A mosaic of churches working interdependently together to transform lives and communities
By Erik Cave, Director of NextGen Ministries, PacNWC
Enjoy this 8-minute video interview with Nick Pringle, the new Lead Pastor at Cedarcreek Covenant Church. You will learn about the adventure that led him to Cedarcreek, his passion for knife making, and his church’s Holy Rollers.
Follow Nick on his Facebook Profile
Email Nick at pastornick@cedarcreekcovenant.org
Visit Cedarcreek Covenant Church’s Web Page
Visit Npknives to learn more about Nick’s knife making business
On Saturday, June 11th, friends, colleagues, and family gathered in person and virtually to celebrate the life of Rev. Dick Lucco. Follow this link to see the recording of this memorial service.
Dick is well-known throughout the Covenant for a variety of pastoral calls and denominational service, including in the PacNWC. Dick served as senior pastor at Trinity Covenant Church in Salem, OR from 1993 – 2002. You are welcome to read The Covenant Companion’s In Memorial Piece here.
Dick was instrumental in forming the Salem Leadership Foundation (SLF), a faith-based, non-profit in Salem. A beautiful tribute was recently published by Sam Skillern, executive director of SLF, exemplifying the impact that Dick and Trinity Covenant Church had on the Salem community.
He wasnât born in Salem and he didnât die here ⌠but our community is eternally blessed because of Rev. Dick Lucco.
In the 1990s, in the midst of an all-out community response to youth gangs, Dick was the one who diagnosed a major gap. âWhen our city has a crisis, and civic leaders reach out to the churches for help, 1) they donât know who we are, and 2) when they finally reach us, the answer is ânoâ â something must change. We need a bridge.”
Sam Skillern – Salem Leadership Foundation
Dick convened leaders of faith and goodwill, paving the way to SLFâs birth in 1996. Dick was beloved at his church, Trinity Covenant, and built strong friendships with clergy across town. He was part pastor, professor, wry-humorist, and a zealous St. Louis Cardinals fan. He had vision for growth and change, and he knew how to build relationships that would bear fruit.
Among many influences on me and the work of SLF, two stand out. In our early days, in concert with our mission to help ministries, nonprofits and schools, I was being asked to join various boards. The easy âyesâ was to faith-based organizations. When Sue Miller was putting together a new nonprofit to help kids and families, I asked Dick if thatâd be a worthwhile engagement. âSam, weâre all about people-of-faith and people-of-goodwill. If church folks only hang out with church folks, whatâs the point. Do it.â Being on the team that launched Family Building Blocks taught me a ton and built methodologies and relationships that are still strong today.
The second game-changer was the day Dick told me Trinity Covenant was pulling out of the Capitol Inn hotel, where the church had incredible ministry to the homeless folks living there. Instead, theyâd be focusing on the churchâs neighborhood. Are you kidding? South Salem? Gently, but firmly, he schooled me on the hidden high-poverty needs at Liberty School and the Section-8 apartments across the street. Not to mention the âpoverty of affluenceâ that wreaks damage. SLF switched from a creed of âeveryone come to the inner city to helpâ to âlook out your front door and back door and love neighbor as self.â This applies to not only churches, but businesses, organizations and households. Huge. Especially now.
With heavy but grateful hearts we remember Dick fondly. We send our love to Val, Zach, Drew, Jeff, Chris and the grandkids. We give thanks and praise that a guy from Webster Groves, Missouri, and North Park Seminary would commit a rich chapter of his life to Shalom, Oregon.
Enjoy this 10-minute interview with Mark Knight, Praise Covenant Church Lead Pastor in Tacoma, WA. Mark shares about a research paper he wrote chronicling the rise and decline of Covenant ministry in Idaho and Montana 100 years ago. He shares insights as to what led to this turn of events and lessons we can learn from them today. Mark also briefly shares about his new book, “Non-Anxious Churches: Finding the Way of Jesus for Pastors and Churches Today. Look below for links to Mark’s paper, his book, and contact info.
Non-Anxious Churches: Finding the Way of Jesus for Pastors and Churches Today
Email Mark at pastormark@praisecovenant.net
Visit the Praise Covenant Church Web Page
By Paul Collard, Executive Pastor, Columbia Grove Covenant Church
It all started during a Menâs Connection Group Bible Study when Pastor Andrew Thompson of Columbia Grove Covenant Church in East Wenatchee, WA. came to our Bible Study and asked what we thought about âputting white rocks on our hillside which said Love Like Jesusâ and to catch his vision of what the hillside area could look like. Â Â As it was just a weedy almost ugly mess, not very attractive as people looked up to our church on a hill, where thousands of cars drive by daily.
I was in that Bible Study and let my mind wanderâŚ.What if there was a 2 x 6 wooden form on edge for each letter, filled the forms with good topsoil, and then planted privets for a hedge? HmmmâŚ.
Just a few obstacles were in the wayâŚ..how to fund a $4,000 project which wasnât in our annual budget. We also needed a bulldozer to push up the dirt that had sluffed off over the years into our stormwater retention area. Manpower and womanpower for lots of labor would also be needed.
One of our members had a bulldozer and mini-excavator, so in about 6 hours on a Saturday, the dirt was pushed up the hillside. The next Sunday during the announcements from the stage, I told the congregation of my thoughts on what we could do and showed a photo of what the letters would look like after a few years of growth. Within one week we had raised $3200 and the next Sunday another $900 came in for this project.
The letters are made from 2X6âs on edge and are 16â tall and the entire project is 163â wide. One of our members helped do the layout of the letters, several dozen men helped to assemble the 2X6s and carry them down the hillside. We then had a local business come and place the new dirt with a conveyor system into the letter frames.
We then needed to run new irrigation main lines to the area, connect to our irrigation timer, and also a drip irrigation system inside the letters to keep the âprivetsâ moist, as we get very hot summers and they get the âwestâ exposure during the heat of the day. We planted over 600 privets, and when they were planted were about the size of a pencil, they were planted 12â apart.
The first few years the âLLJ Projectâ needed lots of TLC and care, making sure irrigation lines were working and lots of weeding. Now that the project is 5 years old, the main maintenance is trimming the privets about 3 times during the summer to keep them looking good.
Thousands of cars drive by on Sunset highway every day, we have signage along the road âpointsâ to see the Love Like Jesus. We are happily referred to as the âLove Like Jesusâ church, or for those who don’t know where our church is located, we just say âyou know the church that has Love like Jesus on Sunset Highwayâ.   Â
It was a fun experience to get this project going and completed. While people were weeding the letters, it was fun to hear all the cars honking showing their love for Jesus and our project.
One afternoon, we received a phone call from some people traveling on Sunset Highway on their way to our airport en route to be with an ailing parent. They said how they needed to see Love Like Jesus at that very moment and thanked us for showing our love for Jesus.
Hope you enjoyed learning more about our hillside retention project! If you’d like to learn more, please reach out to Paul Collard, Executive Pastor at Columbia Grove Covenant Church, East Wenatchee, WAÂ paul@columbiagrove.org or visit the Columbia Grove Covenant Church Web Page.
By Greg Yee, Superintendent, PacNWC
I am an occasional journaler. Along with some work lists, books, read and prayer items, Iâve been keeping a standing page titled, âCloud of Witnesses.â Here I enter the names of those that have gone before me. Two weeks ago in Connecticut, while I was with the Council of Superintendents, in the middle of an evening worship time singing âSoon and Very Soon,â we got word that our dear colleague and friend Dick Lucco passed. He had been ill and suffering, but it was startling nonetheless.
Facing death is always a universal disruptor.
When a loved one passes, we change our plans and travel at all costs. We cancel appointments. We take leave. For the council, we stopped mid-singing to sit with the difficult news and then continued as if we were singing our brother into the presence of the Lord. I added Dick to my list.
Facing death universally pulls us away from unconscious daily rhythms and shocks us into a space of reflection. It gives a sobering perspective about life and the value of it.
Friends, thereâs been a lot of death lately.
Death because of wars and weather.
Death because of disease and distress.
And too many absolutely shocking, senseless deaths in normal, seemingly safe places like grocery stores, churches, and elementary schools.Â
We experience IndignationâŚdespairâŚtraumaâŚmaybe callousness for some of us because itâs too much, too often. How long O Lord?âŚLord have mercyâŚ
Church – followers of Jesus, as we continue to cry out to God and pray for the Holy Spiritâs comfort and leading during this moment of great tragedy, may we be disrupted.
I am grateful for the impulse to be together and pray. I am grateful for Newport Cov opening space to lament and pray last Wednesday. Radiant also did this online. I know you allowed your worship services to refocus on prayer. Yes, may we keep on putting our energy and time into the vital work of prayer. We must reaffirm our belief in the power of it!
How else are we disrupted?
Many of you know I am a big basketball fan. The NBA playoffs were disrupted by my home team the Golden State Warriorsâ coach Steve Kerr here. I know this went viral, but watch it if you havenât yet. This is especially poignant understanding that Coach Kerrâs father was assassinated by extremists while president of American University in Beirut. He was shot two times in the back of the head when Steve was only 18.  It was a horrific disruption that led Steve to fight for sensible gun control. But equally important, it was a disruption that led to how he would see and treat people different from him for the rest of his life; how to stand with people when they are treated unjustly, and how to fight for the dignity of life for all.
OK, spiritual realities – Death came into the world because of sin. For the wages of sin is death, right (Rom 6:23)? Sin has had nearly all of human history to infect and infest to create horrific brokenness like racially and politically targeted mass and the shooting of kids. Sin tirelessly labors to repulse and isolate. Its end goal is to accept alienation. Â
More spiritual realities – as we just celebrated the ascension of our Savior who conquered death, how do walk forward as ones who have said âyesâ to him? Light always disrupts darkness. And the fact that we are called to be bringers of Christâs light, assumes that being âbringersâ involves time and action. As Great Commission, Great Commandment-people we are never to be stationary or solitary in our faithâs disposition. As we will sadly never have a shortage of disruptive moments on this side of heaven, in this moment, we must reconstitute our commitments to bring Christâs light to our communities.
I heard an interview with one of the relatives of a Robb Elementary School victim. He did not want to talk about gun control saying there was time to do that later. Instead, his instinct was to question how any teenager could be so angry, would have so few good people in his life, and have so little moral grounding that he would end up doing this.Â
I could only hear Christâs call upon us as the Church. As recipients of dividing walls being torn down, how do we tear down walls of class, race, and gender where it has diminished and alienated (Eph 2:14-18)? As those having a Father who is Healer and Redeemer, how do we seek the peace of our cities and put our energies into championing restoration and wholeness (Jer 29:7; Psalm 147:3)? As being sent out as disciple-makers, how do we increase our life-on-life focus, create mentoring programs, and increase connections to our communitiesâŚ(Matt 28:16-20, 2 Cor 5:18-21)?
Sitting at 55, life seems even more fragile than ever these days. One thing is underscored by all weâve experienced in these past few weeks – get closer to people: to pray, to family and loved ones, to those weâre called toâŚThe pandemic taught us unnatural patterns of isolation. Get closer to people. There is so much darkness, so it seems even more clear than ever. Getting closer to people always increases the lumens. In Christ’s name, with the power of Godâs indwelling Spirit, get closer to people. The great cloud of witnesses is cheering us on.Â
Newport Covenant and two Jewish Congregations Collaborate for a Staged Reading of the new musical A TIME TO LIVE inspired by the Book of Ruth â June 4 & 5, 2022.
Hope conquers grief and love defeats prejudice within intercultural relationships in this retelling of the beloved, ancient story.
When two women from Newport Covenant Church started collaborating more than 10 years ago on a musical, they did not know their show would also strike such a strong chord with Rabbi James (Jim) Mirel. The Rabbi attended the last of six performances in 2017 of A TIME TO LIVE and loved the show which intermingles the basics of the Book of Ruth with a good dose of âgodly imagination.â Newportâs long history of theatrical productions with the Creative Arts team was the perfect environment for Katheen (Kathee) Lyndon (book) and Brenda Giordano (music & lyrics) to produce a new musical which was well received by more than 900 who attended. The women have great passion for the story of Ruth, seeing many contemporary issues in this 3000-year-old story. âChristians and Jews are not always well versed in Scripture. I hope this show will cause them to return to the Bible and read the original.â states Kathee Lyndon who had memorized the book years before under the tutelage of Covenanter Keith Ferrin, well known for his memorization of Scripture.
Seeing their work on stage was gratifying, but there was more work to be done. Recognizing their need for professional input, the two writers enlisted the help of Cate Cammarata of New Yorkâs CreateTheater who served as dramaturg in the refinement of the musical. With their revised work ready, Kathee and Brenda felt strongly that in addition to a Christian audience, the show needed to be seen by a Jewish audience, something one of their Jewish cast members, entertainer and musician Brian Morris, had been telling them for years. Brenda reached out to Rabbi Jim, and he replied instantly that he wanted to help, and help he did, first by encouraging his wife, Julia Mirel to audition (she plays the part of Boazâs sister) and second by helping to find a Jewish congregation where the staged reading could be performed.
After founding Temple Bânai Torah, near Crossroads in Bellevue, Rabbi Jim now leads a congregation in Des Moines, Bet Chaverim. Both congregations are sponsors of the show along with Newport Covenant Church, 12800 Coal Creek Parkway SE, Bellevue, WA 98006 where the first staged reading will take place on Saturday, June 4, 2022, at 7 pm. This will be Livestreamed through Facebook with recording available later. Temple Bânai Torah, 15727 NE 4th St, Bellevue, WA 98008, will host the second staged reading on Sunday, June 5, 2022, at 2:00 pm with a reception following.
This first weekend in June 2022 is Pentecost, significant for Jews and Christians. Called âShavuotâ (Feast of Weeks) by Jews, this holy day celebrates the giving of the Law to Moses as well as the wheat harvest festival and includes the reading of the Book of Ruth, perfect for A TIME TO LIVE. The staged reading will not have sets, props, costumes, or lights, but plenty of music and drama. The 15 very talented cast members are made up of Christians, Jews, and theater lovers. First Covenant Church is represented by the talented Tom LaPaze, playing Elimelech. The cast is accompanied by Aki Fujino on piano and music stands are used since the cast is âon bookâ. The audience is encouraged to participate by providing written responses with their impressions of the show. This is a free event with donations welcomed.
For more information and to register, see this announcement in Broadway World
You are also welcome to contact Brenda at 206.409.8726 or go to brendagiordano.com
June 5 – https://www.eventbrite.com/e/a-staged-reading-of-the-musical-a-time-to-live-tickets-298772595877
Jim Sundholm grew up at First Covenant Church in Seattle. As an adult, he became a major voice in the Evangelical Covenant Church as director of Covenant World Relief, and executive director of the Paul Carlson Partnership. You can read more about Jim’s life and ministry in his obituary featured in the Covenant Companion here and in the tribute featured in the Pietist here. His family has put together opportunities to remember Jim that are open to the public. Please read this note and invitation from his wife, Carol.
My dear husband Jim passed away two years ago of cancer, in March of 2020. We had two intimate family memorials, one with Jim’s siblings and our children, led by Glen Palmberg, where we spread ashes near Dockton Park on Vashon Island. The second was at the Peace Garden and Columbarium at North Park Covenant Church, Chicago, led by Paul Couleur, Rachel’s husband, where our daughters’ families and all the grandchildren could pray and say goodbye to Papa as Jim’s ashes were interned. Jim was also remembered at First Covenant Church, Seattle with others who had passed away during Covid, and on All Saint’s Day, both meaningful occasions. We are grateful for the love and support of so many of you in calling and sending e-mails, cards, letters, and tributes in Jim’s memory. Thank you as well for gifts sent in memory of Jim to Covenant World Relief, North Park University and Seminary, Community Covenant Church, Minneapolis, and First Covenant Church, Seattle.
It is now possible to meet in larger groups and we have chosen two occasions to remember Jim.
On the west coast, we have been welcomed by Cascades Camp and Conference Center, Yelm, WA, to have a casual time of remembrance on Sunday, July 3, just after the customary Salmon Barbeque that marks the end of Family Camp. The barbeque is available for persons coming just for the day, by registering with the camp before June 15th at 360-894-3838, asking for Anna. Refreshments will be served after the service.
In the Midwest, we have been welcomed to have a memorial service at Community Covenant Church, Minneapolis, where Jim served as pastor for 24 years and where we raised our three children. This service will take place on Saturday, September 10” at 2 pm and will be streamed on YouTube to persons not able to attend either service. The live stream and recording will be available at their website, cccminneapolis.org.
Our family will enjoy these times of remembering Jim with many of you.
Carol Sundholm and family
By Erik Cave, Director of NextGen Ministries, PacNWC
Enjoy this interview with Austin Bailey, the new Lead Pastor at Pine Lake Covenant Church
What is your personal and ministry background?
Over the last decade, God has called us to different churches that are no less than 1,500 miles away from each other. We have gone from Chicago, to Texas, to Connecticut, and finally Washington. Our family joke is that we canât accept a call unless it is literally across the country. Living in such different regions of the country has really allowed us to appreciate how God has blessed our Covenant movement. So excited to be part of what God is doing in the PacNWC.
What three traits define you?
Friendly, hospitable, generous. If you do the math, you will figure out that I am a type 2 on the enneagram!
Where is your favorite place to be?
You can often find me at a coffee shop that pours a good medium roast. Most of the time you will find me there with a friend, but on rare days find me alone with a good book.
What is the weirdest job youâve ever had?
It wasnât that weird, but when I worked at a golf course, I was the guy who drove the ball picker at the range. Let me tell you, people donât âpracticeâ at the range, they try to hit the ball picker!
What would you do for a career if you werenât doing this?
I donât know if it would support or have the approval of my family, but I would be a bartender. It was one of my favorite jobs where I got to talk to people and allowed me to sleep in every day!
What is the one thing you cannot resist?
Ice cream! No matter how full I am or how cold it might be outside I will always take two scoops in a waffle cone!
Visit Pine Lake Covenant’s Web Page
Visit Austin’s Facebook Profile
Visit the 2022 Annual Meeting Resources Page for related to the annual meeting including video recordings, interactive agenda, interactive annual report in English and Spanish, Superintendent’s Report slides, candidates for ordination video introductions, ECC’s Above All Else Annual Video, and virtual Ministry Fair.
Our Ministerial Association met in the morning of April 29 to cover business in supporting our pastors, staff and their families. Five candidates for ordination and 50 licenses were approved for recommendation at the ECC Annual Meeting in June.
Nick Pringle â Cedarcreek
The 132nd Annual Meeting was attended by 125 delegates and general conferees for our first-ever hybrid meeting. Harbor Covenant Church showed incredible hospitality to those in person. Online delegates participated through Zoom.
Encounter Church, Bellevue, WA was recommended for ECC Membership.
Sunset Covenant Church, Portland, OR concluded its ministry and was removed from the roster of member churches.
Superintendent Greg Yee shared his excitement for our current season of opportunities and fruitfulness as he highlighted our three mission priorities: Start Churches, Strengthen Churches, and Support Pastors.
Brian Whitaker, PacNWC Executive Board Chair, proposed a revised budget for 2022 of $1,120,564 and $936,898 for 2023 which were both unanimously approved.
Elections for new members of the Executive Board, Youth Commission, Children and Family Ministry Commission, and Nominating Commission were held. All elections were unanimously approved. For a list of boards and commissions go to pacnwc.org and click on 2022 Annual Meeting.
Rob Mohrweis shared a report from Cascades Camp & Conference Center expressing their gratitude for the tremendous support the camp received during the pandemic that got them through. There remains a financial need and ongoing support in prayer and finances are deeply appreciated. There is also growing excitement for this yearâs camping season. Rob expressed a need for male counselors and for lifeguards.
Rob Bryceson, Asher Ernst, and Rodney McCauley extended an invitation to the 133rd Annual Meeting on April 28th â 29th 2023 in Spokane, WA.
Please help connect people in your church to the Pacific Northwest Conference website, our monthly e-newsletter called The Catch, and our social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
By Greg Yee, Superintendent, PacNWC
As the final annual meeting delegates and Harbor Cov staff departed, the conference staff sat outside the church in the warm sunlight, finishing our box lunches. We all reflected on the blessing of our annual meeting experience. We had so many highlights: being in person after three years and interacting with so many of you, the incredible hospitality of Harbor Cov, worshipping and praying together Friday night, and the diversity of anointed voices that led us and successfully pulling off our first hybrid meeting,
If you missed it or would like to look back, you can access all the resources and the Friday night and annual meeting recordings here.
As we continued to soak in the warmth of the sun, we did what we always do. We dived into a +/â (plus/delta-strengths/changes) time immediately so our memories and feelings were fresh. We took copious notes and are already thinking of not only what could be improved, but how things could potentially be different.
As I drove across the Narrows Bridge, my mind continued to reflect. I started to think of more radical ideas, seemingly impossible ideas. But then I kept stopping
âSomething needs to change, but it seems that ⌠is impossible to changeâŚâ
âWe canât break traditionâŚâ
âHow on earth could we even pull that offâŚâ
At the beginning of Peter Sungâs Friday workshop âThe Post Church Churchâ (recording posting soon) he shared this picture of poppies growing in the middle of a scorched forest and read this quote from the Sierra Club:
“During wildfires, the nutrients from dead trees are returned to the soil. The forest floor is exposed to more sunlight, allowing seedlings released by the fire to sprout and grow. Many trees have evolved fire-resistant bark, like ponderosa pine or eucalyptus; others, like the giant sequoia or lodgepole pine in Yellowstone National Park, require fire to open their waxy cones and release seeds. Fire also acts as a natural disinfectant, incinerating diseased plants and removing them from the flora population. After fires, the charred remnants of burned trees provide habitats for insects and small wildlife. In a moist post-fire climate, native plants will thrive. Sometimes, post-wildfire landscapes will explode into thousands of flowers, in the striking phenomenon known as a superbloom.”
âOne of the beautiful things about California fires is spending time in those areas as soon as you start getting rains,â Dr. Stevens-Rumann says. âThereâs an abundance of beautiful flowers and vegetation that you only see after fire years.â
Some of my own thoughts as Peter shared: What are we doing personally and collectively that needs to be burned back? How do we more purely and wholly surrender ourselves to Christ and be the church?
As we continue to experience this massive forest fire that was these past 2+ years, do we know the living waters of Godâs rain that leads to a superbloom in our hearts and in our churches?
I read Psalm 26:2 both individually as David wrote it and collectively as Israel sang it:
Put me on trial Lord, and cross-examine me. Test my motives and my heart. (NLT)
I love The Messageâs version:
Examine me, God, from head to foot, order your battery of tests. Make sure Iâm fit inside and out.
Put us on trial, evaluate us, God. Test our motives and hearts. Make sure weâre fit inside and out.
Godâs truth about evaluation is reflected in the business world as well. Peter Drucker says, âUnless strategy evaluation is performed seriously and systematically, and unless strategists are willing to act on the results, energy will be used up defending yesterday.â Unless evaluation is natural and normal weâll age-in-place.
Okay, maybe change doesnât look like this! But what does need to change? The opportunities for kingdom impact are incredibly abundant. The global church is rapidly growing unlike any other time in history. The harvest fields are ripe. We are fueled by Holy Spirit octane power. Jesus himself sends us out. And he stands at the shore and looks at each of us in our eyes and asks us to drop EVERYTHING in order to follow him.
So how are you/we doing?
As we walk through these days of reconstruction, I realize thereâs so much that we just donât know. As I sit in my post-meeting thoughts. two things are clear. First, God continues to call us to total surrender and that following him will not always be easy or comfortable. Second, I know that honest, probing evaluation is desperately needed.
So like the staff and I experienced after the annual meeting, my hope is that you too can sit outside the church, share a meal, experience togetherness and gratefulness, soak in Godâs sunshine/sunshine, and find your own rhythms of doing your own +/â.
Praying for a superbloom.