

Many of you have responded to our request about the delivery or the Heartline. We certainly don’t mind mailing it, but we are trying to be faithful in our stewardship. Toward that end, John Tucker, the newsletter editor, has developed this format that will allow us to send the Heartline electronically. We are making the switch now to avoid the $150 bulk mail registration fee in that would be due in May.

If you have not responded to the request, please feel free to call the church at 332-0400 or e-mail the church. Most have expressed a desire to receive the Heartline electronically. We will continue to print and mail as many copies as necessary. The process has also allowed us to remove names of those who no longer desire to receive the Heartline. Thanks for your response.

The Heartline

April 2007