Mission and Commitments

We seek to do God's will in the world through community outreach and programs of our own, and by facilitating the work of others.

Missions:

  • Our Weekend Emergency Food Cupboard (open 10 am to noon on Saturday and Sunday) distributes food to up to 200 persons each weekend.
  • We participate in issues of justice in Central America actively maintaining ties of faith with the Church of the Poor (La Iglesia de Los Pobres) in the community of the Sweet Name of Jesus (Dulce Nombre de Jésus) in Northwestern Nicaragua. In 2003 COTC sends its seventh delegation to Nicaragua, and in the past there have been two south-to-north delegations, the most recent in September 2001.
  • We are participating in the Greater Boston Interfaith Organization, formed amongst churches around the city of Boston, to help build a community alliance among church members from many congregations, in order that we may address issues of economic and social justice in the wider community.
  • Our Mission and Advocacy Committee has provided financial support to dozens of local, national and international service agencies and projects.

Commitments:

  • We have committed ourselves in our worship life to inclusive language in our worship services, hymns, prayers and Biblical readings. We use inclusive language for both humanity and God.
  • We are an Open and Affirming (a United Church of Christ commitment) and a More Light Church (a Presbyterian Church, USA) welcoming the participation of gay, lesbian and bisexual people of faith in our worship, leadership, and faith life. We celebrate the baptism of their children and, under the authority granted by the United Church of Christ, provide wedding ceremonies when requested to do so. Our Open and Affirming and More Light statements and our policy regarding same-sex unions may be found in the More Light Open & Affirming section of this web site.
  • Our church staff and congregation follows a pattern of understanding ourselves as companions in faith. The church staff includes a fulltime pastor, a minister of Christian Education, Families and Youth, an Organist/choir director, and a buliding manager/office administrator.


Just Peace Statement and Commitment to Peacemaking

Responding to God's call, Church of the Covenant commits itself to peacemaking. In fulfilling this commitment, we will do peacemaking through:

Worship: provide worship that expresses the reality of God's peace giving;

Prayer and Bible study: encourage prayer, Bible study, and spiritual disciplines that nurture and deepen the spiritual life of the community and equip people to share the gospel message of peace to world;

Peacemaking in families and in community living: create opportunities for people of all ages to develop peacemaking skills such as conflict resolution, mediation, or nonviolence training that will help them grow as peacemakers in their families, in the congregation and in the community;

Community ministries: work with and support ecumenical and interfaith partners and other bodies in their pursuit of social, racial, and economic justice, to confront racism and all other forms of prejudice, and to respond to people in communities, local, national, and worldwide, who are caught in poverty, hurt by unemployment, or burdened by other problems;

Study and response to global issues: study global security concerns, work for worldwide arms control, and support alternatives to military solutions to international and civil conflicts;

Making peace with the earth: protect and restore the environment through study, advocacy, and individual and corporate lifestyle commitments;

Receiving the peacemaking and other special offerings: support financially the peacemaking efforts of both our denominations by receiving special offerings and through other means.

Adopted by the Council of Church of the Covenant on March 14, 2006 and by the congregation of Church of the Covenant on May 21, 2006.


 


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