What is Happening This Week 3/23-3/26/23
 Beloved Family! We are 25% higher in our happiness since the pandemic! Can you believe that?! It turns out that life evaluations from 2020 to 2022 have been “remarkably resilient” and we may owe it to the “benevolence to others, especially the helping of strangers.” Maybe Jesus was right! Maybe compassion for others and being back together in community are helping us find more happiness and joy. How lucky that we are part of a beloved community that offers both! I wonder if others would like to be part of a beloved community that welcomes people in and assists those that need help. Sunday we are going to join together in worship to reflect on Jesus’ call to open our eyes to those who may want to be part of our community during the holy weeks approaching. Adult Sunday School classes meet at 9:15 and will be discussing Chapter 4 of Dr. Amy-Jill Levine’s book Witness at the Cross. Please join them! Worship will be at 10:30 am in the sanctuary and livestreaming. Our final Garden image will be at Jacob’s Well in Samaria with a local woman encountering Jesus. Read the Gospel of John 4 in preparation for our time together! We will have a work time following worship if you can stay for an hour or so to assist your Trustees with preparing for the guests that will arrive for the Easter weekend! Shalom Blessings, Pastor Cheryl  10:30 am Sunday Morning Worship In-person and Livestreamed We hope you are joining us either in-person, or for online worship on Facebook Live. We will be on Facebook again this Sunday at 10:30 am. If you have missed any of the services, or do not use Facebook, you may also find them on our website hcumc.org. Sunday, March 26 Scripture: John 4:34-36 Ushers: Pathfinders Prayers of the People  Please keep the following people in your prayers this week: The Boren family; the Hatter family; Lisa Hunsaker; Anne Michael; Belinda Harden; Sharyn Yetman; Sharon Harris; Travis Williams; Elizabeth Krause; Heath Kelley; Tom Yull; Tom Shore; Janice Pfeifer; Matthew Perry; Jim Ott; Gina Ott; and our friends at Atria Carrollton.  Wear Your Nametag! Be sure to wear your nametag this Sunday to help our guests learn names. If you need a nametag, please add your name to the sign-up sheet on the nametag table.  Easter Lilies If you would like to dedicate a lily to beautify our sanctuary for Easter, please enter your information HERE including whether the lily is given in honor or in memory of a loved one. Suggested donation amount per lily is $20. Deadline to order is Sunday, March 26.  Highlights This Week Advocates for Justice & Peace Thursday, March 23 6 pm on Zoom The March meeting has been rescheduled for March 23. We will welcome special guest Melanie Mierjering, the Director of Homeless Resources at Metrocrest Services. Please contact Lois Eaton at [email protected] for a link to the meeting. At the meeting, we will also be discussing future Micah Sundays. Some of the possibilities are: · Homelessness/Housing Insecurity · State of the United Methodist Church · LGBTQ Pronouns, and · Harassment Training/Bystander Intervention Dinner & Game Night Friday, March 24 6-9 pm Covenant Center Bring your friends, family and your favorite games! Everyone is welcome. Dinner will be tacos. Donations toward dinner are appreciated. If you plan to attend, please RSVP HERE so we know how much food to prepare.   Church Work Day Sunday, March 26 Immediately after worship Lunch will be provided The Trustees are asking for your help in preparing the church for Easter. There will be indoor and outdoor projects for all ages. Families are also invited to help get our clothes closet ready to serve the community by sorting and organizing clothes. All adults, kids and youth welcome!  We’re Collecting Candy! We’re collecting candy for our egg hunt on Easter Sunday. Please bring individually wrapped candy (no chocolate or nuts, please!) to Laulie Eckeberger by April 2nd.  Tuesday Take Five Tuesdays at 12 noon Facebook Live Take a few minutes out of your Tuesday for spiritual growth and an uplifting message for the week with Laulie Eckeberger.  Highlight Next Week Noly Paa and Friends Concert Friday, March 31 7 pm in the sanctuary The talented younger brother of our very own Dante Paa, Noly is a classically trained pianist and he can play it all. Debussy to The Beatles, showtunes, love songs (contemporary to nostalgic), Easy Rock to 50’s doowop. He interprets each with his own style and panache. You will love his music! A love offering will be collected at the concert or you can give online HERE Proceeds will benefit Holy Covenant ministries. Child care will be available!  Food Pantry Pantry Hours: Tuesday-Thursday from 10-2 2nd and 4th Sundays from 12-1 pm. We currently need: canned chicken, soups and chili. Donations may be delivered Thursdays and Saturdays from 10:00-noon. In addition to that, we accept donations on Sundays before and after both worship services. There will be carts outside the Pantry for your donations. The Missions Team thanks you for always being there to support the Food Pantry with your donations, your time, and your prayers.  Highlight Around the District Metro District Bishop’s Huddle Saturday, April 1 10 am to noon First UMC Duncanville 403 S. Main Street, Duncanville, TX 75116 Bishop Ruben Saenz Jr. is excited to meet with members of the North Texas Conference. This gathering will include a question and answer session. If you would like to submit a question for Bishop Saenz, please fill out this FORM. An offering will be taken for the NTC Close to Home Campaign and those impacted by the March 2022 tornado in Jacksboro.  Holy Week Worship Palm Sunday April 2 10:30 am Join us for a palm procession and celebration of the start to Holy Week.  Maundy Thursday April 6 7 pm We will hear the Witness of the Disciples and share Holy Communion in observance of the Last Supper.  Good Friday April 7 7 pm Invite your friends to hear Song of the Shadows by Joseph M. Martin presented by the Wesleyan Choir and the Philharmonic Orchestra of Texas.  Easter April 9 7 am Neighborhood Sunrise Service – bring a lawn chair! 9:30 am Brunch in the Covenant Center followed by Egg Hunt – bring your basket! 10:30 am Worship Celebrating the Resurrection Coming Soon  Secure Document Shredding Saturday, April 22 8:30 am to Noon Start filling those boxes now! Sponsored by Holy Covenant’s Green Team. Open to the public. Protect your identity while supporting Holy Covenant. Watch your documents being shredded on site with the utmost security. $5 per copy paper sized box. Invite your friends and family to bring their sensitive documents to be shredded. Shredding will be done by Secure On Site Shredding Inc. Visit www.secureonsiteshredding.com for more information about the company. All proceeds will benefit HCUMC ministries.  Register Now! VBS this year is Compassion Camp! Sunday. June 4 – Thursday. June 8 5:30pm snack supper 6pm – 8pm program Register NOW Compassion Camp: Changing the World with Lovingkindness has the goal to cultivate compassion for each other, ourselves, and the world. Register HERE! Finances You may give ONLINE or send checks to: Holy Covenant UMC 1901 E. Peters Colony Rd. Carrollton, TX 75007   Online Giving Donate here or use the QR code. You may set up a regular pledge payment by choosing the frequency of donations.  Highlight Beyond Holy Covenant Plano Symphony Orchestra Summer Camp Middle School (Grades 7-9) July 10-14 High School (Grades 9-12) July 10 – 21 Christ UMC Plano More information HERE The PSO is pleased to offer two summer camps to help your student fine tune their skills by learning from some of our outstanding musicians. A great opportunity to learn more about music and music performance! Limited spots are available. Early audition deadline is March 31. Additional Classes: Chamber Music; Electives such as film music, improvisation, conduction; and Private lessons with PSO musicians for additional charge. |