East Coast Covenanter - Summer 2019 Issue

THE

EAST COAST COVENANTER

A TRI ANN UA L P U BLI CAT I O N O F T H E E AS T COAS T CON FE R E N CE OF T HE E VA N G E L ICA L COV ENA NT CH U R CH

SUMMER 2019

HOWARD K. BURGOYNE SUPERINTENDENT

CHURCH PLANTING RETROSPECTIVE In Psalm 126 we pray in this voice: "...those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy."

In planting, sowing and reaping participate in a cycle of faithfulness and fruitfulness – or of “dying” and “rising.” For God’s covenant people, lament in tears and songs of joy participate in seasonal cycles of divine promise and hope realized. This has been true for Israel and the Church throughout history; it remains true in the Covenant Church as well.

That psalm and those verses have been a central part of my praying voice and pastoral vocation as Superintendent. At our Annual Meeting in April I presented a retrospective of the impact of 7 “living legacy” churches here, who in closing released “seed to sow” of $3.6MM and the imperishable seed of their collective faith. These churches – Floral Park, NY; Waltham, MA; Cranston, RI; Plainville, CT; Wilton, CT; Montclair, NJ; and Nashua, NH remained both faithful and fruitful in tearfully concluding their ministries when they could no longer continue to be viable or sustainable.

ISSUE: issuu.com/eastcoastcovenanter

Over the last 10 years, in partnership with Covenant Trust Company, their assets were invested while we set to work building a church planting ministry that would start and strengthen churches in the East Coast. Since 2009, these legacies have enabled the planting of 44 churches and 3 church planting networks where more than 5,000 new disciples are worshipping and witnessing to Christ. Evangelism, discipleship and justice are advancing in innovative ways. The total economic return released $6MM, while attracting matching gifts, so that over $12MM has been sown into east coast church planting. Marvelously, within the 44 churches planted is the 2nd generation planting work of 20 churches who have planted others already. Churches are planting churches, and disciples are making disciples. The faithfulness of these 7 churches has been multiplied seven times over in new missions and seventy times over in reaching new people with the hope of Christ.

As of 2020, we will have invested 100% of those living legacy funds, in keeping our promise to the 7 churches. Relatedly, in 2020 we anticipate the ordination of over 20 pastors from within our conference,

From the Superintendent: 1 Vision 2030: Looking to the Next Horizon 2 Missional Health: Learning from 3 Ecuador Misson Trip

Missionary's Preview of ReVision

3 "C.O.A.C.H."ing: Barbara Ettinger 4

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largely the fruit of these church planting efforts. Congregations formed by the Spirit cultivates the vocation of pastors serving and equipping the church for service.

History will tell the stories of their legacy of faithfulness in concluding well and praying for others to whom they passed the baton of faith to thrive. I do believe that the 21st century history of the East Coast Conference will detail the impact of their generous and courageous legacy in advancing the Gospel. In the New Testament we have the apostolic letters of both Paul and John to 7 conferenced churches. While none of them is in existence organizationally to the present, their unspent faith and faithful stewardship of the gospel advanced the mission of the church in both western and eastern expressions throughout the world to this day.

What legacy can the imperishable seed of 7 churches launch together? Ask any of our 44 church planters and network directors for the beginning of an answer!

Have a question for Howard?

Email him at howard@eastcoastconf.org

Leadership Roundtable 4 Preview of East Coast Justice Journey 5 Testimony: If You Let Me Play 6 Generosity Cohort Testimony

7 Sending Our Pastor Packing!

8 Transitions & Save the Dates

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EAST COAST CONFERENCE 52 Missionary Road Cromwell, CT 06416 860.635.2691

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VISION 2030

LOOKING TO THE NEXT HORIZON Howard K. Burgoyne

SUPERINTENDENT

One of the key roles of leadership is to steward the collective vision that inspires and informs others to collaborate in common service. Since joining the East Coast Conference in 2006, it has been my privilege to help the Conference discern and articulate our vocation and values in praying and planning forward. The first expression of vision came in 2007 as we released “Vision 2020” with the establishment of four priorities to MOVE the conference forward. Being “on the move” became our slogan, while these core priorities formed:

Multiply congregations Orchestrate networks Vitalize congregations Equip Leaders When we had advanced to 2015, it became timely to cast the vision out again to a 10 year horizon, and so we developed the current framework of our 2025 Vision, enlarging our aspiration to continue the MOVEMENT of God among us:

Multiply congregations Orchestrate networks Vitalize congregations Equip leaders Make disciples Engage justice for the marginalized Nurture Covenant Identity Tell the story of Jesus As we anticipate the turn into the year 2020, we will be assessing accomplishment of both Vision 2020 and the 2025 Vision to date, and undertaking the forecasting of Vision 2030. While we work strategically within a 3-5-year time frame, we pray and sketch out our future towards a 6-10-year horizon of potential. The Conference Board and Staff are interested in dialogue within the East Coast Conference as we pray, fast, dream, and imagine faithfully what God has in store for us as the Kingdom continues to unfold and the future breaks into the present redemptively.

We welcome your inputs to these key questions: As God’s Kingdom comes and we are aligned with Christ's mission, what should our mission priorities include? How do our current priorities fare in the future? What will the evident impacts be, and for whom, if we are faithful and fruitful? What will it cost us in resources to achieve these outcomes?

Written responses are most welcome via, howard@eastcoastconf.org

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MISSIONAL HEALTH

WHAT WE CAN LEARN FROM THE MISSION FIELD EAST COAST CONFERENCE REVISION TRIP WITH COVENANT LEADERS IN ECUADOR Kreig Gammelgard DIRECTOR OF MISSIONAL HEALTH

To move us in these directions, a special opportunity has been designed to expand them both for the future impact of your church on your community.

The East Coast Conference will be organizing a unique mission trip this fall for churches and leaders interested in serving more effectively the communities where the Lord has placed them.

This ReVision Trip is designed to help us learn from those serving on a different mission field.

Our Covenant brothers and sisters in Ecuador are doing wonderful and fruitful ministry in their corner of the world, and we can learn a great deal from them. Observing their approach to serving others and hearing about their motivations for such service to their neighbors, will inspire and change us! My prayer is that we will be able to translate their approach, their heart, and their mindset, to our churches.

We are seeking a small group of churches to participate with the humility of learners, and the boldness of prayer warriors. Transformation certainly comes from the Spirit’s work in our lives, but also from the lessons we can learn from those who are ahead of us in experience and expertise.

Fortunately for us, the Covenant Church of Ecuador (Iglesia del Pacto Evangelico del Ecuador - IPEE) is willing to host us and lead us this October. Here are some early details to be thinking and praying about: The trip will be seven days long in-country, October 2-8, 2019 will include:  Visits to the Ecuadorian Covenant Church headquarters in Quito, plus interaction with IPEE church leaders  A visit to the Santiago Project in Cayambe (Children's home, Medical Clinic)  Visits to IPEE community development projects  Interaction with Covenant missionaries in Ecuador  Interaction with Covenant Church members and pastors in the Quito, Cayambe and Quechua districts (north of Quito), including urban, suburban, and rural ministry contexts  Include visits to the Equator, Old Quito, and possibly some hot springs Housing will be in small hotels (Casa Sueca in Quito, Hotel Los Olivos Cayambe, a hotel in Ibarra). Costs will be near $800 per person in country, but we will try to make it as economical as possible, without skimping too much. Everyone arranges their own flights to Quito, Ecuador, to arrive on October 2nd.

Mark Seversen, Director of Missional Engagement for the ECC, and I invite you to consider participating in this life-changing experience, and inviting one other significant leader in your church as your missional partner so that you can process together how this experience can be translated into the life and ministries of your church in your “mission field.” Contact me immediately with your interest. More details will be available every week.

There will be room for only 12-15 people on this trip, but more opportunities are in the works as we seek to continually move in the direction of our personal and corporate missional health.

Chris Hoskins

ECC Missionary to Ecuador previews the ReVision Trip: "Each of the Ecuadorian ministries and churches are examples of healthy missional engagement with holistic mission and social engagement at their core. They provide a variety of different models and types of ministry and will give the East Coast pastors a lot of food for thought in engaging in a diverse range of social topics. They also provide an example of local churches partnering with other NGOs, para-church organizations and/or the government to carry out the work of the kingdom.

The visit to Old Town Quito will help provide a broader context and history of the country, as well as why IPEE churches are engaged with marginalized communities.

The visit to Cayambe will be a great example of the church working with different government agencies.

The after-school programs will engage the topic of being a known positive presence and building trust in a community.

Learning from churches partnering with Venezuelan refugees will focus on how to engage in a political crisis as reconcilers and peacemakers while providing humanitarian and pastoral care."

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COACHING

Leadership Roundtable Features Justice & Theology

DRAWING OUT WHAT THE HOLY SPIRIT PUT IN

Barbara Ettinger

Barbara Ettinger

A decade of research on clergy well-being indicates that a pastor’s flourishing depends on healthy social connections and a growing sense of professional competency as a minister. The Leadership Roundtables I host meet via video conferencing for three or four meetings on each topic. Meeting with colleagues to discuss a book on pastoral theology helps your pastor stay in touch with friends, make new connections, and dive into some of the best thinking and practice in ministry today. Here are two upcoming books that clergy will read in small groups. If you are not a member of the clergy, or if you aren’t available for Roundtables for another reason, you may wish to pick up your own copy and read and reflect on these important concepts and practices for yourself.

EXECUTIVE ASSOCIATE SUPERINTENDENT

Cultivating a culture of coaching in our Conference is an increasingly important aspect of our life together. A strong coaching culture helps us to develop and empower volunteer and vocational leaders alike. Statistics show that outcomefocused coaching leads to greater fruitfulness among leaders who have been resourced in this way.

Coming to the East Coast Conference in pilot form in October of 2019, up to 20 coach candidates will be trained to serve as coaches. This pioneer group of coach trainees will engage in three days of active learning in The COACH Model, the coaching system chosen by the Covenant for coaching application across as many delivery platforms as possible.

These East Coast Conference coach trainees will learn how to journey with coaching clients in a five step process that guides them through professional coaching conversations.

The fives steps follow the acronym C.O.A.C.H.:

Connect:

Build rapport and trust with coaching clients

Outcome:

Set the coachee’s agenda for the conversation

Awareness:

Encourage discovery, insights, and shifts in perspective

Course:

Capture insights and put them into three actionable steps

EXECUTIVE ASSOCIATE SUPERINTENDENT

EARLY FALL Author José Humphreys will lead a Roundtable on his book Seeing Jesus in East Harlem, a discipleship focused exploration into “what happens when churches show up and stay put” and truly see the communities they call home. Rev. Humphreys and I will co facilitate a three-session clergy Roundtable on Wednesday September 18, October 9, and October 30. Clergy must register and plan to participate in all three sessions for this dynamic exploration into lessons learned in José’s 12-plus year journey of pastoring Metro Hope Covenant in New York City. Registration materials will be sent separately directly to clergy.

Highlights:

Ask the coachees to review highlights of the conversation.

For the first group of clients, this pilot will focus initially on church planters and on leaders in sending churches that support plants. These early adopter clients will help us improve the product and delivery system for further coaching in the future. The long term aspiration is every leader coached and coaching.

In advance of embedding a coaching culture here in the Conference, I pursued Coaching Mastery Training with Creative Results Management. Six Covenant colleagues from across the denomination also trained with me. We now are working together on best practices for implementation. Invitations will go out soon to the pioneer group of coach trainees who will participate in training here in the Conference this fall.

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ADVENT Superintendent Howard Burgoyne hosts his first ever Roundtable as he leads this discussion of The Incarnation of God: The Mystery of the Gospel as the Foundation of Evangelical Theology.

Timed to enrich Advent reflection, this in-depth theological exploration of the Incarnation will occur in four linked discussions on October 15 and 31 and November 14, and 26. Clergy must register and plan to participate in all four sessions for this timely and sensitive theological study.

THE EAST COAST JUSTICE JOURNEY IS HERE! Dierdra Clark

ASSOCIATE PASTOR, NEW YORK COVENANT CHURCH, NEW ROCHELLE, NY

The Justice Journey is an East Coast specific experience that brings dozens of people together in order to expose them to central injustices in our history, explore the impact of these injustices on people of color in our country, and to encourage participants to right the injustices they witness in their communities as followers of Jesus. We believe that by exploring sites and spaces that relate to the African American struggle for equality, we will be able to connect our past wrongs to our present realities.

The Journey will take place September 26, 2019 - Sunday, September 29th, 2019. The Journey will start and end in Boston.The cost will be $450.

The Justice Journey hopes to:  Utilize historical framework to build community and understanding for people groups that have been harmed.  Create an “other centered/servant outlook” within our leaders and participants.  Provide opportunities for partnerships to organically form between churches and church leaders that participate.  Solidify biblical insights, convictions, and commitments to the least, last, and lost/ forgotten in our communities.

Register online: bit.ly/justicejourney2019 Because we can only take 30 people on this inaugural trip, we will give priority to those that send their non-refundable deposits of $200 made out to the East Coast Conference Office - 52 Missionary Rd. Cromwell, CT 06416 (memo: Justice Journey Deposit) - by August 1st.

Final Payments ($250 balance) due by September 1st

For more info, contact:

Dierdra Clark

 dgrayclark@mac.com

 Provide opportunities for cross cultural relationships and experiences.

Registration with a partner is encouraged, so if you still need to identify a partner, please coordinate those details before your register. Partners should be different ethnicities from one another, but the same gender (partners will share a hotel room). We look forward to journeying with you!

One of the stops on the journey: Johns Hopkins Hospital - where Henrietta Lacks' HeLa cells were first discovered

SIGN UP TODAY!

Kreig Gammelgard

 kreig@eastcoastconf.org

Another stop in the journey: the African American Museum in Washington, D.C.

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IF YOU LET ME PLAY:

REFLECTIONS ON WOMEN & MEN IN MINISTRY TOGETHER Angie Giancola

YOUTH PASTOR, HIGHROCK NORTH SHORE, SALEM, MA

In the 1990s, Nike started a campaign called: “If You Let Me Play.”

secret that conversations surrounding gender roles and leadership

The purpose of the campaign was to encourage girls to participate

have divided the church for centuries. Debate and divisiveness have

in sports. I still remember the poster that hung in the basement of

been rampant, and - in many cases - have sown seeds of brokenness,

my childhood home. It had twenty or so images of girls about my

distrust, and even abuse. And yet, I cannot help but wonder what

age with various ethnic backgrounds and athletic interests. And

it would look like for our churches to approach female-male

throughout the poster, were phrases like: “If you let me play, I will

partnerships with the same redemptive framework we approach other

like myself better… I will suffer less depression… I will learn what it

areas of orthodoxy (right belief ) and orthopraxis (right practice).

means to be strong.”

What would it look like for us to lean deeply into God’s intention If you let me play…

for these partnerships? In the beginning, when God creates women and men in His likeness, He establishes a partnership of mutuality

Since 1976, the Covenant has taken a stand to let women like me

- one where women and men are invited to live as agents of grace

“play” as they’ve ordained and credentialed women as pastors to

and revelation in the world as they step onto the field and “play”

serve local congregations. In doing so, our Church family is stronger,

together. The woman and man partnered together with a deep sense

more resilient, and better equipped to connect with God, God’s

of belonging to God and one another. There was no fear, only felicity.

people, and God’s purposes in the world. Because when we “play”

There was no shame, only support. There was no uniformity, only

together - when we partner together in ministry - the truth is that we

unity. Women and men were designed for this partnership - stepping

get a clearer picture of God’s character and transformative work in

onto the field of play, revealing God to the world, together.

through, and around us.

And while each of us has experienced the reality of sin and Unfortunately, a fairly significant stigma has developed surrounding

shame in our ministry partnerships, it has been apparent that our

close and trusted ministry partnerships between women and men.

denomination desires to step into God’s intention for these partners

In many instances, the discourse and doubt make sense. It’s no

in tangible ways. This quarter, I’ve committed to leading an East

Ordinands Angie Giancola and Bill Johnson serving communion during the 2019 Annual Meeting

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Barbara Ettinger and Howard Burgoyne co-lead communion during the 2019 Annual Meeting

GENEROSITY

COHORT TESTIMONY Ryan Chambers Johnson

CO-PASTOR, COMMUNITY COVENANT CHURCH, SPRINGFIELD, VA

Coast Conference Leadership Round Table with our Executive Associate Superintendent, Rev. Barbara Ettinger. In preparation for the Round Table discussion on Alice Matthew’s Gender Roles and the People of God, I’ve interviewed seven different pastoral teams in our

In the middle of last December, our church’s sound system died. I plugged it in, turned on the switch and nothing happened. In that moment, numerous pastoral nightmares began running through my head: a Christmas Eve service with no sound, the children’s program with no music. How would we get through Advent, I wondered, and how would we pay for a new one?

Conference, and I have been so encouraged by the ways God’s Kingdom is advancing as women and men partner together to make God’s unfailing love and faithfulness known. I’ve heard stories of the ways these women and men are choosing to partner together to tear down dividing walls of injustice, pursue God’s holiness and his hesed (love and loyalty), and embrace a more nuanced understanding of orthodoxy and orthopraxis.

How about for you? As you think through your own contexts, what might it look like for women and men in your churches to partner together to reveal God to the world in palpable ways, just as it was always intended? Is there a woman or man you could invite to partner with

Our congregation had been participating for the previous few months in a Generosity Cohort sponsored by the Denomination and curated by our Executive Associate Superintendent, Barbara Ettinger here in the East Coast Conference. The cohort was made up of teams from several churches and Covenant institutions. These teams attended three, day-long seminars and completed assigned activities between those meetings.

We were called to be bold in expecting Christ to use the tool of money for the purpose of the gospel. The content was rich and expansive, encouraging us to speak about church finances with clarity, to be thoughtful and intentional in our budgeting, to be aware of generational giving shifts and to apply new financial tools and techniques to our context.

you to foster hospitality, strengthen and diversify your preaching team, or invest in the lives of children and adolescents as a mentor?

Friends, I am so thankful for a community that embraces this opportunity and call to “play” together. My prayer is that we will continue to see hope spring forth as women and men choose to use their gifts and passions to partner together as we reveal God’s character to the world.

Over the last five years, I’ve had the privilege of finding my home in the Covenant - first as a seminary intern, then as a student in Covenant Orientation, and now as a credentialed pastor. Throughout this process, I have seen the transformative work of God on display as I’ve witnessed women and men serve their respective communities together. From serving alongside a capable and creative leadership team at Highrock to experiencing the care and intentionality of our Conference leadership team, witnessing men and women partner together to love and serve their respective communities has been both encouraging and empowering for a young pastor like me.

The week before the sound system failure, our team had presented some of the Generosity Cohort material to our broader church leadership. The conversation quickly focused on the ways our approach to congregational finances leaned into what we don’t have, instead of expecting and leaning forward into the generous nature of our Lord and his people. It was a frank and spirit-filled conversation as we were reminded that we serve a generous God who is quick to use the generosity of his people.

After that meeting, the church chair pulled me aside. A woman in our congregation had been sitting in worship and felt a spiritual nudge to give a gift in memory of her brother who had “loved music and preaching.” What might our church need in the worship space, the church chair wondered with me. Despite our excitement, we had only a few vague ideas and could come up with nothing concrete. So, a few days later, as I stood in front of a silent sound system, I suddenly remembered that generous giver and smiled.

Instead of meetings haggling over cost and details during a hectic time of the church year, our generous God used the generosity of his people to provide just what we needed. Our journey towards generosity is far from complete, but in opening our eyes and our hearts, we are on our way towards using the finances we’ve been given for the furthering of the gospel.

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SAVE

THE DATES

ReVision Trip to Ecuador October 2-8, 2019 Various locations in Ecuador (see p. 3)

Justice Conference October 18-19, 2019 Metro Community Church Englewood, NJ Registration online: www.covjustice.org The East Coast Justice Journey September 26-29, 2019 Various East Coast cities - leaving/returning from Boston (see p. 5) Cost: $450 Registration online: bit.ly/justicejourney2019

SENDING OUR PASTOR PACKING! David Sawyer

CONGREGANT, CHRIST CHURCH, PORTLAND, ME

In 2004 we sent our pastor packing. Fourteen years later, we did it again.

Pastor Mark Pearson’s three-month sabbatical in the summer of 2018 was funded by a very generous grant from the Lilly Endowment Clergy Renewal Program.

The year-long process of applying for the grant involved our pastor and our Mutual Ministries Team. Once notified of the success of the application, Pastor Mark began fleshing out his sabbatical activities and the Mutual Ministries Team got busy figuring out how our small church would function without our pastor.

The grant funded a part time interim pastor. To more fully involve lay leaders, we requested he preach every other Sunday during the pastor’s absence. Our interim pastor, a member of our congregation, offered on “How to Prepare a Sermon” with several members taking advantage of the training. We all benefitted from hearing God speak through many different voices throughout the summer.

congregation during the sabbatical time, one member quoted Psalm 133:1 - How good and pleasant it is when brothers and sisters live together in unity.

When asked if all the work of applying for the grant, the planning of his time-away activities, and the advanced preparation to assure a functioning church while he was away was worth it, Pastor Mark gave a resounding “Yes! I had three months of soaking in the grace of God. The funding allowed us to do things of which we had only dreamed.” Pastor Mark also commented that the time away from the demands of work, deadlines and everyday life has allowed him to find a refreshed sense of creativity, and that he has more confidence in Christ.

Whether funded by a generous grant or not, a sabbatical is a kind and loving gesture for a congregation to offer their pastor. The Lilly grant was beneficial to both our congregation and our pastor, and we highly recommend pursuing one in your context.

As a congregation we feel blessed to have participated in this tremendous opportunity as a way of caring for our pastor and his family. We also learned a lot about what the pastor does while he wasn’t there to do it!

Fortunately, we also discovered that we had many individuals with various gifts who were willing to step up where needed, and to be challenged and enabled by the Holy Spirit. When asked what we learned about our Pastor Mark at Leipzig with his wife during his sabbatical

2019 SUMMER

PASTORAL TRANSITIONS

Joseph Riffe to Bowie, MD (Staff), March 2019 Paul Day from N. Berwick, ME (UCC) to retirement, April 2019 Amanda Sadlier from Roosevelt Is., NY (Staff) to Roosevelt Is., NY (Lead), May 2019 Tony Chen from East Bridgewater, MA (Interim) to open to call, May 2019 Joshua Throneburg from Brookline, MA, May 2019 Yumiko Nakagawa from Brookline, MA (Staff) to Brookline, MA (Interim), May 2019 Tim Wynn to Hope NYC Midtown (Staff), May 2019 Dan Bailey to Englewood, NJ (Staff), June 2019 Matthew Gillis from Granby, CT (Staff) to East Bridgewater, MA (Senior Pastor), June 2019 Christopher Haydon from Lexington, MA, June 2019 Joshua Danielson from Lexington, MA (Staff), June 2019 Christopher Coppernoll from Clifton Park, NY, June 2019 Stephen Albi to East Greenwich, RI (Staff), July 2019 Kevin David from Cromwell, CT (Interim), July 2019 Michael Langer to Cromwell, CT, July 2019 Kevin Swanson from Englewood, NJ (Staff), August 2019 EAST COAST CONFERENCE

52 Missionary Road, Cromwell, CT 06416  (860) 635-2691 FAX: (860) 398-5071  www.eastcoastconf.org

SUPERINTENDENT:

Howard K. Burgoyne

EXECUTIVE ASSOCIATE SUPERINTENDENT:

Barbara Ettinger

DIRECTOR OF CHURCH PLANTING:

Jason Condon

EAST COAST COVENANTER Paul W. Kahn

EDITOR / GRAPHIC DESIGN & LAYOUT

Sandi Lee

EDITOR / WRITER

Howard Burgoyne PUBLISHER

www.issuu.com/eastcoastcovenanter

DIRECTOR OF MISSIONAL HEALTH:

Kreig Gammelgard

ADMINISTRATIVE MANAGER:

Sandi Lee

FINANCE MANAGER:

Deb Smith