We are at the end of July,  and as the heat bears down,  you might start dreaming of fall weather. Which means it is a good time to start dreaming about who might start attending Orchard Covenant this fall as well! Most of you know the acronym, BLESS for evangelism,  but if you don’t, right now I just…

Dear Church, If you haven’t witnessed the devastation at Pilgrim Pines (our East Coast Conference retreat and conference center), this video will give you an idea. https://www.wmur.com/article/flash-floods-roads-swanzey-camp/44497029 My heart is breaking. My mind is on a loop. “Lord, be with Jim (camp director), Father, rescind the waters, help the campers dig the cars out, thank…

I (Pastor Nick) stumbled upon this quote and I think it fits our series about finding God’s refreshment: “(W)hat makes you think that God is absent from the maintenance shop but present in the chapel? . . . Holiness doesn’t depend on changing our jobs, but in doing for God’s sake what we have been used…

Pastor Nick and I are here at the Covenant Annual Meeting. In just two days (Saturday), Pastor Nick will be ordained! I am so happy for him. I’m sure you are too. We would like to thank everyone for your support of our professional journeys here in the Covenant. You have supported us well and…

This Monday was Juneteenth. A holiday commemorating the actual freedom from slavery in the United States. Well, that is simplifying it a bit, but there are some great resources out there about the holiday, so I’ll just offer my meager reflections on a “toe in” celebration of the day. My first instinct was to exclude myself from this…

Pastor Karen reminded us last Sunday that there are kingdom seeds and there are weeds of the enemy.  We are always planting seeds in our lives, whether intentional or not.   Some of them will grow into the fruit of the kingdom-  Righteousness,  Peace and Joy.  Other seeds that we plant will grow thorns that…

This Sunday marks the end of the Sunday School for this church season,  and traditionally that has meant the start of the summer slump at church,  both in attendance and in financial support. Pastor Karen and I are taking time for vacation this summer and God commanded rest.  However, summer is not the time to…

oy! It sure feels like summer this week! I hope you are finding ways to be cool. It probably does not come as a surprise, but I’m reading a new thought-provoking book. It’s called, “Our Unforming: De-Westernizing Spiritual Formation,” by Cindy S. Lee. Some of you may really enjoy reading it as well. Here are…

This Sunday is Pentecost… You can celebrate if you want by wearing red,  or a 1990’s style flames t-shirt.  On Sundays,  we have been exploring what the church was meant to do,  and walking through three pictures of the church:  one family,  one body, and this week,  one temple.  These pictures are found in Paul’s…

We were talking the other day with someone in a serious situation and they mentioned that they were not certain that they believed in God. And this is something that we encounter quite frequently,  people who have been church-attenders,  but underneath there is fear because there is doubt somewhere inside them. But there is a…