“Marriage Matters … Why?” - Brian D. Ellison
A Sermon on 1 Corinthians 7:1-11, 25-38 preached at the Covenant Network Conference, November 2, 2013: "It’s not that the text suggests something simple in the sense of something sentimental, that 'all you need is love.' No mention of love here in this chapter about marriage at all, in fact, not even from the man behind 1 Corinthians 13. No, the simple summary of Paul’s response to the swirling questions about marriage here, about celibacy and abstinence, about mutuality and submission, about complementarity and about sex, we might actually say, is: 'All you need … is God.'”
"A More Perfect Union" - Sharon K. Youngs
A Sermon on Ruth 1:1-22 preached at the Covenant Network Conference, November 1, 2013: "What is married? We say it all the time at weddings, we say it to partners getting ready to marry, we say it to couples working hard to stay married: At its core, marriage is not about passion or emotion or physical attraction. It is not about feelings. At its core, marriage is about covenant, commitment. It is about shared hopes and shared struggles and shared life. At its very best, marriage is an embodiment of God’s hesed – God's steadfast love and faithfulness."
"It's Time" - Amy Plantinga Pauw
An Address to the 2013 Covenant Conference, November 1, 2013: "... I want to linger for a little while on appeals to creation that have resulted in damaging views of marriage, because they have been so pervasive and influential in Christian tradition. I want to make clear at the outset that these views of marriage have been destructive for all people, not just LGBT folks. The movement for marriage equality is an opportunity for Christians to go back and articulate a better theology of marriage for everyone. Why should Christians support marriage equality? It’s time..."
Workshops Will Enrich the "Marriage Matters" Conference
Participants in the 2013 Covenant Conference, "Marriage Matters," will be able to choose two from among 15 exciting workshops. Take a look!
Christian Marriage Study - 50-Minute Version
Some congregations are finding that the sessions of the six-week study on Christian marriage provided by the Office of Theology and Worship are difficult to complete in the usual time available on a Sunday morning. The Rev. Ken Cuthbertson has graciously shared his lesson plans (handouts included) for 50-minute classes. Download Ken's adaptation of the study.
Daniel Vigilante Conference Scholarship
The CovNet Board of Directors has established a scholarship to help seminarians with the expenses of attending the Covenant Conference, in honor of the ordination of board member Dan Vigilante. All seminarians REGISTER FREE, but if you would like to apply for further assistance, you can download the application here. Application deadline for this year's Marriage Matters Conference, October 31 - November 2 in Chicago, is October 1. Contributions to the scholarship fund are also welcome!
Conference Keynotes Will Challenge, Reform, Inspire
The 2013 Covenant Conference will take place at Fourth Presbyterian Church, Chicago, October 31 to November 2. In a series of compelling keynote addresses, three of the leading voices of the Presbyterian Church (USA) will bring words of enlightenment and challenge to this year’s Covenant Conference. Don't miss Macky Alston, Amy Plantinga Pauw, and Stacy Johnson. Registration is open now. Read more...
Celebrating the Ordination and Installation of Dan Vigilante
On the afternoon of Sunday, August 25, 2013, the Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area ordained Daniel Vigilante as a Teaching Elder and installed him as Pastor of Grace-Trinity Community Church and Associate Pastor of Westminster Presbyterian Church, Minneapolis. Dan is a member of the Board of Directors of the Covenant Network, and we rejoice with him as he has, at long last, reached this stage in his ministry. Read more...
"Whose Body Is It, Anyway?"
A sermon by the Rev. Brian D. Ellison at the ordination and installation of the Rev. Daniel Vigilante as Pastor, Grace Trinity Community Church, Minneapolis, and Associate Pastor, Westminster Presbyterian Church, Minneapolis, by the Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area at Westminster Presbyterian Church, August 25, 2013.
A Season of Welcome- Laurene Lafontaine
Laurene Lafontaine is pastor-elect of Community Presbyterian Church in Rochester, MN. She will be installed on September 22, 2013 at Community Presbyterian. Read Laurene's story on A Season of Welcome – https://aseasonofwelcome.org/.
Love the One You're With
A Sermon by Ken Kovacs on Psalm 86 & Romans 13:8-10: "Love of God, we know something about that, although we’re not very good at it. Love for neighbor, we know something more about that, although we’re not very good at that either. But what does it mean to love yourself? It’s clear that the ability to love one’s neighbor is inextricably linked to the ability to love one’s self. But how does one love one’s self without being or becoming selfish? Our response will shape the way we understand the Christian life. So with apologies to Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, how do you love the one you’re with? “One” here meaning oneself, this one, this self within, who we are. How do we love ourselves?"
A Season of Welcome- Ken Cuthbertson
Ken Cuthbertson is a member-at-large in Santa Fe Presbytery, and a Parish Associate at Las Placitas Presbyterian Church. His book, The Last Presbyterian?, was published in May 2013. Read Ken's story on A Season of Welcome – https://aseasonofwelcome.org/.
A Season of Welcome - Janet Edwards
The Rev. Janet Edwards is a member at large in the Pittsburgh Presbytery. Read her story on the Covenant Network's website dedicated to celebrating the gifts of ordained LGBTQ Presbyterians, A Season of Welcome - https://aseasonofwelcome.org/.
Congratulations to More Light Presbyterians and Alex McNeill!
The Covenant Network celebrates with our friends at More Light Presbyterians the appointment of their new executive director, Alex McNeill. It is a historic moment in the life of their organization, and we congratulate them. Read the statement by Covenant Network executive director Brian Ellison.
Explore Marriage Liturgies at the 2013 Covenant Pre-Conference
The 2013 Covenant Conference, “Marriage Matters,” will take place at Fourth Presbyterian Church in Chicago October 31-November 2. Before the conference on marriage equality, join us for a theological conversation about marriage. What does “Christian marriage” mean? What do we believe happens during a wedding? And what should a marriage service look like? Kimberly Bracken Long will lead the pre-conference workshop focused on liturgy.
"Crossing Over"
A Sermon on 2 Kings 2:1-2, 6-14, by the Rev. Brian D. Ellison, The First Presbyterian Church in the City of New York, Sunday, June 30, 2013: "You see, the dividing line—the Jordan River we all must cross—is not running on this Pride Sunday between LGBTQ on one side and straight on the other. Or between one group with problems and another. And it certainly isn’t between sinner and saint, for all would surely be on the same bank of the river then. The crossing over we are called to do—all of us—is from in here together to out there together. The Jordan of our lives is the threshold that so persistently separates us from Fifth Avenue and from the world. It is a line of demarcation between celebration and action, between faithful gratitude and trusting obedience. We carry with us all that happens in here, but then we cross over into the out there."
Covenant Network Celebrates Supreme Court Decisions
The Covenant Network celebrates—together with justice-minded Presbyterians across America—today’s decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court. We rejoice in today’s rulings striking down the Defense of Marriage Act and ensuring that same-gender couples in California are now able to enjoy the legal rights and privileges of marriage. With state and federal benefits now available to couples in a total of 13 states (and the District of Columbia), the country has taken a significant step toward marriage equality. We also eagerly await guarantees that teaching elders and congregations can, without fear of discipline, provide the same pastoral care to same-gender and opposite-gender couples by extending the opportunity to have their marriages celebrated and recognized in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).