Latest information from the North Pacific Conference

Rev. Henry Greenidge was honored at a retirement party at Irvington Covenant (Portland, Ore.) on September 27^th. Pastor Henry was recognized and honored for planting and pastoring Irvington Covenant for nearly 20 years.  True to Henry’s heart for ministry and music, he will be interim Worship Pastor at Newport Covenant (Bellevue, Wa.) this fall.  Congratulations and many blessings Pastor Henry!

New pastors in the NPC. Bree Stairs began her new ministry as Youth Director of West Hills Covenant (Portland, Ore.) last month.  Mark Swanson (married to Megan) will begin his ministry as Pastor of Wiley Heights Covenant (Yakima, Wa.) this month.  Matt Mills (married to Kirsten) will also begin his ministry as Pastor of The Well Covenant Church (Corvallis, Ore.).  Welcome Mark, Matt and Bree! 

NPC welcomes three North Park Seminary interns this year.  Elizabeth McColl is intern at Cascade Covenant in Bend, Oregon (Scott Johnson, pastor).  Mark Roberson is intern at Tigard Covenant Church in Oregon (David Greenidge, pastor).  Sarah Robinson is intern at Cedarcreek Covenant in Maple Valley, Washington (Kenton Johnson, pastor).  Welcome Elizabeth, Mark and Sarah!

The Evangelical Covenant Church now has Veritas seminar on DVD.  This seminar on the healthy missional church is now available in DVD/workbook package.  

Churches can order this resource directly from the Covenant Bookstore online.  In addition to the Veritas DVD, a Veritas teaching team is also available to lead seminars in the NPC—call the office of Church Growth and Evangelism (773.907.3347) to schedule.

EVENTS

Save the date of Saturday March 7^th, 2009 for a new NPC training and resource event called Leadership Matrix.  This event is for pastors, lay leaders or potential leaders—in fact, it’s for everyone!  Join us March 7^th from 9am-4pm at Kent Covenant as we endeavor to move beyond “the instinct to huddle and cuddle” (Alan Hirsch in his book The Forgotten Ways) to be a church that is characterized by adaptive leadership that is focused on Kingdom values and behavior. From a variety of sources and ministries we will spend March 7, 2009 seeking ways to leverage the North Pacific Conference with missional priorities for years to come. Come and be refreshed! Come and be challenged! Come and help us reframe the Missional-DNA of the NPC! More info coming in the November eNews.

CROSS CULTURAL MINISTRY & MISSION

Cross cultural ministry opportunity in your own home and church. Johnna Hayward, Covenant Project Missionary of the Covenant church in Belgium, writes: Maman Esther, the wife of Pastor Passy (who is the cousin of Pastor Sanguma, the president of the Covenant in Congo, CEUM) is looking for a three-month stay in the U.S. to learn English.  She could come soon – Oct through Dec 2008!  She is trained as a nurse’s aid and can cook, clean, drive and bring joy to any house.  She is Belgian so does not need a visa for up to three months.  She could be a nanny or help with an aged or bed-ridden person.  All she asks for in return is the cost of the flight, food and lodging, and enrollment in an English class (as well as only speaking English in the home).  Would you like an extra hand around the house and are open to letting God change you through an international friendship?  Contact Johnna (johnnah21@hotmail.com) for more info. 

Remember to pray for our Covenant Project Missionaries Jim and Liz Sedore from Grace Covenant (Olympia, Wa.) in Mongolia. Visit their website for [more info].

YOUTH MINISTRIES

Covenant youth workers are eligible for discounts for Youth Specialties Youth Worker Convention.  Marti Burger (Covenant Director of Youth & Family Ministries) writes: We are excited about all of the great speakers and seminars at this year’s convention and want to provide a way to allow more of you an pportunity to attend—here are some special offers we were able to get for those working in Covenant Churches: Pittsburgh Convention—10 free hotel rooms for churches who have at least two people register from a church, Pittsburgh—15 free registrations, Sacramento—20  registrations at $150.  If you are interested in this special offer contact Marti (marti.burger@covchurch.org). [More info] 

Junior High Thunder retreat is October 3rd – 5th at Cascades Camp is this weekend. [More info]

Time to really start planning for CHIC 2009 coming up next summer July 12^th -17^th. Check out the website at www.chic2009.org.

CHURCH NEWS

Come celebrate in worship the launch of our new sister Covenant church in Sammamish, Wa.  Everyone is invited to the first public worship service of Missio Lux on Sunday,October 5^th at 5 pm.  Service will be held at Pine Lake Covenant Church (Sammamish, Wa), 1715 228th Ave SE. Come support Missio Lux as it takes steps to become Jesus’ church present to the world. For more info, contact Pastor Tamara Buchan at 425-890-3913. 

First Covenant Church (Spokane, Wa) invites you to their 120^th anniversary.  Everyone is invited to the celebration weekend events.  There will be an open house on Saturday, October 4 from 9:30 am to 4:30 pm with special music and bulletin board displays. There will be a celebration banquet on October 4th at the Red Lion Inn from 5:00 pm to 10:00 pm. For more information, contact First Covenant Church at 509.747.2818 and ask for Frances.  We invite you to join us in this special event.

Missio Lux Covenant (Sammamish, Wa.) also invites you to an outreach event this month.  Join them in learning more about the important issue of Human Trafficking through the movie Call and Response--playing in Seattle the week of October 10-16.  See website  www.callandresponse.com for more info.  Our hope is to raise awareness of human trafficking so that more people are committing themselves to see justice rise up.  Read about it on Pastor Tamara’s blog.

Quest Church (Seattle, Wa.) invites you to “Faith and Gender” conference October 10^th-11^th. Lauren Winner, author of Girl Meets God and Real Sex: The Naked Truth about Chastity, will be keynote speaker Fri., Oct. 10th at 7pm on “Lessons from the Church Mothers” and on Sat., Oct. 11th at 11am on “Male & Female He Made Them: Gender & the Triune God.”  The cost for the conference is $15 or $10 for students.  [More info]

Mercer Island Covenant Church (Wa) invites you to a special event at their MOPS program on Friday, October 31^st at 10 am. Jack and Kathy Stockman from Chicago will be the special guests. Even though that day is Halloween, the Stockmans will be sharing creative ways to prepare your home and family for a much more significant and meaningful holiday—Christmas! The Stockmans are the creators and publishers of the much-celebrated work of art. It's called The Advent Book. For two decades they have been helping parents and grandparents use artistic resources to awaken faith and curiosity for spiritual things in children. [Click here] for more info about The Advent Book, and we hope to see you on October 31^st.  For more info, contact Tanya Avilez at tanyaavilez@hotmail.com.  This special Friday morning workshop will also kick-off Mercer Island Covenant’s Festival of the Arts Weekend that will include an art show and concert on Saturday Nov. 1^st.

Emerald City Bible Fellowship is seeking youth pastor.  [Click here] for job description and feel free to pass the word along. If anyone is interested in this position, please contact the church office at 206.722.0455 or church@emeraldcitybible.org.

Kent Covenant (Wa.) invites you to LeadNow conference on November 15^th for ministry to young adults. Be encouraged, grab resources, and network with churches in the area who want to reach out to the 20’s and 30’s age group. KCC will host this simulcast event. Ruby Varghese, Director of Junior High Ministry says, this conference “helped give our ministry vision and resources to begin reaching this age group for Christ. I would like you to join us- whether you are currently ministering to this group or have the burden to begin something- we’d love to have you here.”  Everyone is invited—pastors, leadership team, lay leaders or people that you are ministering to—to hear from top level speakers and connect with other leaders in the Seattle area. [More info]

Valley Covenant (Eugene, Ore.) invites you to A Weekend in Narnia conference November 21-23, a weekend event of lectures and fun focused on The Narnian Chronicles by C. S. Lewis. [More info]

First Covenant (Seattle, Wa.) invites you to their 50^th annual Julfest on December 7^th.  Save the date and look for more info in the November eNews. The Julfest choir is open to all-comers—practices begin Nov. 2 at 12:30 PM.  Contact mark.safstrom@gmail.com or the church office (206.322-7411) for info.