New Covenant Connection New Covenant Presbyterian Church

“A Church Family – A Church Home”

January 2018 Volume 25

Page 1

January is the month that signals change. We

make New Year resolutions, we change our

calendars and take down the Christmas

decorations. There is change coming to New

Covenant Church as well.

The first change is the move to only one

single service on Sundays at 10:00 a.m. The

Sunday school and Bible Study classes will

begin at 8:45 a.m. This change begins on

Sunday, January 7th so mark your calendars!

The next change is the introduction of new

church banners designed my Nancy Carol

Willis and her Arts Ministry Team. Each week

in January a new banner will be presented. See

the detailed article in this newsletter.

On January 14th the installation and

ordination of new Elders, Deacons and Trustee

will be held during the service. The new

cushioned kneelers created and donated by Judy

Cooke will be used.

Our annual congregational meeting will be held

on January 28th. You will receive an annual

report from each ministry team as well as the

final financial report for the church. This will

be a meeting not to miss! It will be held after

the service.

Ministers The Congregation

Assistant to the Ministers Interim Pastor Rev. Jeffrey Howard

Accompanist: Jenny Hugh Music Director: Ken Hudson

Session Skip Leeson, Clerk 449-1942 Congregation Life Alice Megonigal 376-6172 Worship Susan Pedersen 378-0902 Evangelism Donna Casey 376-1245 Christian Ed. Sandy Boyce 378-2902 Personnel Paul Willbanks 410-829-9161 Mission Ben Urban 376-844 Stewardship

Deacons Amy Kirk 378-0577 Melissa Padgett 610-554-4488 Nelda Pemberton 376-8204 Steven Varnes 378-8879 Terry LoCastro 630-336-5043

Trustees Jane Adams 2018 378-4487 Tom Kimble 2020 376-1770 Al Grimminger 2019 378-2252

Church Information Church Phone 378-4446 Pastor’s Home Phone 319-1511 CCLI license 649817 Treasurer, Cyndi Daniels 299-5373 Summer Worship Service 9:30 a.m. www.newcov-church.org

“Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!” 2Corinthians 9:15 NIV

New Covenant Church

*Special Dates* * January 6, 2018 Epiphany

* January 7, 2018 Baptism of the Lord

* January 15, 2018 Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday

* January 18-25, 2018 Week of Prayer for Christian

Unity

Our annual Progressive Dinner will be held on April

7th this year. More details will be coming later in the

year. Mark your calendar for this unique fellowship

event.

Submitted by Skip Leeson, Congregation Life Team

We will begin our one service Sunday at 10:00

a.m. on January 7th. Sunday school and Adult Bible

Study classes will begin at 8:45 a.m.

The Taize Worship service attendance was

intimate for this first-time program at New Covenant

Church. Communion by intinction was held on each

Thursday service.

Thank you to our Adult Choir and hand bell

choir for their beautiful music at our Christmas Eve

and Advent services. Thanks also to everyone who

volunteered to light the Advent candles at each service.

Candy cane cards, engraved pencils, and star

ornaments were distributed to the attendees of our

Christmas Eve service. Thanks to the “angels” who

helped distribute the gifts.

Please read about the new banners being designed

for the sanctuary by the newly created Arts Ministry

Team. Banner designs will b revealed each week in

January.

Please see the Christmas photos at the end of

the newsletter!

Submitted by Alice Megonigal, Worship Elder

Page 2

Website: www.newcov-church.org/

Facebook: www.facebook.com/New-Covenant-

Presbyterian-Church-USA-Middletown-Delaware

Send me your ideas for Evangelism events!

Submitted for Susan Pedersen, Evangelism Elder

Winter Gift “God … does great things beyond our knowing. He

says to the snow, ‘Fall to the earth’; likewise, to his

heavy, drenching rain. He shuts up all humankind

indoors, so that all people may know his work” (Job

37:5-7, NABRE).

Snow, ice and cold can make winter a hassle. “Snow

days” due to a blizzard may thrill students but usually

inconvenience parents. But now and then, winter

blankets the earth so heavily that it seems to quiet

everything. We’re granted permission to hunker down

at home, snuggle close with family or pets, enjoy a

book or movie, make cocoa or cookies, and rest. It’s

like a surprise sabbath — the gift of grace-time —

when no one’s expected to get out the door or the

driveway.

Perhaps indeed, as Job declared, God sees fit on such

days to put our busyness on hold and shut us all

indoors so we pause and remember his work — his

place — in our lives. Praise God for snow days!

(Source: The Newsletter, January, 2018)

When the Song of the Angels is Stilled

When the song of the angels is stilled,

When the star in the sky is gone,

When the kings and the princes are home,

When the shepherds are back with their flock,

The work of Christmas begins;

To find the lost, To heal the broken,

To feed the hungry,

To release the prisoner,

To rebuild the nations,

To bring peace among people,

To make music in the heart.

Poem by Howard Thurman, courtesy of the New

Castle Presbytery Midweek Musings

BIBLE QUIZ

At the start of a new year, we remember that

God continually gives us new chances. What

does Jesus say to a woman caught in

adultery?

A. “Go, and from now on sin no more.”

B. “Not even in Israel have I found such great faith.”

C. “Peace be with you.”

D. “Tell no one what I have done for you.”

(Answer from December: B Elizabeth. See Luke 1:

39-40.)

Christmas Joy offering was collected in December.

The Kenya Mission trip is scheduled for June 2018 if

anyone is interested in joining the Synod Men in this

endeavor.

New Covenant Church is scheduled to provide the

meal for Our Daily Bread on Friday, January 5th.

Volunteer schedule will be e-mailed to participants.

I will be the Session representative on the Pastor

Nominating Committee.

Submitted by Paul Willbanks, Missions Elder

Sunday school will resume on Sunday, January 7th at

8:45 a.m. Thank you to our dedicated teachers for their

time and effort in presenting this valuable program to

the children of New Covenant Church.

Donna Casey, Christian Education Elder

Kindness is like snow - it beautifies everything that it covers.

- Kahlil Gibran Page 3

NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE

The January donation schedule is for soup of all

kinds and can be canned, boxed, etc. Please drop off

your donations in the big container marked

“Neighborhood House” by the sanctuary coat rack.

New Covenant Church has donated the below in the

second half of 2017:

51 bags of non-perishable groceries

4 baby blankets

2 bags baby toiletries

1 bag winter gloves

2 complete turkey dinners

1 complete ham dinner

Plus, items individual church members delivered

themselves.

This season Neighborhood House has served: 191

families Thanksgiving dinner; 123 Christmas dinners;

and 255 Adopt a Family gifts.

Thank you everyone for your continued support of

this mission.

Submitted by our Jane Adams, Neighborhood House

coordinator

For Christians, Christmas marks the coming of God;

Epiphany celebrates the appearance of the Lord in the

midst of humanity.

Epiphany not only discloses the Savior to the world but

also calls forth the world to show forth Christ, to be

witnesses to God’s true light.

“…I have become a servant according to the Gift of God’s grace…” Ephesians 3:7

A Merry Heart Doeth Good

Like a Medicine

Proverbs 17:22

Dear Lord, so far, this year I’ve done well. I haven’t

gossiped, I haven’t lost my temper, I haven’t been

greedy, grumpy, nasty, selfish or overindulgent. I’m

very thankful for that. But in a few minutes, Lord, I’m

going to get out of bed, and from then on, I’m probably

going to need a lot more help. Amen.

Terry: What did Frosty the Snowman name his baby?

Donny: Frostbite.

Now there are more overweight people in America

than average-weight people. So overweight people are

now average, which means, you have achieved your

New Year’s resolution. – Jay Leno

A New Year’s resolution is something that goes in one

year and out the other.

Pete: What do cows celebrate on New Year’s Eve?

Harry: Moo Year’s Eve.

It was so cold that:

Hitchhikers were holding up pictures of thumbs.

I chipped a tooth on my soup.

Starbucks was serving coffee on a stick.

We pulled everything out of the freezer and huddled

inside to keep warm.

We had to stop eating with metal cutlery. Some people

walked around for days with forks and spoons stuck to

their tongues.

Knock, knock.

Who’s there?

Snow!

Snow who?

Snow laughing matter.

This morning a seven o’clock, I showed up for the

Sunrise Special at a local café only to find out that I

was 10 hours early. The Sunset Special isn’t available

until five o’clock. Lord, I need new glasses!

“Did you have a good time ice skating?” Cybil’s

mother asked. “Yes – until they closed the skating

rink,” Cybil said. “Why did they close?” “Well, it was

Marvin’s first time on skates. When he stumbled into

the middle of the rink, he was so funny the ice cracked

up.”

Page 4

Our supplies arrived here in the Arctic and we’re

wondering – why is it when you transport something

by car, it is called a shipment, but when you transport

something by ship, it is called cargo?

Q: Why was the snowman sad?

A: Because he had a meltdown.

Lessons we can learn from a snowman:

Wearing white is always in style even after Labor Day.

Getting outside in the winter is good for your health.

It’s fun to just hang out in your front yard.

We’re all made up of mostly water.

Don’t get too much sun!

Accessories don’t have to be expensive.

Q: What do you call a slow skier?

A: A slope poke. What does a football game have in common with a

dollar? It consists of four quarters.

A family bought a nice lake cabin and settled in for

their first weekend of peace and quiet, surrounded by

the beauty of nature. Imagine their dismay to discover

the faucets didn’t work! The father phoned the

previous owner. “You told us there was running

water!” he shouted. “There is. Wait for the first rain,

then look at the ceiling. You’ll see.”

Q: Where can you find an ocean without any water?

A: On a map.

A man arrives at the gates of heaven, where St. Peter

greets him and says: “Before I can you let you enter I

must ask you what have you done in your life that

particularly good.” The man racks his brains for a bit

and then admits to St. Peter that he hasn’t done

anything particularly good. “Well, my son, have you

done anything particularly brave in your life?” The

man replies proudly, “Yes, I have.” St. Peter asks the

man to give an account of his bravery. So, the man

explains, “I was refereeing this important match

between Liverpool and Manchester United. The score

was 0-0 and there was only one more minute of play to

go in the second half and I awarded a penalty against

Liverpool. “Yes” said St. Peter, “I agree that was a real

act of bravery. When did this take place?” “Certainly”

said the man, “about three minutes ago.”

This morning it was freezing, Lord, so I grabbed a

scarf off a hook in the closet and threw it around my

neck. Just before walking out the door, I saw my

reflection in the mirror and realized I’d picked one of

my husband’s ties.

From the Pastor’s Desk, January 2018 Dear New Covenant Church,

Our celebration of Christmas is behind us and we move into a new

year. We are filled with hope in 2018 because we worship a God who is

always creating and always doing new things. Since we are created in the

image of God we also creating and doing new things. In January we will be

celebrating the creativity of our Arts Ministry. Following in the banner

making tradition of New Covenant Church, the Arts Ministry is producing

four new banners to beautify and adorn our sanctuary.

Each Sunday in January we will be celebrating the design of one of

these new banners. On January 7 we will be celebrating the themes of our

triune God’s creation of our world and our stewardship of it. On January 14

we will be celebrating the themes of God’s love for us and our love for God

in prayer, worship, Bible study, education, and music. On January 21 we

will be celebrating the themes of our obligation to love others through local

and global mission. And on January 28 we will conclude our celebration of

the new banners with the themes of God’s covenant with us in faith,

repentance, and salvation by grace.

During these celebrations, you will be able to view full-size patterns

for the banners, color sketches, and fabric samples. So, let us thank the Arts

Ministry for doing all of this. Bill Shields put hand drawings into AutoCAD

to produce the full-size patterns. Christine Rawding has determined fabric

cost and will oversee the project. Cory Taskey will coordinate and schedule

volunteers who wish to help with the sewing. And Nancy Carol Willis is the

creator of the designs and the leader of the Arts Ministry.

Please join us each Sunday in January at 10:00 am for these

celebrations as we worship God and reveal designs for our new banners.

Blessings,

Pastor Jeff Page 5

My computer does not recognize the word

“stewardship” in the Christian sense. In reality, except

in the church, the words “steward” and “stewardship”

are becoming archaic. But fortunately, I have a

dictionary old enough to have a definition.

Steward: one who is entrusted with the management

of things not his or her own. And stewardship is the

act of being a steward. Simply put, Christian

stewardship is not merely the giving of money to the

“owner of everything”. It is the caring for all the

things with which we are entrusted.

How do we measure-up as caretakers? Well, how do

we care for ourselves? Do we smirk when we eat

something we’ve been told not to eat?

Do we brag a little about how much we paid for

some nonessential item?

When we do such things, do we then act like self-

satisfied children who have gotten was with

something?

Is that how we want to measure our stewardship of

God’s things. Never quit doing what’s best for

ourselves or foe the possession s entrusted to us?

Being mature in our faith means giving up our self-

imposed blindness and deafness so we can look at, hear

about and explore new opportunities of stewardship.

Let us develop a sense of stewardship that will make

us want to use today and every day count for God.

What are the benefits of being faithful stewards of the

money that God has entrusted to us? “Command them

to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be

generous and willing to share. In this they will lay up

treasures for themselves as a firm foundation for the

coming of age, so that they may take hold of life that is

truly life.” (1Timothy 6:18-19) Only the money saved

in God’s bank will last forever.

(Reprinted with permission from Parish Publishing, LLC)

Page 6

NEW COVENANT CHURCH NEWS FROM THE PEWS

Anna Allen is still recovering well from her knee

surgery and is missed by the NCC congregation.

Brenden Kirk’s ice hockey team “The Kings” won

first place in their division. Congratulations Brenden!

Janet and Al Grimminger’s daughter Maylene will

need hip surgery soon. She will return to her job

overseas after her recovery. Please keep her in your

prayers.

Earlene Kelter will be moving soon to a 55+

community near Dover.

Skip and Pam Leeson have both officially retired and

will be moving to another community soon.

Congratulations to Pam and good luck to both with the

move. They had a great visit too with familly in

Michigan for Christmas.

Don Bauer stayed with family in New Jersey over the

holidays. He would like to continue living in his home

in Delaware.

Peggy Baldwin’s mother, Margaret Hanlon, passed

away in December. Our deepest sympathies are given

to her and her family.

Alice Megonigal and her husband enjoyed their cruise

in early December plus a quick visit to her family in

South Carolina on the way home.

Bible Study classes offered by Rev. Howard will

resume on Tuesday morning January 9th. Due to low

attendance there will be no Thursday evening class.

Thank you to everyone who stayed after the

December 31st second service to undecorate the church.

This was not a scheduled event so everyone’s

participation is greatly appreciated.

Thank you to the Cleaning Crew who keep our

sanctuary so clean and neat – even after such an event

as our Christmas pageant. Just a reminder to all –

please place only toilet tissue in the toilets. All other

materials should be placed in the trash can. We’d like

to prevent any toilet back-ups.

Deacon's News The Deacons' meeting was held

on December 5th. The need for

updating the children busy bags

was discussed as well as the visitor

bags. The Deacons assisted in the

memorial service for Barry

Baldwin. The bulletin board needs to be updated for

the First Quarter. It was agreed to send small flower

arrangements to some of the shut-ins of our

congregation. Prayers were said for the members who

were ill, recovering or in need of prayer assistance.

Submitted by Amy Kirk, Deacon

Here are some items of interest from the January 3,

2018 issue of the New Castle Presbytery Midweek

Musings.

March 2 – 3 Beach Retreat in Ocean City, MD.

Everyone is welcome to attend. Contact the Presbytery

office to reserve a room and go to Presbytery site

http://www.ncpresbytery.org to see more details.

1/9/18 Noon Chestertown Presbyterian Church is

hosting the PCUSA Mission Co-Worker Martha

Sommers lecturer. Lunch will be provided but please

RSVP 410-778-6057.

1/12/18 2:00 p.m. Westminster Presbyterian Church is

hosting the Peace Drums Steel Drum founder Harvey

Price. BYO your own bag lunch.

1/13/18 7-8:30 First Presbyterian Church Newark

presents Caitlin Jane at their Joyful Noise Coffee

House. Doors open at 6:00 with music at 7:00 p.m.

2/9/18 7:00 p.m. First Presbyterian Church Milford

presents Amos Fayette from the Delaware Music

School who will visit and lecture on Violin Info.

Admission is free.

2/17/18 7:30 p.m. Presbyterian Church of the

Covenant. Organist Chad Fothergill will present a

varied program of masterworks on Church of the

Covenant’s Schantz Three manual pipe organ.

The hummingbird gets its English name from

the hum made by its rapidly beating wings. In other

languages, it is known as the “flower kisser”

(Portuguese) or “flying jewels” (Spanish). One of my

favorite names for this bird is biulu, “what remains in

the eye” (Mexican Zapotec). In other words, once you

see a hummingbird, you’ll never forget it.

G.K. Chesterton wrote, “The world will ever

starve for want of wonders, but only for want of

wonder.” The hummingbird is one of those wonders.

What is so fascinating about these tiny creatures?

Maybe it is their small size (averaging two to three

inches) or the speed of their wings that can flap from

50 to 200 times per second.

Nature has plenty of things that can remail in

the eye because of their beauty and perfection. How

can we meditate on them and please God? We can

observe, rejoice, and thank God as we contemplate His

works and recapture the wonder.

- Keila Ochoa (Source: Our Daily Bread, December 2017)

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” —Martin Luther King Jr.

1/12 Susan Buches 1/14 Dottie Burkley

1/16 Alice Megonigal 1/21 George Wright

1/26 Grace Howard

Page 7

NCC Arts Ministry Introduces New Banner Designs

During the month of January, 2018, the Arts Ministry team will unveil four new banners

designed for our church. The banners tell a visual story about what we believe and what we

do as a church family. Each worship service in January will include songs, scriptures, and

sermons that focus on one of the banner themes.

The banner design process began almost a year ago. First, themes based upon Bible concepts

and parables were discussed. Nancy Carol Willis presented preliminary designs to the Arts

Ministry team, which were then revised based on comments and suggestions made by

ministry participants, Cory Tasker, Christine Rawding, and Grace Howard.

Then, Nancy met with the Trustees for approval to proceed with banner production and to

hang the completed banners in the church. The team enlisted technical help from Bill

Shields to convert the line art designs into CAD drawings at the actual banner size of 3 ½

feet wide by 7 feet high. Two sets of banners were then printed in sections on a blueprint

machine and assembled.

Next, Nancy, Christine, and Cory embarked on a reconnaissance mission to JoAnn Fabrics

to determine the availability of the duck backing fabric, various colored felts, and specialty

fabrics. Then Christine took one set of banners in order to calculate the amount of each

fabric required. She and Nancy put together a spreadsheet estimating the costs for the fabrics

and other materials. Nancy presented this information to the Trustees, who added the cost to

the church budget for 2018. The plan is to offset the costs by writing a Presbytery grant to

pay for the banners and print an interpretive brochure that explains the themes and related

scriptures.

These new banners will build on a tradition of banner-making at New Covenant Church. Our

Banner Ministry has worked with Nancy over the past ten years to design and fabricated

four sets of large banners for churches in Kenya. The new banners serve an evangelical

purpose by graphically depicting for newcomers and visitors what we believe and do here at

New Covenant Church.

Submitted by Nancy Carol Willis

Page 8